Almost every time I drove down the hill, I'd glance over at the field where my eyes would lock on the once-blue VW 411, or possibly 412 (my knowledge of that particular model is lacking...). Such a cool car sitting out in a field near the Tremonton/Garland exit on Interstate-15.
Many a time I thought about finding who owned the car and talking to them about selling it, seeing if it would be worth my time to restore it. There's not many old VWs sitting around in fields (or barns or garages or landfills...) anymore. But, I know myself and I know that I'm too cheap to put any significant money into a car to restore the car properly. That's why I never went beyond the "think it would be cool" step and actually tried contacting the owner.
A few weeks ago when I drove passed, I noticed the white car on the other side of the old VW was gone. Interesting, I thought. Maybe the owner was cleaning up his field and getting rid of the cars. Again, I thought about looking into getting the car. Once again, I buried the thought...
Until I passed the car one more time.
That's when I spotted a note in the window. Ah-ha! It's for sale, I thought. The next chance I got, I drove by to see if the For Sale sign had any details, mostly, how much the owner wanted. All the note had on it was a name and a phone number. Good enough, I thought. I got out, snapped a couple of pictures, then drove home.
Later that night, I texted Andy to know more about the car.
"I saw the old VW in the field and wondered how much you want for it and what condition it's in."
A few minutes later, I got a response.
"I don't have an old VW."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I texted back. "I saw the car in a field with a note. That's where I got your name and number."
Andy texted back.
"No, I don't have the car. I'm trying to find who owns it to possibly buy it."
I apologized for bugging him. I told Andy that I considered doing the same thing myself. I wished him luck and he never texted me again.
The next time I drove down the hill, the field was car-less...the old once-blue VW was gone.
I'm hoping Andy bought it. I'm hoping he brings it back to life. The only thing that makes me sad is I'll probably never know what happened to the car, how much it sold for, or anything else. It's like a puppy from the pound has been adopted and I'll never see it again. If Andy were more chatty, I would have asked if he bought it, but he wasn't so I won't.
Who know? Maybe one day I'll be driving down the road and a classic VW 411 (or 412...) will pass me going the other way, or I'll see it parked somewhere. Is it the same car? Is Andy driving?
The story...the mystery continues.
Love it.
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