When this `66 Ford Lotus Cortina ad from Driver's Source came to email (link below), it reminded me of the decision which I made between a Lotus Cortina & Opel Kadette - a mistake? - perhaps - which I made when I bought my first car in Fall 1969.

http://inventory.driversource.com/vehicles..._eid=b96b164c98

The above Lotus Cortina in restored form today is asking $105,000 - whereas the value for a DD to nicely restored condition Opel Kadett B in any body style/sub-model is currently ranging from say $7500 to maybe $20,000 - or 7% to 20% of the Lotus Cortina's value. In Fall of 1969, I was faced with the choice of both at a used car dealer in San Diego for my first car.

When I got to the used car dealer with my hard earned budget of $800 - $1000 for my first car (I had to also have savings for my college starting the next year Fall 1970), I was presented with a much more "used" 1966 Lotus Cortina with 80,000+/-miles IIRC for $1200 - vs. just $800 for a newer Red/Black 1968 Opel Kadett 2-door Sedan base model #31 with about 40,000 miles, with the small 1.1L I-4 & 4-speed stick, & the basic rubber floor mats - to give you an idea of just how base model I mean!


^ PS - Note: this above is NOT the actual car which I saw, but just a pic of a similar one which was on that FS listing at the link above. It looks like a very nice resto!




^ PS - Note: this above is NOT my actual car, but just a pic of a similar one which I found online. Mine was a USA Buick sold LHD Kadett of this #31 2dr. Sedan model/body style in Red/Black, & when I got mine it lacked all 4 hubaps, with just silver painted wheels. Geez, I'd forgotten how "Porky" it looked from the back 3/4 view though!

Now I really didn't know much about that Lotus Cortina back then, except that I knew Lotus from racing, so I surmised it was the hopped up Cortina, but it was "rode hard & put away wet" with twice the miles & 2 years older - & it looked rougher & getting a bit tattered & rusty. Also, my good HS buddy had a 66 Cortina base model, with which had had a lot of problems mechanically that he was always fixing. Plus - I'd put up with my Mom's avocado green carpet & furnishings since `63 - so I wasn't crazy about that green side stripe!

And at $1200, it was 150% of the Opel - to which I could've stretched my budget to buy, but it would've cut deeply into my savings for college, & reserves for any repairs, etc., if needed.

So I bought the Opel, learned to drive a stick on the way home from "the heights" above Lindbergh Field airport in "midtown" San Diego - steep hills indeed for a newbie, & then went off on a long "learn the stick" drive up to Oceanside & back to where we lived In University City/San Diego later that evening.

My little red Opel was cost effective at about 30 mpg, it toted up to 4 friends + me all through senior year of HS, & then all of my stuff up to college in LA at USC the next year, & back-n-forth every weekend.

Unfortunately, being RED it attracted the attention of every cop around - even when I wasn't speeding! It turned out after talking with our neighbor who was a SDPD Lt. - they actually LOOK for RED cars, then all other bright colors of next Orange, Yellow, bright Greens, Bright Blues - in that order! Maybe white with green side stripes was "stealth mode"!?

My little Opel only lasted up to late Spring on 1971 - when the head cracked & I sold it, taking over the payments on my Dad's `69 Pontiac Ventura 4-DR Hardtop that summer when they moved back east to Indy for a job transfer - which was NOT a good car in 73-74 when the Oil Crisis gas prices spiked from 25-27 cents/gallon, way up to $1/gallon in just 2 weeks, along with the even-odd license plate gas rationing of 10 gallons every other day! The old members will recall that debacle!

While I couldn't afford to make the jump to a more fuel efficient sports car then - eventually focusing on a 914 - while still a struggling student in college working 40-70 hours/week - I did get my 73 914-2.0 in late 1975 - about 18 months after my graduation in June `74, despite setback due to a bad economy & a few months on unemployment in late `74, due to the lack of jobs.

Unfortunately I don't have any of my older pix with my then very nice 914 from back then scanned, so I just put my 914 in it's sad current state of the pic below - still showing it's damage from being hit front & rear in a parking structure in May `85 - after a 1976 rust repair/repaint, & then full rolling resto in 1980-83. I'm currently moving slowly on it's 3rd resto due to time, budget, parts & other projects, work, etc. getting in the way.

Click to view attachment

While I still think that I made the right choice at the time in buying the Opel - it also makes me wonder if the Lotus Cortina would've held up better/longer & if I would still have it today? Of course, if I still had it, then I may not have gotten the 914!

Whereas, I definitely think that by my 3rd car - my choice for my `73 914-2.0 "914S" WAS the right choice - with NO second thoughts!

What silly car buying mistakes or questionable decisions have you made?

Happy 4th!
Tom
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So what are your good &/or bad decisions on past car buying stories??


Tom
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Hindsight is 20/20 so don't have regrets. You made the best decision you could have at the time

I've been very fortunate with my toy cars. I bought my 240Z in 1980 with about 50K miles for $2200.00. It already had everything in the Datsun Competition Catalog installed, including some of the high dollar items. Plus the head had been P&P by BC Gerolomy who was a legend in Datsun Racing. I didn't have to do a thing with it except drive the piss out of it. It's currently getting a new engine built by Dave Rebello who is another legend in Datsun racing. McMark will be Megasquirting it.
My 914 I bought sight-unseen from an estate sale. The description said it was a one owner car purchased by a salesman from Sierra Porsche+Audi in Riverside (Harvey and Al Weidman worked there) the guy drove it for 5 years and then retired to Oregon. Within a year he had a stroke and was unable to drive. He wouldn't let his family sell it. He had them put it on jackstands in the garage and swore he would drive it again. He passed in 2003 and I got the car in the estate sale for $2500.00. It arrived on an open transport looking like a new car but it would barely run and one of the calipers was locked up. Everything mechanical had to be rebuilt.
There have been many other cars and I have usually broken even or made money when I've sold them. I lost my ass on an RX7 I bought new in '84. It got flooded during a rainstorm and totaled by my insurance company. I kept it and of course started having electrical problems that were costing a fortune. Percentage wise, the best purchase I ever made was a 944S2. I paid $3500.00 for it to one of my anesthesia buddies at work. His asking price was $5000.00 and as I was test driving it, I was listing off the things I'd need to do to make it a driver. He listened and talked his own price down. I knew it was an S2 and thought he understood that it made it something more than a 944. Turned out, he didn't and a year later he asked if he could buy it back. Too late, I had sold it for $12K!
When I was a kid though! I traded my 57 Chevrolet step-side pickup to a guy for a 10 speed bike!

My dad wouldn't let me buy a '56 Speedster in 1975 because I had broken my arm skateboarding and had trouble shifting it.

It was complete, with overriders and side curtains, ran well. It was $1500/best offer. All he could think of was James Dean.

I bought a '67 Westfalia pop top camper instead, we had a lot of fun with it.

My current black '73 2.0 full appearance group car was $5500. Great deal, considering it is a solid car.

In 1969, my grandfather gave my uncle his choice of cars at the local Ford dealership in downtown Atlanta. My uncle really wanted an AC Cobra they had but with only plastic side curtains for windows and no radio, he eventually passed on it for a new Boss 302.

There's one for you!

As I said, I feel that I made the right choice in my situation as a high school student looking for cheap transportation to save more money & get through college. It got me 2 years & another 40,000+/- miles of use, before I sold it in 1971 as is.

Buying my Dad's 45,000 mile Pontiac "The Boat" was expedient & reliable transportation, but at 7-10 mpg was a tough pill when gas prices quadrupled in 2 weeks & was rationed - but I still got another 80,000+/- miles out of it before I sold it in early 1976.

MY 914 in 1975 (2nd owner) last with 172,000+/- miles (from +/- 45K when bought), my 85 BMW 325e E30 (OO) now with 198,000+/- miles from , & 88 VW Westfalia (OO) now with 223,000+/- miles from new - were all 3 also great choices!

One regret I don't have is selling the cars which I liked!

I didn't & still don't mind having sold the Opel & Pontiac, even if that Lotus Cortina ad made me think.

Since 1969 I've only owned those 5 above cars, & still own #3, 4 & 5 - & still DD driving the BMW & Westy, with hopes to do so with my 914 soon. All five had to serve as DDs, trips/vacations, kids learning to drive, etc., etc. - not just as fun toys.

Between those 3 keeper cars we have about half a million miles of fun DDs!

Of course over the years & travels, I've probably got that much or more miles in various rental cars & trucks too!

No regrets, just thinking!
Tom
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The Speedsters were dirt cheap & unloved back then, as were most other 356s, but not anymore!

But how the heck did you drive the Westy Bus, if the Speedster's stick would've been a problem for your broken arm Lawrence, unless that was just your Dad's excuse for a NO?

So instead you got a rockin'-n-rollin' Hump-mobile!

Obviously I love Westies! What other car can you live in, travel & camp, & DD!?


Tom
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Great stories Rob!

I think your anethesia buddy was dippin' into the supplies when he sold you that 944S2 for that!

I've always loved the 240Z's & up syling, & did a college photography class project shooting a new 71 240Z at Moon Datsun in Spring 1971. Unfortunately I don't have access to the prints/negs that we had to process ourselves at this time.

However, they eventually did shoot this ad outside of a building which I'd designed back in the late 1970's .....

Edit to rotate pic:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment
^ Thousand Jokes CA Library, completed +/- 1985, so the ad pic above was post `85 fyi.

PS - Rob, if I ever find those negs/prints of my 71 240Z shots & figure out how to digitize them (4x5 format), then I'll send some to you in digital form to use how you want. No promises on if/when though, cuz I have no idea what box or file cabinet they're in where!


Tom
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When I was in the Army in Germany I bought a 1967 Irish green 911S. The car was used. It was 3 yrs old and I gave $2250 for it. I brought it back with me to Texas. In 1972 I traded it even for a brand new 1972 Monte Carlo. Seemed like a good deal at the time.

If you had a Monte Carlo back in the 70's, you were livin' well!!

My dad and I had the opportunity to buy a numbers matching 356C cabrio for $3k IIRC in mid-2004. The car was disassembled and needed a bunch of non-structural rust repair, but had been blasted and was all there; it really probably wouldn't have been too bad of a project. At the time we were building a new garage and didn't have anywhere to put it so we passed. We bought a table saw the guy also had for sale and one of the straps broke on the way home and while shifting it broke the truck's rear window...Perhaps that should have been a sign...Ooops. It sold on eBay a few years later for ~35k IIRC in the same conditions missing some parts.

Being a Cab Jim, now post economic recovery, it may be worth 6-figures if now restored to CW level.

At least you got the table saw!


Tom
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I'll Second that!

Well at least if it was straight even $ for $ for a brand new MC in 72, then you at least made some money on your $2250.


Tom
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That's the killer part! Though ROI might be better selling unrestored.

Certainly less back pain, aching muscles & bottles of Advil etc. Jim!


TT
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While not quite as rare nor as pricey as a Cobra nowadays, the Boss 302 wasn't a bad choice for a collector car today either!

ADD: This article about the 5 priciest US cars ever sold just came in my Hagerty eNewsletter, & a 62 Cobra was #1, a 65 Daytona Cobra was on there too.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/Art...%20at%20auction

Go read it for the halibut!


Tom
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bought a red 78 911SC roller for $4500; bought a used 83SC engine for $4500, did some minor top end work to the engine installed it, drove it for about 6 months, and sold it for $8000.

this was in 2013; about the time air cooled prices were starting to go up. I kick myself for that one regularly; I didn't even NEED to sell the car.

in 1976 I bought a 1970xke jag for 1500.00 put down 500 dollars went to pick it up the next day and the guys brother totaled it so mad I bought a 68 Camaro for 900.00

That would be great Tom!

A few years back, when we lived in Sacramento and I used to have the Sacramento Porsche Family Reunion events every month, we had a swap meet. I had driven my '84 911 Carerra Coupe which I had purchased for $21700. A guy in a 356 Coupe drove by and then did a u-turn when he realized he was looking at a Porsche swap. Before the afternoon was out, he had offered me the 356 in an even trade for the 911. That was 10 years before the 356 cars went stratospheric. Ultimately, I sold the 911 to a guy in Germany for its original sticker price. If I still had it? Maybe almost double? But I always wonder what the 356 could have gotten me...

..........I bought and DD a non-AC Opel Gt for 17 years

So how was that a mistake!?

As of now the GT "Baby Vettes" sell at a pretty good price & are still wanted.

When I googled for Opels to find my pix, I recall seeing a really nice metallic blue one with the 1.9L engine IIRC, which was for sale down in Carlsbad.

Maybe it's time for a trip down PCH for you!?

Hey, did you come to our OCR Concours at Mile Square Park last month?
I don't recall seeing your white Turbo there, & I usually look for anyone's car whom I know so I can say Hi & chat a bit.


Tom
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More like mistakes selling cars, rather than buying ...

Cars that my mom owned that got sold for cheap back then (worth big doughnuts today) ...
'40 Ford convertible
'55 Chrysler New Yorker
'62 Pontiac Bonneville convertible


Cars I sold for cheap ... '62 VW Big (rag-top sunroof)
Numerous other early VW Bugs (flippers) during my high school days
'59 Ford factory 4x4 (Forestry Service truck)
'66 Karman Ghia Convertible
'67 VW 11-window bus
'67 911 coupe
'67 912 coupe
'68 VW Bug
'69 Karmann Ghia coupe
'71 914
(2) '72 914s
'75 Audi Fox
'76 BMW 530i
'77 Puma coupe
... and an '80 Fiat 131 coupe



Current Germans still owned:
'64 911 (#189), purchased for $2,500 in 1977 (I'm the 2nd owner)
'66 912, purchased for $2,000 in 1988 (I'm the 2nd owner)
'75 914 2.0L, purchased for $3,800 in 2006
'71 (unmolested) 914, purchased for $5,000 in 2007 (I'm the 2nd owner)
'84 Vanagon Westfalia camper, purchased for $6,000 in 2012
'70 Karmann Ghia coupe, purchased for $7,000 in 2015



I almost purchased a '73 BMW 2002 tii at one of Vasek Polak's dealerships back in 1973 ... opted for a '73 Dodge van to haul my dirt bikes to events. Gave the Dodge to my dad and purchased a '77 Chevy long wheelbase van.


I always wondered if I would still have the BMW, or would have sold it cheap too?

Hind sight is 20/20, right?

Mark, you're only the 3rd guy I've known who's had a Puma!

An impressive list, for sure!

2002tii or ti was a close 2nd for my car craving back in the early 70's when I got my 914. Let's assume it would've been a keeper for you, if not wrecked or rusted away.

A 2.8 or 3.0 CSi was the pipe dream & way too expensive back then, but I did try to get one after my 914 was mashed in `85, but got a new 325e new as the next best thing when I couldn't find one, as the 633/635 was still too expensive while doing triple duty running my business, doing my MBA & starting a family then.


Tom
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When I bought my 914 off of a guy in California, the ad (which Joe O'Brien and I both missed) said that it was a 2.0L GD block. This is opposed to a GA (or GB or GC as my reading indicated were also 914 2.0 L variants).

While I was at Joe Sharp's place in Huntington Beach, when he lived there, and getting help changing out the fuel lines, good old Tomas pointed out pretty quickly that I had a bus motor! Oh well, that engine was never intended to remain in that car as I had planned from the start to convert it to a six. It sure ran like crap (as a /3 most of the time!) for those first couple years. Rocker arms kept breaking.

It was an engine that didn't belong in there, but it kept me puttering around for two years or so before finally suffering catastrophic failure as I pulled into O'Brien's driveway one day. RIP bus motor!

Jon,

Unfortunately, there are a lot of "fake 914 2Ls" & cheapo replacements for real factory 914-2.0s - both using Bus 2Ls out there!

My Dad had a 2L Bus in the 1980's that he bought in Indy & drove down to their Condo in Cancun to keep as a local runabout.
He used to tease me that it had the same engine as my Porsche - & I'd say No it's Not!

In reality by the time the Buses put the GD 2.0 flat-4 into the Buses, they were as detuned for smog or more than, as were the later 75-76 GC 914-2.0s!
But IIRC the bus version only turned out about 80-85 HP with 49 state smog, & only about 76+/- HP with CA Emissions+Crapalytic Converter.

So the bus motor was always less power than the 914 versions, unless they were properly built-up for more power off the bare case.
.... & then many/most still had problems like yours.


Tom
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I don't dwell on past buying mistakes. There's still good deals out there to be had.
Just picked up this early '66 with a non matching engine for $25k.

911 or 912?

And nobody is "dwelling" Mark, it's a discussion topic with a discussion starter in my first post.


Tom
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'66 - 911.

This was the MAD - mother of all deals - last year.
'64 - 911 $45K numbers matching engine.

Was it early enough to be a 901?

We had a very early +/- #2 902/912 at our OCR Concours last year. Very nicely restored & presented!

I wonder if the `64 911's seller has any regrets!?


Tom
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It's not one of the first 48 but it is one of the 232 cars.
Seller was happy to sell. It was sitting under a tarp in his carport for the last 25 years. Boxes of parts in his garage. Another shop offered to sell on consignment but never bothered to come out and take a look.

I'm trying to make a deal on a '65 -912. If I can get it, I will sell the original engine and drop in a 3.2

Schweet, Mark

Wonder if it was a new find or transfer of an already know specimen? The 232 Registry lists about 62 known '64 survivors world-wide.

Do you know the VIN?


I think I'm closer to the MAD on '64s... all #s matching from original owner, $2,500 in 1977

The "purchasing power" of $2,500 from 1977 is $10,087.62 in 2017.

It's not on the registry.

Mark,

If it's numbers matching - then NEVER sell the original engine!
Just store it properly, & same for transaxle too if you'd do a g50 or whatever.

In the future it will be worth far more with the original numbers matching engine & transaxle whenever you decide to sell it later - even if resto-modded as a 3.2 6 Outlaw.

Otherwise, you'll be posting your "daggummit" regrets here later on!


Tom
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Mark,

Real annual inflation or buying power erosion is closer to 7+% - not the 1-2% claimed in CPI & online calculators, as I gave resources at the 916 thread active on here now.

That is why most every retirement planner & websites advises people to plan on 7-8% annual inflation in their retirement planning,savings, etc.

Under that model your $2500 in `77 is closer to $40,000 today - in real inflation.

These easy to use online calculators are just using questionable CPI data, which doesn't hold up, but it's just as easy to double it every 10 years in your head, for a 7.2% annual inflation - which is far closer to reality. PS - CPI is nothing but GIGO!

Don't know if you built your new place in AZ or had any new construction done there, but try to get it done a year later for just 1-2% more.

In fact, I challenge anyone to take a construction bid from a year or two or more ago, & get a current bid at just 1-2% annual inflation as the Feds claim, or almost any other items around! No Eff'ing way!!


Tom
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Do you know how to contact Bob Fleming? He's the trustee of the list. I'm sure he'd like to add the VIN to the Registry, even if it's an anonymous owner ... I can assist if need be.

Thank you.