911T..color change dilemma?

[rocket534]

My car is a very low mileage 1970 T. It is Bahia Red [1313]. It was repainted in 1976 following a minor collision with a deer. The paint job was marginal, it looks good from 20 feet away with overspray on all the rubber and orange peel and sand scratches that show up when closely examined. The color is the original Bahia Red.
I have worked out a trade with a friend for a very high quality , glass out, paint job. We have started the prep and I am torn up about the fact that I really would like to change the color to Slate Grey. I have to consider resale value even though my intention is to keep this car for a long time. The interior is black, all original and in pristine condition.
I know the conventional wisdom of keeping the original color when repainting a nice car. I also know that some of the unconventional colors will bring a premium upon sale.
I would appreciate any thoughts from those of you that may have considered this question.

[SilberUrS6]

I think it's hard to go wrong with slate grey. Yes, the original color will bring the highest resale. But think about it like this - doing stuff based on how the resale will turn out limits somewhat your enjoyment of the car. OK, so you lose some value, but if you love the car, and drive the car, who cares? If the next guy wants it Bahia Red, *he* can paint the damn thing!

[techweenie]

Agree with Eric

Many colors go in and out of style. Red is dead right now.

Slate seems never to go out of style.

[Matt Monson]

Paint it grey. Paint is temporary. If my car were its original polo red I likely would have passed on it. Ossi blue? It's a very pretty car. Ten years done the round I might consider the original color but for now the paint is good and it is a great color. Make the car yours.

I also bet painting it the color you want will make you less likely to sell it.

[christiandk]

Bahia......Hands down!

[wgwollet]

This has been talked about many times on here....

The fact is originally sells, do I like red, no...but I am not your buyer...understand red is not liked by the Porsche police or geeks....too common they say...but the wrong color will always hurt the car on value...so what you say? Then paint it any color you want....! Even Bronzit Brown..hee..hee

[blau911]

ChristianK is right. Stick to bahia red. It is a cool color. I consider it red with a touch of orange, as opposed to "blutorange", which is orange with a touch of red.
Taste in color is fickle. Case in point: I had a 67 s/r coupé years ago which was originally light ivory, and I repainted it irish green (a compromise because I really wanted to paint the car lime green which would have been completely wrong for a SWB car). After a few years of driving the car after repainting it, I started to really appreciate light ivory, which of course is a classic early 911 SWB color. That is when I realized that repainting the color had been a mistake, and that all colors look good on an early 911. All I did was go with my whim at the time, which seemed to change every few years. This fickleness with color can also be seen in the larger market. People used to make fun of sepia brown cars all the time, and many were repainted to guards red, black etc. in the 80's and 90's. Now look at how popular sepia has become! Some people are even willing to pay a premium for it. And look at how much more valuable an original sepia brown car is over a non original repaint.
Do yourself a favor. Stick with bahia red. As you toss and turn over what color is best, don't forget that we are all just custodians to these great cars which continue to skyrocket in value. My advice: keep it original and make it as nice as possible so that you can be proud of it, and the next generation of owners can appreciate it.
Here are a few pic's of my ex-71T bahia red car to help you consider.

[christiandk]

Wow....that is a pretty car, blau - Poster material! Are the pics shot in Germany?

[blau911]

Originally Posted by christiandk

Wow....that is a pretty car, blau - Poster material! Are the pics shot in Germany?

Yes. It was early morning outside Munich three summers ago. I managed to catch the light right at the perfect time. Unfortunately, the front passenger rubber seal between the bumper and fender had come unglued the day before, which I hadn't noticed before taking pic's. Otherwise, the last two pic's could have come out of a 1971 brochure. Oh well. Look long enough and you can find a flaw in anything.

[josborn10]

If I may offer my uneducated two cents; how rare and special is your car? If a color change impacts the price by, say, 5-10%, this is not a big deal if the car ends up being work $50k when you sell it. However, if marketplace stays even close to this pace and you don't sell for 15 years, we could be talking a great deal of money.

That said, in your shoes, I would paint it to your favorite color. Life is short. You would hate to be spun out in a ditch somewhere looking at your car resting on your chest and in your last breath say "what a sh)tty color."

J

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by josborn10

That said, in your shoes, I would paint it to your favorite color. Life is short. You would hate to be spun out in a ditch somewhere looking at your car resting on your chest and in your last breath say "what a sh)tty color."

J

That is one of the funniest things I've read on this forum.

[djb3]

Wayne from CCC repaints cars in non original colors all the time. As long as the color is period correct, and of excellent quality, you should do fine at resale. Regardless, when it comes time to sell, you will never know any better. The buyer will never say ... if you had repainted it red, I would have paid $5k more/less.

[classicboytoys]

One golden rule: always paint a car in the original color ! The car will have less value resprayed in a non original color then unsprayed ! And yes, 911 are not bought because they were resprayed in an other color. Sell it and get a car in the color you like.

[rocket534]

Thanks to all for your wisdom on this subject. Bahia Red is my favorite of the various early reds but Black, Brown, and Grey are the colors that always sing to me on cars that I love.
In July of 1970, I placed a special order for a Sepia 911T with tan leather. I was 24 and a highly paid high school teacher.. the contract for the T was just about $1000 over my annual salary. [I had just made some cash selling a rundown house I had remodeled].. A few days later I came to my senses and cancelled the order and bought a few more old houses to work on during the summers...If my present car had the tan interior it would already be painted Sepia.
Back in '70, my second choice was Slate Grey with Black inside..the dealer had an "S" in stock at the time and I could have had that for about $500 more in the color I still love. Alas, that extra 500 bucks put the cost over what I had.
I'm going for the color change, no matter what happens to the Porsche market, the difference in price I might take in several years won't be enough to change my life.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by rocket534

Thanks to all for your wisdom on this subject. Bahia Red is my favorite of the various early reds but Black, Brown, and Grey are the colors that always sing to me on cars that I love.
In July of 1970, I placed a special order for a Sepia 911T with tan leather. I was 24 and a highly paid high school teacher.. the contract for the T was just about $1000 over my annual salary. [I had just made some cash selling a rundown house I had remodeled].. A few days later I came to my senses and cancelled the order and bought a few more old houses to work on during the summers...If my present car had the tan interior it would already be painted Sepia.
Back in '70, my second choice was Slate Grey with Black inside..the dealer had an "S" in stock at the time and I could have had that for about $500 more in the color I still love. Alas, that extra 500 bucks put the cost over what I had.
I'm going for the color change, no matter what happens to the Porsche market, the difference in price I might take in several years won't be enough to change my life.

Following your heart always wins. Pleasure in life always trumps $$$ in my book.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

Following your heart always wins. Pleasure in life always trumps $$$ in my book.

^^^best words in this thread.