Question..

"K-Roll-PorscheTamer" (k-roll390) 07/01/2015 at 14:40 • Filed to: Mystery

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Would it or would it not be awkward to email the previous owner of my 944 to try and find info about the very first owner?

The car has improved much I think from when I bought it(below) to now(above). I’m the third owner and I only heard a little bit of the 1st owner’s story from the second owner.

But the more I work on the car, and the more I find, all the paint chips, some minor bondo work, small rust spots, the chips and such in the windshield; they all tell a story 31 years in the making with this car, and I’d very much like to know what happened in the 30 or so years before it came into my possession.

What’s more, when I had an Oppo do a Car Fax on the car that I originally thought was from Ohio, the earliest date, 2000, showed it to have been registered in Troy, Michigan. That’s not even 20 minutes from me. I know the car’s history from 2008-2014 because that’s all owner #2. But this Car Fax makes 2000-2007 weird. Then again, it’s a Car Fax...

So what do you lot think?

Party-vi > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 14:43

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Send a polite email stating you’re interested in the history of the car and you would like to know if they still have the contact information of the original owner. Couldn’t hurt.

jkm7680 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 14:48

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Not at all! Do that and report back.

newsmctado > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 14:49

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Yeah, I don’t see anything wrong with this so long as you’re polite about it. But don’t be surprised if they don’t respond.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > newsmctado 07/01/2015 at 14:51

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Hoping for the best.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Party-vi 07/01/2015 at 14:53

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Sounds like an excellent plan to me. I have the 2nd owner’s email and number. I’ll send him an email when I get to work.

Klaus Schmoll > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 15:15

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I cold called the PO of my car one day to ask if he still had the winter wheels. It was a bit akward at first, but he soon realized that I meant no harm. He found it nice to hear where his car had ended up and that it found a good home, and I thanked him for taking such good care of it. We then talked cars for about half an hour and in the end he asked me to call again when I sell it.

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 15:31

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I would love to be asked about a car I had before

Funktheduck > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 16:56

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If it were some normal commuter car then maybe it would be weird. This being an enthusiast’s car I'm sure the PO would love to hear how it's doing.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 18:09

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That’s just fine. I once cold called a previous owner because i forgot the combo of buttons and switches that made the tape player work. His reply was, “You’re driving it?!” (It needed work but I told him it was fine :) )

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 18:23

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Not awkward. What would be awkward would be finding the name of the original owner in some old paperwork, finding the obituary of the original owner, learning who his wife was, then find her obituary and the names of her step-kids, looking them up on Facebook and sending them a message with a picture of your car saying “Did your step-mom used to own this car?” Cause that’s exactly what I did and I’m pretty sure I’m awkward. It’s why some have nick named me Rain Man.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 07/01/2015 at 18:26

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I’m awkward too, but let’s hope it doesn’t go that far.

Big Bubba Ray > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/01/2015 at 22:03

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Definitely do it. Tell the PO that you wan’t to learn more of the history of the car and I’m sure he’d be glad to help you out!

I REALLY want to learn the history of my Datsun, but that would be damn near impossible. I know that it lived in California for a bit because of a sticker on the rear glass. It spent some time in a field in Illinois where the PO got it and got it running and did the floor pans. No idea where it was between ‘75ish-2009ish.

pip bip - choose Corrour > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/02/2015 at 05:34

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no harm in asking , the worst that could happen is you receive no reply.

Reed Arvin > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/11/2015 at 21:57

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Many feels for this, as my 1st new car was a 944. Love to find it somewhere and restore it. May I ask how you get author status here? Love to submit my own Porsche stories for Oppo Reading pleasure (hopefully)