Just the other day Jesse and I were talking about a few of the cars we have had opportunities to buy over the years that we didn’t jump on. Some we are glad we passed on, but there are plenty we regret not buying. At the top of that list are several Porsches that could have been had for only a few thousand dollars. At the time it seemed like a lot, but Porsche prices have been on a steady climb. Now that 911s are out of the range of many enthusiasts, lesser models like the 914 are going up in value too. If you’ve always wanted an air cooled Porsche, you might want to get one before values go up any higher. This 1972 914 barn find can be found here on eBay in Houston, Texas with an $8,500 Buy-It-Now. Special thanks to Jim S for this tip!
I remember when a nice driver 911 could be had for $8,500, but those days are long gone. Now 914s are starting to creep into that price range, but hopefully will never grow to the values that 911s are fetching. I think the seller of this one is a bit over optimistic in their pricing, but if the car really only has 8k miles on it like they claim than it might be worth more than another 914 in similar condition. While it’s great to find a low mileage survivor, I’m not sure it’s worth paying a premium for unless the car is still in great condition.
The seller admits they don’t have any way to prove the mileage, other than belaying the story the previous owner told them. The story goes that the original owner purchased it for their daughter, who decided she didn’t like driving it. So it traded hands to a new owner that parked it and rarely drove. Eventually it made its way into the last owner’s hands, who had planned on getting it running again. Sadly life kept that from ever happening, so the car was parked in a barn and has rested there for the past 10 or so years. While I have no doubt this is what happened, the only evidence the seller has to prove mileage that is worth a closer look is its last State Inspection from ’83, which shows the mileage as being 7k. This doesn’t mean the car hasn’t done 101k miles over the past 30 years, but it seems unlikely.
This car may clean up nicely and look great, but it is going to need work. It’s hard to say exactly what was wrong with it when it was parked all those years ago, but one thing is certain, after all these years of neglect it is going to need all new hoses, lines, and gaskets. The seller’s price might not be too far off from what this car is worth, but they would do themselves a favor by cleaning it and taking some photos of the engine and underside. If Porsche prices keep going the way they have been, this could actually be a great buy for anyone willing to get a little greasy. I just wish I would have bought a 911 or two back when they were still affordable! So what cars have you passed on that you now regret not buying?
How naive would one have to be to believe this ?
In 1983 when supposedly the inspection was done at “7k miles”, the guy read the mileage off the 5-digit-odometer!! , that had gone around once (1972 to 1983 = 11 years at just under 10k miles per year).
Then the owners parked it as it became tired….
Now comes this guy and drags it out of it’s tomb and wants to make a killing on it.
ONLY on the internet, where everything you read is the “whole” truth,
No ?
Give me a break.
It’s a Volkswagen engine (although seller claims the car has 3 engines, see listing details!)
they’re done after 100 000 miles
…anybody paying more than $2k should throw his money on a roulette table. Far better chances at a higher return
1967 Porsche 911 with airport gears (whatever that means) for $3500. I still regret not buying it 35 years later.
Same with a 1960s Triumph Italia for $500. Same story too, by the time I got down to make the deal the seller had accepted another’s deposit. Only to have the seller call me a few days later telling me the buyer backed out and it’s back for sale again. In both cases, I had bought something else in the time it took the seller to call me back.
As an Italia owner who paid a lot more for his car than that in 1987, you have my sympathies :-)
This could be an 8,000 mile car but the line of numbers on the ODO has the up-down, not-in-line look of one that’s been turned back, so I would want the car to be close to perfect mechanically before I would accept the ultra-low miles claim, which is where a lot of the value of this car is.
The 1983 state inspection and those new looking 1980s pennies found in the car say the car was used for more than a decade. Maybe little-used, but it would need to have very clean oil and perfect compression numbers, for starters. The perished and dry-rotted hoses could be due to sitting out in the Texas sun, but the “car has corrosion”—-in Texas??
a lot of details don’t add up on this one.
I can tell an 8000 mile car even under a 20 year coat of dust and this “AIN’T IT”.
In the photo of the door jamb you can see (even with the blurry photo) that the car has been repainted!
Now, who would do that to a barely being driven low mileage car ??
.
…and where is the rear license plate ?,
the front plate is on the car.
Terrible photos, almost on purpose (?)
And, the front plate is beat to sh** while the front of the car shows no damage at all. The plate clearly came off a different car.
I’d say that’s a 108,500 mile car, not an 8,500 one. Nobody buys 914’s as garage queens today – they certainly didn’t back in 1972. As Dolphin says, the odometer digits don’t line up correctly. And look at the picture of the door jamb just before the picture of the Texas inspection: I get that the car’s been parked for 30 years in a barn in Houston and maybe because of the humidity some of the paint on the inner door skin stuck to the jamb over the years (although I’ve never seen that happen), but that seems like a hell of a lot of paint to peel off from that process alone. Looks to me as though that door’s been taken off its hinges carelessly – why would that have happened on such a low mileage car? It would be nice to see a shot of the pedals to see what shape they’re in – that usually provides some good clues.
Occam’s Razor, it was last used in 1983, so it had traveled 108,005 in 11 years.
This has red flags all over it! The door jamb shot has paint over the ID tag and the dust varies from pictures of the car? Just gives me a bad feeling like wanting to run…..
I just love these cars . . .BUT . .. like everybody else . ..these pictures are bad and it appears on purpose. All the sloppy paint in the jamb . .. extra emblems on the engine grille . .. stupid wheels . . . It just isn’t what it pretends to be. Sad . . .
I got offered a jag s type and a Jensen interceptor ff for £2000 each in the late 90’s and a mk1 triumph gt6 for £800. Would love that Jensen now!
Allow me to remind those at Barn Finds of their Marcel Proust: To Be A Cynic Is To Have A Heightened Sense Of Realty.
I don’t believe the whole story. But the car looks potential enough to want to consider it seriously. Get someone to look at the car and report. It’s worth the $300. you will spend to know what you are getting. And if you have a dealer or a very fine mechanic around you give him the three engines and make one pussycat out of them. The rest of the car looks like it will clean up. I have to say that the interior does not look like 108,000 Miles even though i agree that it’s probably the mileage. Try it at $1500. unless I’m all wet.
The Porsche I missed: A 1966 912 Fixed window Targa in Burgundy with a Black Interior for $6000. with 36,000 original miles, still being driven by its Doctor owner back and forth from home to his practice. Garaged, San Francisco, temperate climate missed it by one day.
What bugs me is people trying to pass off a classic car that was found in a field or in a barn etc trying to say it has less than 100k miles if the odometer says 27k, 50k, etc it has overlapped at least once in its life time.
I agree
It happens all the time, more often than not.
What are they thinking ? People did not drive their cars 20, 30 or 40 years ago ?
What bugs me most, is the fact that they really are insulting everybody’s intelligence.
My rule of thumb on 5 digit odometer:
anything under 50k has probably gone around once, the lower the figure the higher the chances.
Accordingly, in this particular case:
Chances are probably above 95%
Bottom line: they got parked because the engine or whatever was tired or else they wouldn’t be where and how……
A lot of low mileage cars out there be verified thru state and smog inspections.. I have loads of paper work backing up the 22 thousand mile 944 one owner car I purchased. Changing speedos out is easy too……..
Horse Radish,
I agree with everything (and those making similar comments) have said. More likely than not, this is a 108K car. That was my FIRST thought when I saw the mis-aligned odo-numbers.
But where does the ebay listing mention 3 engines? Another poster mentioned this as well, but I only see mention of a parts car. This is making me crazy (which some would say is “a short trip”–LOL). So please clarify, someone?
Thanks.
Part of this whole strange listing and description with lousy pictures.
Seller says he doesn’t know what engine is in there.
Why does he list under
Item specifics:
Engine: 1.7,1.8,2.0.
That to me means he has 3 engines.
Ohh, and the whole older P.O. who got it from that previous owner bologna…
see, you got me started again on this….
sellername:
Porscheman82,…says volumes too
Agree with all of the skeptic’s comments above. Funky odo (for sure flipped once), door jam paint, etc…
“Will need new harness”, as in wiring harness? Why? Eaten by rodents? Dunked? Nice dust job, but this car has been in the sun a lot. Why else the cracked up windshield seal?
Why would a seller have a parts car, yet not have the P-Car knowledge to figure out the engine size? Too many questions…. Wash the car, get a really good look at it, check the mechanicals, and only then decide whether to invest.
Repainted, oversprayed and with a color change. Awful tacked on side mouldings ruin it. Maybe 208k. Nicely rusted under the satin paint of the instrument panel. Priced to sit until it becomes a Barn Find again.
I have a short list of cars yet to purchase, but I have own most of what I wanted as a kid.
How about the cars I regret selling……….1971 911 match #’s “S” coupe for 15K and a matching #’s ’66 Mustang fastback four speed for 14K. All the rest are on my don’t miss.
Funny thing is, both cars I mentioned don’t handle all that well. I was just thinking of the profit I could have made. And this, is why I dig old Elans and Elan Plus 2’s the handling
The worst thing is the potato cam pictures I recall the interiors on these were pretty fragile so I am surprised at how decent this looks, although I suspect it is over 100k
Wheels are from Type 4 VW of which I have a ’71 motor (basket) & a ’72 Porsche 1.8L spares.
I don’t believe the 914 came with a 1.8 in 1972 my 1972 has a 1.7 and I’ve owned it since 1978 but am thinking about giving it up
My 67 Mustang convertible had only 39,000 miles when I bought it, and at least 3 resprays, a different engine and an interior so worn and out tired it yawned. lord knows how many times the speedo rolled over, or just wasn’t working (I actually fixed it, and everything else).
Looks like somebody might have bought the car off E-bay.
Last asking price was $6950 and he never answered a question about it being 108k miles……