Tuesday, the day after the auction, was my last day of work before a week off. On Wednesday I was going to travel across the country visit family in New Hampshire. It quickly sank in how crazy it was to try to buy this car now. First off, I have too many cars already, four of which are 986 Boxsters. My 1.5 car garage already has over 1.75 cars in it. Money is not really tight, but cash on hand for a wire transfer payment is not convenient. The time-window for delivery of the car is during the time I will be away. ...and the road to my home is under heavy construction. There's no way that a car hauler will be able to deliver there. Overwhelmed, I was about to give up and back out of the deal. Instead, I called my wife for support, then turned it over to God. Within an hour, the car and fees were paid for, arrangements had been made to have the car shipped to a friend's place with a gated parking lot, and I felt freed of all the worry.
Worry and stress... I have worked in life and death situations through my career; from the USCG in the 1980s, Army Blackhawk pilot in the '90s, and Emergency Medical Service pilot now. I buy cars and work on them as a way to relax and de-stress. Funny how easily I put myself in a situation to make it do the opposite.
Now I am waiting for the car to arrive. The original hauler assigned to the job, showed up too late in the day to pick up the car and drove off without it. Another will be assigned soon. Until the car arrives, I won't know the condition. Will it be repairable? The best case I can imagine would be that the key is under the seat (the car is listed as having no key), the electronics have dried, and with a fresh battery it will start right up. The worst would be that the engine, the electronics, and the interior are all trash. That still leaves a lot of the car in salvageable shape, for parting it out.
Pictures of the car I found from before it was prepped for the auction:
What I expect is that the interior will smell bad and need to be completely pulled out, disassembled, cleaned and treated, but will recover. The electronics will likely have some galvanic corrosion which can ruin the connectors as well as the modules. Even some small items such as window switches may need to be replaced. Engine and transmission? I expect that with minor disassembly (removal of components) for cleaning and a thorough flush they will still be okay. If that is the case, I'll be happy. I have repaired a flood damaged Boxster before and already have many of the parts that may be needed.
This car is really a roll of the dice, a gamble. I will not be heart broken if it is beyond my ability to repair, but I will be disappointed. My goal and hope is to restore it to impeccable condition. These 2004 Special Edition cars are limited in number (1953 made) and a beautiful piece of machinery. Until it arrives all I can do is wait and wonder.
:dance: