Passing Up A 911 For The Second Time

One of my favorite specialty sports car shops is right here in Oregon, in the scenic Columbia Gorge. Just outside Hood River lives Route 30 Classics. This collection of classic and attainable Porsche’s always inspires my imagination. The quaint little showroom/shop is perched above the Gorge on a great little stretch of road lined with white posts to mark the edge of the hillside where the earth drops off. Attached to the shop is a coffee and ice cream shop. Sounds like a fantastic little retirement location if you ask me!

As I noted in the recent Porsche road trip adventure article, the 911 is high on the list of must-have cars during my existence in this world. I’ve known it since I was a kid, lusting after the Ruf Yellow Bird, and later in high school falling in love with the 964 body style. The plastic Carrera 2 model I assembled my Junior year in high school has recently been reissued to boot. I should buy it even if it will take permanent residence with my other unopened, awaiting-to-be-assembled (but likely never will) models.

And while it will sound silly and materialistic to many who aren’t afflicted with sports car fever, one of my goals in graduating college was to attain a Porsche as soon as possible! When I started my first full day in my new professional position, the hunt was on right away!

4 months later, the first car I found was of course at Route 30 Classics. A 1973 Porsche 911S with 20k miles on a performance built motor. The pictures speak for themselves, especially at an astounding $15,900.

At the time, we were still house shopping and buying a car was seemingly irresponsible. Okay, it would’ve been irresponsible, but those pics are making me weep with regret at the moment! A few years later the car would come up for sale again, this time for $18k. Unfortunately, I already had the 337 at that point, so no go again.

And now another promising car from the guy in the Gorge, a 1984 911 Carrera with 107k original miles. This car is nearly identical to the one Paul just picked up. And by now you know, I’m really jealous of his acquisition.

So why am I not pursuing this car?

• First of all, I’ve got a nice car that I really like. Do I lust for it?, no. Is it sensational?, yes. And I’d have to go to the trouble of selling it or trading it. But I’ve got a friend in the auto business, so what else is stopping me?
• It would be my daily driver and our garage is filled with crap so it would live outside. Both are sins in truth. And it’s probably a sin for the M3 as well, but it’s so much newer that it feels like I have another 5-10 years before catholic guilt sets in.
• If you’ve heard me complain about maintenance costs and the availability of a specialist to look after the M3, I’m sure I’d be in for a treat with a 911. The infamous $10k+ motor rebuild staring you in the face makes the M3’s $6k bill look more palatable. And if I took the 911 to Bugwerks and Tom touched it, Paul would kill me, LOL!

No question about it, I’m doubting my reasoning as I write this entry. But the timing isn’t right for this car either. {deep sigh….}

dc