130i MSport. Good idea? We’ll See..
Discussion
I change my cars more often than I should. I know this. So does the wife. And the kids (bit disconcerting when a 5 year old says “why do you keep changing your car daddy?”).
I had an F10 530d for 18 months which isn’t bad for me. I then convinced myself I needed a runabout as I don’t do lots of miles these days (I actually do circa 10k a year so diesel isn’t really necessary) and randomly bought myself a VW Up! (their exclamation mark, not mine) which was fine for a short while but soon became very dull.
I therefore convinced myself I needed a more entertaining car, preferably 3 litres or more obviously and after a brief search of 330i’s, 6 series and 1 series I bought this:
I’ve not cleaned it properly yet but it’s not too bad for a 12 year old car.
More pics:
First job:
Hairdryer will be out later to remove the ‘M’ badge. Not to my taste.
I’ve got it booked into my local Indy for an oil change and check over. Given it’s done 97k I expect there’ll be some jobs to be done; I’ll update as we go.
One issue is the Sat Nav doesn’t work. I suspected this before buying because it wouldn’t read the dvd (There are also other very occasional glitches with the Idrive which are likely to be battery related; we’ll see). I’ll get it sorted one way or another but it’s not a priority as it’s a 12 year old nav and a new stand alone item is much better imho.
Other than the above the car seems pretty good. Nearly new Goodyear Eagles all round and oil changes every 9k or so bode well (I hope!).
I had an F10 530d for 18 months which isn’t bad for me. I then convinced myself I needed a runabout as I don’t do lots of miles these days (I actually do circa 10k a year so diesel isn’t really necessary) and randomly bought myself a VW Up! (their exclamation mark, not mine) which was fine for a short while but soon became very dull.
I therefore convinced myself I needed a more entertaining car, preferably 3 litres or more obviously and after a brief search of 330i’s, 6 series and 1 series I bought this:
I’ve not cleaned it properly yet but it’s not too bad for a 12 year old car.
More pics:
First job:
Hairdryer will be out later to remove the ‘M’ badge. Not to my taste.
I’ve got it booked into my local Indy for an oil change and check over. Given it’s done 97k I expect there’ll be some jobs to be done; I’ll update as we go.
One issue is the Sat Nav doesn’t work. I suspected this before buying because it wouldn’t read the dvd (There are also other very occasional glitches with the Idrive which are likely to be battery related; we’ll see). I’ll get it sorted one way or another but it’s not a priority as it’s a 12 year old nav and a new stand alone item is much better imho.
Other than the above the car seems pretty good. Nearly new Goodyear Eagles all round and oil changes every 9k or so bode well (I hope!).
stevep360 said:
Great looking example, I actually had this car in my watch list whilst it was for sale and been deliberating about going to see it - looks like a good one and a good spec! Best of luck with it!
Hopefully I will be glad that I’ve beaten you to it. This will be the oldest / highest mileage car I’ve owned and admit I’m a little nervous something will go wrong!pointedstarman said:
Hopefully I will be glad that I’ve beaten you to it. This will be the oldest / highest mileage car I’ve owned and admit I’m a little nervous something will go wrong!
Ahh I doubt it, I'd not worry too much! The Sat Nav thing sounds a bit annoying but they're strong otherwise and being N/A means there's a load of missing turbo complexity!Thanks for the comments. The car seems good other than the sat nav which in itself isn’t the end of the world. The spec is very good; nav, comfort access, dimming/folding mirrors, adaptive xenon, leather, electric lumbar, sunroof etc. The only thing missing is heated seat which I’d like but won’t lose sleep over.
Having had 3.0 diesels for many years I can’t over emphasise the buzz to be got from a petrol 6 at full chatt. Lovely!
Having had 3.0 diesels for many years I can’t over emphasise the buzz to be got from a petrol 6 at full chatt. Lovely!
12TS said:
Loved mine. Had it for yearly 6 years before it got swapped for a 135i
Prefer silver wheels TBH.
That’s the colour the dealer had them dipped in after being refurbished. I’d have stayed with silver but there you go..Prefer silver wheels TBH.
At least they’re crack free which is a bonus for BMW OEM wheels.
Lovely. With it being a 56 reg it will be the N52 engine rather than the N53? Potentially a bonus if so. Be good to see some interior pictures etc. Any plans for it?
My new to me 330i is going into Redish for an inspection in a week, I'm keeping my fingers crossed also! Will look forward to updates
My new to me 330i is going into Redish for an inspection in a week, I'm keeping my fingers crossed also! Will look forward to updates
Fantastic car OP - sadly I couldn't find one when I sold my E46 325ti. 
So I decided to get a more practical daily - an E91 (3 Series Touring) 325i with a 2.5 litre version of the same N52 engine all 130is had. It's on 137K miles now, so I wouldn't worry too much about 97K.
I specifically wanted an early E91 so it had the N52 engine because it's fantastic in my weekend car - a 3.0Si Z4 Coupe. (A couple of Z4 owners have got them past 160K miles).
Enjoy.
So I decided to get a more practical daily - an E91 (3 Series Touring) 325i with a 2.5 litre version of the same N52 engine all 130is had. It's on 137K miles now, so I wouldn't worry too much about 97K.
I specifically wanted an early E91 so it had the N52 engine because it's fantastic in my weekend car - a 3.0Si Z4 Coupe. (A couple of Z4 owners have got them past 160K miles).
Enjoy.
aaron_2000 said:
At least you're not as bad as me, I change my cars every month or so 
Looks like a nice buy, pretty solid cars, iDrive shouldn't be a big fix either really.
Wow. My record is a couple of months but normally I get through 1 or 2 cars a year and that costs more than I care to admit so every month? Looks like a nice buy, pretty solid cars, iDrive shouldn't be a big fix either really. 
Anyway, to answer a few questions.
Yes, it’s the N52 engine so will hopefully be fairly solid.
I got a pre 2007 not because of engine choice (they’re all N52’s) but because I wanted the hydraulic steering rather than the later electric system, personal preference but I’m not a fan of electric power steering especially the newer systems which don’t have any feel whatsoever imho.
Initial plans depends on Fridays findings. If I get a reasonably clean bill of health there’s a couple of cosmetic things I’d like to do (more later) but the plan is to keep the car pretty much stock but in good fettle.
pointedstarman said:
aaron_2000 said:
At least you're not as bad as me, I change my cars every month or so Looks like a nice buy, pretty solid cars, iDrive shouldn't be a big fix either really.
I got a pre 2007 not because of engine choice (they’re all N52’s) but because I wanted the hydraulic steering rather than the later electric system, personal preference but I’m not a fan of electric power steering especially the newer systems which don’t have any feel whatsoever imho. Looks like a nice buy, pretty solid cars, iDrive shouldn't be a big fix either really. 
They’re pretty solid cars barring a few weak points (electric water pump bring the main one) so hopefully you’ll enjoy it hassle free. Engine is bulletproof. Mine has been faultlessly reliable barring the water pump failing and some sticking vanos solenoids, but I’ve had it 5 years and it now has 135k on it so I think that’s ok. Just a few age/mileage related things that have gone recently - rear ball joints and subframe bushes. With those replaced it drives like a new car - I don’t think I could ever part with it. Enjoy!
sixpistons said:
They’re pretty solid cars barring a few weak points (electric water pump bring the main one) so hopefully you’ll enjoy it hassle free. Engine is bulletproof. Mine has been faultlessly reliable barring the water pump failing and some sticking vanos solenoids, but I’ve had it 5 years and it now has 135k on it so I think that’s ok. Just a few age/mileage related things that have gone recently - rear ball joints and subframe bushes. With those replaced it drives like a new car - I don’t think I could ever part with it. Enjoy!
Thanks. It’s unusual in these days of t’internet to find a car / engine where the consensus is anything but negative but the N52 seems generally well regarded.I’ve been out a few times in the car and initial impressions are good. The car is solid and doesn’t give any indication it’s done 97k miles. The noise is wonderful. I seem to be getting late 20’s mpg which is about what I expected.
So far so good.
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