Is your paranoia ruining your enjoyment of your car?

[pops and bangs]

Really odd thread but I figured I can't be alone.

I'm currently at the stage now where I literally can't enjoy my car. When I park it I'm constantly paranoid about it getting damaged, vandalised etc

It's gotten to the point where I will not go to certain places if the parking is a nightmare, or the road looks dodgy, and if I'm going somewhere with the Mrs and the car parks don't have a "good space" I end up waiting in the car. The times when I do park up and say go shopping, all I can think about is how I can't wait to return to the car

To be honest I can't even enjoy my car as I'm so paranoid whenever I leave the car parked somewhere. This behaviour has probably been made worse by recent car park damage and the fact that I have had 2 cars vandalised previously, one of which was treated to some nitromoors, and the other where someone had literally crashed into my parked car and driven off.

While I love cars, and enjoy driving nice cars, the ownership experience is definitely being soured, mainly by other inconsiderate owners. I enjoy the actual driving of cars I own I just hate all the rest of it.

The thought of parking in a supermarket car park inbetween two cars makes me cringe (yes first world problems...cool story bro etc)

Anyway is anyone else similar?

Do you ever wait in the car rather than leave it unattended if you can't get a good parking spot?

Do you find yourself constantly thinking about your car when you've parked it up?

Or do you just not give a st and park the car wherever and just accept cars for what they are, material pieces of metal that can be replaced and who cares if they get damaged?

Edited by pops and bangs on Saturday 31st January 00:28

[pops and bangs]

f1nn said:

OP, what do you drive?

But, no, company cars get dumped wherever they need to be dumped without a care in the world.

It's nothing flash compared to some of the people on here, it's a 6 year old Lotus Elise, but for me personally it's the best car I've owned (I've previously owned hot hatches and mx-5s) I'm pretty sad and whenever I get out of the car I always turn round to look at it

If I'm honest I'm sick of trying to keep it in good condition and other people damaging it, I'd rather shove it into a hedge myself, at least then it's self inflicted, rather than have it parked and some idiot damage it where it's out my control.

I was sitting in the car just over a week ago and a car pulled up alongside me and literally banged their door into my car with some force a couple of times to give me a nice dent, earlier today a young guy in a fiesta ST threw a bottle of drink out his window and hit my car, and some idiot in a merc C class scraped my car. He parked extremely close to my car that I had to get in through the passenger door, and only just noticed earlier that he scraped across my drivers side wing, that's what has really pissed me off and hence caused me to start the thread

Edited by pops and bangs on Saturday 31st January 00:41

[pops and bangs]

Thanks for the replies.

I can see why possibly having a "shed" to do the mundane everyday driving makes sense. I just feel that it's a little sad that the way society is should have an effect on what we do, own etc. plus I actually really enjoy driving so like to make what would otherwise be mundane journeys more enjoyable, as opposed to only using a car on weekends etc

Sometimes I'm certain that if I didn't care I'd never have anything happen. A work colleague simply doesn't care where he parks his car and he's never suffered anything major.

It seems to be the same with washing the car too, the few times that I spend a long time washing, waxing etc a bird will take a great big st on my car after 2 minutes of me having finished

Edited by pops and bangs on Saturday 31st January 11:02

[pops and bangs]

AlexHat said:

I had paranoia of having the correct tyre pressures after I had a puncture last year. It got to the point of driving over a pothole I would think any funny/different noise was another puncture. Makes it a little hard to drive when your route to work is full of random potholes/dips/wrinkled tarmac.

I'm the exact same. When I hit a pothole if I hear any funny noises I assume I've caused some damage.

To be honest whenever I hear a noise that I've perhaps not noticed before, even with the engine idling I suddenly start thinking something is wrong.

Or when I scrape the underneath of my car on speed bumps again I start assuming I've done serious damage.

I know that ultimately I'm the one with the "issues". Unfortunately it's just the way I am, I obsess over the smallest things, and always assume the worst.

I am trying to change as it does ruin the enjoyment of anything I own.

Edited by pops and bangs on Saturday 31st January 13:55