Hi all,
I collected my 130i back in March, this is the story.
[14 March 2016]
I've been driving RENAULTsport Clios for almost 10 years and contemplated upsizing to a 5-door Megane 225 but driving to work one day a blue 130i with tow stickers cruised past and I thought, "That's the car for me".
A few mates have owned 130is in the past, which I've driven plenty of times, so I began to suss out the market and evaluate what few examples were available - manual of course. I drove a silver one that was for sale (great car), came close to buying a mate's mint black 2005 model (but decided I didn't want black) and even made an offer on a blue one with BBS-style rims but was the underbidder.
Then, while waiting to hear back on my offer an immaculate looking Le Mans Blue example with low km and a great spec of options popped up - only problem was it was in Melbourne! I quickly called the owner and asked for more pics, more info - anything to help understand the car, its history and condition.
As it turned out he was an ex-BMW Master Tech (now working on the suit side at a dealership) and was very OCD about his car! We agreed a price, subject to me flying down on Saturday and inspecting. I was confident the car would be as described but when I arrived it was even better! New rear tyres, near-new front brakes, no oil leaks, freshly serviced and detailed - it was immaculate.
We did all the paper work, handed over the cash and my mate and I began the long drive home (via lunch at for a perve and catch up with a few Renault friends), arriving home just after midnight.
The long drive back on the freeway (10 hours) gave me plenty of time to get acquainted with the car in general and I can confirm it's all
Her spec from factory from what I can tell:
- 2006 Le Mans Blue, 6-speed manual
- 86,500 km (after the drive back from Melb)
- i-Drive Professional
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Logic7 hi-fi
- Heated front seats
- Hi-beam assist
- Folding mirrors
- Sunroof
- Bi-xenons
No immediate major modifications planned (except window tint) as I want to get to know her and learn how to drive RWD properly, but possible upgrades in the future include ZHP gearknob, M3 front and rear sway bars, 135 rear muffler and some more intake noise. Maybe some different rims and non-runflats once the tyres wear out too! Oh and a Quaife + 135 brakes would be nice...
One pic from the drive home for now but there will be plenty more to come. My mates and I run a website chronicling our automotive adventures and associated Instagram page, so she'll receive plenty of coverage on there!
by , on Flickr
I collected my 130i back in March, this is the story.
[14 March 2016]
I've been driving RENAULTsport Clios for almost 10 years and contemplated upsizing to a 5-door Megane 225 but driving to work one day a blue 130i with tow stickers cruised past and I thought, "That's the car for me".
A few mates have owned 130is in the past, which I've driven plenty of times, so I began to suss out the market and evaluate what few examples were available - manual of course. I drove a silver one that was for sale (great car), came close to buying a mate's mint black 2005 model (but decided I didn't want black) and even made an offer on a blue one with BBS-style rims but was the underbidder.
Then, while waiting to hear back on my offer an immaculate looking Le Mans Blue example with low km and a great spec of options popped up - only problem was it was in Melbourne! I quickly called the owner and asked for more pics, more info - anything to help understand the car, its history and condition.
As it turned out he was an ex-BMW Master Tech (now working on the suit side at a dealership) and was very OCD about his car! We agreed a price, subject to me flying down on Saturday and inspecting. I was confident the car would be as described but when I arrived it was even better! New rear tyres, near-new front brakes, no oil leaks, freshly serviced and detailed - it was immaculate.
We did all the paper work, handed over the cash and my mate and I began the long drive home (via lunch at for a perve and catch up with a few Renault friends), arriving home just after midnight.
The long drive back on the freeway (10 hours) gave me plenty of time to get acquainted with the car in general and I can confirm it's all
Her spec from factory from what I can tell:
- 2006 Le Mans Blue, 6-speed manual
- 86,500 km (after the drive back from Melb)
- i-Drive Professional
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Logic7 hi-fi
- Heated front seats
- Hi-beam assist
- Folding mirrors
- Sunroof
- Bi-xenons
No immediate major modifications planned (except window tint) as I want to get to know her and learn how to drive RWD properly, but possible upgrades in the future include ZHP gearknob, M3 front and rear sway bars, 135 rear muffler and some more intake noise. Maybe some different rims and non-runflats once the tyres wear out too! Oh and a Quaife + 135 brakes would be nice...
One pic from the drive home for now but there will be plenty more to come. My mates and I run a website chronicling our automotive adventures and associated Instagram page, so she'll receive plenty of coverage on there!
by , on Flickr