Must Have The Best Car, As Young As Possible
Discussion
Morning all,
There area many car scenes in the UK such as your 4x4 crowd, VW (low, Bentley wheels etc) crowd, tuner crowd, classics etc however, I've been noticing recently a new scene emerging, popular with young lads (late teens/early 20's) whereby having the newest, fastest or most prestigious car is the only way to go, almost like Top Trumps.
I caught my 20yr old brother on YouTube this week (could have been much worse, I know) drooling over car videos and fantasising about which hot metal he will buy himself with his taxable £18k per year. On his list were a TTRS, Scirocco R, RS5, M3 to name a few and all way out of reach for him financially if we take into account LIFE however, when I laughed at him and told him to get realistic with a 7yr old GTi or something he told me that he was quite prepared to put all of his available cash into the car and stave off other things such as moving out, a more normal social life, holidays. That means financing it, insurance etc which goes without saying but whatever is left, he's happy to burn in fuel, meaning his Friday and Saturday nights will be spent driving through the town rather than out in it.
I know where this is coming from, as his circle of friends have all been suckered into this craze. One has a Scirocco, another a Z4 and one guy who claims to be the Big I Am was gifted a 1M by his parents; he's the holy grail guy, apparently.
They all burn round the local areas on the weekend, not very recklessly I might add, but to grab attention, "oh, there's that XXX from school in a 1M, he must be minted. I must be like him". My brother freely admits this is why he's doing it but I just feel that he's falling into a deep hole for nothing other than to pretend like he's a rich boy...when he's not. The suggestion of tuning an older car to be fast isn't a consideration, it must be new and flashy.
He follows this one guy on YouTube who, from what I can tell is a professional Supercar spotter (if that's a profession, if so then very cool) who seems to have sunk every penny he has into a first in production R8. This car gives him nothing but grief, he drives it with numerous faults but, puts his spare change (credit?) into a loud exhaust, wheels and wacky wraps instead. I've seen the comments on his videos from other "kids", telling him he's their idol, but WTF?!
He's opened a small business, fair play, but otherwise appears to live in a small place (he films outside a pokey flat) and is up to his eyeballs in car.
I don't know, maybe I'm just too old to get it now, but when did pretending that you're rich in order to rub shoulders with those who are become a pastime? Do we have reality TV shows to blame? I don't know.
What summed it all up for me was one video he showed me of the "Gumball Meet". Which looked as if it was about 2000 children getting hard over a few supercars, none of them interested in the performance package, the history or engineering, only the attention it brings aka "Lambo bruv. So sik". Pretty sad if you ask me.
What happened to the days of buying a car then trading up a few times in order to eventually get where you want to be. I need some way of kicking him down to stop him making a massive financial error.
Over and out,
Signed, Miserable Bstard.
There area many car scenes in the UK such as your 4x4 crowd, VW (low, Bentley wheels etc) crowd, tuner crowd, classics etc however, I've been noticing recently a new scene emerging, popular with young lads (late teens/early 20's) whereby having the newest, fastest or most prestigious car is the only way to go, almost like Top Trumps.
I caught my 20yr old brother on YouTube this week (could have been much worse, I know) drooling over car videos and fantasising about which hot metal he will buy himself with his taxable £18k per year. On his list were a TTRS, Scirocco R, RS5, M3 to name a few and all way out of reach for him financially if we take into account LIFE however, when I laughed at him and told him to get realistic with a 7yr old GTi or something he told me that he was quite prepared to put all of his available cash into the car and stave off other things such as moving out, a more normal social life, holidays. That means financing it, insurance etc which goes without saying but whatever is left, he's happy to burn in fuel, meaning his Friday and Saturday nights will be spent driving through the town rather than out in it.
I know where this is coming from, as his circle of friends have all been suckered into this craze. One has a Scirocco, another a Z4 and one guy who claims to be the Big I Am was gifted a 1M by his parents; he's the holy grail guy, apparently.
They all burn round the local areas on the weekend, not very recklessly I might add, but to grab attention, "oh, there's that XXX from school in a 1M, he must be minted. I must be like him". My brother freely admits this is why he's doing it but I just feel that he's falling into a deep hole for nothing other than to pretend like he's a rich boy...when he's not. The suggestion of tuning an older car to be fast isn't a consideration, it must be new and flashy.
He follows this one guy on YouTube who, from what I can tell is a professional Supercar spotter (if that's a profession, if so then very cool) who seems to have sunk every penny he has into a first in production R8. This car gives him nothing but grief, he drives it with numerous faults but, puts his spare change (credit?) into a loud exhaust, wheels and wacky wraps instead. I've seen the comments on his videos from other "kids", telling him he's their idol, but WTF?!
He's opened a small business, fair play, but otherwise appears to live in a small place (he films outside a pokey flat) and is up to his eyeballs in car.
I don't know, maybe I'm just too old to get it now, but when did pretending that you're rich in order to rub shoulders with those who are become a pastime? Do we have reality TV shows to blame? I don't know.
What summed it all up for me was one video he showed me of the "Gumball Meet". Which looked as if it was about 2000 children getting hard over a few supercars, none of them interested in the performance package, the history or engineering, only the attention it brings aka "Lambo bruv. So sik". Pretty sad if you ask me.
What happened to the days of buying a car then trading up a few times in order to eventually get where you want to be. I need some way of kicking him down to stop him making a massive financial error.
Over and out,
Signed, Miserable Bstard.
Cheers for the replies, and I appreciate that opinions will differ. My sole aim is to protect my brother but he is his own man and will make his own mistakes after all is said and done.
The thing is with him is that he will go and buy an M3 but, he won't use it to enjoy it in the normal sense such as some fantasic exploitation of some of our beautiful back roads or a race track. It will be purely a poser-mobile and the most it'll get wound up is probably a few twt-ish blats down a dual carriageway. I just don't understand the mentality of it really, having a car as your only luxury, unless it's for driving enjoyment; not driving through a town hoping that girls will drop their pants in queue for the local nightclub.
I don't believe the YouTube was called Shmee. It was Supercar Spotter or something similar. The guy can do what he likes, of course, but he just depicts (if you like) the scene as it is.
The thing is with him is that he will go and buy an M3 but, he won't use it to enjoy it in the normal sense such as some fantasic exploitation of some of our beautiful back roads or a race track. It will be purely a poser-mobile and the most it'll get wound up is probably a few twt-ish blats down a dual carriageway. I just don't understand the mentality of it really, having a car as your only luxury, unless it's for driving enjoyment; not driving through a town hoping that girls will drop their pants in queue for the local nightclub.
I don't believe the YouTube was called Shmee. It was Supercar Spotter or something similar. The guy can do what he likes, of course, but he just depicts (if you like) the scene as it is.
Edited by 1Addicted on Friday 19th December 08:25
R8VXF said:
The guy you are talking about runs the Supercars of London youtube channel. He first started spotting supercars when he was 15 and has been posting videos on youtube since then. He bought a V8 R8 at 24 off the back of the money he earns from ad revenue and running his own company.
I say good luck to your bro OP, what is wrong with wanting a flash motor that will get the laydeez knickers moist? Better that than getting drunk down town on a Friday night.
I can't say I know the ins and outs of his life, I've seen four videos but good on him if he got the R8 with pure cash, or a small bridging loan at most. I suppose we all prioritise our money differently as I'd have put the £30k+ into my business or property but that's just me.I say good luck to your bro OP, what is wrong with wanting a flash motor that will get the laydeez knickers moist? Better that than getting drunk down town on a Friday night.
Nothing wrong with chasing ladies (I love a healthy social life), we're all guys (or girls reading this knowing what guys are like) but it's far easier to strike up a relationship talking to women than just driving past in a car. Maybe I've got it all wrong and all that smooth talk in the bars is wasted effort
.Justin Case said:
Where on earth has your brother been living for the last year or two? Even I, with my 32" ex-demo telly (paid for in cash) know that the secret to surrounding yourself with lively good-looking friends and spending your waking hours in terminally fashionable watering holes and eateries is to get yourself a Nissan Juke or Vauxhall Adam. Best of all a brand new (not just newish) one can be obtained via a PCP for no more than a cup of Starbucks coffee per day 
THIS, or buying an older car would be the best thing he could do. Befriend him, please.Edited by 1Addicted on Friday 19th December 08:52
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