How do you keep from worrying?

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by cgarr

Insure it for 50 grand and hope someone steals it!

+1 - All my (collector) cars are insured for more than they're worth. Someone would be doing me a favor by taking them. I would probably be pizzed for a few minutes, until I made the call to the carrier...then I'd be deciding on what to buy next.

[p911dad]

Don, when my 84' was new, I had the same sort of angst. It is well within the normal range( I am declaring both you and I normal). When overnight at a hotel I used to pull off the negative cable on the battery! My wife thought I was nuts. No, normal! Truthfully it is never left outside at home, while other brand new cars(just got a red 08' Malibu LTZ-sweet little car!) are left out in the rain wherever they get parked. 89' Porsche Carreras are special, and there aren't all that many of them around. Don't listen to those other guys. An old Carrera is special, just like your girl or wife. Glenn

[Tim Walsh]

Well it's nice to know I'm not the only car-hypochondriac. I was always worried about my car breaking down and can get bad get-home-itis when any of my cars start making strange noises/symptoms. I bought a brand new car thinking that might cure it, but alas, no I worried about that car just as much as any of the others. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

[Wickd89]

Its just a car.
There are Honda Civics that are worth more than our cars.

Just get enough insurance and let her rip! I do not take the Cabrio to the mall because I do not want to be inconvenienced if they cut my top, but not because I am loosing sleep about it.

[dipso]

Red88Carrera
Go-Kart on Steroids

Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 68
How do you keep from worrying?

BOOZE.

[cashflyer]

I've seen two examples straight from my own life in this thread.

My family is not a wealthy lot. We work hard for every penny we have.

A) When I was a teenager, my father spent every spare minute and every spare dime meticulously creating a resto-rod. When he was done, he was afraid to drive it, afraid to leave it parked anywhere, and I think even afraid that it would mysteriously implode into a quantum causality or be sucked into a wandering black hole.

B) A few years ago, I finally was able to buy one of my dream cars: a 911. I insured it with an agreed-value policy. I drive it every chance I get. I track it when I can. I enjoy ownership. And I always keep in mind that it is A CAR and it CAN BE REPLACED.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by RarlyL8

I used to be the same way.
My car was "over restored" with a show quality paint job. BIG mistake, I should never have done that. A lot of time had to pass before I became comfortable parking the car near others.

It really has little to do with fixing a ding or scratch. It is all about the original perfection being compromised. Once the newness wears off you'll enjoy the car more. If not I would get rid of it for something you can enjoy.

My 0.02

I think this is the point. You can come to hate "perfect" (concours quality, rare) cars very quickly if you actually want to use them as transportation.

Many years ago, on a whim, I bought a beautifully restored, perfect XK 140. In very short order I began to hate the thing, because when I wasn't driving it I wanted to drive it, and when I drove it all I did was worry about it. The day I sold it was one of the happiest of my life.

Your Porsche is just a vehicle meant to be driven. Don't get too anal about these cars. They are not THAT valuable. Forget the perfect paint job, the toothbrushes and the Q tips. Just drive the thing.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Red88Carrera

I've had my 88 Targa for a little over a year now. I still can't stop thinking about it. The problem is that every time I take it somewhere, I start worrying when it is parked away from my sight. I'm afraid that something will happen to it. I don't live in a high crime area. I installed a paging alarm, thinking that would solve the problem, but it didn't. I am actually thinking about selling the car if I can't find a way to deal with this. Any ideas?

I never stopped worrying. That's the rub. As the car became "worth money" to some, I worried even more. Then it became a special occasion only driver, never out of my sight or the sight of trusted people...then it became less and less fun.

So, I passed the worry on to a younger guy who could handle the stress. He seems to love the car (almost) as much as I did.

As far as the "it's just a car and can be replaced" set is concerned...I agree, but only to an extent. I challenge you guys...anywhere in the world, find another never dinged, never repainted, 55,000 actual miles '72 911S coupe at any price. Far as I know, there is only one out there, and it's currently in Istanbul...
You can always restore a car...it's original only once.

These days, an old Dodge pickemup or a Ford Ranger gets me where I want to go.
I can park either and walk away without worry. Priorities change.

[charleskieffner]

HAD to LAUGH ABOUT THIS AFTER THIS AM!.....................

typical sunday.

pull car cover.

fire dynamo up.

slam last of coffee.

while putting on sparcos check basics:

.45

shades

wallet

keys to man cave/bat cave(you laugh about bats!)

lock door.

GESPLITTEN von der haus auf der autobahn(putt-putt til temp)

continue putten.

go to verde(green) river.

whip 180 back west.

run G-50 to redline.

attain terminal velocity.

smile!.........alot! el perfecto.

GIANT ASS MUTHA ******* ARIZONA CARDINAL HITS WINDSHIELD ON WIPER!

lots of feathers.

slow velocity.

check all systems. GO!

continue on quest.

mr. trickster(coyote) runs across path. downshift to 4th tag brakes watch his motion and WAIL LIKE HELL ON HELLAS! mr.trickster splits.

back into 5th geputten.

GIANT ASS MUTHA ******* MONTY PYTHON BUNNY WABBIT has death wish.

down to 4th tag brake , horn(see above)

fast bunny.

continue back into 5th.

ge putten.

mtn bikers want entire road. down to 4th. speed limit.

back to geputten.

go by gas station(chevron-$4.00 primo) continue geputten.

get on straight stretch. increase to limit +10mph.

new mustang with kid younger than my car is wants to race.

continue geputten. mustang thinks he beat me.

come to twisty sweeper.

increase to maximum velocity. leave mustang in weeds.

geputten.

whip 180 come back to chevron. fill up. have critical thoughts about fuel industry.

back to geputten.

go by friends house. nail it loud! and give em the hellas.

DAR DAR detector goes off. speedlimit. pass dar dar emitter and continue geputten.

look at watch. cant miss indy and formula race. back to bat cave.

arrive bat cave.

look for snakes in bat cave.

look for scorpions.

look for centipedes.

look for walapai tigers.

look at cardinal guts and feathers and bugs all over car.

worry bill bidwell and the NFL, and az game and fish will arrest me for KILLING A CARDINAL!




COUNT HOW MANY TIMES IN A HOUR AND 1/2 I HAD TO WORRY!!!!!!!!


TRACK IT!

DRIVE IT!

HANG THE EXPENSE! POO HAPPENS!

[speeder]

Sell the car and get a schit-box. You'll be much happier. Porsche ownership isn't for everyone, IMO, and for lots of people it's more ass-pain and expense than fun. That expense can be measured in time worrying for people like you, or time and energy obsessing about mods and upgrades plus just mental energy thinking about the car when you could be thinking about something better. You have to always count the time it took you to earn the $$ for the car and mods or track time into the equation.

The happiest owners of Porsches, (or Ducatis/Ferraris/M5s/whatever), are people who can easily afford them and are not total car nuts w/ the OCD that most of us have here. Objects should give you enjoyment over stress at a fairly high ratio, or not be possessed.

An '88 targa is not even on the radar of car thieves AFAIK, unless there is a new demand for them overseas somewhere and they are getting thrown in shipping containers. Within the U.S., young people look at them like a 356 or something, a slow funny-looking car that old dudes drive. I've thought about getting a newer Honda Civic Si as a driver because of fuel prices, but that's a car that actually does get stolen a lot, so it would be a PITA. Trust me, no one in the 'hood wants a 1988 targa. They would have to wear parachute pants w/ a giant flat-top haircut and pump MC Hammer when they drove it. And that crowd is not really big on irony last time I checked.

As for door-dings on a pristine car, that I understand a little better. If you have a perfect car, (new or old), you can't park it in supermarket or mall lots and expect it not to get dinged. The car is less usable as a driver and more hassle if you want to avoid dings. Paying valets extra to keep it in front, etc.. Every Porsche I've ever owned has been a used car w/ dings, the last 3 are all 10 or 20-footers, IOW beautiful from across the street but plenty of stone-chips up close. My current 996 is parked absolutely anywhere, including Home Depot between beat-up PU trucks, it's used as a pack-mule for hauling stuff and taken to the track or out to dinner. I enjoy it thoroughly, never work on it and if I got hit in it I would profit hugely if not killed or maimed. Life is short, dude. Fly to Mexico and bang some whores or something, you're wound like an 8-day clock.

[p911dad]

This post is highly interesting. I sense a regional difference in the personal valuation of Porsches. It seems that the west coast guys generally have a low level of loyalty to their car, seeing it as replaceable as an appliance, like a refridgerator, while the east coasters seem to generally have a different value system in regards to their Porsches. Maybe a little more passionate towards their car. Hmmm. There are exceptions, of course. I wonder if there is something deeper here. I wonder how the midwest guys think about this? Or the deep south? Or the Australian guys? Hey, Europe.

[DARISC]

Actually worrying may be a good thing for you to do. It seems to work for me. 93.14159% of the things I worry about don't happen.

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by JeremyD

Take it to the track and drive the piss out of it - unless you are saving it for the next owner. Then don't drive it, don't enjoy it keep it in the garage and wipe it down with a diaper once a week. If you sell it to me down the road - I'll pick it up when it's raining - do a couple of donuts in the driveway on my way to flogging it at the track.

on that east coast west coast thing. i think we have a different attitude since we don't have to put our cars up for the winter. if you cant drive a German car year round you really aren't fully enjoying the possibilities in the potential fun you can have with a Porsche.

part of the reason i own an old Porsche is i can do most of the work myself. I'm not rich and if i didn't like getting my hands dirty, i know i never would have found the joy in playing with and working on my own cars.

[Paul K]

I think Dennis is being a tad harsh. My worry is mindless vandalism. This has happened to my 911 and my wifes Mini. There are a lot more people out there who resent ownership of a nice car than there are folks who want to steal it. Frankly, I would be less bothered by someone stealing my 911 than some fuch vandalizing it. Yes, everything can be fixed and that is what insurance is for. But the fact that vandalism is so easy and so terribly disrespectful (and rarely are the perps caught) is worrying.

As for the east/west coast thing, I am inclined to agree, but having grown up in England, I don't think I really qualify to represent either!

Cheers,

Paul.

[PSportoVeloce]

Originally Posted by gmeteer

This post is highly interesting. I sense a regional difference in the personal valuation of Porsches. It seems that the west coast guys generally have a low level of loyalty to their car, seeing it as replaceable as an appliance, like a refridgerator, while the east coasters seem to generally have a different value system in regards to their Porsches. Maybe a little more passionate towards their car. Hmmm. There are exceptions, of course. I wonder if there is something deeper here. I wonder how the midwest guys think about this? Or the deep south? Or the Australian guys? Hey, Europe.

i think this is a mischaracterization of the difference. the way i see it, west coasters do not idolize their cars or place them on a pedestal as much. i would certainly not characterize it as a lack of loyalty or lack of passion. there is certainly plenty of both of those things here. one could alternatively posit that east-coasters are more materialistic and care more about possessions (which i am saying to play devil's advocate, not that i believe it necessarily) and less about things that are truly important that should be subordinated to material possessions.

[PSportoVeloce]

Originally Posted by speeder

An '88 targa is not even on the radar of car thieves AFAIK, unless there is a new demand for them overseas somewhere and they are getting thrown in shipping containers. Within the U.S., young people look at them like a 356 or something, a slow funny-looking car that old dudes drive. I've thought about getting a newer Honda Civic Si as a driver because of fuel prices, but that's a car that actually does get stolen a lot, so it would be a PITA. Trust me, no one in the 'hood wants a 1988 targa. They would have to wear parachute pants w/ a giant flat-top haircut and pump MC Hammer when they drove it. And that crowd is not really big on irony last time I checked.

FYI, my 87 got stolen on a busy street by thieves who then spent several thousand dollars with my atm card and sold my checking account number which was then used to write several thousand dollars of fraudulent checks. Someone's paying attention to these still!

[GBG1000]

Left side photo November.

Hakuna Matata.

Right side photo - This morning.

Insure them, carry a fire extinguisher, and enjoy life.

[rusnak]

Hey Charles,

that was fun-ny as hell! gotta luv it. not sayin nutin bout the pistola. haha

[Zef]

If this car poison your life...sell it.

[Red88Carrera]

To everyone that actually tried to help... I sincerely thank you all.
To everyone that thinks it's just a car, well it's just a car for sale now. Posted in the for sale section.