05-01-2010, 01:32 AM
<b>Part 2 - The Project</b>
In part 1 I was so, so close to buying a S-2000; just ‘cause it was there and was a great deal. I did a bit of research and that car was clearly the best deal on a low mileage 2000 in the country – 30% under market asking price – and 10 miles from my garage. Bullet-proof Japanese construction and a blast to drive. Wife said “go for it” – she drives a Honda and pays our Visa bill – pretty clear that if I just got the Honda and let the Porsche go life would be easier on the wallet.
Alas it just did not have the visceral feel of a Porsche – any Porsche for that matter.
I need to note here that my son Mike is in this all the way – he’s there for every entry into the GPS, every test drive, every post drive evaluation. Kid loves cars god bless him. Anyway, back to the 987.
As we pulled out of the very nice Porsche dealership in Newport Beach in my old 968 we decided they needed a little reminder of what a front-mounted 4-banger sounds like, so I smoked the tires in first and second. 300 yards later Mike and I looked at each other and smiled. The deal was done. No Japanese car, no stinking Boxster. What I need is a 968 – hey I already have one. Incidently the main difference that I found between the 968 and the Boxster was driving position. The 968 is low, low, low – feels like your arse is on the ground, and I love that. The car just fits, you know?
Question now was what would it really cost me to get the car to where I want it? I don’t want a race car, I want a fast, well mannered GT convertible – just like it was designed.
Now I am in my wheel house. I do a lot of things, but I am a project manager by nature. Give me a hard target and I’ll nail it every time. Now I have a direction, a hard target. Options, options – lets see what the options are.
<i>Make or buy – fix or go low.</i>
<b>Make/Fix</b>
Let’s see, struts, shocks, check. Rack bushing – right. Castor blocks, motor mounts – got it. While you’re in there do the oil pan seal and the rod bearings. When do I need the water pump? Clutch is good, brakes are new – no problem. Tires are smoking hot – cool.
Now what about that interior? BV got his seats redone – they look great. Carpets – gawd that looks like a nasty job. Maybe some cool upgrades at the local upholsterer.
And performance. Got the cab brace. I need the strut brace and a real chip from Pete. Should I get the top end refreshed? Hmmmm…..
Run the numbers – holy smokes. Bob was right.
<b>Buy/Go Low</b>
OK this requires patience right? Not like you can buy one at the dealer. Not common as fleas like the Boxster. I started with Autotrader. Some of those cars have been on there for over a year – I don’t think they are real. Send a couple of emails – dead letter office. eBay? – yea right, like I am going to bid on a car I’ve never seen and be obligated by their stupid rules to buy a POS. Not happening.
So, I search. Now you have to understand that as a project manager, this patience stuff wears thin, like yesterday. This is a problem and I want it solved now NOW ! I have the skills, I have the technology. Either buy one or fix yours, simple. Gents the anxiety this produced for me is hard to describe – I really need to get another hobby.
Suddenly I realized that I needed to focus on something other than the solution, because that was going to take time no matter which way I went. So I focused on the hunt – it worked. I amassed a small database of good sources of used 968s for sale in the US (happy to share that with anyone who is interested – PM me and I’ll send you the links).
I found one early in my search. 37K miles. Looks good. Talk to the guy – 2 owners – I like the colors. Shoot this was too easy. Local friendlies ready to help. PPI arranged. Work the deal - great I’ll be there next week to pick it up.
As I am literally about to push the “buy” button on the air tickets for me and Mike to go get it the following Friday I remembered that I had not run the Carfax. OK, back to get the credit card. Did you all know that CarFax has changed their pricing? What a rip – Autocheck is now clearly the better deal. Anyway, guess what - salvage title.
I sent the guy a note – he claims complete ignorance. Who knows? But its damned near impossible to get a salvage title repaired, and the guy wanted too much $ for that.
So the hunt goes on. I check my websites daily and find, to my surprise and delight, that a new listing goes up almost every day. Now, this hunt thing, delayed gratification I think they call it, could be fun…
Anxiety relieved Mike and I head up to Long Beach to enjoy a couple of days of grand prix racing in the streets…
In part 1 I was so, so close to buying a S-2000; just ‘cause it was there and was a great deal. I did a bit of research and that car was clearly the best deal on a low mileage 2000 in the country – 30% under market asking price – and 10 miles from my garage. Bullet-proof Japanese construction and a blast to drive. Wife said “go for it” – she drives a Honda and pays our Visa bill – pretty clear that if I just got the Honda and let the Porsche go life would be easier on the wallet.
Alas it just did not have the visceral feel of a Porsche – any Porsche for that matter.
I need to note here that my son Mike is in this all the way – he’s there for every entry into the GPS, every test drive, every post drive evaluation. Kid loves cars god bless him. Anyway, back to the 987.
As we pulled out of the very nice Porsche dealership in Newport Beach in my old 968 we decided they needed a little reminder of what a front-mounted 4-banger sounds like, so I smoked the tires in first and second. 300 yards later Mike and I looked at each other and smiled. The deal was done. No Japanese car, no stinking Boxster. What I need is a 968 – hey I already have one. Incidently the main difference that I found between the 968 and the Boxster was driving position. The 968 is low, low, low – feels like your arse is on the ground, and I love that. The car just fits, you know?
Question now was what would it really cost me to get the car to where I want it? I don’t want a race car, I want a fast, well mannered GT convertible – just like it was designed.
Now I am in my wheel house. I do a lot of things, but I am a project manager by nature. Give me a hard target and I’ll nail it every time. Now I have a direction, a hard target. Options, options – lets see what the options are.
<i>Make or buy – fix or go low.</i>
<b>Make/Fix</b>
Let’s see, struts, shocks, check. Rack bushing – right. Castor blocks, motor mounts – got it. While you’re in there do the oil pan seal and the rod bearings. When do I need the water pump? Clutch is good, brakes are new – no problem. Tires are smoking hot – cool.
Now what about that interior? BV got his seats redone – they look great. Carpets – gawd that looks like a nasty job. Maybe some cool upgrades at the local upholsterer.
And performance. Got the cab brace. I need the strut brace and a real chip from Pete. Should I get the top end refreshed? Hmmmm…..
Run the numbers – holy smokes. Bob was right.
<b>Buy/Go Low</b>
OK this requires patience right? Not like you can buy one at the dealer. Not common as fleas like the Boxster. I started with Autotrader. Some of those cars have been on there for over a year – I don’t think they are real. Send a couple of emails – dead letter office. eBay? – yea right, like I am going to bid on a car I’ve never seen and be obligated by their stupid rules to buy a POS. Not happening.
So, I search. Now you have to understand that as a project manager, this patience stuff wears thin, like yesterday. This is a problem and I want it solved now NOW ! I have the skills, I have the technology. Either buy one or fix yours, simple. Gents the anxiety this produced for me is hard to describe – I really need to get another hobby.
Suddenly I realized that I needed to focus on something other than the solution, because that was going to take time no matter which way I went. So I focused on the hunt – it worked. I amassed a small database of good sources of used 968s for sale in the US (happy to share that with anyone who is interested – PM me and I’ll send you the links).
I found one early in my search. 37K miles. Looks good. Talk to the guy – 2 owners – I like the colors. Shoot this was too easy. Local friendlies ready to help. PPI arranged. Work the deal - great I’ll be there next week to pick it up.
As I am literally about to push the “buy” button on the air tickets for me and Mike to go get it the following Friday I remembered that I had not run the Carfax. OK, back to get the credit card. Did you all know that CarFax has changed their pricing? What a rip – Autocheck is now clearly the better deal. Anyway, guess what - salvage title.
I sent the guy a note – he claims complete ignorance. Who knows? But its damned near impossible to get a salvage title repaired, and the guy wanted too much $ for that.
So the hunt goes on. I check my websites daily and find, to my surprise and delight, that a new listing goes up almost every day. Now, this hunt thing, delayed gratification I think they call it, could be fun…
Anxiety relieved Mike and I head up to Long Beach to enjoy a couple of days of grand prix racing in the streets…
