Road Stories

Dream Car Purchase

Finally! And well worth the wait!

Hi All,

Well, I've finally landed my shark, even though I wasn't even looking very hard - funny how that happens sometimes.

I have been very cautious in my shark search - some would say TOO cautious, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Anyhow, yesterday, on my way to work, going the usual route, I spotted an 85-86 metallic colored 928 in a field next to an older neighborhood where I'd seen other cars for sale before. The shark had one of those bright "For Sale" signs on it. I stopped!

I looked at an original looking Crystal Green Metallic car with a black leather interior. It had the rear A/C, and...it was a 5-speed! Not wanting to take ANY chances and knowing this car wasn't out here yesterday evening, I called the number from my cell phone then and there. A lady answered the phone and I explained that I was standing there looking at the car and whether it was still for sale or if there had been any other inquiries (I'm paranoid at this point, having missed some good cars). She told me that I was the first and that she was just around the corner and could come over and bring the keys if I wanted to look at it further. I contained my yelp of excitement and told her that this would be a convenient time.

I waited like someone who had found a Brinks money bag hanging from a tree and was waiting for an unknowing friend to bring a ladder. Drat, why does it say "Brinks" in such big letters? I tried to stand inconspicuously in front of the "For Sale" sign so that the other cars going by in traffic might not notice it. It seemed like the woman took HOURS to arrive, but it was probably only about 5 minutes or so. She arrived, walking down the sidewalk, with another lady. She REALLY WAS just around the corner.

She explained to me that the original owner was her husband who had passed away last month in Arizona. They were in the process of moving to Tampa (Florida) when he passed away because he had retired last year and they had a lot of friends here. The moving had already been arranged when he passed away, INCLUDING closed cover transport of his car, the 928 I was looking at! As calmly as POSSIBLE! I expressed my regrets and told her I had grown up in Tampa and we talked a bit about the town.

She asked me if I wanted to look at the car before I went off to work. She let me open the car up and the scent of good German leather about made me lose it! Trying to make it seem like I was trying to check something on the dash, and as inconspicuously as possible, I moved the "For Sale" sign from the windshield to the passenger sport seat bottom. She told me she had had a tough time getting the car to the spot it is at because she didn't know how to drive the 5-speed and had to ask several neighbors, most of them elderly, before she found one that could move the car to where it is. She was worried about how she was going to move the car back and forth everyday without imposing too much on her neighbors!

I told her that I knew how to drive this particular car :) and was actually looking for one just like this one, but that I would like to take it for a test drive, and also wanted to know about how it was maintained and I explained why I was so cautious. She told me that her husband had felt the same way and maintained it religiously with files in a file cabinet belonging to the car, even mechanical drawings. He had been very serious about his car because he was a Mechanical Engineering consultant for an automotive parts manufacturing company. He had always loved cars and even raced them when he was younger! The mechanic that worked on the car was a personal friend of his, and that he and several other friends of theirs (hers and his) would often get together just to work on their cars. I CALMLY asked her if it would be alright for me to pop the hood and perhaps take it for a test drive?!

When I first popped the hood, I thought I had my hopes up waaaay too high and perhaps this nice elderly lady was pulling one over on me. These thoughts came from the fact that the first thing I noticed was that the two black intake tubes were missing! However, I'm sure that the look on my face quickly turned to sheer shock as I realized that in their place was a single custom mandrel bent ceramic coated piece of tubing coming from nothing less than a Vortech supercharger!!! I CALMLY asked if I could start the car.

On Phil Tong's website, I will be placing a downloadable sound clip of the sound of this car starting up. It is INCREDIBLE! The car started IMMEDIATELY at the first turn of the key. It idled sweetly and steadily with the Vortech faithfully assisting. I left MY keys with her and I CALMLY took it around the block. Only when I was out of their sight did I blip the throttle. I hope they thought that the tire screeching was from my having difficulty with the shifter....I thought I could still smell burnt rubber when I got out to tell them I would like to buy the car.

I saved the best for last. As soon as I saw the Vortech supercharger, and before I had EVEN started the car, I asked her how much she was asking for the car. At this point she looked over at her lady friend who had been mostly quiet during the whole time. She looked back at me and, with apparent sheepishness, said that she would like $7500 for the car. She looked at me like I was going to be outraged! I didn't say anything back, but inconspicuously pinched myself on the thigh - it hurt, check.

I bought the car for $8000 (I felt guilty :) and took the rest of the day off from work. I drove it by the best 928 mechanic in this area. HE took the rest of the day off work :)

I could hardly sleep last night and woke up with a sore right ankle and something like tennis elbow. I am just getting to the digest now. The car is INCREDIBLE. Let us mark today (what's the date of this post?) as a momentous occasion.

:)

Carlos Hernandez
Tampa, FL
86.5 928S Vortech'd Crystal Green Metallic / Black
5-speed

[Now, lest you be wondering whether this incredible story is actually true, let me just mention that it was posted to the list on April 1, 1999 . . . And was believed by many. Way to go, Carlos! -Editor]