How Much to Get In?, Looking to buy 1st 914 Options

[vesnyder]

Currently own a 911 SC and looking to purchase a solid fix-'er-upper 914. Thanks to this board and Doug Hardman (aka CptTripps) I've learned a great deal about 914's over the last several weeks. What should I expect to pay for a solid 914 that I can drive and fix up? Anybody have a project that fits the bill?

[lapuwali]

Sometimes the journey is its own reward...

You almost NEVER make back what you put into a car when restoring it, unless you get very lucky and find a rare Ferrari in a barn for sale by someone that doesn't know what it's worth. Even then, it's an iffy proposition. Buying a very nice 914 that runs well and looks good, but it's a show winner, could very well cost you $8-10K, and the person you're buying it from may very well have spent $15-20K to get the car into that condition.

There are also plenty of people who've taken $750 cars they bought from some frustrated person who gave up on the car, it's been sitting in their garage for 10 years untouched, and they just heard last week they're being transferred to another country. Said car can usually be got running using Ebay parts and your labor for another $500-1000. Then the process of turning it into a decent car begins, which can take years.

Somewhere in the middle, you see LOTS of 914s that the current owner got for $3000, has spent many hours and another $3000 on (over several years), and it looks OK, and runs OK.