Via KTLA
GLENDORA, Calif. -- A 17-year-old Glendora boy has turned an old cell phone into a Porsche through online trading.
Steven Ortiz made a series of 14 swaps over a period of two years, using the Craigslist website, to get his 2000 Porsche Boxster S, the Pasadena Star-News first reported.
It all started when a friend gave him an old cell phone and he had his eyes on a dirt bike.
Ortiz told KTLA, "I got to the dirt bike and I told myself, 'If I can get here, where else can I get?'"
He kept trading up, acquiring a MacBook Pro, a 1987 Toyota 4Runner, and eventually a 1975 Ford Bronco.
The Bronco, considered a collectible, scored him the Porsche.
Ortiz says he does his research first, searching the web for good deals. He also says you should never pay any extra cash for anything when bartering.
"I get so many people who say, `Can you trade my phone for a car?' I just say, `Yeah. It's not that easy,"' he told the Pasadena Star-News.
As far as successful bartering goes, Ortiz says anyone can do it.
"Anybody can do this as long as they put their mind to it. That's all it is -- your mind and your patience. You can't give up."
Ortiz's father says in this economy, many people don't have the money and are more willing to trade belongings for something they need but can't necessarily afford.
Ortiz hopes to go to college and study law or business.
He also says he is already looking for a new car since routine maintenance on a Porsche is pretty expensive.
"At 17, paying $1,200 for a tune up on a Porsche. I can do a lot with $1,200."
Ortiz hopes to trade the Porsche for an Escalade.