According to a story circulating on the Internet, a New York man and his wife retire and are looking for a place to settle down — somewhere out in the country.

They see an ad for a farm that’s being sold for back taxes. It just so happens the farm is in Portugal — that’s in western Europe between Spain and the Atlantic Ocean.

The NY guy hops on a plane and flies to Portugal to check out the farm. Turns out the ad is correct, there’s a farmhouse and several out buildings, including a rather large barn.

Oddly, the barn is made of brick and has huge steel doors that are welded shut. Shrugging his shoulders, the NY guy bids on the property and ends up with the property’s deed at a fraction of its value.

Delighted with his good fortune, the NY guy and his wife move everything from here in the States to Portugal where they plan to live out their retirement.

Once they’re settled in, the sealed up barn starts bugging the NY guy, so he buys the necessary power tools and proceeds to crack the sealed doors.

Holy cow! Inside the barn he finds nearly 200 vintage cars including Cabriolet, Mercedes Benz, Martin, Lotus Elan, Austin Healy, Alfa Romeo, and more. Value estimates range around $35 million.

Great story — but - it’s not true! Oh, the part about the sealed barn containing nearly 200 vintage cars valued at some $35 million — that’s all true.

But the NY guy who made the lucky buy — that’s just somebody’s fairy tale. The truth is, the farm and the barn are owned by a car dealer in the States who collects old cars and saves them in a barn in Portugal. Once the barn was full, he had the doors sealed for security.

Don’t ask me why he kept them in a barn in Portugal — he just did. When you have that kind of money you can do whatever you want.

Some of you may read stories on the Internet about this fabulous discovery, but I assure you, the writer is pulling your leg. Check it out at SNOPES.COM where you can read the real story.