'73 914 2.0 value

[jjflash]

I'm being severely tempted by a nice-looking, '73 2.0 that I ran across. I'm not sure on the values of these cars, although I know that they have been supposedly rising. The "catch" on this one is that it while the odometer reads around 45K miles and the car's appearance (in photos) appears to support it, there is no real paper trail/documentation to "prove" it. Seller is pretty up front about all this and has a story that he heard from the P.O.; says all the rubber is still soft, etc., etc. And since it's a '73, Carfax, etc. aren't of any real help.

Seller wants $10K for it, which for an all-original, low-mileage car would probably be a good deal??? But if it's a 141K-miler, with no real maintenance history, probably not???

Question 1: Do I have these values pegged accurately, or am I off?

Question 2: Any ideas on ways to try and document the mileage?

[Fidalgo911S]

Looks like a great deal. The condition of the car would seem to support the low-miles. I bought a '74 last spring with 48,000 miles that is in similar condition.

The interior of the car you're looking at is beautiful. No cracks on the dash, good carpet, nice seats, solid doors. Just get rid of that shift boot. The stock one is the way to go.

Also take note of the rubber trim on top of the bumpers; it's solid and straight. The more they're exposed to weather the more the steel inside rusts and the rubber warps. That car has seen little rain, if any at all.

Just be sure to check the hell-hole beneath the battery for rust. Even solid cars like this can rust there. It's repairable, and provided the longitudinals are in good shape, I don't consider it a deal breaker. The only negative is the left rear quarter, looks like a respray. Check the trunk for damage repairs.

The '73 is fast becoming the darling of 914/4's. Big engine with the appearance group standard. The '74's are just as collectible (IMHO).

Remember the '73/74 2.0 have D-Jet fuel injection. Except under threat of severe pain, I recommend leaving the FI intact. Only because I love a correct car and I think the FI works better than carbs. My '74 is a 1.8 and has L-Jet. It's the smoothest running machine.....besides FI increases long-term value.

Solid, correct 914's are getting hard to find. For $10K, once again my opinion, it's well worth the money; easy decision. Years from now you'll either be kicking yourself for passing it up, or patting your own back for your forward thinking. Nice find. Really nice find.

[Macroni]

Originally Posted by Fidalgo911S

Solid, correct 914's are getting hard to find. For $10K, once again my opinion, it's well worth the money; easy decision. Years from now you'll either be kicking yourself for passing it up, or patting your own back for your forward thinking. Nice find. Really nice find.

+1

[the]

Good looking car. What's really nice is that it appears to be very unmolested. Some of the stuff is not stock, like the shifter and the black paint on the wheels. But it doesn't have the weird, hard to reverse, aftermarket stuff that 99% of 914s have had inflicted on them over the past 30 years, like giant black plastic mirrors drilled into the doors, speakers cut into the interior panels, hood badge drilled into the hood, etc.

Is the paint original? I noticed that the sticker on the drivers side rear fender is missing, is that from a repaint of that fender?

If the car is still fuel injected, and has a quality repaint, and otherwise checks out as a mostly original car with 48K miles, it is worth $10K easy.

If it is a 48K car with original paint, or even mostly original paint, fuel injection, and check out mechanically, it is easily a $15K car, maybe a $20K car, maybe even a $25K car to the right person, depending on how it presents in person and how original it really is.

73/74 2.0 in original configuration with fuel injection are going up and are really sought after. The classic orange color doesn't hurt, either!

[the]

To document the mileage, you really just have to inspect the car carefully. There are certain wear areas all over the car to look for, that should help an experienced eye determine if it is 48K or 148K (or more).

[Fidalgo911S]

One last thing. Check the front end for any sort of damage. The front bumper is a '74 model year. There would be wrinkles down near the base of the wheel wells inside the trunk if it's been hit.

Good luck.

[jjflash]

I've got a thread going on this car over at Rennlist also with one more picture--"hell-hole" shot
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=410273&referrerid=6940

As mentioned in the RL thread, I have quite a few more pix that I can email to anyone who is interested enough to see them.

[LvSteveH]

Originally Posted by Fidalgo911S

The front bumper is a '74 model year.

Actually, that's a correct 73 front bumper. Pre 72 had clean bumpers, 73 had the rubber pads on the front, and 74 had rubber pads front and rear.

[Fidalgo911S]

Oh...my mistake. I thought the bumperettes came out in '74.