MINIz guy's "I don't need a car" new 128i

MINIz guy · 04-27-2019, 09:01 PM

Hi all,

I just purchased a high mileage '08 128i today. It's pretty basic with a moonroof, and sport package. I didn't need the car at all, but I drove my friend's 128i and thought it would be a great daily driver. I found this one on Craigslist for a good price (lowest in a nationwide search), so I thought I'd just jump on it.

A little about me; I have a slicktop E36 328i that is prepped for SCCA autocross and is no longer a fun daily or weekend car. I also daily drive a Chevy Colorado (diesel bro!) but I don't always need to be driving a truck around. It nets me 27mpg on my 100-mile round trip commute, tows the E36, and is useful around the house, I have no complaints about it. Now for a pictures of the E36:

The 128i I picked up is a 2 owner, CPO and dealer serviced for its entire life. It was driven a lot as the previous owner from 24k-150k miles had it all around the tri-state (NY, NJ, CT) region before moving to DC. Luckily, these modern cars have good rust protection and it doesn't seem crusty. It does have it's fair share of problems as I have an EAC sensor code causing a CEL, and some oil leaks from what I see as the valve cover and oil pan gasket. It also needs a DEEP clean, as you can see from the photos:

The plan for this car is to be a fun daily driver that I can take to TNiA and other HPDEs. It can probably be a better STX car than my E36, but I'm not going down that rabbit hole again. Tomorrow I'm going to detail it and see what it looks like when clean.

a4nut · 04-28-2019, 07:20 AM

Congrats on the new ride!! And welcome.

c1pher · 04-28-2019, 07:24 AM

Congrats! Lovely cars really. When you say useful around the house does it perform as a roomba or mow the grass or something?

MINIz guy · 04-28-2019, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c1pher

Congrats! Lovely cars really. When you say useful around the house does it perform as a roomba or mow the grass or something?

It sometimes cooks and folds the laundry while it's at it. Earns its keep for sure.

MINIz guy · 04-30-2019, 07:22 PM

You saw how neglected the wheels were, so the rest of the car is the same. I tried some Meguiars APC+ and that only got off the surface brake dust. I needed an iron remover to get the baked on brake dust off, so I tried some Meguiars Mirror Bright Wheel Cleaner. It still needs more work, but I was running out of daylight.

During the 3rd soak of Mirror Bright Wheel Cleaner:

After spending 20 minutes on the wheel:

Also did some hand polishing on the shadowline trim. Polished on the (way) left, oxidized on right:

Still need to work on it some more when I have another free weekend. The interior needs to be cleaned up and I have to figure out why my driver's side bolster doesn't inflate (I can hear the motor pumping).

sixburgh · 04-30-2019, 08:04 PM

A true German car is painted silver. Congrats on your find.

MINIz guy · 04-30-2019, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixburgh

A true German car is painted silver. Congrats on your find.

That surely looks similar! If mine was a slicktop I’d be questioning which car to keep. I do like the sunroof for daily driver duties though and will keep telling myself this is going to be a daily.

Matticus91 · 05-03-2019, 10:42 PM

Welcome! Car looks great!

MINIz guy · 05-08-2019, 07:53 AM

Current status of the car. Pulled the fender liners to clean them of leaves. It was especially bad on the washer fluid reservoir side. Doing the same to the cowl and assessing the bumper damage next.

tacoma23 · 05-24-2019, 03:32 AM

Love the color, looks like you have a nice and dry place to work on your new ride.

MINIz guy · 05-29-2019, 09:54 AM

Spent some time fixing the air pump for my side bolsters. Everything works again!

irontitan · 07-02-2019, 10:01 PM

Congrats on your new car. The choice of color looks sophisticated.

MINIz guy · 07-03-2019, 01:17 PM

I figured out the EAC sensor without spending $500, so now I'm registering and driving the 128i starting Friday. I documented everything on my YouTube in 2 parts.

MINIz guy · 07-06-2019, 05:17 PM

I got the desire to autocross this car out of my system today...

Slapped on some 7 year old GT Radial Champiro UHP1's (old daily tires from my E36) and went to a local event. I coded out the e-diff and the braking assists from the car, so it is very lively on these tires. I learned that the car does not like to multitask at all, and the open diff hinders the ability to steer with throttle. I drove my friends' 128i too, but with 245 width RE-71's, and it didn't do anything better (and felt slower cause I hadn't coded out his nannies yet). I'm sure in ST trim it would be great though.

MINIz guy · 07-25-2019, 08:36 PM

Pulled the valve cover off to do gaskets as they were from '08!

suntrust bank branch locations

Also went to the track yesterday in my E36. New personal best at a 1:21.7 (x2 so I know I can back it up) and then followed it with a 1:22.0 before cooling off that session.

04-27-2019, 09:01 PM	#1
MINIz guy Enlisted Member 22 Rep 48 Posts Drives: BMW 328i STX Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	MINIz guy's "I don't need a car" new 128i Hi all, I just purchased a high mileage '08 128i today. It's pretty basic with a moonroof, and sport package. I didn't need the car at all, but I drove my friend's 128i and thought it would be a great daily driver. I found this one on Craigslist for a good price (lowest in a nationwide search), so I thought I'd just jump on it. A little about me; I have a slicktop E36 328i that is prepped for SCCA autocross and is no longer a fun daily or weekend car. I also daily drive a Chevy Colorado (diesel bro!) but I don't always need to be driving a truck around. It nets me 27mpg on my 100-mile round trip commute, tows the E36, and is useful around the house, I have no complaints about it. Now for a pictures of the E36: The 128i I picked up is a 2 owner, CPO and dealer serviced for its entire life. It was driven a lot as the previous owner from 24k-150k miles had it all around the tri-state (NY, NJ, CT) region before moving to DC. Luckily, these modern cars have good rust protection and it doesn't seem crusty. It does have it's fair share of problems as I have an EAC sensor code causing a CEL, and some oil leaks from what I see as the valve cover and oil pan gasket. It also needs a DEEP clean, as you can see from the photos: The plan for this car is to be a fun daily driver that I can take to TNiA and other HPDEs. It can probably be a better STX car than my E36, but I'm not going down that rabbit hole again. Tomorrow I'm going to detail it and see what it looks like when clean.
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04-28-2019, 07:20 AM	#2
a4nut Private First Class 103 Rep 174 Posts Drives: 13 135is Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (1)	Congrats on the new ride!! And welcome.
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04-28-2019, 07:24 AM	#3
c1pher Primo Generalissimo 4661 Rep 4,021 Posts Drives: All of them Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: DC area iTrader: (0) Garage List 2017 Porsche 911 Ca ... [10.00] 2023 BMW M2 [9.00] 2023 Porsche Macan GTS [10.00] 2022 Ford F-250 Tremor [8.50]	Congrats! Lovely cars really. When you say useful around the house does it perform as a roomba or mow the grass or something?
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04-30-2019, 07:22 PM	#5
MINIz guy Enlisted Member 22 Rep 48 Posts Drives: BMW 328i STX Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	You saw how neglected the wheels were, so the rest of the car is the same. I tried some Meguiars APC+ and that only got off the surface brake dust. I needed an iron remover to get the baked on brake dust off, so I tried some Meguiars Mirror Bright Wheel Cleaner. It still needs more work, but I was running out of daylight. During the 3rd soak of Mirror Bright Wheel Cleaner: After spending 20 minutes on the wheel: Also did some hand polishing on the shadowline trim. Polished on the (way) left, oxidized on right: Still need to work on it some more when I have another free weekend. The interior needs to be cleaned up and I have to figure out why my driver's side bolster doesn't inflate (I can hear the motor pumping). Last edited by MINIz guy; 04-30-2019 at 07:59 PM..
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04-30-2019, 08:04 PM	#6
sixburgh Lieutenant 198 Rep 428 Posts Drives: 2010 128i 6 MT BMW PE Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0)	A true German car is painted silver. Congrats on your find. Attached Images
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05-03-2019, 10:42 PM	#8
Matticus91 Brigadier General 3475 Rep 3,722 Posts Drives: 2013 135i Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Washington DC iTrader: (6)	Welcome! Car looks great! __________________ "Tobias" 2013 135i ///M-Sport 6MT • Pure Stage 1 • XDI 35 HPFP • 404whp/440wtq IG: msteelio91
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05-08-2019, 07:53 AM	#9
MINIz guy Enlisted Member 22 Rep 48 Posts Drives: BMW 328i STX Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Current status of the car. Pulled the fender liners to clean them of leaves. It was especially bad on the washer fluid reservoir side. Doing the same to the cowl and assessing the bumper damage next.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-24-2019, 03:32 AM	#10
tacoma23 New Member 5 Rep 9 Posts Drives: Toyota Tacoma Join Date: May 2019 Location: US iTrader: (0)	Love the color, looks like you have a nice and dry place to work on your new ride.
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05-29-2019, 09:54 AM	#11
MINIz guy Enlisted Member 22 Rep 48 Posts Drives: BMW 328i STX Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Spent some time fixing the air pump for my side bolsters. Everything works again!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-02-2019, 10:01 PM	#12
irontitan Enlisted Member 5 Rep 38 Posts Drives: Ford F-150, BMWX5 Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Fullerton, CA iTrader: (0)	Congrats on your new car. The choice of color looks sophisticated.
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07-03-2019, 01:17 PM	#13
MINIz guy Enlisted Member 22 Rep 48 Posts Drives: BMW 328i STX Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	I figured out the EAC sensor without spending $500, so now I'm registering and driving the 128i starting Friday. I documented everything on my YouTube in 2 parts.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-06-2019, 05:17 PM	#14
MINIz guy Enlisted Member 22 Rep 48 Posts Drives: BMW 328i STX Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	I got the desire to autocross this car out of my system today... Slapped on some 7 year old GT Radial Champiro UHP1's (old daily tires from my E36) and went to a local event. I coded out the e-diff and the braking assists from the car, so it is very lively on these tires. I learned that the car does not like to multitask at all, and the open diff hinders the ability to steer with throttle. I drove my friends' 128i too, but with 245 width RE-71's, and it didn't do anything better (and felt slower cause I hadn't coded out his nannies yet). I'm sure in ST trim it would be great though. Last edited by MINIz guy; 07-06-2019 at 06:08 PM..
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-25-2019, 08:36 PM	#15
MINIz guy Enlisted Member 22 Rep 48 Posts Drives: BMW 328i STX Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Pulled the valve cover off to do gaskets as they were from '08! suntrust bank branch locations Also went to the track yesterday in my E36. New personal best at a 1:21.7 (x2 so I know I can back it up) and then followed it with a 1:22.0 before cooling off that session.
	Appreciate 0 Quote