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Hi and welcome @Angelo, I think a 130i is a good place to start a BMW journey, even if you never go further. I think you'll struggle to get the 9k one down to 8.5k, let alone 7.5k, just based on the description alone (and that the seller says price is "firm"). The prices for these things remains quite stubborn but I wouldn't pay 9k for an auto pre-LCI (pre-facelift) version. On the other hand I quite like the second one at that price and reckon you might get that for 6.5k which would leave a grand in your back pocket for maintenance. Or you might be able to put that grand into a 1-2 year mechanical warranty (check first) to ease your concerns. Every BMW leaks oil eventually, you just need to factor that in but it's not a particular 130i thing, in fact the N52 is incredibly mechanically reliable compared to some of the alternatives. A PPI is a good idea if you're not mechanically inclined and BM Workshop are unlikely to steer you wrong. Just don't be too concerned if they say it's leaking oil, as long as it's not dramatic you should be able to live with it for a while. It's important that they also plug it in, retrieve any fault codes and provide you with a print out, you can potentially use that to negotiate price further. The belly pan or sump will almost certainly leak at some point and it's a labour intensive job but I'm sure it's closer to a $1k job than it is a $2k job... although I stand to be corrected on that. These days maintenance is more important than mileage, as long as they've kept up with maintenance then you needn't worry too much about miles. In fact a 114k car probably has more stuff soon to need replacing than a 167k car, typically once a car has gone beyond about 120k then arms, bushes, brakes, suspension etc, etc have already been replaced and could last another 120k. Test drive a few, including on the open road, before you pull the trigger, in my experience some feel fantastic to drive, others awful and that's normally an indicator of the health of the suspension.

I know this is a bit old, but I have an F30 330e one of these so can comment. Fuel economy isn't anywhere near what they suggest, I will get somewhere between 5-6l per 100km with "normal" driving. This is summed up as some acceleration for fun and normal boring work driving. Electric range is 24km on a full charge. The performance is acceptable, and it is nice and quiet as well. The big thing here will be whether you can charge at work. Then it might make more sense.

Thanks! Yeah, I've read to be very on top of the servicing, and will try do 6000-7000km changes, from what I read 5w-40 fully synthetic is the way to go, which is the same as I used in my Subaru anyway, so easy. I got my hands on the cable and software for E-Sys, and tried sorting it but couldn't. I've hit the dealer up who organised the country change stuff, so will see what he comes back with. Haha, definitely no 120D! Totally not surprised to find you here! Had a small win today, was able to get the MyBMW App all setup and integrated with home-assistant too, so now have remote locking etc all working from the app. Registered an account on the japanese website, and added the VIN there, then logged in through the app and it all worked easily! Also only just realised it has Spotify integration through the USB plug, although a little hit and miss on it working.

Hey folks. The name is Oli. Some of you from back in the early days may remember me.. Well i used to be a part of the BMW scene way back when.. But since left to pursue a Motorsport career around the world. Well now we are back. .Back in NZ, Back with BMW's and back making some really cool stuff. Great to be back guys!!!

Car club uses and recommends these guys.... Wellington Automotive Gearbox Specialists... https://www.wags.co.nz/ Cheers...

Hi @Angelo! There are several common oil leak locations, main ones being sump (as you said), oil filter housing, and valve cover gasket. They're all easy enough to do but a tad labour intensive, particularly the valve cover gasket, which can require the whole valve cover to be replaced if it's the later plastic one and it has gone brittle. Other common failure points as they get older are water pump and starter motor, plus coil packs can start to fail but they're cheap and easy to replace. Ideally you can find one that has some history of at least some of these items being addressed. Otherwise, they don't all happen at once but just be prepared. Plus as Dave said, there's lots of general wear and tear items that need replacing as they age, just like any car. For reference on the sump gasket, I had mine replace at East Auckland BMW (main dealer) and they charged something like $750-800ish (I can't remember exactly). From my experience with BM Workshop, I wouldn't necessarily expect them to be cheaper...

3 Generations E46 M3, E90 M3 and F80.

@Cement Hey David yeah there is something cool about a spaghetti designed set of headers. I just had a look at your hoop design and its looks very professional. I'd say you will have no issues with that design. I pretty much did the same thing with my X5 manual swap i bolted the 1st hoop ontop of the gearbox x member. My certifier just said as long as it meets the requirements of metal thickness, right bolt sized used and within 250mm of the the U joint it would pass. Im doing it my way so i also dont have to go through the floor.

From a practical and environmental viewpoint, we should be considering this... Based in Canada, Carbon Engineering’s Direct Air Capture system directly removes CO2 from the atmosphere, purifies it, and produces a pipeline-ready compressed CO2 liquid using only energy and water. This CO2 can be combined with non-fossil fuel-generated hydrogen, to produce ultra-low carbon intensity hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and Jet Fuel-A. https://energypost.eu/extract-co2-from-our-air-use-it-to-create-synthetic-fuels/ A Carbon Engineering staff member holds clean synthetic fuel made from Carbon Engineering’s Direct Air Capture system and hydrogen split from water. / SOURCE: Carbon Engineering So why fcuk around with building an entire new distribution network for hydrogen when you can manufacture and use a synthetic fuel that can easily be distributed thru existing networks. And it helps remove a major greenhouse gas from the air we breathe. Works for me Cheers...

BMW X5 40e 2016

Here's a run down in order. Handling has always been a bit busy but nothing overly concerning and the car could be pushed pretty hard confidently. Rear PS4S tyres were shredded through to the belts. Replaced them with Atturo AZ850s based on some positive reviews from USA Charger drivers and being cheap as hell, alignment done at the same time/place as the tyres were fitted but no spec sheet provided after the job. Handling now totally off the wall scary at speed, drive in one direction, suddenly feels like it's going in another direction, way too scary to do any spirited driving. Not going back there since I wouldn't trust them to align liquid down a funnel now. Replaced front upper control arms since I knew the bushes were completely shredded and things seem better but still could use improvement. Called up this other place based on a recommendation from a friend, spoke to the owner, and briefly explained what's happening and booked an alignment. Turned up for the booking and as luck would have it the owner is the free person at reception so hand over the key. Guy walks out with me to look at the car and literally 10 seconds after laying eyes on it starts laying into whoever (newsflash moron, I fitted them and you have managed to insult me minutes after arriving at your business) fitted these cheap Chinese (they're US brand, Taiwanese made) tyres and that they are obviously the problem, cue diatribe on manufacturers spec tyres and unprompted pricing of 4x Pirelli replacements. Heck the front PS4S still have a solid 10k on them. I was pretty f**king annoyed as I ended up writing off a whole days work and likely a half day tomorrow. I just want an alignment done as I have no idea whatsoever what camber and toe the car is running. If the alignment is dialed in and I still have issues then I can look at loading up the parts cannon. That's about it really. The way he should have handled it is by looking at the car, asking some questions and then suggesting that maybe the new rear tyres could be the problem and they he could put it in the machine to check out and adjust the alignment to make sure it's all good but that perhaps that might not be the end of my problems. I would have been on board, 10 4 amigo. Unfortunately he chose to be a douchebag. My general MO is that if I get sub par or even poor service from a place is that I just won't return, nothing more. This guy really shat in my morning coffee. Quick rant eh? On a positive story. I had adjustable suspension fitted and aligned in my Subaru Legacy 3.0 at P&S automotive many years ago and that thing had sublime handling. My M5 didn't even match the level of confidence that thing had.

the Rain-X or Turtle wax kits seem to work fine on some cars, but on a car that I didn't want to spend any money on (a 2001 Airtrek), I got some toothpaste, extra baking soda, and some kitchen polish powder and went to town on the lenses, washed it off, dried it with a hair dryer and sprayed 2-3 2k automotive clear coats on it, and it is still good, a year and a half on.