SOS: Road to recovery for this 135i

[bluehat]

BACKSTORY:
I have always wanted a BMW but have not been able to afford one as a 22 year old student. Until I found this 2008 135i with 60k miles for a steal. It is fully loaded and has the m package brakes, suspension etc.

THE CAR:
He butchered it. The car runs like crap. It struggles under 2k rpm (I limped her home) and according to the PO an engine malfunction warning comes on when you mash the gas. I assume this is the engine protecting itself from his ignorance. I obviously want to solve these problems, upgrade the car, and keep as much money in my wallet as possible. Opinions on what parts to get or how to build are appreciated.

Problems in order of worst to postponable are:
1. NO INTERCOOLER. The fool removed the intercooler. I am thinking about getting the VRSF 7" HD intercooler to replace.
Price- $548

2. NO INTAKE ON REAR TURBO. The intake for the rear turbo cracked so the PO just stopped driving it instead of getting the $250 part from the dealer. I want to upgrade to the Precision Raceworks N54 inlet system.
Price-$499

3. BAD TUNE. He bought the Vishnu PROcede v5 but did not know how to use it. Once I have my intake, intercooler, and possibly exhaust on I will do my best to tune it with help from online.
Price-Free

4. BS CHARGE PIPE AND BOV. He custom rigged a charge pipe with a 10lb Tial BOV cut into the stock tubing. I was thinking about getting the VRSF charge pup with a Tial BOV.
Price- $457.87

5. EXHAUST - EW. He decided he wanted to run 6 exhaust pipes... it looks terrible, is way too loud, and sounds bad. I am trying to figure out what exhaust system best suits my build.
Price-$1,200++++

If I fix these problems will the car be back in good condition?
Thanks

[BimmerAg]

Items 1-4 could all cause a part of the issues you're seeing so those should be taken care of ASAP. As far as the tune is concerned, I'd uninstall it immediately and get the other items fixed before you even think about tuning. Once everything is done it's impossible to say if the car will be back in good condition, but it should at least be somewhat driveable. Taking into account the things the previous owner has done to the car, I'd change all fluids (maintenance likely not up to date), and closely inspect the suspension. It wouldn't surprise me if you found cut coil springs or other shoddy "upgrades" there too.

Just out of curiosity, why did you think buying this car was a good idea? Did you get to drive it or look at it at all before purchasing it? Must have been a hell of a good deal if it's worth dealing with all these problems brought on by the PO.

P.S. I see you're in Terre Haute, IN. Do you go to Rose? I have a cousin that's there now.

[bluehat]

I do go to Rose lol.
Yea I got it for just over $4k. I looked it over completely and knew what I was getting myself into. This is my 4th project car. He did his mods less than 1,000 miles ago and was afraid to drive the car in its condition. He had 3 series rims on it running 245s. They didn't fit so he put several pieces of rubber on the coilsprings to make it fit... it was very stance life and the tires were new on one side and bald on the other. So it just sat for about a year. The battery was dead and he was still making payments. He finally paid it off and I was able to snag it for cheap. Suspension has been corrected and I had it aligned and she is well within spec.

[Therealkilometers]

No Intercooler and 6 Exhaust pipes.... We need some pictures. Also Hello From South Bend, IN.

[drunkenup]

Oh shit you bought THAT car

[Gangplank]

Suggest you get the items needed to get it back to running condition first. Inter cooler, charge pipe, turbo connections corrected, and charge pipe. As suggested above take the tune off and get it running well then see about tune.

Is the exhaust just the tailpipes or did he do more than that? Sounds like he did some strange stuff without any knowledge what it would do. Odd to say the least.

[YearOneOne]

3 pipes on each side with the black smith badge?

[rocksarntpeople]

I have the stock intercooler and charge pipe if you need, but I agree with others. I would get it actually running correct first before even considering doing any mods at all. There could be a lot of underlying issues that are just masked by the fact that it is in limp mode.

[inevitab1e]

Originally Posted by YearOneOne

3 pipes on each side with the black smith badge?

6 tiny ones where the stock exhaust comes out

[asiflicious]

Okay first of all I have to see this exhaust ?

And as far as what steps you need to take, Start with the hardware. Put in the missing parts- intercooler, intake, chargepipe, etc. Then get MHD, put on the stock map, and check the codes. You'll more than likely have quite a few, even after fixing the obvious stuff. I'd definitely recommend putting in all new fluids before driving the car too. Oil, coolant, brake, transmission, etc. The car needs a fresh start after being neglected and molested by the PO.
After that you just have to hope you got a diamond in the rough and not a financial black hole. Good luck and keep us updated.


AND SHOW US THAT EXHAUST

[HyeWarrior]

Oh god I know exactly what car this is

[135j]

I need to see this exhaust

[HyeWarrior]

Look no more:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1438672

[Toome]

Please post a picture of the exhaust

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

Look no more:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1438672

It's not this car, is it?

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by asiflicious

Okay first of all I have to see this exhaust ?

And as far as what steps you need to take, Start with the hardware. Put in the missing parts- intercooler, intake, chargepipe, etc. Then get MHD, put on the stock map, and check the codes. You'll more than likely have quite a few, even after fixing the obvious stuff. I'd definitely recommend putting in all new fluids before driving the car too. Oil, coolant, brake, transmission, etc. The car needs a fresh start after being neglected and molested by the PO.
After that you just have to hope you got a diamond in the rough and not a financial black hole. Good luck and keep us updated.


AND SHOW US THAT EXHAUST

Agree.... Return it to stock and running. Change all the fluids and check the codes, save a copy and clear them.

Change fluids - oil, coolant, steering fluid, brake fluid. Is it an automatic, manual or DCT transmission? How many miles?

There is no knowing what that guy did or used on the car. If it's been sitting a while check the battery also and put it on a trickle charger to charge it.

Good luck with it. Hopefully at that low price you got a good deal but I'd strongly recommend getting it to stock before throwing upgrades into the mix. Otherwise you may be chasing problems after problems.

[bluehat]

Yea guys I took it upon myself to save this poor BMW from its abusive owner. I know she is ugly right now but please take it easy on here lol. It has just over 60k miles. It's an auto. I am changing all the fluids and have already replaced the battery. I just don't want to spend money on stock parts just to upgrade them in a few months.

[Esteban]

Good luck bluehat in making the car whole again and welcome to our forum.

[HyeWarrior]

Was the previous owner an actual functioning adult, or a giant child?

[low135]

no way is this really that car? feel like this is troll bait lol very coincidental

need more pictures to confirm

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by lowjetta

no way is this really that car? feel like this is troll bait lol very coincidental

need more pictures to confirm

Wouldn't mind seeing some pics myself.

[bluehat]

The previous owner just said he was into "mad max" stuff etc.