914 LE value

[jjflash]

I don't see much about 914's on this forum, but if anyone has any opinions on the value of this car:



There's a lot of info on these at:

http://members.rennlist.com/914_canam/

They are asking $15K for this car, which has a COA and is/was a well-known and authenticated example. I don't think it would be practical as a driver but might be a fun weekend/PCA events kind of car. $15K is still pretty steep for a 914, no matter how nice, but I see their values rising pretty steadily.

[Macroni]

Reasonably priced if the car passes an independent PPI.

[racer]

There is an "LE" registry out there. It was essentially a 1 year trim package. That one is a "creamsicle" - white with orange. The other combo is Black with yellow. They are the same as a 914 2.0l and with very nice 2.0ls approaching low to mid-teens, it may not be badly priced. plus you get the aesthetic exclusivity.

[matt13421342]

Not to argue, but I don't think I've ever seen a 4-cyl 914 sell for $15k. The pricing for the LE hasn't really pushed itself skyward yet. As collectibility of 914s increases, so will the prices, and cars like the LE will stand out from the crowd and demand a little more cash. If you love the car and plan to hold onto it, why not buy it? But if you think it might be a shorter affair, I'd spend $10k and get an excellent example of a non-LE 914.

Just my 2 cents.

[Fidalgo911S]

Originally Posted by matt13421342

Not to argue, but I don't think I've ever seen a 4-cyl 914 sell for $15k....I'd spend $10k and get an excellent example of a non-LE 914.

Just my 2 cents.

On a sincere tone here...but plenty of nice 914's sell above $10K. An LE for $15K is very reasonable. $15K for a decent '74 2.0 is not too bad either. I spent most of this year shopping and pricing 914's until I found the one I wanted. I was priced out of more than a few 2.0's (above $13K).

Recently a nice '74 2.0 sold for $25K at auction. They're on their way up. Really.

Originality counts. In my opinion - Fuel Injection Is A Must!

[GothingNC]

That is a sweet looking LE and agree with the other that the prices for 914's are steadily climbing for a clean original rust free 914.

It's interesting how the 74-75 914's are starting to go for more then a mid-year 911.

[Fidalgo911S]

Jeff Bowlsby has an entire website devoted the LE. Plenty of info there. I believe he uses Rennlist to host it.

There is another Creamsicle for sale at 914world.com as another data point.

[jjflash]

Originally Posted by Fidalgo911S

Jeff Bowlsby has an entire website devoted the LE. Plenty of info there. I believe he uses Rennlist to host it.

There's a link to that site in my original post--it's on the ad for the car also. That's what got me interested.

Originally Posted by Fidalgo911S

There is another Creamsicle for sale at 914world.com as another data point.

Thanks. I know that there are very nice 2.0 "regular" cars for sale for less than $15K. One is right here on Pelican's for sale site:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=353253

I'm going to find out mroe about the "Creamsicle"--mileage, etc. Since I can't afford a "real" classic, something like this appeals to me.

[the]

Originally Posted by jjflash

I don't see much about 914's on this forum, but if anyone has any opinions on the value of this car:



There's a lot of info on these at:

http://members.rennlist.com/914_canam/

They are asking $15K for this car, which has a COA and is/was a well-known and authenticated example. I don't think it would be practical as a driver but might be a fun weekend/PCA events kind of car. $15K is still pretty steep for a 914, no matter how nice, but I see their values rising pretty steadily.

You don't give any info about that particular car, but in the one picture, it sure looks nice!

If it is an original, fuel injected, stock configured car with no rust and good mechanicals, it will get $15K, for sure.

It's all about condition, though. That can be a $25K car (to the right buyer, depending on the history and condition of the car), or it can be a $3,000 car (shiny on the outside, but completely rusted out underneath).

Prices are on the rise, for a variety of reasons. One major reason is the continuing devaluation of the dollar and high inflation, which makes hard assets more valuable, esp. to foreigners with their stronger (v. the dollar) currency. 5 years from now, $15K may seem very cheap for a nice looking LE like that one.

[jjflash]

Originally Posted by the

You don't give any info about that particular car, but in the one picture, it sure looks nice!

If it is an original, fuel injected, stock configured car with no rust and good mechanicals, it will get $15K, for sure.

It's all about condition, though. That can be a $25K car (to the right buyer, depending on the history and condition of the car), or it can be a $3,000 car (shiny on the outside, but completely rusted out underneath).

I am in the process of gathering more information about it. All I know so far is that is that it has been restored to a very high standard, has and is undoubtedly one of the original factory LE's, so I would be very surprised if it turned out to have any major flaws, but I would certainly check it out carefully before buying it. It's a "known" car and is listed in the 914 LE registry. I have gotten a few more pictures and the car looks virtually new in the pix. I hope to speak with the owner tomorrow and fill in some of the holes. I'm excited--for some reason I really like this car!

Here's a pic of the rear trunk.

[matt13421342]

I still think some people are seeing the 914 market as higher than it actually is. Sure, you can find an example of a 914 4-cyl that sold for $25k, but it's hardly anything to use for reference. I see lots of 914s OFFERED at high prices, but boy do they sit on the market forever. If you're a serious collector who plans to keep the car for many years, you can't go wrong, because 914s are destined for a high level of collectibility. But to start applying 356 pricing to the 914 isn't accurate. They made lots more 914s than 356s (almost 120,000 914s total vs. something like 70,000 356s).

Whenever I read these discussions on value of any Porsche model, there are very high numbers being thrown around, numbers I feel only apply to perfect, original examples. This is good info, but it inevitably starts being applied to regular market cars in the same discussion! You can't compare the top end examples with a car on the consumer market, and you can't use the prices seen on pristine cars as benchmarks from which to subtract your way down to the value of a less pristine car. The proportions on value don't directly correlate as you go up the dollar value line, it shoots way up as you get into the top 1 or 2 percent of examples.

All that being said, if you see something that moves you and it's not grossly overpriced, go ahead! After all, we're Porsche people, we're not supposed to make overly rational or calculated decisions on purchases. I can't even manage to practice what I preach.

[matt13421342]

Originally Posted by the

If it is an original, fuel injected, stock configured car with no rust and good mechanicals...

The key word when talking about the LE is original. There were lots of clones made over the years, and dealer applied cosmetic packages, etc. The ONLY way to certify you're looking at a true LE is to order a COA from Porsche. I would never pay a premium for an LE if it didn't come with that documentation.

Originally Posted by the

Prices are on the rise, for a variety of reasons. One major reason is the continuing devaluation of the dollar and high inflation, which makes hard assets more valuable...

Cars can never be considered hard assets. Given a serious economic downturn, they lose their value fastest and most severely. That's not to say you can't hold onto a classic while you wait for the market to recover, it always does. But a valuable car isn't going to help you during the downtimes if it's impossible to make liquid.

[the]

Whether or not a classic or collector car goes down in value during a serious economic downturn does not determine whether it is a hard asset. It is a hard asset.

Economic factors are causing prices to rise not because people think it will be a safe place to have money in case of a serious economic downturn (most hard assets will go down in such a case). The economic factors that are causing prices to rise are high inflation and the devaluing dollar (a lot of US Porsches are going overseas these days).

I agree a lot of people are jumping on the "914 values are skyrocketing!" bandwagon (probably because Bruce Anderson said it in Excellence), and are overestimating the rise so far. But if that LE is a true LE, and really is fully restored to a correct and very high standard, it will get $15K - actual sales price - in a heartbeat.

[matt13421342]

The 3-piece suit in the far reaches of my closet and the computer I'm typing on are also hard assets if you take that avenue. But historically cars have not been considered hard assets when speaking on economics. Apply for a home loan and tell them that you have a vintage automobile worth $XXX,XXX.00 and they'll tell you that's nice, but we can't use that as an asset to evaluate your loan app.

But you're exactly right about the devaluation of the US$ and the fact that our beloved Porsches are being sent overseas in droves. I just don't think it's a move by Europeans to gather assets, rather it's guys just like us taking advantage of the favorable exchange rate. If I'd saved a warehouse full of Euros five years ago I'd be a happy guy right now.

[the]

Like most things, "hard assets" can mean somewhat different things to diff people, but in accounting hard assets generally are considered by most to be physical, tangible assets bought for investment purposes. Which includes collectible cars. (Now, whether collectible cars, as investments, are *good* investments is a different debate).

If you have a vintage Ferrari worth $500,000, a bank will certainly ask you to list that on your loan application, and they would use it to evaluate your loan, absolutely.

Again, I agree that a lot of the hype surrounding rising 914 prices is overblown. But really nice, original, rust-free, stock configuration 914s have been fetching some pretty high prices lately. For example, there was a yellow 73 2.0 on the PP classified this week, looked to be in nice driving condition, but certainly not concours condition (the white LE looks like it is a much nicer car). He had it at $13.9K asking, and it did sell pretty quickly. I don't know the sale price, and assume it wasn't $13.9K, but he didn't seem desperate to sell, and I'd guess it was somewhere in the 5 figures. And also that it was about 30-40% higher than it would have fetched 5 years ago.

[jjflash]

Found out today that the car is sold. Went almost immediately when offered for sale, so I was a day late/dollar behind on this one.

It is/was a totally original (restored) 914 LE with all matching numbers and Porsche COA. In "like new" condition, everything working, everything perfect (according to seller). $15K is really high for a 914, but I think it was a fair price for this particular car. I don't know exactly what it sold for, but I assume it was for close to asking price. Whether they will go up in the near future, who knows? But this particular car is what I would call an "affordable classic," and would be a very fun car to own, at least for me. I learned a lot about the "LE's" researching this car and maybe I'll happen across another one.

[matt13421342]

Don't give up! Keep your eyes peeled and you'll see another one pop up. They're rare, but they do come on the market often enough to have hope. That car was a prime example, though...

[the]

Originally Posted by jjflash

Found out today that the car is sold. Went almost immediately when offered for sale, so I was a day late/dollar behind on this one.

It is/was a totally original (restored) 914 LE with all matching numbers and Porsche COA. In "like new" condition, everything working, everything perfect (according to seller). $15K is really high for a 914, but I think it was a fair price for this particular car.

Told ya if that car really were as nice as it looked and described, it would sell in a heartbeat. $15K was a very good price for the buyer of that particular, exceptional car, in the current 914 market.

In like new, perfect, fully restored condition, that was more than a fair price for the car, that was a steal. If it were properly marketed by a dealer, he'd get low 20's for the car very quickly. And, IMO, if kept in that condition, that car will never go down in value.

[jjflash]

Originally Posted by the

Told ya if that car really were as nice as it looked and described, it would sell in a heartbeat. $15K was a very good price for the buyer of that particular, exceptional car, in the current 914 market.

In like new, perfect, fully restored condition, that was more than a fair price for the car, that was a steal. If it were properly marketed by a dealer, he'd get low 20's for the car very quickly. And, IMO, if kept in that condition, that car will never go down in value.

Gee, thanks for making me feel so much better...

I just tripped across it too late. It was sold very soon after it was advertised and I agree after all the research that it was an excellent deal. Now that I know more about this model I won't hesitate in the future. You definitely can't hesitate when something like this shows up.

[the]

Didn't mean to make ya feel bad! Nothing you can do about it if you found it too late in the process. Plus, you need to get a handle on the market and get comfortable with prices before you can act quickly.

That car got that price not only because it was an LE. ANY 73/74 2.0 in stock configuration, with that level of restoration, is going to sell very quickly at $15K.

Even the less desirable models (which are basically any model OTHER than a 73/74 2.0) are getting surprisingly high prices, IF they are in exceptional condition.

I've had a bunch of different 914s, I'd hold out for a 73/74 2.0. IMO, they really are the best of the bunch, and def. the most collectible.