OK, it’s just a Porsche 914, which for a lot of people is nothing special. But because 914’s were not given much respect by the Porsche community, they are much less expensive than many of the piles of rusty “true” Porsches that seem to be worth a small fortunes these days.
The seller of this semi-hidden beauty thinks it is a ’74 model year car, but is not sure. It’s for sale on here on craigslist in Stratford, Connecticut with an asking price of only $2,500. He is hoping to get the title within a couple weeks, and can then be certain of what he has, so it seems he may have jumped the gun a bit advertising the car now.
The seller says the paint is not original. The floors need welding or patching. The engine and trans are said to be “okay aside from the leaks” though one must wonder how the seller knows this as the car seems not to have moved for some time, and it would be nice to know which engine you are getting, and also if it is original to the car. As the seller says, this “is pretty much a full restoration project.” The underside does not look as bad as I thought it would, and if the mechanicals are at all decent, and you could negotiate a reasonable price for this car, it might be worth a look.
I know that many of you still don’t believe this, but in Connecticut, titles for older cars are not required and registering a pre-title car purchased here in a new state is not as difficult as you might think. So what will happen to this car? It looks to me like a good basis for a driver. I owned a ’74 914 back in the day and it was a lot of fun to drive. I would not mind at all having another, but I am not in the market for a car that needs a ton of work. Someone out there might get a good deal on this one, it seems. Any takers out there?
I just cannot comprehend a state that doesn’t issue a title for an older vehicle. How does one prove ownership?
I guess we are just used to it here – as well as extremely long wait times to do anything at DMV offices.
This is what Connecticut’s DMV says on its website:
The State of Connecticut no longer requires title certificates for vehicles that are older than 20 model years. In order for you to register the vehicle, you must have a Supplemental Assignment of Ownership (form Q-1) and a copy of the last registration certificate. You must show continuity of ownership from the last registered owner to you.
Of course some older cars here do have titles, and Connecticut will issue a title if you specifically ask for one when you register your older car.
Presumably every other state’s motor vehicle department is familiar with Connecticut and all the other states that do not issue titles for older cars. If you live in a state that still requires titles, it probably just means you have to call or visit your local motor vehicle department office to find out what paperwork is needed to register an out of state non-title car before you go buy it.
What the Connecticut DMV says should be enough – make sure you can “show continuity of ownership from the last registered owner to you.”
New Hampshire is the same. I think it’s any vehicle 15 years or older does not need a title. The registration is the proof of ownership. I wish Nevada was the same!
In New York any vehicle before 1973 has no title. The registration is your title. To sell a pre title car you sign the back of the registration & provide a bill of sale.
I do understand that some states do that, it just seems to me that such a system would be incredibly easy to defraud.
I can see the gauge cluster through the back window…where is the steering wheel ?
on the ‘underneath’ photo you can see the whole rear right corner floor board peeling and falling down and daylight coming through.
My guess is that the seats are missing too.
True story. A buddy of mine, Tim, who lives in FL, sold a 2002 Z/28 Camaro around 3 years ago. He left the title open. Fast forward to a month ago and he sees a 2002 Z/ 28 Camaro advertised on CL that’s about 15 miles from where he lived and decided to go look at it. Tim gets to the guy’s house and saw some things that led him to believe it was his old car. The car was the same color and it had some of the same little perfections that his old Camaro Z/28 had. Tim asked the seller how long he’d had the car and the guy told him about a year, that he had purchased from another fella who had the car for about 2 years. He asked the seller if he had a clear title and the seller said he had an open FL title. My buddy asked to see it and when he looks at the title he sees that it is “his” old open title. So my friend decides to have a little fun and informed the seller in a serious tone of voice “Sir, I legally own this Camaro in the state of FL”. He said the guy looked at him totally bewildered and then Tim showed him his FL Driver’s license where the name and address were the same. Tim said the seller did not know what to say and by then looked a little pale. He assured the guy that he fully intended to work out a deal on the Camaro and they reached an agreement and Tim loaded the Camaro up and brought it home.
Although the pic of the underside didn’t look bad, the comment about welding or repairing the floor would concern me. I’ve seen more than one 914 broken in half between the seats and the engine due to floor pan rust.
A mural on the hood? OM effing G!! Cheesy…
I live in NY , I bought a 1939 Buick Special from a fellow ,no title ,no registration, nothing except a handwritten bill of sale. He assured me l would have no trouble registering the car ,he was right. I submitted the bill of sale,a rubbing of the vin number plate (in my case a tag on the frame) a special form , and they issued a non-transferable registration for the car . About 6-7 months later after they checked everything out,and made sure it wasn’t stolen or vin number already used etc., I got a transferable registration in the mail
“The underside does not look as bad as I thought it would…”
With all the sunshine through the driver’s side floor I think it is bad. Also the car is from Connecticut.
My 74 914 is from PA and the longs were rusted beyond repair.
Save the Porsche!
I love it. The best pic the seller can produce is a car surrounded by overgrowth. This isn’t a barn find so much as a weed find, lol.