The 130i Thread

[Jacko 2152]

Just now, Lubed said:

Something to consider when doing the cowl delete. The cowl panel serves the purpose of diverting the water that runs off the windscreen to the corners of the engine bay then onto the ground. Without the cowl the water runs onto the back of the engine which can then seize the engine cover bolts. If you run without the engine cover the water goes into the valley of the cylinder head damaging spark plugs, coil, injectors.

Yeah seems to be the biggest issue with it, my 130 lives inside and only comes out when the sun shines now, so shouldn't really be too much of a problem. 

I'm surprised how controversial deleting the cowl is, peoples reviews are all over the place as well - Water drips on engine cover/water doesnt drip on engine cover/makes a huge difference to cabin noise/makes no difference to cabin noise.... One thing is for certain is it weighs a ton and gets in the way for maintenance.

One way to find out  Worst case Ill put it back in. 

[Jacko 2152]

Been looking at 130i prices around the world, NZ has the cheapest 130s by a LONG way, we probably have the largest number per capita too. 

Average aussie auto 130i is 15kAUD + duties, manuals are closer to 20. UK is circa 7000 pound private for similar vehicle (rustier.. ) (~13,500NZD), German prices for similar car is around 11000 euro (18k NZD). Even the Japanese auction houses are ~$12,000NZD+ imported which means the NZ japanese import dealers are not making much on them.

Our market is obviously skewed by cheap japanese imports... the question is when do the imports dry up? Japans domestic stock has to dry up as some point, or maybe the coming (or current) regulations will stop making them as feasible to import for peanuts and we will see a big correction in 130 pricing. Might be time to stock up  

Edited September 25, 2021 by Jacko

[NZ_InFerno 371]

Absolutely anecdotal but I've seen a few more noisier than usual 1 series around locally this year. All turned out to be 130i with various mods,  I'd seen two 130i  previously out in the wild the last couple of years. I'd say they're getting slightly more popular. 

Hyper local to me there's been 3 new ones roaming around, even seen the same guy in a 130i checking out my car a couple of different times while it was parked outside the house. 

 

[Eagle 1661]

37 minutes ago, Jacko said:

Been looking at 130i prices around the world, NZ has the cheapest 130s by a LONG way, we probably have the largest number per capita too. 

Average aussie auto 130i is 15kAUD + duties, manuals are closer to 20. UK is circa 7000 pound private for similar vehicle (rustier.. ) (~13,500NZD), German prices for similar car is around 11000 euro (18k NZD). Even the Japanese auction houses are ~$12,000NZD+ imported which means the NZ japanese import dealers are not making much on them.

Our market is obviously skewed by cheap japanese imports... the question is when do the imports dry up? Japans domestic stock has to dry up as some point, or maybe the coming (or current) regulations will stop making them as feasible to import for peanuts and we will see a big correction in 130 pricing. Might be time to stock up  

Cheap imports here in NZ are offset by having to import parts to keep maintenance costs down. Hate to think how much ive spent on shipping from 15 years of buying overseas.  

[Lubed 55]

2 hours ago, Jacko said:

Yeah seems to be the biggest issue with it, my 130 lives inside and only comes out when the sun shines now, so shouldn't really be too much of a problem. 

I'm surprised how controversial deleting the cowl is, peoples reviews are all over the place as well - Water drips on engine cover/water doesnt drip on engine cover/makes a huge difference to cabin noise/makes no difference to cabin noise.... One thing is for certain is it weighs a ton and gets in the way for maintenance.

One way to find out  Worst case Ill put it back in. 

Next thing you know your  cars suffering anorexia and fat shaming problems, throwing away your wiper/washer system saving a few kgs and driving around with only 10L of petrol on board.

[Jacko 2152]

Weighed my car - Manual, full tank of gas, birds sway bars, BBK, SMF and 19s (with no meatsack) - 1475kg. She got big bones. 

Now for science!

[lord_jagganath 421]

the 120i is 200 kgs lighter... where did the extra weight go? 

[Jacko 2152]

Engine/gearbox/diff/shafts/brakes etc are all bigger on 130. Theyre advertised as 1350kg stock, but I suspect that is dry (and with helium in cabin) and stuff like manual seats.

My car certainly wont be the lightest 130, but I think BMWs numbers are a bit goofy. 330 touring is 1700 odd at the tip scales. 

[NZ_InFerno 371]

Took the car into Continental today for both Airbag and Heater valve line recalls. 

Saw a tasty white 130i on the way in with a JUH? license plate, had an exhaust and black rear spoiler. 

When I pulled into the dealer another guy was there with his Black 130i, auto with black wheels, had a bit of a chat about them. Don't know if either of them are on here. 

[NZ_InFerno 371]

Did some part ordering while I was at the dealer, a replacement idrive plastic surround, which was pretty reasonably priced. 

Also finally placed the Schmiedmann order for some cosmetic parts that I've been sitting on for more than a year, after getting the dealer prices lol. Xmas present for the car, 40 day wait for one of the parts 👀

[M3AN 4016]

43 minutes ago, NZ_InFerno said:

Took the car into Continental today for both Airbag and Heater valve line recalls. 

Auckland City BMW haven't contacted me in the 18 months since I registered for the heater line "safety" recall, very responsible of them.

Did you receive a recall notice for your airbag(s)? I have not.

[NZ_InFerno 371]

2 minutes ago, M3AN said:

Auckland City BMW haven't contacted me in the 18 months since I registered for the heater line "safety" recall, very responsible of them.

Did you receive a recall notice for your airbag(s)? I have not.

I've received 2 letters about airbags and one about the heater line over 18 months. 

This is the third booking I've made for the recall/s, first one was cancelled as they didn't have the airbag in stock. Second one I never got notified that the booking was confirmed, they were supposed to let me know the parts were available and never got back to me. So I left it for 6 months or so. 

This time I rang and spoke to the parts guy and service guy to confirm they had it in stock and they got me in within a couple weeks of calling. New ownership at the dealer now too since I was last there, they all were pretty good to deal with. 

[Driftit 2069]

We just kept chasing them until they sorted it out.

But that was the old owners.  Make sure you check around the top water hose (engine side).  Ours had pressure applied which cracked the plastic in turn blowing it off.
It's a pretty easy spot to place your hand whilst doing the heater line thingy.  Don't lean on it.

I defiantly got treated like a 2nd hand 1 series owner.  Glad you got a positive experience.

[Driftit 2069]

On 9/27/2021 at 10:44 AM, Jacko said:

Weighed my car - Manual, full tank of gas, birds sway bars, BBK, SMF and 19s (with no meatsack) - 1475kg. She got big bones. 

What a chonker.

I recall a E87 1 series stripped out race car being heavier than my E34 5 series race car at the track.  And I think it was for the 2ltr class.

[Jacko 2152]

1 hour ago, Driftit said:

What a chonker.

I recall a E87 1 series stripped out race car being heavier than my E34 5 series race car at the track.  And I think it was for the 2ltr class.

Apparently E36 M3 weigh in at 1475kg too.... iron block Vs all the airbags and sh*t of modern car I guess.

Im curious to weigh my wheels (and tyres) now.

[M3AN 4016]

17 minutes ago, Jacko said:

Apparently E36 M3 weigh in at 1475kg too

Mine's a little less IIRC but not a lot. The electric front seats weigh approximately 600kgs each.

[M3AN 4016]

6 hours ago, M3AN said:

Mine's a little less IIRC but not a lot. The electric front seats weigh approximately 600kgs each.

Hyperbole Jon, hyperbole. Ease off the literal interpretations, it's the internet after all.

Even in real life people don't take me that seriously! 😇

[IainR 55]

https://www.trademe.co.nz/3278584874

I wonder if they'll get close to the asking price.... 

[M3AN 4016]

Autos aren't selling at much lower prices than that ^ one, whilst it's good to see a different colour I don't think there's anything particularly special about it that would demand the premium asking price,

 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

16 hours ago, M3AN said:

Hyperbole Jon, hyperbole. Ease off the literal interpretations, it's the internet after all.

Even in real life people don't take me that seriously! 😇

I was confused (easily done during lockdown when work is going mental) as to how I'd managed to take the electric seats out of a car and put them back in, I'm no bodybuilder but must have had my Weetbix that day.

[M3AN 4016]

Doing much installing/removing of the e36 electric seats would probably qualify as body building!

 

[NZ_InFerno 371]

39 minutes ago, IainR said:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/3278584874

I wonder if they'll get close to the asking price.... 

Someone has offered 10k and another 11k. Given the condition(in photos) and kms plus rarity of the colour/year, 11k is pretty good buying. 

Must admit when I saw the email about it I nearly called them but then I saw it was an auto 😔

[KwS 2421]

Red looks nice when its nice, but it wont stay that way for long. The clearcoat is already failing on the roof strips, so I wouldnt be surprised if other parts of the car are faded and going to fail too.

[IainR 55]

That red 130i has disappeared from trademe already. 

There's since been 2 additional auto 130i's put up with 100,000+ on the clocks. Both starting at ~$9.5k with $11.5 Buy It Now. 

[Jacko 2152]

NZ New silly low ks and looks very tidy, 7.5k reserve. If only it were manual.

 

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/130i/listing/3288798198?bof=qrp31zpz