2002 as a daily beater??

[SpecM]

Finding a 5-speed car might be tough. Only a few 5 speeds came from the factory, although a lot of guys swap them in from 320's. .

-Yep, '02s had four-speed manuals from the factory.
-And they are WAY cool. Get an ugly, but strait and rust free one, strip it, and don't mod it. It would be cool.

[madjurgen]

Guys, he wants an assurance, not an opinion. He's already gotten it in his head that he wants a 30+ year old car for a daily driver, all he needs now is "you go girl" comments.

Granted, I think it's pretty insane to have two garage queens and no toaster-car to rely on, but hey, I'm crazy like that.

-Charlie

I dont want opinions on other options or assurance, I want facts. What typically breaks down or need to be replaced on these cars? How hard is it to keep these cars running properly? I would buy the 02, fix everything up, then do my work on the e30. Neither will be garage queens.

[Dave]

Take a look at the 02 cents worth columns in Roundel. That guy is an 02 nut and he is always talking about the stuff needing fixed on his car.

[KillerCalypso]

I dont want opinions on other options or assurance, I want facts. What typically breaks down or need to be replaced on these cars? How hard is it to keep these cars running properly? I would buy the 02, fix everything up, then do my work on the e30. Neither will be garage queens.

Check out 2002 sites and read up on them. I think people are giving you opinions because an e30 is an ideal daily. If you have some work to do on the e30 and you need another car to be a daily driver your looking in the wrong place. A car produced between 1968-1976 most likely is not your best bet. As these cars age many components fail. Facts are hard to give on a car that we can't see or visually inspect. From dealing with e30's you know that attention will have to be focused on anything under the hood such as cooling, electrical components, tune up and fuel system as well decent tires and suspension. Webber is on strike its hard to get parts from them if you need them. BMW has also made a number of parts NLA as the years go by so some parts may not be available new. Also rubber seals, weatherproof? Maybe some heat? AC?

Although, we can assume from its age that it would be "another project" to get on the road and not something that you can't just "buy and drive" Unless its a very nice example 2002. You know all of this already but I think this is why people are saying what they are.

Andy

[Charlie]

I dont want opinions on other options or assurance, I want facts. What typically breaks down or need to be replaced on these cars? How hard is it to keep these cars running properly?

Front and rear rockers, the subframe, the floorpan. Rust absolutely kills these cars.

-Charlie

[808BMW]

You want a DD so you can garage your e30 to work on it...

So your thinking about getting a 02, stripping it down, making it FUH RAZE, and relying on that?

1: I think an e30 will do that more reliably
2: You'll end up with 2 projects (well, moneypits actually)
3: A stripped car on a race suspension is not a daily driver. It might be cool for a month, hell, it might even be cool for a year or 2, but a old ugly car that rides like shit WILL get old. I know that one for sure.

[thejimlab]

Front and rear rockers, the subframe, the floorpan. Rust absolutely kills these cars.

-Charlie

Good point Charlie, subframe in the front and DEFINATELY the rear shock towers.

[wazzu70]

As mentioned the rear shock towers usually need some attention as well as the rear spare tire well. If its a sunroof car check the C pillars for rust as thats where the drains go and when they clog it rusts this area out. The lower part of the nose panel underneath the bumper is prone to collecting dirt and rusting.

I can offer some good perspective though as I own a 2002 and used it for a daily in college until I bought my e30 for a daily. Honestly my M20 has more problems than my stout little M10. If anything does go wrong it only has the possibility of being one or two things. I had a few minro problem in the beginning but once I got things sorted out I didnt have any problems. The 2002 I bought I got for 1200 bucks because it was a rust bucket with no carpet and leaky window seals ect. I live in WA so that really bothers some people. I can honestly say that even though the car was a definate 20 footer I dont think I could have as much fun ever in a beater. In fact Its in my garage and Im restoring it because I like it so much. Driving the car definately gives you a cool feeling. If you know how to turn a wrench, or want to learn, and you arent extremely picky about everything being perfect then go ahead and get an 02 and enjoy it. If you dont like it you can always turn around and sell it. Id rather roll my rustbucket 02 than drive a camry and be like everyone else.

The guys at bmw2002faq.com are good at helping out if you need assistance as well.

[edit] The 2002 has more parts available from teh dealer than any other car I know of for its age. Weber is on strike, but there are a lot of other options for carbs out there.

[vt.bimmer]

Its funny, people who have never owned or driven a 2002 think a old car is going to have more problems then a less old car. Of course it will need maintenance like any other car. Doesnt matter if its 15 or 35 years old. The important part is, what maintenance has been done to it? The M10 engines are bullet proof, and unlike what others have said there is a fuel injected version. Its more desirable amongst the 2002 fans and therefore more expensive. Rust is the #1 problem for a 2002 so if you have that beat the rest is gravy. A 2002 makes a great daily driver and owning one doesnt mean its going to be a project.

[vt.bimmer]

Weber is on strike, but there are a lot of other options for carbs out there.

Actually Weber is back up and running after a lengthy time off.

[blunttech]

Good call on the all gaskets/seals, could just do an overhaul of all of those for a couple hundred$.

What tricky stuff? Rebuilding the carbs or worse things? This is the kinda crap I wanna know.

I will never own a japanese car, period. Id rather drive an eta.

""Good call on the all gaskets/seals, could just do an overhaul of all of those for a couple hundred$. ""

dude, look into seal costs on 02's. i sell them all day long and they are crazy expensive. and that holds true for a lot of the 02 parts. fun car but youre going to be tinkering a lot. they are more labor intensive than an e30

[Jarvis]

Any 2002 you find that's in good enough condition to drive daily and be very reliable as-is will probably be in concours condition, aka not a "daily beater."

Of all the 2002's I see for sale, they are either in great condition and expensive, or complete piles of shit. There isn't much available in between.

[Jordan325iC]

Money will always be flowing out of your pockets no matter what you do.

Make it count.

[SFLBIMMERS]

Heck I have a '76 roundie - easier than the '90 Cabrio. Once you take care of the rust, if you care much about it, gas, oil regular maintenance, just like any other car. Thing is, you will probably want to do some upgrades, which are easier than an E30, so you will have to decide which one to focus on the E30 or the '02. I finished my '02 a few years ago, hence the E30 "project". Either is more fun than the company sedan...

[Rob]

Look into a 356, I hear those are fun to drive too!