72/73 911T price advice

[Deschodt]

I know lots of you will say that you can buy a nice T for cheap, and I am sure some of you did just that, but these days it does not seem to be the case if you are in the market...

I have seen lots of rusty or converted or "aw God" cars under 10K, some tired specimen in the 12K range that will need work soon, but so far in 2 months of searching, never a nice unmolested zero rust car under 15K. Yes, for a T...

I am looking at one today which has a perfect engine/tranny, untouched interior with not even a dash crack, and an original (but so-so) paint. Not a flake of rust on the tub, not one...

The owner wants $17K for it which I think is high. What do you guys think ? 15 tops ?

If you say a lot less, please back the number up with a car for sale at that price ! ;-)

Greg

[svandamme]

questions is .... where do you live...?

prices in europe are a lot higher then they are in the US...
E's and S'es are very rarely found for sale, so the T's are the only option for people who like the early body cars... so prices are a lot higher...

[Deschodt]

Florida....

[Jim Richards]

$15k tops if it's a well documented / maintained car in a nice color (what early car colors aren't nice?!!!)and well equipped (S options, for example). But I recall that in the past month or two there was a very nice 73.5T coupe for sale, and it's price dropped into the upper $12k's. You can find it here on the Pelican board, in the classified ads. About 2 years ago there was a time capsule 73.5T coupe that was sold for the $14k's (maybe $15k's). It was sweet, but at the time I questioned the high price. But the market supported that. I wonder what my 73E is worth. Hmmm...

[techweenie]

Deschodt, a fully-documentd (every receipt, ever) '73 coupe was on eBay a week ago for $17K. Super clean, although the repaint was *not* in the original color.

These cars are not uncommonly priced in the mid-teens, but so many are being shipped overseas that they are very few and far between.

A good repaint on the car you're looking at would be around $5K at California prices, so you have to ask whether you're prepared to have $22K in such a car. Personally, I have seen only a few cars that meet your specifications within the last 18 months, and I've only seen them after someone else has snatched them up.

I'm buying & selling these cars, so I'm always on the lookout, but cars that need work are far more common and far more affordable than the fully-documented, pristine car you describe. Three years ago I bought a super-nice '72T coupe for $5K -- just needed a good repaint. Today, that same car would probably bring over $10K.

Will prices continue to rise? It's possible. If so, your $17K car may be a fair investment in a few years (I expect you're not buying to sell, but I always look at the 'liquidation value' of even the assets I plan to keep).

[pwd72s]

If it's the car you want, I'd say to jump on it. Folks here would be amazed at what I've been offered for this:
(sorry can't upload the pic)

[Deschodt]

I don't know if it's the car I want. It almost sounds too nice to (eventually) turn into an RS clone track car... And by the same token not nice enough to justify keeping it stock. I'll see tonight if it turns my head or not, but I doubt I'll go over 15...

[david c.]

I looked at this 72 T sunroof coupe, and was impressed. It's solid, has red factory leather sport seats and with a modicum of work could be a good driver. MFI intact. It's worth a look. It's a nice car, but I wouldn't feel guilty turning it into an RS if that's what I wanted.

They were doing a compression test when I looked at it, so they should have some numbers on the engine's health. Asking $14,500 and I thought that was a good price. If you could haggle a bit, it might even be a good deal. It was on ebay a few weeks ago and only got to, I believe, around 11 or 11.5k.

http://www.europeancollectibles.com/inventory_detail.aspx?@page_inv_id=Po1336

[Deschodt]

I've seen that one on EC's site. The rear end looked ratty in the pictures, misalinged rear engine lid, weird fit of the rear tail lenses, rear "bumper" (where the plate goes) looked all bent and ratty...

Was it better in person ?

[david c.]

We may just have different ideas, which is okay. To me, I was impressed that it looked relatively solid and original. It wasn't hacked from years of short term owners and their ideas of good modifications. Plus, if you didn't expect to find one with those seats you could easily resell them for market price and you'd probably be able to purchse the car at a net price of 11-12k. Can't beat that I don't think. But, yes, it is not perfect. For example, the battery cables looked original and I wouldn't even drive to the grocery store without replacing them. I'm sure it needs a thorough going-ver for that sort of thing. I'd still have a PPI done of course.

[}{arlequin]

Who could imagine that early cars will have such a rise in popularity, huh? If it's a documented car, 15K would be probably fair, even for a T. Look at the lengths people go to have a "longhood" in their garage. That's the exact reason "backdating" was even invented! Turning a newer car to look like an older one, go figure....

Looks like the market has caught up to my extravagance. I paid 15K for my T almost two years ago, feeling (knowing) that I probably overpaid. It was just too nice to pass up and the ones in the 10-12K range had no work done to them. *Those* could turn into a basket case later which made me more nervous than 3-4K that I could save.

Depending on the specs the price may be spot on. In my mind, no sunroof is worth more than a car w/ a sunroof. Check the clutch, brakes, etc.

For a comparo, here's a thread from a few months back:
a $20K T?

[techweenie]

The white EC car used to be silver. The bumper fit is very poor at the right front... missing headrests, which is a moderately big deal. Overall, looks like a decent driver. And, as Dave says, a good candidate for an RS conversion.

Just don't let them ship the car!

[Deschodt]

>Just don't let them ship the car!

Assuming you're referring to the speedster incident ? ;-)

Ok, Thanks guys... I do think it's a little high as well, and I will not go over 15K assuming I am crazy about the car. This will also be my daily driver for a while if I spent that much, so I want to be sure. It probably would be smarter of me to get a cheap tub project and keep my daily driver, but I am too impatient for that ;-)

[ubiquity0]

Originally posted by Deschodt
It probably would be smarter of me to get a cheap tub project and keep my daily driver, but I am too impatient for that ;-)

No- that would not be smarter !!

Buying the cleanest car you can find is the smartest move.

[}{arlequin]

Even the best machines need to be off the road sometimes. It's nice to have a back-up car. W/o spending too much I managed to find an old VW to get me through those days. Worth every penny.

[Deschodt]

Oh, I got backup, of sorts, just not super practical for an 85 miles commute ;-)

[}{arlequin]

oh that's awesome! Beautiful car. Is it black? There is some greenish in the paint but I think it's plants reflecting in the paint.

feel free to post more pics of this beauty

[Deschodt]

It's not THAT nice, that's a great picture with low light ;-) . It's puke green, AKA fjord green - But I like her... Mostly thanks to her big bore 912 engine power!


See how the color looks in the sun ?




It's a car better seen at dusk or dawn ! But As are sure pretty...

That color totally precludes me buying a tangerine 911, imagine the puke fest in the garage ! Bright orange next to bright green !

[david c.]

That is a beautiful car. Ironically, I've toyed with the prospect of buying a late 356 as a driver. Obviously, I wouldn't want one as clean as yours! They are so comfortable to sit in, get good gas mileage, etc. I think a 64 or 65 coupe with four wheel disks in good tune would make a fun commuter for the price of a new civic.

[Rufblackbird]

nice 356!

I almost bought this '72 911T if I didn't find my car on eBay. That, and it was too far for me when I was in Maryland. Maybe this is still available?