hey all, i have decided to start my quest to find and purchase a 2002tii to restore.
how much should i expect to pay for a decent condition one and what things should i be looking for on the car such as weak points and things to notice that sould steer me away from the car.
any help and tips in the right direction would be helpfull!
thanks,
~Matthew

You can buy mine for $15k, I've been offered as much as 16k in the past. They are really hard to find in decent condition or restorable condition. Plan on spending at least $5k and looking for about 6-12 months. I searched for a while and found mine from the original owner some four years ago. Car had low miles and was well taken care of, garaged, never driven. I put another 8k into the car within the first two years. Car sees about 500-1000 miles a year and sleeps in a heated garage. Everything has been gone through. You can see pictures at BayBimmerz.com, in the Car Models section.

Main thing to look out for is RUST. These cars have horrible draining and rust if you let them sit outside or in a damp environment. The cars chassis around the rocker panels, shock towers and spare tire area are the most common rust spots. But some "non-California" cars can have rust hiding between the rockers, under the car and all over the front and rear crossmembers. Parts are getting harder to find, shops are beginning to refuse service and the 02s are steadily moving into the "vintage" realm. Making them worth more, but harder to maintain. This is good if you own one, because they are worth a lot more these days. But it makes it harder for the "would-be" owner to keep up.

Your best bet is to look at all the enthusiast areas, BimmerForums, 2002FAQ.com, Roadfly.org, Roundel Magazine, etc. Try to find a California car, they seem to be the best candidates. But again, if you don't get a nice car to start with, you may end up with a lost project. I have seen it before, guys search and buy some random 02tii and end up scrapping it because of rust, NLA parts, etc. Good luck!!

I saw one in a bright yellow in Clarendon last night - and one in primer gray on 95 heading to 395 North inside the Beltway.

They are very attractive cars, and I have seen some monsters as track cars.

Although, I'm tempted to look for an old P-Car as well.

If you find something, definitely post your experience...I'm keeping my eye out as always.

Shock towers, spare tire well, and around front turn signals are all notorious for rusting. Synchros, particularly 2nd gear. Check the Guibos(sp) on the driveshaft area. Other than that, the usual stuff to check on a used car, oil, blah, blah, blah........

Have fun! They're fun to work on, drive and race!

Does it have to be a tii ??? Check out my 2002 for sale if you want to... www.liteweightracing.com. It's got lots of nice stuff on it, needs some cosmetics and repair of the street stuff like lights, blinkers, wipers, etc. but it's all there. Will sell it for $5000.

I creamed a 510 last weekend in Stockton at a Solo2 event. This car won FSP last year in the SCCA Sac Cup also, and will take FSP again this year unless I sell it first. Want to save the poor guy with the 510 the embarassment??? $6500 with the trailer. No rust I've seen anywhere on the car yet, it's a CA car. Wes Ingram can set you up with a new injection system like they had in the tii also (www.wesingram.com).

Thanks,
Rodney