The One That Got Away: 00R's Despair Between What He Wants And What He Can't Have

Typically when you hear the phraseology "the one that got away," it is a reference to a significant other that you could have taken more seriously. Possibly even wed. For car guys and girls, it's the epitome of the one car that is in excellent shape — assuming it's used — but for whatever reason, the deal doesn't work out.

Well, I sort of just had that situation.

The other day I had just decided that it was time to dump my daily driver Volkswagen Golf and get something a bit more vivacious. My daily only gets used a couple times a month — if that — and it's racked up about 3,000 miles since last October. Having previously driven an E46 330Ci, I've been yearning for something more connected and fun.

Having had plenty of seat time behind the wheel of the Porsche Cayman, I found myself trolling the classifieds and boom(!) I was up at the dealer. Jack Daniels Porsche had a 2011 Cayman in stock with all the right options, just over 43k on the odometer and it appeared to be in stellar shape — inside and out. I took it for a spin and everything delivered.

There's just several problems:

1) I am 6'8 and 270 pounds — I have about .5 inch clearance between my knees and the dashboard, if I get in an accident I am toast;

2) I can barely get my right leg under the steering wheel, it takes a bit of finagling;

3) Due to new health issues, things could get messy if I were in an accident and I also would be putting myself at risk for further health complications in such a tight cockpit.

Unfortunately, I have to pass on it. From this point on that 2011 Cayman will be the one that got away and I'll always wonder if I should have bit the bullet and threw down my cash.

Having said that, I wanted to ask YOU: what's YOUR "one that got away?"

Do YOU regret your decision or was it simply not meant to be?


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TheSteve - 7/24/2015 12:59:31 AM

+1 Boost

“It is more fulfilling to live our lives fully, passionately, perhaps at time impetuously, that to carry the lifelong burden of regret for doing what we believed at the time was right, wise, prudent or safe.” - Me

TheSteve - 7/24/2015 1:05:02 AM

+1 Boost

(Typo: that -> than)

MDarringer - 7/24/2015 9:36:17 AM

+2 Boost

For me, it would be my first car: a Mustang Grande.

Mine was well past worn out when I bought it, but as long as it had gas in the tank and the engine oil topped off, I was good to go. Part of it was harvest gold and part was avocado green, because I swapped the torn seats out for ones from a junk yard.

I drove it almost a year illegally because I was 15, but I needed the freedom. In theory, my older brother owned it and was the driver covered by insurance, but I paid for it all. When I was 16, he signed it over to me.

As soon as I got it, I would leave high school on a Friday as soon as the bell rang, head out of town, and often not return until very late Sunday night. Anything was better than being at home. I got very good about sleeping in the car and not getting caught. If the police ever knocked on the window, they usually told me to leave and I would.

When I turned 17, a surrogate grandfather (not related to me but acting as if I were a grandson) bought me a raised, used F150, and the biscuits-and-gravy kid in me rejoiced. I used to wear nothing but Wranglers and boots, which I now see as comical.

The Mustang went to the junk yard and I miss it very much not because I think it could be restored or any such nonsense, but because it was a symbol of how determined I was not to be anything like my parents and to stand on my own feet at any cost.

I've played the "I shoulda kept it" words in my head. There were places I could have kept it, but at 17, I was more focused on nailing my AP courses to have a high GPA and then get to and through college to become something that would take me far, far away from the shame I felt for being one of those 5 ragamuffin kids from "that" family.

Agent00R - 7/24/2015 9:38:47 AM

+1 Boost

Crazy story, Matt. Thanks for sharing!

MDarringer - 7/24/2015 10:28:36 AM

0 Boost

Remind me NEVER to stand next to you. You're a half foot taller than me. LOL There are cars I fit in, but am not comfortable in like the Scion FRS. I cannot imagine being 6'8". That must really narrow your vehicular choices.

TomM - 7/24/2015 11:33:03 AM

+1 Boost

Being of similar size to 00R - I have still an additional problem - I was in a car accident - walking on a downtown street - I was (Personally) hit by a car that jumped the curb and pushed me bodily into the window of a major department store - the window thankfully broke - otherwise I would have been crushed - but I still had major damage - and am put together with screws and titanium down one complete side of my body. So -while you could somehow manage to get yourself into that Porsche - I probably cannot get past the door. While my right leg moves forward and backward fairly well - It cannot move side to side - making entering a car really a problem. Now - as I have said before - I had a 1977 Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 - and even today - they simply do not make cars like that. It was not just the engine - there were all sorts of changes in the whole car (Including a pneumatic suspension that was a big deal then). And for a car that I could actually get comfortable in - that car really moved in comparison to anything else you could buy that size. For a drag racer from Englishtown NJ - that is saying something. Eventually it was stolen - and replaced with my first S-600. But when compared to the rest of the cars in its day - there was nothing like that 6.9 - and nothing has approached that amount of difference (And that I could still get into) today. Now you know why I complain about the size of the current itsy bitsy Cadillacs - a Cadillac to me was the epitome of a LARGE LUXURY car - and with a little work in the shop - they could be made to go fast too. (Before the junk Aluminum V-8).

Agent00R - 7/24/2015 12:54:47 PM

+1 Boost

Tom, a dear friend bought a 6.9 and is going to fix 'er up someday. Saw it about a month ago. It really is special. Shame to hear about your story though :/

MDarringer - 7/25/2015 5:51:14 PM

+1 Boost

@TomM the 450SEL 6.9 is indeed a great car.

My buddy Ed has one. Ed's 82 (retired attorney and also was involved in real estate development and cars locally). He's the reason cars are my career. The man came from money and made more and more of it. He's been able to afford his dream cars and has bought them. The Mercedes is one of the few he kept.

He told me he was criticized for buying his 450SEL 6.9 by a friend who had an interest in the local Lincoln/Mercury dealer of the day as if a Town Car would have sufficed. So Ed bought his way into a slice of the Mercedes dealer in retaliation.

He was over earlier and I showed him your reflection on your 450SEL 6.9 that got away. Ed's response was that he has been offered a mint of money for his and he is smart enough NOT to let it get away.

It's performance numbers are respectable even today with AMG automotive jewelry around. I can only imagine what it must have been like back in the late 70 when performance didn't exist.

I've driven the car and unlike some cars of that age it doesn't feel outmoded in its handling. I exercise some his cars for him because he doesn't drive them enough and he has other 70s vintage cars that are clearly of a different era.

focal - 7/24/2015 10:50:00 AM

+3 Boost

I didn't hesitate this February to order up a GT4. It's more than double any car I have ever bought. It checked off ever box on what I want a car to be. You dream of a sports car, you read ever detail about every car for the past 20+ years, you work hard and save but there comes a time where you step up and buy what you want.

it's a two seater, impractical and in my climate you can only drive 7 months of the year. Didn't stop me to add it to my garage.

Agent00R - 7/24/2015 12:51:36 PM

+2 Boost

Right on, focal!

pcar4evr - 7/24/2015 11:16:38 AM

+2 Boost

Based on my experience with the Cayman GTS, I'd say you are going to be very happy that you stepped up and grabbed a GT4 allocation. Congratulations!