Learn me BMW 128i and OBD scanner programmers

Over the last half a year, I have been reading Ronin's "track car turns into a daily" story and his reviews that continue to sing the virtues of the 128i.

Against my better judgment I'm going to look at one today.. so please analyze and paralyze!

And enable.

@Slippery gave me the tip to identify options using https://www.mdecoder.com

and (from Ronin) I understand https://www.bimmergeeks.net is the go-to scanner and programmer for BMW. I don't own an Android phone anymore. Will the BG hardware work off of a cheap Android tablet? Or can I use a windows laptop? (I'm reluctant to join their FB group while I'm only shopping). 

After 20 years of minivans and SUV's it's time for a fun daily. My goal is to find an unabused survivor for a third the cost of a new Camry.

I know @dyintorace is selling a set of sm-sport wheels. Do these come with staggered wheels on the base car?

I wish I could tell you more about the technical details but I can say you will love the 128i as a daily.  I absolutely loved mine (don't recall if I brought it when we met).  I sold it for a E90 sedan just for the better practicality.  I love the sedan 95% as much as the 128i... which makes sense considering how closely related they are.

The base 128i has staggered wheels. 

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

Thanks, Steve. Who did the suspension work on your E82? I saw the kit you linked from ECS..

We have the TC Kline coilover set up on our 128i. It's okay. Overall the car handles well but the set up has too much rebound for my likes. 

Looked at a 2013 128i today

Under 80k miles. Good condition but leaky valve cover. Oil filter housing gasket is dry. Seller does his own routine maintenance work but showed me all the entries on the Carfax mobile phone app, including photos and parts receipts. Using correct 40 weight oil. Also showed recall work done at the dealer.

Not the original owner. Auto. Not sport seats. Sunroof. 9.5/10 interior. Outside 7.5/10

Cali car originally, so ULEV N51 not N52 - not sure what that changes.

Seller not sketchy at all. Wife's car (of course, LOL) and she just got a newer car so time to sell.

This was my first time driving a 128i. I fit (barely). Car accelerates, stops and turns great.. quite satisfying overall aside from the burning oil smoke from the exhaust manifold. No suspension clunks. Newer battery. Good rubber and brake pads were thick.

Seller showed me the Carfax from when he got it at 33k miles. Car had a buy-back flag at under 20k miles. Hmmm.

..but mdecoder.com says VIN not found. That's weird. I tried a couple times and hit my daily limit... "try again tomorrow". 

Given the above.. What does the hive think is a fair value?

Per the factory catalog, the base 128i wheels are square 17x7 with 205/50s (at least for 2009; I don't have the 2013 catalog).

More generally, automatic non-sport package car is probably the most common and least desirable 128i for an enthusiast. My car is an N51 SULEV; slightly lower compression, but comes from the factory with the 3-stage manifold. It drives like an N52. Unless you're planning lots of tuning, I wouldn't worry about it. The buyback flag is worrying - I'd want to know more about that. Hard to estimate a price, but figure close to a grand to replace the valve cover (most shops will want to replace it rather than just the gasket, since it tends to warp, plus it contains the CCV valve).

It's been for sale for at least a month and the price has been dropping. Seller openly shared the Carfax. I give him credit for that. It's been driven 50k miles since so I have to think the lemon issue was resolved a long time ago.

Car presented well and made wonderful sounds but the burning oil smell wasn't a greeting I hoped for.

I'm questioning whether I need this in my life at any price if a low mileage example already is needing things.. among a list of common multi hundred dollar issues (that these are known to have).

Flashbacks to my used 86 GTI and my rode hard and put away wet used Tundra experience....

In reply to 02Pilot :

New valve cover with integrated PCV seems wise for a couple hundred bucks over the valve cover gasket alone. Definitely looks DIY-able even with numerous fragile plastic connectors. 

Edit: Your comment is the first time I heard the 3-stage manifold comes on the N51. A comment on ECS Tuning's valve cover gasket replacement YouTube video also said in California the valve cover is a 15 year extended warranty item. That video seemed to indicate N51 is identical except for a secondary air system port that is blocked off on N52.

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Here's a decent list of the major differences (scroll down a bit), along with a list of SULEV states; I'm not sure it's correct on the valve cover material and CCV arrangement, which I think was only correct for the earliest N52s, but everything else looks right. The valve cover gasket is just tedious because of all the stuff in the way, plus the idiotic single-use aluminum bolts (you'll want a good torque wrench to install those, since they snap pretty quickly if you exceed the spec). Here's a DIY that covers it pretty well; it claims you don't need to replace the bolts, but I recall my indy saying you should. Either way, if you own one of these, you'll need to deal with the aluminum stretch bolts soon enough. The SULEV warranty is 15 years/150k miles, so you might try to get BMW to cover it, though if it's a gasket failure it's not really an emissions-related problem. Worth asking at least.

In reply to 02Pilot :

Thanks for the info.

I sat down and read the Carfax.  It shows the THIRD owner somehow got the car the car bought back "by the manufacturer" after one month of ownership due to "vehicle runs rough and misfires".

That seems really strange. 

OHSCrifle said:

In reply to 02Pilot :

Thanks for the info.

I sat down and read the Carfax.  It shows third the THIRD owner somehow got the car the car bought back "by the manufacturer" after one month of ownership due to "vehicle runs rough and misfires".

That seems really strange. 

Dealership could have bought it back because the owner was a picky shiny happy person. They do get some leeway depending on relationship to buy back certain cars for csi. I'd ask for the "14" or the condensed down service history.

Good luck hunting.  If you're tall, I'd hold out for a 128i w/sport seats, or plan to swap them.  The lower leg support is worth it (I've had an E91 for ~5 months now).  I'm a big fan of the straight-6.  If the valve cover is leaking the lower oil pan might not be too far behind...take a close look.

I think the 128i wheels have a much higher offset than E9X cars....more of a FWD offset (+58?), so wheel selection might be slightly more tricky.    

In reply to Hoondavan :

I like maintaining my own cars. Fluids. Brakes. Suspension arms and such. Stereos. I find it therapeutic and satisfying to wrench. But a car whose legendary engine is known to need new oil pan, valvetronic, oil filter housing and valve cover gaskets under 80k miles is just a bit... needy. 

This example may not be ideal but when a low mileage car is known to need this stuff (in addition to plastic cooling system common faults)... perhaps I've just been spoiled by my past Toyotas and Hondas. 

My heart says "how bad can it be" and my brain says "it's not too late to cut bait".

Are you planning on coming down for the Challenge? If so, I'll happily let you take ours out to see how you like it.

Wheel offset is +47

In reply to dyintorace :

Not currently but I need to make it happen one of these events. I will reach out if I do. Or just see you and say hi. 

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Sure it's needy, but it's the price you pay for the driving experience. Sure, it was unpleasant changing the water pump at 100k, but it will be another 100k before it needs it again, and that's what, an afternoon once every eight years or so? Buy parts from FCP Euro and you'll get free replacements if or when they go bad again.