Lost love of cars the more I can afford them??

[Jaguar steve]

Fiammetta said:

67Dino said:

I think you need a really nice boat.

That’s worked for me ^^^ .

And me.

There's an eternal paradox in desire in that the more easily you can afford something the less you actually desire it. The answer to rekindling desire in your life of course is to forget about easily affordable cars and raise your spend to the level of a ruinously expensive boat instead.

You'll thank me.

[cerb4.5lee]

Jaguar steve said:

Fiammetta said:

67Dino said:

I think you need a really nice boat.

That’s worked for me ^^^ .

And me.

There's an eternal paradox in desire in that the more easily you can afford something the less you actually desire it. The answer to rekindling desire in your life of course is to forget about easily affordable cars and raise your spend to the level of a ruinously expensive boat instead.

You'll thank me.

I did immediately think of you Steve when someone suggested a boat!

[Gerradi]

samjlevy said:

I recently got back on 2 wheels and I must say it is so much fun, there is no feeling like being on a motorbike.

Edited by samjlevy on Tuesday 28th June 14:27

Try Skydiving, I just have & @ 66yrs, amazing

[Knoxville2410]

Evil.soup said:

I have to agree with this 100%. As I have grown older I have managed to accumulate a comfortable sum of money in the bank, enough to buy a very nice car out right, but the idea of doing so now seems a little frivolous.

I was having a conversation on the weekend with a young couple I know while in the pub. The conversation was mainly lead by them talking about how much they earn, how expensive their house is, how much their mortgage is, how cool and also expensive his M2 is and how expensive his Rolex watch was. It all made me think how for some, looking like you have pots of cash seems to be so important even if it means you end up struggling behind the scenes.

It was quite comical as I know they were looking at me and judging me based on my cheap watch, 16 year old car and small terraced house I live in, but I know my household income exceeds theirs since they were so open about their finances and my outgoings are far less.

I could buy the big house, M2 and Rolex but it all seems a bit pointless to me if it means I don't have a safety net or have to worry about money every month.

I have been young and stupid and once put the purchase of a car ahead of investing in a property just because I wanted to look cool I guess. That mistake has stayed with me all my life as a little reminder of the importance of prioritising where you spend your money so I guess it makes an expensive car purchase seem a lot less sensible as I get older.

Someone once said, "we buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like".

It sounds very vain but since I got rid of all social media a year ago, I've found myself spending less (nothing) on designer clothes, whereas before I'd want to look and feel good for photos etc.

I think it can be the same with cars - people use them as a crutch or mask to show the outside world how well they are doing - impressing people they don't even like!

On the other hand you have true petrolheads who don't give a stuff what other people think and get pure enjoyment from cars.

[Skeptisk]

cerb4.5lee said:

LeeM135i said:

I will be keeping the C63 for the noise if nothing else but I have a mate who has an Aygo with some upgraded suspension underneath it and he loves it as he can thrash it everywhere......... Maybe this is the way forward?

I don't think that is the way forward. I buy into the lighter car approach with something like an Elise or a Caterham...but an Aygo? No thanks.

An Aygo can be surprisingly fun to drive - you can’t go that fast but it takes a lot of effort and planning to maintain a cross country pace that would be easy in a much more powerful car. Overtaking someone cleanly and safely in an Aygo is an achievement.

[cerb4.5lee]

Skeptisk said:

cerb4.5lee said:

LeeM135i said:

I will be keeping the C63 for the noise if nothing else but I have a mate who has an Aygo with some upgraded suspension underneath it and he loves it as he can thrash it everywhere......... Maybe this is the way forward?

I don't think that is the way forward. I buy into the lighter car approach with something like an Elise or a Caterham...but an Aygo? No thanks.

An Aygo can be surprisingly fun to drive - you can’t go that fast but it takes a lot of effort and planning to maintain a cross country pace that would be easy in a much more powerful car. Overtaking someone cleanly and safely in an Aygo is an achievement.

My 18 year old Nephew has just had one as his first car and he loves it(he drives it too quickly as well from what I've been told!). I heard him shut the door on it the other day...and I thought Jesus Christ I wouldn't fancy a crash in one because the door sounded paper thin!

My first car only had 49bhp(a mighty 1982 Skoda Estelle 120)...I can't say that I'd want that kind of performance back though. It was good fun back in 1990 in fairness(but I didn't know any different back then).

[Fiammetta]

Jaguar steve said:

Fiammetta said:

67Dino said:

I think you need a really nice boat.

That’s worked for me ^^^ .

And me.

There's an eternal paradox in desire in that the more easily you can afford something the less you actually desire it. The answer to rekindling desire in your life of course is to forget about easily affordable cars and raise your spend to the level of a ruinously expensive boat instead.

You'll thank me.

Boats come in different flavours .I never tire of ripping up the sea in one of these.
I have tired of cars had 3 Ferraris ( inc a Testarossa) 8 pieces of pork inc 911 s
etc , Tired of speed cameras , bumps , mots , dealers etc etc .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKQiNXRIY8w

[Skeptisk]

cerb4.5lee said:

My 18 year old Nephew has just had one as his first car and he loves it(he drives it too quickly as well from what I've been told!). I heard him shut the door on it the other day...and I thought Jesus Christ I wouldn't fancy a crash in one because the door sounded paper thin!

My first car only had 49bhp(a mighty 1982 Skoda Estelle 120)...I can't say that I'd want that kind of performance back though. It was good fun back in 1990 in fairness(but I didn't know any different back then).

I think an Aygo as your only vehicle might be taking it too far. At the time I also had three Italian sportsbikes to play with.

Small cars can catch you out. Our first proper car was a Nissan Micra, shared with my wife. I then got my own cars and she kept the Micra. At one point I had a 944 Turbo and had borrowed the Micra. I went to overtake someone but had forgotten how utterly gutless the Micra was. I realised I had overestimated it and had to slow down and pull back in! Not my finest moment on the road.

[AlexNJ89]

Pleased to hear people experiencing similar feelings to me.

Especially when people say "it's not necessarily the car, it's me".

I joke to my work colleagues that while they scroll Instagram I scroll Autotrader.

I'm always looking for my next car, to find that excitement of a new car to explore and understand.

My Alpine A110 is the perfect car for me, insanely light and fun at low speeds, I can bomb it around single-track roads without any fear of there being a speed trap as my car is the only car even capable of speeding on such roads, especially in the UK. (I'm sure there are other cars but you catch my drift).

Nothing else brings me the same pleasure in life as cars, a therapist would probably say there's something missing in my life which I am trying to fill, but everything else just bores me.

I take just as much pleasure as hunting out a £5k car as I do a £70k car. I want to know what it's going to be like to live with from day to day and how it's going to make me feel.

The levels of traffic and speed cameras on the road have really ruined it all as others have said.

[cerb4.5lee]

Skeptisk said:

I went to overtake someone but had forgotten how utterly gutless the Micra was. I realised I had overestimated it and had to slow down and pull back in! Not my finest moment on the road.

I did that in the E92 M3 once as well!(so it isn't just the slower cars), and that same situation made me realise how poor the brakes were on the M3. Fortunately BMW have improved their brakes since the days of the E92 M3 now though.

My Dad also did something similar when we were kids in his Sierra 1.8LX(he was used to a 1979 V8 5.0 Mustang as well at the time), and he misjudged how little power the Sierra had(especially with all 4 of us in it) and we just avoided a head on crash. Unsurprisingly he quickly swapped the 1.8 Sierra for a 2.9 V6 Sierra XR4x4 after that though!

[Lincsls1]

LankyMcTally said:

Consider buying something older but interesting that needs some love or a refresh and restore it (or have it restored). In my experience it brings with it a sense of connection, understanding of the car and excitement as completion approaches that can't be bought in a showroom with a chequebook. The automotive equivalent of buying and renovating a great and characterful older house rather than buying a new build, if you will.

This. Good post.
I'm also no longer interested in new or nearly new cars. Far too much unnecessary tech goes into them, and they require little to NO effort to drive fast. They are too accomplished hence boring.
Also, with finance being so easy to obtain now, flash cars are extremely common, everyone seems to have one and I like to drive rarer vehicles.
I love my old 2004 Monaro, its one of only 62 of its variant in the country. Now that's rare. Its more than fast enough, and I have and still am taking great pleasure in tinkering, restoring and upgrading it. Driving it hard requires effort and some skill, its full of old school character, charm, sounds epic and is great fun!
Sure, I could afford/have much 'better' newer cars, I choose not to though, they leave me cold.
If I were to change the Monaro, I think I'd go even older, 70's stuff probably. The daily will always be a cheap bog standard, basic car that I can use without getting all precious about it at the supermarkets and so on.

[Lotobear]

Skeptisk said:

cerb4.5lee said:

LeeM135i said:

I will be keeping the C63 for the noise if nothing else but I have a mate who has an Aygo with some upgraded suspension underneath it and he loves it as he can thrash it everywhere......... Maybe this is the way forward?

I don't think that is the way forward. I buy into the lighter car approach with something like an Elise or a Caterham...but an Aygo? No thanks.

An Aygo can be surprisingly fun to drive - you can’t go that fast but it takes a lot of effort and planning to maintain a cross country pace that would be easy in a much more powerful car. Overtaking someone cleanly and safely in an Aygo is an achievement.

I can completely relate to this-we bought my son an Aygo as his first car and even though I had an Evora at the time I found the Aygo to be easily as much fun to drive but for different reasons.

It reminded me of my first car, an 850 Mini, you had to concentrate on maintaining speed and the thrummy little 3 cylinder had real character. It was such an honest little car built for no other purpose than cheap motoring.

[Llew]

AlexNJ89 said:

Pleased to hear people experiencing similar feelings to me.

Especially when people say "it's not necessarily the car, it's me".

I joke to my work colleagues that while they scroll Instagram I scroll Autotrader.

I'm always looking for my next car, to find that excitement of a new car to explore and understand.

My Alpine A110 is the perfect car for me, insanely light and fun at low speeds, I can bomb it around single-track roads without any fear of there being a speed trap as my car is the only car even capable of speeding on such roads, especially in the UK. (I'm sure there are other cars but you catch my drift).

Nothing else brings me the same pleasure in life as cars, a therapist would probably say there's something missing in my life which I am trying to fill, but everything else just bores me.

I take just as much pleasure as hunting out a £5k car as I do a £70k car. I want to know what it's going to be like to live with from day to day and how it's going to make me feel.

The levels of traffic and speed cameras on the road have really ruined it all as others have said.

This sums up my thoughts entirely... !! Great post (y)

[5p]

Thanks for the replies all. Glad im not on my own.
Given me something to think about

[gangzoom]

MOBB said:

That’s me

Over the years I’ve had various Porsches, M cars, AMG’s etc

I now run a Seat Mii electric

I’ve just lost interest in modern cars to be honest, most of them just seem fake, and whilst quick as hell, with lovely interiors, that just ain’t “cars” for me

With the current car prices and running costs just reinforcing my views

I have a motorbike for thrills, and to be honest I prefer cycling to driving nowadays

Sums it up for me too. The only car that remotely interests me is something like an old DC2 Teg, but honestly all the effort needed to buy, restore, store, maintain one just for the odd weekend blast makes it stay just an idea.

It's now coming up to 6 years since we bought any car, and am quite happy not buying another for 6 years or more.

EVs have really made changing car even more pointless for me, they all drive the same, feel the same, and underneath the same motor, battery layout. Their exteriors are all now starting to look the same in the name of aero.

Maybe it's just part of getting old and realising there is more to life than cars? Looking fowards to my commute to work on the eBike later .

[Koolkat969]

gangzoom said:

Sums it up for me too. The only car that remotely interests me is something like an old DC2 Teg, but honestly all the effort needed to buy, restore, store, maintain one just for the odd weekend blast makes it stay just an idea.

That's all part of the adventure i think of owning and enjoying a modern classic or any other classic/special car for that matter.

Anything out of the norm always requires a little bit of effort for the rewards - same as getting up at 5am on a weekend for that early morning peaceful drive.

No pain, no gain!

[whp1983]

Yep understand this….

I went racing instead, real passion and increased my love for cars albeit race cars I now love.

[Pistom]

I can appreciate the OPs point of view as I felt the same and then realised the love of cars isn't related to what you can afford but the reward they give and that is not proportionate to the price.

You have to decide what you like and not consider the value.

Look at some of the cars the likes of J Leno prizes - even Harry with his 7 figure value garage loves cars like his Lancia and old XJC.

I used to have an old Morgan which even today is probably only worth about £20K but on a cold day with the heater blasting and the exhaust rasping, it would give more fun than other cars I could and did have a 5 times the value.

[SidewaysSi]

Pistom said:

I can appreciate the OPs point of view as I felt the same and then realised the love of cars isn't related to what you can afford but the reward they give and that is not proportionate to the price.

You have to decide what you like and not consider the value.

Look at some of the cars the likes of J Leno prizes - even Harry with his 7 figure value garage loves cars like his Lancia and old XJC.

I used to have an old Morgan which even today is probably only worth about £20K but on a cold day with the heater blasting and the exhaust rasping, it would give more fun than other cars I could and did have a 5 times the value.

Exactly. If you love driving, you don't need to spend much at all to have a cracking car. I have bought cars for a few hundred quid upwards and have had as much joy out of a £2k car as I have out of something worth £120k.

But it does take time, effort and commitment a well as some money of course. Depends how much you love it I suppose.

Not much in life gives me more pleasure than driving so I spend a decent amount on it - I have a hugely pressured job etc so spending time with cars when I can helps to decompress me.

[mintmansam]

So maybe here is another take?

Driving gives you freedom and a sense of adventure but also when you are young you drive with friends, who also like driving.

Is there a chance as you age these same friends and yourself settle down and have children this time limitations means, driving becomes a more lonely affair (nothing wrong with this).

But I find driving without a purpose (to get somewhere) or driving without friend a bit boring, especially on the well trodded routes I’ve already taken.

I started to get a bit like this, so I bought a custom OS map positioned in the centre was my house and traced out some interesting routes to try. I use a cheaper car so I don’t get the wasting money mentality (even if you/I can afford it). I joined some car clubs, I met new people and in the next few weeks doing a drive with some people, which I haven’t done since I was 17-20

I’m not entirely convinced it’s too do with finances, more to do with becoming bored of something/ getting older. Those with limited finances to limit driving however might still have a burning desire to drive.

These forums although occasionally do somewhat appear negative are actually really useful for me. Without meaning to, there is a lot of wisdom on here that I have taken on board.

Biggest life lesson (which still learning) is doing something is better than owning something, it’s just the world has become focused on , your value is what you own. Someone said it earlier most people (not all) buy things for others, the ego is a strange part of the brain. Once you get past this I think you truely are happier. But you have to get to this point on your own.

Luckily I identified it early, and I’ve learnt valuable lessons from it

If you chase money or wealth you’ll never be satisfied, chase happiness and fun. Fast doesn’t equal fun though (it sometimes can)

People remember fondly the cars in their youth because of the journeys, adventures and moments they had in them. Go make some more, get your friends to come along, or go make some.

About 20 people on here agreeing, maybe worth organising somewhere to meet and drive to. Do this forum discussion in person over a cup of tea. Book a day off work etc.

I have assumed lost of love of cars is somewhat intertwined with lost of love of driving , apologises if not