how did you end up with your current car?

[dhagood]

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

in my case, during the spring of 1994, my wife started complaining that my daily driver was on its last legs. she drove it occasionally, and was concerned that it was going to leave her stranded at some point. the car in question was an 81 vw jetta, which happened to be the first new car i'd ever bought. the car had been hit on the left front corner and indifferently repaired, so the car looked tired and shabby. the sunroof leaked (it had a real talent for dumping cold water down the back of your neck), the ventilation had always sucked, and with 185K miles was pretty worn down.

if it bothers you, i said, don't drive it. it works for me and it's long since paid for. and, i just sort of tossed out: if i buy another car it's gonna be a porsche. do what you have to do, my wife said, but i don't want to have to come get you on some dark, stormy night when that car leaves you stranded.

in 1970, i borrowed a college friend's 912 for an hour, and was really impressed. i'm gonna have to buy one of these someday, i had told myself. i had come close on two different occasions, but the time just wasn't right, i guess. then i got married, we had a couple of kids, i had a sailboat i raced extensively (j/24, best sailboat evar!), demanding job, yadda yadda.

but now i had my wife's ok, and it was her idea! there had to be a downside here, of course, and the downside was budget. my wife and i agreed that i had 15K to spend. in total. which included taxes of 6.8%, licensing fees, and any repairs that would be needed. eek, i thought. yes dear, i said. and so i started.

i bought, and still have, the used 911 story by peter zimmerman. i read about rust, thermal reactors, short wheel base handling characteristics, the necessity of a PPI, 20% of budget for required repairs, finding a good wrench before you started looking at cars, and other bits of 911 lore. once i had an idea of what i thought i was looking for, i began to look for cars.

I had a maximum of $13980 to pay for the car and any repairs (15K minus 6.8% tax), and holding 20% in reserve for repairs left $11184. 11K was going to get me into an "older" car, but i thought a good SC was possible. i was ok with a good SC.

now, this was before craig's list, and before ebay, and before google. i started by cruising the newspaper classified ads, and looking for the little boutique car shops that might have a 911 or two on the lot. i'd drive by car lots, slowed down, and if they had a 911 on the lot and i had a few extra minutes, i'd stop in. mostly i'd ask questions, and sometimes i'd drive one. in general, the cars i liked i couldn't afford, and the cars that i could afford didn't do much for me.

one fine day i turned into prestige imports in lakewood, co (denver metro area). i was driving my non-airconditioned, beatup, and old vw jetta. it was very hot, and i was hot and sweaty. i had turned in for a chance to get out of the sweltering car as much as to look at cars, so i spent a few minutes gasping in the air conditioned showroom before looking around for somebody to talk with.

and nobody wanted to waste their time talking with me. the salesmen had watched me drive up and get out of an old, beatup car, and had written me off. nobody said "beat it, punk", but their disdain was palpable, and the one guy i cornered was remarkably rude. what they had on their used lot was 3 black cabs, the cheapest of which was 50K. that day started my firm conviction that porsche dealers, in general, suck.

and i started wondering whether or not it was really true that porsche people were all arrogant snobs. a good friend of mine had recently sold an 81 SC, but maybe he was the exception that proved the rule.

so i asked around for a good 911 wrench, and was referred to pat moyle, who owned and ran his own shop named motorsport, located in englewood, co. i went and talked to pat about all manner of things porsche. pat was (and i'm sure still is) quite a guy, and i really enjoyed talking and dealing with him. he introduced me to some folks, some folks introduced themselves, and i came away from the hour i spent there with both my wrench and the feeling the porsche folk were getting a bad rap on the arrogance front.

one day i happened across a white coupe. cork interior, black trim, black fuchs, 15" wheels, and reasonable miles. hmm, i thought, so i drove it. this was perhaps the 5th car i'd driven, but the first coupe. i had always wanted a coupe, because i think the rear 3/4 view of a 911 coupe is about the sexiest and most powerful line on any car ever. i still think so, so it's a real crying shame that i don't fit in sunroof coupes. i am 6'4", and i have a lot of height in my torso. i could not adjust the seat so that i could both reach the steering wheel and shifter and not have my head in contact with the roof. i'm not talking about my head brushing against the headliner, i mean i had my head cocked to the side because the roof was so (#&$*#$* short.

well, maybe i could do something with a different seat. so, off the car went to motorsport for the PPI, and i talked to pat about after-market seats. after learning just how much a single recaro seat cost, much less two of them, the couple was looking pretty shaky. and then they called me into the shop to show me the huge weld bead that had been used to repair the tub. the car had taken a big impact on the front end, the tub itself had been crinkled, and the front pan had been straightened and rewelded. it was actually a pretty good job of repair, but pat said "you don't want this car" and so that was that for the pretty grand prix white coupe.

i had no interest in owning a cab (sports car with no roof or roll bar == bad), so i guess i was now targa boy. oh, snap. a targa doesn't have the sexy, powerful 3/4 rear view line i loved so much. but, it was still a 911, and maybe i'd learn to enjoy taking the top off.

about 6 weeks later, i found an 80 sc targa in silver. higher mileage than i wanted. blue interior, which i didn't like, and the car as a whole, exterior, interior, engine compartment, trunk, wheels, everything, kinda looked rode hard and put away wet. tired, past its prime. the price was right, however, and i would have some money left for repairs. i drove it, and it drove ok, so off it went to pat.

pat said, well, maybe. the big problem was that the heat exchangers were toast, and required replacing. as in, you ought to replace them, but you must replace them, because they will pump carbon monoxide into the passenger compartment. i mentioned to my wife that i might kinda sorta possibly had finally found my car, but i wasn't really all that thrilled with it.

i was going to go look at the car again, and my wife said she wanted to come as well. so off we went. she took one look at the car, and said not that one i hope. yeah, actually, that's the one. hmm, she said, and spent 5 minutes looking it over. she sat in the seats, looked at the top (tired, like most everything else) and said this won't do.

i agreed with her, but grouched a little bit that i had spent months looking and this was the price point i could afford, and they all would kinda be like this. now, the boutique dealer we were at happened to have about 5 911s on the lot, which was by far the most inventory i'd yet seen in 5 months of serious looking. the top of their inventory was a 25K coupe, resplendent in ice green, that was a grey market car. my wife looked at that one and asked how much is that one?

too much, i said. waaaay too much. plus i'd have to replace the seats, for another couple of grand, and besides, it's a grey market car, and there is some question about whether or not it can continue to be licensed by the state (there was some issue with the car's importation, and the feds were cracked down on grey market cars big time at that point).

well, what about that car, she asked, pointing to the car i've owned for over 17 happy years. it's out of my budget, dear, i said. they're asking 20K. see if they'll deal, said my lovely wife. i did, and they would. pat moyle said it's a keeper.

i've kept it ever since, and they'll bury me in that car.



what's your story?

[fbeatty]

Mine was kinda fate according to my parents...

5 years ago my parents said they wanted to by a 911 and asked me to help them out. I ended up looking and driving a few with them.

We drove across the state and looked at what is now my 88 911 Targa. I looked it over and told them it was a nice car and they should drive it. My mother said no you drive it. So I took it out and drove it, came back and told them it was nice and they should buy it. They did.

So they owned it for almost 5 years and put about 500 miles on it. Most of the time it sat in the garage on a battery tender. In that time I moved to NM for work. I had been in a motorcycle accident that added some metal parts to my body and my wife said no more street bikes. Thoughts of a new car came to mind...

One day I was talking to my mother and she said they were going to sell their car because they wanted something they could use. I said why don't you use what you have, it is a fine car. She said they always worried when they drove it anywhere or had to park it, etc... She asked if I know anyone that was interested in it. I told here I would ask around.

A month later my family flew down to Florida to check on our house and see my parents and brother and his wife. We were there for about a day and I went out in the garage at my parents for something. I look the car over real quick and told my mother, screw it, I'll buy it. How much do you want. They sold it to me for what they paid for it. My mother asked me if I should ask my wife first, I asked her what for.

My wife pulled up 45 minutes later, got out of our rental car and I told her, "We own a Porsche...". So 5 years and about 500 miles after I first drove her, now I own her and she sits in my garage...

My parents, ended up buying a Cayenne

[regency]

in 1977, I rode with my Uncle from Yuba City to the Porsche dealership in Oakland, Ca. My uncle purchased a used black 1973 911T Coupe. I was 19 then and followed him and the 911 home driving his Dodge truck. In 1980, the clutch failed in the 911 and my uncle parked it in his garage.

At Christmas, 2004, I was bragging to my uncle about the Yellow 1973 914 2.0 FI that I had just bought, driving it back to Sacramento from Portland. About mid January, 2005, my uncle called me, outta-da-blue and said, "if you want my Porsche, get a trailer and come get it". I did and it been a rewarding project. I drive it most weekends if it's not raining.

Steve

73 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

[DRACO A5OG]

I trade my real estate commission for my baby. It was a no brainer for me and the seller was good with it, he never drove her and sat under a tarp in his driveway.

[paulgtr]

I was living in Norway and was planning to come back to the states. In the three months before I moved back I was using the internet to search for interesting cars that fit my budget. I couldn't find anything that I really wanted. I got back to the states and the first day home I was driving down main street and saw 4 911's of different eras all for sale. I looked them over and one fit in my budget. I talked to the owner, took a ride and a drive. I was not exactly smart in the ways of buying a used car and did not get a PPI. I paid too much for it too! lol. oh well. live and learn.

Slowly but surely getting her just the way I want her. loads of fun and apart from a couple of niave decisions I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

[GH85Carrera]

Back in 1992 I was driving my 1974 914 2.0 with no air conditioning that I bought new. Then I got married. We took a two day trip to see the fall foliage in Arkansas. We put her luggage in the rear trunk. All of her makeup melted. She strongly "suggested" I get a Porsche with air conditioning and trunk that was not above heat exchangers.

I figured it was time to buy my dream car, a 911 Carrera. I started looking everywhere. Remember this was before the Internet was much more than a novelty. I found my car in a city just 100 miles away. It was a daily driver but the owner parked it in a underground parking garage with assigned parking. He parked between two other guys with nice cars and there were no door dings. I started drooling just looking at the car.

It has been my toy since 1995 and I think it is the perfect toy. It is worth more money than what I paid for it, and I will drive it to Savannah GA in just few weeks.

[yelcab1]

I don't have any such sexy stories. I wanted one, bought a Carrera, sold it many years later, missed it and bought an SC, and recently sold that too. One of these days, I'll be back but it has to be something really special like a 89 speedster, or 3.4 Turbo, or a slant nose, or some such ... and it won't be anything other than a 911. Never did need to ask my wife, she knew who she married.

[KNS]

Current 911: Only thing I've ever bought on Craigslist. Called the guy, did PPI, bought the car. Great color, strong mechanically, rust free AZ car, just needs a few things here and there. Love it!

[Oh Haha]

Divorced in 97, took a promotion and moved to my current area in 99. I set a goal of buying a classic 911 within 1 year. Met my 2nd(and last) wife in 99. We bought the SC in June 2000. Still have it and will unless we are starving or it gets replaced with a newer 911.


Details-
The SC was located in my hometown directly behind my best friend's house. He had moved there in 98. We used to slobber over the SC whenever we saw it out or just tucked away in the garage but it was not for sale.

After driving several 911s and not being too thrilled with any of them I thought my dream car would never happen.

In June 2000 we were in Chicago visiting my sister who had recently moved there. While at dinner one night my best friend called and told me the SC was for sale. He gave me number of the seller and I called him the next day. Once back home I made some calls to the garage that had done the maintenance on it. The shop owner is known for being a great guy and very knowledgable about european cars. He told me that the SC was one of cleanest he had worked on and that it was a solid, reliable 911.

I did not know about having a PPI at that time. I negotiated with the owner over a period of days and finally agreed on the price. At the same time my wife(girlfriend at the time) sold her car and took over the payments on my just purchased daily driver. That freed up the money to secure the loan for the SC. No, I had not driven the car yet or even looked at it up close. I just knew that this was meant to be. The day we met at the bank to make the purchase was my best friend's daughter's 3rd B-Day, June 10. I told the seller that I probably should drive it before we make the deal. I drove it around the block and fell in love. It wasn't perfect but I didn't care. This was going to become MY 911 in a matter of moments. After the deal was done, he drove me back to his house and showed me how things worked and to throw in a couple of extra parts. We've had it ever since and have had many great drives in it.

Another twist-
My older sister was looking to move to a different house a couple of years ago. She would email pics of houses around our hometown and ask our opinion. For whatever reasons, none suited her. One day she called to tell us that they had found their "new" house. She sent pics and something looked familiar. It was in the same neighborhood as my best friend's place but that wasn't all.

When moving day came we went over to help and I we rounded the corner I knew why it looked familiar...............................

It was where the SC lived before we bought it!!!I had driven by this same house many times while visiting my friend just to see it the garage door was up so I get a glimpse of the 911. While cleaning the garage I found a set of old front tires that the PO must have stashed in the attic.

What a small world. My sister never had a clue about the connection.

[HawgRyder]

Over the years I had rebuilt engines and transmissions for friends for their 911's.
the last one I did was a lightweight Carrera a 74...he got it running on 3 cylinders...and after I was done it ran on all 6!!
Scared the heck out of him.
I had asked him if he was going to sell the car to give me first chance at it....but...I was out of town when he decided it was too fast...and some quick talking SOB picked it up for $10K.
I told him he was cheated..but it was too late.
All this happened in Ontario.
I moved to British Columbia....and picked up a local buy/sell paper...and saw a 69S for sale..but the paper was 2 weeks old.
It was not advertised in the newest issue.
What the heck...try the number anyway...he still has the car...took the ad out because the fuel pump had died!
It was dirty...smelled bad inside...but I had it trucked home...and no...no PPI.
Replaced the fuel pump with an after market one..fresh battery (one...removed the other cable)...and fired it up.
It ran...but just barely...MFI....all settings were off...but at least it started.
Decided to check the bodywork....found the biggest piece of bondo in the driver's side just behind the door...at the first touch of the grinder...it just fell out! ...about 20 pounds of it.
When I checked the rest of the body...I found that it had been primered twice..bottom layer grey..with little spots of rust everywhere....then red over top of it...and finally red paint.
If I had not nicked the paint and found the rust spots..I'm sure I would have lost the car in a very short time.
Took the body down to bare metal...repaired a few small points..re-primered...and sent it to (sorry about this) Maaco for paint.
They actually did a great job...for not bad money.
Ran the car as a daily driver for 3 years..then had a bad sound in the engine one day.
Engine is on the stand as I type...my health has taken a nose dive...so things are progressing slowly.
But...I have faith...and determination.
Bob

[sailchef]

A friend sold used cars as a hobby/side job. I told him if he could find a black 911 with a whale tail I'd buy it.

He found it, I bought it.

This was before my Pelican days, no PPI, just a short test drive.

[LJ851]

Craigslist. Bought an unloved 85 Carrera for 8k from a super nice guy in Alabama with 911s littering his property. It needs work but i've put 12k miles on it the first year and it has stolen my heart.

[sm70911]

eek, i thought. yes dear, i said

Too funny.

[village idiot]

My story is a little unusual as prior to my first Porsche I had been a die hard 'Merican V8 follower. In fact, my daily driver at the time was a bonafide 11 second street car that saw dragstrip action every weekend I was able to go.

I had heard rumors that the track was going to close, and felt there was no point in having a car so narrowly focused. I sold the car and made quite a killing on it as it was fairly well known having finished 2nd for N/A small blocks in a "Fastest Streetcar Shootout" event.

I then purchased an E30 BMW for a really good price from a friend in need of some cash, I threw a little money at it buying Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers. Eventually I added an limited slip and aftermarket sway bars. A lot of fun was had in that car.

Now, I work at a place where I get to see a lot of different cars come and go. I had a customer bring in this very tired 76 911s Targa that was not running. The owner tried on many occasions to figure out the problem but was stumped. Eventually, he took a job out of country and because I had had shown some interest in the car, offered it to me for $1500. I took the deal because I was looking for a project. So it began.

Well, I did eventually get the car running with new injectors and a complete tune-up but smoked horribly and had a loud knock. I had already become a Pelican member and read up on the limitations and cost involved in rebuilding the engine, so began the search for a 3.0 to replace the 2.7.
I ventured into a couple independent repair shops and as luck would have it one of them told me while he did not have an engine for sale, he did have a complete car that I could purchase for little more than I was going to spend on an engine alone. $6000 later I was driving a pretty rough 78 911 SC home in rush hour traffic(without issue!). After a bit of thought, I decided I liked the coupes lines more than the Targa and sold it shortly after bringing the coupe home.
Here's how she looked then



After four years of work and many dollars spent with our host as well as many great members here I have a pretty nice looking RS impostor that I built entirely on my own. It's literally days from completion and I'm chomping at the bit to drive it.

Tom

[BIGHORN]

25 Years ago I went for a ride in a friends newly required 2.7 RS and was very impressed. In March he told me he was interested in a Ferrari that I had, and we traded cars- no PPI etc, did not see each others cars utill after we exchanged titles.

Dont recommend doing this, but I knew the guy was honest and knew what a good car was; He apparently thought the same of me.

Both parties are happy with the deal.

[al lkosmal]

A little while back I sold my 71E and started looking for my next project. I started a thread about handling, lightness, hot rod mods and one of the responses included pics and description of a beautiful 73 911 that really appealed to me. I responded and the owner and I started an email conversation and ..............it ended up in my garage.


Best handling....lightness vs. distribution vs....?

[Scott Douglas]

Long story short, I swapped cars and some cash with my brother.
Here's the long of it:
My brother works in an industrial complex that has shared parking between many companies. An employee of one of those companies used to use the SC as a daily commuter. My brother would see the car in the parking lot and eventually ran into the owner there as well. He was shown the car and commented on how he wouldn't mind owning one like it someday. Time passed, about 3 years if I remember correctly. Then one day the owner sees my brother and asks him if he knows anyone who would be interested in the car as he was going to put it up for sale. My brother jumped at the chance, but first wanted a test ride/drive. They made arrangements to meet up after work one day as the owner lived south of my brother and said he would stop by on his way home from work. I can remember the emails my brother sent that day and how excited he was about the car. Well, for some reason, the test drive didn't happen. The next day the excitement had cooled considerably in the emails. I patiently waited for the next word on a test drive.
The following day I emailed him and asked if he got to drive it.
All my brother emailed back was "Bought it".
That weekend I called my brother and asked about the car. All he could say was that it was like having a small V-8 in the back.
As luck would have it I was scheduled to go up to my brothers the following weekend, and, he hadn't picked up the car yet either. So, I get up there and he says, "Let's go get the SC." We're on it. Pile our two sons in the back of my trusty Honda and off we go. We finally get the car home after doing the deal. It hadn't been washed/vacuumed/cleaned up for some time and I wanted to start in on that right away. I could see that it would clean up real nice and wanted to do that for my brother as he's more into the mechanical than the cosmetics. Instead, all he can say is "NO, we have to go for a ride first so I can show you what it's like."
So, we pile the boys in the backseat and take off. He goes down to the stop sign at the end of his street, puts it in second gear, makes a right turn, takes it to 3k rpm and NAILS IT! HOLY MOLY! Hang on kids! It just takes off like no other Porsche he's ever had before. And with FOUR of us in the car too! Anyway, he uses the car on occasion to commute to work but not as much as I would have. He has the car for 6 years. Don't know exactly why he didn't use it more but, there it sat. Maybe it was because it failed smog, maybe it was such a pain to work on compared to his early cars, I don't know. All I do know is, it seemed to sit more than it was driven.
In the mean time, I find and revive a '67 912 sunroof coupe and get into the 912 scene. I have a blast, meeting people, making friends, taking lots of pictures, enjoying the car. Then my knee starts to give me trouble. So much so that for four days after I attend the 912 Rendezvous one year it was painful to walk let alone drive a stick. Too much commuting with a stick shift finally caught up with me. But wait, my brother is trying to sell the SC which is a Sportomatic.
One day while we're emailing back and forth he makes me an offer, my car for his. Sweet. Just what I had hope for. Now to convince the wife. She's all for it since the SC will be/is more refined than the 912 and more modern/comfortable and even has A/C! So, in Dec of '07 I drove up to Northern California in my '67 912 and came home with a '78 SC mit Sportomatic. End of story.

[j911brick]

I luv these kind of stories.

Nearly 20 years ago I has just started a new career and was ready to get back into another Porsche. I felt I could only afford a cheaper model so I started looking at 944s in the sub $5k range. I told my father all I could find was crap in my price range he suggested I stop wasting my time and just buy a 911 since that was the car I always wanted. So I thought I would at least start looking and see what happened. I forget how I found it but a small dealer in OKC had one on consignment. My only perks were that I did not want a targa or a red one. So what did they have... you guessed it? But the dealer insisted I look at the car and they were willing to bring it to me on the other side of town since I didn't have any transportation. At first glance I was not impressed with the way the wheels were painted and I knew I would not buy the car, but I would at least test drive it to get a base-line. After the test drive I knew it was a solid car owned by a real enthusiast. To my surprise the dealer was able to actually arrange financing and get the wheels polished to my spec so we had a deal. To spite the fact I paid top dollar at the tie is was a solid car and has served me well over the years, till it was involved in a racing shunt a couple months ago.



Part II:
Resurrecting a Legend

[ramonesfreak]

always been in love with the 1989 and earlier 911's along with ferrari 308's. when i was almost finished with school all i could think of was buying my 911. got some books and started reading. 10 years went by in the blink of an eye and wasnt able to afford the 911

one day out of the blue i googled used 911's in my area and saw one listed. got out of work, looked at it and bought it

no PPI, alot of dings and leaking oil hoses...but no rust issues and all original interior

when i test drove it, it had no plates so i couldnt leave the neighborhood and it barely ran since it was still march and cold and had badly dried and cracked tires. on the way home the car stalled about 5 times and i thought i made a horrible mistake but i was very happy

12,000 miles later and the car runs perfect except in the early spring when its cold and the idle will bounce around and i have barely done anything to it except brakes, tires, oil hoses and a few cosmetic things

still have no idea about compression #'s and whether there are broken head studs but i suspect they are fine. the engine runs like a new car and i drive it every day from march till november

someday i will buy a 1989 3.2 but will do it the right way with a PPI and will be prepared to travel to get the perfect one. for now, my car, despite its flaws brings me alot of pleasure.

[slodave]

My dad bought the Targa new in 'Nov 83. He gave it to me in 2000 when he was done driving small uncomfortable sports cars.