Late night rant/vent/IDK what to call this...

"bob and john" (bobandjohn) 11/05/2014 at 03:24 • Filed to: None

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First thing that came up on GIS for "car" Something for your time.


I know I'm not the youngest oppo here. I'm 19.

and yet...all of the younger guys seem to have cars...K-roll has a porsche and a FoST, Bandit has the Trans-am, Theres the murder sofa and IIRC, that one red Subaru with a (currently) blown clutch line...they have all had cars wayyyyy before me.

I never had a reason to get a car....

1:We never had space (2 car drive, 1 car garage...mom and dad's cars sat on the drive and garage was ALWAYS full of crap)

2: I had the bus to get to school, and in the summer, I had a freaking motorcycle.

3: Unlike most of the guys my age, I somehow convinced my parents to let me get a motorcycle.

4: If I ever actually needed a car, Id just borrow one of my parents rides.

So then why do I feel like I've made some big mistakes in my life just because I don't have a 4 wheeled vehicle?

I have a infinitely more bad-ass way of getting around (apologies to the cars, But bikes just are) during the summer when I need it.

I live on campus for uni...I only do groceries like once a month. I truly cant justify it...but at the same time, I feel like I didnt do something right and as a car guy I should have a car by this point in life...(hell, I know a friend of mine who is about to get his third...had a legacy that got wrecked by an old lady, a saab that wasnt THAT well maintained, and is now looking at a new STI [bank of dad is helping him with STI, other two were his own money..and I helped choose them])

I dont know man, I just needed to vent/rant/put some thoughts down...apologies for taking up bandwidth and your time.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 03:43

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I want to get a bike in the near future, maybe a small-displacement one, since I don't need to go fast, and my dad has a BMW F650GS sitting in the garage with a dead battery, and that is a possibility as well.

bob and john > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 11/05/2014 at 03:46

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bikes are awesome...I have a feeling this slump is due to the fact that I havent been able to ride my bike for like 4 month now...took it apart to upgrade something in july, set back after set back means its still not done...so I missed like 25% of the season.

Amoore100 > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 03:57

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I'm fifteen...what do I win? XD

Obviously, no car yet, though my grandma has promised me her 2010 Civic EX-L boring-mobile...

bob and john > Amoore100 11/05/2014 at 04:00

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well, let me put it this way...better then now car...I honestly dont see myself getting anything until I'm out of uni..thats what, 4 more years?

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 04:16

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Also, I'm getting my first car at 22. But I had medical issues that prevented me from getting a driver's license up until May 2011.

shop-teacher > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 04:39

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Sounds like you've got the itch, but you're too smart to scratch it. You laid the case out perfectly as to why you don't have a car, and it makes sense. The question is this: Do you want to keep on being smart, or do you want to spend all your money on a car you don't need? Only you can answer that. For what it's worth, I think it will be that much sweeter if you wait. I always had a car at uni, but I was also flat-ass broke because of it.

bob and john > shop-teacher 11/05/2014 at 04:40

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I'm broke with out it (some money that I thought i had, turns out i didnt) So I dont really have a choice.

Fookin' Prawns > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 05:05

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I almost fell into that trap. I own a car, but it's two states away since I'm at uni. I was *this* close on buying a $500 car that needed some transmission work (not to mention numerous other issues associated with 200k+ miles), but thankfully realized that it would be a money pit and I'd be better served just walking, biking, or using public transport. I can't justify a car, so I didn't get one.

The truth is, and this is something I've come to terms with myself, is to not judge yourself by the achievements of others. Just because someone else has wheels doesn't mean you've messed up or missed out in any way; it's all down to circumstances, and they're different for everyone.

Some of the younger Opponauts you mentioned have rides; some have more than one. But that doesn't indicate you're any less of a gearhead for not having a car-it's just not practical for you right now. Sure, it would be great to have a car, but you're better served saving your money and waiting until the time is right. Just because K-roll has 2 cars doesn't make you any less accomplished, it just means his circumstances allowed for that to happen.

Tl;dr don't compare your accomplishments. It just leads to envy or sour grapes.

Pitchblende > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 06:31

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I didn't have a car until I was 21 or 22, which was when the economics and the need justified it. I sounds like you don't need a car at the moment, there's nothing wrong with that, there will come a time when this changes and all the money you have not already spent on a car will be available for you.

bob and john > Pitchblende 11/05/2014 at 06:35

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my problem is all that money actually gets sucked up by motorcycles.

Pitchblende > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 06:45

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Currently, yes, but it won't be like that forever, you'll know when it makes sense to go 4 wheeled.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > Amoore100 11/05/2014 at 06:55

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Just be glad it isn't a Corolla.

shop-teacher > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 07:25

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Well, then I suggest you get that bike going again, and enjoy it!

bob and john > shop-teacher 11/05/2014 at 07:27

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yea...Bike is back at my parents place right now....and I'm at school...1000mile difference.

not to mention its snowing in canada already.

shop-teacher > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 09:07

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I knew a dude in college who rode his motorcycle through the winter.

Then again, he laid it down while riding in the snow, so never mind!

Maybe rent a car for a weekend sometime and go on a little road trip? Not the same of course, but if you're jonesing ...

Amoore100 > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 11/05/2014 at 09:17

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true, true. (or a Camry.)

TheJWT > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 10:27

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I have absolutely no reason to own a car whatsoever. Realistically I could only drive it 1/3 of the year, I go to school in NYC, and when I'm on break, both of my parents work close to home so I can always use one of theirs.

But I wanted one anyway, so I saved up my money and bought a Sentra that's older then me.

I regret nothing.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > Amoore100 11/05/2014 at 11:13

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Well, at least if it was a Camry there would be a tiny chance it have the V6. The Corolla doesn't even have that redeeming quality.

JGrabowMSt > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 15:57

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Dude, I'm 23, I have a kickass garage, but I work my ass off to keep it, and things aren't perfect. It's expensive. If you've got a motorcycle, you're not bad off. Simpler, cheaper, better gas mileage than everything I've got.

Yeah, there's a cool factor to being young and having really cool cars, but remember, there is a lot extra that goes behind it.

Many posts you see about those of us with the cooler cars (I'll be the first to admit this), is when something breaks and we're bitching about it.

My wagon has been in a shop for a month to get the motor torn apart, and I never wanted to break the motor open to begin with! The SL just had a turn signal pop off on the highway, so it's held in with 13 zip ties. It's a conversation piece at car shows...

I think what you should do is keep your bike for a while. When you're ready to spend the change, get something really cheap, and keep it running. I'm talking like, $1000 ish car that's easy to work on. It will help you build confidence for all the crap you'll have to do later on, because let's face it, you'll end up doing jobs yourself that you never wanted to do, but it will help you learn. That and having a car that was cheap enough to beat the crap out of is nice. You can break things and learn on it, and there's no hard feelings, because it didn't 1) cost you a buttload to get and 2) will teach you for the one that eventually does.

Car ownership is nothing to be envious of, especially for the younger crowd. It's awesome, don't get me wrong. I absolutely love my wagon, and will be doing a lot to it, and travelling everywhere I can with it, but when you're young, it's really hard to have the money. Just driving my parents car and only having to pay for gas was hard enough at one point for me, because I didn't have a job for 6 months (that was a few years ago).

In the end, your time will come, don't rush into it. For once, it's something that can be cheaper if you wait longer (car insurance).

bob and john > JGrabowMSt 11/05/2014 at 15:58

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that is no such thing as a 1000 car in canada. anything running and driving is a minimum of 1500

also....13 zip ties? that seems like over kill

JGrabowMSt > bob and john 11/05/2014 at 16:05

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Considering the cost to 1) replace the turn signal and 2) touch up the paint that will get scratched if it comes off again, I think it's just barely enough.

Amoore100 > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 11/05/2014 at 18:19

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yeah...