How to value vintage 912

[dennisdesouza]

I know this is not a 912 forum but from experience this crew is the most knowledgeable there is!

Looking at an original one owner 66' 912 in perfect condition with 70,000 miles. The owner is ready to sell but eldrely and not sure what price to sell it to me for. I want to be very fair and give her what the car is worth. Are there any guides or lists that I can send her? Also any ballparks as to what it is worth?

The car had a complete engine rebuild last year about 3,000 miles ago...

Thanks Everyone..

[hoffman912]

best bet is to go to 912bbs.org.

there really arent any guides other than the PML.. even then i dont know how accurate that is these days. excellence is usually way off.

value depends on so many factors. how original is it? not necessarly paint, but everything else in it.. all the right bits, air cleaners, solex carbs vs webbers, original seats, steering wheel etc.. all the details. original paint color can boost value.

how solid is it? how much rust? condition of interior and exterior, and trim etc...

who did the rebuild? complete rebuild (bearings etc) or just pistons and cyls? need pics and more details. what is perfect to your eye might not be anywhere close to perfect to my or any other 912 owners eye..

values for perfect.. and i mean absolutely perfect can go north of 40 to 50 (we are talking museum quality). excellent can go for 30. good sold car in original shape, a few flaws, but other wise really good go in the 20s. drivers that are a little rougher can go in the teens. really rough less than 7.

value can be all over the place.. too hard to tell with out seeing pics or knowing more.

[michel]

perhaps also post some pics...get a PPI from a reputable specialist. ditto for Mr Hoffmans comments

[Tom F.]

I also believe that Harry has it right. Have the car checked before you settle on the price.

[jesseandersson]

Agree with Harry!

I personally consider RUST the main party pooper. Go through the car with a magnet and check pan (pedal area), sills, torsion house area, back seats and tank support, there will be some amount, the question is how much.

Also, value adding (Risk minimizing) stuff like

COA (Certificate of Autencity)?
Matching numbers?
Rebuild receipts (Which shop/guy did it and what did they/he do)
Service receipts?
Driving journals?
Original purchase invoice?
Tool kit?
Original stereo?

[hoffman912]

PPI is a MUST, but mechanics might not know value.. thats a key thing to keep in mind. they might not know what a 912 goes for or how markets go up or down.

Where are you located? i still recommend making contacts on the 912bbs to see if anyone is local, but if not, let me know and I can give you contact info for someone local to you to help check it out.

jesse is 110% correct on rust. lift up the rear seat bottoms and look at the metal.. peel back the horse hair (if there is any that could be very bad, or very good, depending on if water got in there and soaked into it and rusted it out ) peel back the horse hair sound deadening and look at the metal.. is it rusy? is it solid? scrape it with a screw driver (with out the owner looking).. get a feel for if its solid or not.

[dennisdesouza]

Thanks guys for all the help. I am in San Diego and the car is located in Daytona Beach. Owner picked the car up from the factory and is the original owner. Not sure if matching #'s or rust as of yet. No PPI has been done. Any suggestions for a good shop in the Daytona area? It would be a case that I would have to fly down and handle much of this myself as the owner is elderly and probably not willing to drive distance and wait. No luck finding a longnose that is origianl and within budget and the 912 has it's own nice features as well. From what I am gathering by the price charts (which I know are not 100% accurate) is that $20,000 range would be for a perfect car with no rust and very original.

Any help would be appreciated...

[hoffman912]

$20K would be a STEAL for a perfect car. above average cars go for 20s. think higher. 30's most likely for an excellent car. again if its museum quality even higher (40s.. 50s.. 60s? museum quality is absolutely perfect 100 pt concourse car, 1 in a million that you would pay the premium for). visit 912bbs.org, there are members in florida who could probably help. email winkaslink@yahoo.com -his name is Bryan, and he is in Tampa. He is really knowledgeable and may be able to help

[curtisaa]

I know this is not a 912 forum but from experience this crew is the most knowledgeable there is!

Looking at an original one owner 66' 912 in perfect condition with 70,000 miles. The owner is ready to sell but eldrely and not sure what price to sell it to me for. I want to be very fair and give her what the car is worth. Are there any guides or lists that I can send her? Also any ballparks as to what it is worth?

The car had a complete engine rebuild last year about 3,000 miles ago...

Thanks Everyone..

I would respectfully disagree with many of the comments here. Taking the car to a mechanic for a PPI after it was rebuilt 3000 miles ago is a waste of $$ and time . If this car looks good to your eye just make your best offer minus $3000 and see what look you get back from the owner. Based on your simple discription offer the guy $11,000 and see what he says. If he says , "show me the $$ " then you did well. By the time you do all this calling and checking, you'll have 10 different opinions and guess what ??? the owner will sell the car to someone that can just look and hand-over the $$.

Figure the paint will/could need some work...that's fine. The interior is very simple, so it should still be in good shape. If the seats need a little help, that's an inexpensive fix. Just look under the front end and look at the suspension pick-ups and under the torsion area. Also, just lift open the front hood and look on the right side where the battery is. If its a little gold looking then its OK. Poke around a little ( without upsetting the owner) with a small screw driver and see if the area is crusty and seems as if you could poke a hole thru the metal. Other than that most of the other small issues can be addressed.

Good luck on your purchase

[hoffman912]

PPI looks at more than just the engine rebuild. rust, suspension, steering, gear box.. all areas of the car. besides, the word rebuild doesnt mean squat. was it rebuilt by a hack or someone who knows what they are doing?