Danch 43 Report post Posted July 9 I appreciate the fun side of building a project car. I guess my question was more about why the 130i (I've edited my original question), over any other cars that's been designed as sports cars fundamentally. I have a 130i and I have nothing against 130i - just curious what others have considered when they decided to build 130i as a project car. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1969 Report post Posted July 9 The 130i's are great bang for buck, for well under 10k you've got a great handling rwd manual with 190kw so it's very attractive as a base for a project. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2273 Report post Posted July 10 (edited) TLDW; Keep the 130 Edited July 10 by Jacko 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hutty008 32 Report post Posted July 10 (edited) 9 hours ago, Danch said: I'm just curious, what made you to invest so much into 130i when you can buy a m3 or m2 with that much money? Or choose a more sporty car as your base? M3 is heavy and can be high maintenance, the M2 is overrated in my opinion and I also don't like turbo cars ( I also could never give up hydro steering so m2 is out ). Besides either of those car you would still have to put 20k into them on top of the 40-50k purchase price to even get close to making the most out of them. I have been fortunate enough to drive a good few cars and still haven't found anything that puts a smile on my face as much as my 130i. I'm only 18 as well so much easier to buy a 9k car and slowly drop 45k into it. I'm not a fan of financing a depreciating asset unlike most people my age so would have only just got the M2 or M3 now when I have already enjoyed my 130i for a year. Also try to get insurance for an M3 or M2 at 18, you would find the the cost laughable. Sorry for the rant but that's just my opinion on it. Edited July 10 by Hutty008 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hutty008 32 Report post Posted July 10 I know most have already seen this but I will post it again anyway. https://youtu.be/2cyBMqT-LNQ?si=x4v7yn4jkTHANSMH 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4145 Report post Posted July 10 (edited) Oft, this thread is becoming more and more difficult to read, if it were an emotional decision, rather than a practical one, I'd keep mine for sure. It's hardly relevant but both my M3 and M2 are objectively better cars than my 130, but they're in different universes price-wise, and also have their own shortcomings. Unfortunately the 130 now feels slow, even in day-to-day traffic, the M2 has ruined that part of it for me. 😒 Edited July 10 by M3AN 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2273 Report post Posted July 10 9 minutes ago, M3AN said: Oft, this thread is becoming more and more difficult to read, if it were an emotional decision, rather than a practical one, I'd keep mine for sure. It's hardly relevant but both my M3 and M2 are objectively better cars than my 130, but they're in different universes price-wise, and also have their own shortcomings. Unfortunately the 130 now feels slow to me, even in day-to-day traffic, the M2 has ruined that part of it for me. 😒 Agreed, its all relative. The trick is to not buy faster cars, go get yaself a 2006 Toyota Ractis :D .. then the 130 feels like a supercar. Even the Skoda, it pulls harder mid range and feels faster after initially putting ya foot down.... until its properly rung out and you run out of revs and turbo runs out of puff, but if you jump in the 130 its noticeably actually faster as it keeps pulling up top (and has WAY more steering feel, sounds much better, grips harder etc). 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4145 Report post Posted July 10 (edited) So true, and I've enjoyed such an experience. When I relocated back from Europe to Aotearoa I had mum's Swift for a few months and loved it. You don't need much horsepower to have fun. Edited July 10 by M3AN 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MD13 556 Report post Posted July 10 When ever my car starts feeling slow I get a mechanic service. They give me a loaner and after 10 minutes driving whatever pos that might be my car feels awesome again. 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2273 Report post Posted Monday at 01:56 AM 130 now insured for 16500, took some work... 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hutty008 32 Report post Posted Monday at 02:09 AM 11 minutes ago, Jacko said: 130 now insured for 16500, took some work... Who did you end up getting insurance with to get that number. With that number I would still be buying the car back from insurance and using the the difference to buy another 130i to swap everything over to. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2273 Report post Posted Monday at 02:13 AM AMI, premium barely changed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hutty008 32 Report post Posted Monday at 02:53 AM 39 minutes ago, Jacko said: AMI, premium barely changed. Interesting, I'm already with ami. What was the process to get that valve. Where they pretty accommodating with the mods adding to the value. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacko 2273 Report post Posted Monday at 03:00 AM 6 minutes ago, Hutty008 said: Interesting, I'm already with ami. What was the process to get that valve. Where they pretty accommodating with the mods adding to the value. Found a valuation service with taste Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hutty008 32 Report post Posted Monday at 08:00 AM 4 hours ago, Jacko said: Found a valuation service with taste Yeah I definitely need to give them a call for a custom quote once the car is done and certed. Right now it's insured as if its like every other 130i in the country, bone stock, unloved and unmaintained 😂. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmario 67 Report post Posted 1 hour ago On 7/10/2025 at 1:31 PM, Jacko said: TLDW; Keep the 130 He did ask if he could buy it buy it back from me 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
