Hi Guys! My first post I'm have now caught the Porsche bug (no pun intended!), so my serious focus is nothing but a 914...SO, I would like to buy a 914 in good overall condition, both mechanically and cosmetically...With my budget, I know you can't expect a perfect, or near perfect car for under 10K....So my budget is between 5-8K...

I would prefer a 1.8, and better yet a 2.0, but I'm not getting my hopes up, with the budget I have of $5,000. But, if you have a weak spot for a 'new 914 fan', then please tell me what ya got...thanks guyszzz.

Terry in N. California

keep your eye on our classifieds on the site. The cars tend to be better, more honest cars then what you’ll find on Craigslist, etc...

Save up, you'll need a bigger budget, that's where I am unfortunately. My search has become a bit of a running joke, lol. Good luck!

At least you live in an area where 914s are in abundance and not completely rotted.

Yeah, keep saving and keep reading these forums t learn all you can about our cars, how to recognize a good one from a bad one and what questions to ask a seller to eliminate the junk from the cars that will work for you and your budget. The more info you have the easier it will be to recognize the right car. Of course, the early bird gets the worm. So be diligent in your searches of all of the usual classified sections and be ready to jump when the right one becomes available. Good luck and enjoy the hunt.

I don't know this car but here may be an opportunity. Sweat equity while you learn how these cars work.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/d/914-...6556761489.html

"There is nothing more expensive than buying a cheap Porsche"

Buy the best one you can find and afford, you will be $$$ ahead.

If no rust that's a screaming deal! Would make a great 6 conversion....and it even looks to be Irish green!

It would be a real find on the east coast.

Indeed. If someone checked it out for me I'd buy it

Funny, I was going to post that one right away but the OP said "running" which this one is not. OP needs to understand that this is an example of what you will be looking at in that budget range.

Add $10K to your budget now or later for what you want.

Here's a 73 2.0L (probably the most desirable of the 4s besides the LE) within your range, but once again it's not running. Plus no pictures, so that's not very helpful either.

https://chico.craigslist.org/cto/d/1973-por...6556424686.html

Then there's this 71 (which would be a 1.7L) that supposedly runs "excellent". Once again, no pictures.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/pors...6557054607.html

Like Mike said above, either add $10K to your budget now or spend an additional $10K later.

Regardless, take your time and go look at some. Being in Cali, you will have options as well as lots of 914 owners around to possibly help you out when you go to look at one and or help fix up one that you buy. Usually food an beer can get a lot of work done.

Where in Nor-Cal are you?

Hey thanks guys! I live in Grass Valley, CA. And that link for the green one above has been removed, and probably sold. I'm quickly leaning though on what to look for. I have a connection near by that has a 1970 1.7 in pretty good shape, and mostly rust free (and almost all original) for 5K. I'm just not a big fan of the white 914's , or white cars in general. But has a knock in the engine (I was told), so a rebuild seems eminent. It's hard for me right now to do much muscle work on a car, with my bad back and neck, hence my need to get into a car that at least runs solid, and not a rust bucket. Cheers Guyzzz!!! Thanks!

Grass Valley Mueller

Kbman, your learning fast. Stay away from that local connect, white ones are always slower. If you can’t get a blue one, then red, orange, yellow, green. Remember your representing the 70’s...

This is the price range I would like to be in right now. Yes it needs a bigger engine and 5 lug conversion to live up to the GT flares, but it sure looks pretty nice in the pictures. Seller said (via email) that the flares are in fact steel.

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/6556140990.html

WOW, that is a lot of car for the money, IMHO. Please tell me if I'm wrong, but that car looks like a great candidate for a 914-6 conversion.?? I wish my budget would stretch that far, but reality is, well reality

Hey Blue6 , I'm not sure how to take your response...Are you serious, or funny? BTW, I found out that there is no 'knock' in the engine...but it needs a few 100 bucks to get it running...I wonder why 914's run into issues with the FI, once it is put back in place? Anyhoo, it looks to be the best candidate so far, and will look at it in about a week Question: would it take considerable value out of an original 914 to paint it another color? (the stock blue or teal would be super dope)

Based on the front trunk and door jamb the color looks like marathon blue metallic.....a most excellent color.

They painted the rear trunk black for some reason.

Also, those with leads for KB may want to PM him. I've noticed a well known flipper is actively watching this thread looking to snake any leads.

If you are concerned about "value" then you're doing this for the wrong reason

This car you are talking about will probably never be a show queen or concourse winner, so if you get it, do whatever makes you happy. If it were me, I'd paint it Ravenna Green!

But if you only have a budget for 5-8K, a decent paint job is going to be that alone. More if it needs any body work. Of course you could always look into a wrap, still need a nice surface underneath though.

I suggest you check and see if any members local to you will go with you to take a look at it.

I had a feeling that there is a 'flipper lurker' here And given that, I will not post the whereabouts of any particular 914 that isn't filtered through CL, or any other website.

Serious question though...In general, are these cars worth it in the scope of a hobby AND a investment? I wouldn't think a 914, if spruced up, would ever go down in value. But my main goal is NOT to make money, but to enjoy the ride

Where is that blue 914 you were talking about (with the black trunk)? I didn't see a link.

The challenge with 914’s is the cost of work compared to the value of the car. A 1/2 million dollar 911RS will easily support a $30k paint job where even a 10k respray on a 914 might get you underwater. Many of the costs, especially labor, are the same for any classic car but when you start out with a higher value car, the costs like labor are a much smaller percentage of the cars worth. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fix up a 914, it just means there is a smaller margin for profit if you intend to look at a 914 as an “investment”.
We all want our cars to be worth a little when we are buying but worth a lot when we sell.

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/6556140990.html

Although the market has cooled somewhat, there are still plenty of flippers who peruse forums like these hoping someone else will do the dirty work of finding them a car to buy and flip.

It's always best not to post any details about the location of a car you are interested in until AFTER you buy it.

Even a picture can be searched on Google to find the origin of the ad. I mostly deal with unlisted sellers just to bypass the competition.

Difficult for those of us on the "outside" of Porsche circles to get leads on unlisted sellers.

When I thought I was ready to jump in and buy, I posted a Want To Buy locally on Craigslist. I wrote a long ad with my history of when and why I fell in love with the 914 and tried to be as honest and transparent as possible so that people would know that I wasn't some sort of flipper or scammer or just some "hipster" that wants a vintage Porsche.

I actually got a couple of leads and one of them I regret not buying. I had several conversations on the phone with a French man with a 75 1.8L in Ancona Blue just over on the other side of town. It wasn't perfect but it was a solid driver and that Ancona Blue was beatiful. He was a car guy that likes when his cars go to someone that will enjoy them, almost like an interview process to see if you're good enough. Unfortunatly when he finally called me to get it out of storage (about 2 months after our initial conversation), I no longer had the funds available. He only wanted $7500 and I'll be kicking myself for a long time on that one.

You don’t have to be part of some inner Porsche circle or a fast talking shyster to get a good deal.
I bought 2 from the 914 yahoo group and helped sfrenk/Scott find his, also on yahoo group. The group is pretty dead so not much competition from other buyers.
The first was Scott’s when I saw a listing for a rust free roller in CA. Scott called and got the car. I think it was $2k. The second was my famous Unicorn ad - “wanted, rust free early car for not much money”. Mike Bellis said I was looking for a unicorn. 2 weeks later, a guy responded and I had the $2,500 very low rust ‘71 shipped from CA. $2,500 was his price, not mine. The third was the orange ‘71 that I just purchased. The origional owner asked where to get the rust repaired. I gave him advice. He bought all new metal but changed his mind and asked if I wanted to buy it.
The Suby car was listed on World for $3,500 but within a week, I had sold $3,500 worth of parts (it had a lot of brand new suspension and brake parts) so that was a wash. I think the roll cage turned people off. Took me 2 hours with a sawsall and grinder to make it go away. The red ‘71 was listed on world for $6k, then $4,500 but when I asked him his bottom number, he said $1,200. I sold the steering wheel from that car for $1k so that deal worked out pretty good. It was my sort of daily driver for almost 2 years.

I heard this quote a while ago but it still rings true - The deal of a lifetime happens about once a month.

Truer words were never spoken!

Mark is spot on. I've bought some cars in the past that were listed for a long time. If there is something off with the car (color, rollbar, or even wheels) people will often pass up a solid car. You have to look at the "bones" of the car and see if it's solid and can be made into what you are looking for. Sometimes we are sitting on "acres of diamonds" and don't even realize it.

yup

2 years ago I also bought the light blue car listed on this site for, I think $4,500. I asked the seller his bottom line and he said $2,500. I drove an hour with a trailer and picked it up. Unfortunately, the seller did a lot of “repair” work with a stick welder and por 15 and ruined the chassis. Still about $4k in parts and some good metal to fix other cars.

There was a white 914 sitting at my local mechanics for 4 years. Opened up the glove box, found the seller/origional owner and bought the car for $200. Sold all the parts for $2k and then gave the chassis to Paul Petition for free. His brother rebuilt it into a running car.

I do like the buying game.

Either more money or a project car... either way you're gonna love it... I'm only one year into owning my '75 and man I love it.
These people are great too... you're gonna love it here

Ah really..."super dope"...Are you sure a P-car is what you are looking for?

What is this yahoo group you speak of? I thought yahoo in general was dead, lol.

http://www.porsche914.org

Thanks guys for all of the honest and insightful info...and, just for the record, I am a classy guy, with classy stuff, despite my budget constraints. So when I say 'that would be super dope' it means I'm generation X, and in my early 40ies

KB.... I live in Santa Rosa. Recently bought a "finished" black car from a fellow member. This after having purchased 4 or five cars in the past 15 years that needed much work.

Had fun with the others, but buying one that is ready to drive and enjoy not only saves money in the big picture, but gets you driving immediately.

If you are near Santa Rosa, let's get together and I can show you both my cars. One is great..... the other can only dream of greatness.

Both are fun in their own ways.

Don't get too eager and jump the gun like I did. While I got mine at a good price, the rust is pretty significant, my fault for not doing a proper inspection and being desperate for finding a car in my budget range ($2K) Rust sucks and at 1st I was really bummed by how much my car has all over that I missed. Now I am over it.

I have no intention of restoring the car and making any money off of it. Once motor is finished (just a stockish motor) it's just going to be a weekend driver that we'll throw a cheap paint job on and cobble together the interior.

anyone have a 914, in running condition, at a price close to (or around) 5K?

That sounds like the perfect story for me, as well

PRETZEL LOGIC_ Steely Dan


I would love to tour the Southland
In a travelling minstrel show,
yes I'd love to tour the Southland,
in a traveling minstrel show, (yes I would).

Yes I'm dying to be a star and make them laugh.
Sound just like a record on the phonograph,

Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago, oh yeah


Bob B