Reply to "Looking for basket case.....??"

I think the best advice you received was: Never Give Up On Your Dream, If You Want It Bad Enough, You'll Get It. My personal experience: since I decided I was not going to wait any longer to get a Pantera, I have been much more motivated to perform in my professional career. I'm self employed and heavy stock market losses took the wind out of my sails for a while. I noticed Pantera prices were up about $5,000 from same car comparable price from 2001. I decided I'm not gonna let those Wall Street liars detour my life, and I'm gonna still get what I want! I've wanted a Pantera for 30 years and always settled on Porche's, Lotus Esprits, a GTO convertible, Mustang convertibles, etc. No, I'm gonna get what I want, no compromises.

So, I'm self employed, and I had my determination back, and pulled some longer hours at the office. Funny how that works. Motivation is a really important thing. So I was ready.... And I'd been studying the exotic sports car market for 15 years. If I spent that much on a certain number of shares of stock, then why should I be nervous about a Pantera's price tag?

Then the question was narrowed in focus: do I want a show car (h*** yes) or do I want a driver? I wanted to drive it. Do I refinance the house back to a 30 year mortgage and get 'Bad Boy' or do I get something that's more affordable? One thing I know for sure, no Pantera I've ever seen in 15 years is Exactly What I Want. Very Close, but every one needed some small thing I was looking for.

So I had a list I put together: My Perfect Pantera. Then it became a matter of priorities. How close was each prospective Pantera to my Most Desirable Car? What would it cost to get it to what I want it to be? Upgrades, Color, Horsepower, 6 speed, Wheels, Tires, Interior, features that are so subtle that I could and have made a four page list. Of course no rust, straight body, original wheels with the car plus upgraded ones. All thrown in with the purchase price.

I decided not to refinance the house, and go with something I considered a good platform to 'build' on. If nothing else, if business stays good and I stay motivated, I can always get every dollar out of my Pantera that I put into it. And I'll have a hedge against Pantera inflation, and I can have it now, and I can enjoy my experience now. I can even sell it next year and buy 'Bad Boy' then if I really want it then and it's still available.

So, I still want 'Bad Boy' (but not that bad). But 'Bad Boy's' not red or maroon and does not have Campy Clones, and is not a Pre-L with an upgraded L dashboard, even if I got it for $50,000. But I could live with that, ha ha ha....

It takes some soul searching to make these decisions, and I'm content and satisfied with my decision. I don't need 600 horsepower with everything polished under the rear decklid, but I'd sure like to have it. I don't think I'm gonna do that even if I win the lottery. I'd just get 'Bad Boy' and have fewer modifications to do.

And if nothing else, I'll get my money back out of my Pantera, just not get paid for the labor I put into it, and that's OK.

Hope you get what you want out of life, and we've all explored all the options before, and you got a unanimous verdict: avoid Pantera frustration! Enjoy it as you work on it and individualize it. Everyone does that. Boat owners, Harley Davidson guys, RV'ers.... And so am I and all of us it seems!!!

But definitely do it if you've been wanting to do it for some time now!!!