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NZ_InFerno

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Posts posted by NZ_InFerno

  4. Posted · Edited by NZ_InFerno · Report reply

    3 hours ago, Blackie said:

    Been doing my own 'detailing'. Removed all the swirls of light scratches in the clear coat. Touched up a couple of chips, etc. Found some sparkle in the paint I didn't know was there! 

    Approx 2 days work and $70 of consumables with a borrowed supercheap $150 buffer. Good enough when compared to the $500 I was quoted.

    20210106_142907.jpg

    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 lolIMG_20210115_164702.thumb.jpg.83adf84e9fed682bcef750ff93263739.jpg 

  6. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, M3AN said:

    I wonder if you can reach that dent from the inside and just push it out yourself?

    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. 

  8. Posted · Report reply

    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. 

    IMG_20210128_171953.thumb.jpg.fce8ad4457cc6e10f91840e01c532c3d.jpg

    The dent on the back corner is still there! If anyone knows a dent guy let me know. 

    IMG_20210128_172026.thumb.jpg.5fc10d2342a259452b1237f627159d13.jpg

    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. 

    IMG_20210128_171945.thumb.jpg.afe31e3821d441f9d034350053d478c9.jpg

     

    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 :D

    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 🤪

    • Like 8

  10. Posted · Report reply

    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. 

  11. Posted · Edited by NZ_InFerno · Report reply

    3 hours ago, gofaster said:

    OK, so I have to ask the question Dan seeing as I own one...

    Why the " if you can live with pre-lci "-- is it not as good as "LCI"? - or all down to personal preference?

    Be interested to understand the differences other than what Wiki says (electric power steer, revised bumpers and interior changes -whatever they are)

    Is there a link on here?

    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. 

    • Like 1

  13. Posted · Edited by NZ_InFerno · Report reply

    56 minutes ago, leichtbau said:

    I want a 6-spd Le Mans Blue LCI with updated iDrive, hydraulic steering and sprinklings of BMW Performance tat, not too much to ask is it?

    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. 

    • Like 1

  19. Posted · Edited by NZ_InFerno · Report reply

    On 1/13/2021 at 3:35 PM, GorGasm said:

    Mine is the Meguiars Ceramic Wax liquid.  From the youtube review I watched the spray and rub in application seems to be the best followed closely by the liquid.  Spray on and rinse seemed to be a bit of a dud.

    For the price ~$50 for Meguiars Ceramic and ~$25 for Autoglym SRP I reckon it's pretty darn good.

     

     

    Thanks to these car detailing posts I'm going down to repco/supercheap and buying the meguiars ceramic wax/detail spray/clay kit and autoglym polish. Plus some Mag Monster. 

    • Like 1

  22. Posted · Report reply

    If the price floor is now 10k for a manual 130i, most at that price would require some mechanical work, then 11k-12k buys a tidy stock car plus parts to get it in a similar condition to mine sans mods. 

    I'm comfortable with that, but I did look up how much replacement work wheels would be, $700 odd before shipping so $1k per corner with tyres 😅 Insurance would likely  count that as worth $2k replacement value total considering their current used condition. 

    I also have the ohlins, supersprint exhaust, bmwp bits etc 

    So yeah I'm going to go back to the insurance and see about bumping up the agreed value another grand or two and seeing what each listed mod is valued at and add on the interior bits I've fitted too. 

     

  23. Posted · Report reply

    The sale price reminded me that my Insurance renewed and they dropped the agreed value on my car. I redid it at 12.5k, which is what it was before. I'm wondering if I should set it higher to reflect the price trends over the last few months?

    What does the 130i collective think. 

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