So I'm curious as to how to put a price on my car. Where can I get a good idea of what it is worth?

I've searched the local Craigslist but there is only a handful of 914's for sale right now and none seem to be in the same condition as mine. I checked Excellence Magazine's Buyers Guide, but the numbers seem high for my car. My car originally was a '74 2.0, but now has a 1.8 with carbs. Should I select the value that goes with a '74 1.8? It is basically rust free, but has had a front clip replaced and is repainted yellow instead of the original Delphi Green. Is there any other guides out there for 914's?

Excellence Buyers Guide 914

Current pics of my car

In Northern California your car would be worth $4k max based on the info you provided. If the car were perfect, you could get $10k or more to a European buyer.

Obviously, the car is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. The repairs and color change will work against you, as will the 1.8 carbed engine (the 2.0 liter with the original fuel injection is the most desirable engine in the 914 line). More folks like the allow wheels instead of the stock steel wheels, but that can be easily changed. On the plus side, it appears yours is a 74 model, which should mean you have the better shifting side shift transmission which is desirable. Your car does look fairly straight from the pictures you show, so there should be a market out there.

Any serious 914 buyer will want to see what the area under the battery looks like (known as the hell-hole), as well as what the area under the rocker panels look like, as those are common areas to find serious rust in a 914. If Colorado doesn't use salt on it's roads, perhaps it's not as bad as we see in the rust belt. The condition of the interior is also a factor unless someone is looking for a tub to use for a racecar project

If you pull up eBay, you'll see quite a few listings that may help you determine what yours may bring. Though really clean cars are bringing in some high numbers, project cars are much lower these days.

Thad,

Are you going to sell the car, or just looking for a value for insurance purposes?

Here's another classic car value tool from NADA, just enter your zip code & auto info on the following screens, click at "start here" at the top....

http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/

I'll check it out, Thanks.

I don't want to sell it, but there is that possibility. I have an opportunity to go in on something with my brother but I may not need to sell it to participate. The main reason is insurance. I have just basic coverage on it now and last week a couple cars at work got vandalized. I don't drive it to work very often but that has me worried a bit.

How do you guys insure you 914's? Anyone use a specialty insurance or do you have an agreed value with your normal insurance company.

Also, when planning on what to do to the car, I could restore it but I really want to do a GT look. Would it be worth more restored to original or if it was a hot rod GT style with some sort of motor transplant like a 911 or subie?

And lastly, I traded a VW for it so all together I have about $2500 into it so far and was wondering if that is what it is worth. Even if it was worth less than what I have into it, I would still do the trade because I have thoroughly enjoyed the car in the short time I've had it.

More pics











What I want it to look like

As far as what would be worth more, restored or modified, I would say it all depends on what you put into it. As a restored original, it won't be truly valuable unless you paint it back to the original color by taking ALL the yellow off-which can be expensive. It seems to me that sometimes highly modified cars go for quite a pretty penny too(yellow zonker) but only once someone has poured copious amounts of money into it(more than the car could be sold for).

All in all, I don't think it is possible to really get a good return on investment on 914's unless you buy a stock or already modified car and hold on till the value appreciates.

Since your car doesn't seem to fit into one of those categories I would say don't worry about return on investment and run the car the way YOU want it! your car is like a blank canvas, an expression of what you want. use it for , , or !

Colorado is the right place to be though. Lots of friendly helpful guys( I used to be located out in Golden). Kev in particular has a boatload of parts that come in handy!

As for value for insurance purposes goes, mine(Bosser, http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=115343) just got totaled out here in Indiana by a jerk running a light and his insurance agency out here saw fit to give me 16k or so for it. Hope that helps.

Dang Ross, that was a pretty nice settlement, though I'm sure you would have rather not gone through the accident and all the related hassle. Glad it all worked out for you.

Thats how I felt about the whole thing. I was sad to have lost my childhood project car, but in the end, I used a fraction of the insurance money and bought a car that is in better condition.

I think the key was the photo album I gave the adjuster. It wasn't just pictures, I put it in a binder and it helped to convey the sentimental value of the car to me. He took the values straight from NADA and excellence.

Hijack over.