LJtii

I'm still trying to rid my mind of the very  notion of "cherry flavored condoms."

Nice collection of memories!

Note those Italian parking lights.

Fresh from a restoration, this Fjord '73 Tii showed up at our local, informal car club meet this morning. Troy, the owner, showed me some photos of the work they did, which included stripping it down to the essentials. It's quite nice!

And a minus-1 feedback rating surely inspires confidence in the seller, right?

I really love the various ads that claim "all original!" and then go on to say "fresh paint." And on this one, it is obvious that the trunk lid was from a Malaga car, all of the belt-line trim is awol, and the nose of the car is clearly not straight. But no doubt that is all original patina and damage.

Who's joking? The S.O.B. is dead and I for one am delighted about that.

I believe Farook could have done it, but he's not answering his phone today.

We all have to understand that for a substantial segment of the population, "parking by braille" is the norm. Don't ask your irreplaceable trim parts to do what the bumpers are for.

Crisp, sunny San Diego Saturday. Went for a nice 40 mile drive, keeping the ocean in sight as much as possible.

Yeah, the keychain was in the same envelope as the small brochure. I owned two 2002s at the time, and sure enough, BMW sent me two key chains.

I liked it when he shut off the noise coming from the radio.

Slavs, if your neighbors' kids sold his Carrera GT for too little, what does it matter to you? They were stupid and screwed up, and on the other side, someone got a steal on the car. That's life (and death.) We make of it what we can, but we can't control it.

A bland Cayman S, 2010 vintage.

The problem with shrink-wrap is that humidity builds up inside, and when it gets cold, that humidity condenses - all over your car - and then as things warm up, the process simply keeps repeating itself. This is not what you want happening.

Rats. I come here to enjoy a discussion about 2002s. We all know too damn well what is going on in the world, as well as history, but is that germane here? This is a car enjoyment forum, not a social media site.

I was the original owner of a '76 Verona car that was driven everywhere in the winter, in snow, ice, salt, etc. Yeah, it likely may have hastened its demise, but back then, who knew we would all want a pristine '02 to own forever? The thought process then was, by the time I am ready for a new car, there will be something else out there that will be even better than this. So, few people I knew really gave a darn about winter driving. And if they did, I wonder how it might have affected values today - maybe many more would have survived and their sheer numbers would make them less costly?

Early last December, I was looking for a transport company to bring a car from South Dakota to San Diego. Almost all of the larger ones essentially said "lots of luck; we can't do it." That was because many of them simply don't have a license to operate in SD as requests to/from are rare. But of those who could pick up the car, all said it would be after the New Year's holiday, which didn't work for me. I finally contacted a recommended company called Angels Moving Autos, and had one of the most pleasant car-moving experiences ever. We initially talked about the job on a Monday, and they picked up the car Tuesday afternoon and had it in San Diego on Thursday. All within a week of the upcoming Christmas holiday! Do I recommend these folks? You bet!

It doesn't look terrible, but it IS a serious restoration project. If that's not what you had in mind, put it up for sale. Your value estimates don't sound out of line, but the only way to prove that is to put it out there - on line - and see what kind of offers you get. No harm in being optimistic, as you can always come down in price. To go up, on the other hand, is generally frowned upon. Given that the car was originally Inka, which is an iconic 2002 color, there should be some interest from serious enthusiasts.

This relates to the estimated price for a non-Tii at an upcoming auction (see thread on "1972 2002 at Michigan auction") that the auction company has set at $40 - $60K. I can't document any comparable sales to support their anticipated price for the Golf car at their auction.

I recently received a catalog for an auction to be held in Plymouth, MI towards the end of this month. One of the early lots is a 1972 BMW 2002, VIN2581201. It is a Golf Yellow/ black car that is said to have been repainted and with no accident history. It has 14" ATS wheels, sport seats, a replacement steering wheel, driving lights, and looks like a very nice car. The estimated price, however, is shown as being "$40,000 - $60,000." I can't help but wonder, where do these estimated prices come from? What price guide or sales history would lead anyone to imagine that might be an accurate price range for a roundie in a desirable color that is not a Tii?

Now, the car does not have a reserve price on it, hence it will sell for whatever the top bid might be, but down the road - assuming no one is induced to keep on bidding as long as the hammer price is still within the estimated range - if this car and others at the sale do not bring what the auction company thinks it should, there will no doubt be all kinds of talk as to how the collector car market has peaked, since a number of auction cars were unable to meet their expected price range. And that causes anyone contemplating a purchase to consider waiting, and that itself can become the catalyst for the slowdown in collector car enjoyment.

It's ironic that miscalculated prices by the auction companies themselves can be blamed for what will no doubt be thrown at the feet of the buyers themselves, as if they simply do not have confidence in the marketplace. Confidence? Yes. A willingness to overspend to meet a ridiculous target? NO.

Anyone who wants to look at the catalog photos and description of the car can do so by Googling:  1972-bmw-2002/1076207 

For me, the MB 300 SL, Porsche 911, and even the Cayman make the list. But I'd be lying if the Cobra wasn't mentioned, as they have been a passion for the past 45-years.

Um, that reminds me of the thought, "Rare doesn't necessarily equate to desirable."

It's too short. Dimensionally off ...

If you are paying up in the belief that it is truly a 44,000 mile car, I would request more proof of the mileage. I suspect it is 144,000, just from the wear on the keys.