Hey guys, I figured I'd run this by you. I'm looking to get a classic car, and have narrowed it down to 3 in my price range (~$10K). Any other you guys could think of would be awesome, or anything that you know from experience about these cars as well:

BMW 2002ti/tii
BMW 3.0CS/CSi
Lotus Europa TwinCam/Special

All the cars I am looking at are clean runners, most likely an restoration.

I'm not sure what the BMW's run, as I have seen some wildly warying prices. There were a couple 2002tii's that looked interesting in Roundel (the stock Fjord/Blue car and the one with a full Recaro interior from an E21), but both were too far away for me to think about atm. As for the 3.0CS/CSi cars, they seem to be a bit harder to find, but I love how they look. I'd imagine they would be a bit more expensive to run as well.

Now for the (kind of) wildcard: the Lotus Europa. I have loved these cars for years, they are just so different. I am familiar with this car market, having watched it for about 5 years now, and a good example runs about $12k right now, though there are a few on either side of that. I also know that it is probably the highest in parts cost.

I am looking at these cars as a Sunday driver/occasional auto-x/club meet cars.

Any info you guys have on buying a classic, things I should steer clear of, etc, would be much appreciated!

Thomas

My Dad had a Europa, he never talks about it, an when I ask him he says it was really nothing special. 2800cs was selling his coupe a few months ago, not sure where it went. If I had had space I would have considered it greatly. You might ask him...I think he wants to see it restored.

If I had the time I'd get another early Datsun Z, but the market is in muscle cars right now. Might be a good investment to go that route.

I might consider that, but I would have to ship it to California.

As for the Europa, that's interesting. I wouldn't buy one without driving it first at least, but they look very interesting to me and I have always loved Lotus'.

My #1 pick is a 3.0CS/CSi, and I would assume the 2800CS would be just a slightly older, less powerful version, which is fine by me.

On a side note, I'm in Hawaii until Wednesday night right now. I didn't see anything going on though.

Thanks for the info JP!

For the 2002s, it depends on how much you want to modify your car... but it should take nowhere near 10K for a really nice 2002. But if you want an original mint tii, yeah it can be all that or more. The problem with the tii is that people always want to keep them bone-stock original, and you can't really tweak the k-fischer system much.
Now if you want a fun car with freedom to modify, you can get a great carbed 2002 for a couple K, 5K maybe for a near-mint one and have a whole lot of fun with the extra cash. Lots of carb setup options, and you can get as good or better performance than the tii. It's much easier to tweak to fit your needs, and you don't have as much guilt when you run it hard, daily drive it, and rip some stuff apart to suit your needs.
I don't know much about the other cars....

Oh, and just noticed you said your in hawaii right now. I've got the 2002 set up and running quite well right now if you wanna go for a ride with me. When the secondary barrel of that weber 32/36 kicks in, holy crap :buttrock
I live in Makiki right by Tantalus, and I'm only telling you that so you can find me. :shifty

I actually live at Pensacola and H1, so if you want to get together I would be up for it! I really want to get a ride in one of those 2002's! PM me, and maybe we can set something up.

i want in on the ride in the 2002 too.. maybe we can "follow" each other up Tantalus... and have some fun

tantalus is closed.

tantalus is closed.


WHAT!!!!

WHAT!!!!
After all those rains, there was a landslide and the road was closed. I think the closure is near the lookout.

damnit...

I agree with Kfunk on the flexibility of the non-ti or tii 02s. The other thing about the 2002s is that they can actually be daily drivers. There's one for sale locally - with the Weber, Recaros, a 5spd and higher ratio lsd - a good start. That might be a good one for you to sample while you're here. PM me if you're interested, i can forward your info to the seller.
check bmw2002faq.com, too. Whatever car you end up with, the fun is in the search...

tantalus is closed.

not the whole thing, just the part over on the makiki st. side. I'm not sure what you guys call it, but I head up mott-smith side, and can make it all the way around until you get to the part where there's the nice lookouts comin down the other side. The first part headin up the mott-smith/makiki hts. side is still really smooth and fun, but then it gradually turns into pothole hell, and its better to just turn around.

I just took it out for a drive yesterday.

Actually, I have read that the 2800cs is just as powerful as the 3.0....due to higher compression...

Bit of a pain in the ass though....I add octane boosters and lead additives to every fill.

not the whole thing, just the part over on the makiki st. side. I'm not sure what you guys call it, but I head up mott-smith side, and can make it all the way around until you get to the part where there's the nice lookouts comin down the other side. The first part headin up the mott-smith/makiki hts. side is still really smooth and fun, but then it gradually turns into pothole hell, and its better to just turn around.

Hongkongkingdom wanted a ride in my my M3 when I was over looking at his car, and decided to cruise up Tantalus...

You can't get very far up Makiki St. side and it is closed off....
Mott-Smith side is open all the way to the lookout, they have a road closed sign there, but you can go around it, (which I did), went past the lookout, and the first turn there, and then they put up a CONCRETE road block across the whole road. I wanted to walk down there and see just how bad things were, but didnt have a flashlight..

GOT I LOVE TANTALUS, even if it is partly closed

Well K Funk, what are you doing tommorow night? Maybe we can get together. Tonight I am taking my fiancee out on the Navatek cruise for dinner.

i'll be home around 5pm tomorrow and free to do whatever the rest of the night. lemme know. :buttrock

only bad thing is my car doesn't have any music right now.... cuz im a dumbass that left my faceplate somewhere on maui.... :mad

Kev - You need another deck? I have a Blaupunkt cassette deck that you can have.

Kev - You need another deck? I have a Blaupunkt cassette deck that you can have.

I have one of those too.... but I'd rather just get another faceplate for my Alpine.:cool
watchin one on ebay, or may get it from pacparts.com

Did you call your rental car company?

Did you call your rental car company?


yeah, i called them. i think its still in the car somewhere, and she didn't look hard enough.
i called airport lost and found.
i called place where i ate lunch.

nothing. :(

I'm definately down for tommorow. You want to arrange a place to meet up? Just let me know, and I'll be there!

I'm definately down for tommorow. You want to arrange a place to meet up? Just let me know, and I'll be there!

uhhh, my house? i dunno where else. ill just hang out here until you drop by, unless you got a better plan.

lol, cool. I'll leave here a little after 5pm then, and I hope I can find your place! I've got the directions, so I should be ok. See you later tonight.