Here’s a car with an interesting history, and finished in a very non-typical color, at least not typical for buttoned-down BMW. This 1972 BMW 2002 has been bought and sold more than once by its current owner but is up for sale again. Will it be a boomerang and circle back once more? Hard to say, let’s see what’s here. This Bimmer is located in Moorpark, California and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $13,452 with twenty-five bids tendered as of this writing.

Early vintage 2002s are a blast to drive! At a time when most U.S. drivers thought that a German automobile meant the ubiquitous VW Bug or a seldomly seen Mercedes Benz sedan, BMW offered a combination of excellent road manners, no-nonsense Teutonic engineering, and an unmistakable box-on-wheels shape. And the backstory around this example is, “I bought this car at 16yrs old (and) drove it for 5 years until a guy pulled me over and paid me a large amount of money for it at 21 while I was in my first year of college… I bought it back at 29yrs old in 2021…” And now, it’s up for sale once again. The seller adds that he drove it everywhere as it was used as a daily driver. With that thought in mind, the recorded mileage of almost 40K probably means that the odometer has been once around.

BMW 2002s were known for wearing silver, lots and lots of silver is how one found so many 2002s in the ’70s. But black, white, dark green, and red made the rounds too. Golf Yellow, however, is not a hue that I have regularly encountered, at least not on early ’70s versions. It wears it OK, but I’m being subjective as I’m not a yellow fan. All-in-all, it looks pretty good and the seller adds, “No rocker rust no strut tower rust no floor pan rust. Little tidbits of surface rust here and there“. Good to know as these can be rust magnets but a California upbringing has probably negated the corrosion factor. The fact that this is a round-taillight model helps with its allure.

The listing claims that this 2002’s 2.0 liter, in-line, four-cylinder engine starts right up and has experienced updates including a recent timing chain service/upgrade to dual row; adjustable cam sprocket for performance; a new timing chain; new s14 crank sprocket upgrade, a new water pump & belt; a recent valve adjustment, new tensioner, a new chain guide and a rare race distributor with no vacuum advance period correct”. The seller adds that he has changed the oil every 3K miles and the car “runs and drives great!“. A four-speed manual transmission handles the hook-up to the rear wheels.

The comments regarding the interior are a bit disingenuous in that a ripped driver’s seat is mentioned but there’s no included image. It is stated, however, that the passenger and back seats, both photographed, of course, are fine. All said, the interior looks like it could use a real good scrubbing but nothing shows to be seriously out of place or in need of attention.

So, a bit of a story and an unusual color comprise this nimble coupe and it’s nice to find a car where an owner has shown care and performed proper maintenance. Now, if he sells it, and tries to buy it back again, I might re-think my assessment…