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Posted by: Queenie Sep 17 2003, 04:16 PM

I drive my car to work this morning (as I do every weekday morning) and aside from the fact that it needs a top-end rebuild quite badly at this point, everything's peachy.

I get in the car around noon to go buy myself a new mouse since mine finally died...and I discover a nice seven-inch long hairline crack in my windshield.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

I'm 98% sure it wasn't there this morning, because it's SO noticeable - how could I have missed it? Much internal cussing ensues, even though I know this is fairly easy to solve. I just can't afford for more things to go wrong with my car, and it took me by surprise. Where the hell did it come from?

So, blah blah blah, I calm down in short order because, really, what can I do? I'll fix it if I can and if I can't then I'll buy a new windshield. End of story. When you own a car that's twenty-seven years old, you'd best be prepared to make a committment to keeping it up. And I don't begrudge my car its need for proper maintenance, it's just that the timing is a bit sucky.

I decide after lunch to stop off for some coffee. As I'm exiting the coffee dispensary, I'm accosted by two charming little old ladies who saw me getting out of my car in the parking lot. They want to know what color my car is, because they think it's the most gorgeous color they've seen in forever. They ply me with compliments and send me on my way.

Instantly, my faith in my car - and humanity - is restored.

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 17 2003, 04:20 PM

Funny how that works huh ?? LOL Great story.


B

Posted by: Jenny Sep 17 2003, 04:21 PM

what color?

Jen

Posted by: p914 Sep 17 2003, 04:26 PM

Karma is an interesting phenomena

Posted by: Queenie Sep 17 2003, 04:30 PM

It's metallic viper green. There's a picture of it in the member's pictures thread somewhere...right around page 34 or so, I think.

Posted by: Queenie Sep 17 2003, 04:33 PM

It is funny.

And I'd rather drive the crappiest 914 than the nicest Ford Escort, so I try to take my lumps with a smile.

Posted by: Charles Deutsch Sep 17 2003, 05:13 PM

That's a good attitude to have. To me, a lot of the new cars are just "appliances".

Posted by: tat2dphreak Sep 17 2003, 05:17 PM

Posted by: olav Sep 17 2003, 05:31 PM

I don't wave at Boxturds.


I'm sorry. I think I posted this in the wrong place. I'll be going now.

Posted by: tat2dphreak Sep 17 2003, 06:09 PM

I know what you mean... most guys who drive boxters here don't even know the 914... Porsche should have a written test to buy a new boxter or 911...

weed these people uot at the front door!

Posted by: ArtechnikA Sep 17 2003, 06:11 PM

but i bet -they- can spell 'Boxster'

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 17 2003, 06:40 PM

yeah, but only because they got help from the factory.
if the car didn't have it written on the back in BIG letters, they would have a lot of trouble spelling the name of their "Porch Boxer" ...

Posted by: Qarl Sep 17 2003, 06:45 PM

Thanks for sharing the story Queenie!

I don't know what it is about these cars. I've been in love with them since I saw my uncle's '73 zambezi green 1.7 with brown interior. I had my first one in 1986.

I love the lines... the handling... the simplicity... the pure sports car design. I could look at them all day. When I see pics from the "gatherings" around the country with multiple 914s in one place it looks like heaven.

I think I will ALWAYS have one in my stable.... like the 82 year old SCCA racer that bought my last one from me... he sold all his Porsche's to retire and lasted about 9 months until he drove his wife crazy to the point where she begged him to get another one, just so he'd behave.

I want to be like that!

Posted by: Queenie Sep 18 2003, 04:21 PM

Not only can I not afford a new car, there aren't really very many that I'd be willing to spend my money on even if I could afford it. Most of them are just so plastic. No thanks.

Quirks and all, I'm sticking with old air coolers for life.

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 18 2003, 04:25 PM

until you get some "TASTE" in your life. then what?

Andy

PS: we need a money $$$ smilie!

Posted by: Targa Sep 18 2003, 04:55 PM

I have asked myself that question and I will always own a 914. And eventually I will have a 914 capable of leaving boxsters in the dust

Posted by: Queenie Sep 18 2003, 05:09 PM

I don't know exactly what it is either, Karl ... but whatever it is, it's got me hooked.

This is my first 914. I've previously owned a '61 356 B coupe (which I crashed), a '78 911 SC and a 1966 912 (which I actually haven't driven yet; it's my ex-husband's car that I aided in restoring before we split. I'll be driving it to school while he rebuilds my engine next week.). I've also owned some early Volkswagens (bus, bug, single cab truck). I had never really wanted or considered a 914 before. I was in love with the 356 to the exclusion of almost every other car on the planet.

I became a 914 owner literally by accident. I had been driving an '84 Rabbit GTI for a couple of years, but on my way to work one morning it got totaled when I smashed into a Jeep Cherokee that had been running stop signs. I got a good insurance settlement for the GTI and cashed in my pension fund from my previous job, determined to get myself back into a Porsche no matter what.

I had about $7K to play with, and I work next door to the only Porsche mechanic in town that I trust. I felt that these were both auspicious signs. I looked at some 912s, having always been a rear-engine gal in the past. But those that were in my price range were fairly beat, and the nicer ones were awfully spendy. I knew the only other Porsche in my price range was going to be a 914. When I went down to ask Guy (next-door mechanic) his opinion as to whether I should be looking for a 912 or a 914, he didn't hesitate: "Buy a 914," he said.

So I did.

I looked around for about a month, but being a long-time enthusiast of the marque, I wasn't going to settle for just any old 914. I had requirements. It had to be running well. The body & interior didn't have to be perfect, but had to be reasonably good. Obviously, massive amounts of rust were not acceptable. It was ok if it needed some work; I'd have enough money left over after purchasing the car to deal with the small things that always, always, always come up - but it couldn't need a lot right off the bat. I wanted one of three colors (listed in order of preference): light metallic green, orange or yellow. And I wanted five-spoke Fuchs, because they are (for my money, anyhow) the classic Porsche wheel.

I had actually seen a light metallic green 914 with Fuchs on the road several years ago, and I remember saying to my ex "If I could have one that looked like that, I'd own a 914 in a heartbeat."

Oddly enough, I found exactly that. In my price range. Running well. Tight suspension. Clean enough. New tires. Delivered to my doorstep from Dana Point (about 250 miles south of me) for $4K.

Funny how things work out sometimes.

I've put almost 12,000 miles on it (and only $1700 into it, including regular maintenance) in the 14 months that I've owned it, and I've already decided that my next car is going to be a 914-6. I have never driven anything so purely fun in my life.

How's that for too much information?

Posted by: Queenie Sep 18 2003, 05:13 PM

Then I buy a 356 Carrera

Posted by: Queenie Sep 18 2003, 05:21 PM

Hee! I don't either, unless they happen to wave at me. Which hardly ever happens. Plastic people in their plastic Porsches. Who needs 'em?

I don't even get many waves from 911 folks, although I usually wave to them and also to 356s. I also wave to early VWs, and they always return the wave.