How much would you pay

[joebarthlow]

get a third party PPI. Can't see much from pics

[TobyB]

Quote

No LHDs in Japan? Oh, sure, sure. In Japan it's pretty chic to drive a LHD car.

 

Yes, but if the car was sold as new there, wouldn't it have had to be sold as RHD?  My experience is mainly with the UK, but

I was under the impression that there were no exemptions for OEM's.  Otherwise, they wouldn't bother with the expense, and just build LHD...

 

Things I thought were true, but...

 

t

 

[Simeon]

Toby is correct (as usual) the question would then be is the car a grey import into Japan?

 

Lots of US military presence there and as we know from Germany, the forces love to buy German cars...

 

To be honest though, a 1502 doesn’t seem ‘special’ enough to warrant export in that way. 

Edited February 18, 2018 by Simeon

[Tommy]

23 minutes ago, TobyB said:

 

Yes, but if the car was sold as new there, wouldn't it have had to be sold as RHD?  My experience is mainly with the UK, but

I was under the impression that there were no exemptions for OEM's. 

That's not the case in Japan. There's plenty of LHD's available in used car auctions that are very popular. And for example large portion of 2002 turbo's were sold in Japan and they're all LHD. It feels weird but they just have both there.

[resra]

We are so spoiled by buying $2000 cars that we forget often that buying a classic like these cars in such good shape for $10k is a steal! Just name another classic, so affordable, so reliable, easy to work on, still keeps up with modern traffic, easily obtainable parts new or used and yet we have to ponder for 5 years before buying a $9k car! Wow.....for $9k you can't even buy a rust bucket Porsche 912.

This looks like a Greeeeeeeeeeaaaaat buy in my opinion.

And to those who say, oh the nose looks crooked, the doors are not aligned, the headlights are off by 2 centimeters, the emblem should be on the roof, the trim should be on the tail pipe.....well.....take a look at yourself in the mirror after 40+years and see how good you look and I'm sure you have not been dragged on salty roads for the 25 years of that 40 years. Besides, for godsake....this is a car below $10k and it is a very rare model 1502 (yes maybe not so "superior to the 2002"! What? Had maybe 6hp less than a 2.0 M10?) Big deal....you are not buying a 10 point car for $40k! Wait....it is actually superior to your USA 74-76 2002 because it has nice euro bumpers, has a Genuine Nardi steering wheel, has a nice Alpine radio...etc .etc. from what I can see in the pictures.

 

BTW, I have nothing to do with this car but I love it for the price and shape it's in. Rare rare rare in USA to find a genuine 1502 and I don't care who says what.

Edited February 21, 2018 by resra

[ray_]

Nice rant! ^

 

 

Cheers,

[02Les]

2 hours ago, resra said:

We are so spoiled by buying $2000 cars that we forget often that buying a classic like these cars in such good shape for $10k is a steal! Just name another classic, so affordable, so reliable, easy to work on, still keeps up with modern traffic, easily obtainable parts new or used and yet we have to ponder for 5 years before buying a $9k car! Wow.....for $9k you can't even buy a rust bucket Porsche 912.

This looks like a Greeeeeeeeeeaaaaat buy in my opinion.

And to those who say, oh the nose looks crooked, the doors are not aligned, the headlights are off by 2 centimeters, the emblem should be on the roof, the trim should be on the tail pipe.....well.....take a look at yourself on the mirror after 40+years and see how good you look and I'm sure you have not been dragged on salty roads for the 25 years out of that 40 years of your life....Besides, for godsake....this is a car below $10k and it is a very rare model 1502 (yes maybe not so "superior to the 2002"! What? Had maybe 6hp less than a 2.0 M10?) Big deal....you are not buying a 10 point car for $40k! Wait....it is actually superior to your USA 74-76 2002 because it has nice euro bumpers, has a Genuine Nardi steering wheel, has a nice Alpine radio...etc .etc. from what I can see in the pictures.

 

BTW, I have nothing to do with this car but I love it for the price and shape it's in. Rare rare rare in USA to find a genuine 1502 and I don't care what who says.

I'm sorta kinda with you, except "easily obtainable parts". Try that for an '02 model that wasn't sold in the US, like a Touring.

[Henning]

Concerning the engine...:

 

We had this "Are 1600s the new craze?"- thread some time ago. I think there should be a proper 2002 engine to be found- if the installed one is something of lower niveau.

So dropping in a 2-litre is not the real orgy, maybe one year later adding the trim...  And the fun-to-drive isn't less than in a bona-fide 2002.

 

hen

 

[resra]

53 minutes ago, 02Les said:

I'm sorta kinda with you, except "easily obtainable parts". Try that for an '02 model that wasn't sold in the US, like a Touring.

 

Ok, this is not a touring Les!

 

What other part can you not get for this car than say a USA 2002? KMH speedo? Look on ebay.de! Ok, maybe the air cleaner is different shaped? then again, this is not a 10 point award winning car. From the price point it is a very unpretentious daily driving type of 1502! In a very desirable color and features.  

[dbmw2002]

As a first 2002 this might not be a great choice. All my o2s have had exhaust and carb upgrades, my new 1600 is bone stock, still fun to drive but you must plan your passes instead of just flooring the o2s. Throw in 500 lbs of freight and nixie the passing idea. 

That being said, if I was in the market, I would love to see this car in person. The color, the factory deletes (side markers, trim etc make it a very roundie sqwarie.

Research your purchase, buy an airplane ticket, get dirty inspecting underneath the car for rust. FAQ would agree if it passes the rust test, it's worth every penny.

[NickVyse]

The real question is what are your alternatives where you live? Have you ever seen another? If it's not going to cost you a fortune to cut out hidden rot then buy it, it looks cool, and will go well enough, and when the times right get a hot 2 litre on a pallet out of europe and swap her straight in, or rebuild what you have with some high compression pistons and some sidedrafts. Or if you don't drive quick and just like to cruise then you won't have to bother. 

[02Les]

19 hours ago, resra said:

 

Ok, this is not a touring Les!

 

What other part can you not get for this car than say a USA 2002? KMH speedo? Look on ebay.de! Ok, maybe the air cleaner is different shaped? then again, this is not a 10 point award winning car. From the price point it is a very unpretentious daily driving type of 1502! In a very desirable color and features.  

No it is a 1502 & if you had it in the USA you will have to jump through hoops to get parts that are specific for it.

If you had said "obtainable" ok, "easily obtainable", not so much.

I believe the car is in Dubai?, so who knows how easy parts are to get there. Ebay.de is a good place, especially if, like me, you understand German.

[resra]

Again, most parts on that car are same as a 2002 and so no need to get 1502 specific parts there. I had no idea the car is in Dubai. A beautiful car priced way right in my opinion no matter where it is. As for the language goes, I have no problem understanding German, Japanese or Chinese so long I have the google translator. It makes sense for most part. Enough to get by anyway and I have used that to buy parts from Germany many times.

[Guest Lalfa]

I'm sorry for not replying sooner. I've been tied up with work and my kids are not feeling well so I haven't had a chance to go through your posts until now. 

 

I have managed to get some additional pictures of the car (albeit shitty ones) including the interior, undercarriage and trunk which I hope will give you a better idea of its condition.

[Conserv]

Henning, above, already noted that the paint sticker, at the right front corner of the engine compartment, is not legible, but appears to show a color longer than “Inka”, the current color.  Stated differently, the car is very possibly color changed — certainly not a terrible thing for a $9,300 ‘02, but something a buyer should know.

 

Send an email to BMW Archives (info.grouparchiv@bmwgroup.com) with the car’s VIN and request their data on the car.  They will tell you the exact manufacturing date, model (1502 Euro-spec, likely), country of initial delivery, and the original exterior color.

 

Seeing the interior shots, I note that the front seats are the “1974-only style”, used from approximately September 1973 into the last quarter of 1974 (on some cars, such as the 1974 U.S.-spec tii).  Since I believe the 1502 was introduced in early 1975, I would also suspect that the front seats may, therefore, not be original to the car — again, not a bad thing but something a buyer should know.  I wonder if, perhaps, the interior was swapped out when the exterior color was changed to Inka.

 

Please share your email from BMW Archives with us.

 

Good luck and regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited February 20, 2018 by Conserv