To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History

40 years of Porsche Sales Secets and the Ultimate 911 Barn Find

• Carly, Doug & Dave: Classic Car Experts, Motorsports Enthusiasts and Automotive Storytellers • Season 8 • Episode 4

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What happens when a lifetime of automotive passion becomes a 40-year career? This week, Doug goes solo from Myrtle Beach to sit down with luxury car sales legend Mike Maurer. Mike has been navigating the high-end automotive world since the 1980s, working with legendary dealerships like Brumos Porsche.

In this episode, Mike pulls back the curtain on the reality of high-end car sales. He shares incredible, unfiltered stories—from growing up riding in the back of an air-cooled Porsche 356 bathtub across Europe to his early days crashing a classic Austin Healey into a tree while racing a Lotus Elan in Annapolis. We also dive deep into the ultimate "one that got away" story involving a pristine 1967 Porsche 911 S, a hidden barn, and an unexpected journey to Australia.

Don't miss Mike's favorite episode with Dirk Dekker on the track with 911 - https://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/17927079

Whether you're a rabid Porsche purist who demands three pedals on the floor or someone dreaming of breaking into luxury automotive marketing, Mike's 40 years of industry experience serves as the ultimate masterclass.


Key Takeaways & Timestamps

  • Garage Updates: Doug checks in from vacation in Myrtle Beach and recaps our previous feature with Marla from BWomen.com.
  • Perks of the Showroom Floor: Mike explains how luxury sales professionals spec'd out new cars every single year to master their product knowledge.
  • The Hustle is Real: The brutal reality, demanding 11-to-12-hour days, and the pressure of working in high-end retail during the 1980s and 90s.
  • The First Car Heartbreak: Buying a derelict 1957 Austin Healey 100 with college tuition savings, and why it wouldn't start by day two.
  • Racing in Annapolis: How totaling a brand new Austin Healey 3000 while chasing a Lotus Elan through the woods paved the way to his very first Porsche 911.
  • The 20-Toyota Challenge: The unique ultimatum a legendary dealership owner gave Mike before allowing him to sell premium sports cars.
  • The Legend of Brumos Porsche: Working alongside legendary endurance racers Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood at a dealership that shaped Porsche culture.
  • The Last Last of the Analog Cars: Why Mike's manual transmission 2007 Porsche 911 (997) Carrera 4S is an absolute keeper compared to modern digital platforms.
  • The Worst Cars Driven: Hilarious deep dives into sorting out the infamous Geo Metro and a nightmare Saab Turbo ownership experience.
  • The Ultimate Barn Find Story: How Mike acquired a pristine, original-owner 1967 Porsche 911 S out of a small hidden barn for $20,000, and what happened when he tried to buy it back from Australia years later.
  • Career Blueprint: Modern career advice for younger enthusiasts looking to break into luxury dealership sales, corporate wholesale, or online auction platforms like Bring a Trailer.
  • Master Class Trivia: Mike breaks down the legendary history behind why the Porsche 911 was almost called the 901
  • Hidden Options & Factory Battles: How Mike bypasses corporate constraints to build highly customized, one-of-one vehicles directly with factory insiders.

In the Shop: Mentioned Cars & Media

  • 1957 Austin Healey 100 & Austin Healey 3000
  • Porsche 356 "Bathtub"
  • Porsche 911 (Classic 1967 911 S)
  • Porsche 911 (997 Gen) Carrera 4S (Manual)
  • Porsche Macan (The daily grocery & dog hauler)
  • Lotus Elan
  • Geo Metro
  •  Saab Turbo
  • Porsche Posters: The legendary "Kill Bugs Faster" Arena Red 993 Turbo campaign.
  • The Soundtrack: Life in the Fast Lane by The Eagles.


Connect with Our Guest

  • Have questions about ordering a bespoke Porsche, navigating the current collector market, or tracking down an air-cooled classic? Reach out to Mike Maurer directly at Mike911@gmail.com.

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Show Mission And Updates

Doug

Welcome back to All The Cars I've Loved Before, the podcast where we park the specs at the door to focus on the stories that actually matter. It's time to throw on that faded car theme t-shirt or hat, get a little grease under her nails, and step back in time. And we're here to talk about that very first car, that sense of pure freedom with the windows down, the music pin, and your best friends in the back. And because at the end of the day, every car tells a story, and those stories reveal exactly who we were and who we have become. Whether it's a forgotten beater, a lifelong project, or just the way, we're diving into the personal history behind the metal. I'm Doug, going solo tonight without my co-host Dave. And this is the podcast where car culture feats your life story. So we're gonna get into it. Just as way of quick updates and welcome back, everyone. I'm coming to you from Myrtle Beach where I'm on a little mini vacation with some family members. So blurred the background just so you don't have to see the fancy room that I'm in. Not so fancy. By way of updates, we recently released we had two weeks ago, we had our podcast update with Marla. Marla started vwwomen.com. She is a lifelong Volkswagen fanatic, going back to owning her dad's car. 1976 Volkswagen Super Beetle in Sunshine Yellow that he went to Germany and bought and brought over. It has been the family ever since, now 50 years, and it got her into, with her profession of being a professional photographer, it got her into enjoying Volkswagens. And during the pandemic, like many people looking for something else to do, she started connecting with other women that are friendly and interested in Volkswagens, especially the air cool variety. And she travels the U.S. taking their pictures and sharing their stories on her website, vwwomen.com. The audio podcast was released previous Tuesday, and now the full video podcast for those who want to see Marla and some clips, as well as Dave and myself, that is available on YouTube.com. So feel free to check that out on our channel. And if you like what you hear, welcome back. Tell a friend, it helps us grow. And Miss Maggie the Bug says the guys do a great job telling stories about cars. They're really good at keeping it interesting and fun. Love the show. Keep up the good work, guys. Thank you, Miss Maggie the Bug and your owner. Much appreciated.

Mike’s Porsche Origin Story

Doug

And without further ado, we are going to introduce Mike Maurer, who has many stories over many decades, including how he got into Porsches and the whole automobile scene. But one of his how I met Mike is just met him at a car show, and he happened to mention that he had been selling Porsches since the 1980s, but his love for cars goes farther back. So well welcome to the show, Mike. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_00

Well, thank you very much, Doug. A pleasure to be here.

Doug

Yeah. Yeah, our pleasure. So please tell us a little bit about your love for Porsches, and we're gonna kind of weave it in. Love for cars overall, and I think it extends back to some early, early times with your father.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, very much so. Even growing up as an infant and a toddler, my next door neighbor was a Ford executive, and he would bring home new cars all the time. And that planted the seed, I think, that made me a car guy. My father was a Navy officer, so we lived all over the US, Europe, Africa, Hawaii. And I my fondest memories are l sitting in the backseat of a 356 bathtub Porsche driving all over Europe. So the seed was planted very early on, and Porsche was the the thing that that I really was was my fascination. And it later became my occupation. So my fascination became occupation.

Doug

Yeah, yeah. And and you may have, and I'm sure you'll tell a little bit bit about it, working as a Porsche salesman for all those decades, you were probably bringing home new cars fairly often just to draw test drive, break, you know, break them in, so to speak, if you will.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. When I first started in the automotive industry, you had demonstrators. And we of course you paid $100 a month. And then another dealer that I worked for said, We'll sell you a new Porsche car for cost, but you can't sell it for one year. So I would have a new Porsche every year. I would spec it out. So it was just a fun way to go. Yeah. And you're supposed to drive your product. You didn't if you didn't know the product, how could you sell it?

Doug

Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Perks perks of the job, right? It's something to look for every every year as well. And yeah. And you if you love cars and you're selling them, you're probably loving your job.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, very much so. Although every job has its downsides. Uh long, long hours, a brutal workforce. If you didn't perform, you were fired. But I made a point of making sure I I hung on and stayed with the dealerships. I only worked for about four dealers in all the years that I spent selling and managing. Ten years here and ten years there.

Doug

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And you saw it all. You saw the you know, Porsche went through some rough times at at different periods. And yeah, we'll we're gonna talk about that. And before we get into your first car, I'm gonna pose a trivia question, and I know you know the answer, so we're gonna hold it to the end, but I I'll let you answer it at the end. Why was the nine uh what was the 911, Porsche 911 originally called, and why did it have to change the name? So we'll we'll save that till almost the very end of the episode. And can't wait to hear your version of the story, which I'm sure is this version that most of us know, but many people don't know that story. So and uh do appreciate you have a 993 turbo poster behind you. I think one of the great, and maybe it was yourself, Mike, when we were talking when we met. One of the it might be the poster that says kill bugs faster. Is that it?

SPEAKER_00

Kills bug fast, yes.

Doug

Kills bug fast, yeah. So in in in nice hindsight to what the car is capable of doing, you want to you want to fast you want a you want a way to kill your bugs? Why go can't go wrong with a 993 turbo.

SPEAKER_00

Right. I have a large collection of Porsche posters. I bet this is one of my favorite, if not one of my favorites, if not the favorite. But that's the one that I I framed the minute I saw it. And uh who knows, we all have our favorites.

Doug

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00

This is my favorite.

Doug

Yeah, and what what what is that color called?

SPEAKER_00

That that purple maroon that particular car is arena red.

Doug

Arena red, beautiful color. Yeah, and that's what I always think of when I see a 993. Like especially nine, maybe it's just I'm funneling that picture or that that poster, if you will. So very Porsche's always been good at ad campaigns, so for sure.

SPEAKER_02

Very much Yes, yes.

Austin Healey To First 911

Doug

Yeah, so with that said, tell us about your your personal first car, which was surprised to everyone, not a Porsche.

SPEAKER_00

No, a 1957 Austin Healy 100. I was in high school and I was walking home and walked by the what was then a Chrysler Plymouth Dodge dealership, and they had this wreck of a white Austin Healy on the very back end of the lot. It had plants growing around it, it was junk. And I thought, ooh, I'd love to buy that. I'd been saving to go to college, but I thought, I've got I've got enough money to buy that. So I brought it home, and my dad was highly upset. You spent all your college money to buy a car, an old piece of junk? So, yes, I did. My first first car, fun car. It wouldn't start the second day that I had it. So Yeah, yeah.

Doug

So you were you were you a Shay tree mechanic before that?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I thought I was, but I learned very early on that nah, I'm better off having someone else fix it.

Doug

And I and one of our questions in our in our survey, or if you will, intake was what makes you smile when you think about that first car? Obviously, you had a great laugh of one, telling your dad you spent the money for college on the car, and then two, the next day it wouldn't start. So what what else makes you laugh or happy when you think back on that car?

SPEAKER_00

It was my first car. And the sound of the the exhaust in the engine was throaty, whereas the all the Porsches were air-cooled. So they had a distinct, wonderful sound, but the Austin Healy had a really nice, nice, deeper throat. And uh and then frustration, I got rid of that car six months after I owned it. But always in the back of my mind was I'd love to have an Austin Healy again. But I was in the military, and when I was promoted to an officer rank, a commissioned officer, I had enough money to go buy one. So I bought a brand spanking new one. The monthly payment was $134, and I made $303 a month. So but I had a brand spanking new Austin Healy $3,000.

Doug

And it was a large upgrade, right, over over the previous one in many ways, not just in tenure being ten years newer than the than the prior car. But how long did you keep that car for?

SPEAKER_00

I kept that one about two years until I wrecked it, racing a friend of mine in the woods in Annapolis. He had Lotus Alan, and I couldn't keep up with him. I tried, and I lost it, ran into a tree, didn't hurt myself, totaled the car, and I had enough money from the insurance payment to buy a new 9-11 Porsche. And that that became my love affair with Porsche, my ownership affair.

Doug

And that began it paved the way. Yes, right. Oh, it certainly did.

SPEAKER_00

One after the other after the other. And the way historically Porsche pricing was, the supply of Porsche cars was always less than the demand. So prices stayed very, very constant. I could buy one, keep it two years, keep it well, because I love keeping the cars as perfect as possible. And I could sell it two years later, and it wouldn't really cost much to trade up to a two-year-old newer car. But every couple of years I'd get the itch and I'd want different options. And I got to know the Porsche line very well before I ever started selling

From Photography To Brumos Sales

SPEAKER_00

them.

Doug

What uh I I know many of our listeners are gonna want to know this question, and uh as do I. How did you make the switch to become one in car sales and I assume post-military duty? And two, how how why Porsche? How did how did that story happen?

SPEAKER_00

Porsche primarily from having ridden around with my family in Europe. But the Porsche was always just a little bit out of my reach financially. So I would on meals to afford a Porsche.

Doug

Well, that was a creative solution. And how how did you get into the business?

SPEAKER_00

When I picked up a new car, one of the owners of the dealership said, Mike, how you know so much about these cars? I was working as a photographer at the time doing travel photography. And I was tired of traveling. My wife was about to give birth to a baby, and I thought, I need to stay at home. What do I know? What and the the dealership owner said, Come to work for me. So he said, But before you start selling Porsche, Mike, I want you to go down the street and I want you to sell the Toyotas. And I thought, I'm never gonna get to Porsche to sell 20 Toyotas in a month. So I decided I was bound and determined, I will m sell 20 and I will get a job at Porsche. And I did, and the rest, as they say, is history in that regard.

Doug

Gotcha, gotcha. And that we're we're both from Annapolis. So was that the Porsche dealer in Annapolis that used to be I think it's a Nissan dealer now.

SPEAKER_00

No, I left Annapolis after high school. Going into the military, and then I ended up in Florida working for a Florida dealership. We had Porsche Audi and Rolls-Royce, a dealership called Brumos, B-R-U-M-O-S, which to Porsche piles, people who follow Porsche, Brumos was a legendary dealership. The owner raced along, his name was Peter Gregg, and his co-owner was Hurley Haywood, who were both legendary Porsche endurance racers. So it was I started with a very legendary dealership, and that enabled me to go from Florida to we opened a branch in Atlanta. So I worked in Atlanta for several years, worked in Colorado for several years, and came back to the Maryland, DC, Virginia area. Gotcha, gotcha.

Doug

And and uh you're actually wearing a Brumus racing shirt. So that was a great introduction for me, because I had not heard of them, but I appreciate that. Now I think I think when I at the you had a Porsche shirt on, so now now Brumo's now it all now it's all adding together. So thank thanks

What Changed In Porsche Ownership

Doug

for sharing that. So jumping around a little more, a lot has changed since selling cars. And I I know you're not not actively in sales anymore for a little bit, but a lot has changed in buying and selling cars since you started. And what what would you say the part looking back that you miss the most about it, right? Certainly a lot has happened with the internet and of course the way people buy and buy and sell and even consume products has changed considerably.

SPEAKER_00

I miss well, after the cars, the people that I knew, that I met, that I became frankly friends with, lifelong friends, to this day I still socialize with many of my clients and customers over the years. I now advise, I I help people find high-end cars because I'm pretty familiar with the marketplace. And I have a reputation that I've tried to maintain as being straightforward, honest, and uh not a crook by any stretch. So but that's that's been my activity. And I miss seeing the people really on a daily basis. Yeah.

Doug

I would imagine thinking about the cars and going from uh my own experience in IT. When I first started, they would fly us out and we'd learn about the new product, right? And they'd we'd meet with everybody. And then in the days of WebEx and everything else, it became all virtual. And I'm sure there was some element of that in your career as well.

SPEAKER_00

Well, very much so, yeah. Although Porsche training, they wanted us to know our new products. Product introduction. As time passed from the 80s to the the product introductions got fancier and fancier. And uh, as I was a sales manager for many years, I would go to Europe, Spain, Germany, Canary Islands, for example, to see new Porsche products and drive the cars. Typically it was a three-day introduction. I was very, very lucky and managed to drive Porsche cars on many of the famous racetracks here in the US, West Coast, the South, all all over. So I do miss that because it's fun to somebody else's car and drive it on the racetrack, knowing that if you wreck it, it's their car, not mine.

Doug

Yeah, yeah, gotcha. So as and again, I'm channeling all the listeners, right? What is the guy who's sold Porsches for 40 years? What is your daily driver, Mike?

SPEAKER_00

Right now I'm driving a 997 that translates to a 2007 Herrera 4S. And that means it's now almost 20 years old. Yeah. It's considered the last of the analog cars. Follow when my car was upgraded, shall we say, changed, they strengthen they lengthened the wheelbase significantly. The 911 got quite a bit bigger and it got digital. So the still many of the people who are rabid Porsche people want a more digital experience than the I mean, excuse me, a more analog experience than the newer cars also. So that it's it's an analog car. It's a manual transmission. I personally love that. I've I've had a lot of them, but that that's a keeper. So yeah.

Doug

And uh any other Porsche in the family?

SPEAKER_00

Got a Macan that we use for we call it the grocery and the dog car.

Doug

So go ahead, sorry.

SPEAKER_00

Base model macan. Yeah. Yeah. Every time I get into it, I push sport button so that it it changes the revs, firms the suspension, and makes it actually a fun car to drive for a a CUV, a compact utility.

Doug

Right. And that has the Volkswagen two-liter turbo engine, correct? It does. With with a PDK, though, is my understanding. PDK. Yeah, they they figured out how to make it all work.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And and the PDK is really a wonderful transmission. When it was first introduced, the Porsche buyers all went, no, I'm not gonna buy a Porsche with an automatic. That that rapidly changed, especially people who track the cars, auto-cross them. It's much quicker and faster and easier to drive than a manual. So but just not the same. Not the same. Although I'm a diehard, I'll I'll keep shifting gears. I want three pedals on the floor.

Doug

Yeah, I'm I'm with it. It's it's uh yeah, it's harder and harder to find manuals, right? And Porsche themselves, right? I think I've heard maybe 15% of the cars have manuals.

SPEAKER_00

Even more on the sports cars. It's hard because Porsche will lump together all the vehicles from the like the four-doors and the the two doors. A little bit higher take. And if you specifically say 9-11 model, probably closer to 40% are manual because you've got to go into PDK manual on GT3s, but tourings you can get a manual. Porsche will probably be one of the very last makers to offer manual transmissions.

Doug

Yeah, there's they're still listening to their customers, and that that's a good thing to hear.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

Bad Cars And Great Driving Music

Doug

So shifting back to some old cars, we talked about We talked about your early cars. I'm gonna hold on to your dream car till we get a little farther along. What was your least favorite car and why?

SPEAKER_00

Two least favorites.

Doug

Okay. Two. Perfect.

SPEAKER_00

Two. They both qualify as least favorite. Okay. When I was working in Colorado, I would drive 30 miles from Denver to Boulder, and I would take home a used car every night to sort of sort it out, find out what was wrong with it, and recommend to the to the mechanics how to make it more marketable, how to fix it for sale. I drove a Metro Geo. I don't even think anybody knows what a a Metro Geo is.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I do.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, you do. It was a spent well, Geo Metro was painful to drive. Loud, noisy, wooden track, horrible brakes.

Doug

Three-cylinder engine, three-cylinder, three-cylinder. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Just awful in every way. It was a terrible car. And the other one was I bought we always have had dogs, and we always need something to transport large Bernese mountain dogs in. So we bought a Saab Turbo, pre-owned, two-year-old car. Fun to drive, but what a nightmare in terms of maintaining it. That that was a Saab Turbo. Nope. You see that there's a no more of the Sabs.

Doug

Yeah, they they had uh at least prior to GM buying them, they had their own special following. They were like that. They were like a Subaru. I no offense. They had a unique customer base and they loved those cars.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. They were as dedicated, dedicated as Porsche people. The store that I worked at in Atlanta, the Bruno's Atlanta, we had a Volvo dealership, Saab dealership directly across the street. And the Saab owners would, because they were car people, they would come in and check out the Porsche. And I learned very early on, those guys were the Saab people, really knew their stuff. They were true enthusiasts. Kind of went downhill, but such as business worlds.

Doug

Right. Yep. Yep. For for sure. Right. Yeah, the platform sharing and all the other pieces. And then there was the Saab SCV and yeah, just which was really a, I don't know, some some Chevy, Chevy vehicle, right? That they slapped the Saab badge on. There was even a Saab, there was even a Subaru with a Saab badge on as well.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

Doug

But they all had that unique turn the key. The key was down in the bottom, near the driver's knee.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, it was. And most people didn't realize that. They get in the car and wonder, how do I get out of this thing? How do I shut it off?

Doug

Right. How do I shut it off when I brought my first Tesla home? I'm like, how do I turn it off? Yes. You've locked the doors. That's all you do. And it does it for you. So we're jumping around a little more about through our podcast journey here. And you had a great answer for this. What looking back, what was a favorite song? Thinking about cars. Maybe it was when you were racing your friend in the Lotus Salon. I'm not sure when it happened, but what was one of your favorite songs that when you hear it, you think about one of those early cars? You just you're in your car, you can't not listen to it.

SPEAKER_00

Life in the Fast Lane by the Eagles.

Doug

Excellent song. Yeah. Excellent song. And I'm gonna have to do some clips from this art podcast, and I'm gonna include that song in the in the audio portion for forever. Everybody who's listening. So, what was the car that you wish you had never

The 1967 911S And Friendship

Doug

sold?

SPEAKER_00

I had a 1967 911 S that I bought from the original owner. I had sold him an Audi, a large Audi A8, and I'd had no idea that he even owned Porsche. And we started chatting, and he said, You know, you're a Porsche guy. He goes, Why don't you come out and I I want to show you one one of my cars? And about a month later, I went out to his he and his wife's home, and he had a small little barn, tiny. Upon outside, I want to show you something. And he uncovered this pristine 67911 S that he had owned for 50 years. And my mouth fell open, and I thought, oh my gosh. And he said, Yeah, I have three daughters, and my daughters are all fighting me. He says that I'm getting too old to drive it, and my three daughters want it. They're fighting over who gets the car. Well, this man and I became friends over the period of a couple of years. He was a retired medical doctor. And one day he he said, Come on over to the house. I want you to have dinner with with Julie and I. And he said, Mike, you're going to buy the red car. And I said, What? He goes, No, no, it's yours. I said, Well, I can't afford it. He said, Don't worry about how much it costs. I want you to have it. You're so passionate about it. I don't want three daughters fighting over it, because they'll whoever gets it will allow it to not be cared for the way you and I thought, my gosh. So I he he quote unquote gave it to me and he said, just pay me some money whenever you can. So I would send him little amounts, big amounts. I'd go buy the house and say, I think I ended up paying him about $20,000 for that car. I kept it for 17 years and then sold it for my kids' college tuition. I got what I thought was a great deal of money for it. I knew that I would miss it, sold it to a gentleman who took it to Australia, and he and I still communicate to this day.

Doug

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00

He said, Mike, I'll give you the first right of refusal. He goes, it's in Australia, but I'll I'll give you the first right if you want to buy it back. And a few years ago I was in a position. He said, You want to sell it to me? He goes, yeah. He goes, you know the market has changed over the last seven years. He said, I'll sell it to you for 200,000. And I went, but I sold it to you for 75,000. He goes, well, I put a lot of money into it. I said, but you didn't put 125,000. He goes, nope, but I'm going to sell it and you can have it for and I went, keep it, don't sell it. And he did, and he still has it.

Doug

Yeah. But he gave you first rights of refusal.

SPEAKER_00

He did. The market crashes, I'll call him.

Doug

Well, that's uh that's another great story, right? And just maintaining building those friendships, like these are two friendships over a long period of time, tied to one car, which which is really pretty awesome. When you know, I'm just thinking about how how great it was to have maintained that friendship. Oh yeah. And then you add the car in the in the middle, right? And that's what we're here to talk about in the podcast, but the podcast's really about stories, right? The car just the car is our our theme backdrop for those stories.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it's interesting that the the friendships, for example, I'll cars that I've personally own. We've had lots and lots of Porsche cars. And every once in a while I'll be sorting through my junk or my my drawers, and I'll find something like a key fob, or and I'll say, Oh, that's that goes to the cayenne that I sold to to the Air Force officer out in Colorado. So I'll put it in an UPS or a FedEx envelope and send it off, and they go, thank you so much. But those cars have maintained friendships for years that you would never ever guess that they would last that long.

Doug

So thank you for sharing that. I I love that story. I think that story is gonna circulate widely in our clips. Well, that's and social media banter. So I do want to ask you, we're gonna sort of start winding down here, but no wrong

How To Break Into Car Sales

Doug

answer here. What advice do you have for somebody looking to jump into sales? Ideally with Porsche, somebody who's like yourself many 40 years ago, right? I want to sell cars, and Brumos put you through that program, their self-made program, sell 20 Toyotas first. What's your advice for somebody in this in this day and age?

SPEAKER_00

It's it's a much friendlier selling environment now. Do the same thing that I did. Approach someone, a manager at a Porsche dealer, or if you want to sell another brand, the Mercedes store or the BMW dealership, and talk to the person and say, I'm interested in going to work and selling. What would you recommend I do? I would also investigate, if I were in my 20s right now, I would check out the manufacturer. I would go to the Porsche headquarters and say, you know, I'd like to be with the corporate headquarters in Atlanta or regional. I'd like to be a regional manager. So they call that the wholesale end of things. The manufacturer sells to the dealers, and the dealers then retail them. So talk to the manufacturers. There are other avenues too. You can go say bring a trailer. There are jobs with bring a trailer where online you can oversee auctions, lots and lots, but start at the dealership level and and see what kind of feedback you get. Okay. Expect here the here are the caveats are extremely long hours. You'll work eleven to twelve hours a day. You'll work a minimum of five days a week, sometimes six, and sometimes even seven days a week. And intoxicating, it's a fun environment because you're busy, busy, busy, and you meet really nice, nice people. It's a good way to good way to go.

Doug

And would would you say the sales cycles for Porsche or exotic cars are longer than your Toyota?

SPEAKER_00

Leasing has been a boon to high-end vehicles because you s you lease it for three years and you've got to come back and replace it. A lot of Porsche buyers do, in fact, purchase the leased vehicle off of Lease, but the majority want the new one. Get the latest, greatest. And that's human nature.

Doug

So no, thank you. That's that's great advice. Sorry to throw that out. You had a great answer, and I I think about if I could go back, and I I always loved cars. I I went a different route, of course, in IT, but now the IT is circle me back to cars, and I'm having the having the time of my life with this podcast. So thank you for being on it. Oh, that's my pleasure. So before we wind down, we had that trivia question, Mike, and I I can't wait to hear how you answer

901 Vs 911 And Parting Thoughts

Doug

it. I already know the answer, but you may have more insight or a better story than I could tell. So, Mike, why was the Porsche 911 not originally called, not sold? Sorry, to back up. Porsche originally planned to sell the Porsche 911 as the Porsche 901, and that did not happen for one or several reasons. Please share that with us. You're absolutely right.

SPEAKER_00

It was the 901 because it in within the factory, the Porsche factory, the design project was numerically called the 901 project. There are and have been throughout Porsche's history designations, model designations. So the 901 was was to supersede the 356, so 901 it was. Early Porsche parts are stamped 901, so you know that it's an old one. Why did it not make it as a 901? Because the French automotive manufacturer had patents on all three-digit cars with zero in the middle. I remember living in France and we had 505s, 303s, 904s. So they said to Portion, we own all the numbers, the three-digit numbers with zero in the middle. So that's why the 911 became 911 and not 901. Right.

Doug

That no, that's great. I did not know that about the zero in the middle. So that adds even more depth to the story. Thank you, Mike. That that was great.

SPEAKER_00

My head is so full of trivia, Doug. I have so much Porsche trivia, it just so here's one.

Doug

So Porsche, here's I'll throw another one at you. So Porsche, all at least all Porsche sports car models have a start with a nine, right? It could have been a 951. Porsche, I I think until the 991 series, it hadn't said 911 on it for since I want to say the 80s, probably, right? But even back then it was called the G50, right? If I have that correct. So and today's model is at a 992. Yes. Is the current one. So it's the 911, but the model is a 992, if you can elaborate on that.

SPEAKER_00

Well, going back to 19, gosh, if you have enough time, if we go back to 1984, the up till 1984 model, they were all 911s, 911 Ts, 911 S's, or just straight 911. In 1984, Porsche called the 911 a Carrera.

Doug

The Carrera, that's right.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And people went, well, is that a 911? Yes, it's a 911, but it's a Carrera. So over the years it was a Carrera. It then became a 9964, a 993, always with a 9 in as the first digit. Now, a little known thing, you could spec your car to have 911 badging. No, not very many people knew that they could do that. They thought that you had to have Carrera or no badging. Quite a few people. If you notice on the rear engine lid of some of the 992s, the current cars, you'll see 911. Not to put 911 Carrera descriptive or a paragraph, as I call it. And they say delete all of that and put 911 on the back.

Doug

Yeah. And and Porsche is probably known. I know we could just keep going on and on, and I can't stop myself. It probably has more vehicle combinations than any other car company, including option packages, as you said, including deletes, right? So I want to spec my car. I just wanted to say 9-11. Yeah. That is an option when you order, right?

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely, positively. And Portion needs to reduce the model numbers. There's so many. I right now though, I believe there are 42 different variations of a 9-11, which is insane. If I'm manufacturing them, I'm going to make three or four. I'll keep my manufacturing cost down, therefore my profit margins up. But they got they got down that rabbit hole of offering too many variations. That will change. Porsche's having some financial issues right now. They were heavily involved in electric vehicles, and they found that did not work. So they're retreating. And one of the I expect you'll start seeing fewer and fewer variations of Porsche 911.

Doug

Interesting. I didn't know it was 42. I knew it was at least 19 or 20. So yeah. Yeah. No, trying to be all things to all people, right? And then you need an expert like yourself to how do I order a Porsche with the options I want. You need that secret decoder ring, Mike.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I was lucky enough having stayed for so many years with Porsche. I got to know the factory people, and I selectively picked a group of clients that I took very good care of. And I built cars that most dealers would never be able to. Too many options. I can create even more options if you want.

Doug

All the bodies are buried, right?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I unfortunately do. Used to get into a fight with the importer, which was Porsche Cars North America. They would say to me, Mike, you can't order that. And I'd say, Well, I already talked to the factory. The factory said I can't.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

They they didn't like me because, well, you're just complicating things. You're not supposed to talk to the factory.

Doug

Well, but it's what I do, right? What I do.

SPEAKER_00

I want to make Yeah, I'm here to make my people happy. So yeah.

Doug

Great. So so Mike, before we close down the podcast, how do people find you?

SPEAKER_00

Mike911 at gmail.com.

Doug

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, he says, go ahead and pick a Gmail box. So at 911, Mike911 was my first choice. Mike 911 at Gmail. And that'll take you to all my contact info.

Doug

Mike, appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02

Pleasure. My pleasure.

Doug

Yeah. No. And hopefully we can have you back again for more car stories and unique Porsche trivia and just all the things that are hidden away in that huge brain of yours from all that history. And yeah, glad we met that one fateful day. Agreed. So hope to see you at more car shows now that it's warming up.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, exactly. And give a call, give send me a note anytime, Doc.

Doug

Yeah, definitely, definitely. So you have just been riding shotgun with To All the Cars I've Love Before. This is the podcast celebrating the metal that shaped our lives and the stories that keep them running. And if today's podcast sparked a memory of your own first ride or a project gathering dust in the garage, we want to hear about it. Reach us via social media or stories at CarsLove.com. And thanks to our special guest, Mike Mauer. And if you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, please follow us, tell a friend, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. That's the best way to help our community grow. All of our det all of our content from our social media links to all past 70 plus episodes. That's right, up over 70 full episodes, including Mike's episode, by the time you hear this, at on our link tree, l-inktr.ee slash carsleft. And until next time, keep the windows down and don't forget to share the stories that are in the rear view mirror of life.

Head Shot

Doug

Co-host