How to tell if you are a car enthusiast
Discussion
After evaluating my life briefly, I have come to the conclusion that I'm more than likely a car enthusiast.
There are a few tell tale signs, I will list mine below - but would be interesting to hear what you think defines you as a car "person".
1. I have more oil stained clothes than I do normal clothes.
2. I will contemplate / procrastinate for months when it comes to buying new clothes / shoes, will put it off for as long as possible. However, if any of my cars need parts, they will get purchased without a second thought.
3. I get more satisfaction doing diff oil change in the evening than I get during the entire day at work.
4. Will spend hours looking at different oil brands / blends until I think I've found the best product at a particular price point.
5. Has a drawer full of "modified" tools in the garage, made and used once for a particular job.
6. No matter what you have / drive - its never enough, or quite quick enough.
7. That last modification, is never the last modification.
8. I know more about tyres than I probably should.
9. Live in a small house, but was purchased almost soley down to having a decent garage (I don't know how my wife puts up with me)
10. Whenever friends / family approach me, its usually a car related question.
11. I'm not always good at remembering names, but can list the cars that my friend in primary schools dad had between 1993-1999.
12. Can recall a few common BMW part numbers off the top of my head, but cant remember my wifes mobile number.
13. If I put the same effort of thought into my work as I do into cars, I'd probably be far better off!
There are a few tell tale signs, I will list mine below - but would be interesting to hear what you think defines you as a car "person".
1. I have more oil stained clothes than I do normal clothes.
2. I will contemplate / procrastinate for months when it comes to buying new clothes / shoes, will put it off for as long as possible. However, if any of my cars need parts, they will get purchased without a second thought.
3. I get more satisfaction doing diff oil change in the evening than I get during the entire day at work.
4. Will spend hours looking at different oil brands / blends until I think I've found the best product at a particular price point.
5. Has a drawer full of "modified" tools in the garage, made and used once for a particular job.
6. No matter what you have / drive - its never enough, or quite quick enough.
7. That last modification, is never the last modification.
8. I know more about tyres than I probably should.
9. Live in a small house, but was purchased almost soley down to having a decent garage (I don't know how my wife puts up with me)
10. Whenever friends / family approach me, its usually a car related question.
11. I'm not always good at remembering names, but can list the cars that my friend in primary schools dad had between 1993-1999.
12. Can recall a few common BMW part numbers off the top of my head, but cant remember my wifes mobile number.
13. If I put the same effort of thought into my work as I do into cars, I'd probably be far better off!
Edited by AlexGSi2000 on Thursday 24th April 09:46
For me it was always the excitement and anticipation of getting the next car. It used to go like this (bare in mind this was 20 odd years ago when I used to do this sort of thing). This was my experience from owning a brand new Subaru Impreza Turbo back in 2000
1)Read about a car being the best thing ever and get obsessed about it.
2)Read every magazine and internet article you can find.
3)Sign up to the specific car forum
4)Order the brochures from the manufacturer's website, obsessively read them when they arrive and learn every single spec and option for the car until you know more about it that the dealers.
5)Start emailing dealers asking what the current waiting time is. You have no intention of buying one, but it doesn't hurt and is exciting.
6)Go and arrange a test drive at a dealers to "just have a look" and get it out of your system, again with no intention of buying one.
7)Speak to the dealer about the current waiting list and find out they have a car available in two weeks
8)Agree to buy it there and then
9)Be barely able to sleep for the next two weeks, it's like all your Christmases as a child rolled into one
10)Collection day arrives, driving home in your brand new car is the best experience ever
12)After a month the novelty wears off
11)Three months in start to hate seeing the payment come out of your account every month. Little things about the car start to annoy you, it doesn't feel as quick as you thought. Start to wonder if there is something wrong with it. Start to use super unleaded fuel and reset the ECU in the belief that this will fix it after reading about it on Scoobynet.
12)Six months in get very bored of the car.
13)12 months in go back to 1, end up trading in the car for a massive loss
In my experience this is the best way to waste money and keep yourself poor there is. For me the cure was to drive a cheap car and learn to live without the constant buzz and excitement of chasing the "better" car.
1)Read about a car being the best thing ever and get obsessed about it.
2)Read every magazine and internet article you can find.
3)Sign up to the specific car forum
4)Order the brochures from the manufacturer's website, obsessively read them when they arrive and learn every single spec and option for the car until you know more about it that the dealers.
5)Start emailing dealers asking what the current waiting time is. You have no intention of buying one, but it doesn't hurt and is exciting.
6)Go and arrange a test drive at a dealers to "just have a look" and get it out of your system, again with no intention of buying one.
7)Speak to the dealer about the current waiting list and find out they have a car available in two weeks
8)Agree to buy it there and then
9)Be barely able to sleep for the next two weeks, it's like all your Christmases as a child rolled into one
10)Collection day arrives, driving home in your brand new car is the best experience ever
12)After a month the novelty wears off
11)Three months in start to hate seeing the payment come out of your account every month. Little things about the car start to annoy you, it doesn't feel as quick as you thought. Start to wonder if there is something wrong with it. Start to use super unleaded fuel and reset the ECU in the belief that this will fix it after reading about it on Scoobynet.
12)Six months in get very bored of the car.
13)12 months in go back to 1, end up trading in the car for a massive loss
In my experience this is the best way to waste money and keep yourself poor there is. For me the cure was to drive a cheap car and learn to live without the constant buzz and excitement of chasing the "better" car.
)Dapster said:
I am an enthusiast because....
When your partner catches you starting at a hot woman across the road, when in fact you are checking out whether the car behind her is an SE with M Sport alloys or it really is an M Sport
..and when they realise it's the car not the woman you are looking at, they just think you're pathetic.When your partner catches you starting at a hot woman across the road, when in fact you are checking out whether the car behind her is an SE with M Sport alloys or it really is an M Sport
I think I'm a motoring enthusiast. I'm more interested in driving, I think, certainly so that having the latest car. Indeed I know almost nothing about post 2020 cars.
I'm surrounded by car stuff though, there's books and mags everywhere. I've just opened a package containing a book I recently discovered, about Ferdinand Porsche (Porsche the man and his cars. I like old stuff).
I'm surrounded by car stuff though, there's books and mags everywhere. I've just opened a package containing a book I recently discovered, about Ferdinand Porsche (Porsche the man and his cars. I like old stuff).
andrewpandrew said:
Can't had ever owned a car not powered by anything other than petrol.
Utter nonsense. You don't even have to own a car to be an enthusiast.Often the car you own is more of a function of your economic circumstances or household logistics than your level of motoring enthusiasm.
This is why many people mistook Chris Evans for a car enthusiast because he owned more than one Ferrari.
ThingsBehindTheSun said:
For me it was always the excitement and anticipation of getting the next car. It used to go like this (bare in mind this was 20 odd years ago when I used to do this sort of thing). This was my experience from owning a brand new Subaru Impreza Turbo back in 2000
1)Read about a car being the best thing ever and get obsessed about it.
2)Read every magazine and internet article you can find.
3)Sign up to the specific car forum
4)Order the brochures from the manufacturer's website, obsessively read them when they arrive and learn every single spec and option for the car until you know more about it that the dealers.
5)Start emailing dealers asking what the current waiting time is. You have no intention of buying one, but it doesn't hurt and is exciting.
6)Go and arrange a test drive at a dealers to "just have a look" and get it out of your system, again with no intention of buying one.
7)Speak to the dealer about the current waiting list and find out they have a car available in two weeks
8)Agree to buy it there and then
9)Be barely able to sleep for the next two weeks, it's like all your Christmases as a child rolled into one
10)Collection day arrives, driving home in your brand new car is the best experience ever
12)After a month the novelty wears off
11)Three months in start to hate seeing the payment come out of your account every month. Little things about the car start to annoy you, it doesn't feel as quick as you thought. Start to wonder if there is something wrong with it. Start to use super unleaded fuel and reset the ECU in the belief that this will fix it after reading about it on Scoobynet.
12)Six months in get very bored of the car.
13)12 months in go back to 1, end up trading in the car for a massive loss
In my experience this is the best way to waste money and keep yourself poor there is. For me the cure was to drive a cheap car and learn to live without the constant buzz and excitement of chasing the "better" car.
Very thought provoking. I’ve never owned an Impretsa, they just don’t do anything for me. And my god do they rot with a vengeance. 1)Read about a car being the best thing ever and get obsessed about it.
2)Read every magazine and internet article you can find.
3)Sign up to the specific car forum
4)Order the brochures from the manufacturer's website, obsessively read them when they arrive and learn every single spec and option for the car until you know more about it that the dealers.
5)Start emailing dealers asking what the current waiting time is. You have no intention of buying one, but it doesn't hurt and is exciting.
6)Go and arrange a test drive at a dealers to "just have a look" and get it out of your system, again with no intention of buying one.
7)Speak to the dealer about the current waiting list and find out they have a car available in two weeks
8)Agree to buy it there and then
9)Be barely able to sleep for the next two weeks, it's like all your Christmases as a child rolled into one
10)Collection day arrives, driving home in your brand new car is the best experience ever
12)After a month the novelty wears off
11)Three months in start to hate seeing the payment come out of your account every month. Little things about the car start to annoy you, it doesn't feel as quick as you thought. Start to wonder if there is something wrong with it. Start to use super unleaded fuel and reset the ECU in the belief that this will fix it after reading about it on Scoobynet.
12)Six months in get very bored of the car.
13)12 months in go back to 1, end up trading in the car for a massive loss
In my experience this is the best way to waste money and keep yourself poor there is. For me the cure was to drive a cheap car and learn to live without the constant buzz and excitement of chasing the "better" car.
The only brand new car I have ever had was a company Sierra 1.6LX, H plate in Red ( Aaaaargh !! ) the crappy Pen company I was then working for, point blank refused to listen to my request for a Blue 1.8L - as I knew that the 1.6 wouldn’t pull the skin off of a rice pudding, let alone be able of over taking anything ! Its seats were fab though and I did become attached to it. Bummer when they sacked me and they came to collect it though, lol.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Thursday 24th April 14:31
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Thursday 24th April 14:51
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