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Is It Worth $125k? 1973 Porsche 911S

1973 Porsche 911S

I know Porsche 911 prices are off the chart these days, but I’m struggling to believe this 911S barn find is really worth $125,000! Price guides are showing top shelf examples fetching $260k or more, so maybe they aren’t as far off as I thought. I get that air cooled Porsches are in demand right now, but are they really worth this kind of money? I’ll let you guys debate that topic, but let’s take a closer look at this one. It isn’t running and needs work, but it’s surprisingly solid for having been parked for 20 years. It’s located in Australia, so be sure to take shipping into account when you make an offer! Hey, if your going to spend that kind of money on a project, the least they can do is throw in shipping. You can find it here on eBay in Kingswood, Australia.

1973 Porsche 911S Interior

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was looking at relatively low mileage ’70s 911s and thinking $10k was way too much to spend on a high performance Volkswagen. Don’t get me wrong, they are so much better than a Beetle, I just can’t help but think of the cheap little Bug every time I see an older 911. They really are superb cars to drive.

1973 Porsche 911S Engine

One of the reasons this one is so valuable is that it’s an S, which means its 2.4 liter boxer 6 is good for 190 horsepower. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but was a decent amount of power a 2,200 pound car with the engine hanging out back. It’s definitely enough power to get yourself into trouble with, but that’s the thrill of driving a rear engine sports car.

1973 Porsche 911S On Truck

So what do you think is driving the values of these cars? Is it purely a market fad that will die off or is value being driven by rarity and how good of cars they are? I know we’ve talked a lot about the P-Car bubble before, but I’m curious to see why you guys think these have gone up so much in value recently and if you think prices will ever drop back down!

Comments

  1. Avatar Dave Member

    Wow I think this is the closest repeat post of the same car, it’s on the top and the bottom of the same page lol

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jesse Staff

      Oops, thanks for catching that Dave. Guess the guys thought it was good enough to feature twice!

      Like 0
  2. Avatar wuzjeepnowsaab

    This is a big money car. And makes me kick myself 1000000 times because I had a 67 911 that I sold for … drumroll … $5000 in 1991

    Cue the groans

    Like 0
    • Avatar racer417

      Well, we all have those stories! I wont tell you about the price of the 275 GTB Ferrari I passed on in 1977….

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      • Avatar Dan h

        Yep! About 6 years ago, I passed on a chance to get a solid 356 for under $10k.
        Around the same time, a client of mine sold his ’61 Ferrari 250 California Spyder for $4mil. He is also kicking himself.
        So really, we’re all kicking ourselves!! Ha!

        Like 0
      • Avatar hhaleblian

        Or the 275 GTB I sold for $185k. At least it wasn’t a GTO

        Like 0
  3. Avatar Slim Chance

    LHD Sportomatic in Australia. Good luck!

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Aaron

    The pictures look like Japan. Is this really Australia?

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    • Avatar rusty

      Australia yeah..

      Aaron didnt you know the famous tourist slogan for our northern state of Queensland during the 80’s was “Beautiful one day perfect the next”

      it was often misconstrued to read “Queensland, beautiful one day, japanese next!”

      Still if people are pushed that crocodile crap of “Throw a Shrimp on the barbie” then they will believe anything when it comes to “Down Under”

      Who here would call a A Prawn a Shrimp…hee hee
      a shrimp thats a bloody Sea Monkey here. Boy could never get mine to grow as a kid…hee hee.

      Aaron probably just another import I guess, probably of recent times as a heap of stuff came in when our dollar once exceeded yours and people went on an importing frenzy.

      Like 0
      • Avatar rusty

        definately of recent times because the japanese vehicles in the back ground [in japan] are consistant with vehicles available in recent times not 20 years ago when car was stored…

        now we are broke again with crap dollar [about back to the old days] selling here now, overseas is actually beneficial as its cheaper for overseas buyers to buy here with our low dollar but we still think our return is good because our dollar amount looks good to us even if its only 3/4 of the US dollar…I can see a lot of recent imports going back .

        Like 0
  5. Avatar Ken Nelson Member

    I don’t care what they’re selling for – it’s still only a CAR. Anyone who spends that sort of green for it has more $ than brains.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar hhaleblian

    Goofy listing. Don’t think Porsche made a sporto S. Could be wrong

    Like 0
  7. Avatar hhaleblian

    Thank you for the road kill ad. Gives me reason to live another day.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Dolphin Member

    Yes it’s the same car from yesterday. It was sold originally in Germany, so is LHD, but is now in Australia. The Japanese surroundings in some of the photos suggest it was sourced from Japan and brought to Australia. Old cars are very highly taxed in Japan, and also subject to very strict fitness inspections that make keeping them on the road incredibly difficult and expensive, and that might have had something to do with the sale out of Japan.

    Yes it came with the Sportomatic transmission per the COA. If you ordered it that way Porsche would sell it to you that way, even the S model. It looks like it has optional Sport seats, plus a lot of other options per the COA, including AC, which must make it one of the rarest 911S builds.

    And yes it’s too expensive, but vintage cars, especially sports cars from firms with a great racing heritage, have a lot of extra “value” to some people, especially in the First World where relatively few people have most of the money and can blow it on stuff they want but don’t really need, like old sports cars.

    I agree with a recent commentator in SCM magazine who referred to Jerry Seinfeld’s purchase of an original Porsche 356 Speedster that had lots of wear and tear, faded paint, body rust, etc, for about half a million bucks. The comment was that some purchases, perhaps like the Seinfeld Speedser, amount to “I can pay, therefore I am”.

    I think that comment applies to a lot of very high price purchases of vintage cars over the years.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Chris In Australia

    I’d rather buy a Kingswood from a suburb named Porsche.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar sylv

    so what is the story ??? it is TWICE advertise on Barn Finds ????

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jesse Staff

      Yes, we already mentioned that it was accidentally featured twice.

      Like 0
      • Avatar sylv

        accidentally OK that happens but why change the title then and in addition that listing leaves a lot of questions unanswered so more than “is it worth $125” I would ask “is it worth to advertise it” on BF ?

        Like 0
  11. Avatar sylv

    For me the CoA is a fake

    Like 0
    • Avatar Dolphin Member

      sylv, for what it’s worth, because I am not a Porsche expert, the COA for this car looks just like all the other COAs for vintage Porsches that have appeared in Ebay and other sales listings (except for the specifics of course). And the Sportomatic, A/C, sport seats, etc match on both the COA and the car.

      Like 0
      • Avatar sylv

        Dolphin, do you think I made that post just like that ? I have ordered several CoA in the past fews years for friend’s cars and for my own too and it never look like that one. just one detail for example (over severals on the document) the optional equipments are always listed on two columns and not like that as a list one after the other, you want more : white rectangular fog light below bumper look more like a description instead of a factory option reference… not mentioning the fonts of the documents that seems strange etc … it’s my opinion I may be wrong but just compare it to a genuine one and you will understand immediately what I am talking about. I never said the options listed are not present on the car.
        about Sportomatic on those model there was always the sign sportomatic on the engine decklid (upper part of it), here it does not seem to be there…

        Like 0
      • Avatar Dolphin Member

        This might surprise you sylv, but I am not a mind reader and have no way of knowing what you do or do not know about Porsche COAs or what your experience with them has been. Normally people will add some information about why they make a statement like you did—the kind of information you added just above. That kind of added information can help on a discussion group like Barn Finds.

        Unlike you I have not ordered Porsche COAs. I have just seen them in sales listings, which led me to say what I did, and I am sorry that it annoyed you so much.

        But here is some information that suggests that Porsche COAs can vary quite a bit. The person describes a lot of possible variability with Porsche COAs. It even describes the fact that the person requesting the COA can influence how a Porsche COA is formatted. It also describes errors that can creep into official Porsche COAs.
        http://www.planet-9.com/981-chat/115642-what-porsche-certificate-authenticity-2.html

        Here’s another discussion that talks about how official Porsche COAs can vary in format.
        http://forum.porsche356registry.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17032

        I hope this helps. I imagine that more discussions like these can also be found on the web.

        BTW, it was not me who gave you the thumbs down.I prefer giving thumbs up.

        Like 0
  12. Avatar Alex W

    $125,000 seems really expensive for a pre-restoration vehicle. Then factor in the sportomatic transmission which, IMO, is not a desirable feature. How much additional $$$ would a person have to spend to get this thing into pristine, tip-top shape?

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Horse Radish

    Yes , as above.
    Another restoration project seller who wants the profit up front, but leave the work and the gamble up to the next guy……

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Mark P

    These may be the Beanie Babies of the car world. Some of those foolish things were trading for 1000’s during their fad and now you can’t get a nickel for them. My parents bought a house in 1960 for 10K, sold it in ’74 for 18K, those people sold it in ’98 for 495K and now it’s valued at around 189K. Cars are worse.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar DaveT

    I’ll chime in, 2003 passed on a light metallic blue 930 with gold BBS wheels for $26K and got a house instead. Sold the house in 2013 for $7K less than I owed on it.
    Let me tell you about the IH Scout II I sold for $3500… Or the F-100 I sold for $1800…
    I make poor decisions on a regular basis

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Woodie Man

    I recently sold my mostly original 3 owner Cali ’70 911 sunroof with a/c, original engine and tranny and good enough looking and running to pass as a#3 for somewhere south of half the asking price on this “dog”. Maybe the seller meant 125 Aus which would stil be way more than mine sold for. Throw in the Sportomatic and I dont see the point. The world has gone beserk.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Bobby D

    One word…”ridiculous”

    Like 0

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