The responses are exactly what I expected - insane isn't it!! If I counted up the hours (~250 @ $50 over the past year) - $10/hr is probably more appropriate in my case - I'd really be sick. One of the reasons I ask is my car is getting to the point of being road worthy, but taking the next step - 5 lug conversion and motor rebuild - I will at least double the investment from ~$5k to at least $10k?? Probably not the wisest decision but I get inspiratrion from this group! At least it looks like it's road worthy for the first time!

My interior - another $600 ... (at least)

I have had my 914 for 19 years. The recent rebuild/repaint list....

Steel flares 2500.00 (Porsche Original)
Replacement fender and door post 500.00
Replacement rear panel 250.00
Chassis stiffining kit... 250.00
Brad Mauyer kit ~ 300.00
Floor pans ~ 400.00
Paint and body work... 12,500.00

Approximate paint and body total... 16,250.00

That doesn't include the engine, transmission, suspension, interior, wheels, tires, and all of the little detail parts....


I am feeling a bit sick now.. I think I will stop totalling it up. But I figure that I could have bought 2 brand new 911s for what I have into my 914. But a brand new 911 would be just another 911, it would not be MY 914, created by my hands. There is a lot of pride in knowing that I have personally sweated and labored over each and every one of the details and parts in my 914. I put in every bolt, nut and screw. The guy who goes and buys a 911 has probably never seen a differental, much less held the one for his car in his hands. The blood, sweat and tears that I have shed on this car make it uniquely mine, something no one else could ever hope to create.

I figured out a long time ago that a 914 is a hole in the garage that you attempt to fill with large amounts of money. The problem is that the hole just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And we have 2 of these holes to fill........

But the fun of driving my car is priceless...

The hole in my garage.....

The second hole in my garage...

QUOTE (SirAndy @ Jan 17 2006, 10:48 PM)

QUOTE (Dead Air @ Jan 17 2006, 08:56 PM) Are you guys counting your own "hours" at like $50 per as though you were doing programming? no hours, $30k+ is just the original purchase price ($3500) plus parts and shop expenses. if i had to add my own hours at $50 per hour, i could have bought a house instead ... Andy

I bought my rust bucket POS 914/6 for $1500.00

8yrs later and a copule of 10's of M!@#%^&*N 1000's$$$:wacko: +

I coulda had my house too.But then I would'nta had all the fun too.


Ron

Double numbers for sure.I`m sure that I have fondled every part of this car!
AND IT`S NOT FOR SALE!

OK guys (n' gals) - you have it ALL WRONG..

The solution is rather simple to reduce the cost of your various 914 endeavors.. It all comes down to a modification of how the monitary unit is measured.

I prefer to use what I call VCU's to pay for things.

VCU's are Vintage Car Units

In my case, 1 VCU is equal to $100 USD. When asked by a skeptic, "so, how much did you pay for those new wheels and tires you got there?", without hesitation, I can say "oh, about 13 VCU's".

So, those of you with 15k "invested": only 150 VCU's.

Let's say you're the poor sap (pun intended) who has 45k into your 914.. I would suggest making a single VCU worth a bit more, say 150 dollars, thereby allowing you to tell your Financial Advisor (aka: Wife) it only cost "about 300, dear... What's for dinner?"

Sounds a lot better, huh? You don't have to disclose your monetary unit to anyone - unless they ask, of course. If this happens, quickly offer them a ride and they'll forget about everything else.

Cheers,
-greg-

QUOTE (neo914-6 @ Jan 17 2006, 10:03 PM)

That financial term does not apply to these cars or most cars for that matter. "Investment" applied to a car is an indicator of how bad an investor you are.

Funny thread! Reading all of this, if there is still anyone who thinks that there is a fortune to be made from owning a 914, there is this Prince from Africa who is trying to move $30,000,000.00 from his home country to a US bank, all he needs is your account numbers and he'll split the fortune with you


But since we're telling war stories, for what I've spent I could have gotten a new Miata that I never have to worry about, would never make me smell like oil and gasoline, keep me cool in the summer with airconditioning and warm in the winter without the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. All of this while cruising around in a ubiquitous Japanese roadster with a fancy stereo system.

But no thank you, I'll take the 914 and not get too upset about the vacancies in my bank accounts!!

Enough, too much, more than ever of any other car, gazillions and got back maybe 5%.
But I loved that car (when) it wasn't shit'n on me which = (maybe) 65% and my stereo ain't fancy

....b

300 on a 914 no engine no trans.
300 on a donor 914 (remove eng and trans) from a 914 club member.
100 on engine parts
200 for flares
40.00 for donor engine from 914 club member
200 for paint related supplies
I am trying to get this car on the road for 1500.00 i'M CHEAP!

Here's the story we tell:

Paid twice as much for a 30 year old 914 than it cost new.

It didn't run.

Have nearly $30K (including purchase price) in turning it into a race car.

Could sell it tomorrow for maybe $5K.

Is this a hobby or a sickness?

(My wife hates to hear this tale.)

Well,lucky for me ,I LOVE my cars!

And since I don't make a whole lot of money,compare with some of you guys
I can keep my car running cheap! (Have 7 cars of parts in the back)

Yeah baby,I can keep em on the road.

Now the sad part, I'm starting to get addicted to track driving

QUOTE (Pugbug @ Jan 17 2006, 06:57 PM)

...all hobbys cost money.

Well said.

QUOTE (neo914-6 @ Jan 17 2006, 07:03 PM)

That financial term does not apply to these cars or most cars for that matter. "Investment" applied to a car is an indicator of how bad an investor you are.

Calling 'putting money into a car' an Investment doesn't make much sence.

Having said that, I have SPENT much more on my car than I bought it for.

I've had the car for 9 years now, I wouldn't admit how much has been spent on it. Over the years, its a lot, more than I would ever get for it. It runs, its safe, and its a HELLVA lot of fun.

Purchase price of $900.

Another $1,600 so far after paint, sets of wheels, tires, interior, other little things...

nowhere near where I want to be...

'71 914-4 $6200 (only 32k miles showing with 1974 inspection sticker still on windshield)
$400 for used SS heat exchangers
$180 new tires
$150 new antenna,windshield trim clips, light bulbs and new roof pillar material
$150 tune-up & new gas lines
$200 new brake lines & inspection

Totals just shy of $7,300 and still needs little dinky 'tings and probably new shocks. Runs great and is a blast to drive.

Not for sale but as with anything "It's only worth what someone else is willing to pay"! I think I could get more for selling my instruments than what I could the 914 although it was appraised at $8,500.

Don't mind putting money into this car though, wife can't spend it then!

there's something about those steelies I just love....

but the rust that forms on them is a PITA to say the least.

b

1973 2.0 off ebay in Dec 03 (47,000 miles) $3,200
Transport to Toronto $1,200
Tires, interior speakers radio etc.... $1,500
Mechanical $1,200

So roughly $8,000 and it could use a respray.


As to what its worth, not as much as I've spent, but hell I spent at least 8K on my 73 MG midget and only got $3,000 for it. (But that did pay for the 914)

It's my daily driver in the summer and a blast to drive, seems like a good deal to me.

I could still make money..

QUOTE (edwardb33 @ Jan 18 2006, 09:56 AM)

As to what its worth, not as much as I've spent, but hell I spent at least 8K on my 73 MG midget and only got $3,000 for it.

BTDT,

A couple years back I had the same situation w/a '63 Midget.I started at 3000.00,after 3 years of advertising it for sale,and continuing to constantly lower the price,I finally sold it a year ago for $900.00.To really add icing to the story,I even included a box of BRAND NEW parts ie.rubber bits,chrome pieces and such from Victoria British that totaled $600.00

I even gave the guy the sales reciept just to get rid of the car.

That gets me thinking,Hey Admins,where is the smiley icon showing a smiley throwing money down a hole?

Kinda like the People's PC commercial on Tv w/the stickman and the high internet fees.



Ron

The best part of this thread is:

If you average the $$ invested, I bet it's somewhere upwards of 10K......

and yet everytime someone sells a 914 on ebay for more than $6K (even if it's cherry), everyone here publicly flogs the new owner for paying a rediculous price for a 914!!


PS: I can't even comprehend how much I have into my empty shell of a teener! Let's just start with over 16K just for the engine and tranny.........ouch!

I bought my daily driver for $1000, I've got new tires, and a bunch of random other parts. I've probably put at most another $1000 into it in the year and a half that I've had it.

Soon it will be getting a 2.5 liter Subaru engine which will increase my expenses by probably another $1500.

After that I will be finishing up my 5 lug suspension, probably another $300 (V caliper kits, rebuild kits, hoses, etc.)

After that I will need a paint job (maybe $1000-$1500 at Los Ponchos)

So for about $5000 most of the basic stuff will be done.


After that its getting pretty close to being done... Until I start working on flares. Then things will go up. Or if I someday decide to put in a turbo subaru motor.

-Tony

My current teener is the first and only one I've had that I'm upside down in. And I'm WAY upside down. I know I've got 11k in the motor, do I need to say anything else? But I've had it 14 years and I've rebuilt it 3 times. Total cost calculation would be impossible due to I sold parts off it every time I rebuilt it and put other parts on. My bookkeeping isn't that good to keep up. Now if your interested I could tell you about this Carrera that I can't stop spending money on....

T.C.

I had it all typed up and deleted just in case my wife ever read this thread!

Let's just say I'm upside down and I am about to become even more so with a conversion.

Who cares? It's worth every penny to me. I didn't buy the car to make money!

Investment = 2 times sale price
10 years use as a daily driver = Priceless

I got 40 just in the motor. Not another word from me.

I paid 4700.00 on ebay for mine in 02. Got it from the original owner. I finished the restore in the spring of 04. As of today I will have a little over 61k into it and it's been worth every penny. I had mine appraised in 04 and it came in at 38.5k.

A great question is how to turn the money spent on your car into a rewarding lifestyle...

1. Hangout with fellow 914 friends at PCA events
2. Attend WCC each year
3. Autocross it/learn 914 car control
4. Take it to track events
5. Enjoy widing roads
6. Go on 914 vacations
7. Meet girls who like teeeners (I'm married to one)
8. Cruise with the top off (at least your 914 lets you take her top off).
9. Combine any of the above
10. Hangout with your 914 in the garage

Don't sell it unless you need to buy a six and you won't take a loss.

If you can still pay the rent/mortgage, and significant other isn't holding the car hobby bills against you.. who cares how much you've spent.

I'm sure most people on this board enjoy the whole process and that's got to worth something toward your mental health.

Or, look at it another way... total money spent/miles driven...

if "miles driven" is small, it just means you need to hurry up and spend more of the "total money spent" to get if off the jackstands!

Drive it til your an old fart, then have them bury you in it.. most coffins today are at least $3K and up..............

Now my numbers...

purchase $3000
parts over 10 years ~$1500
current "Value" ~$2500

Now my numbers which really hurt...

Old Decrepit 45 year old wooden Boat purchase $10K
Structural Rebuild $16K
Price of Replacement Engine (my R&R, 22HP ) $ 7K
Sail Repair $ 1K
Yearly Berth Fees $ 2.5K

Cost of Ownership after 4 years......... $44K

Miles Sailed ~200

Now having just added that all up.. I feel aweful.......... I need a drink....

I've had my 914 for 22 years. Plenty of time to spend a few bucks on it. I installed the flares and painted it in 1986. I think the fiberglass flares were around $100 then. Had alot of fun painting a car for the first time.

I got layed off from work after 9/11 and had some free time on my hands but no money. This was a real bad time to start a V8 conversion,but did manage to complete it without spending much on conversion parts. I also repainted it at this time and added 911 suspension. This took almost six months but alot of that was waiting on money to build my engine.

In the last 22 years I have probably spent 20 times the amount of money on other hobbies and have noting at all to show for it but that damn car is still there.


Bob

My 914 stock is still up. I paid $5500 a few years ago for my super nice stock 74 2.0. I've resisted all upgraditis and have kept the car completely stock. I've probably driven it 12-15K miles since I've had it. The only thing I've done to the car is a tune-up, a Pertronix, and new tires. I'd guess the market is $7K+ for a nice, original 2L car.

Now, the plans for the car will definitely put me upside down:

2270 kit from Jake: $6000
new paint (some day) and rack delete: $4000+
5 lug suspension: $1500

I am guilty with the rest. I have spent way too much on my car. I now have 3 cars that are eating my paycheck. Some of us never learn.

When looking back at all the stories and how much we are spending, how can anyone think of us as deadbeats! We look for the best deals to save money because we know that we are spending more than we will ever recover.

A very wise and sage old man told me

NEVER PUT IN WRITTING WHAT YOU DON'T WANT YOUR WIFE TO KNOW!!!!! Dave

I don't feel quite as bad now. Bought my '76 18 years ago for $3200. New paint, new stock exhaust, motor rebuild, (dropped a valve seat a month after I bought it), clutch, tires/wheels, upholstery, lots of odds and ends. Probably got about 8k in it. Figured it was worth about 5-6k til I put it up in the classifieds for 6. Not a single look. The thing that gripes me is all the work I put in it and don't have the chance to drive it more than 4-5 times a year any more. Less than 20k miles in 18 years. Been paying full coverage all that time.....don't even want to think about labor. At least I didn't have to contend with rust.

I'm afraid if I keep it I'm gonna wind up with another 10k in it for go-fast goodies and I'll still have a $6k car.

QUOTE (Andyrew @ Jan 18 2006, 01:02 PM)

I could still make money..

Me too . . . Bought for $700, got it running for nothing, $100 battery, and IF i had just put in a new clutch assembly @ $350 it'd bee a running car for $1150.

That said, I have $1500 in right now and will probably put about another $1000 into her. I think I could break even, but then again I'm a CASOB

zero

This is interesting...I actually think that my 914 is the cheapest care that I've owned...some of these numbers are "ex-recto" but probably aren't too far off...some of these numbers are a bit old too...

11 yrs ago I bought a stock '75 2.0 for $2300
body work and paint (prepped myself) $1000
brakes (rotors, bearings, etc) $400
battery (optima)$120
2 rear rebuilt calipers $400
master cylinder $200
Tires $400
pressure sensor for FI $150 (in stock at my local FLAPS!!)
stupid evil smog pump pully bracket $150
tune up parts $40 x 10yrs $400
new ball joints, tie rod ends $500
new rear decklid lock $100
stuff I forgot about $500
insurance $45/month x 132 months $5940

driven 10 yrs 50 miles/day x 250 days/yr (owned 10 but it has been out of commission periodically) =125000 miles
gas 125000/25mpg x $2.00/gal = $10,000

total = $22,500 for 125,000 miles of fun = $0.18/mile--that's pretty damn cheap for the amount of fun.

I recently bought a wrecked donor car for a new engine ($2k) so hopefully I'll get another 100k miles of fun...

Of course this doesn't count my time (priceless) and I'm still driving pretty much stock car...not one of the works of art I read about on this board...

I probably have 6 to 7K in total investment in mine. Lots of it is consumable parts, shocks, brakes, tires, tune up parts etc.

If I was to sell the 914 I would recoup a higher percentage of my investment than if I bought a new car and sold it a couple years later, no?

My real objective was to help justify the next phase of my upgrade/restoration - and it worked! Glad to see that my sickness is shared by many and I feel pretty good after reading the posts here. Thanks everyone for their honesty - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

700.00 initially and now past 23k with 8-9 to go. subby turbo etc......

hmmm....

5900.00 car
7000.00 raby / mcmark 2056
est 2000.00 rust repair /paint

--- al the other things I will buy that my wife doesn't know about .....PRICELESS!

Total about $10k.
But I have much fun dusting the new bmrs, vettes and assorted other detroit and import trash on the 50 mile commute to work , of which about 35+ miles is 40-50 mph road, for them, which makes the dollars spent not mater
A guy about a block away from my shop in town owns a new 735i and after following me a few times went to the bay area and found himself a nice 74 2.0 for $6600 last month for X-mas. Now ther are two of us indulging in early morning fun
JT

QUOTE (anthony @ Jan 18 2006, 06:52 PM)

2270 kit from Jake: $6000 new paint (some day) and rack delete: $4000+ 5 lug suspension: $1500

Why not just wait for his 2.0 turbo kit if you have a stock 2.0?
Estimates are ~$5k and 165HP....check it out on the shoptalkforums board