looking at a decently maintained 2nd owner BMW that is just too nice looking for me to pass up. BMW jokes aside , what should i be looking for? anybody ever owned one of these little units? what is a fair price? any problem areas common with it? any good forum sites?

thanks,

joel

All I know of them, is from my wrecking yard days back in the early 80's. We always had guys looking for decent cylinder heads. I guess they're prone to cracking.

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

i have always had an interest in a e30 m3 powered 2002, or a 2002 turbo if i could find one here in the states.

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Jonathan
1998 S600
2001 E430
1994 E320
1991 560SEL
1994 Turbo R

What model is it? If it's a tii, you have a double edged sword on your hands. They're fun, but some parts are pretty expensive. I owned a 74 tii that was hot rodded, and it was a hoot to drive. The tii's have better brakes, suspension, and more power.

As stated, the killer of them all (mine included) was/is rust. The rocker panels, strut towers and other pick-up points as well as floors will rust like mad. Mine had decent floors and towers for a long time, but the rocker panels were beyond hope. Eventually, it all started to go no matter what I did. The door "protection" strips allowed moisture to get trapper, and it rusted under there, as well. The trunk floor will rust if the seals are left leaking.

If you have one that requires repairs or body work, the cost can quickly eclipse the purchase price and you'll be forever in the red on it. But, that's true of lots things that are fun, right?

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

ditto on the usual rust caveats. i had a '69 1600-2 which hummed like a sewing machine but had significant rust at the rear shock towers in the trunk. front strut towers were solid though. i heard after i sold it that the fella drove it until the rear shock towers disintegrated. i think that's an aluminum head, right? guess that's why they may have been a hot junkyard item i vividly remember rebuilding the rear sliding joints on the half-shafts -- had never seen anything like it, before or since. guess it was a precursor of cv joints. cool cars.

check for rust everywhere.

some dont like the big bumpers, but theyve saved me several times in los angeles traffic when some numbnuts rold up on me and hit me at a light or something. the round tail light models are the most stought after, but have poor lighting a the rear in comparison to the later models.

cars are great to own and run. im looking for a clean no drivetrain 72 right now. my 76 needs too much smog stuff for me to bother.

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'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

The 2002Tii is in my top 20 favorite cars, the 3.0CSI is in my top 10. Good luck if you plan to get one.

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With best regards

Al

I owned a couple of them in '84. Even then, one was rusted beyond hope, but it had the better engine. The other one was from the dry west, so the body was really good. Instant project! Mechanically, they were very simple, as long as you have the single carb version. Only troubles were the usual stuff- brake calipres, shocks, etc. Mine also needed a driveshaft centre bearing, and rubber guibo coupling to the transmission. Very fun car to drive, but for some reason mine only got 18 mpg- pretty bad for a little 4 cyl. car that barely weighs a ton.

Dave

Rust! These are fun little cars. 72-73 are good years.
If the 74 is in good shape,right price,and you don't
mind the bumpers and square tailights you may like it.

Been on the BMW boards for over 3 years now and everyone complains about one thing! PARTS ARE VERY VERY EXPENSIVE! I live them I think they have a charm like the early 240d's but then again I'm a little strange.

RUST RUST RUST RUST! Especially around the strut mounts.
If you can stand the big bumpers, '74 is OK. I've heard to avoid the '75 and later cars as those engines were equipped with thermal reactors - a CAT converter alternative that bolted to the head in place of the exhaust manifold, decreasing performance and increasing the risk of cracked heads.
(Note: '74 California models may also have thermal reactors)
If I didn't need to risk daily city traffic, my choice woud be the higher compression pre-72 models with the lighter bumpers.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW