In a world where many teens seem to lack both patience and common sense, one teen in Glendora, CA, demonstrated both masterfully.
According to Los Angeles Ferrari Dealers, Steven Ortiz, 17, used Craigslist to trade his way up from an old cell phone to a Porsche. It took him 2 years of bartering like mad, but it appears that the effort was worth it. He’s the only student at Charter Oak High School who drives a Porsche to school.
His path from old cell phone to Porsche included working his way up to an iPod, then a MacBook Pro laptop. Eventually, Ortiz traded up from electronics to dirt bikes, then cars and trucks, and an SUV.
“A lot of my friends are jealous,” Ortiz said. “A lot of my friends come up to me and tell me, ‘You want to trade my phone for a car? Try to get me a Ferrari.’ I tell them it’s not that easy. It takes time and patience, definitely.”
Ortiz’s skill at identifying a good deal started years ago when he would buy cell phones off of his friends. At $30 each, he would turn around and sell the used cell phones online for three times the amount he paid. He also picked up a knack for repairing electronics, which enabled him to take something that was almost worthless and get it functioning again.
Eventually, Ortiz discovered bartering. Many people online are looking for ways to exchange something they don’t need in order to get something they do need. These same people often realize that they can get more through bartering than through selling the item for cash.
“A lot of people don’t have money right now, in this economy. So they think, `I really need a new phone, but I don’t have the money. Here I have this CD player lying around that I don’t use anymore, maybe I can trade,”‘ Steven’s father Esteban explained.
Like many Americans, the Ortiz family has been hit hard by the economy. But with his uncanny ability to scour the Web for incredible deals, Steven Ortiz has still managed to get whatever he wants, despite facing economic hardship. Greensboro Porsche applauds Steven’s determination.
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Read more Automotive News.
(Hat tip: Paul)
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Maybe he should have traded his way up to a treadmill or an exercise bike.
Jealous, are we?
@Chris – LOL.
I agree. He would be better served trading down (or up?) from the porsche for a treadmill. His parents need to go to parenting school.
Actually, a treadmill was transaction #34. He just didn’t keep it very long cause he got a great deal on an old VW Beetle.
i’m wondering: is he planning on reporting the increase in value (a form of income) to the IRS?
WOW, amazing. No details or further investigation required, this is just really cool! I bet I could do that, if only I had just a few SUVs and dirtbikes laying around!
If I work at McDonalds for two years, and didn’t spend any of the money, I’d have way more than enough to buy a Porsche.
He doesn’t look out of shape at all. Fat guys cannot fit in Porsches anyways. I’d hate to see the insurance bill for a teenage male in a Porsche anyways.
For the haters out there you guys are pathetic. this kid has managed to build wealth, which is different from working MacDonalds. he can replicate what he did to acquire more wealth, package up his techniques and sell it as a e-learning/self help book, or get into a top 20 college b/c his essay is far and beyond anything most teenagers are able to accomplish.
2 years of putting cars on blocks paid off! His parents must be proud!
To bad he’s furiously ugly and he’ll be used for his money for the rest of his life! booyah!
You are all ridiculous!! This kid did a great job and I for one am proud of him. All of you who are trying to find something about to him (like his weight) to make fun of, have serious issues and are just trying to make yourselves feel better by trying to hurt someone else. Deal with your own insecurities and quit being a “high school bully”. PATHETIC!!!
Why are so many people hating on this kid? I’m willing to bet that if he were a white kid from Irvine he would praised for his patience. He didn’t do anything illegal so got off this kids back!
Somehow I would have been more impressed if he started a business, say one that sells phones, and then bought a Porsche. It’s great that he did it but I doubt he’s going to make a living this way.
He has the yellow turn signals so it’s an old Boxster, nice cars but not something I’d recommend due to high maintenance costs. The most expensive Porsche you can buy is a used one and being that the only way to get to the engine in a Boxster is from the bottom, he’s going to invest in a car lift or be sending that thing to the shop.
I also can’t imagine what his insurance is going to be; I’m 23 and have a 951 as a daily driver, even without and tickets/accidents I’m paying up the butt for insurance.
The amount of negative comments on this page is very disheartening.
Who says he doesn’t also have a part time job, and this is just a hobby? And even if he doesn’t have a job, that is no reason to dislike him or this story. Many kids don’t have part time jobs and just play video games. He actually *did something*.
Who cares if he is overweight? So are 30% of Americans and they don’t have articles written about them.
Just be happy for the kid and stop being so negative.
I agree with Josh and Tanya. Thank you for your comments.
Yeah, bunch of haters on this page for sure!
He’s not any less attractive than the typical Porsche driver, and I doubt many people on here will ever get the chance to drive one!
Expensive to maintain, sure – I got rid of my BMW z3 for that very reason, but hey – good for him.
What the heck! You guys need to stop being so shallow. He’s not like super obese or anything like that. So what, he’s a little bigger than some other people god dang he did something you could only dream of having the patience or common sense to do. So shut up.
I’m with Steve–I wanna see this kid barter his way into full insurance coverage! His trading skills are impressive, though–I just hope he doesn’t end up at Goldman-Sachs, or we’re in trouble.
I do seriously wonder about this. If he had devoted this much time and energy to his education he would have been far better off in the long run – he could have been a Doctor, a Lawyer, etc. I’m certainly not saying he cannot be these things now. However, instead of devoting this time and energy to his education, he wasted countless hours trying to trade one piece of crap for another on Craigslist, and ended up with a very expensive-to-maintain car that he cannot afford to insure. In other words, a car that he cannot use. He might sell it …. Wonder what it is worth … Wonder if all the time was worth it …
Worse still, countless dweebs all over the world will be reading about this and then ignoring their school work trying to imitate what this kid has done. Very few will have the required levels of patience or skill.
Come on folks, you are so negative because you don’t have a Porsche and are driving a beat up, on the way out, Ford Focus….
Nothing against a Ford Focus….Just not quite a silver convertible Porsche.
Moose…you are a moron….the end
Good lord, it was a hobby, he wasn’t playing video games, texting all night, gang banging, and kicking old ladies….or sitting on line and commenting on online articles. Good for him, sorry for you.
yeah. interesting post to know and funny. some of these comments made me disappointed but i don’t want to make it into pointless argument.
@ Moose how can you possibly know he hasn’t devoted anytime to his education. And if you’re thinking the best occupations are doctors and lawyers, you’re hardly aiming high. There are many successful people out there who have been educated by real whorl experiences from “doing” rather than just keeping their noses in a book. Not everyone learns the same way and there’s something to be appreciated for taking advantage of an opportunity others didn’t see.
@ haters quit hatin’ and do something – it’s really petty to come down so hard on a 17 year old kid that has inspired a community that patience, perseverance, and “turning lemons into lemonade” can have it’s rewards
Who’s whining about the maintenance costs here? If he has the wits and skill to get as far as that, he’ll be clever enough to just sell the car now. Cash for the car >> cash for the old cell phone. Maintenance costs = 0. I bet he’s just driving it around for a few weeks, who wouldn’t if they got hold of a Porsche.
Great.
I truly feel happy for him. I hope that he will be as successful in other things he does in future. He didn’t steal, he didnt rob, he just earned his car.
If you live in a big city, power trades happen quiet often. I just traded my Porsche for a phone.
This Kid hands down did something amazing!!! Great for him, for all you haters, Im sure you guys are on some blog trying to figure out how to Barter, he has a skill, and he is even smarter to utilize it, good for him, listen he might be fat/chubby whatever, but when he has the money, he can work it off, if not who cares, im sure his girlfriend will look hotter then half you fools! so rather then sitting on a website and complaining go out and do something productive. Peace!
He did a remarkable thing. But he’s still a mid-class (tops?) high school student with a Porsche. Some people have already mentioned the insurance costs, but what about maintenance? A flat tire is all it takes to burst this bubble, not to mention any serious repairs. As the McJob comment illustrated, buying a second-hand Porsche, all things considered, is not THAT expensive. The (stupid, often overpriced) cost of caring for luxury items is one of the main things that separate (stupid, often overpraised) rich people from us common-folk.
Is he going to barter another cell phone to cover the cost of insurance for a 17 year old driving a Boxster.. My brother has one and he is 22.. no accidents and no tickets and his is through the roof..
“Somehow I would have been more impressed if he started a business, say one that sells phones, and then bought a Porsche.”
Did you miss the part where it says he’s in HIGH SCHOOL?
Hes gonna get some ladies!
I hope he will pay taxes to the gov.
Hey all you people making the fat kid jokes: u mad?
I think you’re just angry you didn’t come up with such a brilliant little scheme. He’s the one driving a Porsche TO HIGH SCHOOL, while you’re sitting here trollin’.
I wish I had the patience and savvy to turn my old cell phone into a car… my life would be a hell of a lot easier if I could do that. Great for you Steven Ortiz! You’ve got a bright future ahead of you.
Gotta give the dude his props for working his way up but that insurance is gonna be a bitch for his parents. Well unless their rich..but then I wouldnt have seen the point of him having to work his way up, so yeah insurance is gonna be a bitch
For all the haters posting here. This young man has demonstrated a mastery of his environment. The world as it is. And you, the best you can do is call him a ‘fat’ kid? Or make a racist remark? Wow… be careful, you’ll be working for this young man one day.
That’s pretty cool, but he should have just stuck with a truck or something else that was more practical. Though I doubt he’s done, he’ll keep trading up for something better.
I’m happy for this guy. I can’t even begin to imagine what level of patience and bartering it takes to accomplish this. However, if this was me, I would probably sell the Porsche first thing. Either save the money for college, or something else. I mean, a kid driving a Porsche in high school? It’ll get him nothing but status and status is only so worthwhile, he could have done a lot better things with that money in my opinion. Plus, that Porsche is going to depreciate like there’s no tomorrow. All in all, I’m happy for the guy, his skill could be more beneficial to him once he learns how to handle his money better.
P.S Insurance…Ouch.
this is reminiscent of “one red paperclip”. someone traded up from a paperclip to a house.
No worries everyone – I sent an email to the IRS with the link to this article, a couple other articles, and the video he posted, so they can get him for unreported cap gains tax for the past 2 years.
Maybe he can sell the Porsche and use the proceeds to invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds? He’ll be able to retire at 40.
He da man. PERIOD. Gotta respect him for earning it. I’m going to show my students this one.
If his family has been “hit hard” by the economy, is buying a rapidly depreciating item — like a car — really the brightest financial decision?
Wow. People like you (haters) are what is wrong with this world. This is a 17 year old kid we’re reading about, which means he started this thing when he was 15. What the hell were you doing at age 15? He obviously would have done this in his spare time, because he has to go to school. I really hope the people saying mean thing about him are teenagers, ‘cos if you’re an adult…how **** must your life be? If you are a teenager, you’re just jealous, doesn’t matter if you won’t/can’t admit it, you know it’s the truth. I turned 20 this year but I have owned my own business since I was 18, so I suppose I can relate to Steven on a personal level. He’s obviously a smart kid and I doubt he did all this just to get the Porsche, he’ll most likely trade it for something better eventually. I think he’ll accomplish more by age 20 then most of you will in a lifetime. He thinks like I did in high school, he’s mature for his age. I seriously cannot believe the hate and talking about his insurance cost? The article says his family was hit hard by the economy, most likely he is doing this for his family. Steven, I doubt this message ever reaches you, but here it is: Keep doing what you’re doing and ignore the haters…that’s cliche but it’s true man. People will doubt you, put you down, do and say all kinds of things but that’s just cos they’re jealous. Let ‘em talk, ‘cos you’ll make it. I dunno how it is at your school, you might actually get treated good, I had a few haters in school (I got along with most people though, the haters were just the jealous people). Now when I see them and we get to talking about what we’re doing with out lives, and I tell ‘em I own my own business, drive a $30,000 car and have a house that I choose to rent instead of live in because I like to be home with my family, and they tell me they work at McDonalds and rent a 2 bedroom house with 3 other people…you know everything you did was worth it. That might be mean or whatever but I don’t care. Also I know material possessions are nothing if you don’t have love in your life, but luckily I do. Keep going Steven, mate. If they hate, let ‘em hate and watch the money pile up.
bet you he cant pay for gas :O
::sigh:: Yep, he’s out trading to get around spending money in a sour economy (which got him very nice a car, however old it may be) and you’re all sitting around on the internet handing out advice/insults. When your advice and/or insults get you a car let us know, k?
I’m also finding the number of negative comments about this story very dishearting. What disturbs me the most are the assumptions and stereotypes been associated with this obviously intelligent young man.
The insults about his weight and appearance are clearly defense mechanism from people with insecurities; some people just can’t be content with other people’s happiness. The claims that he did this illegally or by “putting cars on blocks” are just idiotic. The whole point of the story was that he did it in a completely legal way. Plus common sense would tell us that if it WAS somehow illegal, it’s doubtful he’d still HAVE the Porche with amount of publicity this story has been getting.
He is 17 years old… Many people his age are developing far less productive hobbies or just playing around and doing nothing.
Show some respect for someone who has done something successful. Leave your insecurities and stereotypes out of it. Period.
Great job Ortiz!
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