I could not believe my eyes when I ran across this ad on Craigslist. Could this incredible car be for real? This now-rare and highly desirable 1974 BMW 2002tii (touring international, injected) is listed here on craigslist in Maspeth, Long Island, New York for an eye popping $25,000. What makes this car so amazing and special, if true, is that the seller claims it has been driven only 6,000 miles. It is said to have been in dry storage since the eighties, and as a result, unlike so many BMWs of this era, has no rust.
There are only a few pictures and they are not very good, but they do suggest this car might be the real deal. If it’s truly all original as built, it could be used as an index example for restorers. I owned and drove a more or less identical car (mine had a sunroof, which was really fun) back in the day. It was one of the best driving, most tossable cars I have ever experienced. It also was in the shop constantly, and repairs were never cheap, even then, and mine was only a few years old, well cared for and low miles.
The 1974 is the last of the short run of 2002tii cars BMW sold in the US starting in 2002. While the 1972 and 1973 versions, lacking the bigger bumpers of the 1974, may be slightly more desirable, the 1974 is the last of the line, and tii cars are always desirable for BMW 2002 aficionados. I do not remember seeing this particular color on a BMW of this era, but it does look like factory original paint.
Nonetheless, anyone thinking about buying this car is faced with some issues. It’s been sitting for a long time and will needs lots of work to bring back to driveable condition. And once it is driveable, the new owner is faced with the conundrum that every new mile put on the car will reduce its value. So for many, despite its high desirability quotient, purchasing this car will be out of the question. So who will buy it? Does it end up in a museum or at a high end auction being sold to a collector who will refurbish but never drive it? There is a great deal of information about these cars here at 2002tii.org.
I’d buy it, fix it, and drive it, and the hell with all the rest.
Funny how time changes ones view. I had a sunroof ’72 in the late eighties and ABHORED the’74-’76 square light big bumpered cars….I mean there’s a reason the BMWCCA’s magazine is called the Roundel. That said a no rust ’74 might entice me. Why anyone would put a perfectly usable 2002 Tii into dry storage with only 6,000 miles is a bit strange. I.m with Francisco buy it and drive it. On another note I wish people who use Craigslist would meet a certain level of picture and description posting competence. Its not that hard.
I came here specifically to ask if people in 2016 really don’t know how screens are shaped. I know it’s a minor thing but vertical video and photos just irritate me. Same with people who misspell the name of the car they are selling. It’s usually written ON THE CAR… ok I’ll take my soap box and go home now.
There is a reason. The “Roundel” is the BMW badge.
And to me a 2002 has ROUND tail lights. Bad joke. I’ apologize
I would agree with the above. I would buy it, fix it and drive it.. I also prefer the round rear light model but I would love to own this.
My mate Gordon has a lovely 72 inka orange tii and is also in the middle of building a track car from an early 2002.
there getting pretty rare here in the UK and when they do come up they demand top price.
Yeah sure, 6000 miles and an aftermarket rad cap. The rod that holds the hood down shouldn’t be painted as far as I know.
Good eye Bob. Third photo shows unpainted rod on the 74 2002tii
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Archive/Event/Item/1974-BMW-2002TII-2-DOOR-HARDTOP-101796
the roundel refers to the BMW insignia – the blue and white that I believe is an homage to a “spinning propeller”.
the roundel on the hood is missing….
Sharp looking. Speaking of paint, looks like either Malaga, or Siennabraun. Would go with Malaga in artificial lighting:
Malanga
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Archive/Event/Item/1974-BMW-2002TII-2-DOOR-COUPE-117009
Siennabraun
http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/Solarphil/media/Sienabraun_zpsa1764081.jpg.html
It’s not Malaga it is Sienabrun. Malaga is maroon even under this kind of lighting.
I am local and own an original ’73Tii in Agave. I emailed owner to see if I can take a look today, I’ll let you know what I find if I see it.
2002faq.com is where you want to do your research. The FAQ is the go-to place for questions and answers.
Rust is the issue with these cars, it is expensive to fix. The Kugel is very reliable once it is set up right. They are very durable cars and relatively simple, no computers etc. A very analog car right down to the mechanical fuel injection. Re-commissioning this car most likely would not take much as long as the engine is free. Changing seals, hoses, coolant, gas, oil, plugs, wires, coil, blow out fuel lines, check for rust in tank/pull drain tank and clean, tranny fluid, new brake lines, flush, rebuild calipers, tune Kugel, drive like mad.
Even 4k miles additional on it will never hurt the value, that is, if the 6K miles are correct and verifiable. More important is condition of body.
This car is probably worth the asking, or close, if it checks out as a genuinely 6K mile unrusty car, even if it is a square light version without its front Roundel. I’ll be very interested to hear what Achman finds out about it.
Roundels are cheap, fixing rust in these isn’t, as Achman said. Truly low mile unrusty tiis are very scarce, especially in the Northeast where this car is.
For some BMW fans this car would be very desirable. Even if you had to go through all of the systems and replace lots of rubber and seals it’s worth it to have a tii like this. And I don’t think it would be very long before the market value caught up with what you would have in it. I would think the market value in Europe right now might be at the cost of the car + rubber/seal replacement.
That looks to me like Granatrot, I had two 02s and a 3.0si that color. Never trust a low mileage 02, with a five digit odometer and the fact that most owners back in the day were enthusiasts, most of the ones I saw in the 80s had already rolled over 100k or had stripped odometer gears.
dave, I think you are right on the color, didn’t know Granatrot was a choice.
Owner is out of town at the moment. I’ll let you know what I find.
An aside–the Flash-based ad running on this page is killing the user experience. Get rid of it. And also, any way to disable the annoying pop-up SUBSCRIBE box that comes up every time I go to this page? I subscribed a long time ago…
bitching over
Sorry about the ads Achman. We have to run them in order to pay the bills and keep the site free. Perhaps we should start an ad-free paid membership? As for the popup, it should only show once as long as you have cookies turned on in your browser. Let me know if you can’t get that figured out. Thanks for your support!
These are great cars, I don’t know the market but a real TII is about as good as they get. I bought a nice normal 2002 from a Utah junk yard in the early 80’s. It had a bad engine….as I figured…..a 2002 replacement was very expensive even then. I found a deal on a 320l engine that looked nearly the same and bought it, it used different motor mounts but when I pulled them off, the block had all the pickup mounts drilled and tapped for the 2002 mounts. It was an exact bolt in. I wound up having the head on and off several times to figure out what worked. I think I used the 320l head in the end, blocked the injection ports with threaded bolts like I used to with the Mercedes heads. I tried the stock 2002 head but it had valve clearance problems. Learned a lot. Drove the car for a couple of years. Great little cars.
I really love this website and its daily mails, and can only conclude after reading threads such as this one that a new social media target should be introduced: #barnfindsSoWhite. I am proud to be a part of it! (even though I actually focus on old American outboard boat motors).
Agree Granatrot. This is an absolutely stupendous color and uncommon. Even putting in $10k this is going to be a helluva driver and the n some.