2002 fan wondering about reliability

[citizenchan]

Hello all,

I've been a fan for while actually. I dated a girl in 2001 that introduced me to the 2002, since then I've had an affinity for the car, just never thought of owning one as a practical vehicle.

Now, I'm making more money and I'm just wondering what are your experiences using your 2002 as a daily driver.

I live in fremont, and will be commuting 18 miles to Santa Clara, No. Cal area, everyday. I'm interested in having a 2002 for my main transport.

Could I, please, get your input about reliability, break downs, major issues with regular use, etc?

And now that you are here, I'm in the market for a solid car -so, if you know of any that come available...

Thanks again.

CitizenChan

[visionaut]

I have a pretty highly-modded 76 that I use as my DD (and have for 10+years). If you can find or make a good 02 - no/little rust, solid engine/drivetrain/suspension, it's a very reliable, simple to maintain, and phenomenal car to drive, and drive often.

Go for it.

Tom

[Supergeek]

Welcome, Chan. A 2002 is a great choice as a daily driver, but it must be well sorted. When I purchased my 02 a few years ago, the woman I bought it from drove it around 80 miles round trip everyday. It was in decent shape but needed many things because it was 30 years old.

The first thing is the engine bay. Carburated 02s are easy to work on and you dont need to be a hardcore mechanic to perform basic duties like oil changes, spark plugs or brakes. If the car has points and a condenser in the distribitor, replace them with an electric ignition upgrade. Have your carb tuned by some one who knows what they are doing. I cant tell you how many times my car wouldnt start because I screwed with the carb. Get a mechanic to look at the engine if you dont know what to look for. The M10 engine is bullet proof if taken care of correctly. Adjust the valves every 12,000 miles and keep up with the oil changes and she should run for years. My 76 02 still has the original motor (I think its never been rebuilt). Yeah it burns some oil and smokes every now and then. But it starts up every time I take her for a spin. I drive her to work about 4 times a week.

Here is a list of all the things I did to my 02 when I purchased it. Hope this helps!

Replaced ignition points and condenser with Pertronix electronic ignition

Changed the oil

Changed the spark plugs

Replaced the stock air cleaner with a K&N air filter

Checked the brake calipers for leaks or sticking or frozen brake pistons

Check the suspension bushings for cracks, wear. Also the ball joints

Checked the fluid level in the transmission and rearend differential

Checked the engine and transmission mounts

Checked all the fuses

Check to see if all the instruments are in working order

Make sure the wipers, turnsignals and high beams are working correctly

Checked the blower fan, heat and cold settings

Checked the heater valve to see if was leaking. This is the valve under the hood, on the passenger side, below the windsheid. It adjusts the hot and cold setting on your windsheild defroster. It can leak and, from what Ive heard, is a bitch to change out.

Checked the axle boots for wear

Checked the Guibo or Flex disk. Its a rubber "donut" that attaches the driveshaft to the transmission output shaft.

Checked the center driveshaft bearing

Drained the old coolant and put in fresh coolant

I recently replaced most of my coolant hoses with new ones. Cheap insurance.

Changed the fuel filter. Always carry an extra filter in your trunk with some extra fuel line and clamps.

Changed all the rubber fuel hoses under the hood. Most of them were cracking!

Got a fire extinguisher in my trunk. Please do this!

Ok, I think Im done. I should tell you that I checked most of this stuff after I purchased the car and it was sitting in my driveway. I bought the car for $1500 so I wasnt looking for a prestine example. Just a little project that would keep me happy and keep my wallet empty. Good Luck!

[c.d.iesel]

welcome to the BMW 02 dream C.Chan

first off , the newest 2002 your going to find

is now 3 2 Y E A R S O L D !

Please tell us your 'car' background?, budget$?, work space?,

are you going to work on THIS yourself?, or are you in a position

to PAY LABOR RATES to a repair shop to nurse a 3 1 + YEAR

OLD CAR along every week? How did 'The Girl Friend' maintain

her car ?

"Reliability" only comes with/after tons of hours of somones LABOR,

constant preventitive follow-up maintainence, using the car daily - not

just a mile this sunday, sitting for weeks, then some more Few Miles another day.

For the car to be "Reliable" - you first must make love to every nut, bolt, wire,

electrical connector, hose, fluid - because

for the last 31+ years, past owners have enjoyed cheap, no cost service,

and when it was serviced during the last 3 1 + YEARS - molesting,

knuckle bashing, american wrench dropping car-murdering

owners, or mEchAnik's have been molesting your 'nEw' car.

You adopt a very sick automobile in most cases.

Just one side to the old BMW hobby. Happy tire kicking.

[Stacey]

I drove my '02 as a daily driver for many years - until I moved to the rust belt. Now its a summer car. Not once when it was my daily driver did it ever leave me stranded - and it had over 100k miles on it at the time. I think Supergeek and CD got you pointed in the right direction as far as going through it to get it to a very dependable daily driver. I will say that early BMW motorcycles and cars both tend to be supremely engineered, but also have Achilles heals that you should be aware of. This is the red pill / green pill speech from the Matrix.

For the '02 it's rust (along with most cars from the era), and the aluminum engine head. Make sure you get a rust free car, or as rust free as you can afford. This is very expensive to fix, unless you choose not to. And even then, make sure important things like trailing arms and subframe mounts are not rusted to the point that they're unsafe to drive. As far as the head, these are aluminum head engines, which require more attention compared to an American push rod V8. You need to torque the head and adjust the valves on the specified intervals. And the cooling system must be working appropriately. If the engine overheats, the head tends to crack. A 3-series radiator upgrade is good insurance, but a well sorted out stock cooling system will do the job in most climates. Finally, if you're in CAL, note that if you go with a '75/'76 model, it'll have to pass smog inspections, which really drags down the performance of the car. However, the '74 - '76 big bumper cars are considered a safer model as a daily driver.

With that said, these are simply one of the best all purpose cars ever made, are a blast to drive when all the common wear parts are in working order, and with some minor performance upgrades, will hang with insanely more expensive cars on the track.

[citizenchan]

Awesome replies, thank you.

The thing is, if I wanted to spend a lot of money on a car right now, I might as well buy a newer car for $15k. It'd be more reliable and "nicer" by other peoples' standards.

I just don't want to spend that kind of money, as I'm saving for home/condo ownership in Cali - near impossible to buy anything sub $500k around here.

I also do not want a 91 Accord LX with 200k miles, for $3k.

So, I'm looking to spend around $3000, give or take, for a "steal."

I've got time.

I've been a tinkerer in the past. Replaced the radiator on my old nissan. Oil changes, plugs, wires, and the like are easy for me. I do not have a garage at the moment, just a carport, but hopefully that will change come July 30. Either way, I'm comfortable doing minor work under the carport.

I do not have problems taking it to get more major work done, although, I would be wise not to invest a lot of money into it (to me a lot would be 3 thousand or more) at this time in my life, with my savings goals and what not.

So, now that you know more about my expectations, please be realistic with me. Seems I should expect to be working on it a lot, which I'm happy to do. Also seems I will need to get more major work done here and there. Is it a realistic expectation to pick up a ~$3k 2002, even if I score a "steal," and use it as a daily driver?

Thanks again for the replies.

Issa.

[Mike Self]

1969 (still have it)--haven't driven 'em in our Ohio winters since 1998, but other than that...soon as the salt's gone, out they come.

The big attraction for me is that I can still work on 'em (unlike my wife's last three newer cars) if they do need it--first, I like tinkering and second, it saves money. But I don't have to do much to 'em other than routine maintenance and replace stuff as it wears out after 214k and 218k on my two. And there are an amazing number of things that are still original even after 30 and 35 years...

In California, an '02 should last forever if it doesn't get whacked by an SUV or a van-driving soccer mom. Just keep up the maintenance.

mike

[Gordon]

I recommend a late model E30 for a daily driver, a plastic bumper big tail light 89-91 318i or a 325i, they are great cars and a lot of fun. When you get your new place, then you can spend time looking for a 2002. Remember in CA, 76 and newer have to go through smog testing so find a 75 or earlier model. I drove my 02 for years as a daily driver, until I was deployed, I drove it to work a couple of days a week. My daily driver is an E30 (soon to be my daughters new ride) so I guess I'll be driving the tii more often.

G-Man

[c.d.iesel]

second car yes -

given your 'requirements' , primary daily driver ? - NO-

drive a 'newer' car untill you have a sound cave over your head - first.

no steals out there, and if it looks to be a steal - look at

it again with a new eye perscription.

[citizenchan]

Hello,

Thanks for the replies. Your help was crucial in my decision. I think I will take the risk. In spite of the well-reasoned warnings. I am impulsive, and a victim of my own desires in that way, I guess. But also, now is really the best time. I'll explain.

What strikes me, just as I write this reply, is the difference in circumstance for this purchase. I don't need another car per-se. My gf and I live together and have been sharing a car, since she takes the train. It's a money saver, primarily, but also I just never needed to have my own car because our schedules mesh well. I am, now, looking toward the fall when her schedule changes, and I'll need my own car.

In the past, I've purchased out of necessity. My car needed to be cheap, and running well, which often meant I got an old car with poor aesthetics, i.e. 92 Accord, 89 Nissan 240sx, Salvage title 87 prelude, etc. (I'm only 26, those were college days).

Now, I don't need to drive it to work the day after buying it. I have the money to spend on it, the space to keep it, and time for both of those things.

If I were to wait, schedules will change, and necessity would again add uncomfortable constraints to my purchase. Basically, you all helped me realize that, while I may not be able to drive a car away from the seller and straight to work everyday, I don't need to anymore.

I have the resources to fix/restore an 02, working from a good base, and build it up (moderately) into that car that, in the past, I couldn't afford. The added benefit is finally having that classic, full of chracter and spunk, that makes my blood pump.

So, I think I will purchase an '02 when I find one in good condition, but take my time working on it and getting it up to par before driving it regularly. By the time I need to drive it everyday, I'll be familiar with its problems and will have sorted them out.

Sorry for the long post. Probably not interesting to many of you, but you've helped, first to make a decision, but also, and more importantly, to see a change in my lifestyle that I hadn't noticed.

Issa

[c.d.iesel]

.....long winded? not - nice to hear common sense

and maturity - and a well thought out plan for the

future. Happy car hunting and take care of the one

who cares for you - first.

[1936spyder]

Hey-

I bought my '73tii specifically for this very reason! I had a plain-jane '74 Sahara/beige '02 in HS that I loved, and as I found myself driving more these past few years, I couldn't take the staid confines of my '90 Volvo 240DL any longer. I figured, If I'm driving as much as I am everyday, I might as well make it a bit more interesting.

So, I racked my little chicken brain for ideas as to what cool cars there were which would be different/out of the ordinary and that I could drive everyday w/o compromising too much in reliability/practicality. I remembered that I had always had a hankering for a chrome bumper tii, so I went a huntin' and found a decent example. Now, decent does not mean that said car was/is w/o its issues or need for upgrades to accentuate the DD experience, but it was an OK starting point pour moi.

The car I found had been repainted 2 yrs prior (amateur 5-10 ft. job) with a new windshield and F/R gaskets, SS brake lines, had its bumpers rechromed, had a new 14 piece carpet and also a modern stereo and speakers installed. The engine had also supposedly been rebuilt 10K miles prior...

Needless to say, I've since replaced virtually the entire electrical system (battery, plugs, wires, pertronix, coil, starter, alternator, voltage reg.), new fuel lines, new rotors/pads, replaced the exh. system, bought new rims/ tires, Recaros, mats, correct used interior panels, all new bulbs, rebuilt the speedo, etc.

The car is still not perfect, but it is safe and reliable to drive about 50 miles everyday (largely HWY!), give or take a few. In the past year, I've put about 12K miles on it, including a trip to Napa and also Laguna Seca for the Monterey Historics and the car has never broken down on me. Some people might think that a tii is getting a bit too precious for all this, but in the end it's just a car and it was built to be driven and enjoyed!

So having said all this, I would simply recommend that you find the cleanest '02 that you can afford with as much documented history as possible, because you're still going to encounter some surprises, but they'll be happy ones if you truly love the car. Just watch out though, as the desire to tinker/improve upon what was wrought over 30 years ago is basically irresistable.

Enjoy!

Wendell

[citizenchan]

Thanks for the replies, and c.d.iesel for the valuable life advice.

There is a gentleman selling what looks to be a nice 75 2002 for $5500, although it is salvage title, due to "front end collision" not causing damage to the hood. .. My question is, is it even worth it to consider? Given the salvage title, even if it were in excellent condition, not wobbly at high speed, would it be worth the risk to you, and would you pay anywhere near the $5500 he's asking for?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/car/593741945.html

Thanks. I may try to see it, to get a better picture of the condition.

[Kidasters]

Go look at it. Do not buy a car without looking at it. I have a 73 2002 that I could take pictures of, and you would swear that it is cherry. But - upon closer inspection - you would see that it is just in very nice condition.

Always go look at it. And - be suspicious about the "salvage title".

Especially go look at a 75. They are very prone to rust.

Find a good 02'er in your area (either through the FAQ or the BMW CCA) and take them with you. It's best to have an impartial judge that knows where to look. You might fall in love, but they will save you from heartache.

Good luck.

Ken

[Stacey]

One of the nice things about this cult you're thinking about joining is the fact that no matter where you find an '02 you're considering, you'll probably also find an experienced '02er willing to go look at it for/with you, and give you an honest opinion about it. Strongly recommended. For a salvage car especially, it would be best to have someone familiar with the factory welds to see how much has been grafted on the front end. There are cars out there with round tail-lite rear-ends with square light front-ends.