914's as an investment, just a thought Options

[Howard]

I have been asked to write an article about car enthusiasts and would like to make the topic "914, Porsche's Ugly Duckling"

Have lots of stuff on the racing record. The car won everything in the under (and over) 2.0 GT class while the factory supported it, but want to spend more time on the 'fun factor' of the cars. Think about the lines of 'The last real Porsche'. After the 914, everything that came from them was heavier, more powerful, more expensive, and more gold chain than sports car.

Give me some ammo to use.
Edit: Here's something for you. Le Mans 1970. The 914 finished 6th and first in GT.
The cars that beat it were: 2 917's, 1 908, and 2 Ferrari 512's. If you could find any of these, they would be worth over $1,000,000 each and not be street legal. NARP my ass.

[JeffBowlsby]

Only the highest value collector cars can be regarded as investments and even those would be very risky. Everyday cars are not investments, but some cars are reflect better managing of money than others. We all want to manage money wisely, and managing money includes both the way we spend for expenses and investing for gain.

I bought a 914 for $300, parted it and made over $1000. Thats was a good investment of the $300, but the return reflected more sweat labor cost than investment gain.

I bought another driver 914 flipped it and made $1400 profit. Did nothing to it other than find the car at the right price and knew its true value, where the seller did not.

2 other 914s I bought have maintained their value and in fact appreciated a bit and I have had the pleasure of driving them regularly. For a car, any car that serves transportation needs, to maintain its value over several years and not depreciate, shows wisdom in spending money. That situation can easily implode if there are significant repair costs or an accident. But so far I have been ok.

Compare that to my wifes car, a newer model sedan, that has depreciated in value by probably 65% in the 4 years we have owned it. Probably lost over $20K in those 4 years. We just suffered a $2K repair bill to it in addition. Not a good investment, we need to keep this car another 5-10 years just to make it close to reasonable, and recoup some of the depreciation money. She likes the car but, Ouch.

Another car we have, we bought new in 1990. Paid off years ago, the only cost is insurance gas tires and batteries and we have never had any costly problems with it. Its too nice of a car to sell, because we still need it, its reliable and it costs us little to maintain. I think that is money spent wisely, but not an investment.

I drive my 914s because they are not expensive to buy and maintain their value if not abused. They easily offset the loss on other vehicles. But I buy nicer 914s that don't need much work, just little stuff. A $1000 914 that needs an interior, drivetrain, paint job etc, is a continual money pit and will never be a good deal.

And the GRIN factor is a HUGE plus.... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/cool.gif)