What have you bought/ sold your 914 for? Options

[bbrock]

Seems like it will be another 20 years before 914's become what 356's are today.

I think that is part of what Adam was trying to say.

1) Just because the 356 market has gone this way doesn't mean the 914 will follow.
2) Even if it does, you can't predict the timeline. Do you really want to horde a lot full of 914 shells for 20 years on the hope they will become a pile of rusty gold some day?

[Jamie]

Attempting to establish current market value is still a WAG, and I have a dilemma attempting to establish insurance /replacement value of my 73 1.7L for which I paid Dad $1. in 2002. This car is a real rust free survivor, still has original factory beautiful L99A Delphi Green on the battery tray! I named her Dad's Mistress and she survived her previous life in Ohio, but I use her as a driver now rather than a total garage queen. With 58K miles, she has some few driving up-grades, but mostly original except recent exterior repaint, so what would be her insurance value? Only the market can establish that figure, but she won't be marketable until I'm no longer driving. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[rhodyguy]

The significant other just loves having rusted hulks strewn about the property. For years. 'Like money in the bank babe'. Ah...NO!

[Superhawk996]

Do you really want to horde a lot full of 914 shells for 20 years on the hope they will become a pile of rusty gold some day?

Are you serious? That is my life long dream! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

Sure beats the refigerators and old Ford Rangers my neighbors are hoarding as scrap metal. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[Root_Werks]

To add a recent (March) purchase to the list of 914's bought:

1975 914-6 conversion with 2.7. Mechanics are solid, engine is worth most of the price paid for the car. Car is solid, but pretty rough and cheap paint, interior and body seals. Paid $33k in March 2020. I don't think I got a screaming deal, but don't think I overpaid either. It needs a $10k paint job to make it nice.

[914_teener]

1973 Appearance Package 1.7 Ivory White. Bone stock with all the bits there.

Bought in 2004 for $2,500.

I had about $9k in restoration parts....kept mostly stock and all the stock parts.


Sold for 18k almost three years ago, somewhere in the Midwest to a collector from what I understand.

Car had paperwork and was sold in California and was kept there it's whole life until I sold it.

It was a grade 3 in my opinion.

I'd expect this car to be over 20k now.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Or he's helping to bring long forgotten cars to market.

It's easy to hate on flippers but most people don't want to go through the trouble.

I want to be really clear. I'm not hating on anyone. Utmost respect for Unobtanium. God bless him for saving as many 356's as possible. Plus we all know from other posts how hard he works to retrieve some of these from barns, fields, etc.

I just didn't understand the post. As I re-read it maybe he's sharing wisdom that he has a pile of cash tied up in that inventory and that there really isn't a fortune to be made in it though it certaily "looks" that way in the photo given we all know how much even rusty 356's cost. Honestly I don't know.

Sorry. Not directed to you or anyone here. It’s just people get pissed at flippers but don’t want to do the background work they do.

I think the flippers that most people hate are the ones who scour forums like this or Craigslist and try to snag every deal before anyone else can. I'm not one of those guys. 90% of the cars I buy aren't on the market and the people call me. So the cars I buy aren't being snatched from the hands of guys who want them, the average guy would never hear about these cars. It takes years to put deals together sometimes. I did a 50 car deal with a guy in the mid-west back in 2015, it took me 5 years to put that deal together, it was mostly 356's. But that's years of work, and for everyone that hits like that one I have dozens that amount to nothing.
As far as the 914 being the next 356, that won't happen either, it would of already happened. The 356 was the flagship of Porsche, and produced in very low quantity, especially the early ones. They made about 125,000 914's with not a lot of differences in them, so a guy with a 1.7 and a guy with a 2.0 has about the same car, or the same desire from others for that car. As opposed to 356's where one is worth $30,000 and one several years earlier is worth $300,000. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE 914's (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) I own two of them personally in my collection but, and it's a big butt, it was never the flagship of Porsche, was never a rich man's car, and they made too damn many of them. Same reason the 944 Turbo's are worth some money and the rest aren't, too many of them out there, more than enough to satisfy demand. Also the same reason your average 996 will languish forever not being worth a lot, too damn many of them. That's the bad news, the good news is you can buy a cheap 996 for the forseeable future and that's a lot of car for the money. But compare 996 production to 993 or 964, and you can see who one is almost worthless now and the other are sky rocketing.
The good news for the 914 is you can now have a nice one, spend some money on it and have it not be a money drain, it can actually absorb money now. So if you put a really nice paint job the sales price down the road will appreciate that. But the wave we are seeing now is probably as good as the 914 will get, a well respected Porsche where the nice ones end up in collections and the average ones are driven by regular dudes, so not a bad place to be.

[Superhawk996]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Well thought out response.

As for my 73 2.0L jalopy . . . I overpaid. Extent of the rust has been more than I thought when I purcased it for $3500 in May 2018. It was right on the cusp of what I thought I could get out of it if I decided to part it out. Wide body (fiberglass (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) ) with great paint, great back dated bumpers, stock anti-roll bars, pretty solid exterior panels, good glass, nice interior, but lots of right side longitudinal rust. Turns out, entire floor pan, tunnel and right long had to be replaced.

I will never sell it once I'm done with it. But, if I did the ad would read like the cliche:

914/6 conversion for sale. $50K invested. Asking $27K.

[double-a]

this is an actual photo of what $400 looks like 15 years and $30k later. although i take no comfort in the fact that i'll never recoup that cost in a sale, that's not really the point is it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[914_teener]

Or he's helping to bring long forgotten cars to market.

It's easy to hate on flippers but most people don't want to go through the trouble.

I want to be really clear. I'm not hating on anyone. Utmost respect for Unobtanium. God bless him for saving as many 356's as possible. Plus we all know from other posts how hard he works to retrieve some of these from barns, fields, etc.

I just didn't understand the post. As I re-read it maybe he's sharing wisdom that he has a pile of cash tied up in that inventory and that there really isn't a fortune to be made in it though it certaily "looks" that way in the photo given we all know how much even rusty 356's cost. Honestly I don't know.

Sorry. Not directed to you or anyone here. It’s just people get pissed at flippers but don’t want to do the background work they do.

I think the flippers that most people hate are the ones who scour forums like this or Craigslist and try to snag every deal before anyone else can. I'm not one of those guys. 90% of the cars I buy aren't on the market and the people call me. So the cars I buy aren't being snatched from the hands of guys who want them, the average guy would never hear about these cars. It takes years to put deals together sometimes. I did a 50 car deal with a guy in the mid-west back in 2015, it took me 5 years to put that deal together, it was mostly 356's. But that's years of work, and for everyone that hits like that one I have dozens that amount to nothing.
As far as the 914 being the next 356, that won't happen either, it would of already happened. The 356 was the flagship of Porsche, and produced in very low quantity, especially the early ones. They made about 125,000 914's with not a lot of differences in them, so a guy with a 1.7 and a guy with a 2.0 has about the same car, or the same desire from others for that car. As opposed to 356's where one is worth $30,000 and one several years earlier is worth $300,000. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE 914's (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) I own two of them personally in my collection but, and it's a big butt, it was never the flagship of Porsche, was never a rich man's car, and they made too damn many of them. Same reason the 944 Turbo's are worth some money and the rest aren't, too many of them out there, more than enough to satisfy demand. Also the same reason your average 996 will languish forever not being worth a lot, too damn many of them. That's the bad news, the good news is you can buy a cheap 996 for the forseeable future and that's a lot of car for the money. But compare 996 production to 993 or 964, and you can see who one is almost worthless now and the other are sky rocketing.
The good news for the 914 is you can now have a nice one, spend some money on it and have it not be a money drain, it can actually absorb money now. So if you put a really nice paint job the sales price down the road will appreciate that. But the wave we are seeing now is probably as good as the 914 will get, a well respected Porsche where the nice ones end up in collections and the average ones are driven by regular dudes, so not a bad place to be.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Nice post.

The only reaason I sold mine was that I'm an enthusiast and not a collector. My fun with my car lasted 15 years. That's a long time.

Now I am enthusiastic about 987's. I'd agree...they made way more 996's and 986's and they are a great car for the money. I don't expect to be in this game to make money.

I would have preferred to have sold it to a fellow enthusiast...but I couldn't refuse the offer when I could buy a 987 for less. It's been fun with both cars.

i admire the folks that take rusty hulks and turn them into works of art. I just want to spend the years I have left driving and not working on them. But that's just me now 15 or 20 years later.

[Unobtanium-inc]

The other thing to consider if you're doing a car for yourself, who cares how much it cost, it's still cheaper than therapy. What I was talking about what was from a business perspective. I always think about all those people who cleaned out their kid's college accounts and their 401k and bought Beenie Baby's, we know how that turned out...

I would hate to see something take $10,000-20,000 grand thinking they were going to get ahead of 914's becoming like 356's, only to find out in 10 years 914's are still 914's in shitbox condition.

[sixnotfour]

914-6 dry car $6000, sat at my place 10yrs sold $28500
65 engine case I got for free sold for $20000
GT I had an offer 135k, covid no base ball, no $

[rhodyguy]

Beenie babies? My wife has a few 'rare' (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) ones given to her by her 3rd graders. Try Pokémon cards. Only the 'rare' (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) ones tho.

[930cabman]

Attempting to establish current market value is still a WAG, and I have a dilemma attempting to establish insurance /replacement value of my 73 1.7L for which I paid Dad $1. in 2002. This car is a real rust free survivor, still has original factory beautiful L99A Delphi Green on the battery tray! I named her Dad's Mistress and she survived her previous life in Ohio, but I use her as a driver now rather than a total garage queen. With 58K miles, she has some few driving up-grades, but mostly original except recent exterior repaint, so what would be her insurance value? Only the market can establish that figure, but she won't be marketable until I'm no longer driving. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

Original clean cars will always bring the greatest $$

I am no expert, but I would guess in the $40. or $50.k range, maybe more. What does Hagerty say?

[rhodyguy]

The black one Dan? When you lived in MarSville.

[Jett]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Well thought out response.

As for my 73 2.0L jalopy . . . I overpaid. Extent of the rust has been more than I thought when I purcased it for $3500 in May 2018. It was right on the cusp of what I thought I could get out of it if I decided to part it out. Wide body (fiberglass (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) ) with great paint, great back dated bumpers, stock anti-roll bars, pretty solid exterior panels, good glass, nice interior, but lots of right side longitudinal rust. Turns out, entire floor pan, tunnel and right long had to be replaced.

I will never sell it once I'm done with it. But, if I did the ad would read like the cliche:

914/6 conversion for sale. $50K invested. Asking $27K.

Lol I have a few of those cars (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) The cheapest purchase, cost the most to get right... we learn (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Jett]

this is an actual photo of what $400 looks like 15 years and $30k later. although i take no comfort in the fact that i'll never recoup that cost in a sale, that's not really the point is it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

Great looking car!

[DRPHIL914]

Purchased 12 years ago, $2,500 - not running, no hell hole rust but jack points and rear rockers rusted out and driver floor pan was swiss cheese, and a bad Maco paint job over the original and rust under the sail panel.
original numbers matching motor and trans with about 50k miles. original trashed interior worn out by the 29Palms Ca desert . would not sell it for less than $50k, and its insured for more than that with full agreed value based on their appraisal.

- first week i pulled the tank and went thru the fuel system and replaced all the vac and fuel lines, cleaned tank, new pump etc, new MPS, and the car fired right up. Drove it for a few years before having to do all the brakes , suspension etc , then drove a few years , saved enough to get the rust cut out and replaced, the 2 more years and the outside got stripped and fully repainted, and so... about $25k into it, its all new and beautiful, and runs like a top. I still have not had to rebuild the motor, just the transmission and everything else. yes all the stuff on the motor and the harness wiring etc all new all seals new, etc etc etc. but values have finally caught up and exceeded now what ive put into it cost wise. I guess since other than the pain and body work i did everything else myself including the interior so lots of sweat equity. Would have cost another $25k to pay someone else do to all of that for me. Cant say never, but i cant see any reason in the next 25 years why i would sell it either. I get more looks and complements and conversation with this car than i do the Maserati. At the AX last month i had a crowd around the car and spend over an hour visiting with people about it, had everything from "whats that" from some young guys to "are you really going to drive that here"?
lots of fun for sure.

[Slam254]

I'm one of the suckers who got all fired up and overpaid on BaT. 1973 2.0 really clean body/paint/interior. Based on the comments I figured I could find a local Porsche mechanic and get the engine/brakes/trans cleaned-up. I bought in Sept of this year. She was so pretty. It ran but not well. It smelled like gasoline.

I found THE local air cooled Porsche guy, I told him to bring it up to perfectly restored stock condition (don't hot rod it). He said he would do it, it will be expensive, and I wasn't allowed to ask him how long it would take. He called me a week later and told me to find 3 parts that aren't available anymore - you guys helped with that a great deal THANK YOU ! ... and the fuel lines were hard as a rock and it's a good thing she didn't catch on fire.

6 weeks and $9,000 later I got it back just in time to take her to the West Coast Ramble last month. She runs SO good. I drive it every weekend. I love it. I've wanted a classic car for so long I'm happy I finally did it.

So .... bought for $28,700 ... $9,100 rebuild .... $500 misc parts, coco mats, etc.
$38,300.

The plan is enjoy it for a couple summers and sell it in around 2023 ... I'll probably get $25 - $30k for ir and I'm good with that. I have no illusions that it will be worth sixty grand or something like that but I'll tell you what, she runs like a champ right now.

[Root_Werks]

The black one Dan? When you lived in MarSville.

I think I sold that one to Craig for $6-7k? That was the one he repainted, red interior, then sold to the guy who put chopped steal top on.

914 prices have certainly gone up. Having been gone for 10 years, coming back with a pocket of cash I was disappointed what I could buy. Had to go shake the piggy bank to come up with more mulah. Even then, what I got for $33k would have been a $12k car 10-12 years ago.

Prices are what they are, if I didn't want it, wouldn't have bought it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)