what is the best way to increas the value 914, long term and short term 914 investment Options

[rfp]

My brother and I are thinking of putting our money together and doing some short term and long term investments in Porsches including 914's we don't have allot to begin with so we are looking at putting $1-2,000 into an early 914 and $1-2000 into restorations. We don' t have the skills or tools for doing the work our selves though my brother does paint and wire houses for a living and could probably learn how to paint cars. We are looking at have a local garage to do the work as they are familiar with restoring these types of cars. the owner is currently working on a 356 for himself.
We are looking to buy a slightly warn to well worn 914 in July or august and try to make a fast buck come the September Grand Prix festival putting the money back into buying and fixing another one.

My question is what is the best investment for fast resale value. What will make the car most appealing and make the car stand out: A new paint job (original Porsche colors or cool colors like metallic, new seat covers, carburetors instead of injectors, bigger engine, fixing one that dosen't run..........Just fixing rust spots..........

our goal is to get a chance to drive around some nice cars and at least break even but we would like to make something of the deal if possible.
I have read allot about these cars so I do have a general knowledge of problems to look for.

[ClayPerrine]

The only way to get $5,000.00 out of a 914 is to put $10,000.00 into it.




I am not trying to be funny here. A 914 is not an investment car.

If you want something to INVEST in, try a 356 or an early 911.

[anthony]

IMO, this is not a money making or even break even business plan. A $1-2K 914 is a beater and restoring it will cost far more than it will be worth in the end.

[ninefourteener]

Not saying it's right.... but.....

PAINT

No one wants a car with no paint.... doesn't matter if the engine is brand new. Thats just the way it is.

[boxstr]

Best and quickest way to increase the value of your 914 is to fill the gas tank. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif) God I just love that one.

[nebreitling]

not to be a jerk, but this is such a radically bad idea that i don't know where to begin.... please don't do this. buy one to restore and drive if you like the cars, but you will either: 1. lose money; or 2. rip off some poor buyer.

[tat2dphreak]

these cars aren't investments... a 356 maybe, but not a teener... but an old vw bug will yeild more ROI, much bigger market, parts are cheaper and more available


better investment cars are probably American Iron... 'stangs, camaros, chevelles... common enough... cheaper to work on and good, new paint and tires makes for a quick profit...

QUOTE

The only way to get $5,000.00 out of a 914 is to put $10,000.00 into it.

Clay is being GENEROUS... not long ago a member here discussed selling his AMAZINGLY beautiful 914... he's poured 50k into it, and it shows, but with the market as it is, 15-20 was about all he could probably get... maybe not that (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif) sad but true... when you can get a /6 conversion for 15k, nice /4s sort of shrink in value...

sorry, real estate is an investment, cars are hobbies

[zymurgist]

QUOTE (ninefourteener @ Jun 27 2005, 08:41 AM)

Not saying it's right.... but..... PAINT No one wants a car with no paint.... doesn't matter if the engine is brand new. Thats just the way it is.

Personally, I wouldn't want a freshly painted 914. I don't know if I'm a typical buyer, but I always think God only knows how much bondo and rust are hidden under that shiny new paint.

[boxstr]

Agreeing with all that has been posted. You will not see a huge return on your money from a worn out 914, you could part it out and make back your initial investment, but that takes alot of time and effort.
If I were to pick a car to buy low and sell high, it would be the 911SC and Carreras. But you need to know something about what you are buying and selling first. Don't think that just because you have one a 911SC or Carrera that people are going to be knocking down you doors to throw money at you to buy them. You have alot of competition, but you also have alot of venues at your disposal to sell the vehicles at. Ebay,PP,914club,craigslist etc.
I just don't think that you are going to be able to polish a turd and make it smell good. But good luck.
CCLINSALES101

[zymurgist]

QUOTE (tat2dphreak @ Jun 27 2005, 08:51 AM)

better investment cars are probably American Iron... 'stangs, camaros, chevelles... common enough... cheaper to work on and good, new paint and tires makes for a quick profit...

Yep. '69 Camaros are making all the Corvette guys green with envy, the way they have appreciated over the years. Also, the '68-'73 (chrome bumper) Shark-bodied Corvettes are still reasonably cheap to buy, but command a marketplace premium because of the chrome bumpers.

[root]

I'm trying to be as nice as I can here...

Buy a 914 if you enjoy driving and mostly enjoy working on what you drive.

Don't buy a 914 to make money. Try buying and re-selling for profit anything but a 914....Please!

An old 'rich' friend of mine collects exotic cars; Lamborghini, Jaguar, Aston Martin, '78 March Formula One, Ferrari, 3 Porsches. I asked him once if he collected them for the investment and he said, "hell no! you can't make money buying and selling cars unless you really enjoy ripping-off people, I collect them 'cause I love them and want to give them a nice home!" (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif)

[SirAndy]

QUOTE (ClayPerrine @ Jun 27 2005, 09:39 AM)

The only way to get $5,000.00 out of a 914 is to put $10,000.00 into it.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif) i hate to say it, but i agree with clay on this one. the 914 is not a "investement" car (yet) ...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif) Andy

[TravisNeff]

QUOTE (zymurgist @ Jun 27 2005, 08:56 AM)

Yep. '69 Camaros are making all the Corvette guys green with envy, the way they have appreciated over the years.

That sucks, 69 camaro is one of my favorite - got to have cars one day.

[Cap'n Krusty]

Anyone with a well grounded outlook on life will tell you that the terms "investment" and "automobile" (or "car") shouldn't be used in the same sentance, or even paragraph. Cars are transportation units, stocks, bonds, and real estate are investments. An advanced degree could be considered an investment. Boats, cars, motorcycles, and airplanes are NOT investments. If you do ALL the work yourself, you MIGHT break even, but I doubt it. I know of a number of 914s with as much as $50K in them, that failed to return $20k when the owners decided to move on. The buyers got one h*ll of a bargain, and are the clear winners in the long run. You're NOT coming from a position of strength, here .......... The Cap'n.

[tat2dphreak]

weel, since you already have a WTB in our classifieds I guess our advice meant nothing... I hope you plan on doing things right if you are planning on reselling 914s, instead of just swindling people from their hard-earned dough...

if you want to screw people, go be a used car dealer and resale old mazdas, leave our cars alone unless you really have a love for them... improperly fixing these cars and just masking their true problems makes them unsafe, new paint doesn't fix rust, it just hides real issues from unknowing buyers who really DO love these cars.

my first teener was a bad deal... it needed MUCH more repair than I could ever do, and was probably not worth saving... but I had no idea, and the guy had had it for several years(while letting it rust into oblivion, unbeknownst to me), so I thought I could trust him... but the car wasn't even safe to drive... the brakes had mostly seized and rust had really taken it's toll on the longs... a week later I called the guy to ask some questions about the car's history, and the number was disconnected... if that guy was to read this I'd tell him the same thing as I'm telling you(if you don't truly love these cars): (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/finger.gif) if you want to screw people, take it somewhere else!

now,if you want to fix them right, that's different... it will probably take more than 2k, but we'll be here to help

[rfp]

personally I am a big Porsche fan and that is my point of interest in such a project. I was thinking of just doing small up grades not total restores. things like up grading a faded paint job to a shining $500-$1,500 new one, replacing a worn rug or cracked dash, replacing worn seats cosmetic stuff like that.

or

Broken gas lines and brakes.

I was told that these cars are getting to be in high demand. I was originally looking at 944's and 924's but read they don't hold there value. I know they don't have the major rust issues are lower cost to up keep. would that be a better way to go I would love to do 356's or 911's but they are out of my price range for the moment.

If I could get a Porsche at a good price say on e-bay and drive it for the summer, up grade some cosmetics or getting one running that's not and make a small profit say $300-$1000 or brake even I would be happy. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

[tat2dphreak]

sounds like you want to buy a parts car/roller and sell it as a driver...
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/mad.gif)

to an unknowing buyer, paint, tires, and re-upholstery alone may yield you a profit... but that buyer will probably end up having a very sour taste in their mouth when they really start to fix things...

if you hope to sell to someone who knows anything, forget it. for starters, you have to fix problem area rust properly to even make it a decent roller... decent rollers go for 500-1500

so lets think here:
say you find a decent, normal-rust-having, complete roller for $1000
assumming you have the knowledge and equipment to fix the rust, you'll spend 100-500 to fix the rust, more if you are using the replacement parts
$500-2000 (depending on your equipment, knowledge and choice of materials) for paint
so, now, you are in for 2500-4000 for a painted roller that still doesn't run, and would probably only sell for 1500-2000, tops...

depending on what's wrong with the engine and how well you can fix it... you can bet on 1000-3000 for a safe bet...
and we haven't talked about brakes, suspension, interior, electronics, exhaust, etc, etc...

and a good "driver-class" car will bring about 3000-4000...

are you starting to see why these cars can't be flipped for a profit easily?

[MoveQik]

I can't think of a worse idea for an investment. I have a good friend that makes a pretty decent chuck of change on the side by flipping cars. However, he would never buy a car that has a potential market as small as the 914 would have. He only buys trucks, 4 door cars and SUV's. He'll buy them with some minor damage(nothing structural) or minor mechanical problems. I would say he makes $800 - $2000 on each car. Most of his cars are higher mileage but pretty clean looking. However, he has the skills to fix them right.

I say take your money and find a more marketable car with more readily available parts. You'll make more money in less time and have fewer headaches.

That's my $.02

[anthony]

Hey, I've thought of a way this plan can work for this guy. I'm assuming that him and his brother can weld and paint the car in the garage. So, find a good running, not so rusty car that desperately needs paint ($2000-5000). Do the body and paint work. You'll put lots of hours in but materials should cost more than $1000. At that point you should have a $4000-8000 car depending on how good the interior was and how good your workmanship is.

Keep in mind that the car people want (besides the 914-6) is the 73-74 2.0L car, after that the 70-73 1.7 is the most desireable, after that the '74 1.8L, and after that the 75-76 cars.

Deals are out there if you are hunting. I picked up a '74 2L project car for $1800 (straight body, decent paint, 5 lug, ratty interior) that needed about $500 worth of swap meet parts, some 914 knowhow, and some TLC. It's probably worth $5000 now. That said, that was the kind of find one gets maybe every few years. And you have to know what you are looking at when you find it.

[redshift]

I'm with Craig, use Hi-Test.. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)


M