Cars - Lost My Mojo

[GT3Manthey]

Wondering if others are feeling the same.

Now 54 I’ve been lucky enough to own many cars ( in excess of 10 Porsche models) such as 911 GT cars , a 355, various hot hatches, lotus Exige ( lots of track days in that car), an R26R Meganne and many more.

I’ve never owner a ‘supercar’ as such and now have no desire to own one.

Not sure if it’s an age thing where I prefer wafting around sedately in a comfy car or things like pot holes just piss me off so much I can’t see the point in owning a performance car anymore.

I like looking at classics but again can’t see myself driving one and tinkering with it . Too much hassle to me and I’m certainly not mechanically minded.

I generally put some lazy bids in on collecting cars but I’m not desperate to own any of them.

Had motorbikes for years too and as much as I still look at them the hassle of putting on all the gear puts me off . Plus my reaction time isn’t what it used to be.

I used to do car meets, track days & drive outs but now have little interest.

Wondering where I go from here.

I do have a fiesta ST3 Mk 8 that tbf is a great little B road car when I can be bothered to take it for a spin and my son isn’t driving it.

Anyone else in the same boat ?

[Drl22]

GT3Manthey said:

Wondering if others are feeling the same.

Now 54 I’ve been lucky enough to own many cars ( in excess of 10 Porsche models) such as 911 GT cars , a 355, various hot hatches, lotus Exige ( lots of track days in that car), an R26R Meganne and many more.

I’ve never owner a ‘supercar’ as such and now have no desire to own one.

Not sure if it’s an age thing where I prefer wafting around sedately in a comfy car or things like pot holes just piss me off so much I can’t see the point in owning a performance car anymore.

I like looking at classics but again can’t see myself driving one and tinkering with it . Too much hassle to me and I’m certainly not mechanically minded.

I generally put some lazy bids in on collecting cars but I’m not desperate to own any of them.

Had motorbikes for years too and as much as I still look at them the hassle of putting on all the gear puts me off . Plus my reaction time isn’t what it used to be.

I used to do car meets, track days & drive outs but now have little interest.

Wondering where I go from here.

I do have a fiesta ST3 Mk 8 that tbf is a great little B road car when I can be bothered to take it for a spin and my son isn’t driving it.

Anyone else in the same boat ?

Go on European driving tours, it was game changer for me and revitalised my interest in driving. The roads are sublime and if you join the right groups you meet some awesome people too.

[GT3Manthey]

Drl22 said:

Go on European driving tours, it was game changer for me and revitalised my interest in driving. The roads are sublime and if you join the right groups you meet some awesome people too.

Not the worst idea.

Maybe something classic but still fun would be the way forward.

[Geoffcapes]

GT3Manthey said:

Wondering if others are feeling the same.

Now 54 I’ve been lucky enough to own many cars ( in excess of 10 Porsche models) such as 911 GT cars , a 355, various hot hatches, lotus Exige ( lots of track days in that car), an R26R Meganne and many more.

I’ve never owner a ‘supercar’ as such and now have no desire to own one.

Not sure if it’s an age thing where I prefer wafting around sedately in a comfy car or things like pot holes just piss me off so much I can’t see the point in owning a performance car anymore.

I like looking at classics but again can’t see myself driving one and tinkering with it . Too much hassle to me and I’m certainly not mechanically minded.

I generally put some lazy bids in on collecting cars but I’m not desperate to own any of them.

Had motorbikes for years too and as much as I still look at them the hassle of putting on all the gear puts me off . Plus my reaction time isn’t what it used to be.

I used to do car meets, track days & drive outs but now have little interest.

Wondering where I go from here.

I do have a fiesta ST3 Mk 8 that tbf is a great little B road car when I can be bothered to take it for a spin and my son isn’t driving it.

Anyone else in the same boat ?

Buy a Maserati Granturismo MC Shift (30-35k) and fall in love again.

No it's not the most dynamic, but it still can move. It's beautiful to look at, and when you turn the key in the ignition. Then everything is good in the world.
The V8 is the most glorious engine note ever.

Then take a trip across Europe in a big 4 seat GT with enough space, pace and grace to make it a proper event.

You can thank me later.

Oh, ignore those who say they are unreliable. Look after the car, the car will look after you.

[SimonTheSailor]

GT3Manthey said:

Anyone else in the same boat ?

Yup.

And that's where you need to be.

[GT3Manthey]

SimonTheSailor said:

Yup.

And that's where you need to be.

Boats- no chance sorry

[NDA]

GT3Manthey said:

Anyone else in the same boat ?

A similar boat.

I've had a few supercars and an awful lot of performance cars over the years. I started to find the roads full of cameras, caravans and cyclists so gradually lost the mojo too. I really can't see me regaining it to be honest.

I drive a Tesla as my daily/commuter, which is very good at what it does (fast, cheap, reliable) and a Morgan Aero 8 as my summer car. Even as a summer car, unless I take it to France (which I did last year), it's hardly used.

I put some of this down to age, I no longer have the energy to shuffle cars around - it's easier to take the EV.

[Krikkit]

Buy a motorbike instead, much easier to have fun on busy roads etc.

[fozzymandeus]

Strong sense of deja vu on reading this thread.

[GT3Manthey]

Krikkit said:

Buy a motorbike instead, much easier to have fun on busy roads etc.

Had bikes for many years but at my age I feel I’ve ridden my luck and as I mentioned my reactions aren’t what they once were .
Too many drivers on weed these days !

[GT3Manthey]

NDA said:

A similar boat.

I've had a few supercars and an awful lot of performance cars over the years. I started to find the roads full of cameras, caravans and cyclists so gradually lost the mojo too. I really can't see me regaining it to be honest.

I drive a Tesla as my daily/commuter, which is very good at what it does (fast, cheap, reliable) and a Morgan Aero 8 as my summer car. Even as a summer car, unless I take it to France (which I did last year), it's hardly used.

I put some of this down to age, I no longer have the energy to shuffle cars around - it's easier to take the EV.

This is it .

We have 5 cars in the family already and the hassle of moving them around , MOT’s, service etc.

Maybe a little old Boxster S that’ll get used just for summer isn’t a bad idea that I’ll not feel like I’m not using enough

[anonymous-user]

I have not owned anything like the calibre of cars you have, but I certainly don't have the same interest in cars I had when I was younger. I recently purchased a new car, a manual with reasonably firm suspension and I am already thinking I should have got something automatic and more comfortable.

I am 49 and it has been coming for a while but I have realised I just cannot be bothered with a manual gearbox anymore. Due to the dreadful condition of the roads I end up looking at road all the time and swerving all over the place to avoid the potholes.

I can now see why people end up in Range Rovers and the like, they just want to be as comfortable as possible and not have to worry about the terrible condition of the roads.

When I was younger I used to think how amazing it would be to own a Ferrari, but now I cannot imagine anything worse than having to drive one on the terrible roads we now have.

I am off to do the NC500 at the end of the month, I think that will decide once and for all if I am done and it is time to give in and go for an automatic that is as comfortable as possible.

[GT3Manthey]

Joey Deacon said:

I have not owned anything like the calibre of cars you have, but I certainly don't have the same interest in cars I had when I was younger. I recently purchased a new car, a manual with reasonably firm suspension and I am already thinking I should have got something automatic and more comfortable.

I am 49 and it has been coming for a while but I have realised I just cannot be bothered with a manual gearbox anymore. Due to the dreadful condition of the roads I end up looking at road all the time and swerving all over the place to avoid the potholes.

I can now see why people end up in Range Rovers and the like, they just want to be as comfortable as possible and not have to worry about the terrible condition of the roads.

When I was younger I used to think how amazing it would be to own a Ferrari, but now I cannot imagine anything worse than having to drive one on the terrible roads we now have.

I am off to do the NC500 at the end of the month, I think that will decide once and for all if I am done and it is time to give in and go for an automatic that is as comfortable as possible.

The pot hole issue is only getting worse.

Last week one totally destroyed a front wheel on the ST.

We now have to go down the route of claiming the costs back from the local council . More hassle !

[edc]

GT3Manthey said:

NDA said:

A similar boat.

I've had a few supercars and an awful lot of performance cars over the years. I started to find the roads full of cameras, caravans and cyclists so gradually lost the mojo too. I really can't see me regaining it to be honest.

I drive a Tesla as my daily/commuter, which is very good at what it does (fast, cheap, reliable) and a Morgan Aero 8 as my summer car. Even as a summer car, unless I take it to France (which I did last year), it's hardly used.

I put some of this down to age, I no longer have the energy to shuffle cars around - it's easier to take the EV.

This is it .

We have 5 cars in the family already and the hassle of moving them around , MOT’s, service etc.

Maybe a little old Boxster S that’ll get used just for summer isn’t a bad idea that I’ll not feel like I’m not using enough

Not a dis-similar place but also 2 toddlers, I have 2 regular family cars and a 986 Boxster. If I was to change it it would be for something similar ie modern classic, new enough that it's not in pieces all the time, can be used every day if needed, doesn't need to be the fastest on the road but fast enough to get a sense of speed, cheap enough that you don't have to worry about it, enough power and handling that you can use most of it on the road. It also makes for a nice driving experience change from the daily cars. Maybe an early Elise might offer a similar story.

[Luke.]

How about something like an SLK55? Great fun just to waft around in, enjoying the V8 with the roof down...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304136...

[Hoofy]

GT3Manthey said:

Anyone else in the same boat ?

Yep. If I had to have one car, it'd be a smallish, comfortable car for wafting around in with around 150bhp as that's all you really need for urban roads and moving about safely on fast roads.

But when you have to do regular boring drives, I've realised it's more fun in even something relatively common like a Porsche than doing it in something like a low end Mercedes.

And I think having both a banger daily and an investment vehicle (geddit?) make the higher end car feel special as you never quite get used how good it feels to be in a decent car.

And with this in mind, I'm looking at changing both cars (I'll get another cheap, crap car) and another more interesting car to drive when I fancy being woken up.

[GT3Manthey]

edc said:

Not a dis-similar place but also 2 toddlers, I have 2 regular family cars and a 986 Boxster. If I was to change it it would be for something similar ie modern classic, new enough that it's not in pieces all the time, can be used every day if needed, doesn't need to be the fastest on the road but fast enough to get a sense of speed, cheap enough that you don't have to worry about it, enough power and handling that you can use most of it on the road. It also makes for a nice driving experience change from the daily cars. Maybe an early Elise might offer a similar story.

A 2001 boxster s currently on collecting cars that I’ll
Keep an eye on .

Maybe it’s the way to go .

[anonymous-user]

GT3Manthey said:

The pot hole issue is only getting worse.

Last week one totally destroyed a front wheel on the ST.

We now have to go down the route of claiming the costs back from the local council . More hassle !

Absolutely, I live in Surrey and there are a couple of roads I used to regularly use that I refuse to drive on anymore due to the sheer number of pot holes. It is country wide, I drove to Shropshire last weekend and the roads there are just as bad as the roads in the SE. And it's not just the B roads, even the motorways are getting massive pot holes that just appear to be left.

I think the roads are in such poor condition and they have been patched up for so long that they are never going to be able to repair all the damage. I also wonder if the whole war against the motorist means the councils are not bothering to repair them as another attempt to try and stop people using their cars.

Maybe the answer is to get a 4X4, lift it and fit massive wheels?

[GT3Manthey]

Luke. said:

How about something like an SLK55? Great fun just to waft around in, enjoying the V8 with the roof down...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304136...

Lovely looking car and lots of car for the cash but I’d want a manual hence the Boxster S idea.

Think I can buy a Boxster cheap enough that It wont matter i rarely use it mid engine balance will be good .

Drove a 987S which surprised me how good it was

[GT3Manthey]

Joey Deacon said:

Absolutely, I live in Surrey and there are a couple of roads I used to regularly use that I refuse to drive on anymore due to the sheer number of pot holes. It is country wide, I drove to Shropshire last weekend and the roads there are just as bad as the roads in the SE. And it's not just the B roads, even the motorways are getting massive pot holes that just appear to be left.

I think the roads are in such poor condition and they have been patched up for so long that they are never going to be able to repair all the damage. I also wonder if the whole war against the motorist means the councils are not bothering to repair them as another attempt to try and stop people using their cars.

Maybe the answer is to get a 4X4, lift it and fit massive wheels?

I’ve got 2 4X4’s currently and one is an evoque convertible ( missus wanted it) and tbf is a nice summer wafter