1972 91 S Targa Value???

[hbrand]

Was this car priced right??

How is the investment potential??

Thanks, Harold



[http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1833174167

[jjforland]

I don't know about the value, however I do see something I don't like. The little bit of rust in the spare wheel area usually ends up being a little more than a "little bit." I purchased my 911 off of ebay with a similar description. The little rust spot has turned into a fairly large project. I am in the process of disassembling the entire front end to replace the suspension pan and gas tank support pieces. Absolutely no fun!

[jjforland]

Oh yeah..one more thing. Starting in 1976 the cars are galvanized to prevent rust. The car on ebay isn't, so rust is a significantly bigger problem. Personally, if I were interested in the car I'd ask for more pics of that area.

[cegerer]

How is the investment potential??

Opinion deleted. Sorry, didn't realize this was your car. -- Curt

[jjforland]

Gosh...lets try not to make the guy feel bad. Looks as if he already purchased it. Maybe its not all that bad. Hey..look on the bright side...it is a Porsche isn't it?

[pwd72s]

See? See the ***** we did? Back in the old days, before we knew better?

[Wayne 962]

I'll bite the bullet!

This car is highly modified from its original form, so for originality, it doesn't work for appreciation. The rust in the front of the car, and the other things that are wrong with it would probably make me put it inbetween fair and good. Keep in mind that any car that drives in my book automatically makes it into the fair category.

The car does seem to have a lot of options that the previous owner (or owners) would have put on there at significant expense. The BBS wheels are not cheap, as are the fiberglass components. However, these items are highly subjective, and as I have stated before, decrease the value of the car, because they are so specific, and potential buyers may not like them. If you are happy with them then fantastic! However, they will most often reduce the size of the potential buyer pool, and bring down the overall price.

As for the rust? Almost all of the cars from this era have some type of rust damage. The ones that don't usually have been repaired or kept in a bubble all their life (I include SoCal as a huge bubble).

Overall opinion? Based on the description and photos ALONE, I would say that you got a fairly good deal, assuming that you like the modifications that are on the car. This is also assuming that there aren't any serious structural rust issues, and that the engine is solid. The 'S' serial number probably doesn't add any significant additional value because it is only really useful on very original cars.

Appreciation? Not very likely in this car, but it will make a good driver. No 911 is a good investment for appreciation - they are too expensive to drive, maintain and restore...

-Wayne

[greenmonster]

ahhh... guys, I think this is the seller.

I liked the blue 71 911e targa that you had on ebay earlier (last week). Much better investment potential in a close to stock pcar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1838825362

Back to lurking...

John

[nostatic]

Originally posted by jjforland
Gosh...lets try not to make the guy feel bad. Looks as if he already purchased it. Maybe its not all that bad. Hey..look on the bright side...it is a Porsche isn't it?

Look again...he's the *seller*. Why he's asking now is anyone's guess...

[Randy W]

I may not agree with your rating, Wayne, (Fair comes to my mind) but you are right about Southern California. Both my cars spent their first 25 years in So Cal, have not been restored and have little or no rust. I wouldn't buy another early 911 unless it spent it's life in Arizona, New Mexico or Southern California.

[cegerer]

"....Arizona, New Mexico or Southern California."

Generally true. But I can attest to at least one that's spent it's entire life in Michigan and not a speck of rust anywhere. Of course, it was only driven 7 months out of each year ..... -- Curt

[Matt Smith]

Mine was from Arizona. No rust, but now it lives in New Zealand I'm starting to get a little paranoid. Not that we have a very wet climate, but it's definately more so than AZ. I've seen some real rusty NZ new pre 74's over here.
Hey Ceg, I just loooove that red and grey interior. Tell me more. Was it an option? Got any close-ups?
All silver cars should have red interior. I must suffer the indignity of a plain old black one for as long as my '72 walks this earth.
They even look black through yellow-lense aviators.

[cegerer]

Matt, thanks. The interior is not original. I ripped out a literally perfect original condition black vinyl interior to make the change - that decision took some courage! But it's "only a T", so who cares right? The seats are period-correct factory Recaro sport seats, completely refurbished down to the plated rails and powdercoated frames. Matching leather RS lightweight door panels, jump seats, dash strip, rear shelf, etc. It totally transformed the car. Silver with red interior - to me - is the ultimate vintage Porsche color combo! -- Curt

[Randy W]

Curt, sorry I did not mean to eliminate your car from consideration. Maybe I should have said that NW, Texas and Florida 911s are notorius for rust - as you know, it's the rain or humidity that kills these cars. Arizona, New Mexico and So Cal cars seem to have escaped this problem for the most part, and since So Cal has more of these early cars than anywhere else, chances of finding a good one there are high. That's where I would look first (if I could convince my wife I needed three early 911s). There are always the exceptions in other states that have been very well cared for and garaged all winter, and your car is one of them for sure. Let me know if you ever decide to sell it.

[cegerer]

Randy, my comments were more tongue-in-cheek. Michigan is a great place for maintaining a rust-free car - you just can't drive them! The climate inside an enclosed garage is usually pretty good though. -- Curt

[Matt Smith]

Curt, that's just fabulous. I really mean it. When you say it's not original...that's not really correct is it? I mean it's about as original as you could get to change a plain black interior into the ultimate early 911 scheme. In 'our' opinion anyway

It's the same interior as the red soft window targa pic that's on the front cover of a book (forget it's name). I gasped out loud when I first laid eyes on that in the bookstore. Wow factor for me.

Mine's a silver Targa too, and I just had to have it because of it's colour, but I think the stainless targa bar actually looks really cool on these early cars. I'm not a great fan of later targas, but on these it just screams PERIOD. They have that fat rear tinted screen that really comes alive when you stand next to them in person. I can imagine some seventies dude thinking he was the BOSS buying and cruising in it originally. That's fun isn't it? Time warping it and still being cool 20 years and a generation later.

[cegerer]

Matt, sounds like we're on the same page here. I've tried to do everything in a 'period-correct' manner. My own self-written rule is that anything from an early car is fair game. OK, so I've got 73 Carrera RS pistons and door panels on a 71. Seats, well, they're correct for 71 and the red leather with houndstooth could have been special ordered. The Prototipo? A 70's aftermarket wheel. Would have never done any of this with an S, but with a T - it's only limited by your imagination (well, that and a little bit of cash!).

That red soft window with the red/houndstooth seats you mention was sort of the inspiration for my car. Coincidently, I talked to the previous owner of that car this morning! Steve Anderson who does the illustrations for Excellence magazine used to own it. He was thrilled to see my car and surprised to hear that his car was its inspiration! -- Curt