[LeeH]

I've been "between Porsches" for almost three years. During that time my wife and I conceived and hatched a (usually) darling girl who's taken much of our time. With our daughter approaching two and the jolt of 9/11, my wife made captain at her job as an airline pilot. The time seemed right for this full time stay at home dad to buy himself a toy.

I've looked at many cars over the past couple of years. Cars described as "excellent" or "mint" (and priced accordingly) looked more like they needed a massive restoration. I even went as far as buying an "obviously well cared for" 911 on eBay from a dealer in TX. His moneyback guarantee gave me the confidence to place the winning bid. Thankfully there was a moneyback guarantee as the car was a rat.

I widened my search to any city where I had an acquaintance. A few days post Christmas I saw an AutoTrader ad in Chicago for an '84 911 Targa in excellent condition (of course) with 83K miles. Asking price: $14,500. The owner sounded like a Porsche guy speaking of 3000 mile oil changes with Mobil 1 and how he hated to give up his baby.

The owner sent lots of photos. Hmmm. Grand Prix white, color matched wheels, factory spoilers, and sport seats... all things I really like! My friend in Chicago agreed to take a look for me. The report came back very positive. A few scratches and chips were all that he reported.

$14K was wired and the car was taken to a terminal in Chicago for transport. Nearly two agonizing weeks later we got a call from a terminal here in Phoenix. Finally!

I didn't spend a lot of time going over the car at the terminal. It didn't really matter. It was mine. I'd take a close look when I got home. The trip home was uneventful. It looked, rode, drove, and smelled like the other two 911s I had owned. The short shift kit took a bit to get used to, but the few extra horses over my SC did not.

Almost a week later, I've washed, polished, waxed, cleaned, and detailed much of the car. I feel like I did a foolish thing and came out OK. The original paint is in very nice shape. The hood and fenders will probably benefit from a some wet sanding, but everyone who's seen it thinks it lookes like new. The all leather interior suffers from a little dash and rear deck warpage, and there's a 1 inch seam coming loose on the driver's seat side bolster. Otherwise it, too, is very nice. Underneath, the car shows signs that a few of the 83K miles were in Chicago winters. Nothing major, but just a little crustiness that my last car didn't have.

But that's OK too. My SC was almost too nice and when I wasn't looking it nearly became a garage queen. The light blue metallic paint was extremely difficult to touch up. Grand prix white on the otherhand... well let's just say the $2.99 bottle of Nissan Super White is a perfect match!

Would I recommend buying a 911 without looking at it or having it checked out? NO! Not unless you have a strong stomach and are willing to accept the consequences. I got lucky. Very lucky!