Bruce Anderson
ESSES

The 911S is one of the tough cars for me to maintain realistic values for. I don’t get much readers feedback but what I do get tends to support my market values. The following reports are for 911S models and more or less support our market update values: I have just purchased a 1968 911S the purchase price was $8750. I bought a 1970 911S Targa I paid $9,800 1967 911S is asking $10,000, and it does not seem that he will move much. I have just purchased a 1968 911S. The purchased price was $8750. Am looking at a 1973 911 S red w/black interior (seats have a tartan like insert). Car has 80,000 miles and has been garaged and is in very good condition. Engine is 2.4 liter with A/C equipment removed. Is it worth the $12,000 asking price? I bought 1968 911S from the original owner. I paid $8,000 for the car and put another $3,000 into it. I am sure that there are cars that are worth more than my Excellent market values and even though we only print the Excellent, Good and Poor Categories and in the case of the late model cars only the Excellent and Good (which we call Low) categories of cars in Excellence magazine, I actually break the cars down into five categories, with one above and one below what we normally print in the magazine: BEYOND EXCELLENT: As the factory delivered it. Cars with no mileage, or very low mileage, no wear and everything works perfectly. Possibly a collector car or a show car. These cars are the cars that will pull the premium prices - more than market value. These are the cars whose values are determined by consenting adults behind closed doors often we never know what has happened or what those values are. Often these cars are part of a trade deal which even further confuses the issue. EXCELLENT: These cars must be at least 90% perfect in every detail, either original or restored to like new condition. Less than ten percent of the cars would fall into this category. Remember to keep an eye out for collision damage on these cars - these are the cars that will probably be most effected by diminution of value - they are not "excellent" if you can tell that they have been damaged. The amount that the value is diminished will depend on the age of the car. For instance the value of a relatively new car might be only reduced by 10%. Whereas it is possible that the value of a 1973 911S that has been repainted might be reduced by as much as 100%. The way that this would work would be that an Excellent1973 911S might be worth about $15,000, but an all original 911S of the same vintage that was in Beyond Excellent condition largely because of its originality might sell for as much as twice the value of the non original or restored car. So if you were forced to repaint the original example it would drastically reduce the cars value. GOOD: These cars should require little or no repair - mid value ready to drive or average value for resale. May show some wear associated with normal use. This is what would be considered a "clean" car or a "driver". FAIR: (We call these cars POOR in our Market Updates in Excellence magazine). These cars may require paint, Upholstery or minor repairs, but must be basically sound and complete examples. Estimated restoration cost plus the purchase price should not exceed Excellent condition value, this is of course true in any of these categories. POOR: A parts car of salvageable project car. Rough or rusted cars. The estimated repair or restoration costs at today's prices for these cars will probably exceed the "Excellent" value so these cars are probably not worth owning or the cost of purchase - be careful. You should probably only buy one of these cars if you have a purpose for them as they cannot be considered an investment by any stretch of the imagination. I have had one report on a car that was beyond excellent where the seller took me to task for my values. He had recently sold his 911S for $29,000. What he didn’t say is that he just spent $45,000 restoring his 911S so that he could sell it for $29,000. These cars are obviously exceptions to the norm. I talked to one other fellow who had paid $33,000 for a 911S but didn’t want me to use the car in the readers reports. And I have had no other reports that are above the market values that use in the magazine. If you guys want me to use different values you will have to report your sales and purchase. I have had a couple of friends that were trying to sell some pretty nice 911Ss where were trying to sell them $16,000 to $17,000 and they could not sell them. As I have said any information that I have on these cars support my values. A good example of a Beyond Excellent car would be an all original 1969 911S that I saw at this years Parade in Sacramento. This car is a beautiful example and could well be worth double what an Excellent car is worth because of its perfect, or nearly perfect all original condition.