thanks for your support, if not 02, then What ?

[york]

those of you who follow my postings (1 year ?) know my story of owning

2002's back in the 70's and recently deciding NOT to buy a new BMW

because I thought for that kind of money I could buy a restored to new cond. 2002 not modified car. Why not pay the price and go ahead and drive a 1973 like I did in 1976 ? sure it would devalue the car , just like

driving or even owning a new BMW would .

The awnwser is : the car exists but, is not for sale.

and no I do not want to start another restoration project.

so maybe I should buy a 2004 330i coupe or M coupe (Z4M) ?

and wait for a estate sale someday or Museum Bankruptcy for a 02

Every body help out here with a suggestion for a fun/light weight/ manual /

coupe, I dig the 2004-06 cars What would you buy (until the right 2002)

thanks again

[MKINNA]

For me, It would be E30 M3.

[Psymon]

Are you looking for only roundies?

There is this that seems nice.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vintage-BMW-2002-Terrific-Condition-/120738292188?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c1c9021dc

[GoFaSSter]

I have a friend who is selling a pristine 1970 Opel GT. I know it is not BMW, but it has a lot of sililarities to our cars.

[adawil2002]

E36 M3 1996-1999. Can be found for under 15K. Love mine, best car I have ever owned. I consider it my super modified 2002, side by side the lineage is clear. In my opinion the best car BMW made since 1989.

[jrhone]

Whats your budget? You are looking for a roundie? Well to be honest here is the deal. If you want a clean original car you are going to have to do SOMETHING to it unless its a $20k car. So maybe you have to be realistic. Buy a car thats clean, do a little work to it...enjoy it. If you dont want to do that then dont buy a 39 year old car. They wont be perfect.

[york]

nice but not what I was looking for , think of what a # 1 car would be like

or think of restored to show room cond.

[york]

budget was never a part of this search(Check my posts)

I already spent more $ on my travels to inspect than I care to mention

[york]

realistic to me would be $ 35,000 for a 02

or more for the right car

Im not looking for a 02 because I cant afford a new bmw

check my posts

[adawil2002]

I already spent more $ on my travels to inspect than I care to mention

There in lies the problem. Nothing will ever meet your standard, there is always a 'deal breaker' so instead of committing you keep hunting for the 'right one'. STOP. Buy the best, cleanest 2002 you can, color, interior does not matter as long as it's clean. Since money is not an issue. Restore it to the level of finish you want, color, interior etc. It's not difficult.

The Chaminox La Jolla serviced was fine and easily fixable from what you posted were 'problems'...yet here you are, searching, still.

Spend money on fixing, and enjoying. That's what these cars are about.

[mcaden]

Gary,

I have followed your threads and understand your frustration about finding the "right" 2002. I know you have specific needs, but I would still encourage you to keep the faith. If not, my suggestion would be:

1. 2003-05 E46 330i ZHP: amazing performance and reliability without all of the expense that can come with owning an M3. Fairly easy to perform routine maintenance on.

2. E30 325i or 325is or 318is: would give you some of the light weight/mechanical pleasure/reliability of the 2002 with some modern conveniences (pwr windows, pwr sunroof, OBC).

-Good luck and whatever you decide, let us know.

Marc

[jrhone]

Give me $35k and I'll get you the perfect 02. Seriously...for the amount of time you have spent, you could have found a decent one for 5k and spent 15k to make it EXACTLY what you want. Its not hard, but its not like dropping down to the local dealer and grabbing one. Seriously....email me and I'll find you the perfect 02 for you.

[Marsattacks]

Looks like more than one of the boys here can sort you out. You do not have the greatest impediment -- low budget. A few suggestions. Maybe you have tried some of these. The bottom line is that if you have money and a little time then your problem is solved. You will have your BMW by Laobr Day in all likelihood.

1. Scour real car auction listings (not ebay). A few nice examples have gone through. RM is a place to start. Maybe MidAmerica.

2. Hire an agent to search according to your specifications. If not a member then join BMWCCA and post a wanted ad. Post a Hemmings wanted ad.

3. Hire someone to block time in his shop to make it what you want in 6 months' time.

4. Have the boys at BAT help you out.

5. If you need something right now, BAT has a 71 2800CS listed as an "exclusive" that is not too bad. It has a fatal flaw in that it is an automatic. But that can be fixed. Different price point from 02s but that engine is awesome (I had a 3.0CS for a good long time).

Good luck

[malagalaga]

Even with an unlimited budget, you aren't going to find a 40 year old BMW 2002 that doesn't need a thing or two done to it to bring it back to 100% factory fresh. These are old cars and no restoration can make things exactly as they were from the factory - and most people don't try, since these aren't six or seven figure Ferraris.

From what I remember, you are looking for a white over blue roundie with a four-speed and no modifications, right?

I spent about three years searching for a really nice '02, but I was looking for one that would fit within my considerably more limited budget. I finally found my car earlier this year and, unless a Riviera one in similar condition randomly pops up for sale, I doubt I'll sell it any time soon. To keep myself placated in the meantime, I bought a couple of inexpensive cars just to drive around an enjoy. You might want to consider that - pick up a $8,000 car that is darn nice and enjoy it for a while.

That said, there have been some very nice white over navy '02s on ebay, including the square tail listed above. That car looks like it could have $1,000 thrown at it to really make it concours-looking.

And I've personally seen this car...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-BMW-2002-/320710687355?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4aabd8ba7b

I don't know if he sold it outside of the auction. It's very nice. Again, needs about $1,000 to do a few little things (some rust creeping into the trunk seams, could use a good paint detailing by a pro). But it's certainly one of the nicest 2002s I've seen, including the cars in BMW's private collection.

[Harv]

If I was going to use that kind of budget, I would find a decent one and have any one of the reputable places go through it. Sports Car Restoration in Ct, Werk Shop in Il, 2002Haus in So Cal. There are others I'm sure I'm missing.

Personally (I'm saying this in a friendly manor) I think your having a temper tantrum because you can't find the car you want. Well, welcome to the old car world. And if your going to go e46 because you can't find the right 2002 you might be barking up the wrong tree in the first place.

Good luck, keep at it, you'll find the right one sooner or later.

John