Introduction and Questions to aid my search Options

[DrinkMan]

My wife and I are getting close to pulling the trigger to buy a Porsche 914. As you can see from my signature line, I'm not scared to buy cars from that era. We love fun to drive small "value" sports cars from the late 60's-early 70's.

I'm currently studying 3 cars. 2 are local (which I strongly prefer) and 1 is not (I'm not scared to ship, after all I imported 2 of my current fleet and others have come from Arizona and New York). The car that is not local is quite frankly over our budget and I think overpriced. However, it is a color that my wife loves deeply and if it could be negotiated down a little bit and if it really is a great car, I may be willing.

I'm going to be going to look at and drive the two local cars soon.

Is it okay Forum Etiquette to post links and solicit input? I would love to see all the comments criticizing and tearing up the cars. They don't belong to me so you won't be insulting me and if I buy one of them, at least I know how bad they are. The VIN numbers don't show up in the databases here so I assume I won't be insulting members.

Our current desire (but willing to consider others)
Excellent Condition (2, may 3+) 1973 2.0
We don't care about A/C at all. None of our old (pre 2000) cars have A/C and we don't mind driving them in Atlanta summer (both my wife & I grew up in Georgia without Air Conditioning)
Color - needs to be interesting - Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange, prefer not Gray-scale (but again, great condition may overcome that)
My original budget was <20k but I'm considering increasing that a little bit (again, great condition can overcome that)

I thought about posting this in the WTB Classified but since I'm soliciting discussion on specific cars, thought this would get attention. (Moderators - if you want to move to that forum, fine by me)

Thanks

[914Next]

Welcome!! You have a some nice cars there. I've always been a big fan of the Opel GT and almost pulled the trigger few times but could never find one that met my requirements for condition.

I bought my '73 2.0 about 2 1/2 years ago and LOVE it. Had never driven a 914 before I bought this one. So fun to drive! You will find that I'm one of those who focus on survivors and originality and was very fortunate to find a pristine survivor in Minnesota that I shipped here. We live in Atlanta and would be happy to show it to you. I'm in no way an expert on these cars like some folks here but I'm learning my way around them.

Also would recommend Jeff and Beal at Checkpoint Auto in Marietta if you need a PPI. I've taken my car to them several times. They came highly recommended and I've been very pleased. Beal is a 356 guy and has worked on air cooled cars for over 30 years. Jeff worked as a mechanic at Auto Atlanta for quite a few years before moving to Checkpoint and really knows 914's. They specialize in Porsche service and restoration.

As Tom says you will find strong opinions on Auto Atlanta. George is a quirky guy and many have strong opinions on him and his business. I personally have walked in and purchased a few things and took my 914 over for him to take a look at it when I bought it and he was very helpful in giving me his assessment of it.

I think you can likely get a very nice car for mid to high 20's. The issue is taking your time to find one in the best condition possible at your price point. There are some good cars around.

The gateway car does not look to me to be an original color. Otherwise looks pretty clean but as you say...pricey.

The Dick Barbour car looks to be missing the charcoal canister.

I personally would shy away from dealers but that's just my bias. I do know someone who purchased one, maybe two, cars from Dick Barbour and I'm sure he'd give you his opinion on his experience.

Steve