2002 Daily Driver?

[Jim_75Sahara]

I agree with 98% of what y'all are saying. 

The 2002 was designed in the 1960's when I was a little boy. (& that's getting to be a long time ago!) Today's Honda or Toyota is incredibly reliable and safe; it's packed with electronic luxuries and safety features. Are they exciting? Basically, no. The 2002 has no microprocessors, no electronic nannies, no luxuries to speak of and it has just minimal safety features, but it is certainly fun to drive. I still crave the visceral experience of piloting my Bavarian machine through tight curves and shifting the gears myself. As you know, most Americans prefer to wrap themselves in huge vehicles and to rely on passive safety measures. We prefer active safety measures: driving well, driving defensively and remaining wary. You know that there are legions of brain-dead booger-heads out there.

It can take a good bit of time, money and effort to make an old BMW into a daily driver. Many of the parts that you'll need to rely on have been on the car for decades. A lot of them need to be replaced, refurbished, upgraded, etc. Eventually one can reach a  point where the car can be driven longer distances with confidence. Our friend, the Hack Mechanic, practices that with the 02's he has resurrected. The trust factor goes up with each fix and each successful short drive. The reward is a long road trip that either has no breakdowns or only minor problems/none at all.... (Louie Agave comes to mind) Listen to the Hack Mechanic, Paul W., Mike Self, Chris Leonard, Terry Sayther and many others who know.

[OriginalOwner]

I'll offer my own "sideways squinting" perspective on To Drive Or Not To Drive Daily ........

 

If I listened to some of these guys, I would actually do what some people obviously very much enjoy, and are very talented at accomplishing:   washing the front rims on their 2002 .......

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

 

[motorAway]

On 10/12/2022 at 8:52 AM, Charles in PA said:

Would love to acquire another 02 to run it as a seasonal daily driver, keep my 2006 330ci zhp as my winter rat and summer driver.  Taking my tii in next month to see about putting in a modern AC system, increase my odds of convincing my significant other to take more summer road trips with it.  

 

@Charles in PA I have a 1976 Sahara in decent shape, automatic, that I'm looking to move. Adding a comment here since I haven't posted before and can't private message. I'm in the Philadelphia area, send me a DM if you have any interest.

[TobyB]

I spend far more time and money maintaining my 20 year old commuter than I ever

did when I dailied a 2002.

 

It's all relative.  The 2002 is trivial to fix.  The ABS on an E39 is not.

There are 6 bushings on a 2002.  There are 6 bushings on one rear trailing

arm assembly of an E46.

There is no FSR on a 2002.  The E46 version catches on fire.

There is no electronic fan on a 2002.  The E46 version catches on fire also.

When you replace the thermostat on an E46, all the other hoses will leak.

When you replace the thermostat on a 2002, you might need a new hose clamp.

 

and so on.

 

t

wishes he could take a train

 

 

[Gordon]

I only drive my tii on weekends and occasionally to work on nice days and never during the winter here in Colorado.  My daily is a 91 E30 318i M42 sedan and a 07 4Runner during the winter.  When I lived in So Cal in the 90's, my former 74 2002 was my DD and it was totaled by a red light runner. I bought another 74 2002 and it was rear ended and totaled on a LA freeway. Bought it back from the insurance company and fixed it up and drove it for years before it was parted out. Now SUVs are more prevalent and much bigger than in the 90's along with inattentive drivers addicted to their cell phones.  Go with an E30/E36 as your DD and fix up your 02 project for a weekend/nice day car.  

[Tdh]

So, Part 2 my perspective might seem a bit weird to most of you, but here goes. 

 

Part 1: Having daily driven and maintained everything from Series Land Rovers to Porsches to any number of British and Italian cars and or course a 2002, I say to anyone telling you that it's not possible to daily the 2002 you currently have a big giant BULLSHIT. It can be done. I've daily driven some pretty shitty "projects" in my day. Once you run through the car you'll be surprised at how reliable it will be. 

 

Part 2: I'm 52, and I've been riding motorcycles since I was 6 (stay with me on this). I mean it when I say I feel safer riding a bike in modern traffic than I do driving most antique cars. I suffer no delusions that either option ends in bad news for me if I get in an accident, but the bike I ride around town (BMW R1250 GS) is tall and my field of view isn't obstructed by a roof and pillars. I can also fit places on the bike in a bad situation that I can't in an antique car. Granted I can also ride like a mother F'r compared to most people you see on bikes. If you ride you'll understand what I mean. If you don't you'll probably think I'm nuts. At any rate, my point is, if your gonna daily the 2002 you have to accept the fact that things aren't gonna go your way in an accident. And, if some nut on a web board thinks that he's safer on a bike than in his 2002, then maybe you should really think about whether or not daily driving the the thing is for you. 

 

[Daily02]

After looking at all the responses of this and other threads. It seems like nothing stands out much. Not even the water pump. Just look at the individual systems and replace what needs to be done like a good 50 year old car should. Most failures seem like single time after a long time of use. I will consider the replacing the things that could strand the vehicle, before the single time occurs, and convenience items (electronic ignition).

 

It was almost shocking about so many replies about the safety? Since there were so many experiences I will upgrade the reflectors and bulbs in the tail lights, and possibly add the 3rd brake light.

 

The hub spun on the previous owner of my 2002, and I hope this will be a 1 time failure. I got used parts, as I had no idea the dealer had them new! This is one thing that is different with these cars. The factory supports them for years. This single source supply does have the risk of when they decide to NLA  a part. If I only had a crystal ball for this.

 

Regards

 

Dono

[ray_]

And you can buy an adhesive LED strip and adhere it to the inside part of the rear windshield gasket pretty easily.

 

;-)

[John76]

5 hours ago, ray_ said:

And you can buy an adhesive LED strip and adhere it to the inside part of the rear windshield gasket

Yep... best $15 safely item on my car...highly recommend.

 

[Dudeland]

On 10/11/2022 at 11:23 PM, TobyB said:

 No- one needs a Tahoe enema.  

I may get a tattoo of "No Tahoe Enema", seems like a bit more specific than "don't die". 

 

All kidding aside, even driving my car in Vancouver traffic was harry at times. I dailied my 2002 for 2 years.   A four wheel lock-up when a mail truck cut me off, got me thinking a safe boring cheap audi with air bags is the call on a daily.

 

Thank goodness the RX8 transmission has an overdrive gear in it for all the highway driving I will be doing.  

 

 

[NYNick]

I have resisted weighing in on this, but here I go. 

 

It depends.

Depends on where you live and where you drive.

Depends on the weather in your corner of the world.

Depends on whether you have a back up vehicle.

Depends on your commute.

Depends on whether you're handy.

Depends on whether you have a place to work on it.

Depends on whether you have a garage to park it.

Depends on your temperament.

Depends on your wallet.

Depends on your tolerance for risk taking.

Depends on how many miles you drive per year.

Depends on how good your car is.

Depends on whether you're willing to treat it like a DD.

Depends on existing rust.

 

And finally,

Depends on your wife's opinion on all this. ; )

 

Nick

 

[TobyB]

The older you get, the more depends...

 

 

t

not drooling.

[maze2nowhere]

21 hours ago, John76 said:

Yep... best $15 safely item on my car...highly recommend.

 

I really like this. Would you briefly explain to a beginner the process here? Is it connected to the brakes? 

[John76]

2 hours ago, maze2nowhere said:

Is it connected to the brakes? 

The LED strip light is stuck to the inside rear window with double-sided tape (included).

Feed the wire harness (black and red wires) down the passenger side of the window, under the rear parcel cover, and through a hole into the trunk. Use the right rear taillight and connect the Red wire to the + side of the brake light bulb and the Black wire to ground. No need to splice wires ... the wire ends are small tabs that easily push into the brake light connectors.

I found this on eBay.  90CM LED Brake Light Strip from SEAmetal.  $15 + tax, free shipping.

 

[tech71]

Drive your car everyday in hellish traffic, don't drive your car everyday in whatever traffic.

Your car your choice.

The end.

@John76, that strip light is cool but now up to $28 on Eslay