other $33k for this car???

[Eiremon]

Not sure if this is the right place for this...  I just saw this car sell for $33k:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-2002-Base-Coupe-2-Door-1976-bmw-2002-base-coupe-2-door-2-0-l-/251728501588?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3a9c301b54&item=251728501588&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

 

I met the owner of this car at a show in Boston over the summer.  It's a decent car with some nice mods - it's still a non-roundie base model.  I told the owner to contact me if he was ever interested in selling.  I since bought an E30 M3 so I would not have even considered it - he never reached out either way.  I saw the car listed for sale within the past couple of months.  It is still listed on Hemmings for $27,900.

 

I know that a roundie Inka Tii just sold for $36k on eBay but that car was very nice.  I thought the price was a touch high but could be justified based on the condition of the car.  I have also seen a handful of well sorted 2002's fetching $25k more often on eBay.

 

Is the market for these cars rising all of a sudden?  I would have put a value of $15-20k on the car listed above - no where near the $33k it brought.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Eiremon

[Conserv]

In general, 2002 prices appear to be rising. But the value of a given car at a given date is not a single value, but a range. If the ideal buyer happens along, you wind up at the top of that range; if the ideal buyer does not come along, you wind up at the bottom of that range, or without a sale. Yes, I could easily see a clean restomodded square taillight example sell in the $15,000-$20,000 range, but someone was looking for an Inka sunroof car, liked the combination of mods, knew what it would cost to have those mods made, and was happy to pay more.

An entirely reliable source just confirmed to me that a Korman-restored '73 tii recently sold for $46,000. An over-priced tii? Yes, if you believe round taillight tii's are $6,000 - $35,000 cars. But no, if you really want a Korman-restored example (or its equivalent from any of a dozen other high-end restoration shops).

Regards,

Steve

Edited December 5, 2014 by Conserv

[Eiremon]

Understood, one sale does not define the market.  This one was a little puzzling as the car had sat listed at a dealer's price of $27,900 for a month or two before fetching $6k more on eBay.  There were 3 bidders in on it at $30k.  Nice car but for that money I'd be looking for an all original Tii.  

[AceAndrew]

 Nice car but for that money...

 

Someone thought it was worth it 33k, hence the bid.

 

Steve, is right.  The prices have been climbing for well over a year and a half now.  I'm getting more than one call a day now from people looking for good clean (and tastefully modified) 2002's (and we don't even sell 2002's!), when I ask for a budget to give them an idea of what to expect, I'm the one that is getting increasingly caught off-guard by the person's rather high number.

 

Generally they're either coming down from some more expensive vintage german/italian car and can't believe what a good deal the 2002 still is, or they're first timers looking to get into the vintage euro market and still see the 2002 as the bargain of the bunch.

Edited December 5, 2014 by AceAndrew

[Conserv]

Understood, one sale does not define the market.  This one was a little puzzling as the car had sat listed at a dealer's price of $27,900 for a month or two before fetching $6k more on eBay.  There were 3 bidders in on it at $30k.  Nice car but for that money I'd be looking for an all original Tii.

I'll bet none of those bidders was aware of the other listing: the market is not perfect. Further, people get carried away by auctions. Don't expect full information or entirely rational behavior in the vintage car market!

Steve

[saaron]

I have to say, that is a strong price.  Impressive, really.  

 

It sounds a little silly to me personally (maybe because I'm more interested in how the 02 drives), but I think color matters a lot, especially to new people coming in, or the older 02 people who might be buying one as an investment.  

 

If you're coming in and buying an 02 for fun, and you have a decent budget, you are going to get the color that you love; the car that visually "wows" you.

 

Scott

[esty]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-BMW-2002-Base-Coupe-2-Door-2-0L-/251728501588?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&forcerrptr=true&hash=item3a9c301b54&item=251728501588&nma=true&si=GIutXRYZqyU6VRcezDnxVd7X1Aw%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[jrkoupe]

some good responses here..

prices are strong now...and the range is big......but for the first time in a long time the larger prices are really selling.

Still overall, they remain a bargain. Go look at GTV's......510's.....etc etc.

really really good solid cars are no longer found at 7-10k like 3 or so yrs ago...

[Conserv]

 

....It sounds a little silly to me personally (maybe because I'm more interested in how the 02 drives), but I think color matters a lot, especially to new people coming in, or the older 02 people who might be buying one as an investment.  

 

If you're coming in and buying an 02 for fun, and you have a decent budget, you are going to get the color that you love; the car that visually "wows" you.

 

Scott

I agree wholeheartedly with you, Scott! And I'm hardly a newcomer to '02s, but my shopping list for a round taillight tii included a factory sunroof and only four colors, the first and foremost of which was....Inka!

Regards,

Steve

[saaron]

Ha!  Inka is always in the hit parade.  And Golf...forget it.  My personal fave might be Colorado.

 

I have a friend with an Inka roundie that is sort of similar to the F-Bomb in terms of condition, except that it doesn't have carpet in it.  It's an honest project car (solid body) that is coming together, but is far from finished.  We went to our local cars and coffee last weekend, and between the Inka, patina, and the dual Webers, people were magnetized to the car.

 

My euro tii roundie was right next to the Inka, and no one even looked at it.  

 

The color matters.

 

Scott

[jgerock]

Ha!  Inka is always in the hit parade.  And Golf...forget it.  My personal fave might be Colorado.

 

I have a friend with an Inka roundie that is sort of similar to the F-Bomb in terms of condition, except that it doesn't have carpet in it.  It's an honest project car (solid body) that is coming together, but is far from finished.  We went to our local cars and coffee last weekend, and between the Inka, patina, and the dual Webers, people were magnetized to the car.

 

My euro tii roundie was right next to the Inka, and no one even looked at it.  

 

The color matters.

 

Scott

Gee - whose car is this? .  I really like it..guess I'll take a few pics.

[Gordon]

 Check out the 74 tii in the FAQ classifieds that is on the Los Angeles Craigslist for $34.5K that is stock except for minor upgrades to include E21 Recaro seats, E21 sport steering wheel and E30 basketweaves.  It was at auction a couple of weeks ago in Palm Springs and high bid was $28K and it didn't sell, unbelievable. This market is getting crazy to say the least.

 

G-Man

Edited December 5, 2014 by Gordon

[saaron]

Gee - whose car is this? .  I really like it..guess I'll take a few pics.

 

 

Jim, you're funny.  Maybe at Vintage I can park next to your ti and people can ignore my car again.  

 

Scott 

[thehackmechanic]

I am quite surprised. Twice this past week I advised people on big-bumpered square tail light 2002s, and gave reasons why I thought they didn't have the headroom in value that a roundie chrome-bumpered car has. But on these auctions, it seems to be a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts thing. A desirable color like Inka, a fully detailed engine compartment, a hot engine with dual Webers and a high horsepower number purportedly backed up by a dyno sheet, color-matching 320i Recaros, very good photography, and voila. I'm VERY surprised that hit that number without the ad even claiming the words "no rust," much less backing it up with pics. 

 

And I'm not a fan of the center console plate. I guess it's supposed to match the faux wood grain of the instrument cluster.

[02Les]

It was on Ebay twice in September and din't make the reserve; the bidding only got up to $11 & $12k. Two months later two Bidders (basically) ran it up to $33k. We may see this one again on Ebay!