Completely Addicted - New Member with Story

I live about 1 hour & 20 minutes from the nearest Porsche dealership. On November 14 2005 I had to run an errand that just happened to be 15 minutes away from the dealership. It had been 12 years since I last test drove the best driving machine on the planet. So I decided to put my self in temptations grasp once again. I pulled into the dealership. I started walking by the rows of perfected machinery. TT, GT3, 4S,Cabrio's....and the Colors.... Just by the look I could have taken all of them. After about 15 minutes I walked into the main show room and met Gianni(sales professional). Black=my comments Red=Gianni Hello, my name is Gianni, how can I help you today? My name is Chris and I'd like to test drive a few cars" Sure what would you like to start with? Let's start with the 2000 Cab. He grabs the keys I get in, he drives us off the lot. Lucky for me this dealership is located near Woodland Hills. They have a road the goes up a wicked road in a canyon called "Topanga Canyon." Everything from Hairpin to inverted to exverted turns with hundreds of feet of drop off if you screw up. We talk in the car and I find out the Gianni is hired often to test drive a variety of cars at the track and write up an opinion on them. Okay so we turn off the main blvd and start heading towards the canyon. About 1 mile before we enter the canyon we hit a stop light. "Here we go says Gianni!" The light turns green and he hits gas pedal to the floor and launches the car from 0-60 in just a few seconds shifting through the gears with perfect precision. "Inside I am saying yes, this is good" He slows down before we enter the canyon and pulls the car over to the side to allow a few cars upahead to distance themselves from us.. "here we go" The first turn we hit the G force pushes me sideways in my seat. "yeah" This is great! Next turn we hit is a long sweeping turn and I feel the car drift just a bit and the tires screech. "wheel drift" Excellent! We go up the mountain about 3 miles and come back down. He pulls over, now it's my turn. We switch seats I get in and instantly love the way the steering wheel frames the guages. Adjust seat and mirrors and ..... blast off..... "Yeah this is great" Your doing good now push it! Next turn a little faster yeah this is good, my adrenaline is pumping.. Faster push it! Wohoooooooo loving this! Finally a person who can drive one of these cars... You either like this kind of car or you don't. Take the next turn and go for it.... push it! Damn this is fun! We go back to the dealership and we next pull out the Twin Turbo... bring the car back near the canyon, hit the stop light and 0-60 in a few seconds.. arghhh! yahwhoooo!! adrenaline just gave me another boost. See a guy like you can really use the power! We go back and test drive 3 other cars. Little did I know that my Destiny would soon be fulfilled! We end up in the showroom and now here is where the justification on my part comes in. We go over numbers and ultimatley I decide not to buy from the dealership. We go over to a Pub near by and I buy Gianni a beer and dinner for his hospatility. Gianni got me so addicted test driving the cars like that I could not sleep for 2 days. mainly because I was on Ebay, Autotrader, Craigs List, Google looking everwhere for a good deal. I finally find the one that is almost perfect for me on Craigs List. I drive to meet the seller, look over the car not a single dent, absolutely looks like it came off the showroom floor. I take a test drive and yes this is the one and my Destiny is fullfilled. I get the car looked over and get the okay. It Has a 100,000 mile warrantly or until July 2008. We negotiate, I go to the bank and get a cashiers check. Here I am today happy everytime I look at that car, and when I drive... ... it is my dose of Adrenaline and Therapy for the soul. Yes I am addicted.. I thought this feeling was just the honeymoon phase.... but I think I will feel this way as long as I own the car. 2002 Cabriolet C2 Seal Grey Metallic / Graphite Grey Interior / Grey Top 18" Lt Alloy Wheel / Design Package / Advanced Technic Package 6 Speed Manual Thanks for allowing me to share my excitement and thank you and everyone else who has submitted their advice and information on this site to help me understand my car better. It is appreciated....

Great story. Got pics? You must post them.

Wonderful story. Professionals like Gianie have a passion for the marque and knowing that the sales will follow. I had a similar experience with my salesman who has let me test drive everything in his lot through the hills of Monterey! Congratulations on your Porsche. Post some pictures!

Exciting Porsche buying experience. Congrats on the purchase, now lets see some pics of your dream.

Congrats and welcome to the list.. Post pics and start modding!

Congrats and welcome - sounds like you went to the Auto Gallery before buying private party - Auto Gallery is where I bought my car - I think that test drive route sells more cars for them than anywhere else. Looks like you mastered using this site's icons - now try the pic upload - we'd love to see!

Here are some quick shots I took in the Garage. I will post better pictures later. Any advice you have for a new owner is much appreciated. Regarding warm up, Do you watch your temperature guage and wait until 180 degress before you feel it is safe to run the rpms past 4,000? or???.....

Welcome aboard. Nice ride! I try to keep it under 3k rpm until fully warmed up.

Fastest way to DECREASE the life of your engine in an exponential way is to take it high in the tach till she is all warmed up. It only takes a few minutes so be patient. Nice ride!

Welcome aboard and thanks for sharing the experience!

Great story - you must've been at the Auto Gallery, and you must look like a rich guy, 'cause whenever I've been there they look like they'd rather polish their shoes than talk to me. I also see you have the Tennis Ball, Green, option code M452. Good choice!

Great looking car! Congrats.

congrats....and yes you will!!!

Every time. I don't push the RPMs past the point needed to pull out into normal traffic (3-4k max) until the guage is up in normal operating range (180). Its tough sometimes - especially cold days - but discipline will pay off in the long run.

Gnome, Earlyapex, Vove, kilrgt, BlackCab996, jb26jb, LVDell, Dmac, Nutbeem, Zahjah, gravedgr, Carrera Mike, Thank you for the Congratulations and the welcome!! I am looking forward to taking the Car to the track soon.

Chris: Great story... I bought my car from Gianni at the same dealership... Your story brought great memories of when I did the same thing through Topanga Canyon, testing new Porsches. Which BTW it was also my first time driving a Porsche. Looks like Gianni uses the same sales pitch all the time, very effective! Cheers and enjoy your ride! Hopefully you can join us on a ride through the canyons soon!

never never go over 4K untill the needle is right of the 180.......drive like a grandpa...because when I was 18yr old and stupid I blew the head gasket "trying" to be cool and reve the engine while cold....the car was never the same again. And it takes only about 5 minutes and about 6 miles for the engine to be ready....

Thanks for the tip.

Thank you. When is your next ride through the canyons?

Chris: I was out in the canyons for several hours last weekend enjoying the amazing weather we are experiencing in SoCal. I'll keep you posted on my next run. In the meantime how about you try this route for kicks this weekend: From PCH heading North --> RIGHT on Topanga Canyon --> LEFT on Old Topanga (watch your speed - bunch of driveways)--> LEFT on Mullholland Hwy --> LEFT on Stunt Rd --> RIGHT on Schueren Rd (but STOP first and check the amazing view) --> RIGHT on Piuma (love this road)--> RIGHT on Cold Canyon --> LEFT on Mulholland Hwy (watch out for COPS just before Las Virgenes) --> Continue down to PCH either by taking Encinal (for the great ocean view), or Mulholland + Decker (If feeling frisky) or Mulholland all the way (frisky with a view). Cheers.

great story congrats!!! you're very lucky to have come across a good salesman like Gianie.. My guys wont even talk to me much less give up a test drive. Maybe bc I look younger then I am..

Great story. If Gianni was so good and provided such a positive experience I would think about sending him a couple hundred $$ for his time. When I went test driving I drove a 996, 997 and then a 996TT. I missed the turnoff in the TT and so we had to turn around on the boring divided highway. Waiting to get around a slower car while merging my sales guy says "push it" so I floored it. Whooooooooooooooosh and I was pressed back in my seat. I never looked down but when we pulled off he said "Do you have any idea how fast you were going?" "No" I answered sheepishly. "186kph" Well over 100mph. It was fun.

that's a purdy car chris, welcome to the funny farm!

Thanks, I will give it a drive.

Excellent introduction - welcome to the board.

Great! I'll be taking that route on Sunday morning with the family (i.e. very easy), for our weekly spiritual experience . And I'll keep my eyes looking for a very cool cab smoking around there Cheers.

Thanks. I offered and that's why we ended up at the restaurant for Dinner and a few drinks. I think Gianni has one of the best jobs in the world. The way he takes his clients on the Test drives, he gets his fill of adrenaline a few times a day.