First of all I wanted to say hi to everyone and state that I have enjoyed this site as a lurker for a little while and thought I should sign on. There is loads of valuable info on this site for any and all 914 subjects. I do have a question regarding the value of a 1971 914 that I am considering buying. It is all original down to the paint. This car is technically one owner but is in the possesion of another family member. Bought new in 1971 in Texas and moved to alabama in 85. The owner died in 1986 and the car went to a family member who put it in the barn on blocks until this past year.So it sat for 20 years but is now running and driving. It is completely rust free but the paint is weak. Interior is as new and has "factory"(dealer installed) A/C. The prices I see on this board and on Ebay are so varied that to determine a fair price is hard to do. I think if this car was painted($2000) and the engine and trans were resealed and cleaned($$$???) I think this would be a valuable car but how valuable is the question. I do have some pics but they are high resolution(1mb+) that I could email someone to give you an idea of what I am looking at. Anyway this is not an urgent deal as it has been sitting for twenty years looking for the right buyer(ME?) so I thought I would ask. Again this is a great site and I will definetly use it if I become a 914 owner. As a side note I am mostly involved with VWs so the 914 shouldnt be too far ahead of my capabilities. Thanks in advance for your input.

Brian

Hi Brian and Welcome.

You should be able to resize your images to 600px width or so and post them here. Does the seller have an asking price or are you trying to compose an offer? If the car is truly rust free, assuming you have probed the critical areas of the car, then it is certainly a good candidate. I'd probably offer $2500 to start and work from there.

Here is some suggested reading, How to Buy a 914

Good luck

You don't say how many miles are on the car. For a wild guess, $2500 is close. The car with paint and low miles is worth alot more but the engine work alone will take alot of money to "reseal". Taking apart a motor that has sat for 20 years still costs alot of money in parts to bring back to life. FI wiring, hoses, sensors will probably need replacement, rings, seals, clutch, etc all will total up to another $1500 atleast doing the work yourself.
Brakes, shocks, and suspension parts should be renewed too- $1000
This is not a VW Bug where you can source cheap Chinese parts. Most of the parts are still Porsche parts and the price tag is more.

Still sounds like a car worth repairing and getting back on the road.

This car has about 100,000 miles. The brakes have been done. It does run and drive so would that mean the F.I. system still needs complete redo? The bushings were done when the brakes were done this past winter. It went on ebay in January and bid up to $3100 but it was a bad winning bidder. This was listed as a non-running car at the time however I dont know how it was described, so if he exagerated I dont know. This person is a co-worker that has a family interest in the car. He might think he has more than it is worth. The asking price is $5000

5 grand is a lot for a 914-4 that has been sitting 20 years and needs a bunch of work.

It is a 4 cylinder right? if its a six cylinder buy it right now!!


also...if you send me the pics I will shrink them and post them for you.

Drew I emailed you the pics. Thanks. I was hoping to resurrect this car but the asking price is too steep, so maybe with the input from this site I can convince him otherwise. If we cant agree on a lower price I'll just put my money in my Bradley GT.

Maybe it will take time for the seller to come to his senses and realize what a reasonable price is for the car.

ok guys, here are the pics...Car looks pretty nice original example

note the white headlight sorrounds and also fogs on a '71?

interior looks pretty solid and the engine appears to be an unmolested 1.7 djet

finishing off the show are some pics of the outside...

thoughts guys? The car looks pretty nice to me. If it really is rust free....less than 5K but I would think not too much less

asdf

Ok, looks pretty decent so $4000 for the car. Still needs a ton of work and $$$ but could be a nice 1.7l when done.

Remember, the 1.7l don't reach the magic $10k level easily without being low mile original cars. Everyone thinks theirs is worth $10k but not many are.

You can ask any price you want, but anything for sale is ultimately worth what the buyer is willing to pay. In general, people don't seem to be able to understand that. "But I saw one for a gajillion bucks, so why shouldn't I get that for mine?" They forget that the REAL selling price may be totally unrelated to the asking price they saw. FWIW, cars deteriorate while sitting ofr long periods of time. There may be rust in the fuel system, and for sure the rubber on the car is mostly toast. The seats and other vinyl, the carpet fabric, hard plastics, all that stuff goes away. The Cap'n

What kind of center console is that?

I wouldn't drive that car 10' until its gone thru especially the FI as those hoses crack and make a nice big fire...ask the ones on the BBS who have had that happen.

I'd guess the car could fetch $4k or $5k if it was parted out. Aside from that, I can't imagine it fetching more than $3k. Then again, my frame of reference is the northeast market where solid chassis are very valuable so the $3k may too high still...

There's just so many variables w/a car thats been sitting for a long time. Should prob be thought of as a great "running" project car...

Looks nice, but not rust free.
Get under that car and make sure the longs are ok.
Try to get someone to go with you to look at the car.
If you are ready to invest 5k on a car you can get a fairly well sorted car at that price. Have someone who knows were to look come with.

i agree. thats the first thing I thought when I saw the engine pic. There are moisture spots in there, could be gas...

Brian,

don't take this as an insult.
but I wouldn't assume that car is rust free unless I'd seen the bare longitudinals with my own eyes...

have the rocker covers been off?
I sure wouldn't value it as a 5k car unless it was truly rust free.

point out the rust and paint and oil leaks to the seller, along with the cost to repair those things:

paint 2.500
rust ? 1k+
motor work 1k+
suddenly the 5,000 car becomes a 500 car

makes the 2500 figure more realistic.

brant

This car is a basically an undercoated mid Texas car that spent a short time in Alabama and then the past twenty years in a farm garage(barn) up on blocks with the floor covered in plastic in eastern Indiana. All the paperwork is there from day one. My intent was to go no higher than $3000. and if he just cant live with that amount I was going to suggest a spit and polish and put her up on EGAY. This deal is not a wham bam thank you mamm thing. I also realize all the implications of a fuel injected car(or any car for that matter) that has sat for twenty years unused. I would not expect to get in turn the key and drive off into the sunset, however because it is technically a one driver car and almost completely original it was worth looking into wether i jump or not. Any and all suggestions are welcome and no offense taken on any responses. If this deal falls through the cracks I will certainly turn him onto this site to where a 914 fan gets the chance to fix up an unmolested car.

I've seen a lot of rusty cars...
pretty much anywhere... even texas.

its possible that at 1year of age dirt got packed into the rockers.
then it sits there for 20 years through humid weather and all.

they can still rust.

I'd still pull the rockers before committing.

brant

Are those rocker covers just bolt on? If so how.

almost but not quite that easy.
which is the reason that original owners never bothered to pull them for maintence cleaning.

its a good idea to pull them annually or at a minimum bi-annually.

the bottoms bolt on, and the wheel wells screw on.
but the door sill has about 8 plastic rivets.

the rivets may have to be drilled, or pushed out
they may or may not be reuseable after they are pushed out.

most people replace the rivets with tiny sheetmetal screws.
I prefer stainless so they don't look rusty a month later.

often times sellers are hesitant to allow a potential buyer to take their car apart.

however, I have a rule that I won't buy a car (again) without seeing the longs underneath the rockers.

brant

My $0.02 on things to look out for:

1. Was the battery removed when the car was sitting up on blocks? Check the battery tray and the hell hole below it (as well as the longs, as other people pointed out). Battery acid does nasty things to 914's.

2. Old rubber fuel lines should never be trusted! Fuel pressure is around 30 psi and that will spray a lot of gas all over a hot engine in a hurry. Also, after 30 years the fuel lines in the center tunnel should be replaced... the lines are steel where they connect to the engine and the tank, but they are old, brittle plastic in the middle where you can't see them. Danger, Will Robinson!

just an opinion from the other side of the border(canada)
I bought my 73 914-4 1.7L(bus engine) six years ago and everything the the guys said above is correct. Iwas a first time buyer. I paid $3000 grand canadian for my girl and i have just spent another $8200 to restore it (complete body redone) and i have another bill when my 2.0L engine is finished for around $1500.00.
I drove it home the day i bought it (10hours) and she rattled and hummed all the way.boy was that a great day.
So if you do the conversion from Canuck to yank the is my $12700 so far equals $11375.00
so be prepared for the future costs.
enough said.oh hey watch out for that addiction it will sneek up on ya and next thing you know you will have a for sale sign on your bradlyGT to fund your new love.
Andrew in the Soo
Arc914

My $1900 car in 1995 has cost me well over $10k now. 2 engine rebuilds, a tranny rebuild, conv from dual carbs back to FI, plus all the suspension stuff/goodies
and now that Nice Paint job in 95 needs to be done....never ending.

Its been a wild fun ride including all the club stuff.

I'm probably going to pass on this one as the owner has sentimental feelings for it so its priceless. There is one here in Houston that was on EBay for less that I went to check out. Very good condition and again west coast rust free. I'll let ya'll know if I pass on the first one.

Brian,
Porsche Market Letter,914 Issue Nov 2005
1971 914-4 Prices
Low $4500.00
Median $6250.00
High $9500.00
Its hard to find one orginal condition and with the orginal paper work,Rememder
the car is 35 years old,Be prepared to spend $$ on it,Look for rust issues,Is it
The orginal Color? I can only see these going up in value. I hope you get the
Tenner....
914