WTB: E82 128i Manual 12kish Budget

[Ric in RVA]

Originally Posted by Jwal

Wow, thanks 413, that car at Bach is a pretty good spec too! And one owner is really nice.

I'm not sure if it is an auto or not. I don't understand that about the VIN decoders, as they say auto, but there is not option shown below for an auto trans, and the pictures on bimmer.work show a manual.

Anyone understand this mystery?

My manual showed auto by the VIN as well.

[Jwal]

I'll be inspecting the car tomorrow morning on a lift, and I hope to be able to remove some of the covers to get a good look. Definitely going to investigate the big 3 oil leaks, suspension parts for play, rust check, that aftermarket exhaust, the exhaust manifold and tires that "failed safety inspection", trans, diff, anything and everything I can get to.
Yeah the whole automatic transmission on the VIN checks is strange. Based on what I have seen, the true autos have the automatic transmission option in the list of equipment.

[Jwal]

Car was pretty disappointing. A lot of cosmetic issues that were left out of the photos. Didn't get to put it on a lift, no muffler and some kind of headers made the car more suspicious to me, etc. I put more photos and a video of the engine running in the album. There was a weird quality to the engine. It kinda stumbled, and had a marble/rattle sound to it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HFoJ9joJDijFHATD8

[Mach3M3]

What a shame. I love the car spec, sad to see it in such bad condition.

[odiford]

Yikes - I would run from that, quickly. Hard to tell from the video exactly what is wrong but I agree it sounds off. These cars have such great potential to lead long, beautiful lives; such a shame to see them neglected. I may pay $6k for something like that if I had time for a project, but that is by no means worth what they are asking.

[Thunderguts]

Originally Posted by Jwal

Car was pretty disappointing. A lot of cosmetic issues that were left out of the photos. Didn't get to put it on a lift, no muffler and some kind of headers made the car more suspicious to me, etc. I put more photos and a video of the engine running in the album. There was a weird quality to the engine. It kinda stumbled, and had a marble/rattle sound to it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HFoJ9joJDijFHATD8

Just hold out until the right one comes along. At least you didn't buy a money pit.

[tracer bullet]

Bummer! Indeed some jackass owned it and didn't really love it enough to take care of it. Or did but was young and very dumb.

Was really hoping for a success story! Feel free to update this thread if you end up finding another option somewhere.

[Jwal]

Thanks so much everyone. I feel a little dumb for trusting the dealer, but it was worth the trip for me. Got to spend some time with my dad and the drive was nice.
I'm thinking about opening up my search to include e90s. Many more of them, and from what I've seen online the weight difference isn't drastic. A 1 series would be ideal, but the price premium and scarcity make them harder for me to justify.
Saw another 1 series pop up in Virginia today, but it's a halogen non-sport. The search continues!

[Mach3M3]

Just did a quick search in the e90 forums and came across this: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1784499

looks to be about right for the spec you're looking for.

[Jwal]

Thanks for the link Mach, and you're right, that car does look pretty great. It's a tough call, as it is clean and well maintained, but still has significantly more miles on it than I was hoping for. Last time I bought a car for the long haul I kept it for 12 years and 180k miles. Still have that car haha. I'll have to think about it. I wouldn't be worried about the reliability, but kinda the longevity at that point. Anyone know people to keep these cars past 250k miles?

[odiford]

Originally Posted by Jwal

Thanks so much everyone. I feel a little dumb for trusting the dealer, but it was worth the trip for me. Got to spend some time with my dad and the drive was nice.
I'm thinking about opening up my search to include e90s. Many more of them, and from what I've seen online the weight difference isn't drastic. A 1 series would be ideal, but the price premium and scarcity make them harder for me to justify.
Saw another 1 series pop up in Virginia today, but it's a halogen non-sport. The search continues!

Don't feel dumb, all part of the process!

Hard to go wrong with an e90 - there is a reason they sold like hot cakes! I looked at a few before finding my 128i.

Another option that I considered (which you may as well) was to buy a non-sport 1 series or 3 series or really any similar bimmer that was easier to find while staying in the market for a 1. That gives you the freedom to be patient until the perfect car comes along. Of course this only really applies if you have an imminent need for a new ride as I did.

[Mach3M3]

Originally Posted by Jwal

Thanks for the link Mach, and you're right, that car does look pretty great. It's a tough call, as it is clean and well maintained, but still has significantly more miles on it than I was hoping for. Last time I bought a car for the long haul I kept it for 12 years and 180k miles. Still have that car haha. I'll have to think about it. I wouldn't be worried about the reliability, but kinda the longevity at that point. Anyone know people to keep these cars past 250k miles?

Yeah, personally i dont keep cars for long enough to worry too much about mileage as long as they are well maintained.

I guess it depends what you are looking to use this car for. I wanted mine to compete in autocross and time trials with, so the 1 series made the most sense. If you're using this car to commute and occasionally to fun driving with, i dont see any reason not to buy a 3 series, especially if it's the right option package.

[2008e92328i]

OP, I was also looking at that white car. I was gonna fly out on Sunday to see it, but I'm glad I didn't. Sucks it was in such a terrible condition. That dealer looked pretty shady too based on reviews. Are you opposed to an auto gearbox? I am honestly in the same boat as you. Looking for a manual clean 128i with at least sport package. I'm thinking about settling for an auto myself as long as it's an M Sport.

[Mach3M3]

May i ask why everyone is so committed to an M-sport or sport at minimum? I cant imagine sourcing M-sport equivalent shocks and springs and installing them yourself is that big a hastle. Is it the seats?

[2008e92328i]

Originally Posted by Mach3M3

May i ask why everyone is so committed to an M-sport or sport at minimum? I cant imagine sourcing M-sport equivalent shocks and springs and installing them yourself is that big a hastle. Is it the seats?

Originally Posted by Mach3M3

May i ask why everyone is so committed to an M-sport or sport at minimum? I cant imagine sourcing M-sport equivalent shocks and springs and installing them yourself is that big a hastle. Is it the seats?

For me it's the looks of M stuff and of course suspension. Granted, I've never driven non sport suspension car so I don't know how they'd handle. I found a decent looking example of M sport, but it's an auto
I'm contemplating wether to pull the trigger or not

https://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/d...239496243.html

[Mach3M3]

My personal search focused on, in order of priority:

1) 6MT
2) Absolutely no sunroof
3) Manual seats

The rest of it, i didnt really care about given that i was going to modify it for track/autocross duty anyway.

[tracer bullet]

It's a good conversation to have, especially w/ oneself about what you want to do with the car (drive to work, canyon carve, weekend cruises, track), how much work you are willing to put into it (maintenance, mods, conversions to features that didn't come with the car), and so on. Also things like stereo level, M-Sport, 6MT / Auto, sunroof, heated seats, etc.

You'll definitely find what you want on a great car, but it'll be a looooong time or cost a lot of $$$ or both. Have to decide what you care the most about to bring that timeline and cost in.

I know I'm just stating the obvious, but for folks searching, be sure you really have a list of must haves / have nots and a clear idea of what you are willing to do to the car itself when you come across one that doesn't quite meet that criteria.

To me, if you want a 1-er, do it. 3's are great, sure, but that small difference in size and weight really makes a difference in how it feels. At a minimum drive one of each even if it's say a convertible or an auto or whatever, just to get a feel for it and be sure.

And if you're planning on a 128i... seems like you kind have to have a manual, otherwise you're missing half of what you are actually looking for, no? Searching for this connected-to-the-driver car, but then taking away an important connection. Maybe not, and it's OK if you get an auto, but playing Devil's advocate / something to consider.

Also consider a 135i. I won't call it better, but it has a heck of a lot in common. It gets back to wants / needs / etc. - maybe you'd go ahead w/ a turbo if it meant it was the only way to get M-Sport and 6MT perhaps? Again just a consideration. You know yourselves best.

[Thunderguts]

Originally Posted by Mach3M3

May i ask why everyone is so committed to an M-sport or sport at minimum? I cant imagine sourcing M-sport equivalent shocks and springs and installing them yourself is that big a hastle. Is it the seats?

I suppose this is a fair point. There are a few differences that would make me want a Sport. At over 100k miles it becomes less of an issue because with that many miles, you should consider refreshing the suspension anyway. Sport seats are a little harder to source and they definitely make a difference to some. If nothing else is available, I would choose a base model, but I'd pay maybe up to $1200 more for a sport just so I didn't need to source seats and code in the higher top speed, replace the entire suspension, etc.

FWIW, I think I have an entire M-Sport suspension, including F&R sway bars in my garage with 70k miles on it. I'd happily trade some extra room for cash.

[Jwal]

For me, I don't need a car to be an M-Sport, but sport is nice just for the seats and the black trim. I would rather get a base car with xenons than a sport car with halogens, as swapping the headlights doesn't seem to be easy or even fully possible.

[Thunderguts]

Originally Posted by Jwal

I would rather get a base car with xenons than a sport car with halogens, as swapping the headlights doesn't seem to be easy or even fully possible.

I don't see how it would be that difficult, it just wouldn't be cheap. I'd want the non-adaptive Euro xenons to avoid the very likely chance of failure. Apart from sourcing all the parts, it should just be a coding issue at that point. Trouble is, it's probably $1500 in parts at a minumum.

[anthony76]

Originally Posted by Jwal

Thanks so much everyone. I feel a little dumb for trusting the dealer, but it was worth the trip for me. Got to spend some time with my dad and the drive was nice.
I'm thinking about opening up my search to include e90s. Many more of them, and from what I've seen online the weight difference isn't drastic. A 1 series would be ideal, but the price premium and scarcity make them harder for me to justify.
Saw another 1 series pop up in Virginia today, but it's a halogen non-sport. The search continues!

Sorry it didn't work out! I'm local to that ct car I'll check it out for anyone! Picking mine up tomorrow

[Jwal]

Thunder, I guess I'm just going based on people saying they can only get the lights to work, not adaptive, not auto leveling, and it requires different harness components.
Anthony you have to make a thread on your car when you get it! The CT car sounds good, but I'm sure it's rustier than any of us would be happy with.
Really wish I had felt better about the car today, but it just seemed like a risky buy.