BMW E87 130i M Sport

[Deezer-D]

Was the price lower than equivalent ones?

They're pretty rare over here so hard to judge prices. I know a guy from here over on babybmw.net has one and I think he paid just under 10K for a 2005 model without Xenons. Average price on pistonheads is around £9500-10500 so price was lower and I paid less than the asking price

 

[Gaz]

Coming along well D, love the rear bumper on these models, much nicer back end than the standard 116 type ones you see about.

 

[Deezer-D]

Cheers Gaz, the M Sport kit makes all the difference on them.
Just ordered some goodridge hoses, be rude not to and they'll be perfect for the BMW Performance brakes if I ever get the cash to buy them

 

[Lyons]

They're pretty rare over here so hard to judge prices. I know a guy from here over on babybmw.net has one and I think he paid just under 10K for a 2005 model without Xenons. Average price on pistonheads is around £9500-10500 so price was lower and I paid less than the asking price

Happy days then, no problem sorting out the wee niggles.

They're certainly rare, they hardly ever come up.

 

[Crimson]

Some great work there Dave, seems like the previous owner didn't like to spend money on the essentials for the car and preferred to squander his money on tat, disconnecting brake pad sensors - madness

The new badges freshen up the look of the car, I'm getting a set myself soon but I'm determined not to shell out £25 per badge

What is "PAC" that you used to clean the plastics?

What's your thoughts on the rear spoiler, are u gonna remove it? If so I hope it isn't stuck on with window bonder

Have to agree on the front bumper - it's chipped quite badly, but no harm in sealing it and waiting until the better weather to get it resprayed

A set of fresh reg plates would make a difference too IMO

 

[Deezer-D]

Some great work there Dave, seems like the previous owner didn't like to spend money on the essentials for the car and preferred to squander his money on tat, disconnecting brake pad sensors - madness

The new badges freshen up the look of the car, I'm getting a set myself soon but I'm determined not to shell out £25 per badge

What is "PAC" that you used to clean the plastics?

What's your thoughts on the rear spoiler, are u gonna remove it? If so I hope it isn't stuck on with window bonder

Have to agree on the front bumper - it's chipped quite badly, but no harm in sealing it and waiting until the better weather to get it resprayed

A set of fresh reg plates would make a difference too IMO

Cheers Eamon. You're right he didn't do any maintainance on the car at all from what I can tell and just stuck bits of sh1te all over it!
I just picked the badges up in Bavarian as I was in getting other stuff so took the lazy option.
PAC is a typo, should be APC (all purpose cleaner) the Daisy stuff from Tesco.
Don't think the rear spoiler will come off without a fight! May just leave it. AFAIK it's a copy of the Performance BMW one but not 100% sure.
The plates don't really bother me to be honest. Will probably just leave them.
Got my headlamp washer jets today and have ordered new anti-rattle clips, bleed nipples and dust caps for the calipers as the previous owner spayed everything when he painted the calipers!

 

[Crimson]

How a 21 yr old could afford to run that car and get affordable insurance is puzzling me...

sounds like he got a halfrauds rattle can job and didn't mask anything and just fired the paint on the calipers

The existing headlamp washer jets spray heads/ pipes or filter are probably blocked with gunk, this seems to be common with various beemers, and BMW put it down to not using bottled water and BMW approved washer fluid

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?s=292a041675931f4f30eaee464220884e&t=93712

I was quoted £75 per xenon bulb for the 330, so £22 isn't too bad lol!!

 

[Deezer-D]

How a 21 yr old could afford to run that car and get affordable insurance is puzzling me...

sounds like he got a halfrauds rattle can job and didn't mask anything and just fired the paint on the calipers

The existing headlamp washer jets spray heads/ pipes or filter are probably blocked with gunk, this seems to be common with various beemers, and BMW put it down to not using bottled water and BMW approved washer fluid

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?s=292a041675931f4f30eaee464220884e&t=93712

I was quoted £75 per xenon bulb for the 330, so £22 isn't too bad lol!!

That's exactly what he did! I'm replacing the bleed nipples as a precaution as they've been covered in paint. Only cost a couple of quid each so worth doing. I had to paint everything when I did the calipers to cover the red so wanted to replace the retaining clips as there's still a bit of red visible on them.
The headlamp washers are popping up out of the bumper which would suggest the water is getting to the nozzles but the nozzles are blocked. For the sake of £15 delivered I just got new ones rather than messing about trying to clean the old ones.
It wasn't the Xenon bulb that was £22, it was a sidelight bulb! Bavarian were asking £120 for a Xenon bulb - bargain!

 

[Crimson]

Aye £15 would save hassle TBH, hopefully it sorts the issue

Jaysus £22 for a sidelight bulb - is this the angel eye sidelight?

I cant believe it's £120 for a xenon bulb! how much was a replacement one for the E46 M3?

 

[Deezer-D]

Aye, it's for the Angel Eyes. Comes in it's own bulb holder.
No idea on price for the M3, never had to buy one

 

[Crimson]

How many sidelights are in the angel eyes units, are they yellow in appearance or nice crispy white?

I would love a set in the 330, but I'm not sure if they were ever sold in OEM guise for the facelift E46

 

[Deezer-D]

Just one bulb per headlamp, does both rings. They are yellow but one of mine was bluey white as it had been changed to an LED jobbie - only one side though! He had left the drivers side with the regular bulb and the passenger side with an LED!
I don't think the E46 ever came with angels as standard, could be wrong?

 

[Nigelo]

Just one bulb per headlamp, does both rings. They are yellow but one of mine was bluey white as it had been changed to an LED jobbie - only one side though! He had left the drivers side with the regular bulb and the passenger side with an LED!
I don't think the E46 ever came with angels as standard, could be wrong?

Most LED bulbs for BMW angel eyes are useless - only visible really when the sun goes down. There's a few very expensive ones that work better, but they're $125-$250 a set!

 

[Crimson]

Just one bulb per headlamp, does both rings. They are yellow but one of mine was bluey white as it had been changed to an LED jobbie - only one side though! He had left the drivers side with the regular bulb and the passenger side with an LED! I don't think the E46 ever came with angels as standard, could be wrong?

So that explains why one headlight was brighter than the other, the aftermarket LED push thing was probably a canbus unit to stop the LED light throwing up a bulb out indicator on the dash.

I dont think the E46 did come with angel eyes, I think the E60 and X5 did though, some of the aftermarket ones look really naff

 

[Deezer-D]

Yes, one side was brighter because of the LED but when I replaced the LED with a proper bulb, it was still brighter. Problem was the drivers side was dimmer because the bulb wasn't seated properly in the headlight. When I tried seating it properly I discovered the slots it locks into were worn so would never seat properly! Had to silicone it in place. Works fine but I'd ideally like the headlamp replaced but have to wait till one comes up at a breakers or eBay.

 

[Crimson]

Cool, have you tried partsgateway Dave? They seem to be quite good and do the sourcing for you, I've managed to get a few things off it from BMW breakers that subscribe to it

 

[Deezer-D]

Cool, have you tried partsgateway Dave? They seem to be quite good and do the sourcing for you, I've managed to get a few things off it from BMW breakers that subscribe to it

Yup, no joy. Problem is there's 3 types - Pre-facelift Bi-Xenon (mine), Face Lift and Adaptive. Mine have the chrome ring round the Xenon lamp and are rare to find

 

[AliA]

Only seeing this thread now and I'm glad you got sorted!!

Good to see you returning her to her former glory. The very 1st thing I would have done is remove that godawful ///M badge from the back which you've done already . If I were you I would debadge altogether.

Best of luck with it. You will miss the M3 no doubt. But the little car you have bought is awesome and will most definitely afford you alot of fun.

 

[Deezer-D]

Only seeing this thread now and I'm glad you got sorted!!

Good to see you returning her to her former glory. The very 1st thing I would have done is remove that godawful ///M badge from the back which you've done already . If I were you I would debadge altogether.

Best of luck with it. You will miss the M3 no doubt. But the little car you have bought is awesome and will most definitely afford you alot of fun.

Cheers. I've been giving de-badging some serious thought.
I do miss the M3 but this is a very capable car, very underrated. If I can get the few gremlins sorted with the headlamp washers / levellers sorted and discs, pads and hoses fitted, I'll be happy with the car till the spring when I can sort the bodywork out.

 

[Crimson]

Yup, no joy. Problem is there's 3 types - Pre-facelift Bi-Xenon (mine), Face Lift and Adaptive. Mine have the chrome ring round the Xenon lamp and are rare to find

Nightmare, mine has the adaptive xenons - I dread the day a bulb goes LOL!!

 

[Deezer-D]

Update time -
Had the brakes sorted - new discs, pads, sensors, bleed nipples, dust caps, handbrake adjusted and new pad retaining clips fitted. Will report back on the Pagid stuff when I've bedded them in.
The Goodridge hoses are not the easiest to fit. There are grommets on the front hoses but they are smaller than the OEM ones so are a loose fit in the clamp. The rears have no grommets at all! The garage have secured them in place with cable ties as a temporary solution (while they scratch their heads to find a permenant one!). Not sure if they should re-use the rubbers off the OEM hoses although I'm not sure how they can even do that. They would need to be cut off and the OEM hoses are a lager external diameter. I've emailed Goodridge so we'll see if their customer service is any good.
New headlight level sensor (front) fitted and the headlights now auto level I may need to have them checked for level though with the headlamp MOT machine thing to be sure as they didn't have time this evening. Headlamp washer jets replaced and working perfectly It's the little things that please me
There's a couple of things not 100% sorted
The alternator pulley I ordered was the wrong one (my fault) and I'm not sure if I can send it back to bmminiparts (will email to check). The replacement fan belt was fitted though and so far no noise but the mechanic did say there was some play on the alternator pulley but it could also be the shaft I'll monitor this closely to see if the noise comes back. If it does, I'll probably just replace the alternator. Anyone know anywhere that sells BMW alternators cheap?

I've finished dying the bolster too.
Used this kit and a make-up sponge

Couple of in progress pics -

Small scratch on the passenger seat, forgot to take a pic it with the dye applied

There was a very minor scuff on the passenger seat bolster piping that was easily sorted

Compared to this -

I'm pleased with it but I may look into getting a proper job done on it by Ben @ BK. Will see how it wears first though.

 

[Lyons]

Looks impressive.

It still baffles me how the BMW leather bolsters wear so easily.

 

[Deezer-D]

Looks impressive.

It still baffles me how the BMW leather bolsters wear so easily.

Cheers Lyons, I've never owned a new BMW so don't know how quick they wear. This car has adjustable bolsters so may be prone to a bit more wear. Still no excuse though!

 

[big_pete]

Can't believe im only seeing this now. What a pretty wee car, I'd love a drive in it lol I actually like the tints and the spoiler lol check out the bmw perfomance exterior bits I would be suprised if they didnt have carbon spoilers available for them

 

[Deezer-D]

Can't believe im only seeing this now. What a pretty wee car, I'd love a drive in it lol I actually like the tints and the spoiler lol check out the bmw perfomance exterior bits I would be suprised if they didnt have carbon spoilers available for them

Cheers Pete need you to have a look at the exterior and pick your brains. There's a few marks I reckon will machine out and a few stone chip will need sorting but the front end will need painting. I just want to get an idea of how much paint it needs. What doesn't need paint will need correcting so I'll get you to sort that.
I think the spoiler is a copy of the BMW Performance one but not 100% sure. Must let you have a blast in it, it's a nice wee car to drive