tanger

How many here own or have owned a BMW 2002? Thoughts on this example. Have only tangentially done homework on the 2002, but this one really calling to me. Have pinged seller, not heard back but may be looking for a good indy BMW mech to do a PPI if you know of one in the area.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/2208394452.html

Thanks in advance!

asofine

I can't tell you much about it from a technical standpoint, but I did once work for a summer at a BMW dealership and all the techies (and myself) would always fight over who got to drive 2002s when they came in. Great little car to drive. That's all I can say!

vaujot

Pretty car. My mom had one of those when I was a kid. Lots of mods, though. Whether the mods to the engine work well remains to be seen, I guess. I'd get rid of the e30 wheels and replace them with authentic ones. I think your biggest concern with BMWs of that vintage is going to be rust.

DAVISRILEY

Looks like a pretty decent car, with a lot of the right mods. Pretty high $ for a non tii, but to replicate it, you would spend more. And they are a ton of fun to drive.

Makmov

Never owned one but I always liked the Tiis.

I always thought of this as what BMW was all about.

ABCar

I saw this on bringatailer.com (a great website by the way). I like this car too and always am tempted to pursue...

JM993

I would recommend spending some time driving these cars. I personally do not like the way they handle or drive. The M10 engine is noisy and slow, the brakes are inadequate, and the unit body has the rigidity of a wet noodle. An e30, on the other hand, is a fantastic car - especially the "i" models. I've owned several BMWs (320is, e30 325is, e30 M3, M635csi, etc) and the e30 325is I had was by far the best.

Just my .02

Cheers,
Joe

tanger

BringATrailer is probably the most dangerous site in the world. Not only does it tempt me almost everyday, I spend hours researching about the cars for sale...

tanger

Additional notes from seller (someone already taking it for a PPI tonite)

**************
It has 285K, but that's over 38 years and most everything has been replaced at some point in it's life... I've put 6K miles on it over the 2.5 years I've had it. Both me and the previous owner that had it for 10 years kept it as a vintage project car, not a daily driver so it has not seen that many miles.

On the rust front, the chrome parts have some rust (underside of the rear bumper for instance) and there are just a few surface bubbles on some trim parts. Nothing on the frame, body panels, door sills, interior floor pan, etc. I'm taking some pictures tonight for others that have asked to show the paint defects in closeup.

As for purchase decision, I guess you just need to decide what you are looking for. It's a great condition fun to drive car with most all of the options that most people are looking for or would want to put on it, but it's not a concours ground up restoration with no flaws whatsoever. My Son and I have really enjoyed working on it and driving it for the last few years.

Aircooled Dave

^^^ very true, but the E30 is an entirely different and newer car so it's not surprising that it is better in many ways.

The 2002s were great cars for their time. It is not going to measure up to modern car standards in braking, acceleration, etc...although you can mod them to fix (or at least partially fix) some of these woes. All said and done it's still a car from the early 70s that was designed in the 60s.

Personally, I prefered the Datsun 510 over the 2002 from a performance perspective. I felt it was a little tighter and responded to mods a bit better. I never owned a 2002 myself, but have had friends with them so I have had seat time in both. That said, they are very similar cars although the BMW is a bit more upscale with regard to interior and some comfort items. If I had enough money and space, I would likely own one of each myself.

Canyon56

I've owned a 1600 and a 2002 tii. Loved the cars but wouldn't consider owing one again unless it was in pure stock form and a collector's specimen.

They're fun to drive but in this day and age they aren't really that big a deal. They handle well but nothing extraordinary. The original brakes weren't very good and the original motors suffered from the same valve guide material issues as the 993. But instead of a CEL you just blew a lot of oil smoke.

Rust is another issue. However, this sample seems to be well attended and thoughtfully modified.

The visibility is amazing, it's like driving around in a fish bowl. Both mine were all original except for new Koni shocks and modern tires.

The one you posted is a bit of a Frankenstein, so it will never have any real collector value, and no value beyond driving it and having fun with it. The owner appears to have addressed its original shortcomings by adding a lot of non-BMW 2002 components, including brakes. So in the end, it's more of a driver's car. But it's not quite the same as owning an original.

They tend to have quite a bit of cool factor attached to them. But the reality is that they are very old technology. Fantastic cars for their era, no argument there. But unless it was a stock specimen, I personally wouldn't be interested. Fun to drive back then, but not really that much fun today. They aren't in the same league as a similar era Porsche.

Bradford

Had a 2002 back in the 70's and every iteration of the 3 series since. Coming from a Datsun 510 (raced out) the 2002 was a very solid well built car in comparison. The 2002 I had was at about 80,000 miles and the engine was burning oil like crazy. I think the life expectancy of an original 2002 engine is about 100,000 miles. The original 4 speed will keep the revs very high at 65 mph so the 5 speed should help. Fun cars and have a classic look, good luck.

deadhead1960

Far and away 1972 was the best year for the 2002, followed by 1973/1971. For 1974-76, BMW put on those big ugly bumpers and lots of restrictive emissions stuff. This example is basically a rotisserie restoration; it will never have collector or much upside potential as a result. But the flip side is it probably drives great and for about $10K or so there is little to no depreciation.

NC TRACKRAT

Over the years, we've owned a few BMW's...about 25 or so. Matter of fact, a 2002 was the cause of me leaving Porsche, only to come to my senses a few years back Yes, they're fun "cult" cars but, even with all those mods, they're behind the "curve". This particular car would be shunned by the purists. Good advice given by jmarch. If you've never owned a BMW, I'd say go for a good e30 325iS...if you can find one. All the good ones are taken and rarely for sale.

tanger

That is exactly how I'm approaching it. Simply looks like a fun little car to tool around in. Will see what happens and if it is even still available in a few days...