Jeff Meyers
Porsches owned: 2
Current car: 2000 Base Boxster & 2011 Cayenne S
(Excerpts taken from the actual 2008 logbook, when the 2000 Boxster was purchased with 32,500 miles on it)
Scratch me.
I am a generally cautious individual, but I had this itch. I think through decisions thoroughly, and only make a purchase, such as a car, after a lot of soul searching and general angst, but that itch, it had to be scratched. Which is why I am both surprised, and relieved, that I just left my motorcycle at a friend’s house in Burlington, Vermont, and am now driving home in my new-to-me Rainforest Green Porsche Boxster. And I can’t wipe that smile off of my face.
At the getting-to-be ripe age of 41, I have only owned four cars in my life (well, five now).
When I was eight, my Dad’s friend pulled up in his Porsche 911. I can still see the wraparound rear window reflector with P-O-R-S-C-H-E spaced almost all the way across the back. I could get me one of them! But, alas, my Mom was tolerant of some things, but a mess in her garage forcing her car outside was never going to fly, so I back-burnered my need for a pure sports car for 25 years. That itch had a long time to fester. I kept two lists of the cars that I wanted, in order of preference.
One list was the “one car solution.” The most recent version of the list had one car – the Audi TT. The TT drove much more like a sports car, but it wasn’t that much different from the A4. This, of course, opened up the entire universe of options to me.
Which brings me to my second list, the “two car solution.” It was a pretty short list, and three were Porsches. The Cayman, an older 911, or a Boxster. Also included were a Corvette, a BMW Z3 or Z4, and finally, the Miata. I drove a 1993 Miata with 115,000 miles on the clock. I knew in the first ¼ mile that this wasn’t going to sufficiently scratch the itch. My wife loved the idea of a convertible after riding in that Miata with me, so this was getting easier. Corvettes are great, but I had managed to satisfy the need for big horses and massive acceleration by owning several high velocity Superbikes over the years, including a 2001 Suzuki Hayabusa. BMWs are sweet, but I had re-connected with that inner eight year old, and I didn’t want a BMW when I was back then. I was beginning to realize that this had larger implications – I was on a mission to find a car that would be fueled by the gasoline in my veins that had been coursing since childhood. Caymans are gorgeous, but finding a used one within financial striking distance did not seem likely. And that classic 911 would be a hoot, but I don’t have time now to restore an old car, and don’t know enough about those air-cooled wonders to feel comfortable diving into what could be a slow but sure downward financial spiral.
Thankfully, I soon after spied that Rainforest Green Boxster on eBay at a Porsche dealer, on consignment by a friend of the owner. It looked super clean in the photos. And now I am driving it. Itch scratched. Sweet.
Editor’s note: If you’d like to share your story, send it over to me in 150 words (or less) at bryanhollenbaugh@aol.com and I’ll post for as long as they roll in. If you’ve got a photo of your first, by all means, do share!