jimbo409

I am thinking of buying a 1970 914 1.7 that has very little rust.hasnt been started in 1 and 1/2 years,the owner says it needs a fuel pump and battery and it will start, the owner wants 7500.00 for it. It has the original blue paint any thoughts is the car worth it or should I keep looking.thanks jimbo

bkrantz

If truly "very little rust" and the engine runs (and the interior is in reasonable shape, and all the mechanicals work) then it is probably a fair price. But finding the truth about rust can be difficult (and VERY expensive to fix).

ehokana

It has the potential to be a cool little car to play around with- or the potential to be a money pit. I worry whenever a seller says “all it needs is x.” “Ran when parked” is another gotcha phrase.

Regardless, take a look and keep your common sense with you. The tin worm is a terribly expensive and/or tome
consuming fix on these cars. Post a few pics!

Petza914

Check the hell hole. Pull the roof off and look at the tops of the door gaps. Carefully look at where the sail panels meet the rear fenders and all along the bottom on the sides, just above the rocker panels.

The 1.7 is the 2nd most desirable engine, with the 2.0 being the most (aside from the 6 cyl).

If a fuel pump and battery is truly all it needs,why wouldn't a seller do that and sell a running car for a lot more money than a non-running one?

A car that has sat that long is going to need to have the fuel tank drained, oil and brake fluid changed,possibly new tires,etc.

skl

Buy a 914 to enjoy it, not as any kind of investment. Any substantial rust fix will have you underwater pretty quickly. When I restored my '73 I knew I would be WAY underwater by the time I was done but I knew the car was staying in the family and would one day go to one of my boys. The sentimental value was priceless to me- same as my original owner (me) '71. Luckily I have two boys who inherited the car gene... both 914's will be in the family and running as long as we still have gas!!

bkrantz

Almost any restoration is not cost effective, from a pure dollar value perspective. In most cases, the best hope is breaking even--if much work is DIY.

A 914 with any significant rust sent to a bodyshop can easily run into thousands or even more than $10k without trying hard.

On the other hand, if you want to do the work as a form of fun or personal therapy (see my rebuild thread), and still have a few thousand to spend, then go for it.

dr914

keep in mind that it will cost 2500 to get it running after such storage, depend on it! If it has GOOD original paint and fuel injection that means that it has been kept well and has never been damaged. PROBABLY also has very little rust. Since the 70-72 models are the least valuable of all of the four cylinder models, I think that you would be safer at no more than 5000. Of course there are no pictures to show all of us!!!!

cairo94507

Not worth speculating without pictures. Please post pictures of the entire car for a good idea of what it is worth. I know, ran when parked, almost no rust, original mileage, etc.