(CNN) – Thanks to the age-old art of bartering, a California teenager became the envy of all his friends when he pulled into school in a Porsche convertible.
Steven Ortiz, 17, dreamed of one day owning a luxury sports car - a dream that became reality after he posted a used cell phone on Craigslist.
"My friend gave me a free phone and said, 'Do what you want with it,'" Ortiz told CNN's "American Morning" Thursday. "So I put it on Craigslist on the barter section."
After some serious patience, research and a lot of talking, his cell phone trade landed him an iPod touch, which he managed to barter up for a dirt bike and then to a Macbook Pro laptop computer. Before long, he was the proud owner of an 1987 Toyota 4Runner.
Eventually, he landed a classic Ford Bronco SUV - the golden ticket that would soon get him into the driver seat of a luxury sports car. "I just went for it," he said. "I knew the Bronco was worth more at the end."
So what's his secret?