Should I buy it?-Update

[someday]

Thanks for all the replies to my earlier post. Last night I met the owner and examined and test-drove the car. He was a very cool guy, and he works for ChampCar in Indy so he knows his stuff. He even offered to make a couple of small repairs (frayed battery cable and hole in driver's side floorboard) and throw in Haynes and Clymer repair manuals. He'd had a couple of other calls about the car, but I was the first to come see it and he gave me right of first refusal so I have some time to think about it and consult the kind people of this forum.

The Good: Rebuilt cylinder head with new head gasket, Weber 32 36 carb, new slave cylinder, new rod bearings, oil pan gasket and battery. Started easily,no smoke from the exhaust, no weird noises from under the hood, no fluids leaking underneath, accelerates nicely, tracks straight, brakes well without noise or pulling to one side. All glass is good, and all lights, signals, horn, and guages work with the exception of the front left turn signal. No rust on the shock towers or in the fuel tank, light surface rust in the spare tire well. Good tires with lots of tread.

The Bad: Rust. This car sat outside idle for a few years. A few small spots on the trunk and hood and alot of surface rust on the underside. Several small dents from hail. The sunroof seems to be jammed. The 4spd was a little tricky but then again I haven't driven a manual in years. Heater switch cable broken. Washer fluid resevoir cracked and leaking. Small area of damage under the right front headlight. (fender bender?) One thing that worried me was a bracket of some kind under the car right of the gas tank which was rotting away. The owner didn't know what is was for and neither do I.

Bottom Line: I want this car. It looks cool as hell even in its current condition and was fun to drive. As I said before, I do have some tools and ability and can read a manual; however, I don't have a garage or even a driveway, just street parking, and I fully intend to use this car as a daily driver, even in the snow, ice and yes, salt. I've battled rust on my previous car and on my motorcycle with WD40, steel wool, and Rustoleum. It's not like the car is a museum piece, but I don't want it to rot away underneath me. I assume there are rust removal and prevention ideas in this forum.

I welcome any and all replies and opinions, especially from any '02 FAQ'ers in the Indianapolis area. Thanks again.

Daniel

[Mike Self]

And we've got an active 02 group over here in Dayton/Cincy/Cols with lotsa gatherings planned for next year, so help is all around.

Particulars on "your" car:

inop front turn signal is probably a bad ground or loose wire; easy fix.

the rusting loop that's welded to the spare tire well is allegedly a tow ring for pulling one's car out of the ditch (not a bad idea today as it's snowing here in Dayton as well as Indy) but I'd never use it for that, rusted or not. It's not vital to the car's operation. If you can remove it without leaving a hole, do it.

jammed sunroof--probably a broken cable on one side--that'll cause it to pull unevenly and jam. Plenty of archives on cable replacement. Not terribly difficult, just time consuming. Parts (including new weatherstripping which you might want to replace while the roof panel is out) are readily available.

the thing to check on the tranny is the downshift into second. Crunching there means the synchros are going--the weakest spot in an otherwise pretty robust gearbox. But used four speeds are a dime a dozen, and this might be a good excuse for a 5 speed conversion. If it's tough to select reverse and first (possibly second) it may be bad shift tower mounting blocks and/or loose bolts. Again, not difficult to fix, just time consuming.

As long as the underside rust is surface, you can clean it up, paint with Rustoleum or POR 15, then undercoat with Herculiner or equivalent pickup bed coating. And DON'T drive it in the salt!

Hopefully one of the Indianapolis 02ers will know this car/owner and can give you some background.

cheers from Dayton

mike

[Guest Anonymous]

2002's have the magnetism that is working on you right now, so try to go slow. I've had three, which is a small number for many on this board, and one had considerable "surface rust", which was symptomatic of of deeper problems. I suspect there may also be considerable rust to the floor boards, around the subframe mountings to the body, in the fire wall and wheel wells. At least pull up the rugs in the front, remove the back seat completely and spare tire to check for more serious rust, and of course the shock towers in the trunk and behind the back seat. At a minimum understand, you will probably need a welder to make this car structurally safe if you discover rust where I suggest you look. All this being said, a 2002 that actually runs down the road can always be restored if money is not a constraint. Sorry to transmit such a downer message, but reality often sets in after the sale - just trying to be helpful. Good luck.

Roger

BMWCCA 310877

1972 2002 VIN 2575613

1992 525i, daily driver

1982 320i, traded

1973 tii, sadly traded

1971 1600, traded

[Jim_75Sahara]

Daniel: consider yourself invited to any OH/IN '02 outings. I need to get your e-mail so that you can join us. Also, you need to get acquainted with Ben and Larry who live in your area. You're already hooked. (email me at: j (dot) denker (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

[danjrusdug]

Daniel,

Mike addressed most of your concerns. One I see that he missed is the heater cable. Does the heater fan work? If the cable is what is keeping it from coming on, then that's not such a big deal. Try to spin the fan manually to see if it's free spinning. If so, then add some juice to it to see if it turns with power. If not, this is one of the more frustrating items to fix on our cars. Beings you are in the Rust Belt, you will want heat.

Hope this helps.

Good luck with your purchase. These are great cars and I'm thrilled that I accidently found out about these cars 6 years ago.

Cheers,

Doug

'73 tii Atlantik

'90 325i

[eastsidebimmer]

Howdy--Ben here, also in Indy. I'm assuming this is the car posted to cragslist: http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/car/497467479.html

I'd be happy to help you take a look this weekend, but it is kind-of cold and snowy, so it would need to be in the sellers garage. I'm not a master mechanic, but I know what to look and listen for. It sounds like this car is "rusty" --believe me, it will be even rustier in places you cant see or didn't think to look. Bottom line, if you plan to drive this car in the slop and snow, it will not be along term relationship. As you know in here in Indy, We pre-brine treat, salt and molasses/salt the hell out of anything paved--your 2002 will die a quick death if you drive it all year. If you have no workspace, plan on spending time on your back in the street, not ideal.

email me via profile link if you want to chat.

Ben

Thanks for all the replies to my earlier post. Last night I met the owner and examined and test-drove the car. He was a very cool guy, and he works for ChampCar in Indy so he knows his stuff. He even offered to make a couple of small repairs (frayed battery cable and hole in driver's side floorboard) and throw in Haynes and Clymer repair manuals. He'd had a couple of other calls about the car, but I was the first to come see it and he gave me right of first refusal so I have some time to think about it and consult the kind people of this forum.

The Good: Rebuilt cylinder head with new head gasket, Weber 32 36 carb, new slave cylinder, new rod bearings, oil pan gasket and battery. Started easily,no smoke from the exhaust, no weird noises from under the hood, no fluids leaking underneath, accelerates nicely, tracks straight, brakes well without noise or pulling to one side. All glass is good, and all lights, signals, horn, and guages work with the exception of the front left turn signal. No rust on the shock towers or in the fuel tank, light surface rust in the spare tire well. Good tires with lots of tread.

The Bad: Rust. This car sat outside idle for a few years. A few small spots on the trunk and hood and alot of surface rust on the underside. Several small dents from hail. The sunroof seems to be jammed. The 4spd was a little tricky but then again I haven't driven a manual in years. Heater switch cable broken. Washer fluid resevoir cracked and leaking. Small area of damage under the right front headlight. (fender bender?) One thing that worried me was a bracket of some kind under the car right of the gas tank which was rotting away. The owner didn't know what is was for and neither do I.

Bottom Line: I want this car. It looks cool as hell even in its current condition and was fun to drive. As I said before, I do have some tools and ability and can read a manual; however, I don't have a garage or even a driveway, just street parking, and I fully intend to use this car as a daily driver, even in the snow, ice and yes, salt. I've battled rust on my previous car and on my motorcycle with WD40, steel wool, and Rustoleum. It's not like the car is a museum piece, but I don't want it to rot away underneath me. I assume there are rust removal and prevention ideas in this forum.

I welcome any and all replies and opinions, especially from any '02 FAQ'ers in the Indianapolis area. Thanks again.

Daniel

[c.d.iesel]

..." The Bad: Rust. This car sat outside idle for a few years. A few small spots on the trunk and hood and alot of surface rust on the underside. Several small dents from hail. The sunroof seems to be jammed. The 4spd was a little tricky but then again I haven't driven a manual in years. Heater switch cable broken. Washer fluid resevoir cracked and leaking. Small area of damage under the right front headlight. (fender bender?) One thing that worried me was a bracket of some kind under the car right of the gas tank which was rotting away. The owner didn't know what is was for and neither do I.

Bottom Line: I want this car. It looks cool as hell even in its current condition and was fun to drive. As I said before, I do have some tools and ability and can read a manual; however, I don't have a garage or even a driveway, just street parking, and I fully intend to use this car as a daily driver, even in the snow, ice and yes, salt. I've battled rust ..."

Hi Dan - your not selling us. Your the one buying the car, you have some idea about repairs. Cost, time, money, ... But this is not a car for your intended purposes. Find a nice VW GTI, BMW E30, E36 which will suit

your rust-belt driving conditions. The street is not the place to maintain,

preserve, or park any 30 year old car - especially a rust magnet

bmw 1600 - 2002 . The car above is a $1000 car at best. Sell yourself

on all the warts, bumps, broken, missing parts. We don't know your level

of expertise and tolerance for driving rat (mouse) traps.

[jerry]

CD is spot-on with his advice. this car is overpriced and your situation is not appropriate with street parking only.

i lived in indpls for 6 years. i had a 69 Chevy C20 pick-em-up truck that i brought up with me from atlanta. i bought this truck originally in lynchburg virginia and worked hard to slow/stop the rust. the rust barely grew in the 3 years i was in atlanta. the rust returned with a vengence within 6 MONTHS of living in indpls. it was painful to watch. it was a great truck and i hated to see it waste away. i eventually donated it to charity rather than bring it with me to california, in spite of a rebuilt motor, brakes and alot of work.

as stated, you'll loose that 02 in a hurry if its subjected to street parking in winter. if the price were more like $600 i'd say do it. that's how much i originally paid for my truck in lynchburg, btw.

[jwcurry]

I *strongly* disagree with exactly 50% of much of the advice you've been given above.

It is true, the car will totally fall apart if exposed to the Indy winters and particularly so, given on-street parking during the winter.

You might get a year, two years.....maybe 3....out of it.

However, you can recoup a good deal of your $1700 purchase price if you are willing to part out the car. Also, this might be the 02 that...surprise.....gets you hooked into acquiring another 02.

If you are willing to eventually, part the car out and sell off the parts....I highly recommend buying it. I also, recommend trying to get the price down a bit. But, you'll hardly go wrong nor will you lose much by purchasing this car.

One last thing, if the fact that this car will fall apart quickly serves to dissuade you from 02's.....then, I would pass it by and wait for a better 02 AND a time where you can properly maintain and store the car over the harsh Indiana winters.

Jerry - who grew up in NW Indiana, near Gary and also......graduated from Purdue. So, I do remember those Indiana winters.

[eurotrash]

Hey man, I bought my first 02 just last fall. I am in cincinnati. I bought a 72 inka sunroof car from LA non running and have been tinkering ever since. Its sick really. I gave up a loooong mopar addiction all because I went to visit my little brother in LA a couple of years ago. I spotted a little ride I had never noticed before -and look at me now. I sold off the 340 4 speed A-body that I had been building for years, and dove in head long to a car I had never even driven!!! I bought a rusted parts car and dismantled it to learn the basics and now I'm fostering a total disease....:-}

Keep in touch.

[johnnysquare]

My first 02 arrives this weekend via trailer from Chicago. I more or less inherited it from a buddy moving to Puerto Rico. It's a driver/cadaver shot in a nice "Schwartzahara" (Earl Shieb black over Sahara) with rusty pinstripes and extra ventilation in the rockers/floors.

Someday, I say get it if you can get them down near a grand. We'll both find out for ourselves how much rust is "too much".

Thanks to all on this site. I've been reading/researching for at least a year and look forward to getting together with Cincinnati and Dayton and Indy area 02 specialists once things thaw out.