jackb911

Well, I wasn't planning on selling it just yet, but sometimes these things just happen.

The Euro vs. US Dollar exchange rate evidently has made our cars more attractive to Euro buyers and I came across an ad on Pelican from a German gentleman who was looking for a low-mile M491 cabriolet with a G50 transmission. Hmmm... happened to have a pristine '89 M491 that I bought from the original owner awhile back with just 33,000 miles.

It was bit of a process since neither I nor the German buyer had ever done an overseas transaction of this magnitude, but I learned a lot and it ended up being quite a bit easier than I expected.

Why did I sell it? I recently reacquired the '87 3.2 Coupe that I bought ten years ago and had sold to my brother Don in 2006. We did a 7+ month widebody conversion on it that was just finished this past May. Don wanted to start another project so I repurchased the '87 which was my favorite Porsche of all the ones I've had since that first one that followed me home back in 1972.

Also, I am a die hard 'coupe guy' so I had already decided to sell the cab in Spring 2011 if I could find a buyer who would pay my asking price. When I saw the WTB ad I contacted the prospective buyer, we exchanged several e-mails (and pictures). He is a real Porsche enthusiast who currently drives a very sharp 964. He flew to Atlanta to check out the car, he was ecstatic when he saw/drove it, the funds were wire transferred into my (new) account and I delivered the car to the port in Jacksonville, FL two days ago.

The cab will be transported to Bremerhaven, Germany via Hoegh Autoliners who has a fleet of roll-on/roll-off transport ships. I was fortunate to find a local shipping agent who handled all the paperwork and arrangements. Everything went smoothly as silk.

Here are some pics that were taken on the way to the port. It was a LONG day...770 miles from Atlanta to the Jacksonville seaport and back.

Helios59

Congratulations on your sale.

Your car is the opposite of mine, which was a German-market car which came to Miami back in 1986...when Euro cars were popular with American buyers.

race911

Popular in that Americans thought they could get a "deal" by purchasing a gray market car from an individual importer. Nothing more, nothing less than people's greed in both buying and selling brought the Euro cars over here. I'm getting the shakes now just remembering a couple of the abortions I had pass through my shop..................

Glad to see the seller's car went to an appreciative buyer, wherever on the globe he resides! Oh, and the exchange certainly isn't favorable in their direction. Depending on timing, isn't the Euro about 10% off this year?

jackb911

Good point...with that said, both of us were happy with the selling price (which out of courtesy to the buyer I'd prefer not to reveal). Another factor for the buyer may have been that a larger percentage of USA Porsches of this ilk tend to be babied a bit more than in Europe and are not run hard at autobahn speeds on a regular basis. My buyer specifically wanted a USA version for that reason.

The new owner seems to be an extremely meticulous guy who will take excellent care of the car but he does intend to drive it regularly which unfortunately I didn't do because I was trying to keep the mileage down. My blue '87 has 118K miles so that isn't a factor.

Helios59

True enough..luckily my car came from the factory w/the North American engine and catalytic converter so I didn't have to deal w/any dodgy aftermarket emissions problems. Wish I knew a bit more about its early history...

rusnak

That's a beautiful cab, Jack.

So ironic to see 80's 911s make a return trip to Germany from the U.S. via the grey market. Truly crazy times.

Roberto Cravallo

sitting here in cold, cold germany and awaiting good news from HOEGH.

Looks like my 964 is sold (very sad thought) details to be cleared with
the bank on monday.

Can't wait for your beautifull former car to make it to the "fatherland"!!!
And yes, no more life as a garage queen!!! This baby will have to hit the
road. Not the Autobahn, that's no fun. Nice curvy roads throughout germany
and a trip to Italy with 10 other 911 is already in the planing!!

Pictures of last years trip for those that are interested..
http://www.sonnabend-edv.de/index.ph...142&Itemid=231
Just hit the tags under the picture of the sign...

Jack, I will keep you posted, you know where to look for pictures!

Regards,

Bob

PS: And yes, the Euro was a lot better last year. But then I didn't meet Jack
until this year.

PPS: Who took the picture for your Avatar? Looks very professional.

jackb911

Hmmmm...let me see if I can recall who shot that avatar picture. If my memory serves, he was a pretty good photog.

Welcome to Rennlist, Robert!