Posts Tagged ‘BMW’

Euro Sport Sedan Special – Patrician vs. Plebeian

October 30, 2010

Well, it’s been an awfully long time since the last post. Having caught up on all my favorite blogs, I’m now using my spare seconds to fish around for gems again, and here are a couple.

Who knew you could get a 2002 for so cheap, much less a tii?? For only $3100, this car in Santa Cruz, CA definitely has to be a genuine, original, numbers matching tii that would make the blue & white cravatted judges at your local BMW concours giggle with glee. I briefly tried finding a spotter’s guide to tell if this is a real tii, but Google only turned up one good one, and most of the items it listed are not visible in this picture. However, it does have a fuel-injection intake plenum, so it’s a tii in practice. I’ve liked this color combo since I test drove a 1602 in the same colors, and still holds up pretty well.

1973 BMW 2002 tii front

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Costco Twin-Pack – Pair of Running 1972 BMW 2002s

May 26, 2010

Wouldn’t it be great if you could go to Costco and get a multi-pack of your favorite classic car? Well, this seller has got a jump on the concept and is selling a bundled pair of 2002s. I’ve probably rambled on in the past about how I was brought home from the hospital as a baby in one of these (1970, Colorado orange, probably with plenty of rust by the time I was born since it was a Montreal car, and because my father pretended to be Roger Clark on the backroads of Vermont), and how I think they’re fun, simple cars to own and drive. Anyway, I’ve been trying on and off to realize my dream of having one since looking for a car in high school, and Alfas always got in the way. If you’re like me and you’re up near the seller, and this doesn’t make you fulfill your need to have an ’02, I don’t know what will. I found these on a mailing list I’m part of for the Melee, but they’re also listed for $3000 in Quincy, CA (near Chico).

1972 BMW 2002 pair

The listing is very brief, so this post will only be a quick hit, but the seller does say both cars run. The caveat is they both need restoration, according to him. While the picture is not super-clear, the cars are cream-colored, and no major rust is visible. At this price, you could probably even part them out and make money. Let me know if you’re up near there and able to check them out – they do look to have a lot of potential, even without a full restoration.

Finally, one bit of administrivia – I’ve taken on a new job that doesn’t allow me to write as frequently as I’d like to. That said, I seem to spend more of my time looking for candidates than actually writing about them, so if you spot a car while looking around, let me know and I’d be happy to feature it. My guidelines when looking are simple – under or around $3000, running, and unusual. Let me know what you find!

E12 Junior – 1988 BMW 535iS

May 22, 2010

I spend a lot of effort writing about all kinds of Italian sedans, and some of the earlier BMW 2002s and Bavarias, but have never been excited enough about the accessible price range of 1980s BMW sedans. They still qualify as pure sports sedans, since they are from the time before BMW decided it was also a luxury car maker. So while there are some nice touches like high quality leather seats, a full set of gauges, and a high-performance chassis and drivetrain, there’s still a certain simplicity to them that appeals to me. Since the E28 5-series from the 1980s is really more of an evolution of its 1970s older brother, the appeal is even greater.

Sure enough, there are plenty of affordable E28s on the market. But seriously, even BMW suffered a bit under the new smog rules of that time – when did anybody get excited about pinnacles of automotive excitement like an automatic 528e or the 524td? The 533i was a step in the right direction, but the car to have was the 535iS – its engine was formerly seen in the E12 M535i (BMW nerds will correct me if I’m wrong, no doubt!). Most 535iS are priced out of our range, but if you’re willing to go a bit higher on the mileage, you might find a well maintained example at a reasonable cost, like this car in Milwaukie, OR (who knew? it’s near Portland), with 240K miles at a very reasonable $3200. I’ve seen these cars listed with much higher mileage, so with some care this car should have a lot of life left in it.

1988 BMW 535iS rear

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