130i, will I be waiting forever?

[Mr Whippy]

Yeah I think 3dr is a compromise for my wants already so a bit more isn’t so bad if I go that route.

4dr, xenon, leccy seats, blue, is now my ideal spec.

Oh and a good hifi maybe but not so bothered about the sat nav ones.

I take it fancy nav and a good hifi aren’t prerequisites for each other?

[bodhi]

It's worth finding one with the Logic 7 Upgrade as it does make a massive difference with the extra tweeters and subs under the seats. Mine had it retrofitted thankfully, as the standard system is a bit weak.

You can get that without the sat nav, not sure if you could specify them the other way round?

[aeropilot]

Logic 7 (Harman Kardon for later cars) and Sat Nav were independent options, so you can find Sat Nav option with or without audio upgrade and vice versa.

[PTF]

All this talk of spec is making me wonder how sought after my SE model might be!!??

Cloth seats. Business audio. No cruise. No bluetooth (though the steering wheel has the buttons - seems a common thing). One of 75 left.

Thoughts??

Considering going to an E91 330d.

Edited by PTF on Friday 5th October 11:26

[ADogg]

aeropilot said:

Very rare option to see on a 130i.....nice though, I had them on my 135i, and thought they were brilliant

You learn something new everyday! I’m yet to drive it in the night but it’s good to know! I think my stereo is standard and it seems OK - I bought one of those Bluetooth aux in jobs which for £15 is pretty good!

[Mr Tidy]

PTF said:

All this talk of spec is making me wonder how sought after my SE model might be!!??

Cloth seats. Business audio. No cruise. No bluetooth (though the steering wheel has the buttons - seems a common thing). One of 75 left.

Thoughts??

Considering going to an E91 330d.

Edited by PTF on Friday 5th October 11:26

Sadly I think they are rare for a reason!

I had an E46 325ti Sport with full leather as a daily and was looking for a replacement earlier this year - 130i was on the radar, but I found an E91 325i SE in Sparkling Graphite with full Lemon leather and heated seats much cheaper than any 130i.

325i worked for me for as a daily because I've got a Z4 Coupe for happy days!

[Mr Whippy]

Sigh.

Waiting forever sucks!

All the nice ones coming (reasonable miles, bmw history, late models) up are auto or 3dr or both.


I’m tempted to put up ‘wanted’ ads but I’m weary that just attracts people to dump a bag of crap car on you... then you waste days going to see cars with issues trying to be hidden?!

[PTF]

Seriously thinking about putting my 130i SE up for sale but still unsure on pricing.

It's on 61k. Manual. 5dr.

Looking at AT there are only a couple of comparible cars but they're M-sports and £8k!

There are no other SEs for sale.

Thinking about £6.5k? Thoughts?

[Mr Whippy]

Advertise it exceptionally well on babybmw and then put it up at what you think.
Then let the market decide, and it up to you if you let it go.


Just my 2p bit too many car sellers are crap at doing adverts for car enthusiasts imo, which is who yours will have to sell to to get anywhere near it’s worth.

Yes you can go look/ring up etc and get details, but the seller can do all that work for buyers by being thorough.

So pics of the car, closeups of wheels, damage, wear, blah blah...
Every service, repair, invoice item, mileage etc.

Only with all this info can an enthusiast fairly determine the cost/worth imo.


All that said rarity does mean some ignorance to value/price... but if you need buyers to come appraise the car to find that out it’s right/all details stack up, then it’s going to be a long process.

[swanny71]

Mr Whippy said:

Sigh.

Waiting forever sucks!

All the nice ones coming (reasonable miles, bmw history, late models) up are auto or 3dr or both

I always say this on “looking for a 130i” threads, but you really don’t need to get too hung up on mileage. Find a good one that’s been well looked after, and the mileage is pretty much irrelevant when compared to condition and history.

Mines now way past 150k miles and honestly looks/drives like it has less than half that - a set of shocks and a few other easy to replace suspension bits at 120k helped obviously. The engine is star of the show, still sensational and feels like it’ll go on forever.

[Mr Tidy]

PTF said:

Seriously thinking about putting my 130i SE up for sale but still unsure on pricing.

It's on 61k. Manual. 5dr.

Looking at AT there are only a couple of comparible cars but they're M-sports and £8k!

There are no other SEs for sale.

Thinking about £6.5k? Thoughts?

Does it have leather seats, and are they M-sport seats?

Slightly off-topic but these cars are starting to look ambitiously expensive!

Good luck anyway.

[Mike335i]

Mr Tidy said:

Does it have leather seats, and are they M-sport seats?

Slightly off-topic but these cars are starting to look ambitiously expensive!

Good luck anyway.

He posted pictures just a short scroll up.

[Mr Whippy]

swanny71 said:

I always say this on “looking for a 130i” threads, but you really don’t need to get too hung up on mileage. Find a good one that’s been well looked after, and the mileage is pretty much irrelevant when compared to condition and history.

Mines now way past 150k miles and honestly looks/drives like it has less than half that - a set of shocks and a few other easy to replace suspension bits at 120k helped obviously. The engine is star of the show, still sensational and feels like it’ll go on forever.

I *kind* of agree.

I’d even go as far as saying I’d rather buy a cheaper high miler and rebuild anything wanting it, so it’s like a zero miler.


But given the price spreads I’d rather spend £10,000 on a minter that’s been garaged and done 50,000 miles, than £5,000 on one that’s had 100,000 miles of all year use, salty roads, and winters sat outside.


And ultimately it’s the underneath/core of the car that worries me with mileage.

Paintwork gets a battering and ultimately a full respray isn’t cheap.

And the underneath will eventually corrode. It starts with brake pipes but eventually it’s sills etc.
If that process has already set in a lot it’s inevitable as a cost down the line.


If I find a 130i and like it like I did my Z4, I want to keep it for 10yrs+ and garaged, dehumidified, heated, little winter use, cleaned and protected underneath as well as on top.
Starting with a fresher one makes sense to me financially, in the bigger picture.

[Mr Tidy]

Mike335i said:

He posted pictures just a short scroll up.

So he did - I must have had a senior moment!

This may serve as a clue price-wise:- https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[bodhi]

Mr Whippy said:

I *kind* of agree.

I’d even go as far as saying I’d rather buy a cheaper high miler and rebuild anything wanting it, so it’s like a zero miler.


But given the price spreads I’d rather spend £10,000 on a minter that’s been garaged and done 50,000 miles, than £5,000 on one that’s had 100,000 miles of all year use, salty roads, and winters sat outside.


And ultimately it’s the underneath/core of the car that worries me with mileage.

Paintwork gets a battering and ultimately a full respray isn’t cheap.

And the underneath will eventually corrode. It starts with brake pipes but eventually it’s sills etc.
If that process has already set in a lot it’s inevitable as a cost down the line.


If I find a 130i and like it like I did my Z4, I want to keep it for 10yrs+ and garaged, dehumidified, heated, little winter use, cleaned and protected underneath as well as on top.
Starting with a fresher one makes sense to me financially, in the bigger picture.

If that's the case and you are happy with a 3 door, that for me would definitely make the 125i Coupé an option. They were available from 2007 onwards, mine is a 2008 model with 127k, and the only rust I have spotted is a tiny spot on the boot slam panel - it's even still even on it's original brake pipes.

Only issue is, the 130i Premium is starting to filter down to the 125i. Only decent one I can find is below, and if I tell you mine was 10.5K 4 years ago with less miles, you may see what I'm talking about

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[aeropilot]

bodhi said:

If that's the case and you are happy with a 3 door, that for me would definitely make the 125i Coupé an option. They were available from 2007 onwards, mine is a 2008 model with 127k, and the only rust I have spotted is a tiny spot on the boot slam panel - it's even still even on it's original brake pipes.

Only issue is, the 130i Premium is starting to filter down to the 125i. Only decent one I can find is below, and if I tell you mine was 10.5K 4 years ago with less miles, you may see what I'm talking about

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I agree about the 125i being an option rather than the 130i. Only issue would be the boot opening slot for getting anything bulky into the boot, as while the boot capacity is bigger than the hatch, the access space to get something in the bigger space is reduced.

That ad linked is one of the worst waffle ads I've ever seen - the only two extra cost options I can see are NOT mentioned (leather and Nav) instead it's filled with utter drivel of stuff that is not even worth mentioning......!!

As you say though, 130i prices are filtering down to the 125i now, as good 130i's are getting hard to find (as older) and there's only a few hundred more of the 125i sold in the UK as there was 130i.
About 900 MSport with 6MT, about 650 MSport with Step auto, about 300 SE spec with 6MT, about 200 SE with Step Auto, plus about 70 run out Sport Edition with 6MT and similar amount of Sport Edition with Step auto.

[Mr Whippy]

Which are Sport Edition?
Are they LE? Or are they something different?

I’m still flip flopping on 3/5dr.

Variety is so limited I’m thinking a nice 3dr is better than a 5dr I’m gonna be a bit unhappy with as a car.

There are two slightly off the books 3dr up at the moment.
One is almost too nice, £10,750... sub 45k miles... nice grey colour, but leaving me zero budget to tweak it a bit... the other is an instant-buy assuming it checks out at £8,750... but it’s a huge drive to go see it and part of me is just a bit put off by the LE.
Black being a pita to clean and tidy, same with white leather.


I’m not too fussed on prices rising. My R32 is in the same boat so as long as I can swap across I’m happy.

[aeropilot]

Mr Whippy said:

Which are Sport Edition?
Are they LE? Or are they something different?

No, not LE, and not 130i either.
Sport Edition was a run-out option on the 125i coupe and the 135i coupe in the last year on sale in 2013.

[Mr Whippy]

Ah those numbers were 125i?

I’m sure the Coupe is a lovely car for those who like them but I never got on with the looks... same with the new 2er... too tall and thin looking.

E90 Coupe had a look of a banana.

The E46 was the last nice BMW Coupe for me... ooor right forward to the F30 (don’t know the correct ‘codes’ nor do I care, bmw are dicks for making so many, mini rant over )

So hatches or saloons are the ones for me

[aeropilot]

Mr Whippy said:

Ah those numbers were 125i?

I’m sure the Coupe is a lovely car for those who like them but I never got on with the looks... same with the new 2er... too tall and thin looking.

Except.........1er coupe actually has a lower roofline than the hatch, but hey, whatever float your boat.