At $7,500, Is This 1976 BMW 2002 A Well-Worn Classic?

While far from perfect, today's Nice Price or No Dice 2002 is claimed to be solid, needing only some TLC. Let's see if its price aligns with that condition or has us exclaiming, "WTF?"

Have you ever considered the oddness of the expression "not my cup of tea?" Used to convey disinterest in an object or act politely, it's thought to have originated in early 20th-century Britain. That seems accurate since the Brits have long turned the act of the courteous brush-off into an art form.

Along those lines, the takeaway of opinions on the 1992 Isuzu Gemini Irmscher Coupe we considered yesterday was generally, "Glad it exists, but it's not for me." A Japanese home-market car imported by a company that specializes in doing just that, it hailed from the heyday of the Japanese coupe craze. At $14,450, however, that throwback experience doesn't come cheap. Adding the inconvenience of an RHD car in a country built around LHD sealed the Isuzu's fate. A massive 95% No Dice loss proved that the Gemini wasn't everyone's coupe of tea.

Today we're going to stick with the coupe milieu, but we're going to go even more old-school, and, happily, with something actually intended to be sold here. Although it may be old now, when introduced, this 1976 BMW 2002 was part of a series of cars that BMW dubbed the New Class (Neue Klasse in German). That was back in the early 1960s, so by the time this one rolled out of Bavaria, it wasn't really all that new. It was still pretty classy, though.

We looked at a very clean and fancy 2002Tii edition of this model not that long ago. However, befitting its stature as the hottie of the line, and its presentation, that one asked a buyer's bank account to do some heavy lifting. This carburetor-equipped car isn't the most desirable model, but it has all the same basic bones and should offer something around seven-eighths of the driving experience.

Craigslist

It should also be less fiddly to work on since it sports a two-barrel Solex carburetor on its 2.0-liter M10 SOHC four-cylinder rather than the more complex mechanical fuel injection of the Tii.

This 2002 is also a bit rougher around the edges. The beige-painted bodywork appears to be free of any major rust issues, but does have a few dings and crinkles. That's especially noticeable on the passenger side, where the door shows some battle scars and missing trim.

Other issues include some dents in the remaining stainless steel trim encircling the beltline, cracked and faded lenses on the running and tail lights, and some pretty janky-looking rubber around the windscreen. More odd, the rubber accordions capping the diving board bumpers exhibit what looks like overspray. Weirdly, the way it's positioned makes it appear to be overspray from something the car was adjacent to, not the car itself. That's even more puzzling as the ad claims the paint to be "all original."

On the plus side, the steel wheels look downright awesome and have their trim rings and unfaded roundels in the centers. Those wheels appear to have decent tires wrapped around them, but no mention is made in the ad as to their age.

It's a similar story in the cabin. Overall, it's all there, and in fairly decent shape, although with some issues here and there. The dashboard suffers a few cracks, as do most from this era, and the driver's seat has a split in the leatherette along a seam. Both seats look a little tired, although the back bench seems fine. There is no radio in the dash, but the gaping hole next to the cigarette lighter and dangling wires beneath that indicate that one could be fitted.

One bit of old-school cool is the "Fasten Seat Belts" warning which BMW engineers thought warranted its own box on the top of the dash rather than being incorporated into it on U.S.-bound cars.

According to the seller, this car is all original, although that's tempered by the aftermarket steering wheel (albeit period-correct), and the later five-speed stick that have been fitted to the car. Per the ad, it "Runs Awesome!" and comes with both a clean title and a large stack of receipts for work done on the car over the years.

Classic 02s like this are becoming more and more rare, and those with manual gearboxes and working sunroofs are, these days, as hard to find as poultry molars. Sure, this one's a little beat up, but its bones seem solid. As always, anyone seriously considering a purchase of this type should do a deeper dive into the car to make sure it's not hiding a rich vein of Bondo in the bodywork or other malfeasance. We'll have to go with what we can tell about the car from the ad when judging its $7,500 asking price.

What do we think about that price for this 2002? Does that asking seem fair given the car's condition weighed against its classic status? Or does the wear outweigh the want at that price?

You decide!

Nice Price or No Dice:

Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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