I need help with value question on a 72' T Coupe
 

Can any of you give me a ballpark of what a 72' T Coupe with the factory 2.4MFI would be worth with a salvage title? From what the owner says, the damage happened nearly 30 years ago and did not appear too severe, but the insurance company decided to write it off. The car was fully restored and now sits with a recent restoration (paint, rubber, interior, etc). The motor and the transmission have not been freshened, but the owner says they are working fine and the car is a good runner. So, I am interested in this as a daily driver, but do not even have a range of what this would be worth with the salvage title. I know what the cost to do the restoration would be, but that does not mean that is what the car is worth. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I don't know the market value of this car. But before my present 79 SC I had a 72 T with MFI for years until 1979. I like the SC much better. It is more powerful and has a very smooth torque performance, much better for city driving. Also the body is fully galvanized! So rust issues, especially here in SOCAL non existent. My main problem with my 72 MFI was that I could never get it adjusted properly to run well at high and low RPMs. It either ran well at low or high speeds. I was constantly pulling out my adjustment tool on the road and try to fine tune it, but was never successful. If I had the choice between the two I would take an SC any time.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with you on the SC and I have no intention of getting rid of my 80' Weissach SC. I have just always had a thing for 72' cars with the oil fill door and wanted to get one in addition to the SC. Because of the salvage title, this car might be within reason to buy in addition to the car I already have just to scratch my 72' itch.
It is just hard to know what to pay for something like this as the salvage title really removes more than 50% of the potential buying market for a car like this. I have also heard horror stories about the 2.4MFI set-up. Seems like you either switch to carbs or accept the fact that you will always be fiddling with it.

I see what you mean by adding the 72 to your inventory. Yes, it is a fun car and has historical significance. But if you are not too interested in the book value why not go for the salvage situation if the price reflects it. You probably will not feel the difference when you are driving it. And I am sure it can be, or already has been, made whole again as far as the structure is concerned. For me, the important thing would be how is it handling. A good alignment should take care of that.

I'd say the 72 in good shape no major rust is worth 15 to 20 take 4 off for the salvage title. The 72 w.mfi is pure music. the sc is a little more refined and not as responsive as the 72. The 72 has a better feel and more like a go cart. I like them both and find each has there own plus's

This one?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/655312-fs-restored-72-911t-coupe.html

That is the one I was looking at Timmy, but the seats, lights and steering wheel have been swapped out. It would be worth that all day long with all those parts left in place. It also has knock-off Fuchs instead of the real deal.

Thanks 72 four door.

I looked at that ad the other day and thought $15k max based on the salvage title, deletion of parts and modifications from original.

WOW 15k kills me ... I have spent more than that on the body work (rust repair, strip to bare metal and flares) on my 69... At 20k it seems like a pretty good deal to me. I kind of suspect my 69 should be worth about 35k once it is painted and put back together as a RS ish hot rod. That looks like a pretty nice car.... I would imagine that if you could meet anywhere between 15 and 20 you would have a car that you could have a lot of fun with.

I agree Larry. The work done is worth something, but the salvage title seriously hurts the value not only now, but it will forever limit the value of this particular car. Your 69' will continue to be worth more as the years go by.
I think it has to be below $20k in the current configuration and the salvage title.

International Title Services can fix most of the salvage titles you encounter. It's basically a set fee and they send you a new bill of sale and tags from a non title state. You take it to the DMV and they legally issue a new clear title in your name. It's flip flopping paperwork, but it's totally legal.

Not sure I want to get involved in doing that. If a car has a salvage title, it has a salvage title. I would not try to hide that.

Yeah, it's all in the details. I'm saying if you are worried about resale. I used this for a motorcycle years ago. If I had the cash to play with importing these oddities like 959s and such this is exactly how I would handle it. DMVs don't know everything. A lot slips past them.

I agree with your future potential assessment... What I did not say was that while my 69 will be worth about 35 when its done I will likely have closer to 45 in it SmileWavy... That's why I still think that 20 for a car that looks the good and complete seems like a deal .. If you just look at it as a buy, drive, have fun it seems good to me. I bought a boxster a couple of months ago and its funny how differently I looked at the purchase. It will depreciate, however, it looked great , ran great and felt like a good value for the $ so I said screw it and pulled the trigger. I kind of look at that 72 the same way. What else could you go buy for that money and have that much fun with. I would argue that it is close to what I paid for my 2000 boxster S and would likely kit its but in most regards performance wise. Unlike my boxster it will appreciate .... maybe not like one without a bent title but I would argue that at 20 that has been factored in .. Seriously, a real nice 69 912 would bring that and more. Buy and drive without restoring is starting to have a lot of appeal to me at this point in my life. The 69 is one of many in the list of cars I have restored. After 3 years of blood, sweat, tears and dollars i am starting to rethink things. I am thinking the just drive the dang thing has a lot of value as opposed to the spend hundreds of free hours of labor...

I read the entire detailed write up for the car both here and on the website and with an engine with no history and the other deleted items, non-original paint that would be difficult or impossible to match etc. I would start at 15K and go up if I really wanted it.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I will keep the forum posted.

If the car has had a true restoration- with documentation to prove it, I believe some DMVs allow you to make an appointment to have it inspected along with your documentation to have it reinstated-sort of. Don't remember the correct term but it usually in their laws. You'll have to ask and show the persons whom you deal with the law and what it states as well as the proof you have to change it.

From Wikipedia (salvage title)----
"Vehicles which carry a salvage title may not be driven on public roads in some states,[8] which impacts resale value.[7] Rebranding of the title is not permitted without having an inspection to verify that they meet all safety standards.[9] The inspection procedure may be complex,[4] and attempts to illegally circumvent the inspections are periodically reported.[10]

Industry standards followed by the National Automobile Dealers Association Appraisal Guides, Kelley Blue Book Market Report Official Guide, and the International Society of Automotive Appraisers devalue a motor vehicle that has a salvage title. Kelley Blue Book automatically rates any salvage vehicle as "poor" and does not value it at all.[11] The value of a vehicle with a salvaged title is usually 25%-50% lower than the vehicle's estimated value.

Title washing refers to transferring a vehicle's registration for the express purpose of removing a title brand.[12] The practice is legal, and practiced by the insurance companies themselves,[13] Title brands such as "salvage," "junk," and "rebuilt" are not standardized, and a vehicle which has such a designation may receive a clean title when registered in a different jurisdiction. Further, vehicles imported to or exported from the United States and Canada are issued a clean title, even if they have been involved in an accident. Other states have relatively lax inspection criteria to remove the salvage brand.[2]"

If I wanted that car as a keeper, I would pay up to 20K for it. Going to be worth more than that in 10 years even with the salvage title.

Thanks guys. I am planning to go look at the car in person and have a thorough ppi done by a local Porsche tech. After that, I will figure out what I might be willing to pay as I do like the car and would not mind owning it.

As I said, I will keep you guys posted.

I would not pay over $15k. That salvage title will follow you forever. The only time I would buy a salvage title car is if I was building another race car.

Thanks for the input Plavan. I have gotten advice from people both on and off the forum and remarkably the number that continues to come up time and time again is $15k. This car is very nice and that is worth something, so I think the value would be between $15k and $20k at the most with a great ppi report and a nearly flawless condition.
Since I would be buying it as a driver, I do not want to get too caught up in the fact that the car has a salvage title, but I also do not want to be stuck with a car I cannot sell if I ever decide to do that.
Lots to think about.

Heres another thought though. a 72 whether its a T E S will be the one porsche that will continuously rise in value because of the rarity of that weird 4th door.

Just remember a nice looking 911 with a salvage title is like a Supermodel with Herpes.

Why loose sleep over a salvage title when there are other nice '72s bound to come up from time to time. For example, http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/658249-1972-911t-2-4-mfi-19k.html (no affiliation and I wish I live on the left coast).

I have both a 72T clean title and a 80 Weissach with a salvage title. Your vexing situation is pretty amusing to me. The long nose will always be more fun but challenging as well. YMMV

This whole discussion makes me wonder about 356s and other basket cases I have seen restored in magazines, and now are commanding mega bucks. Maybe they didn't say salvage, but should have read terminal.

The value of nice early cars is still very high, meaning anywhere from 30k to 100k. If that car is as nice as it appears, then the price reduction for salvage title is already built in, which you will pass along when you sell, unless you can get the DMV to verify that it no longer has that status. Do some research, after all there are a ton of beautiful truly restored cars from piles of rust which are worth a fortune.

if I lived near by I would probably come over and buy it and watch it appreciate 10 years from now like the other poster said.

I don't know what to make of this comment ;)

yeh, which type of herpes???

Lol.

Guys, a salvage title is not a huge deal with a car as old and basic as a '72 911. Buy it right, enjoy it, and when you're done with it, sell it to an overseas buyer. The salvage classification doesn't exist in many countries. All they care about is 100% correct repair.

Does anyone in LA have a recommendation on where I can take this car for a PPI in the Van Nuys area? I need someone that is very familiar with early 911s that can give this car a good once over for me.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, not true in regards to Canada. I have imported two cars with California "Salvage" titles into Canada and the branded titles stayed with them. The Canadian Registrar Of Imported Vehicles (RIV) website clearly states that they will check previous history of the title for "Branding".

However, I think that you people who are afraid of "Salvage" titles should stay away from them so the rest of us can get good deals... :)

I'd buy the car, I just wouldn't give the same money as a clean titled car.

I have had salvage title vehicles and my current Harley has a "rebuilt" title where I rebuilt it from salvage and had it inspected by the State of Washington in Bellingham when I lived across the water from you in Blaine!
It does affect the selling price overall when you want to get rid of it.
Great to drive knowing it works just as well as any "clean" titled car. Knowing it was done right by me helps too!
The Insurance companies write of vehicles that should be repaired when they can devalue the car/bike/truck, write the owner a check, and then make their money back at a salvage auction.

I'm not sure on this one.... I've been looking into buying this car also. If I remember right it has a 1985 salvage title.

I'm 99% sure if I would import this car, our DMV would set me up with an '85 title, on a car which is actually a '72...........

I recently bought another '72... That one has the oil flap welded shut though, because a bigger oitank was fittted at one time. Something else to deal with..........
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/yawn.gif

Lots of good choices....I'd consider TRE or TLG

No good on both counts. 1 can turn into 2. Well, you know how...

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I am going to look at the car and have TRE give it a thorough PPI if I like what I see during my visit. I will keep the forum posted.

It's a beautiful car, good luck to you. Tim

I bet Dave can also give you some good advice on valuation too.