Why aren't 914's worth more $$$? Options

[74porsche914]

Just been wondering why 914's aren't worth more moolah. In my opinion there a lot more practical then british sport cars and other sports cars from the period. Is it because there always in the shadow of the 911? Really I'm grateful there affordable or I would not own one!

[74porsche914]

Not planin on selling mine so price really doesn't matter. Just curious.

[scotty b]

mass produced, poorly maintained, costly to restore when compared to finished value.

[porschefile2010]

Interesting question. I think their day will come but right now the collectors are into the 356's. When that supply dries up at sensible money I think attention will turn to 914's although there will always be the VW hangup which will ensure they never get to 356 status unless it's a 914/6. Like you say though. Cheap fun as long as you can do a lot of the work yourself.

[timofly]

mass produced, poorly maintained, costly to restore when compared to finished value.

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[billh1963]

mass produced, poorly maintained, costly to restore when compared to finished value.

Ouch....but true.

[c12croft]

Just been wondering why 914's aren't worth more moolah. In my opinion there a lot more practical then british sport cars and other sports cars from the period. Is it because there always in the shadow of the 911? Really I'm grateful there affordable or I would not own one!

My 2 cents:
- Off design profile for a Porsche or even a car of that era ("oh that boxy one?")
- Sparten interior
- VW parts interchange
- Low first cost

[MikeSpraggi]

That is a good question. For me, I went into this not caring about if or when they appreciate. It was very affordable fun, and still is. Not planning on selling mine, but I agree the VW stigma may always hold the value down compared to what 914 enthusiasts think it should be. Also, they were mass produced as an entry level car with "anemic performance" I believe it was said in a car magazine's review.

I had parked my teener in front of the door to one of the rest stops on I-95 between DC and New York. Two late twenty early thirtyish guys were coming out of the door and saw my car. One says to the other "That's Volkswagen's idea of what a Porsche should be". There's the stigma, after all of these years! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[larryM]

same question comes up regularly on the British forums too

1. see answer above - mass produced etc

- maybe our great grandkids will cash in on the thing if we pass it along wrapped in visqueen

2. the 914 cars appeal mostly to a demographic that is gettin' on in age, and never had much moola to spend on hobby cars and still doesn't - if we'd had the money, we'd had a 911

914s were never really "highly sought after" when new

- they are tedious to work on, were made before rust-proofing was important, and were comparative slugs in the road test comparisons of the day against similarly priced sportscars - "adequate" is the best that most magazines could say

- the VW stigma is mostly a shibboleth we've perpetuated in our own circles to cover up the uninspired acceptance of the 914 since its debut - the PCA 911 crowd still mostly looks askance at us, but that's only an in-Porsche-house artifact irrelevant to the larger sportscar market of comparative alternatives

3. a modern sportscar - Miata for example - runs circles around 'em in every measureable way - parts are cheap & everywhere - just like they were for 914s & MGs 15-20 yrs ago, - $2500 miatas have A/C & heat that works, no oily smells, a top you can manipulate from the driver seat, 25-30 mpg on regular, 25-50% more horsepower - etc etc -

AND the girlfriend or wife will agree to ride and BE SEEN in it,

- cheap newer used sportscars, & ricer coupes, appeal to the younger demographic that is just coming into hobby money, - and also to the daily commuter & college kid population that wants a combo of open-air fun and reliable utility - and they are welcome at friday nite drifting events - no entry fees - lots of FUN FUN FUN

- and cheap newer used sportscars are attractive to old guys like me who just want all above "daily driving fun" and no hassles - take a look at the average Miata Club owner and weekend tourer with the wife in the passenger seat - gray hair & retired - auto maintenance means writing a $35 check at the SpeedyLube once every 10,000 miles and passing smog every 2 yrs

- yes, most of us old grays in Miatas could afford to own several 914s, 240Zs, MGs or Alfas instead of one Miata or MR2 or Honda - - but why?

(ah, maybe I know the answer - we gotta have several 914s & MGs just to have one that will run on the day we want to use it)

DISCLOSURE - I own a 914/6-GT since 1976, a 99 Miata, a 63 MGB racer/street legal, a Manx and 2 Hondas - I have owned at least 10 914s and as many MGs, 3 XK Jaguars, several Triumphs, 3 911s, and a host of other sometimes drivable sportscars

most days i grab the Miata keys



- .

[struckn]

That is a good question. For me, I went into this not caring about if or when they appreciate. It was very affordable fun, and still is. Not planning on selling mine, but I agree the VW stigma may always hold the value down compared to what 914 enthusiasts think it should be. Also, they were mass produced as an entry level car with "anemic performance" I believe it was said in a car magazine's review.

I had parked my teener in front of the door to one of the rest stops on I-95 between DC and New York. Two late twenty early thirtyish guys were coming out of the door and saw my car. One says to the other "That's Volkswagen's idea of what a Porsche should be". There's the stigma, after all of these years! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

I think that if you compair the resale cost difference between a 914-4 verses a 914-6 the VW Stigma appears to be directed more towards the flat 4 engine then the car it's self. Personally I don't care I'm having too much fun just driving mine to worry about what it's worth.
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[rick 918-S]

Many of these cars are driver quality. They are nice but used. Many of the cars we see in our classifieds are nice maintained drivers. The top quality cars with nicer than average paint, clean, clean interiors and solid no rust cars (maybe had surface rust that was properly repaired) are commanding good prices. The 6's will always from here on bring top dollar but I think the cream of the crop 4's are doing well. If you want to sell any car for top dollar you need to make it stand out from the rest.

[dgw]

" the PCA 911 crowd still mostly looks askance at us"

This is bullshit and its time for folks on this forum to put this one in the dustbin.

[Prospectfarms]

I think that if you compair the resale cost difference between a 914-4 verses a 914-6 the VW Stigma appears to be directed more towards the flat 4 engine then the car it's self....
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[RickS]

Perceived as an entry level car, with a bunch of cheap VW parts, lacking power compared to the 911s, a totally spartan interior, and shaped pretty much like a fridge which fell over and mass produced. Did I miss anything?

[carr914]

Some Good Points

Remember the OP mentioned British Cars. MGs & TRs got abused, were poorly maintained etc as well.

I have to mostly agree with Rick about most 914s if restored are done to "Driver" level, which while a good buy, is not the "Concours" Money Level. Even then 914 Concours cars are not following the big upward path - yet?( did you see the results on the 911s @ Goodings)

[Prospectfarms]

Hang on. Some of those reasons sounds like "begging the question" to me. Wouldn't the quality of restorations be a result of the market price, i.e., the relatively low return on the investment, and not the other way around?

Aesthetics and performance is another dubious reason: Some are old enough to remember when 356 was a "bathtub" porsche. (also underpowered). It took a convergence of factors over quite a few years for those cars to become so desirable. Most importantly, I think, were age, No. produced, and James Dean.

I'd like to compare apples with apples. MG comes to mind, and cars like the once ubiquitous MGB, etc. I don't follow that kind of thing closely but it seems to me that if the prices of "british midlands group" sports cars from the 1970's have exceeded 914 it is only fairly recently. Many of these cars were so poorly designed and built (in my opinion, no offense, please) that their survival ratio might be pretty low -- thus scarce.

[rick 918-S]

I have never made a dime on a brit car. My experience with them is the owners don't value them. I mean they seem to sell nice cars cheap because they have to or no one would buy them. I had a Cali rust free 59 MGA with a fresh interior, nice paint and trim and a fresh bored out 5 main engine. I had no interest when selling that car above
$ 8000.00. Sad.. Same with Beetles. I have one of the most solid 66 Bugs from Cali I have ever seen. I know the history. I painted the car for the P.O. 16 years ago. Tried to sell it, no interest at $ 6000.00. There are too many patch up rust buckets that look good on the surface selling cheap.

There is no money to be made restoring cars and selling them in this market. If your doing it, do it because you like to not as an investment. Just have fun with it. The market will come around in time.

[Prospectfarms]

I have never made a dime on a brit car. My experience with them is the owners don't value them. I mean they seem to sell nice cars cheap because they have to or no one would buy them. I had a Cali rust free 59 MGA with a fresh interior, nice paint and trim and a fresh bored out 5 main engine. I had no interest when selling that car above
$ 8000.00. Sad.. Same with Beetles. I have one of the most solid 66 Bugs from Cali I have ever seen. I know the history. I painted the car for the P.O. 16 years ago. Tried to sell it, no interest at $ 6000.00. There are too many patch up rust buckets that look good on the surface selling cheap.

There is no money to be made restoring cars and selling them in this market. If your doing it, do it because you like to not as an investment. Just have fun with it. The market will come around in time.

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Similar experiences and I agree with your conclusions, possibly excepting a special model that you luck into buying below market. That's true for anything though.

What I think we're saying is that 914 is not particularly underpriced given its original value, No. produced, and vintage. Yes?

[J P Stein]

I concur with the $2500 Miata bit. If I ever buy/build another 2 seater that is gonna be it......why? CHEEP PARTS, a decent engine/trans and a rust resistant no slop chassis.

[Germancar-Junkie]

IMHO we are living in the "Barrett Jackson" era. It is rare to find any vehicle that was actually driven that is worth a fraction of the climate-controlled garage-kept specimens. Teeners are at a significant disadvantage considering their mixed heritage and rust prone components.

In all honesty, how many people do you know that have ever gotten ALL their money back out of a restoration? Buy high, sell low is my motto. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I would much rather drive my pieces of (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stromberg.gif) and have a blast than to dust it off every Sunday only to turn out the garage light and wave goodbye to it until the next Sunday. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)