Sorry to hear this. I did a lot of research on this very topic when I was on the hunt for my 02 this past year in the northeast.
As stated by nfinsness "The trick is to get a licensed dealer to sell it to you...whatever it takes. Then you are taxed on the actual sales price."
http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,0/page,viewtopic/t,319989/start,0/postdays,0/postorder,asc/highlight,/