Hi, as the title says I have an opportunity in a couple years to buy a bmw 2002 very cheap. I am almost 16 but will buy my first car in around 2 years, in my school we have an autoshop. My auto teacher last year picked up a classic bmw 2002 don't know the year of it but he offered me in a few years when he gets it running to sell it to me for $2.5k. I am learning how to work on cars and am obsessed with German cars (runs in the family) and that 2002 was love at first sight for me . I just wanted to know is this a good deal, when school starts il talk to him more and show you guys pictures of it, it doesn't run but every thing is solid on the car just very dirty and interior is in almost good shape just dirty. Also want to know the cost of ownership on this car, parts gas maintenance etc. I am very tempted but one side of me is saying it would be a bitch to work on but my other side is saying its probably the only time i will be able to own this. What should I do!? Want an older bmw, if I snap out of this I am skeptical about an e39 or e36 of power and maintenance.
It's hard to say whether $2,500 is a good price (or whether it will be in two years) without having more information about the car.
If you have the opportunity to work on the car while your shop teacher is bringing it back to working condition, you will be in the best position to judge the condition of this particular car. Not many have the opportunity to get intimately familiar with a potential purchase for two years before making a decision.
Continue reading all you can on this forum and on bmw2002faq.com and you will increase your knowledge and enhance your appreciation of these unique automobiles. You might also want to pick up a copy of Mike McCartney's book, "BMW '02 Restoration Guide".
Provide some photos and more details as we would all love to see what you have fallen in love with.
Regards, Maurice.
thanks for the sites and I will try to get some pictures today and I ran into my teacher yesterday and he told me that it runs now, will keep you guys informed
I had a 1976 model and it passed smog easy. It only needed to have HC (unburned hydrocarbons) below 300ppm, which is easy to do if the carb is adjusted and it is tuned up. Fuel injected cars are required to have much lower emissions and are often harder to pass even though they are better. The standards are different.
Also my car was originally from texas and I bought it used in California. That means it was called a "federal" car, and was legal to have in California even though it did not have the smog equipment required of ones originally sold new in California. It did not have CAT or air injection pump to inject air into the exhaust manifold.
I am not even sure what smog equip cars sold new in Calif were required to have back then.
Last edited by okieflats; 08-22-2014 at 06:49 AM.
Ok will take pics of it tomorrow but I cant get inside because it is in a cage with 3 other cars, and a poor beaten e34 535 ):
http://imgur.com/a/mHEwR here are some pics I was able to get today, got even more dirty sitting in that cage for months ):
Where is this if you don't mind me asking? All we know is you are in California? Looks good from the photos, I suppose. It is a 1974, 1975, or 1976, but I can't tell which specifically. $2500 is probably good if it needs no rust repair or body repair, and it is complete, running and clear title. To look for rust you need to look under it, and lower part of the doors, and lower sheet metal just behind the front wheels, as that can start to rust out from the back side, and you can feel the metal back there behind the front wheel, and see if there is any bubbling up of the paint in the area which would be due to rust.
You could look it up with the dmv if you got the VIN number:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/online/onlinesvcs.htm
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/index.jsp
Used vehicle form:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculator...VehicleForm.do
Last edited by okieflats; 08-22-2014 at 07:23 PM.
car is in martinez california, but it hasnt ran in a while and idk about if being registered. technically its owner is the auto teacher
Update! Saw the car closer today, got the vin and checked the engine. I heard that it runs but needs some electrical parts, engine seemed in tact and solid, just very dirty, same idea with the interior. Got more pics if you guys are interested and here is the vin: 4227684
http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html
Looks like it is a US 1974 2002 manual
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