New to 914's, Just had a few questions Options

[3len35]

Hello, I'm 20 years old and I live in Ellensburg, Washington and I have recently come across a 1975, 1800cc 914 for sale and I had a few questions for the 914 pros on this site.

1. Would one of these cars be manageable for a 20 year college student?

2. What are some common problems with the 914's?

3. Before buying the car, what questions should I ask the owner?

4. If I buy the 914 and I have problems with it how easy is it to find mechanics who work on them?

I have been a Porsche fan since I was 10 years old. When I was 1 my mom traded in a black 924 Turbo (because it could not fit a child seat in the back) for a '91 VW Cabriolet. She passed on the love of Porsche's on to me and it would be a dream come true to have a Porsche while in college. I will include the link to the 914, thank you very much for trying to help me acquire my first Porsche.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2329570596.html

[Dave_Darling]

Hello, I'm 20 years old and I live in Ellensburg, Washington and I have recently come across a 1975, 1800cc 914 for sale and I had a few questions for the 914 pros on this site.

1. Would one of these cars be manageable for a 20 year college student?

Sort of. It wouldn't have been for me in my college years, but I didn't know squat about cars back then and would have had to pay someone else to do everything.

2. What are some common problems with the 914's?

Rust, rust, rust, and rust. Oh, and did I mention rust?

The fuel injection systems are funky ancient analog electronic ones. The 1.8s have more in common with the later injection systems, but they are still something of an oddball.

The shift linkage can be OK, or it can be dreadful. It's usually an easy fix.

The brakes can be very good, or they can be awful. It's often a more involved fix than the shift linkage.

The clutch tube likes to break inside the center tunnel, which leads to a clutch that won't stay adjusted and grinding going into gears, especially 1st and Rev.

Many of them leak oil from the engine, the transmission, or both. This is fixable, but after a while it will likely start leaking again.

Oh, and don't forget about the rust!

3. Before buying the car, what questions should I ask the owner?

Where is the rust and how bad is it? (Don't believe him if he says "there is none"; these cars came with Factory-installed rust...)

What problems does it have?

4. If I buy the 914 and I have problems with it how easy is it to find mechanics who work on them?

Not that easy. But they are definitely out there! An old-school aircooled VW guy can get you pretty far, as there are a lot of similarities. But they're definitely not the same as a Bug! Some of the Porsche mechanics like 914s, some don't. The ones who specialize in the newer watercooled Porsches won't really know much about the 914.

And there are shops out there who specialize in 914s. Depends on where you are.

--DD