I looked at my first 914 yesterday. Now I'm not new to the 914, having followed them since they were new. But never owned one. This one was rust free, and at around $4000, I thought it might be nice. I guess my idea of nice and his is a bit different. I was, am, looking for a runner to fix up and play around with, but this was too much for the average back yard wrench. It rode nice, hard, but had a Bursche ??? muffler which was LOUD, and probably toast. If I were to buy it, I would have to have taken the entire car apart and cleaned/updated/buffed everything on the car to make it nice. It's just me, I guess I'm anal when it comes to cars, they have to be fine. And if I sell one, you can bet it's in better shape then when I bought it. That would have cost about $2-3000 dollars.It neede a complete paint job, seats, bumper rubber. I have been out of this (914) market for a while, but from what I see, the really good examples have really gone up in value. I;'ll keep looking for the right car and I'm in no rush. To those who have nice examples, keep them going and you're in the drivers seat.

You need to look at the one I passed on that is in California.....check the classifieds

These days, that sounds about right for a $4k 914 ...

You might want to contact Brad Mayeur at 914Ltd. In Peoria, IL. He would be able to let you know of any nice cars available in the area. It is hard to find a fixer-upper in the Midwest as time and the tinworm have taken their toll.

Nice ones are still available, but you have to keep looking.

Keep looking, they are out there. Post a classified in the 914World as to exactly what you want. You'll see some offers come out of the woodwork.

+1. I wish I had the cash for this one! Blue, 75 2.0, mahles, FI, still even has the blue CA plates.

There are a few for sale around here in KC, but none that drive. I know of one that is on a rotisserie for $3500 and has no rust! $4K doesnt seem too bad for a running driving car with little to no rust. Yea, it might need a few things, but hey, its not a new car!!

At around $4k, and "rust free" (ha-ha) you would expect to do a complete refurbish. thats what used to be an $1800 driver.

A complete car that needs nothing, and I mean nothing is $10k.

A complete Original car (original paint, decent interior, original engine with FI in place, less than 60 or 70k miles), is $14k or more and rising.


I would bet youre gonna wish you had bought it.

Well then I have a deal for you. Really I do. I have a Yellow 73, it was a 1.7 but now has a 2.0L motor in it. Has Fake Fuchs, Front sway bar, had the battery tray replace by 914LTD. It is still fuel injected.

Issues: Needs radio installed, head temp sensor and left rear brake drags. I wasn't going to sell it just yet until I fixed the issues, but if you are looking for a easy winter project car this would be a good one. As it sits now, $6500 come spring time it will be over $7k.

I'm in Portage Indiana. PM if you are interested.

Ok, but that blue 914 has surface rust and other rust. No way. That would take a paint job at around 1-3000 dollars. At $7800, that is IMO way overpriced.

"That would have cost about $2-3000 dollars.It neede a complete paint job, seats, bumper rubber..."

If you can all of that done for an additional 2-3k, you are the man. You could/would actually make money on the deal!!

Good luck with the hunt

I just sold the Blue 75 in Calif. and the buyer couldn't pay me fast enough! The rust you saw was so small I had to point it out to the inspecter. Good luck with your search.

The $4000 I'm talking about is the first bid. Lets wait to see what it goes for.

Got a link to an ad for that car?

There are some nice 914's in our classifieds.

Have you talked to razorbobsr about his 914? It looks decent.

And if it has ultra low miles, definitely more than that (as you well know)

Maybe even as much as $21,000 for an all-original 1.8 with 25,000 miles
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=170029

And the infamous Berber Yellow 2.0 with 13,000 miles started out at $15K, shot up to about $32,000 and eventually dropped to about $22,000, though I don't know if it ever sold:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=150125
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=105807

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=197510

It's the orange car on ebay now. Nice rust free car with lots of work done on it over the last few years. It's just not the car I'm looking for. Great seller who knows a lot about these cars.

The paint job I'm talking about is where I do all the removal of items, sand most of it, mask it off and trailer it to the paint shop. Around $1000. Interior parts, carpet, new seats (reapholster), 200=700, new bumper rubber $650. Yea, it can be done.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1346413

You probably won't do much better for the price.

Congratulations Bruce! That was a nice car! Was it sold to a 914World member?

Sorry Bruce, I wasn't trashing your car. When I see rust, as I have over the last 45 years of the car hobby, it just scares me off. Glad you sold it to a good home.

With all due respect, you must not have seen many 914's. If you want to see rust, look at the thread by ScottyB where he is working on my green car. Now THAT is rust. Bruce's car, for the money, was a great deal.

The guy that bought it has a Black 914 LE and a couple of 911's, he kind of collects and really liked mine cuz of the originality of it.

Gaspump, Bob here from Terre Haute In with the blue 914 you want to buy, how about a call 812=232=4777 or razorbobsr@aol.com

Gaspump, Bob here from Terre Haute In with the blue 914 you want to buy, how about a call 812=232=4777 or razorbobsr@aol.com

I saw this car up close when it was on a trailer a month or so ago. It's REALLY nice in my opinion. Very original, honest car that does not appear to have had any previous damage or rust. The seats have a cool pattern on them. Underside is pristine, the jack posts still have paint on them. It's Saturn Yellow. Paint needed a buff out but that doesn't cost anything. The radio was in the car, just not hooked up. Sapphire I think. If I was looking for a really nice driver car I would buy this one in a second... you can't buy a rust free 2.0 for that money any more.

PS - I have no affiliation/vested interest in it at all...just liked it when I saw it.

You get what you pay for. Sounds to me like you are looking for a $10K 914 but you only want to spend $4K. I think the days of finding a rust free survivor for under $10K are gone. Thankfully.
Good luck in your search.

It is hard to find a good one here in the midwest. First, at the time midwesterners didn't buy foreign. The cars tend to stick around local because ebay is still pretty new. And rust free is in the eye of the beholder. I bought a rust-free car from a guy I thought i could trust. It needs many panels including the floor, and trunk completely replaced and numerous other rusted out areas patched. So look carefully! Also, cars of that era were loud compared to what we drive now, so it can be a bit of a shock, even if you drove them before. It easy to get used to quiet and plush.

If you are not new to 914........why the the "first"......in the post line?

" New to me", as in owning one. I've had friends in the PCA and local clubs who had them. I've ridden in, drove them etc over the years. I'm just now getting back into wanting to own one. Yes, I just started and I should"nt rush into anything. I guess we would all like to "find a $10k car for $4k, but just because I said the one I looked at was cheap, I know there are better ones out there for 4-5-8-12,000. I guess after looking at some prices, I'm stuck in the 80's or 90's. in my mind from what they used to cost. Oh well, everything goes up these days; well almost everything goes up. This forum seems like a great place to learn and find ideas, I'm just now sure how much work I want to put into one, or buy one all done. After restoring cars before, the time it takes would fill all the days.

Call Garold...seriously...that car will be bought by the first person who looks at it. (tire kickers excluded)

Gaspump, Bob here. I dont know how many I can send? Bob

You can't get good materials for a Grand. Now if you're taking it to MAACO

Which blue is that? Laguna?

Yep. Same as mine.

I think it shows that I've been out of the painting market for some time. I guess it does cost a lot more these days than what it thought. Thanks for the update.

The market on these has really changed in the last 2-3 years. I used to see a project with 4-500 in parts on craigls list for 1-2k, it's about double now.

We have one on the lift right now that the owner got for free from a friend.
He drove it here a couple weeks ago from Long Island.
Guess what part of the car we're working on.

Just a few thoughts on price perspectives
I bought a roller, no engine or tranny, needs a new battery tray, but the longs and hell hole solid, needs a complete repaint, 14 inch five bolt fuchs, tires shot,
I paid 2500 from camp914 and to this day i know i got a great deal
I will paint myself, materials will run over a 1000 smackers.
I paid four times that for my first 14 a few years back..it was mint tho
Finding a solid car is the key.

was that the light blue one steve? if so, it is a nice car.

gaspump, you've cleared the first hurdle of 914 ownership. that would be being able to walk away from "a first (or second or third...)car" you've looked at. from the way the car you looked at sounds, triple the asking price and you might be well on the way to having a sound driver. $2k for disassembly, body work and paint (body, trunks, door/jams, engine compartment) would be suspiciously low. keep looking and find YOUR car. not many mysteries with the cars listed in the classifieds here. eliminating the major rust repair factor will more than pay for cross country shipping for nice car that's done. spend as much, even prepare to spend bit more, as you think you can afford.

k

I cant wait to get my next one on the market. I stopped working on it to get Christmas stuff done, and now I may miss the late February auction. prices are still going up.

True that, I wished I waited and saved more money for a better one too. But
these cars sell quick as I went thru 4 of them before getting Cyclops which
the more I dug, the more I found to fix. A year and a half later I'm in 1st primer
and yes, materials are not cheap for the higher quality primers and paints these
days. Good luck with your hunt.

Scott

Best to not get in a hurry when buying one of these cars because if you wait long enough you'll find what you need/want.It's better to drive for a day or two to get a better car than have to fix rust any day!!! I bought three cars before I found the best one I'd ever seen for three grand with no motor but it had been soda blasted and every area photographed bare metal before primer,paint.I couldn't have done that much work for that kind of money.I've seen some others out there but I live in Texas so it's better than the midwest for clean cars.Rust sucks!

I've tried. Left e-mails, PM's but no return calls.

I sent you an email with pictures. I gather you didn't get it. You can reach me at 219-730-6418

I'll echo the "all due respect" and say that 914 prices mentioned herein and paint job prices herein seem to be from a past decade (or two). Sounds like you're looking for a $10,000 914 for $4,000. Times have changed.

Remember when you could buy a solid, original paint, 2.0 914 with FI still intact and functional for $2500? Those days are long gone too.

Yes I do. Remember that 6 conversion ad over on Pelican? $4600. Every 2-3 years someone bumps the ad and asks if it is still available.

Not too long ago...

Just gotta be patient. I looked at a few before my 73. The main tell tail sign is seeing the ground from the engine bay... With the engine still installed! PASS!

Just have to look for the potential hidden in a 40 year old car.

This is how I found mine in the spring of 2011. It looked like crap. Sitting for years in a driveway, bad interior, non-running, fuel lines disintegrated with most all other rubber, Shift linkage disconnected (no idea why), no brakes, bad tires, Did not even know if the engine would start, run or have any compression, but... Everything was there, FI and all... $2,250. The only rust (Besides some surface rust) was the battery tray and hole. That can be fixed!
Click to view attachment

A little elbow grease and Now...

Click to view attachment

I searched for months to find mine... Hardest part is finding a good chassis. Being in he Midwest, I had to search all over. I wanted little to no rust (Signal Orange if possible ) and original injection. I ended up with a '74 1.8 that is super straight but it certainly was not $4k. There are little details to work out and improve but I have a great running car with a big bore rebuilt injected 1.8, basic chassis upgrades that is a blast to drive. Car is a classic "10 footer" takes great pics.


I think of selling sometimes to fund a 912 build but I keep coming back to her

Don't give up!