Missed opportunitites

[Steve Marinello]

That's as bad, no worse, than the Ferrari 330GT that I missed out on in '84
for $6,500...because I stopped to ask a gorgeous young lady directions...to
where I knew I was going.  Another guy was writing the check as I walked
into the barn (Yes!  Barn!)

Steve

> From: "Thomas J. Donohue, Jr." <donohue at netconnx.net>
> Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 20:00:09 -0400
> To: Kneale Brownson <knotnook at traverse.com>
> Cc: The Quattro King <quattroking at hotmail.com>, Motor Sport Visions
> Photography <msvphoto at pacbell.net>, quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: Re: Interesting Audi "supercar" article link
> 
> Well, a few details...I had a stripped down 66 230SL bought new @$4900 at the
> end of the model year.  No power steering...no steel roof.  White with dark
> blue vinyl interior.  A bitch to park with the "wide" tires at the time.
> Decided to order a new 68 250SL, maroon, with black hard & soft tops, black
> leather and POWER STEERING!  Sold the 66 for $4500 and bought the 68 for
> $6850(!!!)  Drove it for a year or so and a friend of mine, who worked at the
> dealership where I bought the above SLs, acquired a 55 gullwing from a local
> doctor, then promptly was sued for divorce.  It got nasty and he had to sell
> the gullwing.  I sold the 68 for $6,000 and bought the gullwing for (I still
> can't think about this for too long) $5,000.  What a blast!  Silver with kind
> of tricky blue vinyl rolled & pleated covers over cloth(!) seats.  You could
> put it sideways with a hard shift into 3d gear.  Then I sold my house in the
> suburbs and decided to move into a highrise building in downtown Philadelphia
> while we looked for a house in the historic area.  Decided that the gullwing
> was not a good center city car.  Advertised it.  Guy came down from Brooklyn
> and peeled $6,000 from a much larger bankroll, slapped it on the hood of the
> Benz and said "Take it or leave it."  Still can't believe I took it!  Can't
> talk about this any more (sob). Tom
> 
> Kneale Brownson wrote:
> 
>> At 03:44 PM 09/13/2000 -0700, The Quattro King wrote:
>> 
>>> You sold a Gullwing?????  You should be shot.
>>> 
>>> Shayne P.
>> 
>> Add me to the firing line.  I didn't actually sell one, but just as bad, I
>> failed to acquire one.  Guy wanted a '69 911 I had so bad he offered me his
>> gullwing AND a Beetle to drive in exchange.  I almost did the trade but I
>> took the gullwing on a 60-mile trip to have a really familiar wrench look
>> it over, and he found a bunch of things in poor condition.  I got such a
>> terrible headache from the unbalanced tires and the exhaust leaks into the
>> cabin I just couldn't see taking on the trouble.  That was before the
>> Porsche developed the first of two burned pistons from an intake manifold
>> casting that was porous and opened up when heated up.  Had I only
>> known.....  The SL I ended up with was a 230.
> 
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