Pricing out my 1975 Porsche 911s

[dgbehrends]

My wife (who can't drive a shift) is starting to really complain about the beautiful car that takes up a garage stall and rarely gets driven. I don't want to sell but may be forced to within the year. It has around 101,000 miles. Sadly I don't know the exact number because I haven't driven it this year, (makes me want to cry). The engine was completely rebuilt with raceware studs and new oil pump at 96,000 miles in 1998. The front rubber piece has some rust underneath it and is peeled up a little. There are one or two small rust bubbles on it elsewhere. The paint job was redone in 1998 and looks spectacular. The interior is in OK shape. Dash has a crack. The seats are original and have a small tear or two on the seams. The car runs great. Leaks a little oil from the case even though we sealed it up with the Porsche recommended sealant. Nada low retail says this car is worth 22k but that seems high to me. I have all the records of the engine rebuild, including info on the previous owners and original window sticker and other stuff like that. This is a silver anniversary edition Porsche with a special plate mounted on the glove box.

I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on the value of this car. If I need to give more info I'll be happy to share. I added a picture of me and my car. I bought it in 1997 and am the 3rd owner.

Edit: how do I get the photo uploaded. It was a 51k jpg and seemed to upload ok but doesn't show up.

[KNS]

Do you really want to sell it? Would you drive it more if your wife was a bit more understanding? If you haven't driven it in nine months then there must be other reasons then your wife being unhappy with it.

Sorry, I know that's doesn't answer your original question, I just hate to see someone get rid of something they care about.

[dgbehrends]

I don't want to sell, but the wife's grumblings have gotten louder each summer it sits with little use. There are a few reasons she would like me to sell, 1) we have 3 kids now (6, 5, 3) and they keep us so busy that there is little time to drive it, 2) she can't drive it because it is a stick shift and she is not interested in learning right now. 3) The car is not really built for safety as it has the battery sitting right in front of a 21gallon gas tank which sits right in front of the driver. 14 years ago that never crossed my mind but now my wife reminds me of it. 4) takes up a garage stall that could be used for several other things. .... and that's why I've finally begun the process of potentially letting go.

-Derick

p.s. How do I post a picture?

[kilodawg]

The gas tank in the front not safe???

Does your wife work for the DOT?

Look, if you really feel like selling is what you need to do then fine get the value assessment you need and move forward.

However, reading your posts makes it seem like your are being boxed into a situation that you are hot happy with by a domineering personality. That's a larger issue that will eventually play out at some point in your life (ask me how I know). This may not be the place where you choose to stand your ground but eventually you will likely need to. Don't give up too much or wait too long it doesn't get easier with time....

Price seems a bit high to me too but I tend to low ball these mid year cars and I know the silver anniversary cars have a following. So why not start from there if you need to.

Good luck and sorry to throw in the personal advice which you did not ask for but I once sold the car of my dreams and thus the dream itself. That won't happen again. Life is too short to have anybody (especially somebody who loves you) tell you which of your dreams you are allowed to have.

[BE911SC]

I remember my wife getting difficult after our second (and final) child was born. Suddenly the children were Number One and she wasn't anymore and guess who bears the brunt of that? Yep, the husband and his toys. I did sell my motorcycle, a mint '92 FJ1200 ABS that I bought new and kept dead-mint for ten years. A buddy who had to have it bought it for a lot less than I could have sold it for. He kept it for a few months and then flipped it to a hard-core FJ fanatic for four times what I sold it to him for. One of my coworkers with motorcycles said, "Never sell your last bike. Once the last one's gone she'll never let you buy another one." 'She' being almost any motorcycle enthusiast's wife. Once the FJ was gone my wife's mood improved. Her female sense of 'fairness' seemed to require that I make a change in order for her to feel better about the changes she felt she had made in having children. The airline joke, "We're not happy until you're not happy" comes to mind. A couple of years later I impulse-bought a brand new 2004 WRX STi and she was not happy about it. I enjoyed my Soob and she got over it when she realized that I wasn't going to be pushed around by her moods. My advice to you is to make the decision yourself. If you let your wife decide it likely will not sit well with you. If she won't be happy until you're not happy then you need to sit down and talk it out--or put your foot down and tell her the 911 stays. My wife is like the Taliban in that she understands a firm use of force. Gentle negotiations rarely work unless it's what she wants too--what the Taliban wants. Be a man. Make the decision and inform her what it is. If she serves you with divorce papers then you're probably getting off light. Today's women complain that men aren't men anymore--thanks to the over-feminization of America since the late 1960s (thanks Alan Alda)--so be a man and make a decision. She'll either accept it and move forward or reject it and kick you and your 911 out of the house. Either way you'll have your self-respect and you'll be a man.

Keep the car.

[kilodawg]

BE911SC,

Yes that's another way of putting it....

[Matt Monson]

Continuing the vein of unsolicited advice... If the wife complains that the car just sits year after year, it sounds to me like the solution is to make the car your daily driver in the Summer. It's not too late for this year. Take the car out. Drive it for the next month or so, then go back to her and tell her you just can't do it. Then, going forward, drive the car in the warm months. If you're using the car, it becomes harder for her to say that you need to sell it because it's just sitting there breeding dust mites.

Or, if you have in fact lost the passion for it, then it's time to move on. Without seeing pictures, I would put it at $15K+/-.

[914efi]

Make it into a special thing to take one of the kids at a time for ice cream, lunch, park, etc. The kids will convince her.

[dgbehrends]

Instead of uploading I just linked to imageshack.us

In past years I have driven it to work a few times a week in the summer. I do need to get it out and burn up some dust mites. It hasn't seen a drop of water in 8+years so I tend to watch the weather reports closely.

[Matt Monson]

Nice looking car. Makes me double down on the "don't sell it" position.

[kilodawg]

Nice looking car. What's it's story?

[CA_WhaleTail]

here's a great solution I've been using- I put my kids (5 yo twins) in the rear seat, find a local twisty road, and toss it around (under carefully controlled speeds and within all legal limits of course). now the kids love the car and my wife even asks me to take them out as a treat....turns that back seat into something very useful

the car is sorted out, insurance and reg is low. you'll regret selling it.

[dgbehrends]

The Story : I was fresh out of college looking to make that sports car purchase. My dad, who at the time worked at a used car dealership in Duluth MN, had just recently gotten the car in on a trade from a foot doctor that had just gotten a divorce and had to get rid of it. The car was stored in San Francisco for years, he had it shipped to Duluth a few years before selling it. Not sure how often the guy drove it. It had the original paint job on it and the front wheel well tops were worn off a bit from the cover moving in the wind. My Dad put the hard sell on me saying it would appreciate in value instead of depreciate. All I can say is that he is a very good salesman. My Dad was able to collect on a favor from one of the best paint guys in the Duluth area. The paint job he put on it was phenomenal, I think he has won many awards for this type of work. The car had 95k miles on it and I had read these engines only lasted 50k due to the studs pulling out of case because of different metal expansion properties so I'm assuming the engine was redone at some point. Not long after I started driving it, the oil started gushing out of the oil sending unit location in addition to a few other significant leaks so I decided to do a complete engine rebuild. In 1998, my brother, my Dad and myself replaced everything even down to the oil pump, and put in raceware studs. Both my brother and Dad are excellent mechanics, but lamented at the need for for a few special German tools. And so over the next 6 years I enjoyed the car and put a few thousand miles on it during the summers. When the kids started coming 2004, 2006, 2008 my free time/driving time dwindled from a few thousand miles to a few 100 each summer. I have the original window sticker for it and believe it was from either South Dakota or North Dakota, I have to go find it to be sure. I know nothing about the first owner. The car has a few gremlins but is still very fun to drive.

[peon77]

I think if you drive it more the wife wont have any justification in asking you to sell it, and you will feel better too. Very nice car by the way and your dad was right, that car will not depreciate. You have done all the hard work now enjoy it and let others see it in its natural habitat (on the road). It isn't sugar and wont melt if it gets wet.

[Matt Monson]

Just the connection with dad would make me want to keep it if it were mine. Our dads won't be around forever. Or maybe lend it to your dad for a few years, assuming he's still with us. I'm in the process of doing that with my car while I focus on my kids and business for a bit. If I'm not gonna use it, I know that he will since he's retired and moving to St George, Utah to play tennis and golf.

[kilodawg]

Great story, so this is a labor of love that you shared with your dad and your brother..
I'm starting to have even less empathy for your wife. Would you make her sell off her mom's china set or hutch to make space for some newer stuff???

First off drive the car more like the others have said but at the same time do your homework and find out how safe these cars are despite the location of the gas tank. When that comes up next time explain it to your wife. These are not dangerous cars.

Change your mindset about the car. it's family....Incorporate it into your life as such.

[dgbehrends]

Your right, it won't melt when it gets wet, but I can't stand the thought of it rusting.

You all have convinced me to keep my car and look elsewhere to fund an upcoming purchase that both my wife and I agree is needed. Now I need to get in the garage and turn the key.

[Matt Monson]

Yay. Good to hear it. If you haven't already, take a "walk" around the rest of the board. It's really easy to get excited about and fall in love with your car all over again if you spend a bit of time in the 911 Tech forum for example.

[KNS]

You certainly don't need to get into a big argument with your wife. I would just nicely but firmly say: "Honey, I'm not selling this car, there is too much of a connection with my father tied up in this car". Remind her of all the stories you've heard of guys selling a vehicle with a family connection and them seriously regretting it later. There is a guy over on the 911 technical side right now looking for his fathers long lost SC...

By the way, my wife has no interest in driving my car. She can drive a stick, she just doesn't want to. She does understand how much joy the car brings me so she's cool with it.

Once you start driving it more it's hard for her to say it "just sits there".

[andyt11]

Originally Posted by BE911SC

My wife is like the Taliban