Buying guide · 2005–2011 · N52B30 · 265 PS
BMW 130i E87
Everything that decides whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
17-page guide, A4 and phone · 2-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included
In the guide
What the BMW 130i E87 guide covers
- 01Every fault this engine has, and how much work it is
- 02Why one small leak on this engine produces a second bill that does not look like a leak
- 03Where to look at the bodyshell while you are already underneath — and why the guide does not invent a rust list
- 04What is simply twenty years old — and can be left alone
- 05The inspection card: the whole viewing on paper, in order, to take with you
- 06What to say to the seller, and what to keep to yourself
From the guide itself
This is how it reads
This is what one of the eight looks likeLast Real Engines
1 · The electric water pump, with the thermostat
A day · parts and access; the thermostat goes with it
The only item here where being late changes what you own. It fails without much warning, so the invoice is the inspection.
Now, unless there is a dated invoice with a mileage on it.
And this is how the card readsLast Real Engines
- 1 · The paperwork · FIRST. If this fails, stop.
- 2 · The plate · before you listen to anything
- 3 · The cold start · you only get one
- 4 · The engine bay, engine off
- 5 · The read-out · before the test drive
- 6 · The test drive
What €24 buys, put next to what it saves
An electric water pump that is left too long stops being a pump and becomes a head gasket — a day in the workshop. The eccentric shaft sensor, and what a leak at the valve cover does to it, is a day as well. Both of them are on paper before you buy, or they are not. The guide is €24. It will not stop any of that from being needed — but it does tell you which of them you are looking at before you agree a price, and that is the whole of the difference between paying for a car and paying for someone else's postponed maintenance.
VAT included · sold by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record · questions first? buyersguide@lastrealengines.com
Start with the free guide: what this car is, and the questions that decide whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
Before you buy
Questions
What exactly do I get?
The full guide as a PDF, 17 pages in A4, plus a phone edition to read at the car; and the inspection card, 2 pages to print and take to the viewing. €24, VAT included.
How is it delivered?
Straight after payment you get a download link for the guide, the phone edition and the card. No subscription, no account.
Can I get a refund?
EU consumer law gives you fourteen days to change your mind. For digital content that right ends the moment delivery starts, provided you agreed to that at the checkout. If the file will not open, or you were sent the wrong car, write to us and we will fix it or refund it.
Who handles the payment?
Lemon Squeezy, who sell the guide to you as merchant of record. They charge the VAT at the rate of your country, send the invoice, and email you the download link. We never see your card.
Why are there no prices in it?
Because a price we cannot verify is worse than no price, and because a price would be wrong for most of the people reading it: workshop rates across Europe differ by a factor of two or three. What does not change is how much work a job is, so every point says whether it is an hour, half a day, a day, or a week in the workshop. Ask your own workshop for its hourly rate, and every hour in the guide becomes your own number.
Is this advice about a specific car?
No. A guide tells you what to look at; it is general information about the model and not advice about a specific car. Have every car inspected before you buy by someone who knows the engine.
More BMW guides
Going to look at a BMW 130i E87?
Take the guide and the card with you.
17-page guide, A4 and phone · 2-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included