Perfect or patinated? PH Blog
To buff or not to buff, that is the question...
That really is the nub, isn't it? Do you want to sit and look at your car, admire its beauty and perfection? Or do you want to actually drive it and enjoy what it's built to do? Because, at times, it seems the two are mutually exclusive when choosing your position on a road down which madness lies.
The eternal buffing/driving dilemma...
I faced a slightly more prosaic version of this dilemma myself a few years back when I bought my Clio 172 Cup. It was the realisation of a long-held dream and, obviously, I wanted the best example I could find. I lucked out and got just that - a low miles, unmolested car in remarkably smart condition. And I was delighted. And then came the opportunity for trackdays and other fun and frolics. And though fear of tainting it didn't exactly hold me back even my usually unshakable denial started to find cracks. Should I really be putting such a nice example at risk? Meeting a chap at a Renaultsport trackday who'd spent a quarter of what I had on a battered Phase 1, stripped it, tweaked it on the cheap and ragged it safe in the knowledge that if the worse happened he'd have lost little over a grand sealed it. I'd fallen into my own trap. I'd bought a car too nice to use.
A dirty car always has a story to tell
Everyone will have their own boundaries - this isn't about saying who's right and who's wrong. But, with a carefully garaged car surrounded by buffing cloths and lotions giving me the kind of angst that sees me parking in the furthest reaches of supermarket car parks to avoid door clanging dings, I can't help but admire those with a more cavalier attitude. Liberation from the yoke of cleanliness can come from owning a car cheap or battered enough for it not to matter, or from just being resolute in not giving a flying one. But I'll always admire a fast car streaked in grime, splattered in flies and wearing its war wounds with pride more than one buffed to 'perfection'. Put simply, whose story would you rather hear?
Dan
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To my eye at least, everything looks better for it having obviously been used - whether this is a rally rep, 4x4 or F40 as pictured.
My cars only get washed when I can no longer see out of the side windows and lights fail to illuminate.
Detailing as far as I can work out is a a bit like being a mental housewife racked with OCD. You wouldn't dream of spending hours each weekend detailing your oven, or your shed. Don't understand why it's acceptable for cars.
Each to their own - but life is too short to spend it needlessly cleaning things - unless, of course you are a mental with far too much free time.
Patina FTW.
When I clicked the article, I gave an involuntary gasp when I saw the state of that Ferrari, but gave a nod of appreciation at the grimy M5.
Perhaps it's just the fact that the majority of Ferrari's I've seen look as if they've just been driven out of a heated cocoon of cleanliness, so seeing one that's being used as it was designed to be is actually a bit of a shock.
I really can't understand the idea that people buy cars and then don't want to put miles on them for fear of devaluing them.
I like my cars concours perfect - or totally filthy from many hours behind the wheel at speed. Not filthy from neglect and abuse. I don't much like anywhere in-between, I certainly can't abide by the trash-filled, manky wrecks some people seem to be happy to tool about it.
To be honest, I love both aspects. I haven't been round a track (yet!) but I plan to this year, and I like a spirited drive as much as the next man... but I also enjoy a Sunday afternoon polishing session. It makes me look back at the car after walking away from it just like when you get a new car.
a freshly detailed car in the right colour on a sunny day, sat on a grassy lawn of a stately home... lovely, like its wedding day, and it's made the effort to look at its best...
but then the absolutely filthy Mclaren F1 i saw in london when i was about 15 is one of the best things i've ever seen!
I think its a shame to not use a car for this reason though, by all means take care of it (I have been known to need a taxi to Tesco's door as I park so far away!) but its there to be driven, and driven hard! I suppose it all comes down to money, but if you've got enough of that then who cares how many miles are on your car!
(if you've got that much money buy two, a garage queen and a track slag!)
but to get back to the point, i'd far rather read about the car and owner that's been driven hard, not about the garage queen.
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