There are many good deals to be had on Craigslist, but would you believe that at teenage boy managed to turn his old cell phone into a Porsche Boxster S in two years?
At 15-years-old Steven Ortiz traded an old cell phone for another, presumably better, cell phone. That eventually led him to an iPod touch, which he was able to trade for a series of dirt bikes. He then went from bikes back to electronics, when he got a MacBook Pro. He then traded the Apple laptop for an 1987 Toyota 4Runner – but at 15, Ortiz wasn't able to drive it.
Ortiz then traded the SUV for something he could drive – a hot-rodded, off-road golf cart. He then went back to bikes, getting a dirt bike, then street bike, then back to cars, eventually ending up with a 1975 Ford Bronco.
That 1975 Ford Bronco was a collector's item worth around $15,000. That's not bad, especially considering he started from a cell phone that's probably untradeable today. But driving around in an old Bronco isn't nearly as cool as in a roadster; so at age 17, Ortiz now owns a 2000 Porsche Boxster S, which he drives to school.
He's now a bit of a celebrity, with his story all over the news. "I get so many people who say, `Can you trade my phone for a car?' I just say, `Yeah. It's not that easy,"' Ortiz said.
Ortiz isn't going to stay with Boxster S, however, as he's finding that the maintenance costs are a bit high at $150 for an oil change and $1,000 for a tune up.
Now he's looking for something a bit more economical – a Cadillac Escalade.
