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Reply to "TR Spyder on BaT"

This owner seemed like a less mechanically inclined version of my friend, "Chuck".  Chuck started a company that eventually did very well as it grew and got bought by the place I worked for.  We kept Chuck on as a divisional VP and he did quite well, allowing him to buy beautiful homes on prestigious Plum Island ($$$$) in Massachusetts and in Boca Raton ($$$$$$$$$) in Florida.  

He also bought a brand-new Porsche Carrera and seasonally drove it between homes because he enjoyed the ride ("it gives me time to think").  He always traded for another new one every 2 years so his car was never out of warranty because, as he said to me, "YOU can work on your car to fix most of the stuff that needs attention.  If I were to do that I would certainly make it worse while I was breaking something else so it pays to pay someone else to fix it."

I saw Chuck last at the wake for our company's founder and he told me he drove up from Florida for the wake so he could get new tires for his Carrera at a place in New Hampshire.  "Why go there?" I asked.

"Because I save $2,500 on the set up there compared to the places in Florida.  The car takes a special set of four a-symmetrical tires (rotation sensitive, it turns out) and the place in Florida gets $7,500 for the set.  Up in New Hampshire they only get $5 Grand."

"So, Chuck, how long does a set of tires last on your Carrera S?" I asked.

"Well, if I go easy on it I can get 15,000 miles out of a set.  They tell me that's good"

That last line shocked me, but I looked into it and yes, the model of Carrera 4S that he got talked into by the dealership in Florida is kind of a Hot Rod version intended for the weekend gentleman racer and should only wear a-symmetrical track-type tires that cost both arms and legs.

All that for a guy who only drives around town and makes two trips along the coast on I-95 each year.  There are a lot of Chucks out there, apparently.

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