BMW popularity?

[NutmegCT]

I get the daily Bring a Trailer emails like many of us do.

But it puzzles me that nearly every day there are at least one or two 1970s BMWs listed for sale at BaT.

Example:

Admittedly I'm not a "performance car" or racing car guy.

But what is it about the BMW that causes them to show up on BaT so often?

To me it's not really a good looking car - kind of a "box" on wheels.

Thanks.
Tom

 

[drooartz]

Don't know, but I quite like those old 2002s. Had a couple show up at our local small-time cars-and-coffee last time. Nice little cars, and good to drive from what I've heard. I'd have one.

 

[Silverghost]

My wife had a mid 80's 318i. Car handled like a go-kart but couldn't pull the skin off a cup of pudding. I'm with Drew, I like them too. One thing I DON'T like is the $$$ to keep one of those road worthy. My wife's 318i seemed like $300 each time it was serviced. That was a big ouch.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Probably show up so often because folks are tired of the cost to keep them on the road.
I know a guy with one a bit newer...hasn't run in a couple of years, as every time he can afford to get the replacement part for whatever is broken, he finds something else broken.

Uppity things....I remember when they were competition for NSU's and VW Bugs.
I'd much rather own and maintain a Jaguar than one of that marque.

 

[JPSmit]

Must say every classic car comparison i've read with a 2002 in it has the 2002 win hands down as a true practical classic - comfortable reliable and good for hiway driving. I do like them.

 

[DrEntropy]

The "greenhouse" 2002Tii is one I'd have. The other would be the old 3.0 two-door. Newer ones are of no interest. Too much to go wrong, the parts are too expensive.

 

[NutmegCT]

<snip> Newer ones are of no interest. Too much to go wrong, the parts are too expensive.

Maybe that explains our common interest in older cars

I'm in a rut. Still prefer many designs from the 1950s.

T.

 

[vagt6]

Nice cars, but they are prone to rust (2002s) just like other cars from the period. If a 2002 has not been restored (e.g., sills/rockers/etc. replaced), you can pretty much bet there's rust in there that will be hard/expensive to fix.

2002s are great cars, comfy with plenty of cockpit room. A lot to like about these cars, and practically any BMW from any period.

Hard to beat that German engineering.

 

[Scott_Hower]

Too much to go wrong, the parts are too expensive.

Says the guy driving an MB diesel. ::stickpoke::

I've owned and wrenched on BMWs for about 20 years. If you do a little research and you're careful about where you buy parts, they're really no more expensive than your average Honda - and I've owned a bunch of those too. It's no different than what we do for our LBCs.

I just replaced the exhaust cam sensor on my wife's X5. Started acting flaky @105k miles. The OEM for the part is Febi. If you buy it at the dealer, with no discount, the list price is $110 plus tax for the part. It does comes in a pretty white BMW box. Source the EXACT SAME PART from www.autohausaz.com and it's $32 in an orange Febi box. The BMW roundel is smudged off; but it still has the BMW part number printed on it. Exact same warranty.

Replaced the rotors and pads on my daily driver last Sunday. Used genuine BMW "performance rotors" sourced from an on-line parts house (ECS Tuning). These are the bees knees... 2-piece lightweight floating rotors; aluminum hats, steel rotors, cross drilled and chamfered, made in Germany. Price? About $80 each. Go down to your local Autozone and it's $85 for a generic rotor of dubious origin and quality; almost certainly made in China.

Bosch 02 sensors... $125 at the dealer. Exact same part sourced on-line... $43ea. I have countless examples.

IMO, the whole "BMWs are too expensive" thing is a myth perpetuated by people who rely on the dealer or Autozone for everything. I did invest $100 for a Peake BMW-specific code scan tool; it reads the extended BMW codes and not just the generic OBD2 stuff. Pretty much tells you precisley what's acting up.