Jealousy and Beer

"Wonk Unit" (WonkUnit) 09/14/2013 at 23:07 • Filed to: None

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For those of the TL/DR persuasion, summary below

Summary: To summarize a jealousy and beer fueled post (does that make it green beer?):

Should you buy a car you’re not emotionally invested in just because it’s a good deal?

Is it OK to keep a car forever?

Should you sell your beloved friend(car) to finance something harder, better, faster, stronger?

Was this post too long?

Real Post Starts Here:

I don’t know about you guys but I have a very small group of close car friends. So when one of us gets a new car it’s exciting for everyone and shakes things up in the group dynamic. It causes you to think about where you are in life and how you’re doing compared to your chums. In high school, a friend getting a new car made you reevaluate your place in the world. If a drag race were going to decide life or death, do you have enough racing stripes and neon lights to win and survive? Yes I was a little bit of a ricer in high school.

As you grow as an enthusiast you end up picking cars/brands you like and dislike and you move away from the petty need to be faster than everyone else. You learn that if you buy cars that make you happy, you don’t care what other people think. (I’ve gone to the extreme of picking out every car I will buy in the next 10 years). However, some events make you question your entire vehicular philosophy, which brings us to one of the crux(s) of this post: Am I too emotional about cars. I’ll explain.

Recently a friend of mine bought one of my dream cars. Not only did he buy it, but he traded his prized possession, the car he spent years building from the ground up, for it. A car he’s put a lot of time and work into. He is in a better financial point in his life which afforded him the luxury of buying one of my favorite cars, this is something I can accept and understand.

HOWEVER, in the past, he has always expressed hatred for the very car he spent his precious money on. The entire reason he bought it was because it was a good deal, and he knows he can flip it for a lot more money. What really struck me hard was the fact he could buy a car I’ve lusted after for years, and not seem to care about it.

Examining myself and my car buying habits, I would never spend money on a car I didn’t absolutely want. Is this narrow minded? Have I limited myself by predetermining all the cars I think I will ever buy, and not leaving myself open to other potentially better deals? This brings us to another question/doubt that’s been rattling around in my tiny brain.

I’ve had (one of) my current car for almost 6 years. It’s a ’99 Miata, and I love it. I bought it in high school, and we’ve had many many adventures together; every time I drive it I fall in love with it again. It feels like an old friend and ideally I would like to keep the thing forever. HOWEVER, my friends are always suggesting I sell it, in order to finance one of the other attainable dream cars on my list.

Logically this is a perfectly valid way of thinking. Get rid of one car to buy another that is clearly superior. The problem comes when I think about losing the first car. I’m too emotionally attached. To me it’s not worth selling my friend to buy another potential friend when I could just patiently save up my money for a little (maybe a lot) longer and have both. To me, I’m not buying a piece of machinery that takes me from A to B. It’s like adopting a dog; I’m getting a companion, someone who wants a loving home. Sure they may shit on the carpet every once in a while, or puke on the bed, but overall they’re just something that needs love, attention, and play time.

That’s the logic I’ve been going with for most of my life, but is it time to rethink? Is it time to let go of the past so the future can herald bigger, better, faster things? Is it really that easy to get rid of something you’ve put a lot of work into, and buy something else because logically its better?

To summarize a jealousy and beer fueled post:

Should you buy a car you’re not emotionally invested in just because it’s a good deal?

Is it OK to keep a car forever?

Should you sell your beloved friend to finance something harder, better, faster, stronger?

Was this post too long?

For Sweden > Wonk Unit 09/14/2013 at 23:15

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Do you dare abandon Mazda?

f86sabre > Wonk Unit 09/14/2013 at 23:23

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There is a film out there that explores this complicated relationship...

Your friends are wrong. Keep the car. If you were part of the tuner crowd, nothing wrong with that, odds are your car is modified and probably not worth that much on the open market. Things may be different if it is low miles, unmodified, etc. Odds are the car isn't costing you much to own either. Probably paid for. Just gas, insurance and maintenance.

PS: I still have my first car, a 1968 Mustang, that I bought in 1990 when I was 15.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Wonk Unit 09/14/2013 at 23:29

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What are you smoking in order to even think about selling your miata? I'm never getting rid of mine

Wonk Unit > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 09/17/2013 at 16:36

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i am so sorry you had to read through all that. thanks for the advice though.