Last of the old-school? BMW 130i LE

[WhisperingWasp]

So after 10+ years around these parts I thought it was about time for a Readers’ Cars thread!

Before though, I’ll quickly share a couple of highlights from the interim (I am an MR2 man at heart!):





And



God I loved them Turbos. The first met its end in a fiery mess on the M1, the second (in the amazing Dark Emerald Pearl), I am still in touch with the buyer some 7 years later! Dread to think how much it would cost to pry it back now

So onto my 130 LE - I know these cars are held in quite fond regard around these parts. The large(ish) NA engine, rear-wheel-drive and manual ‘box being things that resonate with a lot of us I bet.

I’ve had it coming up to 6 years now and put over 50k miles on it. In this time it has been completely faultless. Would I like heated seats, CarPlay, cruise, pano roof etc? Ideally yes! But there is just something so “right” about the analogue, old-school charm of one of these.

Over the past couple of years I’ve dealt with all the boring, preventative stuff like water pump, refreshed the suspension, etc but I’ve also managed to add a few goodies to finish off my BMWP parts collection!

I bought it with the carbon air box, exhaust and front brakes, plus aero spoiler and skirts. I’ve added the BMWP rear brakes and a few nice interior parts.

Immediate plans:
- clean the exhaust (before & after to follow, will tackle that this weekend)
- new side repeaters (I replaced them already but they do not appear to be OEM so will order some from BMW)
- alloy wheel refurb
- maybe new sill protectors (although these are quite expensive for the small improvement it would make…)

So onto the photos. It has just come back from a machine polish which prompted me to post this thread as I want to show it off! But I’ll also share some others from over the years.

Thanks for reading.

Dan









And back home after the “photoshoot”


Back catalogue…

Reims


Not a garage queen!


Alps


Lake Como


Geneva


And wedding duties last year

Edited by WhisperingWasp on Saturday 11th February 11:13

[Northbrook]

Looks nice!

[Court_S]

Looks grand. I really miss mine; it was very sorted and a whole heap of fun. Adding CarPlay was easy and meant not having to use the rubbish CCC system.

[d_a_n1979]

Never owned a 1 series (simply too small); but always loved the look of these and those wheels suit it to a tee

[WhisperingWasp]

Northbrook said:

Looks nice!

Thanks. Very pleased with the way the paint has come up on a 15 year old, 125k car.

[WhisperingWasp]

d_a_n1979 said:

Never owned a 1 series (simply too small); but always loved the look of these and those wheels suit it to a tee

It does have some bad angles if I'm honest but overall I really do love the look and think they've aged well. The 216 alloys seem to be universally liked (like CSLs too).

[WhisperingWasp]

Court_S said:

Looks grand. I really miss mine; it was very sorted and a whole heap of fun. Adding CarPlay was easy and meant not having to use the rubbish CCC system.

I followed you doing this and it is on my radar for sure.

[cerb4.5lee]

I've always been a big fan of these as well. I love the small car/big engine combo with them loads. An MR2 Turbo was also one of the quickest cars that I've ever come across at launching at the traffic light GP too!

Great pics also!

[Court_S]

WhisperingWasp said:

Court_S said:

Looks grand. I really miss mine; it was very sorted and a whole heap of fun. Adding CarPlay was easy and meant not having to use the rubbish CCC system.

I followed you doing this and it is on my radar for sure.

If you use the car lots, it modernises it nicely. Mine was a daily so being able to control pod casts etc properly was just better.

[Court_S]

WhisperingWasp said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Never owned a 1 series (simply too small); but always loved the look of these and those wheels suit it to a tee

It does have some bad angles if I'm honest but overall I really do love the look and think they've aged well. The 216 alloys seem to be universally liked (like CSLs too).

I always thought the M Sport versions were good looking (especially the E81). This was my favourite angle of mine



The 216’s are one of my favourite wheel designs.

[Mr Tidy]

These are great cars for any RWD fan like me.

Back when business mileage rates were a factor in my car choices I bought a 320td Compact in 2005 and replaced it with a 123d that I really liked.

But then in 2014 I bought an E46 325ti a a daily and realised what I had been missing! I should have replaced that with a 130i but 4 years ago I paid a bit less for an E90 330i with the same wonderful N52 engine. Looking at 130i prices now I realise I missed the boat.

[WhisperingWasp]

cerb4.5lee said:

I've always been a big fan of these as well. I love the small car/big engine combo with them loads. An MR2 Turbo was also one of the quickest cars that I've ever come across at launching at the traffic light GP too!

Great pics also!

Thanks mate. Would love another MR2 but really good ones now are few and far between.

[WhisperingWasp]

Court_S said:

If you use the car lots, it modernises it nicely. Mine was a daily so being able to control pod casts etc properly was just better.

Was the process in your thread? Remind me.

[WhisperingWasp]

Mr Tidy said:

These are great cars for any RWD fan like me.

Back when business mileage rates were a factor in my car choices I bought a 320td Compact in 2005 and replaced it with a 123d that I really liked.

But then in 2014 I bought an E46 325ti a a daily and realised what I had been missing! I should have replaced that with a 130i but 4 years ago I paid a bit less for an E90 330i with the same wonderful N52 engine. Looking at 130i prices now I realise I missed the boat.

Wouldn’t be a 130i thread without a Mr Tidy comment

[WhisperingWasp]

Well this was harder work than I anticipated. Not perfect but big improvement.

Before


After

[Court_S]

WhisperingWasp said:

Was the process in your thread? Remind me.

I bought a box that plugged into the head unit and that gave me CarPlay/Android Auto. The screen resolution isn’t the best but it’s more than usable and it kept the car looking OE.

[cerb4.5lee]

You've done really well to get those tips looking like that from what they were I reckon. Nice work.

[roadie]

I look back fondly on my E81 130i as a car with real character. Yours looks like a great example. Any plans for upgrades?

[Boobonman]

N52 Engine? I've got the same lump in an E91.

Tell me more about the M-performance carbon airbox and exhaust?

[Sofa]

Looks great OP- I went 125i Coupe myself as I slightly prefer the looks and had been driving hatchbacks since I passed my test so fancied a change. The LE is probably the best looking E81 it's possible to have though, love the wheels on them. The paint has come up really nicely too, and the exhaust tips- they put my slightly rusty stock ones to shame...

I will admit to being quite jealous of your performance intake and exhaust though- I'd love them on mine but sadly they're so rare these days, and when they do pop up they cost an arm and a leg. Did you refresh your suspension with OE parts or did you go down the Bilstein B12 etc. route?