How long are 914s supposed to last?, Sorting through the myths Options

[JeffBowlsby]

We like these old cars for our own reasons, but we often hear:

"...remember, these cars [or their parts] were not built to last more than ___ years, they are commodities with a limited useful life." "we live in a throw-away society"...but our cars are not generally disposables with a short time line or priced as such.

I recently saw a Model A with 20K original miles, original paint. At 90-some years old it was a great car for its time and for what it is today. I think the draw is more than just nostalgia, its respect for good design, engineering and an owners regular maintenance.

Todays cars are generally not made from water soluble materials or short life span elements (other than disposable maintenance items) - they have steel not wood chassis, glass not plastic windows, durable leather/fabric not paper seats, etc. With exceptions, generally capable of lasting more than a few years and they cost enough to justify the durability.

Todays manufacturers give warranties of X years, Y miles. All that seems to mean is that they won't pay for maintenance or service after that limited time is up which is just a limitation of liability for those costs, not that the car is only expected to function that long. Not an unreasonable condition of sale, and most cars won't explode when the warranty expires.

Seems counter to the disposable argument that 50-ish years later the original manufacturer still supports these old cars with many factory OEM new parts (albeit of limited selection) and many 914s are still thriving. If it were true that they were only intended to last a certain short period of time, then the mfr. would not be obligated to continue to support them. But they do.

[Tom_T]

Great topic Jeff! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I've always felt that a well maintained vehicle should be able to last indefinitely - assuming the ability to find or make replacement parts as needed.

Certainly that's shown by the guy back east with the 1+ million mile Volvo P1800.

Of note for our 914s is that many folks on here daily drive their 914s at at 45-51 years old now - whereas you won't find many other 1970-76 cars still driven daily. And the Ford Model As & Ts that you mentioned wasn't being DD'ed at 45-50 - but rather was driven limited miles for pleasure either as a resto or a hot rod - or your low mile survivor.

As for myself - I really like & have kept 3 of my 5 cars that I've ever owned since Fall 1969 - - that's right, only 5 cars owned in 52 years!

While I did sell my #1 1968 Opel Kadett & #2 1969 Pontiac Ventura back in 1971 & 1976 respectively - I've kept the other three #3-5 & DD #4 & #5, while the #3 914 will be for fun. However, we're driving fewer miles per year with kids grown & gone, & us retired or semi-retired (whatever that means).

I do still own my #3 2nd owner `73 914-2.0 with 172K miles (although not currently drivable until resto/repairs done) -


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And my #4 OO 1985 BMW 325e E30 with 203K miles & still a DD -


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And my #5 OO 1988 VW Westfalia with 240K miles & also a DD -


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And the same holds true for Trailers too - as with our 95% original 1970 Eriba Puck in the pic above, and with our restored 1960 Avion T20 below - although we're +/- 4th or 5th owners of them (2nd owner since 2012 of the Avion, since its 2007 resto) -


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No we don't tow the bigger & heavier Avion with the wheezy Westy - but that Newport Dunes Vintage Trailer/RV Rally event is 10+ miles from home & we caravan together, which we started doing so my wife could drive to work if she was on-call that weekend as a hospital RN.

However, we'll eventually get a #6 SUV as the Avion tow vehicle once things get back to normal & we can use the Avion again, & after the current COVID driven price surges on new & used cars & trucks get back to normal too- hopefully a Porsche Cayenne - and we'd keep that one too.


The moral of my story for members is to take care of your 914s - & other cars etc. - & they'll be around for as long as you are, & maybe longer if your kids or whomever is next does so too!

Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[Porschef]

Great topic Jeff! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I've always felt that a well maintained vehicle should be able to last indefinitely - assuming the ability to find or make replacement parts as needed.

Certainly that's shown by the guy back east with the 1+ million mile Volvo P1800.

I’ve seen that car a couple times at a local European show. It’s pretty original, he takes care of it but it’s no garage queen, well used and appreciated.