"Tripper" (tripe46)
11/19/2018 at 11:15 • Filed to: None
9
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"Tripper" (tripe46)
11/19/2018 at 11:15 • Filed to: None | 9
| 14 |
I have mentioned it on here before, even in the thread of posts about this car, but I am an anxious person. I have made a lot of progress over the past two years. I meditate every day, I exercise almost everyday, I go to therapy every week. I’m putting in the work. All of that combined with the arrival of my infant daughter has really softened a lot of hard edges in my life. A year or two ago, I wouldn’t have been able to even entertain the idea of
wiring a bunch of money to a stranger in
Europe for a car from 1975.
B
ut hear I am.
Even with all of that progress it will always be something I have to manage, and there are times that I simply cannot control worrying.
The seller has been a fantastic communicator and very transparent . The same can be said for the shipping company who was worked with the seller previously. The seller has responded quickly to every email that I have sent, right up until last Friday. He said “Ok, I got it thanks.” Referring to the wire. I responded two minutes later asking him if a particular date worked for pickup...Nothing. A few minutes later I sent another message (if only to prompt a response) . “Also how would you like to handle shipping the documents to me?” Still nothing.
I got through Friday night on the notion that Europe is different, particularly in Holland/Amsterdam. They keep business to business hours. “Maybe that email was the last thing he did on Friday and packed it up for the weekend.” I told myself. Knowing the culture I didn’t bother him over the weekend, but internally I spiraled...
My brain: “ Bro, you just wired this guy thousands of dollars. Wired! You idiot!” No escrow, no insurance. You are figgity- fucked if he decides that he wants to keep his car and your money.”
Me: “ No dawg, it’s fine he’s a fellow enthusiast, he’s even sold another car on BaT. He has been very accommodating this whole time. I’m sure he just values his time off.”
My brain: “ Okay bro, exactly what a super specific ripoff artist would say to get you to send the money, and who’s to say he didn’t rip off that other person too?”
Me: “ C’mon dawg, that’s crazy talk”
My brain: Is it?”
Me:
That was just the beginning. I worried all weekend. We had our crew’s Friendsgiving on Saturday, and everyone was asking about the car. I was almost reluctant to show pictures because I was worried about jinxing the whole situation. My wife could see my condition and handed my the baby and a beer. The baby had a nap on me for 40 minutes or so and I forgot all about it for a while. When I get a smile or a snuggle from her I give 0 fucks about anything besides my family.
Then we get home, baby goes to bed and I do my best to distract myself hanging with the dogs, but I’m back to thinking that I’ve just given away thousands of dollars.
This all culminated to another car related nightmare where the seller and shipper went radio silent. BaT would not help me. So I took a flight to Holland to try and file a police report. When I got there no one would talk to me and it was virtually impossible to get in touch with the police. I woke up, shook it off and quickly grabbed my phone expecting that I would have an email from the seller at this point...Nope!
I did however have an email from the BMW group. I had reached out to them to see if they could give me the exact date of manufacture as it’s good to have for the customs documents. I didn’t really expect them to get back to me, but they did!
“Your BMW was manufactured on May 02nd, 1975 and delivered on May 05th, 1975 to Belgium. The original colour was Jadegrün, paint code 078.”
So cool!
Right after that I got consecutive
emails from the seller, and shipping company. Shipping company picks up from the seller on Thanksgiving. When it arrives at the port I get connect with the shipping company to fill out all of the paperwork. It should arrive stateside around 12/20! The seller responded saying the same thing and that he would mail out the title and service records this week.
I’m still a little nervous about the whole import process, but I fell a lot better than I did an hour ago!
Happy Monday! I hope it’s a short week for everyone!
Sovande
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 11:27 |
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So Friendsgiving is really a thing?
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Tripper
> Sovande
11/19/2018 at 11:33 |
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It is for me/my people! This was the 6/7th year. We’ve all stayed surprisingly tight. It’s really cool to see everyone grow up. A couple of years ago it we talked about how crazy it was that one or two of us were expecting children. This year there were 9 kids under the age of 2!
Tapas
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 11:37 |
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I’ve been there with anxiety.
I am “ there” from time to time.
Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 11:52 |
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Woohoo! AND you get to do it the EASY way. (Do not ask how bad my ulcer was after importing just engines.) And with a little bit of luck, that should make a very nice Christmas present to yourself.
RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 11:52 |
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I demand video from the docks when you pick it up and first lay eyes on this beast! :D
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Tripper
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/19/2018 at 12:11 |
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I’m sure their will be video I’ve got a gang coming with me to go and get it. Originally it was just going to be my father and I because we always do car purchase stuff together. But my whole family is into cars, so my mom is also coming along. I asked my wife figuring she would want no parts of it, she wants to go, and thus baby goes. Finally my best friend, also a car guy is going.
Here’s a preview:
On the way down to get it:
When I get there and see it:
Driving home:
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 12:27 |
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Glad to hear you heard back from them and all is moving along smoothly. Wiring a big chunk of money to Europe and hoping for the other party to be decent human beings would be a stressful situation for most people I would imagine! Having a newborn is a lot of work and exhausting, but it’s also amazing how it can really re-center you and makes every other worry disappear.
Congrats on managing to pull off a pretty amazing Jalop purchase and coordinate the transaction across continents the same year you had your daughter – that’ll be a pretty special connection between her and the car you’ll always have. I’m lucky if I manage to be coordinated enough to shave once a week these days :P
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Sovande
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 12:44 |
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Nice! I only asked because I had never heard the term until this morning when my 20 something coworker mentioned that was what he had done over the weekend.
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Tripper
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
11/19/2018 at 12:46 |
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Haha, thanks I am super excited for it. I’m also super lucky to have a wife that understands my passion and a really great baby. A lot of my friends and colleagues have had it rough with their babies. B ut mine sleeps through the night, only cries when shes tired or hungry and deals out smiles like it’s the only thing she knows how to do. We take her everywhere with us and I think that helps. We had her at a wedding last weekend where part of a parade stopped in and played a few songs right next to us. She was sound asleep.
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Tripper
> Sovande
11/19/2018 at 12:59 |
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It definitely started in our 20's/college days because it is tough to see family and everyone else on Thanksgiving. We’re all 30-40 at this point!
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 15:16 |
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To reply to your meme-filled message:
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 15:16 |
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To reply to your meme-filled message:
B_dol
> Tripper
11/19/2018 at 16:19 |
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You are like me and a serious worrier - best of luck and if it ever becomes too much please offer the green beast my way!
I picked up a set of quickjacks when Costco had them on sale and will slowly be diving into larger wrenching projects. So far I have mainly done exhaust/brake items.
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Tripper
> B_dol
11/19/2018 at 17:22 |
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These days I’ve got it mostly under control, but there have been more than a few clonazepam ingested in the throws of this car purchase. If for no other reason so that I can sleep.
“So far I have mainly done exhaust/brake items.”
Samsies. I’m getting ready to do a valve adjustment myself on the M3 and replace to crankshaft sensors while I’m in there. That will be a big accomplishment for my wrenching skills . Once I’ve got a garage, and possibly a lift of my own I will get into more involved projects.