bigphilblackpool
Member

Mrs had a 130i terrible car imo ive driven a fair few performance cars and that thing was bad… Emgine too heavy for a small car turn in was abysmal

Having owned a 130i – there must’ve been something very wrong with it’s suspension if you got that kind of feel from it.

1. The engine sits well behind the front wheels, and the car has near perfect weight balance so shouldn’t be nose heavy.

2. The N52 engine is only 10kg heavier than the N40 (4 cylinder petrol)

and id have my pal in his mk5 gti up my backside down the lanes. Only on the straights did it decide to shine but still other cars still kept up.

3. It uses the E90 suspension so its ride is appalling on the standard runflat tyres.  Replacing with either Michelin runflats or ditching the runflats all together will cure it.

Having had mine on Castle Comb several times, I can tell you that whilst a MK5 Golf may keep up round the corners, it’ll only be doing so because you’re intentionally going sideways 🙂

Rx8? Might not be yobby, but isn’t far off the pace and probably handles more nicely than the other candidates. Cheap to buy, pricy to run

Honda Accord Type R, Find a good one and look after it and you wont lose any money on it either, Fits you criteria with 4 seats, a bit of pace and pretty Gadget free.

Or look for a Alfa 147GTA, bit of a rare beasty and very different from most of the above, looks great too.

Or look for a Alfa 147GTA, bit of a rare beasty and very different from most of the above, looks great too.

Would love one, my old man had a 156 GTA when they came out, hell of a car at the time – I’d want the 156 Sportwagon but they only made something daft like 100 right hand drive cars if I remember rightly.

Megane RS 265

This. I only had a 225 with the cup chassis but would have loved an RS.

Or even one of the current Renaultsport Clios. Not as fun as the old 197 by all accounts but still a hoot.

A bunch of people have said the same thing about the BMW 1 – that the chap with the ‘terrible’ 130 must have had something wrong, and I will back them up….

Nice and light, with an unstressed straight six – try to find a 135i for a turbo with 300bhp. Loads of tuning stuff available for them if you want to get silly. It is quite small, but it’s easilly Golf sized inside.

As a few peole have said, ditch the run flats (unless you find a unicorn one specced without them), and maybe consider some suspension changes and a slightly more agreesive exhaust to let the straight six shine!

On the run flats – new ones are so waaaaay better than even just 5 years ago – I’ve had the Potenzas and Eagle F1s recently. But I still think I’d swap them out, even if just for price in the long run – Eagle F1s on my current M140i are £180 a corner….

What’s your budget?

The E90 M3 in saloon form rather than coupe is a very nice car to drive, a proper yob if you take it by the scruff and drive it properly (you need to REV it,but when you do, it’s a quick car):

just subtle enough to not call attention to yourself when you don’t want it, fun enough when you do!

BTW, make you sure check for the folding rear seat option, as a surprising number of the saloons don’t have it, which makes fitting a bike in the back a pita! (the coupes have it as std iirc, but the coupes are less rare and look a lot worse (the saloon carries the art of the rear tyre to wheelarch fit to perfection, and the bulk of the extra roof height at the back makes it sit much better on the road)

A bunch of people have said the same thing about the BMW 1 – that the chap with the ‘terrible’ 130 must have had something wrong, and I will back them up….

In fairness he also said modified Subarus were reliable… took it all with a pinch of salt.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/mercedes-benz/amg/mercedes-c-class-204-c63-amg-mega-spec-inc-keyless-go-andamp-designo-hide—————–2012/7858488#/home

Middle age yobby-ness

6.2 Handbuilt German NA Engine 460 BHP

0-60 4.6 seconds

Rear wheel drive

Estate so get kids, dog and bike in

Supercar performance for £26k 👍 that just looks like another black Merc estate.

As many boxes as that Marc ticks it’d be quite a stretch, I can see the insurance payout taking a while and turning out to be peanuts.

Having had the Skoda wiped out by a van and knowing I’ll be putting kids in the back I’m swaying towards cheap and cheerful!

What kind of budget roughly?

Tiger – that thing only does 25 mpg ! And quick is in a straight line, but it’s a Merc so will disappoint when you get to the first corner !

It’s a 6.2l V8 it won’t do 25mpg! I think you be lucky if you got to double figures.

but the brief didn’t say sensible, economical and tracklike handling

it said ‘Yob’

What kind of budget roughly?

5-10k I guess, having seen first hand the destruction of transporting kids (and bikes!) I’d feel guilty spending any more.

Curve ball

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/nissan/stagea/stagea-250t-rs-four-v-4wd-280bhp–fresh-import/8643340#/home

get a 2012 – 2014 C63 AMG estate. I bought one in Feb, amazing car!

Goes like a rocket ship but can still take bikes in the back or on the roof.

(keep in that age bracket to avoid the head bolt issues)

Last of the great V8’s

And what a noise it makes when you fire it up! I drove a saloon version a while back, only had it for about an hour, and I was very careful and behaved myself, but the temptation to behave like a hooligan was almost overwhelming. Bloke at a posh car dealer in Saltash I was picking up a Merc from leased one for a couple of years, he was £10k worse off and no car to show for it at the end, 17 to the gallon, three sets of tyres at £1000/set, nearly £500/month lease and then there was the £480 fine when he passed a cop car which was coming onto the M5, which he saw at the last second out of the corner of his eye and anchored up, but it was far too late… They showed him the video with their car rocking as he went past, and advised him to fess up to 99 mph*, as the couldn’t get a full lock onto him for long enough, which he did. A posh hooligan car, and no mistake.

*120 was what he was actually doing. A very naughty boy indeed.

Another vote for a 130i. Performance exhaust and golf tee mod (google) on it +20 yob points.

Ive a 130i le and the noise alone turns heads. Comfortable, handles well once you sort the tyres. Surprisingly practical, even though mine is only 4 seats. Bikes fit in the back, I’ve got racks for the roof if I need more space in it. I am considering the 330i, but only because I’ve need of the extra space for DIY purposes.

Some that have peaked my interest…

Alfa GTV

BMW 130i

Audi S4 Avant

Subaru Legacy GT Spec B – curve ball though Mrs FTS fancies an Impreza 😆

If you are look at B5 S4s I would have a look/read on audisrs in the B5 section and the classifieds. A B5 will normally need a bit of money spent now to bring it up to scratch, then I would want to mod it, even just remap/suspension/brakes, but that would rapidly descend into K04s + supporting mods and a rear LSD for me.

Girl at my work has a 130i.

she loves it, says it goes like stink.

I must admit I’m quite envious.

Just when I was looking to offload my 1 series to a family estate this thread appears…  Maybe a couple more years moving from a 120d to a 135i then…

I have a 130i SE it’s now on 142,000 miles of which I’ve put on nearly half and I absolutely love it. Because mine is a SE it has 17″ wheels (rather than 18″) and standard (rather than sports) suspension. This means that the ride is good even with run flats. The 17″ wheels and standard suspension means that it definitely doesn’t have “yob” looks which is a big plus for me. It took me a while to find a SE model (I think they only ever sold about 100 in the UK), but was definitely worth it for me.

I would have enough to pay for the waterpump that has just gone!

I had a water pump fail earlier this year – it’s the only failure, fingers crossed, that I’ve had so far. Expensive to replace though.

What about a nice Subaru Forester STi, if the lady likes a Impreza then it might be a good fit.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subarut-Forester-Sti/183235682416?hash=item2aa9b2a070:g:nFMAAOSww1Fa3NzN

What about a Holden?

I know they’re technically Vauxhalls but they do shift.

Well I used to have a Focus ST, the old 2.5l version, and I now have the 330i touring. The BMW is every bit as quick, if not quicker, quieter, more comfortable, more economical (they are 2l 4 cylinders these days). But there are days when I miss the sound of the T5 engine and the torque steer.

Oh the boot is about the same size as the focus but at leat I can have a tow bar now.

I swear my car dealer follows me on STW.  Today he has phoned me with a 2013 hugely (and I mean nothing left off the is list) specced 2013 135i in Estoril Blue and – because I was wanting more comfort it includes the adaptive suspension.

Thats put me in a spin.  3 years of having a mid life crisis or do I get a C class estate now and resign to graceful motorway cruising now lol…

I’m really enjoying all the love the 130i’s are getting. Makes me more sure it was the best choice for my first car 😬

Downside being it’s making it even harder for me to part with mine…

Also, that 142,000 mile remark gave me even more confidence in the car.

That Autotrader 130i looks ok at a quick glance. Price seems ok, assuming there’s nothing wrong with it. The mods done to it seem pretty choice as well. Inkeeping with the car and similar to what I’ve done/Intend to do to mine. If you look on Babybmw.net there’s half a chance you’ll be able to find a lot more info about that exact car; maybe even speak to the owner or read a build thread about it.

The lemon interior isn’t as hard to keep clean as you’d imagine, it’s fairly unique and quickly grows on you.

If you buy it and want any help spending money on it when you do, I’ll be glad to offer my advice….

One thing I would say, it’s worth waiting for the right one. They’re not common but there’s enough about so you can have your pick.

Just buy it Kryton. Sweet baby Jesus please just buy it!

And then post pictures because it does sound nice!

Yep, I’m going to, I’ve decided.  You can’t get a higher spec on a 1 series, this is likely closest chance on an “M” type car before I get to mid-life mediocrity.  I await a scathing post from Edukator.

Now to find a way to negotiate on the ridiculous interest rate BMW offer…

Pictures inbound in a few weeks I hope…

6.3 AMG – 25 MPG!

A customer of ours, who is involved in Truck sales regularly gets lower MPG in his AMG than the trucks he sells regularly achieve…

AMG probably more fun than a truck though..

I have an AMG C63 estate. It’s an amazing car. Planning on selling it at the end of July…

I absolutely bloody loved my m135i – would have another in a heartbeat.  I testdrove a 130i around the same time actually.  The m135i is a much meaner car, better sound, more aggressive throttle response and felt a bit more sharper on the turn in (NB comparing a new car vs 6yo /70k).  I’m sure the 130i is a good little car though.

at least we are getting back towards yobbo with c63 rather than slightly naughty looking but bland. 😀

£2k gets you this Volvo V50 T5

2.5l, 5 cylinders , 4WD,  estate.

High mileage,  but for £2k it could be fun and seems to tick a few of your boxes.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F323269673343

6.3 AMG – 25 MPG!

As I’ve already posted, a bloke I spoke to at a car dealer owned one for two years, he reckoned 17/gallon.

Which seems perfectly reasonable, my Puma managed 30, if I behaved myself and drove like my gran. 25 per if I drove ‘enthusiastically’. That had a 1.7 Zetec.

I have the same car in identical spec Kryton, however I’ve had mine modified so it’s now around 420bhp. It’s pretty much undriveable and I wish I’d saved my money. In standard form they’re flippin ace, you’ll not be disappointed

On the contrary Kryton, I’m sure you’ll enjoy unleashing the extra power on your next trip to Cwm Carn and you’ve helped a BMW salesman with his bonnet commission:

I’m sure you’ll enjoy unleashing the extra power on your next trip to Cwm Carn

Good shout, just go north out of Cwm Carn instead of heading for the M4.

Just back from my first drive in the 1.7 diesel Kia Optima hire car I’ve been given… it won’t be added to the list. Unfortunately neither will the AMG above, won’t be the budget for that.

Well, that was short lived.  Dealer made an excellent offer but a cautious review of my company allowance policy reveals no non-hybrid petrols allowed .  Sigh .