A V8 inspired no smoking sign

[M6L11]

I'm 32 and have smoked since I was 16. For years I smoked about 30 cigs a day, but cut down to 'only' 15 in the last year or so. I'm not in wonderful health as it is, and my wife found out last July that we were finally expecting my first and likely only ever child. My own little girl.

Cars have always interested me in one way or another, and I'm currently going through the motions of bringing back up to scratch my road advanced driving skills as well as taking the plunge with some track tuition. I've been casually lusting after a nice burbling V8 for a while now, but could never really justify it even with man maths. It was more of a daydream.

Now we're married and settled and the big things are taken care of, I've been casting a lusty eye over e39 535i and 540i (with the occasional 7 series thrown in) and wondering. Tonight a sign now resides on the inside of my back door, where I normally exit to smoke my fags. It reads:

"You spend £50 a week filling up your lungs with smoke and cancer. Do your unborn daughter a favour and spend it on smoking out a V8 BMW instead. Your choice..."

So far I've not touched one since and when I get a craving I check out ads like this one.

Am I insane in the mind? Has my man maths gone mad? I figure £50 a week would cover the drop from 35-40mpg to 25mpg with change left over towards the running costs. Even better if I can get a LPG converted beaut like the ad above. Still technically undecided between the V8 or slightly later flat 6 mind you...

Anyway, crazy stop smoking incentive. Yay or nay, PHers?

Edited by M6L11 on Sunday 11th January 01:48

[Gingerbread Man]

Surely anything to improve your health is a good thing. £50 a week smoked away adds up.

[Poisson96]

Either spend £50 a week and risk never seeing your daughter or save the readies, be there for her and get to bring her home from hospital in a V8? No brainer, the sign is great at reminding you of doing the right thing.....

[Hitch78]

The best words on that new sign are 'Your choice' as I've never known anyone successfully quit until they faced this fact and stopped hiding behind excuses.

I did a hard stop from 20/day about eight years ago as one day I was smoking and just realised how stupid it was to have formed a habit which was so deadly with such little benefit.

Good luck. Each day gets easier. I never think about smoking now.

[M6L11]

Thanks guys. I love how on PH I can casually drop into conversation that I might fling a couple of grand at an e39 V8 as a toy, and that it does 25mpg but I'll use some money I've saved from quitting smoking. That the replies are all only about what a good idea quitting smoking is forms testament to how much I love this place. So far today most people stared like I'd suggested that perhaps I might abort my daughter with a bottle of gin and a coat hanger... or I'd somehow won the lottery or something.

"Old? BMW?! V8? TWENTY five mpg??!"

Only on here, sadly, is the V8 given a casual nod and the real topic stays to the fore haha. Thanks again.

PS: My wife isn't much of a car nut but is actually quite a good little driver. Her response to hearing of the above was along the lines of "Er, yeah OK if you fancy one go for it. If you do though, can I have a Jaguar S 4.2 V8?... Because opening the blinds and seeing an older 7 series would be like looking out of the window to see that a dog had st on the driveway.".

And people wonder why I married her.

[Baryonyx]

A V8 does wonderful things for the heart and soul. I relish jumping into my Jaguar XJ8 after a day driving droning diesels at work. Similarly, my old work car was a 1.3 Astra or a 1.6 Focus, and I'd jump into my old A8 4.2 and feel great again.

[R6VED]

I gave up smoking about 15 years ago and did ao by working out that i could afford a new car or smoke. I haven't had one since and enjoyed the MK2 Golf GTi far more than smoking.

I also had my first child (also a girl) about 2 years ago and took the opportunity to go from a 2 seater convertible to a practical family car = 5.0 V8 Merc CLS :-)

Good luck my man, it gets easier very quickly I promise and your daughter will thank you for it.