Lost love of cars the more I can afford them??
Discussion
Jaguar steve said:
e46m3c said:
theboss said:
I think part of growing up / turning old and boring is probably realising that attainable and affordable are two separate measures.
Sometimes the more easily you can attain something the less financially sensible and thus affordable it seems.
When you're younger, if you can make the sums work and attain the car even at a stretch albeit without making yourself insolvent and hungry/cold, that seems to meet the definition of affordability.
When you're older and can attain a nice car easily i.e. having the means to buy it outright without batting an eyelid, you can't really justify doing so because that money would be better spent or invested elsewhere, therefore its unaffordable.
That's how it feels to me anyway. It drives my wife mad ("what do you mean we can't afford to do X Y Z, the money is sat there!")
Basically you see money as something to conserve rather than spooge.
good point well made.Sometimes the more easily you can attain something the less financially sensible and thus affordable it seems.
When you're younger, if you can make the sums work and attain the car even at a stretch albeit without making yourself insolvent and hungry/cold, that seems to meet the definition of affordability.
When you're older and can attain a nice car easily i.e. having the means to buy it outright without batting an eyelid, you can't really justify doing so because that money would be better spent or invested elsewhere, therefore its unaffordable.
That's how it feels to me anyway. It drives my wife mad ("what do you mean we can't afford to do X Y Z, the money is sat there!")
Basically you see money as something to conserve rather than spooge.
Edited by theboss on Tuesday 28th June 13:25
When the dream suddenly becomes real and the money is right there for whatever please you tend to take a step back and think a bit more. The moment you do that of course the thoughts that come to mind aren't how great making the dream real would be but is the grief of buyers remorse gonna bite me in the arse and is the dream going to be anything like it's cracked up to be and what else could I do with the cash instead and the biggest question of all has to be asked too - is making the dream real gonna make me any happier than I am right now.
Chances are an older or more sensible person whose already living their life right will know it won't and so you just say meh - and trouser your wallet and walk out the shop or showroom.
Edited by Jaguar steve on Monday 4th July 20:34
After much internal debate, I remembered your words and gently let them down.
Yep, you were wrong. Very wrong.
At least I didn't get bitten on the arse. Unfortunately.
SidewaysSi said:
There are loads of opportunities to enjoy cars, however you like to but you just need to make the effort.
You are right it's about finding time, but its also about using the time you find to do something that you really enjoy.Cars and driving is great - next week this time we should be in Fjords of Norway after driving some 1500 miles. But that's a holiday, and the enjoyment is time spent on the road with the family as much as the car...
I've been there and done the 6am thing, even in the middle of winter with snow on the ground in a 300whp+ rwd machine.
But that was a long long time ago, these days my own priorities for time are very different. Family come first and foremost, but after that I simply get much more 'enjoyment' out of other things vs going on random drives. For me it's making some how finding an hour a day doing some kind of exercise.
Cars, are still enjoyable for me, but they simply aren't as important to me as before when I younger. Personally I have no issues with changing priorities in life, things will change again am sure.
Life is short do what you enjoy the most right now, not what other people enjoys or you think you should enjoy. If it's 5am drives, great, but if its 5am spinning sessions equally great......which reminds me, I need to find time to get on some kind of pedal bike today to make up for the laziness of doing hardly any exercise yesterday
.
Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 5th July 07:02
Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 5th July 07:06
gangzoom said:
SidewaysSi said:
There are loads of opportunities to enjoy cars, however you like to but you just need to make the effort.
You are right it's about finding time, but its also about using the time you find to do something that you really enjoy.Cars and driving is great - next week this time we should be in Fjords of Norway after driving some 1500 miles. But that's a holiday, and the enjoyment is time spent on the road with the family as much as the car...
I've been there and done the 6am thing, even in the middle of winter with snow on the ground in a 300whp+ rwd machine.
[Img]https://live.staticflickr.com/8221/8402613606_1826849254_c_d.jpg[/thumb]
But that was a long long time ago, these days my own priorities for time are very different. Family come first and foremost, but after that I simply get much more 'enjoyment' out of other things vs going on random drives. For me it's making some how finding an hour a day doing some kind of exercise.
Cars, are still enjoyable for me, but they simply aren't as important to me as before when I younger. Personally I have no issues with changing priorities in life, things will change again am sure.
Life is short do what you enjoy the most right now, not what other people enjoys or you think you should enjoy. If it's 5am drives, great, but if its 5am spinning sessions equally great......which reminds me, I need to find time to get on some kind of pedal bike today to make up for the laziness of doing hardly any exercise yesterday
.Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 5th July 07:02
Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 5th July 07:06
Cars and driving have always been a huge motivator in my life so they are usually at the top of the priority list..
Monkeylegend said:
I drove 10 miles to do the weekly shop last Thursday. Car has been on the driveway since then.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I'm not surprised. What are you even still doing here? 
My plan was always to buy an Aston when I retired. When retirement came I could afford to own and run a DB7. Lovely. Except I couldn't be arsed.
My wife has had an SLK230 for twenty years and is uncertain about driving anything else. Instead of the Aston I bought an SLK32 which has the same layout and controls as her car so she can drive it. It's interesting, hilariously quick and invisible.
Still love cars, still enjoy driving, don't need to own a status symbol.
My wife has had an SLK230 for twenty years and is uncertain about driving anything else. Instead of the Aston I bought an SLK32 which has the same layout and controls as her car so she can drive it. It's interesting, hilariously quick and invisible.
Still love cars, still enjoy driving, don't need to own a status symbol.
DickyC said:
My plan was always to buy an Aston when I retired. When retirement came I could afford to own and run a DB7. Lovely. Except I couldn't be arsed.
Buying a worthy replacement for my ancient Jaguar was in the plan for living the retirement dream too.When I got my paws on some funds we talked about some cars and looked at some cars and drove some cars and concluded if we did buy something worthy it'd just sit in the garage for weeks on end gathering dust in exactly the same way the XJ does and neither of us could be arsed with that so it didn't happen.
DickyC said:
My plan was always to buy an Aston when I retired. When retirement came I could afford to own and run a DB7. Lovely. Except I couldn't be arsed.
My wife has had an SLK230 for twenty years and is uncertain about driving anything else. Instead of the Aston I bought an SLK32 which has the same layout and controls as her car so she can drive it. It's interesting, hilariously quick and invisible.
Still love cars, still enjoy driving, don't need to own a status symbol.
This reminds me of one of my missus's old bosses, he'd always wanted an Aston and he purchased a DB9. It just ended up sitting in his garage and he never used it, so he then sold it without ever really using it. My wife has had an SLK230 for twenty years and is uncertain about driving anything else. Instead of the Aston I bought an SLK32 which has the same layout and controls as her car so she can drive it. It's interesting, hilariously quick and invisible.
Still love cars, still enjoy driving, don't need to own a status symbol.
It seemed mad to me with him not using it, but we are all different for sure.
bencollins4 said:
You’re going to struggle to beat the thrill of your Sylva Andy!
I had a go though and recently bought an n/a Zenos E10. It makes my Elise S1 seem so quiet, comfortable and sensible. I defy anyone to not feel the thrill of driving in that.
I know Ben!I had a go though and recently bought an n/a Zenos E10. It makes my Elise S1 seem so quiet, comfortable and sensible. I defy anyone to not feel the thrill of driving in that.
Thing is, people talk about ‘performance’ cars as if the performance can actually be used and in most cases they can’t. It’s like having a 1000 watt hi-fi when you live in a block of flats. Great to tell your mates down the pub but realistically useless.
What you need for real driving performance on UK roads is ‘less is more’, uncomplicated, lightweight purity. Now, I know not everyone can have that because in most cases that means not only having a second car but also somewhere to store it. I think the OP should go down the Elise route, every one should try to experience one of these amazing cars once in their lives.
Edited by Lordbenny on Tuesday 5th July 15:46
TameRacingDriver said:
Monkeylegend said:
I drove 10 miles to do the weekly shop last Thursday. Car has been on the driveway since then.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I'm not surprised. What are you even still doing here? Monkeylegend said:
TameRacingDriver said:
Monkeylegend said:
I drove 10 miles to do the weekly shop last Thursday. Car has been on the driveway since then.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I'm not surprised. What are you even still doing here? TameRacingDriver said:
Monkeylegend said:
TameRacingDriver said:
Monkeylegend said:
I drove 10 miles to do the weekly shop last Thursday. Car has been on the driveway since then.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I might drive into town again today, if not it will be Thursday again.
I was driving 95k miles a year up to my retirement, and I don't miss driving one little bit.
I'm not surprised. What are you even still doing here? I made the mistake of buying both my TVR's and two Westfields while I was driving very big miles for work and that took the shine off driving purely for pleasure, so they basically all sat in the garage for a couple of years each then got sold.
My other half who stopped working when I retired gets her state pension in a few months so that could be the time to start looking again, although I haven't mentioned it to her yet
I bought a £5k Honda quad bike six months ago and I must say I've had a lot of fun on it especially in the summer months. Its very liberating to be able to ride around on the road with no helmet and just go for a local potter about. Or chuck it on a small trailer and take it somewhere a bit remote - I went up to the top of Pen y fan the other morning just to see if I could and yesterday I went four miles away to town to get a haircut on it. As a toy I'm finding it much more fun than I expected.
Part of my don't-buy-an-Aston-just-because-you-can epiphany was a conversation I had with my brother a few years earlier when he retired. His plan was to trade his ten year old Porsche for a newer one. The sums didn't add up so he kept his car saying, "Well, there's no shame in owning a ten year old Porsche." WTF? Shame? Where's the love of the car itself?
The more I thought about it, his car had less to do with cars and more to do with portraying himself to the world. "I drive one of these therefore I'm comfortably off and know what I'm doing."
The question I asked myself was, "Do I want it or do I want others to be impressed by it?" And that was the end of my DB7 dream.
The more I thought about it, his car had less to do with cars and more to do with portraying himself to the world. "I drive one of these therefore I'm comfortably off and know what I'm doing."
The question I asked myself was, "Do I want it or do I want others to be impressed by it?" And that was the end of my DB7 dream.
I'm still amazed anyone gives a f
k about what anyone else thinks, whether they look prosperous, or anything else. But a quick browse of social media confirms that, if anything, people are more materialistic than they've ever been.
I think I must be wired up completely differently to most people.
k about what anyone else thinks, whether they look prosperous, or anything else. But a quick browse of social media confirms that, if anything, people are more materialistic than they've ever been. I think I must be wired up completely differently to most people.
I feel exactly the same as the OP, I no longer lust after cars (luxury family cars) I would have once drooled over, but can now easily afford. It's partly because all the nice stuff seems to have endless reliability problems. Even repeated short visits to a dealer to sort out software problems would do my head in. Reliable options like Lexus etc are too dull to seriously consider. Many are diesel and we all know which way that is likely to go in terms of throwing money away on huge depreciation. At the ripe age of 66 I'm considering returning to a motorbike for the first time in 40 years, which makes no sense really, especially as I could never relax fully, worrying about some dick not looking properly and pulling out of a junction.
When I was young, and all I could afford to buy and insure was a modest old shed, I used to read every article in CAR. I could tell you what was the best regarded car in any given class, and why. Gradually, as I became able to afford better cars, I stopped reading articles about cars I could have but wouldn't buy. When they're better than what you've got, they're interesting. When you could have them but don't want them, not so much. Eventually, in my early 40's, I pretty much stopped regularly buying car mags. Now I struggle to identify a lot of the stuff on the roads - "generic small crossover of some sort" covers a lot of it, and I haven't the foggiest which is the driver's choice of them.
It's not so much that I'm not into cars anymore, I'd quite happily spend a day poking round the paddock and the stands at Goodwood and I love Harry's videos, more that I'm more interested in things that I might or can't buy than in things I could but wouldn't. Also, going down the sensible car + Elise path more than a decade ago combined with the trend for cars to be bigger and heavier has increased the number of otherwise interesting cars which fall into the "wouldn't" bracket. Not having to get my kicks out of the daily driver and wanting it to be fit for purpose means that the compromises on comfort and running costs for sporty versions of ordinary cars are unattractive, so I'm not really interested in hot hatches or M/RS/AMG saloons.
Recently trying to figure out what to replace the sensible car with meant understanding BMW's explosion of niches within niches, which was interesting. To me at least, I'm not sure that my OH could tell the difference between the three different sizes of GC and GT all in various shades of metallic grey.
It's not so much that I'm not into cars anymore, I'd quite happily spend a day poking round the paddock and the stands at Goodwood and I love Harry's videos, more that I'm more interested in things that I might or can't buy than in things I could but wouldn't. Also, going down the sensible car + Elise path more than a decade ago combined with the trend for cars to be bigger and heavier has increased the number of otherwise interesting cars which fall into the "wouldn't" bracket. Not having to get my kicks out of the daily driver and wanting it to be fit for purpose means that the compromises on comfort and running costs for sporty versions of ordinary cars are unattractive, so I'm not really interested in hot hatches or M/RS/AMG saloons.
Recently trying to figure out what to replace the sensible car with meant understanding BMW's explosion of niches within niches, which was interesting. To me at least, I'm not sure that my OH could tell the difference between the three different sizes of GC and GT all in various shades of metallic grey.
On the younger and more poor side of this discussion but after my relatives finally got their 911's, supercharged jags, M cars and so on. I just realised they're not what they're cracked up to be. It's not worth the heartache to achieve such cars and I'd rather have the cash elsewhere. If I get old and have a lucky hand and money isn't an issue then maybe I'd look at a used M235i or whatever is in a similar bracket by then.
Had a toy car as a kid and bought the full size one so it kind of completed my life ambition too soon. If that toy I'd spent my childhood dreaming of was something unrealistic like a Ferrari then I may feel different but I set my sights a bit lower
Now I just like having a car to get me about and that doesn't fail me
Had a toy car as a kid and bought the full size one so it kind of completed my life ambition too soon. If that toy I'd spent my childhood dreaming of was something unrealistic like a Ferrari then I may feel different but I set my sights a bit lower
Now I just like having a car to get me about and that doesn't fail me
TameRacingDriver said:
I'm still amazed anyone gives a fk about what anyone else thinks, whether they look prosperous, or anything else. But a quick browse of social media confirms that, if anything, people are more materialistic than they've ever been.
I think I must be wired up completely differently to most people.
As I have got older (I am only 35) the more I don't give a hoot anymore, must be an age thing, as you wise up maybe. I have more disposable income than ever. But I much prefer driving sheds nowadays (<£1500)k about what anyone else thinks, whether they look prosperous, or anything else. But a quick browse of social media confirms that, if anything, people are more materialistic than they've ever been. I think I must be wired up completely differently to most people.
Let people judge all they like, but they do not know me, so why do I care. Got my head in investments/pensions/savings and getting rid of the bloody mortgage for my family is more a priority for me now - funny as 20 year old me would be scraping together as much money and loans as possible to get the "latest reg" car, couldn't give a toss now.
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