If you follow one make pretty closely, you begin to develop some level of awareness as to the way the market ebbs and flows for certain cars. The BMW brand has been my marque of choice for years, but this has begun to change as the company has increasingly shown little interest in building true enthusiast-grade cars. The perennial fan favorite, the 2002, is the model that effectively made BMW a darling of the enthusiast car world. For a period up until about a year ago, driver-quality 2002s were bringing fairly serious money, but the market has seemingly come back down to Earth with cars like this 1974 2002 here on eBay still below the reserve price with a max bid of $4,901.

The listing references the car as being a “2002 Ti”, but I believe that’s a misprint. The square-taillight cars were 2002 Tii’s if they were equipped with BMW’s 2.0-liter inline-four featuring mechanical fuel injection. The 2002 Ti preceded it was upgraded by the factory with twin carburetors (which this car has), good for 120 horsepower or thereabouts. My guess is the seller built the car according to 2002 Ti specs, hence the casual reference to BMW’s most well-known hotrod outside of the M3. The square taillight car also featured the larger “safety bumpers” you see here, which can be swapped out for the slimmer chrome assemblies from earlier 2002 models.

The engine may look fresh and certainly like a ton of fun to thrash, but there’s some work ahead of the next owner before that happens. The seller admits that a leak-down test confirmed this engine will need new rings which will need to be addressed in the near future. This is likely a big reason for the bidding being held back as there’s an immediate laundry list of needs for the next owner to sort out. It does come with some additional engine upgrades, including an Ireland Engineering aluminum intake, new coolant hoses and thermostat, electronic ignition and fuel pump, and much more.

The interior is tired and the same can be said for the body. The seller discloses that the front fenders are rusty, but he’s including two black fenders in the sale. The underside of the 2002 is said to be in good order and other rust concerns are described as superficial. The car has been repainted in the past and the seller indicates one of the doors shows evidence of prior bodywork. Overall, once the engine work is done, this 2002 would come back to life nicely with a set of period-correct Scheel or Recaro seats followed by a cleaner set of wheels than the cheaply-painted basketweave from a later E30 car. However, the market has definitely begun to shift away from project-grade 2002s being a $10,000 car – and I predict it will remain that way for a while.