Car Shopping in Europe, Twice
by Ron Goldstein
The year is 1963. I've just graduated from dental school and,
courtesy of "Uncle Sam" I'm a captain in the U.S. Army in Germany.
One of the first things on my agenda is a sports car of some sort. I get
involved with an auto broker and he takes me around to see various cars.
One of the first cars he shows me is this rather strange upside-down
bathtub-appearing car that he calls a Porsche. Having spent the
last eight years in college with precious little time or money for
outside interests, I really have never heard of a Porsche before.
After driving it and inquiring about the price I feel I really can't
afford the car, even though it handles extremely well. They are
asking the unheard of price of $3,450!! I finally end up purchasing a
1964 (new model has just come out) MG-B for $1,800. I have to
admit, I had a great time driving that car the next three years on all
the winding and twisting roads of Europe. I also had the Autobahns
with no speed limits.
Now, fast forward to 1984. My wife and I are traveling in
Sweden and I'm in the parking lot of the Stockholm Castle. There
in the lot is a white 1964 356 with a sign in the window which reads "til
sal." My very limited Swedish leads me to believe that means "for
sale." I take the telephone number off the sign and when we get
back to the hotel I contact the person who owns the car and make
arrangements to meet the next day to get a closer look and take a test
drive. After driving the car I decide that I really want it.
We negotiate a price and make arrangement for payment of...
$3,450!! Imagine, 20
years later and the price hadn't changed!
I've since had over 20 years of driving pleasure from this car and I
hope to have many more.