Can't believe my dumb luck!, Received the original documents for my 914 Options

[914Next]

After buying my '73 2.0 I've kept in contact with the original owner, James. A great guy who has answered many of my questions, filled in a few blanks and provided some old pics and a statement of his ownership of the car.

He kept great documents on the car. When I bought it, it had most of the original receipts, the delivery sheet, copy of the original title, manuals, tools...everything except the invoice and window sticker. The original owner said he just didn't even recall having received them but if he did, he somehow misplaced them which was unfortunate since so much about this car shows his great attention to detail.

Fast forward to today....I had sent a note to James yesterday to ask him about the question I had related to the radio faceplate in my car which is a black vinyl instead of the basket weave vinyl. When I sent that note I also included a couple of pics of the car after doing some cleaning and also sent a pic of Sara and I with the car. Again, I thanked him for being such a great caretaker of the 914. James sent a note back thanking me for the pics and confirmed that the radio and faceplate are as they were when he bought it off the showroom in '73.

For reasons I can't explain about fifteen minutes after the first email I got another one from James saying, out of the blue, that he just didn't know why he had not received a window sticker or sales invoice when he bought the car. He mentioned that perhaps business was just done differently then than it is today. BUT...then James told me that he went back through his files and was able to locate the cancelled checks for the deposit and final full payment (no loan) for the car. He sent pics of the checks to me saying he thought I might want them. I couldn't believe it!

And if that isn't enough, while I was firing off a big note of thanks to James I got another email from him saying that he had located 1) the actual window sticker, 2) the purchase order sheet and 3) the invoice. He sent copies of each of them to me and said he'd be happy to send the originals. I couldn't believe it. What are the odds that he would even care to look for them 42 years later and actually find them!

Docs clearly show only two options added by the dealer:
- undercoating for $29.95
- Blaupunct radio for $179. Seems pricey for 1973!

So, forgive me for my excitement. Felt better than Christmas today.

Happy to post pics when I get the originals.

Steve

[914Next]

Waiting for the originals to arrive in the mail but here are the docs the original owner is sending to me along with copies of the cancelled checks. Agree these old docs are very fun to read.

[Tom_T]

Waiting for the originals to arrive in the mail but here are the docs the original owner is sending to me along with copies of the cancelled checks. Agree these old docs are very fun to read.

Great trove Steve!

Many dealers then, now & in between only gave the buyer window stickers if they asked for it! That happened to me with my 85 BMW 325e (which I still own) that I got when my 914 was crunched in May 85 & the then "soon to be wife" said that I need a car with a back seat for the kids we'll be having, but since it started off on a 3 yr. lease - they didn't bother to even ask me about the sticker, since I wasn't technically the owner (GE Capital as lessor had that honor).

It's a good idea to email some better quality pix of these docs. & your COA to Jeff Bowlsby to add to his database on these docs at his Classic 914 website.

If you compare your COA & this window sticker, you'll see that NONE of the "N/C" Options listed on the Mulroney window sticker are listed on your COA - even though they are clearly listed as options on the Mulroney above & included in the base price.

This is one of many flaws in PCNA's questionable COA program - not listing the "included options" (N/C ones) on the COAs - along with staff who don't bother to correctly research the option codes, color codes, etc. for the era of P-cars & other rampant errors on the COAs (BTW the VW COA on my 88 Westy was correct the 1st time for 1/2 the Porsche COA price which took 3 tries & only corrected on the 3rd cuz I called the PCNA Customer Care GM!).

It happens on almost all of their special models - including the 914LEs (which at least have an optional paint code to identify them), 911RS, etc., etc. - which IMHO is a pretty stupid policy or procedure. They could at least include their own model code # on them (473644 on your window sticker) to show that they included certain options/groups in the standard equipment fitment.

That's what got me into heavily researching the " '914S' options included package" of your & my era 914-2.0 models, so that I could do a proper & complete restoration, since it had had several options "stripped" by the dealer when I bought mine from the original owner in Dec `75 - including: the fog lights/grills/dash switch, Fuchs 2L alloys changed out for Rivieras & a steel spare, & the center console/3-gauges removed for another 914 buyer - which the OO didn't mind since it gave extra 3rd passenger legroom for the owners 2 kids (3rd kid on the way was why they sold it). I never did confirm if the OO paid full price for their "914S" missing on their car from these clever dealer thefts!

Without the window sticker & since PCNA couldn't even get the interior color code correct - let alone the options list & no model # (Jeff's website provided copies of the interior color codes to force PCNA to correct their error), I literally had no way to prove out what was originally on my 8/31/72 build 2.0L.

When Rick Perkins the PCNA Western Regional Service Manager (whom I've known since the 1970s at Iverson, Circle & Rusnick Porsche+Audi dealerships out here in SoCal) came out to confirm that my 914 never got the mandated NHTSA Recalls - HO (fuel lines & full battery cover) & BO (wrong non-hub-centric alloy wheels), he suggested using the Porsche+Audi "914S" sales literature & related documentation to "prove out" that the options would've been included before the selling dealer had "stripped" them for sale on another 914. I could show him the wheels & the cut foglight wires & hole in the dash/face-material where they once had the "missing options"

He also said that the dealerships where he worked could swap full interiors of 2 side-by-side 914s in under 45 mins. if a customer wanted a different than factory interior color, & suggested getting a copy of the old dealer option book with the codes to send to PCNA's COA staff - ergo my going to Jeff's website for that documentation, which the COA staff & supervisor still refused to correct until I called their GM. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

He also confirmed that it was common for the dealers to steal/swap the alloy spare for a steel wheel & then sell of 4 "stolen" spares as a full set at 100% profit on the parts side! He said the dealership owners/bosses called it "stripping the spares" & Chick Iverson in Newport Beach was notorious for doing it on both 914s & 911s/912s - as well as on the Audis!

Also on the radio/face-material - the VWoA optional Motorola Radios/Stereos were about 1/2 - 3/4s the cost of the German Blaupuncts & just as good a unit - if not better sound quality back then, so most 914 buyers went with them, as did my OO for the Motorola made AM/FM/8-Track (I've seen these on other 1972-73 dealer invoices at $95 IIRC) - which did have the basketweave pattern hard plastic surround to match the dashface material included in the radio/installation kit.

My guess is that the selling dealer on yours just used some of the dashface/seat insert/door panel basketweave material that they had on hand for customer car repairs to do your install for the OO, if that radio in yours didn't come with or "lost" it's molded plastic dashplate radio surround.

So now you're all fitted out with full factory & dealer documentation for your Parade CdE adventure! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

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