1972 2002tii

[larryscastle]

Price: $42000

Location: Los Angeles

Description:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/1972-bmw-2002-tii/6570720091.html

 

Found this one on craigslist. I asked the seller what his or her bottom price would be and they responded: "Make me an offer. The worst I can say is no..." What do y'all think is a good deal on something like this? 

[iinca]

it's been for sale for quite some time

 

I talked to him on the phone and apparently it has some rust in the rockers and other frame issues.

[gwb72tii]

There is really no such thing as documented mileage on a 2002 that is 45 Year’s old. 

42k for this car is a LOT. 

[Conserv]

13 hours ago, gwb72tii said:

There is really no such thing as documented mileage on a 2002 that is 45 Year’s old. 

42k for this car is a LOT. 

 

+1

 

I largely agree with both of these observations.

 

When I (a.) see that half of the ‘02’s on the market at any time appear to have currently-non-working speedometers/odometers, (b.) note the number of ‘02’s with instrument clusters that have obviously been replaced (e.g., a 4/71 to 8/73-style cluster in a “silver dollar-era” car), and (c.) reflect that each ‘02 I’ve owned has had some speedometer or speedometer cable issue during my ownership period, I have to conclude the numbers on the odometer are more likely to be wrong than meaningful.

 

So, you’d have to have a ton of documents to counter the very undependability of ‘02 odometers. I have four large volumes of receipts (photo below) for my ‘76 from July 1976 to today, and yet I can still identify a few missing documents (e.g., dealer stamps in the car’s service booklet for which I can no longer find the receipts.) And....it would be easy to “cheat” if one wanted to do.  If I swapped a correctly-dated speedometer head onto my car, one showing 32,000 miles (my ‘76 currently has 105,000 miles), replaced my pedal pads, “lost” a bunch of receipts, and claimed the car went into storage just after 32,000 miles, an ‘02 expert would be hard pressed to suggest the 32,000 was not correct. My ‘76’s interior is entirely original (photo below), except for its horsehair pads, after 105,000 miles and 44 years.  It could easily pass for 32,000 miles.

 

We didn’t buy these car’s new as garage queens.  We couldn’t afford it.  These were not second or third cars, as they frequently are today. These were our only cars and our daily drivers. We put serious mileage on all but a very, very few of them. To assume an ‘02’s odometer is (1.) meaningful, and (2.) if meaningful, is actually on its first revolution, is generally foolish and wrong.

 

Even for the present tii, which looks very complete and relatively unmolested, I note that the front seat perforated sections have been completely replaced. I don’t see anything here that couldn’t fit a 100,000 or even a 153,000-mile car. But I’d perhaps trust a credible first owner, provided he had a cogent description of why he only drove the car 53,000 miles in 11 years (1972 to 1983).

 

As to value, the body here, despite what might be an original nosepiece, looks...a bit wavy, a bit bondo’d. Maybe it’s just the tired paint. If there are also rust issues, the $42K looks mighty ambitious.  Even the very nice interior needs seat covers for the front seats. Five years ago, when I paid $10K for my ‘73 — believing it was an $8K car — this would have been a $15K-$20K car, largely because it was a ‘72 (“best” year), Atlantik (good color), sunroof (options don’t hurt), factory LSD (rare options really don’t hurt), numbers-matching, delivery-documented, and possibly low-mileage example — in need of love, but plenty useable.  It’s north of $15K-$20K now. The rust situation especially, but also possibly the state of the engine — what are its compression numbers? how does it run? — would suggest to me whether this is, say, a $25K car or a $35K car.

 

Say what you will about this or that detail, a documented ‘72 sunroof tii in an attractive color is a good long-term bet.

 

And I would absolutely want to talk with the original owner!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by Conserv

[02Les]

12 hours ago, gwb72tii said:

There is really no such thing as documented mileage on a 2002 that is 45 Year’s old. 

42k for this car is a LOT. 

Hmmm!

Not sure what this Seller has, but, you can have pretty damning evidence of original miles.

ie my Touring's Service Book.

[Conserv]

That is a thing of beauty, Les!

 

My experience these last 45 years, here in the U.S., however, has been that getting U.S. dealerships (BMW, Mercedes, VW, or Audi) to actually stamp the service booklet is nearly impossible. Plus, many owners abandon the dealer network as soon as the warranty expires, and give up even trying to obtain stamps from independent shops. I see virtually no service books stamped past 50,000 miles. Does that mean the car only has 50,000 miles on it? Obviously not... ?

 

When I simply couldn’t get a stamp, I referenced the invoice in the appropriate service booklet location. Few others do likewise.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by Conserv

[iinca]

way back those service stamps were gold Jerry...Gold!!!