butzip

In Nashville on business, reading the classifieds 1997. I spot a 1980 SC blk on blk w/50k orginal miles. Located in the Brentwood, home to the rich & famous. I call the guy tell him I'm coming to look at it right away. He tells me somebody is looking @ it as we were speaking. I get there within and hr, the car is flawless, non sunroof coupe, just beautiful, no leaks, engine is smooth as silk, cold a/c. Looking around, this guy lived on a 60 acre horse farm, 750il, prowler, mustang GT, suburban, 6500 sf home and drop-dead gourmet cook wife. He had all the bases covered. I asked "why are you selling it?" he claimed he was going to sell either the mustang or the 911. He couldn't decide so he turned to his 12 yr old son and asked him "which one do you like better" the kid said the mustang so the 911 was for sale. He said he would take $10k for it but the guy who looked at it just 30min before I got there, put a deposit on it AAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! The one that got away.

K964

Summer of 1986, just home from my freshman year at Pitt. Visit local "exotic" dealership in Erie, PA---GT Motorcar. Baking in the hot sun is a white 911. Sales dude comes out to help me out so I pepper him with questions: Where's the sunroof? Where's the radio? Where's the a/c? Why no electric windows? What's up with the strange inside door pull straps? Why does that "whale tail" look so funny?

He tries to explain to this cocky, obviously uneducated college kid why this car is so special and how it "might" be worth some $$$ someday. Yeah, whatever! was my reply, then I jumped into my beater, laughing all the way home.

The car: 1973 Carrera RS. White with blue Carrera script and blue Fuchs. The price: $17,000. Yes, it still haunts me. Please pass the Prozac!!!

blake

Came across this thread via search and wanted to revive it (forgot I posted it!)... I am sure current Rennlisters have plenty of stories to share...

-B

Coldface

Nice stories. I don't have one about a car, but I can give you a ton of similar ones about stocks (GOOG ipo, CMG, APPL after crash of last year, etc.)

RollingArt

Great thread to revive Blake!

I've had a number get away. Most recent was a 1950 coupe that just sold locally last week. Was advertised on CL. I found it about 1 hour after it had been listed. $18k. Complete car with all the hard to find bits in place and original motor. Sounded like minimal rust. Didn't hear back from the seller until the next morning when he emailed me, "the 1950 coupe has been sold to a gentleman from Half Moon Bay".

You could part out the dash on that car for $18k!
That car is probably worth $60k + as is!

Porsche built about 500 cars in 1950.
Not a lot of them still around.



Phil

odurandina

how would you feel to be this guy ?

https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topi...are-fakes.html



disclaimer: all the cars still rock.

89826

In 1988, I was looking for a T-6 356 cabriolet. I had been involved in accident with my rusty white '64 cab (purchased for about $8K), and had just sold it. I had the insurance money and was ready to go.

There was an ad in the paper for a T-6 Carrera cabriolet, with a push-rod motor, for around $10K (I can't remember exactly how much). And the floor had been replaced (relatively common on 356's). I was the first person to see it, and was ready to buy. But I checked with my mechanic first, and his exact words were, "What do you want to buy that rusty piece of sh*t for?" In reality though, the rest of the car didn't look rusty.

So I passed. There were only 30 odd C2 cabs made, and they go for north of $300k these days (with the proper motor). That car still haunts me. A little bit of irony is that later he bought from one of his customers a Roadster which needed a new floor.

The mechanic is one of my best friends, and I still give him a hard time. And he has some stories about what he let pass by.

It worked out ok I guess, because I ended up buying a twin-grille Roadster, which I still have.

ruflife

1990 - Wouldn't believe it if it didn't happen to me. A friend told me about a family friend who was getting a divorce for what I was told was a blond with large ----. Gave me the wifes number and said it was some kind of Porsche but didn't remember what it was. Called and got her on the third try. She ( needless to say ) was not happy with him and the red car , as she called it , was in her name alone so she was getting rid of it . ( He split time in this and a 560 sec ). She didn't know what exactly it was but it looked like a bathtub. I tell her I can be there in an hour if that works. On the drive over, Keep going over what if's in my head - 356 - 911 - 930 - 924 - ? Get there about 6 p.m ( almost get run over by an ---hole in a red convertible 930 on her street ) WAIT !!!!!!!! Sold to the guy fixing the pool - 1986 930 turbo look cab ( she still had the papers out on the back of her cadillac in the garage next to the basically cocktail napkin bill of sale ----- $ 4500.00 ) I still to this day sometimes weep uncontrollably ...

Last week - 1989 944 Turbo s , Black/Linen , 36k miles, runs and drives , needs header panel and front bumper ( Craigslist ) . $ 1500.00 - I call, she says " I hit a snow bank and already had another car but this was just an old car and wasn't worth much " . Be there in an hour - grab $1500.00 from everywhere. Show up as it is being loaded on a trailer. Stop right next to it - waayyy tooo cleeaan . Phone rings - she says it was sold and she was sorry - Call her back as I head home. She says the city came by and said she coulnd't have a wrecked car in her driveway right after I told her I was coming. She called a salvage yard to come and get it............... of course she couldn't remember the name of the company that gave her $500.00 for it ................... I give up !!!!!

Jay Gratton

Great thread!!! True story here. A doctor who lived on my street growing up in NH was from Kansas and was home visiting family in the mid-west. Was reading the local paper and in there it says: "For Sale-1988 911. 20K miles, $50." This all happened in 1988 or 1989 so my family friend just assumes it is $50K, but after a few days the guy can't take it anymore and calls for details. The car belonged to some business man who ran away with his side dish and told his wife to sell the 911 and they would split the car. So the lady was selling it for $50.00 to stick it to her husband, but the car had sold the day the ad ran. OOPS!

donnieknoxville

In the winter of 2001, I was poking aroung for a mid 80's 911. Passes on a red one owned by a famous Minneapolis restauranteur before looking at a C2 owned by none other than Gov. Jesse Ventura. Yep - drove the guv in his own C2 for a test drive. The thick black smoke prevented that purchase but prepared me for what was about to happen next.

Several days later I got a call from a dealer in Omaha, NE, about 8 hours from Mpls. He had a 1987 White/Burgundy 1-owner 911 w/60K miles. As I has three very small kids I said I we need a day or two to arrange for childcare so my wife an I could make the trip down. Two days later I called and said I was all set. He replied that he had just sold it and it was on its way to MO. Very sad, I decided to end my search for a while.

2 days later the same dealer called back and said that while the guy in MO was awaiting delivery, he saw a Boxter that he liked better and that the kid delivering the car had turned back to Omaha.

Figuring I would again have a chance like this, we arranged for the kids quickly, hopped inthe car and bought the car 2-days later.

Have owned it ever since. Love it!!!!

Norske

In 1992. A beautiful metalic green 89 Carrera. Tan interior. Low miles, with gold BBS wheels. Seller used me to set a price so his friend could buy. I was so pissed. I yelled at the guy for 15 minutes and almost came to blows. He had agreed with me a price and to sell the day before. I had given a $500 deposit. He just gave me the deposit back and looked sheepish.

I ended up buying a triple black 85 T look coupe.

Jay Gratton

Please forgive me, but this is a 914 story but still a good one. Back in the 2000 (give or take a year), I came across a lady in Northern Maine selling an "Old Porsche - Sitting in barn for years" in the local paper. The words Porsche and Barn got my attention so I looked into it. I drove a few hours inland from my place in Boothbay Harbor to see what was up as I had nothing to do that day. The lady had an old farm house with a barn out back. All she knew is that it was an old Porsche her husband bought before he passed away and she didn't know much about it.
I walked out back and found a very dirty 914 Limited Edition with under 40K on it. The car hadn't moved in 10-15 years and it showed. The tires were flat, the car was covered in dust, but the body and interior were perfect under all that dirt. The old lady again, didn't know about it very much and her local gas station employee told her the car was worth $1K. I told her "SOLD" and I would be back the next day to get it with the truck and trailer.
I called my Dad and Matt Romanowski and they said they would be up to help. I was so excited as clearly she didn't know what she had. I called her that night to confirm everything with her and I got the bad news. She had spoken to her friend at the local gas station and she was supposed to sell the car for $10K and not $1K. At the time $10K was all the money for that car (esp. not running). The lady was about 80 and knew nothing about the car, so I couldn't really get mad at her. I wished her well and told her she was asking to much and to keep me in mind if she decided to come down. Oh well!

MrBonus

It's strange seeing this thread again. When I originally posted in it, I owned a 997 and was yearning for an air-cooled car. The car I ended up buying wasn't the exact car I was referencing but it is my dream Porsche.

VintageRacer

April 2009:
1997 Carrera S, Guards Red, 35K miles, perfect condition, all records from new, just serviced, local car all its life. $34,900 asking price (private party, which means no sales tax in GA).

I decided to "think it over" for a day or so. It had gone to another home two days later.

mclaudio

Hmmm...I can share several "one that got away" cars as well as "so fortunate I followed my heart" cars:

"one that got away" cars

- 914/6 70s/80s IMSA GTU car that raced in Sebring, RA, etc. It was for sale several years ago. I made a deal with the seller subject to PPI and provenance check. I decided to back out for seemingly rational reasons. Though I probably would have bought it at a high price, I still think about that car
- 69 911S for $8K in 1995. I probably would have put more work into it though
- 71 911S for $13K in 1994. This one was a track setup car but it was period correct
- 56 Lotus 11 just last year. It ended selling for over $110K, but owner was getting antsy and seemed ready to pull the trigger at $70K. I didn't pull the trigger due to missing id plate, which put a question in its provenance; I suppose other people knew more about these cars than I did.
- 57 Speedster for $42K in 1995
- 59 356 D for $50K in 1997 in unrestored, original #2 condition

"so fortunate I followed my heart"
-backed out on 360 challenge car for $90K in 2007-08
-69 911 bought for $6K in 1994 sold for $12K two years later
-914 2.0 for $3K in 2004. Enjoyed the heck out of it. Sold for $7K 15 months later. I missed it so much I bought another one for $6K and sold it for $9K. Guess what? I still would like to own another 914 in the future...a period 914 race car perhaps.
-backed out of Alfa Giulietta Spyder race car represented as a Veloce. I'm glad I was second to last bidder at $56K. Car ended up to be a rebodied Alfa
-83 911SC cab - the car I bought in 1991 and kept the longest i.e. 9 years. Bought it for $14K, sold it for $17K. Best of all, I've had some of the best memories with friends and family on trips in this car
-87 Ferrari 328 GTS - I was afraid to buy a Ferrari because of magazine write ups, horribly expensive maintenance stories, unreliable tales. I probably would have gotten into F cars sooner if I had driven one earlier. Now, I prefer these cars to any impact bumper era street production 911s (74-89) including 930s.

I'm sure I can think of others...but no regrets overall. Win some...loose some. In a lot of cases, I'm glad I was able to at least drive them without having to own them. I feel fortunate for being able to experience such cars.