More than 15 years ago, I thought I was going to buy an air-cooled 911 when I grew up. After all, impact bumper cars were still priced below $20,000 for decent examples, and this weird rear-engined German upside-down bathtub was really just an old sports car. Then things went nuts, with wild valuations and a whole market of seven-figure restomods to support Porsche-mania. For the past decade or so, the air-cooled market has been running red-hot, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down. A 1969 Porsche 912 project just sold for $35,403 on Bring A Trailer, some $1,023 more than a new Subaru BRZ. Wilder still, it’s been in a crash and not fixed yet, and crash repairs on a 912 aren’t exactly cheap.
In case you aren’t familiar with the 912, think of it as the 911’s little brother, first made to fill a void that existed after the discontinuation of the 356. Instead of a flat-six hanging beyond the rear axle, it got the 1.6-liter Type 616 flat-four from the 356, pushing out a modest 102 horsepower or so but efficient enough to make this sports car get 30 MPG in testing. It might look just like a 911, but don’t expect it to set your hair on fire in a straight line.
As you can see from the photos, the front right and rear right corners are both crunched in, the sort of damage that will be seriously expensive to fix. As the listing states, “The car was involved in an accident approximately eight years ago, and it was subsequently parked until it was acquired by the selling dealer in 2025,” and what a collision it must’ve been. Although the passenger cell appears mercifully intact, clipping two corners on the same side while leaving the door unharmed is a bit of a head-scratcher. Still, let’s dive a little bit into potential repair costs, because I’m sure you’re curious.
Let’s start with the front, because although it should be the easy corner to repair, it still isn’t going to be cheap. Thankfully, the inside of the frunk tub looks okay, but the some of the parts that obviously need replacing cost a pretty penny. A new reproduction front right fender from Dansk will run you $1,948.50 from Pelican Parts. A new headlight trim ring will run you $139, the plastic trim ring insert costs $33.18, and a new H6204 seven-inch sealed beam headlight will run you around $20 as an aftermarket part. But wait, there’s more!
The front bumper is all kinds of warped, and the cheapest new replacement I could find lists for $948.69 from Sierra Madre Collection. Oh, and then there’s the right turn signal assembly with the lens, which will run you $680.05, the horn grille, which will run you another $115 for a metal part, and the bumper trim, which goes for $243.26. Finally, the listing states that the front right tie rod is bent, so figure another $58 or so for an inner and outer tie rod. Without taking fasteners, other potential hidden damage, paint, or fitting into account, that’s more than $4,100 in parts just to fix one corner.
As for the rear corner, that’s where things can get really pricey. Even in the best-case scenario, this isn’t a bolt-on affair. That quarter-panel is welded into the structure of the vehicle, and while a reproduction panel lists for $1,815.67 through Sierra Madre Collection, the labor bill alone will run well into the four-figure range to do things properly, and that’s before we account for the taillight and bent rear bumper.
Even assuming that $15,000 or more gets sunk into collision repairs, this particular 912 has some other imperfections that need addressing. For one, there’s a rust hole underneath, along with some scaly corrosion on the underside of the trunk floor. The tires are ancient, the left door is bubbling, and there’s likely some mechanical recommissioning that needs to happen before this thing can confidently hit the road. It definitely runs and drives and has had its fuel system flushed and oil changed, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to flush the brake fluid, go over the ignition system, and just give the thing a good once-over.
Considering decent driver-condition long-hood 912 examples have sold for less than $50,000 in the past year, the margins for a project like this making financial sense are quite slim. Plus, if you’re not attached to the early bumpers, you could easily get into an impact-bumper 911 for what it would cost to purchase this 912 and set it right.
Still, hats off to whoever bought this, likely with the intention to set it right. Perhaps they’re sitting on a pile of classic Porsche panels, or can do their own paint and bodywork, as repairing this thing would make way more sense if you already have the parts. At the same time, $35,000 feels like too much money for a 912 in this condition. Surely the air-cooled market has to soften eventually, right?
Top graphic image: Bring A Trailer
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I was about 3 years away from buying an old 911 before the prices went stupid. Endlessly frustrating.
Similarly, I was looking at 964s about 15 years ago, but they were still a bit out of my budget. Now they cost 4x as much.
I remember running across a dinged 912 at an insurance auction some years ago. Front-end bumper damage with some bent sheet metal, but better than this one. Key present, started, ran & drove under its own power. Gaveled at $5500.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda.
It’s wild to think I could’ve had a 912 as my first car, and it’d be worth so much now. But I was a muscle car kid at the time.
I remember going to look at a ’66 or ’67 912 for sale locally back in the mid to late 90s. Passed up on it because I found plenty of bondo in the wheel arches, but it was a complete running, driving car otherwise in pretty good shape. It was being advertised for around $6000 or $6500. Maybe I made the wrong choice after all.
(Sits, patiently waiting for his 944 to reach $35,000)
I want to say the person who paid $35K for this has been hitting the crack pipe hard. But I know the market value for all these early 911/912 examples are high in crack pipe territory to me.
I commented on the story about what you’ve learned “There is no such thing as a cheap Porsche”. My personal experience was a 944 turbo that I paid a bit of extra $ for what seemed legit, only to blow $5k almost immediately on stuff.
I used to think maybe someday I’d own some version of a 911, late 70s/early 80s. I don’t see that happening anymore.
They’re pretty, but the values have never made any sense to me. I drove a 912E and just didn’t get much out of it. IMO a 944 is so much more car per dollar.
But these cars aren’t supposed to be rational I suppose. To each their own.
Hammer it out, fit in replacement lights, weld in the rust, and send it to Maaco for a cheap-o paint job to seal it.
And then drive it.
I don’t understand the obsession that it’s got to get to mint.
Yeah, it just needs to look roughly mint at a glance, bucket of Bondo, a come-along, and a Maaco respray would clean it up enough to pass, right?
By the sounds of it, these things are kinda shit to drive.
This article spurred me to go check manual 993 prices on AutoTempest and holy goats! Almost everything is near or above six figures. There are non-S Carreras asking more than $200k. The cheapest thing I found was a low-option cabrio for $55k. Fifteen years ago I was looking at a base 993 in exactly the color I wanted (aventurine green) and got snippy because prices had climbed from $35k to nearly forty.
They’re nice, but they’re not that nice.
They’re really not. I love 911s but there’s so much puffery and nonsense written about how they’re basically God’s chariots that people buy into it and values go up accordingly.
That’ll buff out…
Stupid prices still can’t convince me that they’re anything above a Saab Sonett-level sports car (which I’d rather have).
One of the most fun (grin until your cheeks hurt) motorsports experiences I’ve ever had was ice racing a Sonnett.
Let this be a lesson. Better stock up on Labubus now.
Have you seen what those Pakistani guys on YouTube can do with a torch, 2 hammers and a spray gun? They’ll fix this for PKR50,000.
Which is about 200 bucks.
“clipping two corners on the same side while leaving the door unharmed is a bit of a head-scratcher”
Let me introduce you to my friend, “lift-off oversteer spin”…
Yup, and I wonder if those old tires had a hand in it.
But..but…they’re genuine period correct numbers matching bias ply.
I remember the days of dreaming about owning a secondhand or entry level Porsche. There was a time when it felt attainable. Unfortunately it hasn’t been that way for a decade now…and when you add in the factor that the rich are richer than they’ve ever been and getting even richer at an exponential rate because of end stage capitalism, it doesn’t feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Porsche was never an affordable brand, but there was a time that normal people could conceivably get into one if they played their cards right. That time has passed, and like everything else these days they’re all trickling up and feeding the grotesque mutant pig that is the 1%, because it’s appetite won’t be satiated until it’s dead and buried.
Anyway at the rate things are going I’m just hoping I’ll be able to get into a C8 in a couple of years. That feels a lot more realistic than a Porsche at this point and will be approximately 80% less trouble to own and maintain. Plus…V8 noises.
It truly is a shame. My dad had a few different old Porsches when I was young in the 90’s and early 00’s, and they weren’t really anything that special as far as value was concerned. I always planned on having one when I “grew up”, but that’s a total pipe dream for me now. The 80’s 911 of my dreams that was attainable 20 years ago is long gone. Bummer! Guess I’ll just stick with my little aircooled VW.
This, 30 years ago an upper middle class family could own a used one without breaking the bank. Those days are all but gone.
Like most my dream was for something air-cooled, which faded and was replaced by “at least a 911”, but those don’t make sense when housing prices are insane and you are trying to buy your first house. Eventually, I got the Boxster because it was priced like a Miata. It’s fun to drive and for my purpose as good as a 996, but it was never what I REALLY wanted. Now I am shopping for Corvettes too, but first I need to sell the Boxster. Right now it doesn’t seem like the middle class is shopping for toy cars and rich folks don’t want a Boxster so for now I will enjoy what I have.
Wow, I could’ve written this comment! Found myself in a position where a second car would be beneficial, but not strictly necessary (meaning fun rather than practicality could govern). I dreamed of a 944 back when they were cheap, and also considered a Miata because they’re always the answer, right? But I think the Boxster is what so many people wish the Miata was. More power, more trunk space, and all for about the same money as a clean Miata.
As a C8 owner, go for it!
The only affordable-ish Porsche is a Boxter. As long as it’s a manual, I’d bet it would still be fun.
It’s all the fault of us daggum millennials and our avocado toast, you see.
Perfect project for a body and paint guy to do in his spare time. To buy it and pay somebody else to fix it probably makes no sense.
Also a bit of auction fever, given in the last minutes two dudes ran the price up about $10K. Though IMHO $25K was way too much too.
I look at my own red ’69 912 and feel like the Emperor in Return of the Jedi watching these prices go up and saying “GOOD!” in a most Sith-like voice.
I only had to sit on this goldmine for 24 years, but payday is a coming!
The current state of the Porsche market feels like a joke that’s gone on for so long that it stopped being funny and morphed into a sad parody of the original joke.
For a while I kept telling myself the bubble will pop eventually and I’ll get my chance but I am now fairly confident that that’s never going to happen. The rich are richer than ever and they’ve decided that only they deserve nice things. Porsches are as good as gone for you and I, we just have to hope that the next thing they decide needs to trickle up isn’t, you know…food or water
911’s and 912’s are basically unobtainium at this point, but the weirdo models can still be had for not a lot of money. 944’s, 914’s (some of them), 928’s, 968’s, etc. are still relatively attainable depending on the trim level and spec. But 911 prices are absolutely criminal considering how many of the stupid things they’ve made over the last 65 years or however long it’s been.
Boxsters are still a great buy as well, and can be had for under $15k in decent condition and spec if you like to wrench a little. I’ve been really looking at them lately.
981s are an insane amount of car for the money.
They won’t stay that way much longer. People have noticed, and prices are starting to come back up.
They certainly are. I’ve had the opportunity to drive a few of them in anger, and they were deeply rewarding for the money! Hopefully they can stay low for juuuuuuust about one more year haha!
They’re likely staying where they are, maybe +5-10% over the next year at most, given the existing K-shaped economy.
Though honestly, do not wait. Save, save, save. Then when you find the one that meets your requirements, pull the trigger. Everyone is realizing how good they are, they will start to rise when the economy is rosier.
I definitely hope they stay put for a little longer! I made a deal with my wife that I’ll cool it on expensive things after she let me expand and add another bay onto our detached garage this summer, so I need to wait at least another year before I ask to spend a lot of money again haha!
A first gen Cayman is on my list of cars I find attainable and desirable.
Thats the thing that kills me is how many of the damn 911’s they have made over the years.
And its not like Corvettes where a C2 and a C3 and C4 and a might as well have come from different planets. And thus have much different levels of desirability. A 1987 911 really isnt that much different from a 1965.
A friend in my middle class public high school had a 914, which he traded for an old Mustang, which he then traded for something else when he found out to change the spark plugs you had to pull the motor.
A college friend, who I do not think was moneyed, had a hobby of fixing up old 911s, it was attainable with a lot of sweat equity (one day I am like – what are those synchro-rings that he was using as a paperweight on his desk were from – he looked at me in dismay that I knew what they were) and some summer jobs.