Share the story of how you acquired your 911

[sugarwood]

"buying my porsche, for me at least, was not like buying other cars. i'm interested to see what other folks stories might be."

A thread titled how did you end up with your current car? was started in Tech, but fizzled.
I thought I'd re-start it under OT, where people aren't busy chasing tech issues...


WEDNESDAY

I had been casually browsing the 911 market for some time. Early this morning, an automated alert sends me a CL ad for an '86 for sale only 20 mins. away. No photo, 2 sentence description, and a realistic asking price. At that point, a reasonably priced 911 could sell within 24-48 hours, and this was my chance to finally test drive one. If I didn't look today, it could be gone by tomorrow.

At work, I called the seller. He could show it to me today after work. I wanted to see the car, but had birthday dinner plans that evening. Should I cancel dinner just to go see a used car? Using Google maps, I calculated that I could do both. I would leave work at 4pm, see the car by 5pm, then drive 1 hour in the opposite direction to be in time for the dinner.

With logistics not an issue, I had no excuse. It was just a little bit of extra driving after work. Local cars don't come along often. If I didn't go see it, I would have to be honest with myself. Did I really want a 911, or did I just want to shop for one? A casual shopper makes excuses; a serious buyer makes the time. (As Unobtanium stated recently, "...when you get the call, you make it happen".

I left work and drove directly to go see the car. I got to the house a few minutes before the seller got home from work. There it was in the driveway, under a car cover, with the green bumper peeking out. I had never seen a green one. Mixed emotions. Wow, there is a real 911, just like the ad with no photos stated. More importantly, I've got first crack at it! This is happening. But, wait, what the heck am I even doing? I can't even give you a good reason why I am shopping for one. I've never even driven one. I don't even know if I can maintain one, either.

The seller was a friendly guy. He kept the car nice and it was his pride and joy. The car was clean, and in very nice shape. No reason to walk away based on visuals. So, onto the test drive. I had him drive it first. If you ask me, you never truly fully test drive your first sports car. Just like your first girlfriend, you just don't have the experience to fully take charge. You are politely driving it, since the seller is gracious enough to let you drive it. The last thing on my mind was pulling it to 5000 rpms on some hairy turns. At that point, I didn't even know that was a thing.

After the test drive, I thanked the seller for his time, and said I was definitely interested, but had to sleep on it. I was still apprehensive about actually buying an "exotic", but this car was certainly a compelling specimen from an honest seller. Opportunity introduces urgency. I now had to answer a bunch of questions that, until now, where purely hypothetical. If I passed on this car, I’d have to ask myself, what exactly do you want? Do you actually want one, or just think you want one? This is where money talks, BS walks, b/c everyone’s a dreamer until they go to the bank, get asked to go behind the glass teller wall, and are instructed to walk out holding a folded newspaper with $30k cash tucked inside like you're Al Capone, while holding a decoy bank envelope in the other hand containing $500.

I said I'd call him tomorrow morning, either way. I went to dinner, and could not find a reason to talk myself out of the car. If I had to state a negative, there were a few aftermarket mods on the car that I wasn't a fan of: cone intake, big rear speakers, strut brace, B&B exhaust. None were legitimate reasons to walk, obviously. Actually, I now remember that the only "flaw" I could muster was that it didn't have the G50. But that wasn't a flaw, it was just missing the Skittles coming out of the unicorn's ass. In hindsight, I am so glad that G50/915 internet lunacy did not scare me away from a near perfect find; I prefer having a vintage 915 gearbox instead of an Audi/944 gearbox. Oh right, and it had a tail. At that point of my inexperience, the internet said, "tail is bad". I'm so glad I ignored that groupthink as well!


THURSDAY

I went to work. I had slept on it. Man, this car really had every major box filled (very rare color, coupe, 3 owners, low miles, mint interior, mint exterior, 9x16 turbo wheels, ALL service history, no shady past, not being flipped, mature adult seller who owned it for 10 years) It finally solidified in my head: this was a killer find! That morning, I made the decision that I was going to buy it. There are significant advantages of buying a local car, and it could take all summer before another local one was even offered for sale. It was now or never.

Unfortunately, I was not at a place where I was going to buy my first Porsche without an inspection (Today, I know my way around the car, and would be more confident buying without a PPI) In prior months, I had already compiled a list of local Porsche mechanics, and was calling them in between meetings at work, trying to schedule a PPI. Making lunchtime phone calls, I was miraculously hoping to schedule a same day late afternoon inspection. The major 911 shop in the area said to come back next WEEK. Finally, a smaller Euro shop in the next town said he could see it tomorrow, Friday. But, I won't be able to get the car over there until Friday after work. The Euro shop says we can drop the car off tonight, before they close at 6pm. Wow, that works. Drop if off after work, and they'll look at it tomorrow. Perfect!

Unfortunately, during this time, the CL ad had now been up 24 hours, the seller's email and phone has blown up. There are other cash buyers in the wings, way more seasoned than me, who would not need a PPI. I pleaded with the seller to give me an extra day, and convince him of my plan: He leaves his 911 at this Euro garage after work today, before it closes. I will meet him there, and I will drive him home. The garage closes at 6pm, so there is a narrow window of time here. After work, I get to the Euro garage without issues. But, the seller gets totally lost, and gets too flustered to figure out GPS on his phone. It's 5:30pm, I'm at the garage, but he's gotten lost and ready to turn around and go home. The mechanic and I take turns on the phone trying to calm the seller, and get him unlost. While waiting, the mechanic and I bond over the whole thing. Eventually, seller arrives, barely making the 6pm closing time. The mechanic parks the car, locks the gate, and I give the seller a ride back to his home. They will do the PPI tomorrow. This is happening.

(continued....)

[sugarwood]

FRIDAY

I go to work. Finally, in the afternoon, the mechanic calls with the PPI results. In between meetings at work, I am trying to make sense of what the mechanic is telling me. The car had not been driven much in the last few years. There are no major issues, but a handful of smaller issues. (clogged washer jet, no high beams, old tires, loose fan belt, warm A/C, mild battery tray corrosion, etc) So the PPI doesn't give me a black and white decision. I am too inexperienced to quantify the issues. What's major? What's minor? For example, is the battery tray repair a big deal? $1 or $1k or $10k? One central theme was to avoid a nightmare "over my head" exotic money pit at any price. I don't know how to proceed. Buy? Walk? I still have not resolved if I genuinely want a 911, or if I have gone this far because I won't have another chance.

Meanwhile, seller is getting twitchy, and no way he’s letting the car stay at the Euro garage over the weekend with multiple buyers wanting to see the car NOW. As we talk on the phone, the seller ups the ante and insists he wants the car sold this weekend. I am concurrently trying to pacify the seller, deciding if I even want the car, and try to determine a comfortable buy price buffer for my risk-averse nature. I did not want to overpay.

The seller insists on getting his car back today, regardless of what I decide. The garage closes at 6pm. Ok ok, I will take him to get his car, either way. After work, I'll pick him up at his house, but I still don't know if I should buy the car. I decide I will buy it, but only at a certain lower price range, as a safety buffer to rectify the PPI results. I don't know how negotiable the seller is going to be. This is his pride and joy.

Before leaving work, I call ahead and make sure the local bank branch has sufficient funds for my withdrawal. I leave work, head to the bank, and get the Al Capone treatment described above. I'm now driving to the seller's house, and not sure how this will play out. I call him while driving, I start to explain the various PPI flaws over the phone. He wants none of it. He insists the car is perfect. I have to convince him I am not a liar or scammer (conspiring with the garage to lowball him) I am on a very tight timeline, as the garage closes at 6pm for the weekend. I get to the seller's house around 4:30pm, and tell him I have cash. I want the car, but not at full asking. He give the perfunctory "Ok, knock off $500". That was not the number I had in mind. (In hindsight, a few years older now, I would not be as hung up on price getting in the way of a good solid car). I respectfully and delicately negotiated a lower price based on PPI results. We shake on it. I then drive both of us to the garage, in Friday rush hour traffic. We get there just before the 6pm close, and pick up the car. He follows me home in the 911, and parks it in my garage (poor DD gets evicted!). We step inside, do the paperwork, and I drive him back home.


In summary:

* Entire transaction occurred during the work week. There was no waiting for the weekend. There was no margin of error competing with flippers. That car was going to be sold by Friday, one way or another. If I had childcare duties, or commuted downtown, or had any bank liquidity delays, I would not own the car.

* Antsy trigger-happy seller who was insulted by a PPI since he thinks his car is a 100 point concours museum piece.

* Other buyers waiting in the wings, in a bubble flipper market.

* About 48 hours start to finish, and a keeper 911 is tucked away in my garage!
...WITH PPI
...WITH buy price that is below market

After that whirlwind 3 days,
it took me a few days to even bother registering the car.

[stevej37]

16 yrs ago I bought my 78SC from a guy in Idaho thru Ebay. 5 yrs later, bought the 84 Carrera from CO thru Ebay also. Both have been excellent cars, with not needing anything beyond normal maint. Both cars, I purchased before seeing in person, but talked to the owners beforehand. I don't know if I would buy again thru Ebay, but it worked out great for me with both cars.
The 84 I had shipped to my home. The 78, I traveled by Greyhound to the sellers hometown to pick it up! Took almost 2 days to get there!

[Crowbob]

Guy owed me mucho dinero for product.

[manbridge 74]

Saw an ad.
Did my own inspection and test drive.
Pored over a loaf of receipts.
Realized it was the best 74 I'd seen and wouldn't likely see another this close.
Slept on it.
Negotiated a bit.
Drove it home.

[Evans, Marv]

Acquaintance of mine bought the car from another acquaintance & drove it for some time. Didn't see him driving it & asked him about it. He told me he was going to sell it, but his asking price was above what I wanted to pay. A few years later, I asked him about the car. He said it was in his driveway covered by a tarp. I knew he didn't have the know how to work on it nor the $ to pay for the work, so I made him an offer a little above my previous offer. He accepted & I eventually brought it home.

[Tervuren]

Uhh, not yet happened.

But if it does, winning a charity raffle for a take home test drive with a 2015 Porsche 911 in October of 2015 would of played a major role.

I purchased my 2009 Jaguar XK the next week as a "stop gap".

The 911 is a great car, the rear weight balance suits my natural driving style better than any other road vehicle.

[unclebilly]

Which one???

I bought an accident damaged 86 Jaguar XJ-12 VDP from a realtor who ran into a pickup while driving drunk. The car was impounded and he used the proceeds of the sale to pay to get it out of impound.

I restored the Jag and called the realtor to see if he wanted his personal items out of the car. He told me that he wanted another Jag and I told him this one was for sale. He laughed at the idea that he would buy his car back... I made sure that I drove the car when I returned his stuff and he HAD to have it back.

Eventually we worked out a deal where I would pay off the repairs to his low mile 87 944 at the Porsche dealer and we would trade straight across the Jag for the 944.

I drove the 944 for a year and kept an eye out for a 911. Eventually I found my first 911 here in pelican.

FS: 1977 911S 2.7 Widebody Kit

I borrowed my brother's truck, hooked up my trailer and headed to Columbus Ohio to pick up my 911...

[KNS]

My SC (long gone) I found in the Autotrader (the old paper one). There were plenty of 2.7s, SCs and 3.2 cars to choose from. I paid $12750 for it.

My 3.2 I found on Craigslist in 2008. It had been for sale for a while along with tons of other Porsches, Quads, boats, nobody was really calling on it as this was during the housing crash and everybody was unloading toys. Purchased for $12,000.

My 993 I found here in the "Cars for Sale" forum. All three were found locally.

[fanaudical]

how did you end up with your current car?

EDIT: For Steve one post below this one - Yes, I saw that. My intent in posting the link above was to share the story of how I got my car, not to necessarily point out that another thread already existed. I didn't have enough coffee this morning to do a proper intro to the link....

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

how did you end up with your current car?

From the OP..
"A thread titled how did you end up with your current car? was started in Tech, but fizzled.
I thought I'd re-start it under OT, where people aren't busy chasing tech issues..."

[billh1963]

The OP was lucky that the seller was so tolerant. In the hot market of 2014 the first with the cash would have bought the car.

I don't have time to hold the hand of a timid buyer. I'm glad it worked out for the OP. But, as I said, I think he was VERY lucky

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by billh1963

The OP was lucky that the seller was so tolerant. In the hot market of 2014 the first with the cash would have bought the car.

I don't have time to hold the hand of a timid buyer. I'm glad it worked out for the OP. But, as I said, I think he was VERY lucky

Yes, I totally agree. One reason I enjoyed typing that up.

However, note that most of this drama was self-contained.
Seller was not exposed to any of it.

In fact, let's look at it from the seller's perspective:

Wednesday morning, I place ad.
Sugar calls and sets up an appointment to see the car after work.

The next day, Sugar says he's interested, and requests PPI.
Says we can drive it to local shop after work.
I drop off car, and Sugar drives me home.

Friday, Sugar tells me of PPI results.
He comes to my house after work, and makes me a cash offer.
We go to garage, and I drive the 911 to Sugar's, and then he drives me home.

I think it was fairly smooth for the seller.
Seller knew he had a buyer in hand vs. 3 in the CL bush.

[fastfredracing]

My first 911. Hemmings motor news. Seller mailed me photos. I wired them $k + shipping costs . 3000 miles, and a few weeks later, I have a 911 sc in my driveway . This was all long before I , and most people had internet access .

[Paul K]

I've wanted a 911 since I was a kid. It wasn't until I was in my mid 30's that I could actually afford one.

First Porsche: 1989 Carrera Targa.

Found it on Craigslist in the SF Bay Area. Had a PPI done at S-Car-Go in Marin, and agreed to a price with the seller. Wife & I flew to SF, spent the weekend there, then picked the Targa up on the Monday morning & drove it home. It was everything I dreamed it would be. Except I wanted to drive it year round. Upgraded to a 930S steering wheel, but that was about it.



Lessons learned: Wife does not like the 'wind in her hair' at any speed. The A/C sucked. I should have put the $1k into having the top rebuilt so it would seal better.

So I sold it.

Second Porsche: 1996 Carrera 4.

Found it on Craigslist in Texas. Had a PPI done, then had it shipped enclosed to the house. Though it didn't feel as fast in certain situations, the 993 was a much more sensible car. Great a/c. More trunk space. AWD. Could hold conversation at freeway speeds.



Lessons learned: 993's seemed (to me) to have more 'upgradable' parts than the 911 had. Spent a million dollars on wheels, suspension, turbo front bumper, replacement interior parts, golden rod shifter linkage, and a new steering rack.

Don't drive a 993, because you will want one.

Realized I had over $30k in the garage & had other wants/needs, plus I'd had a blast with both it & the Targa, so I figured I was 'over it'. Sold it.

Realized the hard way that I was not 'over it' at all. So...

Third Porsche: 1983 911 SC.

Found it on Craigslist in Portland. Had a PPI done, agreed to a price, drove her home. In a snowstorm. Did a few upgrades- wheels & tires, headlights, a 930S steering wheel, and spent several million dollars on a Kuehl A/C system.


Right about that time, the wife & I started making plans for retirement. Decided to buy a home in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Found out pretty late in the game that we had to put 20% down (had been told 10%). So I sold it.

Lessons learned: A/C is absolutely necessary here, but also hellaciously expensive to put into an SC. Though a bit trickier to shift, SC's are a blast to drive. You really don't need AWD in a 911.

A couple of years ago, I hummed & hawed about getting another- either a 997 or a (tired) 993. Ended up talking myself out of it.

It was quite the ride. I thouroughly enjoyed participating in the Oregon PCA 'Arrive & Drive' events. I also enjoyed hanging out here. That said, BFE really isn't a good place for a 911. It's a half day drive to get it worked on, the locals will try to screw with you because you're a 'rich furriner' and having three cars & two garage stalls sucks when half the year it's -20, the other half it's 105.

I'm having fun restoring (for life in the USVI) my '85 Land Rover Ninety V8 station wagon (which will ironically end up with more BHP than my 993) but I do miss the Porsche scene. I am also kicking myself for selling all three of them right before prices skyrocketed.

And yes, I do still have the oil filters I've been trying to sell for a while now...

Cheers,

Paul.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

My first 911. Hemmings motor news. Seller mailed me photos. I wired them $k + shipping costs . 3000 miles, and a few weeks later, I have a 911 sc in my driveway . This was all long before I , and most people had internet access .

I bought my Carrera at the beginning of internet boom, before 3G phones and Facebook. I found it almost 500 miles away on Yahoo. I got the idea from the Yahoo commercial in which a guy living in an igloo in Alaska found a wife through Yahoo, haha.

The Cayman was found through a friend who was selling an estate for a lady, who's brother killed himself. It was an odd circumstance to be sure, but it was good because she didn't know anything about the car and lived half a planet away. She had zero takers, and had lowered the price three times. I literally had to buy it because it'd have been stupid not to. Turns out I like the car now.

[tabs]

I wrote a check.

[Oh Haha]

My best friend and his wife moved to a new house shortly after I moved away. One of the neighbors had a 911. When I would visit we would drive by the house to see it in the garage. Once in a while it would drive by and we would ogle it.

During this time my GF, now my wife, were test driving 911s but never found "the one".

We were in Chicago to visit my sister in Chicago when my friend called to tell me that 911 was for sale. When we got back to town I called the seller. We negotiated a price and agreed to meet at his bank to make the transaction. In the meantime I called the shop that had done the work and the owner told me he thought it was a great car.

I secured a personal loan for the money after my GF sold her car and started driving the new car I had purchased just before taking a promotion and getting a company car. She did thi so we could afford the 911 payment.

When we got to the bank I told him "I should probably drive it before we make the deal". We took it around the block and I knew it was mine. Made the deal then went to my friend's house for his daughter's 3rd birthday. The car was Pacific Blue but that's about all I knew about it. My friend had owned a 70 911 and he gave me all of the books and literature that he collected during that time. He also gave me the Porsche flag that still hangs in the garage. I was sorely disappointed by the shifter but the car was awesome and I was one happy mofo. You guys know the rest of the story a I've been a Pelican since 03.

[widebody911]

I bought my first 911 in (IIRC) 1990. I had a little bit of money saved, and I found a few in the paper and went and did some test drives. There was a nice '72 911S (yes, an "S") for $8k, but that was out of my price range. I looked at one targa project that was in the middle of a sportomatic-to-manual conversion, but decided I didn't want to undertake that mess. I ended up getting a '72 Targa for $7200. It was pretty much every penny I had at the time. When I ran the tank down to near empty, I had to park it and ride my bike to work until I got paid because I had no cash for gas!

[Bill Douglas]

25 years ago 911s were expensive around here in New Zealand so I posted a wanted to buy a SCin the Porsche Club Great Britain newsletter. One of the replies was a 911 SC Sport, so I got pics sent to me.

I liked the look of the car and decided to get a PPI including compression test and a whole lot of other things. The seller, Nic, said that RUF GB was just down the road in Weybridge London and he could drop it off there. I talked to RUF GB and they said they knew the car and had sold it to Nic, and that it was a good car and reliable.

The PPI checked out well and RUF suggested they keep the car and once Nic had been paid they would release it to my shipping agent and no one else. I said great and a short while later Karman Shipping agent picked the car up and loaded it into a container and sent it off to me.

Not much time later a large container ship called the Cape Natal arrived WITH MY CAR ON BOARD

I checked the oil, registered it, threw my tent and sleeping bag in the back and drove off on a 3,000 km drive. I've loved that car ever since.