Well, lately the 914 and I have not been getting along so well.......

When I was driving my car to and from high school on a daily basis, if something broke, it was no issue to have it fixed before the next morning to get me to school in time. It only left me stranded twice, both of which required waiting until I could get home, grab the trailer, and get the car home. I was never busy enough to highschool to ever have the car interfere with studies or school work. Now that I'm in college however, things have gotten to be a little different.

I've been stranded a total of 3 times now, always about an hour from home. I've done valve adjustments in the school parking lot, resynched carbs in the parking lot, changed tires, and fixed electrical problems. Lately, these problems have been occurring with more frequency. two weeks ago, I was stranded in Irvine with an electrical fault. Before that, I melted a distributor Rotor right outside of school. The recent problem was a failed fuel pump. All of these little things have been getting to me, and significantly taking time away from my studies. I'm getting sick of driving this car every day, and taking so much of my time to fix it.

So the question must arise... Is the car worth keeping anymore? What say you fellow world members? I love my car to death, and couldn't ever imagine seeing someone else drive down the road in it, but I just am ready to drive something that is more reliable, and it's not at all in my plan economically to purchase a second car. After 3 years, this car has become a part of me, so a sell would be unbearable... It's hard enough paying for college as it is, much less throw money at another car.


So help me out guys, what would you do? I'm hoping that the problems subside, but recently it feels like the car has been trying to tell me it doesn't want to be a daily driver anymore. I'm stuck..

Any advice appreciated.
-Ethan

I went through the same problems when I was in college...sorry it's happening to you. Don't look at these as problems ...look at them as opportunites that in time will eventually go away an you will be left with a more reliable collectable 914. You will undoubtedly kick yourself in the pants if you sell your Baby...don't do it!

You friend,

Al

Counseling......

keep the car and go buy a beater to get to school. i bought a geo metro for under 2k and it's reliable and cheap to drive.

I'm betting that most of us here have a primary or another car to bail them out. Although I do subscribe to the idea that if you persevere through the failures, your car will get better and be more reliable, I also know that some of the parts on our cars are NLA and you are left with the option of finding good used. That means the failure rate will always be higher than if you buy more contemporary car. My daughter is in college and she has a '96 Honda Accord that has been nails. The continual maintenance on old cars can get really old when you need to focus on other things.

Ethan, Getting the most out of your schooling is the most important thing for you right now. With that said, in life you will go through hard times. Sometimes it is with people you care a great deal about and others it will be with something like this. Although a car is never something to be considered important in life it is also about the attitude one develops in how they deal with things. I know you are not the type to simply give up on something just because it is hard so if you do decide to give up this car I can certainly understand.

From the sound of it I don't think you are ready to move on from this car. Then again, that could just be me reading into it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

My 914 is a DD to work.
I had my Yamaha XT 600 as a back up, but I sold that when the WRX914 was up and running.
Still the WRX is a project and not a good back up, it could be down for weeks or longer.
Now, I have a KTM dual sport as a back up to my 914s.
Somehow, I can find a way to run my back up's back up out of gas.
If that happens I have to run home and get the skateboard and lawnmower gas can.
Good thing I am only 3 miles from work.

I say find a reliable beater - Honda, Toyota, etc., or try to car pool when possible (if possible) to reduce your dependency on the 914. The number one priority has to be school though.

Been there done that same as you. Quit college and join the Marine Corps, kill two birds with one stone. I left my 914 in the yard for 9 years, grass didn't begin to grow back for years afterward.

your asking alot from a 35 + yr old car. Sometimes you need to stop driving and do a tip to tail inspection and replace or repair anything that looks like it's ready to fail or it just makes good sense to rebuild. You've had a really good run. Maybe plan ahead and be pro-active instead of reactive.

This approch is likely to cost some money and several days down time but when your jumping from class to work and home you'll be glad you took care of the old girl.

My current 914 is my 3rd. Why did I get rid of the first two? Same reasons you are facing. I bought my first one the summer I graduated high school back in 1988. I couldn't afford a second car and I couldn't afford(both time and money) to keep the 914 running. Something had to give and I can assure that getting to my classes and study groups and work on time was the better choice.

When I could finally afford to get back into 914's I had a much better budget and could afford a DD and a better 914. The car I finally bought proved to be the most reliable by far. Go figger.

that education is #1. I believe that we get attached to the car but it was never the car. it's you, your friends and what we do with the car that we are truly attached to. the car is only a prop in the act of life. the car is that single photo that reminds us of what we did, what we learned along the path or who we were with when "it" happened. it is a car and there will be many more in your life. the next one will be built better with what you learned along this path. new car, new path, new chapter of experiences.
Hello Miata

it is also a piece of you that you get to share with the world that you dont have to feed for 18 years

Sounds like it's been too long since you've drove a spirited run.

Most definetely school comes first!! Thats the priority right now!! You sound like me....(20 years ago). I know you don't want to sell the car...but perhaps a friend or relative could help you out with some space and put the car away for a couple of years until your schooling is finished and you have a steady job....in the meantime you could buy some old car, I use to drive an old Toyota pickup and that thing never broke down compared to my old 914....don't sell it if you can, maybe take it off the road for a couple of years and spend more time on your studies and school and when you are done you will have the car waiting and may be able to afford the 914 as a hobby car and some other daily driver......

Hey Ethan,
I'm in a similar boat as you as a graduate student. However I bought my 914 as a "second" car when my Mustang craps out. (Unfortunately that already happened while the 914 was on jackstands so no help there!) I was very attached to my '84 Thunderbird which was my daily driver during my undergrad, but plagued with problems. Eventually I was forced to get rid of it for something more reliable - at the time, that was the Mustang.
I think these guys have given you some good advice. Either get a second, reliable car like a civic or do a good run-through of all the components on that car. Either way, its going to cost money, which is always tough for college students. I'd lean towards a second car if I were you, but again, its all dependent on your finances. A good Honda can be as cheap as $1,000, which hopefully is within your range. Good luck buddy! Don't get frustrated!

all good advice, there is "wisdom in the council of many"

- now 46yoa, i had a 69 austin healy in high school and college , and a 73 BMW motorcycle neither of which i could drive much in the winter, so i kept the cycle sold the healy for a ford excort, which i drove for 5 years thru grad school etc. but i always wished i had kept the car---- and never found another like it- was all set up for Autox etc. big bore kit etc etc.
but a pain in the butt with the webbers ,

- took me 20 years to get my 914,

you do what is best there will always be more, but i would follow the advice of those who say keep it and get a cheep beater honda or something, even if it sits for a couple years like chris's did. --

good luck.

Get a motorcycle.

Store your 914 in a Relative's Garage & get Collector Car Insurance (cheap), so you can still drive it.

How far is it to School? I rode Bicycles from my Apartment to School when I was in College - Good exercize to work off the Beer

There you go, bicycle is another option. I did this for about 6 months. It was a 25 minute commute each way (well maybe 30 minutes back home due to fatigue from work) but it is possible depending on how far you are and the region you live in. I drove in the rain lots of times. Driving a bicycle doesn't sound too good but can be fun, no gas and insurance to pay. Good for the enviorment...sure you can't pick up your girlfriend on it, but some girls like dudes who drive bicycles....after enough of the bicycle I got quite tired and bought a moped, than worked my way up from there. I always had the 914 sitting at home but could not afford to keep it on the road as a daily driver. Having it off the road allowed me to do some work on it as well.

Ethan...everything they said...

I know the amount of work you've put into your car and how attached to it you are...and that's something you need to take into consideration. I was also in my 914 as my DD in college and ran into the same conundrum...

The best advice I can give you is only what's already been said. Find a cheap reliable Toyota or Honda beater that you know will be mechanically reliable and KEEP THE 914!

I sold mine back in the day and I regretted it every day until I finally stumbled across my current 914 in '96 (I was only without a 914 for about 1.5 yrs)...

What you don't know is that back in the day, cars were not as reliable as they are now. They certainly required more scheduled maintenance. Now that the car is pushing 40, there are hundreds of failure-prone aging parts. I think that you can drive it daily. I use my porsche in summer as a daily driver. BUT I had to go through it regularly tracing possible faults and fixing stuff that looks suspicious. That is a lot of time to spend. A lot of time.

On the other hand I still have my purchased new 1994 Ford escort wagon that I drive in winter. It ran 90,000 miles on the factory spark plugs and has never failed me. On the other hand the brake lines, lower suspension and exhaust system literally fell off due to salt rust from the roads. But that wouldn't have happened in California. SO the beater idea has some merit.

If you have time though sorting out the 914 is more fun. If you have a 4 I suspect you would be far better off in terms of reliability with the factory fuel injection. But then again it needs sorting too.

So is that you with the OC CL "feeler" WTT for an E46 wagon?
.... pic looks like yours!

Get a econobox or motorcycle to DD drive & insure cheap on gas/insur., & leave the 914 in your parent's Vista garage & use it weekends & for fun!

When you make it down for Porsches & Doughnuts, I'll do my best to talk you out of it -
.... but if you really must move on to get through college.....well that's the most important priority right now.

Yeah, that's my feeler ad. That's the goal at this point if I was to sell my car.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm definitly leaning towards keeping the car at this point, but it still is going to take some serious thought and consideration.

At this point, a motorcycle is completely out of the question, simply becasue when I head home, I take a bunch of stuff with me, hence the want for a wagon. I also would like to be able to transport my mountain bike to and from school, and head out riding, something difficult to accomplish in my car.

So I guess it just will take some more thought. More opinions are definetly welcomed though
-Ethan

I would have thought a mountain bike frame, i.e, without the wheels, would fit nicely into the rear trunk of a teener?

All of my friends and I went thru college with aircooled cars. The joy of installing a replacement GEX engine in a bus, with your friends, in the street, downhill. Covered in gas after crawling underneath to replace the fuel pump outside the impound lot of the Jersey Turnpike. Good times! We still occasioanlly reminisce about the 'glory days'.

OTOH we didn't commute so down time could be worked around or someone would give you a ride when needed.

The last daily driver aircooled was retired when my friend's Squareback broke down on the way to a job interview. He showed up an hour late and greasy after stopping to change the points which had cracked. Yes, he had spares and tools and yes, he got the job.

We all sold our air cooled cars and bought "better" transportation. We all regret selling our cars, 1 Bus, 1 411, 1 bug vert, 1 hot rod 59 ragtop.

I can't tell you what to do, only you can know that. I can promise: You will regret it, You will always want it back.

Good luck...

Luckily I suppose, i am not a commuter. I live about an hour and a half from home, but my mom likes it when i come home, so lately ive been coming home just about every weekend. Unfortunately, these weekends have mostly been taken up by fixing the 914, instead of relaxing and hanging out, as i would like to. Realistically, i could probably just stay on campus every weekend, but its hard to turn down your mom when she says she wants to see you and youre only an hour and a half away....


I believe you guys have convinced me to keep the 914 and somehow work around finding a different car, and hopefully a bimmer wagon...

An E46 can be as much to keep running as a 914

Go Toyota or Honda, save your $ for your teener and having a life while you're in College...

Unless you get any e46 parts for free. Hence the draw to an e46....

I like the sound of that

Bike Ethan!!??

They did make bike racks for 914s, like this one I got back in the mid-70's -

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Maybe you can find one used around & solve part of your "logistics problem" with your 914 as a DD?

Also, if you have a quick release hub on the front, you can actually put 1 bike & F wheel in the rear trunk & secure the latch with it slightly open. I used to use a shoe lace or small rope/cord between the upper & lower latch assy. before I got the above rack or when too lazy to use it for 1 bike, which the rack can also carry just one bike by securing the straps to the unused side's plate for the seat in the pix above.

Ethan, there is one avenue which no one has suggested. Walk around the UCLA or Stanford campus until you hook up with a rich girl. The only down side to this is that you will earn every damned penny of it. On a more serious note, you know I'm about 1/2 between you and your home. If you ever need a hand or to borrow a car (I'm down to 5 now) call me. kent

Hey Ethan,

Can you keep it going until the end of the semester? If you don't take summer school, you can spend some time this summer working out bugs. I saw Kent lives near you and might be a great resource. As a college teacher type, I see what my students drive and I don't think a "beater" Honda or Toyota would be a significant improvement AND you wouldn't have the network of "fix it" folks that you do with the 914.

Sean

Thx for the compliment but I don't think I could teach Ethan a damned thing. I could be considered an enroute service spot, however! It would be modeled after the Pony Express having a fresh 914 every 30 miles.

Hey, you could be a sympathetic beer resource too, ya know

Simple solution really, just find yourself a cougar sugar mama.

I am still kicking myself for selling my first car, a '73 Camaro that I bought for $300 when I was 15 and fixed up for less than $2k. It was a really nice car, but then I found a '77 320i that needed work. Sold the Camaro and bought the Bimmer (which was a total turd) - worst car decision I ever made.

If there is any way in the world for you to scrape up $1000 to buy a beater, do it. 10 years from now, you will be glad you did.

I disagree with some of the others in that it is not just a car. When I turned 16, mom and pops gave me a framed poster of a Guards red 911 DP slant-nose. I was hooked. When I was 35 or so, I finally had the money and opportunity to buy a Guards red 911 slant-nose to park next to the 914. I had it for a couple of years, and it was just a car, so I sold it. However, the 914 is more than that to me for some reason. I have had some rough times over the past few years, and going out and sitting in it even though it didn't have an engine in it was cathartic for me. Polishing parts, cleaning it, and now that it is running, driving it, all stir something in my soul that no other car I have owned ever could.

I realize that I am in a different boat than you, as I don't need to rely on mine, but keep it if you can and buy that beater. If you are set on a Bimmer and want something reliable, look at E30s.

A little late chiming in, but in college at cal poly Pomona I got a loaner station wagon from my buddies mom for the commute from newport beach. not the coolest car, but it had over 180k miles when the block cracked the day after I finished the rebuild of my 914 which took about 8 mos while in school, poor, and working 30 hrs a week (yes i walked uphill in the snow both to and from classes...) It was right before I graduated, and was bitter sweet driving my 914 to my grad ceremony. KEEP HER, enjoy the "ride".

Btw when I got some $$$ I bought a good e30 318is, so I agree with above...

Two words...

Toyota... Corolla...

Any year you can swing. They may not get you a date for the weekend but for an inexpensive daily driver they simply can't be beat in my experience. And while driving it you can always remind yourself that back in the garage you have one of the coolest cars ever made waiting for less pressured moments in life.

While BMW's can be cool, I'd avoid taking on another potential project car as your TIME seems to be one of the problems here...

You wouldn't be very tempted to start component swapping on something like a Toyota Corolla and that would be a good thing IMO...

Like I told you kid.....I sold cars that I thought I could just buy another some day...
I did. after marriage,Kids,biz,home......don't waste your youth dude ....stick it out.
Its always is to soon to quite..