Your opinion on the value of this Porsche please

[Andrew Luu]

Hello All,
I have decided to venture into the 74-77 911 frontier and took a look at a 76 911s this morning and here is what it looks like. It has terrible paint and will need a paint job. There are no rust anywhere I looked. It logged 236K with total rebuilt 35K ($4500 worth) ago. Interior is terrible and will need total restoration, carpets, dashboard, and seats. The engine runs good ( but I'll let the PPI decide on that) and it handles well. New clutch at 15K ago. Nice rims. The asking price was above 8K, I offered 6K, and we settled on 7K as Pre-PPI price. In your wisdom, assumming it pass PPI and needs a new paint job and interior redone, does 7K sounds fair for this '76 911s?. Thank you for your help and god bless. Andrew

[widebody911]

Unless there was some overnight spike in mid-year 911 pricing, that sounds high. "It's in good shape except for paint, interior, ..."

@ 200k+, there's also question marks on the brakes, transmission, shocks, bearings, suspension bushings, steering... - you get the picture.

[nostatic]

one question...why?

236K is a lot of miles. Interior restoration is not cheap, nor is paint. Assuming the mechanicals are sound, you are looking at $5-10K in work. When you're done, you'll have a nice looking 236K miles 2.7 car. At that point you've got about $15K into it and it might be worth the $7K you are offering now. And I say *might*.

Sounds to me like this car as it stands is worth maybe $4K, but as I asked above, WHY? For $7K you should be able to find a pretty decent 2.7 car, and if Wayne is to be believed, you should be able to get a nice T driver.

Where are you looking?

[Jim T]

I guess it depends on what you are looking to do with the car, but no way in the world would I pay $7K for the car that you described.

Add in $7K, paint and interior (that does not include ANY money for mechanicals, and from what you described, the car is not exactly a pampered beauty, and will almost certainly need mechanicals, too) and you will be well over what a much lower mileage, better condition SC would cost.

Plus, for $4500, the previous owner did not get a "total rebuild" on a 2.7. So you also have an engine that may have some new parts, but still has high mileage and is questionable.

Woof, woof.

[Targa Dude]

Hi Andrew,

I have to agree with these guys, I am a total 2.7 loyalist..but for 7K you should be able to find ALMOST your car of your dreams that will not require an additional expense of painting and a complete interior restoration and not to mention suspesion work. 200+k miles is alot of wear and tear. The fact that this car car seems have been neglected form your description would make anyone wonder if it's even worth 4K.
How many cars have you looked at? have you concidered other years and models?
I'm curious as to why your pursuing model years 74-77.
Andrew just be patient.. keep looking you will find what you are looking for... Restorations are expensive.


Good Luck.. Jorge (Targa Dude)

[Brian993]

Sounds like a good canidate for "I'll pass". I'm with nostatic on this one. I think with all the miles and the money this car needs it would'nt be a good deal at $2000.00. IMO if you have $10,000.00 you should look in that range, you will be surprised at what you will find. The i'm gonna buy a 911 and fix it up gets expensive fast and you will find yourself way upside down in a hurry. You'll still have fun but it will cost you more than it should.

Good luck whatever you do.

[speeder]

This is my day to be harsh with appraisals, but I figure someone has to be looking out for these new people. Andrew, the car you are looking at is worth $0, with the exception of some parts that nobody will want. When the cost of repairs exceeds the "fixed-up" value of a car, it is totalled. Forget about any restoration on a 236k miles '76 911, you might as well just stand naked in an ice-cold shower tearing up $100 bills, as the old sailing joke goes.

Most old 911s cost more to restore in any meaningful way than what they are worth. (What you can buy one in "after-resto" condition for). So the answer is that you buy one in more/less the condition you are looking for and drive it. What part of the world are you in? Do a search on this board for my '74 911 for sale' thread, it is a decent rust-free car and you can have it cheap.

The car you are looking at seriously is worth somewhere around $2000 as a battle-axe, sort of a "I have the biggest turd 911 reverse-pride kind of thing".

[MarkY]

Andrew, IMO, it would be a waste of money to get a PPI done on this car. Why? So the PPI reveals nothing. The car is still only worth a grand, maybe two. I'd pass on this headache.

[speeder]

Andrew, I realize that you are fairly new around here, but have you read some other threads? You can learn quite a bit around here, (and other boards), it sounds like you could use some serious protection from the *****boxes of the world. Seriously, I have a good '74 for sale, check thread on first page, I have not been trying too hard to sell it, suddenly I feel as though I would be doing you a service to show it to you. Let me know and good luck.

[Andrew Luu]

Hi Everyone,

This is an incredible forum and you all have just saved me a lot of money. The reason I was considering the Porsche is that in the Excellence magazine, Bruce Andersen placed a value of the 76 911s in poor condition at $7500. Obviously, the it seems like Excellence priced it higher than the market value. Do you have any ideas as of why they are pricing it that way or how do they come up with that number?.

Dennis, I am in the eastcoast Maryland, Washington D.C, Virginia area and it is very hard to find a gem around here for a right price. Lord, I wish I live in the westcoast.

Bless you all, Andrew

[speeder]

Andrew, Good luck and keep reading the "valuation" threads here with all of our bickering and trash-talk, (OK, it's mostly me), I think it is healthy and sharpens everyone up. There are some old 911's that are very valuable and sell quickly w/o even advertising, but for all of the others it is a buyer's market, regardless of what some sellers wish. Study ebay. Even if you would not buy a car there, (and I would generally not unless I could inspect it), you can get an excellent idea of real-world value for the majority of 911's that are NOT rare, some cars get a lot of action(bidding), others none. For the cars and price range you are looking in, this is by far the biggest selection on earth. And remember: rust or an engine that needs rebuilding cancel-out basically ANY value on these cars, you can buy them(early 911T's and 74-77s) in 'good to go' condition for less $ than these repairs cost. Good luck!

[Brian993]

I'll second that Denis. I'm on my third car in a year with the guidence of pelicanheads. The good folks here would'nt steer anyone wrong. You'll be able to pick them out quick enough. Me i'm the court jester.

[Botman]

Andrew,

Just because you don't live in California doesn't mean you can't buy from there. I shopped the Internet, found numerous cars to check out, flew to LA, bought an 86 Carrera Coupe and had a great adventure/road trip while learning about my car on the way back to Houston. My point is, expand your horizons, my car would have cost me an additional 3-5K here because of availability, and I wouldn't have a rust free Cali car.

With the budget that you are talking, you should not have to make excuses, or explain your rational in buying a P.O.S. Instead you can buy something that you will be proud of from day one, if you are patient and do your homework. Remember, it only costs a few hundred bucks to fly to LA, a very small percentage of your total potential investment.

Good Luck,
Mike

[LeeH]

The car you were considering plus repairs would probably cost you more than something like this:

http://www.firsttraderegistry.com/forsale/pre80/german/itm00023.htm