You guys just need to take a road trip out here. It's still very possible to find "half-decent" cars for $3K or less out here.
$1500 Craigslist carThere are several more cars there now, but they're all either over $3K, or not "half-decent" (like two that are customized out the wazoo). Only one is over $5K, though, and it looks pretty nice. Cars in the $1500-3000 bracket that look like decent drivers show up all the time, like 5-6 per month. Even factoring in the cost of renting a car trailer and gas, you could drive here from the East Coast and pick up a worthwhile car for under $3K.
Asking on this board will nearly always find someone close by that's willing to take a close look and provide an opinion and more photos, which substantially reduces the long distance buyer's risk. I'm certainly willing to do that for any car in the Bay Area.
All that said, prices are no doubt beginning to inch up thanks to the efforts of people like the Excellence crew. With the increased attention there and in Pano, the rest of the Porsche world is beginning to think maybe these cars aren't so bad, after all. Parts cars are starting to sell quickly enough even here that it took three tries for me to get hooked up with a group that was parting one out. The rest slipped through the board's fingers.