Greetings!
I’ve owned this ‘73 since 2000 and have looked after it as a daily driver for years. It’s now time to let it go. I initially never had concerns with a Salvage Title, but now realize just how important it is and that it’ll never really go away.

1973 Porsche 914 2.0
- Salvage Title -
Purchased in 2000 for $5,000
84,000 miles
Vin Numbers match throughout.
Delphi Green Metallic (repainted, with original color)
Vinyl-covered roll bar
Dual horns
Chrome bumpers
Fog lights
5 1/2" X 15 Fuchs wheels
165/15 tires
Leather-covered steering wheel and shift knob
Center Console
Center arm rest with storage compartment

Original Blaupunkt Radio

Dual Weber Carb installed (saved original D-Jet too.)
Engine runs great
Transmission solid
Brakes solid

Moderate rust, but nothing structural except the Left Rocker Panel - rust from battery
Seats have torn/broken vinyl

I’m reaching out for some creative feedback regarding what I might ask for this car…or more importantly, what I might get for this car!

Thanks In advance!!

Mōsh in Durango

As a general rule of thumb, a salvage title will reduce the "regular" value of a car by around 20 to 25%. The rust might be a bigger factor than the salvage title when it comes to a 50 year old vehicle.

I'll throw out a number, but take it for what it's worth since it is based on a description and pics and unknown extent of rust. I'll go with $8,000 (including the deduction for the salvage title). There are far more knowledgeable guys here that will hopefully chime in.

When was it salvaged and why makes a little bit of difference. It's a 48 year old car

Thanks for the replies! My guess is a left front fender (was replaced with “rebuild”) and a slight dog tail (about an inch) at the opposite rear left. It tracks straight driving tho. Brand new Vredestein tires helped. Peeking underneath the unibody struts and shocks look sound.

Why did it get a salvaged title?

What is the extent of the issues now?

I feel like this is becoming more of a moot point given the number of cars that have had the majority of their parts replaced and chassis rebuilt from swiss cheese rusted hulks. Unless you are talking about the high value, low mile barn finds I generally look at a 914 as the value of the sum its parts.

If what you have is solid, doesn't really matter what is written on a piece of paper.

EXACTLY what I came here to post.

But with the whole "concourse" thing going strong (and we allowing it to infect us) someone is surely going to complain about a dented-fender salvage-title car being less worthy than a clean-title massive rustoration...because they just don't know.

Oh well.

I don't know how my car doesn't have a salvage title considering that the whole front nose has been replaced. All your car has is "accident history", like 50% percent of these little blind spot bumper cars.

The extent of the rust is a bigger issue and should be presented in a forthright manner. With the increases in values, lots of people are willing to accept some problems as long as there are enough positives and the price is fair. In my experience, the asking price depends a lot on the market venue and region in which you plan to sell it.

Good luck!

Fortunately, the car is 100% stock with the exception of the left front fender. All VIN numbers match, paint deep inside matches and all the stock parts are there…sweet if the title was clean. (That was my initial plan - to a 100% stock restoration).

I collect and trade in vintage guitars. This shit started happening to that industry in the 90s with the advent of the big dick-weasel named George Gruhn.

Gruhn started coming up with a heap of things that would cause instruments to lose value. Many of them are valid, some are just cork-sniffing nonsense, like re-fretting the instrument (think of that as putting new brakes in a car), or a replaced input jack, etc. The problem is, I've encountered a great number of times when Gruhn is outright INCORRECT about his assessments, but because he established a name for himself, nobody questioned it. Gruhn is an arrogant prick.

A lot of this has fallen off to the wayside as bullshit in the last decade, but a refinished guitar loses half the value almost off the bat. A guitar with a broken headstock that's been masterfully repaired again is 50%. However, a refinished + broken guitar will go for about the same price as one which only has one of the two problems...

The difficulty is that in the 60s and 70s, when these guitars were still relatively young, many people would just do things to them without thinking. Rout out neck pockets to fit larger pickups, or "fix" a guitar that's been scratched or legitimately road-worn by repainting it. Today, that shit is considered bad ju-ju and "ruins" the value.

I have a 1963 Gibson Firebird VII. One of twenty Firebird VIIs made in that year. Depending on which way the wind blows, this instrument can fetch between $15k and $20k. I opted to re-fret the guitar this year because I don't plan on selling it until I'm an old geezer. By then, if we still have an economy, it'll be worth a fucking mint.

The point of my story is, of course, that all of this cork-sniffing BS about a car being worth less is a load of garbage ready to be taken out to the curb. If your car is solid, runs well, looks good, and most importantly, makes you happy, screw all that bullshit.

/rant mode off.

You have to understand something. 30 years ago. $1000.00 would have totaled the car. As a former shop owner I saw it happen many times. Just document all the repairs in detail. That is a great color combo.

Amen. Because unless you're dick-weasel George Gruhn trying to flip guitars for money, instead choosing to be someone who wants to play a classic guitar, then it just doesn't matter.

Right now the 914 community is slowly being lured into ridiculousness by the George Gruhns. This is not why we have these cars.

So don't let it infect you. Go buy a nice re-fretted guitar and enjoy playing it well.

GA

Yeppers.

Although, I will admit that I am fond of my vintage instruments and haven't played a new guitar I liked. It's like new cars... you either pay through the nose to get one that doesn't suck, or... get an old one.

'63 Firebird VII, '64 Firebird III, '64 Firebird I - equivalent to a 914/6, a 1.8L and a 1.7L. Still hoping to get a Firebird V one day.

Pics of rust?

So, OP, are you guessing it was salvaged due to a left front fender hit or do you know that for a fact? Any documents to support that assertion? Also, if it has Webers it is not 100% stock except for the left front fender.

OK, that aside, I agree with others. One should judge this car based upon actual condition today. Do a thorough PPI and look for the rust we all know is there and determine to what extent it is there. Thanks to the OP for taking some great pictures. We can now see extensive rust in all of the usual spots. That car will need a complete rotisserie restoration of the chassis. I would put the value, considering the rust, at about $2K unfortunately. I hope this car is saved and repaired correctly. The OP has had this car for 20 years and that counts for something. Also, a great color. Good luck with the sale.

The amount and location of rust will be a MUCH larger factor than the salvage title.
Your car looks great. Rust free 25k, add in rust and that number significantly decreases.

Looked at one the other day that was comparable in outside appearance, problem was the infamous hell hole. Rust that went to the jack point and suspension mount. Not sure how deep it went into the long, but that much rust can cost 15k to fix right.

So the devil is in that detail.

Without seeing the rust, I think it’s more of a $12-15k car. So you spend $3-4 k on rust repairs and you have a 20k car (if it runs well and shows as nice as the pics. Remember the mint green car had hell hole rust (that Brad M took care of) took a hit to the front fender (fender was replaced and car painted) and got $65k on BAT recently. JMO.

Can do…tomorrow!

Got it pulled together - take a look. Pinch and zoom to see detail.

The front cowl rust is bad. That’s a pita spot to repair.
The sail panel rust is bad. Common spot due to the foam inside the targa bar.
Rust at the rear trunk is common because water would always sit in the lowest point.
The longitudinal rust is bad. The long is made of multiple layers of metal and is always a bigger repair than you think. Chances are the right rear suspension consoles need work.
There is probably a lot more going on that will be exposed when these repairs are initiated.
I’ll revise my estimate back to single digits. It’s a car that should be restored but will take a lot of work to get there.

Thanks, these were my “deep” thoughts too. I had planned and really felt the car needed to be stripped of all to bare body and properly “de rusted” top to bottom inside and out.

This looks like significant rusting, not a high dollar car. Best of luck, it will be an adventure getting this example sound once again

And if you completed everything on Mark's list, you would have still replaced less of the original metal than I did on my car with a clean title. That says something about how a salvage title should affect value. I agree that good documentation of any repairs and restoration should be the most important documentation for a prospective buyer.

Here is the trick with a car with salvage history, it's a percentage thing. The car will always worth less than a comparable car with a clean title. The less the car is worth the less the impact and importance. My 993 has a branded title so it's probably worth about $40,000, but without the brand I could count on 20-30% more, that's just reality. It matters more for pricier cars because you can't get a loan on a car with salvage history and believe it or not, many people actually finance a classic Porsche.
There is also people who won't buy a car with salvage history, so between that and the loan thing it might take longer to sell such a car. But if you're realistic about the values you can sell a car like this, you just have to be honest with yourself on the value of the car. Too many times I see guys buy salvage history cars at a deep discount and then get amnesia as soon as it is time to sell, as if they were just really smart when they bought it but they don't have to pass the same discount onto the next guy, reality says they do.

Good luck.