By JIM SIEHL
I always knew there was a buyer out there for our trophy-winning Oldsmobile.
But I never dreamed the new owner would come from The Netherlands.
Our classic 24-year-old show car right now is awaiting U.S. customs clearance and passage to the land of Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh.
In fact, the eye-catching 1985 Delta 88 Royale Brougham soon will be spinning its wire wheels in the very town where Van Gogh lived and within a short driving distance of where the famous Dutch impressionist painter was born.
The journey cannot be completed too soon for the excited new caretakers, Jan and Mariette Gobbens of Etten-Leur, and their two teenage daughters.
The car was sold on eBay over a two-week listing. Jan matched our reserve price of $2,350. Last-day auction interest pushed his winning bid to $2,550, about the value I had placed on the vehicle.
‘Big American cars’
During a round of friendly telephone conversations and e-mail exchanges, Jan informed me he would be spending almost as much to transport the car to Holland. The contract he signed with DSS Global Services included pickup at our Schellsburg home and delivery to Linden, N.J., with final destination Rotterdam Harbor.
The question “why” almost immediately comes up when folks learn of the impending oceanic sail. Why would anyone want to take on that kind of shipping expense? The popular belief is surely there must be a more attractive financial option at home.
Best we let Jan, a hard-working 45-year-old paramedic, explain:
“First of all, we love big American cars with big V-8 engines, automatic transmissions and having a bench seat instead of two seats in front, and the shape of the cars. They give you a relaxed feeling. They represent the way of life of the USA.
“In The Netherlands, we mostly drive smaller cars with small engine like four cylinders with 1.0 to 2.0 liter engines and manual gearboxes. When you drive a 2.0 liter car, you already have a big engine here.
“The American cars are very rare in The Netherlands and Europe. In Holland, occasionally you do see them in meetings and shows but most of them are Chevrolet Caprices. Hardly any Oldsmobiles at all.”
Jan noted that in the 1970s and ’80s, company-owned Caprices were used for special occasions such as funerals and weddings as well as for cab service.
“Once in a while, they offer those cars for sale, but for me there’s no U.S. history at all with these cars. The car doesn’t tell me anything, and they are asking still a lot of money for them.”
Jan said that even with the transportation and purchase costs for the Olds, he hoped the total expense would be less than buying one in Holland – if he were able to find one there.
Jan wrote that it might seem very strange for us to understand, but he and his wife have a special fondness for “an original USA driven car,” together with its history and meaningful adventures by its owners.
“People over here are interested in the total history of the car.”
Misadventures
The Gobbens family also includes 18-year-old Laura and 16-year-old Evy. In Holland, the legal driving age is 18, which means Laura will be getting her early driving experience in the Oldsmobile. The sisters are just as caught up in the purchase as their parents. Delivery will take four to six weeks, probably in time for Christmas.
The Delta 88 was my baby for 18 years. Even though the odometer reads 155,000 miles, we kept it nice by keeping the car in the garage away from the salt and chips that are so hard on vehicles during the winter.
Its clean condition and overall Body by Fisher great looks captured third, then second and finally a first-place award in Oldsmobile club shows conducted in Bedford.
There is more than enough lore to keep the Dutch couple well supplied with stories of interest for their friends.
For starters, the car was secured in a trade at Thomas Chevrolet in Bedford on the birthday of my wife, Lois. A couple of months later, despite Lois’ premonition that it was not a good idea, I drove the car to a Steelers football game in Pittsburgh.
Big mistake!
There were five of us, among them Tribune-Democrat funnyman Tom Lavis and my longtime friend Dick Sholtis. We parked in the street as a means of expediting our departure.
When we returned, there was something missing. The car had been stolen.
Fortunately, police interrupted the thieves in the process of a stripping operation. Still, it took four anxious days before we were notified that the damaged vehicle had been recovered. That’s a story in itself.
Without the superb work of Pittsburgh’s finest, it is reasonable to suggest that the family Gobbens would have had to look elsewhere for their luxury sedan.
Fate had a role four years ago when I sought to trade the Delta 88 on a Buick Park Avenue that had been traded in Richland Township by my brother, Ron. I was permitted to buy the car at Ron’s trade-in price. Apparently my deal was too good. The best the dealership could offer was a sheepish $300.
Another conversational piece occurred the same day Jan and I agreed to a price. Coming back from gassing the Olds and checking the air in the tires, I stopped at a local bank for advice on a safe method to transfer the money. When I got back to the car, it wouldn’t start, but did a short time later when I returned with jumper cables.
Turned out there was nothing wrong that a $90 replacement starter couldn’t cure. Yes, it was bad timing, but still much better than having Jan and Mariette think I stuck them with a bad starter.
There’s more. While talking with a bank assistant manager, I was asked to produce my driver’s license. I did and a moment later learned that the license had expired. Not recently – in May. I can’t say I was surprised. This sort of thing has happened to me before.
‘If something
went wrong ...’
Jan’s search for his dream American car received some help. He was tipped by a close friend living in Colorado, who took interest in our Olds while browsing eBay. However, the decision to buy the Olds did not come easy.
In one of his first e-mails, Jan admitted to sleepless nights trying to make up his mind on a car he had never seen, as well as concern of a possible scam.
“I am just a family man with two growing daughters and a wife. It would be a shame if something went wrong and we lost all our money.”
A mutual trust gradually developed through phone conversations, additional photos and more e-mails – even a budding friendship. I became very impressed with Jan’s ability to speak English with not a hint of a dialect and full comprehension of my offerings. We never had to ask each other to repeat statements.
On the matter of trust, Mrs. Gobbens thought it important to e-mail a copy of the couple’s monthly bank statement, which showed a check written for the “American dream car.” The payment had been wired to my checking account at First National Bank in Schellsburg, a process that required three business days with a weekend involved.
The arrival of the check became a concern, not on our part, over inclusion of the title transfer in the glove box when the car was hauled away. The original title is needed to get through customs. I had no qualms sending the title along with the car, phoning later to determine if the check had arrived. It had.
Jan and Mariette have been very appreciative of our involvement in this global transaction.
The latest example came in the way of a gift.
Taking 16 days, a package arrived from Etten-Leur. Inside were a highly polished large pair of decorative, wooden shoes, weighing at least a pound each. What could be more appropriate than a gift representing a tradition that goes back to the 13th century, according to an accompanying “Certificate of Genuineness.”
In an “old-fashioned handwritten letter,” Jan wrote that one should not believe that everybody is walking around on them.
“Only some old farmers use them daily,” he stated.
Jan added that most of the wooden shoes are hung on outside walls of houses filled with small plants or flowers after a small hole had been drilled in front of the shoes for drainage.
The package also contained a tin box of spice cookies painted in Delft blue. Jan explained that Delft is a city in Holland famous for painting almost everything in blue.
“Even complete cars are painted in Delft blue.”
The letter, signed by the four Gobbens, concluded:
“Thank you so much for everything you did to make our dream come true.”
Watching the car disappearing down Mill Road had its emotional moments, but we could not have picked a more perfect ending to our long-term relationship.
How many quarter-of-a-century vehicles get a second chance in The Netherlands?
That is pretty special, along with knowing that our beautiful Oldsmobile is going to receive even better care and be on the road for a long time.
“I’m not going to sell this car,” Jan said. “I’m going to keep it another 25 years.”
Jim Siehl of Schellsburg, formerly of Richland Township, retired in 1991 after 44 years as a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat.
