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M135i - Attempt Number 2



Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
TLDR: I bought a new car.

So the Porsche has gone and im left with an e90 335i and an e91 335d. Sarah, after nearly 12 years, still has the TT. I am on car no. 38.

Parking where i live is about to become permit only and im not allowed one (we have a carpark), so after running (at least) 2 cars for the past 10 years, i need to go back to one car really 😕

Cue the search for a do it all car, i dont want massive tax/depreciation as i work from home, so paying out ££££'s each month for it just to sit there is annoying. Dont want something that could monumentally sh1t itself and scatter bits of engine down the street if i dont change the rod bearings every other oil change (thats the M3/M5 out then) and i just cant be bothered with the mpg of a C63. Living near Heathrow, an e63 is out as well, im self-employed, but not as a taxi driver 🤭 I also bought an X5 35d for a mate, thought i could perhaps have a 4.8i one over winter for a laugh. For a 4x4 it was pretty good to drive if im honest, but compared to a 3 series, it drove like a boat. I think i'll scratch that itch in another few years!

With that in mind, having really liked my RS3, i tried to find a Golf R or S3 privately for less than 16 grand. No word of a lie, they are all Cat C/D/N/S, stolen recovered or both. The cheap ones are ALL in the West Midlands or West Yorkshire and even when they are standard/hpi clear, all look a little "bent". The ones at dealers at just too expensive. £16-17k for a boggo manual 14 plate Golf R. F*ck no. So i looked at Golf Gti's instead. They were cheaper, but still mostly a bit unloved in the £12k bracket. Yes i could have spent more on one, but then you are in sheddy Golf R territory and well, budget creep is kicking in again ... I also wanted a Performance Pack one, rareish it would seem. So yeah, anyways, i tried to buy something other than a BMW.

A few years ago, i leased a brand new M135i. It was supposed to be the best car on the planet, Chris Harris, Evo, Pistonheads and pretty much everyone else raved about it constantly, but coming out of a Mini GP1 and highly tuned R53 MCS, personally i found it a bit average. More importantly, my utterly incompetent local BMW dealer annoyed me so much with their levels of uselessness, that i ended up buying myself out of the car 6 months early: https://cliosport.net/threads/m135i-estoril-blue-loveliness.736149/

5 Years Later, i perhaps have different requirements. And i cant find a VAG hot hatch that isnt f*cked for love nor money.

So i started browsing for M135i's. When i had my first M135i, as it was a lease, i had to be fairly povvo with the spec, so black panel, heated seats & comfort pack was it. The stereo was sh1t, the suspension was woeful & it had cr4ppy iPhone/Music integration, so if i was having another, it would have to have at least Pro Nav and Adaptive suspension. The ar5e has pretty much fallen out of their values, so finding one for 12 grand seemed fairly easy.

Initially i thought id just buy a lowish spec one and retrofit a few bits & bobs (pronav basically), then fit some Bilsteins and be done with it. I nearly bought a grey 5dr manual with a Quaife/Birds suspension for £12.5, but when the photos of the "small scratch" turned into about £2k of paintwork, i passed. An estoril with adaptive suspension then appeared at similar money, but i missed putting a deposit on it by about 3 minutes FFS. Then a black one appeared on Autotrader late on Sunday night, fairly poor description from the dealer, no numberplates shown (so i couldnt check the spec) but 1 owner, full BMW history etc for mid £13's.. Rather strangely, id noticed it as it didnt have tinted windows, which i dont really like on the 1er, so i dropped them an email to get the reg number ... Reg number came in at 9:30 am, spec was checked by 9:35, vcheck/hpi was done by 9:40, i was in the car by 10 and at 12:30 i was at the garage having put a deposit on it 😝

'13 plate with 61k miles, 1 previous owner, just serviced & decent Super Sports all round. Sapphire Black with Black leather.
The spec is very much an excercise in "tick everything" ...

NBT Professional Media
Extended Bluetooth
Harman Kardon
PDC front/rear
Park Assistant & Reversing Camera
Adaptive Xenons
Electric Memory Seats with Lumbar Support & Heating
Throughloading System (40/20/40 rear seat with armrest)
Extended Storage
Folding External Mirrors with Auto-Dip
Adaptive Suspension
Sport Auto
NO tints
De-Badged

Not gonna lie, with different wheels it could quite easily pass as a 116d :ROFLMAO:

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by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
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by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
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by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
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by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

I pick it up on Monday and have no plans whatsoever for it.
Well, barring an upgrade to the Touch Controller for the iDrive and maybe a Quaife/Drexler if one comes up 2nd hand ...
Its a PWG rather than EWG so wont map as high as the later cars, but being honest, with the autobox, it goes pretty well as it is!
 

MarkCup

ClioSport Club Member
Nice. Very very nice. I hope you get along a little better with this one. I think they're a belter of a car!

You're welcome to come try mine with the diff whenever you want. 80s Sunday Breakfast Club at Goodwood?
 

Danith

ClioSport Club Member
  MX5 ND2/220 Trophy
Are these a good all rounder then? Seem to be plenty about and reasonable running costs?

Was looking at Octavias and Cupras but the 6 pot noise is worth a look. Just put off by them being quite common, but surely less thief happy than something like an ST?
 

shiftspark

ClioSport Club Member
  R53 GR86
Nice car, did you not find that there are plenty of catc/d/s etc about as well as un mapped cars that have been hammered ? what buying tips have you got for us mere mortals lol
 

Thrust-Rated

President of the KMAG fan club.
ClioSport Club Member
  F31 35d, Berlingo Na
Nice purchase Dave!

The JB4 will drop on one of these won't it?
 

Marc.

ClioSport Club Member
Noice, I’m starting to really like these now!

Unlucky about the Golf R, I had a ‘15 plate with heated leather and pro nav (DSG) you could’ve had for less than £16k...was actually a really nice car! In the clutches of BCA as of this afternoon though...
 

Ol’ Tarby

ClioSport Moderator
  Clio 220 Trophy
Gonna be watching this very closely.
I've narrowed our next car down to a Clio EDC 200, or one of these.

I'll probably just buy this off you in about 6 months?
 

Daniel

ClioSport Moderator
  Whichever has fuel
Noice, I’m starting to really like these now!

Unlucky about the Golf R, I had a ‘15 plate with heated leather and pro nav (DSG) you could’ve had for less than £16k...was actually a really nice car! In the clutches of BCA as of this afternoon though...
What else can you get out of the back door...?!
 

Thrust-Rated

President of the KMAG fan club.
ClioSport Club Member
  F31 35d, Berlingo Na
Gonna be watching this very closely.
I've narrowed our next car down to a Clio EDC 200, or one of these.

I'll probably just buy this off you in about 6 months?

Deffo get one of these over a clio EDC
 
  Toureg vW Transporte
Hope you get on better with this one. I’ve got a 140 and think it’s great,already 2 years in and it’s been fantastic
 

riz

ClioSport Club Member
  Jaguar XFR
Nice.
The m140 rear headlights do look better though. Sure a Golf GTI wasnt an option?
 

Danith

ClioSport Club Member
  MX5 ND2/220 Trophy
Nice car, did you not find that there are plenty of catc/d/s etc about as well as un mapped cars that have been hammered ? what buying tips have you got for us mere mortals lol

yeah all the ones you see on ebay etc now are mapped and already ruined/bodged. Can't beat an unfettled motor (to start fettling)
 
  BMW M4; S1000 RR
That, is a mighty list of options!

Electric seats on a 5dr. Lovely!!

Yours has a different iDrive controller than mine did, was it updated halfway through 2013?

This will be the pneumatic wastegate N55?
 
Very nice, defo on my list of cars to own.

Helped fit a JB4 to my work colleagues M135i recently, couldn't believe how easy it was to fit. We had it done within our half hour dinner break. Also couldn't believe the results for a DIY box.
 

davo172

ClioSport Club Member
  TCR'd 172
These seem the complete package for the do it all car, What are the weaknesses?

Traction !! 🤣🤣
Unless you are a CS driving god of course.🙄

The answer to the first part is Golf GTI that IS the complete package do it all car 😉
 
  BMW M4; S1000 RR
These seem the complete package for the do it all car, What are the weaknesses?

They lack a LSD when standard but they really are a belting all round package for the money

Very nice, defo on my list of cars to own.

Helped fit a JB4 to my work colleagues M135i recently, couldn't believe how easy it was to fit. We had it done within our half hour dinner break. Also couldn't believe the results for a DIY box.

Yeah they’re nuts. I had snips and a 12mm socket in my car just in case I ever needed to remove it at the side of the road (ie, breakdown recovery to a dealer). I could take mine on/off in 10 mins easy. It’s stupidly easy to fit.

Also.. the car felt downright broken when I took it off to sell!

Traction !! 🤣🤣
Unless you are a CS driving god of course.🙄

The answer to the first part is Golf GTI that IS the complete package do it all car 😉

CS driving god checking in. Even if you don’t care about drifting, put some good tyres on and keep traction on and it shouldn’t step out on you. Plus that straight 6 noise. So good.
 
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Nice purchase Dave. I was seriously thinking about them for a while but I'll probably have my mums off her when she is finally rid.

Traction !! 🤣🤣
Unless you are a CS driving god of course.🙄

The answer to the first part is Golf GTI that IS the complete package do it all car 😉

A 135i would have no less traction than a Golf that actually makes good power/torque. But at least when it breaks traction it's the correct wheel. Unless a diff is fitted then it becomes plural. :ROFLMAO:

No driving god skills required.
 

mart.z.s

ClioSport Club Member
  Audi A3 2.0T Quattro
This is on my list in the next few years so excellent purchase sir. I look forward to increasing my knowledge on them now 😆
 

Sir Nancy Flowers

ClioSport Club Member
  M140i
Where are you finding these gems from? All the ones I have found are silly money for the spec or are total lease spec povo. £13k for that spec, from what ive been able to find, is amazing value.
 

Greeny.

ClioSport Club Member
  440i + 182
Love my M135i LCI, can't see me changing it for a long while, 35MPG on long(er) trips is good enough for me tbh, 26MPG daily.
 

Willo40

ClioSport Club Member
  M135i
Really really like these, would certainly be my choice over an S3 or Golf R, there are a couple round our way, they sound really nice.
 

KitsonRis

ClioSport Club Member
I rate these after owning my M140i for a year now. I wouldn’t say it’s a track car or such, but a very good GT car as it just eats the miles up. Great on the commute, now seeing over 32mpg after 9000miles. I thought the leg room in the back is better than most, I’ve got a three door but it is like it was designed as a 5 and just converted to a three. I’m struggling to think of what to replace it with when it goes back in 3 years as it ticks all the boxes. I don’t really fancy an M2/3 or the new one. A second hand Alpina would be awesome but then I’ve still got the itch to ruin my life with an E36. So this could be with me for some time!
The only draw backs I’ve experienced is you still get morons with an ST badge trying to race you, it’s currently filthy (I cba to wash it with this weather) and I don’t rate the SatNav (I’ve got the professional so not sure if that different?)
 
  pimp mobile Zafira
Nice purchase mate. I’ve had a good 200 mile blast the other week in one. Really surprised at how well it sounded and went. Nice and balanced considering it’s Fwd.
 

massiveCoRbyn

ClioSport Club Member
  Several
I'm assuming hes test driven the new one?

A.k.a epic BMW fail - mass appeal to more non car people than anything.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

The new one is 4WD, not FWD. Mass appeal and selling more cars (including cooking models) is probably more important to BMW than appeasing a few car nerds.
 
  pimp mobile Zafira
I'm assuming hes test driven the new one?

A.k.a epic BMW fail - mass appeal to more non car people than anything.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Sorry. Long nigh! I was referring to the new one in error!
 

Short Norman

ClioSport Club Member
  997 C4S
Car nerds can still get the B58 and RWD in the 2 series. BMW have done what they had to do with the 1.
How long will that last though. Don’t the 1 and 2 coupe share the same platform?

It can’t be cost effective to build two very similar cars on different chassis. Unless they are going to run a rwd platform for just the 2 coupe and the M140.

Are they moving to all cars being fwd apart from the M’s and baby M’s
 
Wouldnt bother with a tuning box these days on these, as MHD and BM3 both have cracked the ecu, MHD is so simple and works with an android based laptop,tablet/phone . pwg is 350 bhp .520 nm tq MHD stage 1
 


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