$20,000 911? Perspectives from a decade ago

Thanks............. I'll watch later on my big screen TV. The pricing has gone insane. 20 years ago I was buying 911SC targa's for $12k to $15k. Nice clean drivers. The same today are $50k.

 

I paid about $1500 for my old 356B Super 90 in 1974 . I'm going by memory, because it happened 48 years ago. Other than a bit of rust, she was a sweet car. The same car in the same condition in 2023?

 

I went to a large car show on Saturday that had just about everything and I was drawn to the 2.7 through 3.2 911’s that were there and I was thinking the same thing. Would love to get a sc or 3.2 but not at current prices.

 

I paid $17K for my 996 7 years ago. Ok...still isn't worth a whole lot more than that lol.

 

About 15 years ago, I went and saw a 1977 911 that had an ask of $8,500. Ran ok but had needs.

 

18 years ago I came very close to buying a 73.5 911T. Asking price was 8500, it was a driver condition car with good history. Someone had looked at it before me and they were waiting to see if they got a loan so the owner wanted to give them first right of refusal. I offered either 7500 or 7k I forget which and the owner told me if the first guy didn’t get the loan it was mine. The guy got the loan and paid the full 8500.

 

I own a 75 Targa, and for decades a 75 Targa was the absolute bottom of the 911 heap. I think it's been replaced by 99-2000 Cabriolet, but still near the bottom of the pecking order.

And actually, it is a great car and a lot of fun-- I drove it to work this morning!

However given the history of the thermal reactors and 5-blade fan, I do appreciate why they were not well regarded when newish.

 

2.7’s are fun cars. (Once they’re sorted).

A ‘75 was my first Porsche. Paid $3,500 in the early 80’s for it.

A rising tide lifts all boats.

 

A guy showed up at our locals cars n coffee meet this morning with a very nice 86 930. That was one that was always on my bucket list. I long for the days when they sold in the thirty thousandish dollar range.

 

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What really hurts is looking at long hood prices from 25 years ago. I have a bunch of back issues of the Early 911 S registry magazine and the classifieds in the back make me want to cry. In 1995, as a college student I bought a new Toyota Tercel, total strip job, no a/c or radio, etc., for $10,400…

I could have bought a 67 911s with a fresh motor for $2600 more. These ads are from 1997, random issue I picked up.

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If only one could go back in time and buy a barn full of them. The ad I posted was off a copy I randomly grabbed off the shelf, but man could I go through the stack and pick some real cherries from the classifieds.

I was talking to a guy at Lime Rock during the Labor Day show around a dozen years ago. We were standing next to a very ratty long hood S, don't recall the year, but it was a "fresh" barn find. The guy was telling me it was his friend's car, that he had lots of old 911s, and that all were in a similar state - totally original "right down to the mouse **** in the passenger footwell" I believe was the exact quote.

It's funny how ratty Ferraris are frowned upon at a concours, but ratty old Porsches exude their own cool.

 

Years ago I was talking to an older gent at a local Cars & Coffee as we were both admiring a very lovely "gullwing" 300SL. He told me that he had owned one "Back in the '60s. Before you were born". He had traded in his 250 SWB to get it, because his wife was sick of his "leaky, uncomfortable old race cars". I forget what the Gullwing was traded in on, but it was also fairly jaw-dropping. As we talked about some of the great cars he'd owned, he chuckled and said "I don't have the heart to tell my wife what those cars are worth today."