Wisdom of the crowd - What's this 1973.5 worth?

[techweenie]

Crowds don't buy cars. Excellence value guides don't buy cars.
Vintage Porsches are bought by individuals with their hearts...

[wgwollet]

Confused, I didn't see what your car sold for?

But today, a no rust longhood can easy bring 20-25k, I see very few no rust cars selling or being offered less then $20,000 today.

Just my 2cents

In fact I find the early 911's seem to have more interest then the generic 356 coupes, these days..

[confused]

Just a word of caution, just anyone can not achieve the values in sales that some of us professionals do. Not saying no one can but after running a very public consignment lot for a few years I realized something - the owner of a car always thinks their car is worth way more than it is and they find ways to re-assure themselves that their car is better or more unique than the others. Often blindness prevails.

I have sold more than one 912 for $50k. I then get offered numerous cars for very high dollars by owners that assume they have the same thing and yet I have yet to buy one of those. A buyer with a big heart seeks the best they can find within the examples offered. Details matter.

Next up: early 912 in show condition built by myself with 35,000 original miles, anyone???

[wgwollet]

Wow, very nice car.

I have two early 911's that I have been tossing around to sell. The more I look for cars being sold the more I realize that very good rust free cars can bring good money. My cars are very nice because they are both a 2 owner car, so I know history from day one. Plus they have original interior and paint both rare today.

The longhoods were bought in their day to be driven. So the first years were hard on them. It's not like today where a new Porsche is 100k, and is driven very little and it's a second or third car for the owner. That being said a lot of 912 and 911 need "restored", but to find a car that is unrestored because it's not been used much is very very very rare today and bring what the buyer will pay. A friend bought a 1970 911T original paint and interior and paid $42,000 for his collection.

[RD911T]

It's not easy to come on here and defend your sale without appearing to have a chip on your shoulder, but you did it. If I can get my kids through college and my business stays good, I'll be looking for a long hood next year. I'll keep you in mind.

Thanks,

Tom

[Doc Porsche]

Hey folks,

I feel I have to reply once again to this thread since I am the one who started it in the first place.

First of all, I am happy for the seller to see the car has been sold for $24,100 on ebay. I guess this result tells us a lot about real market value and also the sellers' knowledge of current market dynamics - kudos to you, Mark!!

Another learning from this thread (and the selling price) is that the market value description in Jim Schrager's book "Buying, Driving and Enjoying the Porsche 911 and 912 1965-1973" has to be upped a bit (book was published in 2007). Why? He states that for $17k-$25k "you will find a good selection of very nice cars. A 911 or 911T in this price range should be a lovely car, with great paint, a super interior, and updated, bulletproof mechanicals."

In any case, I hope that the buyer of this Targa will enjoy his/her new ride every single day. In fact, I am a bit jealous, because it really looks like a solid driver.

[E Sully]

Price and value are subjective things. The stock market variations we see all the time show this. Stock price rarely shows a companies real worth, just what the trend at that moment is. The car in question was worth $24,100 on that day. Someone was willing to pay that price for it. If he tries to sell it in 6 months what will it be worth? You won't know till it happens.
As Techweenie said, some people buy with their heart. If you can afford it that is great. As the housing market showed a lot of people bought with their hearts, expecting the economy to make it a good investment. Sometimes it goes the other way. Are your pockets deep enough if the something goes wrong?
My comments were not to hurt the seller. He is an experienced and knowledgeable man with cars. I was giving information to someone who was considering buying. Having owned a similar car for over 24 years I gave my"opinion". I know what it costs to own and maintain one. I know the likelihood of it being rust free. When I peel back the PVC undercoating on mine that looks great, I may find rust in some areas. At about 100,000 undocumented miles it could be very expensive to drive. Right now it runs great. Well maybe, but so did mine till the chain tensioner failed after I had the car for a month. High mileage with no records means anything can go wrong tomorrow. Buyers should be aware of what a repaint , an engine rebuild, a transmission rebuild costs. It could easily exceed the price this car sold for. Old cars and hard to find parts that are very expensive, especially a 6 month only car with many one model only parts.
I would have stopped at about $20,000. if I had been interested. I only paid $6,000 for my car, but since that was in 1987 it means nothing today. I do know the serial numbers are correct for the engine, chassis, and transmission. The seller of this car did not want to spend the $120. to prove it. Garage queens with documentation sell for considerably more.
I hope this thread gave you some information to help you buy the car of your dreams at a price you can afford to keep it. Too many nice cars rust in Barns because the owner did not have the resources to maintain it.

[carrera rx]

Ed, good response to the thread. Selling prices on collectables are terribly subjective. Sometimes it is
hard to balance reality (facts about a car/costs to bring it up to par/original, #'s matching vs otherwise) with desire. Having a '74 Carrera, you have to have a "thick skin" when it comes to valuations......

[kp.sfo]

Originally Posted by carrera rx

Ed, good response to the thread.

+1, very well said.