NZ_InFerno

Yep, though it's not mine anymore. Sold it to a family member as running 3 130i was a bit overkill. Was hoping to buy it back off them in a couple years and manual swap it but they've decided to sell it now 😢

Any BMW 130i owners coming to the British/Euro car show in Wellington (Upper Hutt) this Sunday? I'll be there with the club, thread on it here:

Anyone thinking of ordering from schmiedmann? I've got a grill and gear knob I want to get but shipping is killer. Alternatively anyone seen some black kidney grills with the pointy corners anywhere?

Quite annoying how little oil seals cause major problems. Sounds like you've got the problem nailed down though, and the right person to be doing the job.

Just re-read it and sounds like he's got the rocker cover gasket off atm, so replace the lot while access is good. Hopefully they unwound the valvetronic motor correctly when removing the rocker cover. Reinstalling it is a little tricky.

I had a quite similar issue (it sounds like the same issue tbh) that caused no end of problems(car would run badly and die, down on power), but with no fault code ever occurring 🙄. The valvetronic range was not correct when checked in inpa, I can't remember the exact numbers but it was off, and the calibration in inpa would reset but then didn't do anything. The power on test, before starting the engine, when the vvt motor should go through a full range(click to click), it didn't do it at all. It was narrowed down to the valvetronic motor, after cleaning the vanos Solenoids, replacing the initially suspected eccentric shaft sensor and having all the wiring checked. The valvetronic motor has been replaced previously so that's why it wasn't suspected. Myself and @KwS(mostly KwS tbh) changed the valvetronic motor. I also changed the valvetronic electrical control module at the same time. Mostly because everything else in the electrical chain had been checked or replaced, and I wasn't 100% sure it was actually the vt motor itself causing problems. After running the inpa calibration, and maybe dme calibration? the car ran mint and has done since then. I did a write up of it in my 130i manual thread, you should have a read of. I would suggest you change the valvetronic electronic module, it's $20 from fcpeuro. If that doesn't work then do the vvt motor, maybe both at the same time but the motor is much more expensive at $150US, plus you need the gasket. Photo below is the module and valvetronic motor gasket for a pre lci! Lci have a different type of gasket for the valvetronic motor(real OEM is your friend). Not sure if the module is different between lci/pre-lci but worth checking realoem anyway. The module lives underneath the fusebox on the passenger side of the engine bay. It's easy to follow the wiring from the vt motor to it. Realoem will also show it. Also you noted that there is oil on the eccentric shaft sensor. From reading online trying to diagnose my problem that is a bad sign, and can cause faulty readings and sensor to fail. So it may be the sensor causing the issue. But if all the readings from it are good, clean it and pray its not the sensor otherwise that's about $250 US from fcpeuro. Hope this helps

Hit a big bump? Or a rock being flicked up.

Pramod in Wellington does key reprogramming, I forgot what his bimmersport handle is but he has a website now https://www.nztuningbay.com/

Nah, yours is probably the best priced one considering condition, has the lowest amount of kms too. When I went through the email again I noticed another one was a re-list so only one new one which is a pretty interesting spec for a dealer car https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/130i/listing/2956631523

That came out awesome! Super lucky to have access to a buffer. Once I worked out I needed one the cost for it, plus pads, compound, headlight finishing stuff, paint touch up etc it was similar to getting a pro to do it. Worked out well as the weather's been so crap here I wouldn't have had the time nor space to do it or to get it done in time. I'm fully stocked to keep it clean now though lol

3 manual 130i listed yesterday on trademe including one very familiar blue one 😜 Jap Imports qualify @gofaster

Have to remove some trim but definitely possible to reach. I'm not sure it'll just push out, its been there a while and it's right on a crease line. I'll go watch some how tos and see what's possible.

Yep I'm booked in for February for airbag and the heater valve recall. Also got my car back from the detailer today 😍

Bit of an update, bought a bunch of detailing supplies after Xmas to give the car a good going over and clean. I've wanted to give the car a good detail since buying it but fixing up the mechanical side was the first priority. Now that has all been done, or I have the parts in the garage, it was time to work on getting it shiny. I've kept it relatively clean since buying but really wanted to clay bar and cut/polish to sort out the multitude of fine scratches and get the headlamps clear. I had previously attacked the headlamps with a turtlewax headlight kit, to remove glue from the previous owners "eyebrow" install. This somewhat helped but they definitely could be better. Last week I started with mag monster on the wheels and then G3 detailers cleaning spray, rinsed off and then washed the car again. Once it was really clean I started with the claying and did most of the car before leaving it for the next day. I came back to it and found I'd managed to scratch up a few areas worse than before 😥 but mostly it felt much smoother and used a tar and bug remover to get everything else off the car. I pulled out the polish to attack the scratched up sections but hand polish wasn't enough to remove the new scratches nor some older scratches. It did take out a lot of fine scratches but not the finish I was optimistically hoping for. I'd also exposed a fair few stone chips and at this point decided to seek professional help 🤣 Booked it in with Final Touch to get a two stage machine polish, headlight polished and their stone chip paint touch up. Went in today and it came out brilliant, exactly what I was after. Car looks absolutely phenomenal even though it was very clean already before going there lol. The dent on the back corner is still there! If anyone knows a dent guy let me know. The front end is a massive improvement with the headlights being crystal clear, de-aging the car. No stone chips on the bonnet looks much better too! It had been bugging me that the car didn't look as well cared for as it was, but now it really reflects how much work/parts have been put into it over the last year. Super happy with how it all turned out, it was what I was initially after(taking it to a detailer) before deciding to have a go myself. With this I did a lot of the groundwork and was able to get the stone chips taken care of too. So a better finish than just getting a standard detail. At least I have all the gear to keep it nice and shiny now Engine mounts and sump gasket hopefully going in within the next month, dependent on time and space on the lift. Will be 100% mechanically buttoned up then 🤪

Yep, got the letter the other day about it.

Yeah I did word that funny about the door cards, writing it up at 2am lol. The insert part is all leather on lci, pre lci it's the elbow rest only on the door that's leather. They also use a knobby plastic around the pre-lci door card, it's a smoother material on the lci.

They don't want a pre lci, hence the comment. Yep, they're the differences. March 07 was the changeover in manufacturing to LCI models. You can get lci with hydraulics (better 😁), not sure how common it is, my lci E87 had it. Interior is door cards, they're full leather rather than knobby plastic with leather inserts. Updated iDrive in newer cars. Instrument cluster has an oil temp gauge added. LCI cars have the Black top engine vs silvertop in pre-lci(is quoted in some places as being 190kw vs 195kw silvertop, not really noticeable 🤷‍♂️). Blacktop was changed a bit to be more fuel efficient. Valve cover is made of a different material iirc and some other changes. Rear light design is different. Lci definitely looks more modern from the rear. All these things can be swapped onto a pre-lci , door cards and lights being most common and relatively simple from what the Internet says. Pretty sure some weak points or known issues were changed too. I've not seen a definitive list to link, this is mostly from bits I've read on various forums/groups. Babybmw or the 130i Owners group may have a write up on it. I have two 130i(used to be three, could shortly be one), an lci E81 and a pre lci E87.

Mines had two valvetronic motors in 180k, and a waterpump 🤷‍♂️

There's 58 "Blue" 130i from 2007 on (pre March are non lci) in NZ from a quick look on nzta vehicle registration data. Only one listed as a manual but realistically maybe 10-15 of those are manual? Majority of them were imported in the last 5 years so could be less than that. There's a hundred more listed if you can live with pre-lci le mans blue. Rarest colour seems to be red, less than twenty 130i in NZ.

8.5k ono

I did wait before posting 🤷‍♂️ Guess we've all got the same search saved on trademe 🤣

Jeez that went quick. Way underpriced considering the intake alone is $1.5k.

I reckon you could take all the bits off it, replace with stock wheels/intake etc and sell it without losing money.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/2951948466?tm=email&et=45&mt=F909EDC8-3C14-49CC-9D87-FCE0B397F44E Cheap manual 130i with some nice upgrades