I'd made a trip to Kenny's VWs to ask for help with an engine problem on The Rat. When I'd pulled into his driveway, I noticed a nice looking yellow Beetle sitting off to the side. I then noticed that it also had the same somewhat rare Western rims that I'd put on my old Beetle. I stopped and pointed it out to my son who was in the car with me. "Hey look! That' Beetle's got the same wheels my old one had!" I said. "Neat," he replied. I continued, "Look, it's got those diamond-cut headlights like mine had too... hey... wait a minute... THAT'S MY BEETLE!!!" I jumped out of the car and did a quick walk around of the car. Sure enough, there was my mirrored VW emblem in the tint of the rear window. I was jumping up and down like a loon and shouting to my son who was still in my car, "It's my car! It's MY car!"
I quickly found Kenny to get the lowdown on the car. The new owner had brought it in because the engine that I'd put in it had blown. Not a real shock, as I had problems with it from the start, and I never did get it running completely right. I asked if he would give me the phone number of the owner and, to my surprise, he did. I jumped back in my car and drove home.
Calling the new owner, I quickly explained that I was the guy who had sold him the car a couple of years back. I asked if there was any possibility that he wanted to sell it. Amazingly enough, he responded that he did, in fact, want to sell. He said that he was moving and couldn't take it with him. Perfect! I told him I'd take it just like it was, blown engine and all, and asked how much he wanted for it. This is where my dreams crashed to the ground. The price he quoted was roughly what he'd paid for it! I wanted the car back, but I wasn't desperate. I hung up the phone, and convinced myself that my time with the car was over. Oh well, I had another one in the garage anyway. Sure, it wasn't a '73 like I'd dreamed of finding when I originally started hunting for a Beetle, but it was close... |
