14 trades turn phone into Porsche

GLENDORA, Calif., July 21 (UPI) -- A California 17-year-old said a series of 14 creative Craigslist swaps, beginning with an outdated cellphone, earned him a 2000 Porsche Boxster S.

Steven Ortiz of Glendora said he first offered the cellphone for trading on the Web site about 2 years ago and the experience led to a series of trades that saw him briefly owning a dirt bike, a MacBook Pro, a 1987 Toyota 4Runner and the 1975 Ford Bronco he traded for the Porsche, KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, reported Wednesday.

"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 told the Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News. "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 said he is now looking to trade the Porsche for something that will cost less to maintain, perhaps a Cadillac Escalade.

"At 17, paying $1,200 for a tune up on a Porsche. I can do a lot with $1,200," he said.