Is your paranoia ruining your enjoyment of your car?
Discussion
When I met my now wife her beat up Punto became our only car for a couple of years. Not having to worry about parking, new mechanical noises, depreciation etc. probably had more upsides than driving a nice car. It was refreshing to park within walking distance of the supermarket.
Coming out of lockdown we now need a car each. My wife's only criteria is that I shouldn't buy something I will have a go at her over if/when she scrapes it. But whilst a shed would have been ideal I suspect many people selling their sheds is because they are no longer reliable or have big bills on the horizon. It doesn't help that used prices have gone silly so sheds aren't so cheap to buy right now. Also, I wasn't motivated to buy something I wouldn't enjoy driving.
So I've just put a deposit on an immaculate 8 year old Alfa, which in theory is old enough to not worry about, but nonetheless am likely to be serving divorce papers before year end.
Strangely I wasn't at all upset when wife came home the other week with the Merc caved in from hitting a deer. We have owned that from nearly new and really looked after it, but I guess it doesn't hold an emotional attachment. That and I was more concerned wife and son were both fine. But if she had reported it had been scuffed or dinged in the supermarket car park I'd have been properly peed off.
Coming out of lockdown we now need a car each. My wife's only criteria is that I shouldn't buy something I will have a go at her over if/when she scrapes it. But whilst a shed would have been ideal I suspect many people selling their sheds is because they are no longer reliable or have big bills on the horizon. It doesn't help that used prices have gone silly so sheds aren't so cheap to buy right now. Also, I wasn't motivated to buy something I wouldn't enjoy driving.
So I've just put a deposit on an immaculate 8 year old Alfa, which in theory is old enough to not worry about, but nonetheless am likely to be serving divorce papers before year end.
Strangely I wasn't at all upset when wife came home the other week with the Merc caved in from hitting a deer. We have owned that from nearly new and really looked after it, but I guess it doesn't hold an emotional attachment. That and I was more concerned wife and son were both fine. But if she had reported it had been scuffed or dinged in the supermarket car park I'd have been properly peed off.
SFTWend said:
So I've just put a deposit on an immaculate 8 year old Alfa, which in theory is old enough to not worry about, but nonetheless am likely to be serving divorce papers before year end.
Normally buying an old Alfa would be grounds for the wife to serve the divorce papers 
SFTWend said:
Strangely I wasn't at all upset when wife came home the other week with the Merc caved in from hitting a deer. We have owned that from nearly new and really looked after it, but I guess it doesn't hold an emotional attachment. That and I was more concerned wife and son were both fine. But if she had reported it had been scuffed or dinged in the supermarket car park I'd have been properly peed off.
When big things happen it does seem different. I am concerned about chips and parking dings but when my Giulietta got rear ended and nearly written off I was less concerned about the car and more about everything else. I think little things feel more avoidable and more personal in terms of sorting them. Something big you are sure everyone is alright and hand it all over to the insurance company. The responsibility is taken away...I think in part its down to your upbringing, my dad will park in a different county to avoid door dings.
Its not universal but cars were harder to come by, prized possessions in the past, not for everyone but more so than now.
There was no real possibility for me, at 20 back in 1990 to lease/PCP a small car for not much money and then hand it back after 24/36 months and get another, not everyone are car people its just thing to do a job and it can still do its job even if its bashed, scratched and dirty.
Also, depends on the earnings/wealth to car price, if I spend 35 grand on an M4 I will be like a bloody Owl/Hawk nervously parking it and worrying about it as though I can afford it, its a massive chunk of money to me which has taken a long time to save. But someone on 200 grand a year with plenty of cash behind them is probably less bothered as they can replace it more easily,
I remember some of the horrors my father in law visited on some lovely BMW's, Audis and Mercedes, gun dog on the leather, dragging a wheelie bin with it rubbing on the door, pinning notes to the dash in a new 7 series, pushed a plant trolley into the door, every corner scuffed. They got ruined, then part exed, he took the hit but could afford it.
Its not universal but cars were harder to come by, prized possessions in the past, not for everyone but more so than now.
There was no real possibility for me, at 20 back in 1990 to lease/PCP a small car for not much money and then hand it back after 24/36 months and get another, not everyone are car people its just thing to do a job and it can still do its job even if its bashed, scratched and dirty.
Also, depends on the earnings/wealth to car price, if I spend 35 grand on an M4 I will be like a bloody Owl/Hawk nervously parking it and worrying about it as though I can afford it, its a massive chunk of money to me which has taken a long time to save. But someone on 200 grand a year with plenty of cash behind them is probably less bothered as they can replace it more easily,
I remember some of the horrors my father in law visited on some lovely BMW's, Audis and Mercedes, gun dog on the leather, dragging a wheelie bin with it rubbing on the door, pinning notes to the dash in a new 7 series, pushed a plant trolley into the door, every corner scuffed. They got ruined, then part exed, he took the hit but could afford it.
dabofoppo said:
I've had this a bit recently I bought a 2015 fiesta st3 and all iv heard about since is that they are super easy and popular to steal.
Yeah, same here, mines only an ST2, they leave those alone and prey on the ST3's Disklock/StopLock Pro, Faraday Pouch for the keys (Both sets), remove the ODB fuse, relocate/dummy the ODB port and possibly a secondary immobiliser of some kind.
I block mine in with an M135i or Golf R, cant be too careful with these proper hot hatches, let them have the German pretenders !
I've got a Peugeot 306 GTI-6. Mechanically it's spot on, but it's done 171k and looks like it's done every one of those miles. As well as that it's recorded as a Category N after someone bumped into it a few years ago. As a result it's worth next to nothing and I'm not precious about it at all, which of course makes it a much nicer car to own than if it were a mint low-miler.
swisstoni said:
Owning a sh*tbox is a good way of avoiding these worries. I’ve done it myself.
But it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
That's my view too. I have a mint low miler but I am not too precious about it as I plan to keep it for a long time and track it for a long time more importantly, so I guess its condition will reflect its age, eventually. But it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
nickfrog said:
swisstoni said:
Owning a sh*tbox is a good way of avoiding these worries. I’ve done it myself.
But it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
That's my view too. I have a mint low miler but I am not too precious about it as I plan to keep it for a long time and track it for a long time more importantly, so I guess its condition will reflect its age, eventually. But it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
I'm not really precious about mine but I do have a couple of favourite parking spots in my local Sainsburys.
At the right hand end of a row so I can always open the drivers side door fully, and parked right over to the curb, or even slightly into the hatched area, leaving the spot on the left of me plenty of room to open their doors without dinging mine!
If I really have to go into town, I'll try for a spot in a side street rather than use the car parks! Years ago I parked my car for 5 minutes, to take my Mum somewhere in town, came back and found some t
t had pried off the Audi logo off the boot! bds!! 
At the right hand end of a row so I can always open the drivers side door fully, and parked right over to the curb, or even slightly into the hatched area, leaving the spot on the left of me plenty of room to open their doors without dinging mine!
If I really have to go into town, I'll try for a spot in a side street rather than use the car parks! Years ago I parked my car for 5 minutes, to take my Mum somewhere in town, came back and found some t
t had pried off the Audi logo off the boot! bds!! pops and bangs said:
Thanks for the replies.
I can see why possibly having a "shed" to do the mundane everyday driving makes sense. I just feel that it's a little sad that the way society is should have an effect on what we do, own etc. plus I actually really enjoy driving so like to make what would otherwise be mundane journeys more enjoyable, as opposed to only using a car on weekends etc
Sometimes I'm certain that if I didn't care I'd never have anything happen. A work colleague simply doesn't care where he parks his car and he's never suffered anything major.
It seems to be the same with washing the car too, the few times that I spend a long time washing, waxing etc a bird will take a great big st on my car after 2 minutes of me having finished
I'm quite careful with my TVR. Had an expensive respray done a few years back and was also a little paranoid but them my daughter dinged it on our own drive and I came to my senses.I can see why possibly having a "shed" to do the mundane everyday driving makes sense. I just feel that it's a little sad that the way society is should have an effect on what we do, own etc. plus I actually really enjoy driving so like to make what would otherwise be mundane journeys more enjoyable, as opposed to only using a car on weekends etc
Sometimes I'm certain that if I didn't care I'd never have anything happen. A work colleague simply doesn't care where he parks his car and he's never suffered anything major.
It seems to be the same with washing the car too, the few times that I spend a long time washing, waxing etc a bird will take a great big s
t on my car after 2 minutes of me having finished Edited by pops and bangs on Saturday 31st January 11:02
I don't think it's so much a decline in society standards as much as a merging of national attitudes across Europe.
I normally drive down to Spain every year in the Tuscan and have never suffered any kind of damage.
Comparing that against the one year I went in my mint MB CLS which took a hell of a hammering. Some of the dings were terrible.
I decided it was down to the type of car, family saloon, so the locals weren't bothered. (or they don't like German cars).
swisstoni said:
Owning a sh*tbox is a good way of avoiding these worries. I’ve done it myself.
But it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
My other half ran a semi sBut it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
tbox for a while, but I still ended up caring about the condition of it. Other people’s carelessness really pisses me off. Just because it’s an older, cheaper car doesn’t mean that it’s ok to open a door into it.Court_S said:
swisstoni said:
Owning a sh*tbox is a good way of avoiding these worries. I’ve done it myself.
But it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
My other half ran a semi sBut it also requires driving a sh*tbox when you actually are quite interested in nice cars.
And life is too short.
tbox for a while, but I still ended up caring about the condition of it. Other people’s carelessness really pisses me off. Just because it’s an older, cheaper car doesn’t mean that it’s ok to open a door into it.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff