Phone calls asking if your Porsche is for sale

[RonDent]

I was in Sacramento over the weekend visiting the folks. My mother tells me that she received a phone call the other day asking her if I still have my '84 911 and if was for sale. This is a little strange because:

1. My parents have an unlisted number
   
2. I haven't lived there in over 45 years
   
3. How did they get my name to begin with?
   

Has anyone else had this happen?

[steely]

No, but close to it.
Any chance that it might've been an old acquaintance? Can you check her caller ID? Hopefully it was an innocent call.

[tirwin]

It is strange and I agree with Dan that first thought should be maybe it was an old acquaintance, but in this day and age I don’t put anything past people anymore.

I was working on the 911 last weekend with the garage door up. A guy pulled into my driveway and walked up to ask me about the car. I guess it was innocent enough. He gave me his name and told me he lived a street over. I think he was fishing to see if I would consider selling the car.

Unfortunately the attention is getting a little too common for comfort as this seems to be happening to me more and more. I really like enjoying the spring weather. Now I wish my garage wasn’t visible from the street. I don’t mind people talking to me about the car if they’re a car enthusiast. I don’t really like the way some people seem to be angling for an opportunity for themselves. Sometimes seems a little sleazy.

Are others finding a recent increase in attention? I had kinda though the market for our cars was cooling a bit but maybe not.

[tdw28210]

So I rent a garage slot at my neighbors house for my '87. They have 2 separate garage doors. They asked me to put a car cover on it because they were tired of randos walking up and asking them if it was for sale when they left THEIR side of the garage open. That means these guys are cruising by and craning their necks. Kind of creepy/unnerving.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Must be a regional thing. I've had plenty of compliments but never had anyone creepily follow me or come up to my house asking if I'll sell. I always try to keep my garage door closed, but it's open often enough. Though I do also live in a small neighborhood that's not a through street, so most of the traffic also lives here.

[RonDent]

Couldn't be someone I know. Like I said. I haven't lived there since I was 17, and I think I had my 911 in the driveway maybe twice. Someone is going to a lot of trouble to find older Porsches. Oh did I mention I live about 200 miles from there. I wouldn't be surprised if someone isn't checking on boards like this, looking at which Porsches we own or have owned and trying to track them down. Not Blaming, just saying.

[Tobra]

Someone would have had to have seen the car there and gotten the number. This is not impossible with an unlisted number.

I get notes on the car and people stopping to ask if it is for sale if the garage is open all the time.

[MRM]

Big data scraped your information from the internet. If you have your phone number attached to any profile you've established on line some data miner has it and has sold it to people looking for people like you. All they need is your phone number and they can find anything out about you.

That's why my cell phone rings half a dozen times a day with robo calls for debt relief, health insurance, cruises, etc., when I've never given my cell number to anyone.

Someone bought a list of people with Porsches and associated you with your parents' number and they called. Oh, and yes, big data did know you were visiting your folks over the weekend.

[RonDent]

I'm sure someone is data mining for Porsches. Data mining on the internet is easy. It's surprising what you can fond out about anyone.
But I sold the car 5 years ago.
The call to my parent's was some weeks back.

[stomachmonkey]

Probably Alex Manos, Beverly Hills Car Club.

Guy has a way of sniffing out cars.

A random phone call out of the blue is his MO.

[craigster59]

I haven't gotten any strange calls on my 911 but I'm getting tired of the IRS calling, telling me I'm going to get picked up by the local cops.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Probably Alex Manos, Beverly Hills Car Club.

Guy has a way of sniffing out cars.

A random phone call out of the blue is his MO.

Wait, is your 84 wrapped around a light pole ? If it's a nice car it, cannot be BHCC, they only skim the bottom of the pond ;-)

Just read of another victim on the alfa board hat bought a GTV from them, poor guy...car's a mess...

[id10t]

Must be old DMV records, or an insurance company got their data hacked.

I got a call about my 356, which hasn't been registered/on the road in 13 years

[matthewb0051]

Originally Posted by craigster59

I haven't gotten any strange calls on my 911 but I'm getting tired of the IRS calling, telling me I'm going to get picked up by the local cops.

I spoke to one of those "IRS" guys recently. Since I'm in DC, I asked where their office is located and I would come down. Guy calls me a sand ni gg er and hangs up.

[matthewb0051]

I get stopped frequently in parking lots asking if I want to sell. Its pretty creepy. Usually you can tell they have no idea what they are looking at. One guy tells me that my longhood was worth less than an SC or 912.

I think from now on I'm just going to ask how much they think its worth since they usually ask for the 'its not for sale price'. Just for giggles

[carreradpt]

Ron, I received a call a couple months ago from a young woman asking if my pcar was for sale. Didn't know her or recognize the number. Very strange call. I took the steering wheel off for a while when I wasn't driving it.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Wait, is your 84 wrapped around a light pole ? If it's a nice car it, cannot be BHCC, they only skim the bottom of the pond ;-)

Just read of another victim on the alfa board hat bought a GTV from them, poor guy...car's a mess...

Alex will buy anything.

I personally know cars he's bought and they were nice examples.

Like anything else, buyer beware.

[matthewb0051]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Wait, is your 84 wrapped around a light pole ? If it's a nice car it, cannot be BHCC, they only skim the bottom of the pond ;-)

Just read of another victim on the alfa board hat bought a GTV from them, poor guy...car's a mess...

But he looked so nice on Wheeler Dealers. Mike got a good deal, apart from the oil leaking engine.

[pwd72s]

What a coincidence! Just today I got a letter from an area Ford dealer, telling me they desperately wanted a 2009 Mustang for their lot and cordially inviting me to look at a new car.

For some reason, no more calls about my old beater 911, since it left here over a decade ago.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Wait, is your 84 wrapped around a light pole ? If it's a nice car it, cannot be BHCC, they only skim the bottom of the pond ;-)

Just read of another victim on the alfa board hat bought a GTV from them, poor guy...car's a mess...

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Alex will buy anything.

I personally know cars he's bought and they were nice examples.

Like anything else, buyer beware.

Here are some photos of actual cars he’s sold, taken inside of his business last year on a field trip there. If he ever got a decent car, it would be entirely by accident.

If you put these “cars” in a movie about a scum car dealer, a comedy, people would say that you went too far.