Does Anybody Else Have an Emotional Attachment to Their DD?

"Denver Is Stuck In The 90s" (denver80222)
05/06/2015 at 13:35 • Filed to: Sentimental ramblings

I was at the bank yesterday opening up a credit card account and the person behind the desk was explaining to me about building credit, she used wanting a better car and taking out a car loan as an example. When she said “If you want a better car” I felt a rage inside me, like she asked if I wanted a better child.

Whenever I think of other cars like the new mustang or a classic Landy, I think I would love to own something like that. Something a bit more capable, something a bit faster, something with better handling, etc... But whenever I think of owning other cars, I can never see myself without my Ranger as well.

Maybe one day I’ll make it as an industrial designer and make a mid five figure salary, then I’ll have the money for something like a Corvette. But every time I think of what new DD I’d get once I can afford it, I just cant fathom not dailying my truck. I can see myself as a professional designer, making enough money to afford a nice car, but what I cant see myself doing is actually buying a nice car.

I love my Ranger, I catch myself staring at it for way too long. I did that on Monday after parking in the school garage and was almost late to class. Its becoming part of me.

I think I’ll end up being that guy that drives his first car around till he is forced to get rid of it. Need a new engine? Swap in a V8. Need a new transmission? Swap in a T5. As long as there is no structural rust anywhere on my truck that compromises its safety in any way, I will keep it running by any means necessary. I’m in it for the long haul and you’ll never catch me looking to replace unless I absolutely have to, and even then I wont be happy about it.

Are there more powerful, better handling and more fuel efficient vehicles out there? Of course, But none of those vehicles are my truck.

DISCUSSION (34)

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:38

Could not agree more. I daily dream about DDing a FoRS but never will my Disco leave my garage, mostly because she will never be worth anything to sell. So she will get rebuilt and upgraded as need and someday I will transplant a new heart and spine into her in the form of a TD5 and manual transmission.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:38

I get kind of attached to them, but if they don’t make financial sense anymore I’ll get rid (like I did with the Fiat).

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
05/06/2015 at 13:40

Youre smarter than me, I wont even get rid of it when it stops making financial sense

random001 > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:40

I used to (Z06), then I didn't (C230), and now I do again (new car, story soon!). Yay us!

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:40

Every time my car goes in for inspection I feel like a parent at the doctor’s office waiting for someone in a white coat to come tell me “it doesn’t look good...”

Usually when they call if I do a drop off its either “she’s all set” or “ok so this is what we found..” The latter is when I take a seat and try not to cry.

RazoE > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:41

I’ve always loved my daily drivers. Letting go of each one has hurt in its own way.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:41

The true trick is learning when to let go. I had a tough time with that after totalling the aptly named Big Bertha (99 M-B E300).

At some point, you have a great run, and are ready to find other things. It doesn’t mean you don’t like what you had, but that it’s not what you need then.

(I’m still considering buying another E-Class at some point. Likely not a W210, but likely a 2005 E320 CDI)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:42

You might change your mind if you’re getting low on cash and you can’t rely on your car to take you from A-B.

TotallyThatStupid > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:42

I have an irrational attachment to my very rusty 1995 E320. It’s just such a good car. I love driving it. I love when it’s clean. I love the engineering in it.

I will be sad when the rust gets to be so bad the car needs to go away.

cazzyodo > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:43

I form a stupid attachment to almost anything if I have it for long enough.

That being said, I have never felt the same about any vehicle the way I do about the truck I drove in high school. I miss it so much.

Nothing > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:44

Strangely, no. I like cars, and I like swapping them frequently. An emotional attachment would get in the way of experiencing a lot of different vehicles. My wife just gave me a bit of crap swapping the FoST. I’m planning on changing my strategy though, the DD will remain a stable, long owned vehicle, and the project will get flipped more often.

CalzoneGolem > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:46

Nope. I will drive the Bullmobile until it doesn’t make sense anymore and then callously abandon it.

AthomSfere > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:50

Why not both?

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/cl…

I love all my DDs and then trade in-and-or-up.

E. Julius > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:51

I think cars are a lot like friends. Some of them you form a special bond with, and they’re there for more or less your whole life, barring some tragic incident. Others are only in your life for a short time. You meet, grow closer, drift apart as you both change until one day there’s not much there anymore. Others still you get stuck with because of shitty circumstances and you can’t think of a damn way to shake ‘em, like the annoying kid who wouldn’t leave you alone at summer camp.

jariten1781 > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:55

My cars are more like work colleagues to me more than children. They can be exceptional partners and we can do a lot of great things together, but there always comes a time when parting is best for everyone involved.

finn's arm > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:56

I’ve been DD’ing an E36 for the last ten years.. I have been wanting a newer F36 as a replacement, but I don’t think I would be happy worrying that much.

They are can keep up with modern traffic, decent enough on the inside (Interiors are a weak point),

Ram_Riot_6 > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 13:59

Absolutely. Six years in and I still would not sell my daily for anything. There are only two reasons why I would being searching for a new daily. Either some one else totals it or the engine needs to be replaced, and I do everything I can to make sure the second possibility does not happen.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 14:01

I know that feel.

I was on a road trip with my dad in my parents’ car, leaving my Mom with my Lada as her only available transportation. When I got back, it was still sitting where I’d left it, which I was okay with on some levels. (She grew up driving manuals, but it had been a while so I’d given her a quick “lesson” before I left just to get her used to the Niva’s quirks... let’s just say I’m not used to being able to smell my clutch...) But then I happened to see an email she sent to a friend where she backed out of something because she didn’t want to drive my “bucket of bolts”.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been so angry with her in my life.

The irony though is that her Envoy grenaded its transmission about 600 miles into my 3000 mile trip... and that it cost over four times what I paid for the Niva to replace it.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
05/06/2015 at 14:06

This is why I have two awesome old cars.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 14:10

I don’t plan on selling my 4Runner, but I also don’t plan on dailying it forever either.

McMike > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 14:13

I get attached.

Why the hell else would ANYONE chose to daily drive a Vanagon?

TrickJos > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 14:27

I’m very much attached to my ‘94 Saturn SC2. It’s my first car and I’ve been driving it since 2004. It has been so good to me I just can’t imagine selling it. Over the last 11 years it has not started a total of TWO times. First time battery, second time starter. Regular oil changes, a wheel bearing, CV joints, a radiator, and a few small things are all it has needed. That’s damn good for a 21 year old car with more than 200,000 miles.

I have a new car (‘12 Camaro SS) and people refer to the Saturn as a “beater.” I can understand why they say that, but in my heart it isn’t a beater at all. After a day or two driving the new car I get back in the Saturn and I immediately feel back at home.

Nothing short of catastrophic engine failure or accident will force me to part with it.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
05/06/2015 at 14:27

and a Salisbury

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30
05/06/2015 at 14:28

...?

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
05/06/2015 at 14:32

A heavy duty rear axle and diff that Rover used to put under the 109’s (and the MOD puts them on the Wolf and Snatch Defender)

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 14:38

My car has rust compromising it’s structural integrity. My solution? Cut it out and weld in new metal.

deekster_caddy > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
05/06/2015 at 14:48

My kids call my ‘73 LeSabre Big Bertha. I keep correcting them (“It’s The Moose...”) but for some reason BB sticks. I’ve had it for 25 years, it used to be a DD, I will probably keep it forever.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30
05/06/2015 at 14:49

Awesome, filed under TIL today on Oppo

Jayhawk Jake > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 15:03

I’m just curious, but why do you think an industrial designer will make a six figure salary?

Median pay in 2012 for industrial designers was only $59,000 according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. No matter how you look at it a designer making six figures would be beyond statistically insignificant unless the standard deviation of pay was comically large.

Anyways, cars are cars. I like my Sonic more on an ‘emotional’ level than anything before, but I won't cry if and when it's gone. It's a machine, I'll enjoy it while I have it but I wouldn't get angry if someone asked why I didn't have something better

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Jayhawk Jake
05/06/2015 at 15:07

I just realized I got that term wrong, I wrote this last night before bed. Im gonna change it

MonkeePuzzle > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 15:45

she didn’t mean to say want a better car, what she meant to say was when you want to buy a new daily and turn your daily into a toy, then you’ll need credit :D

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 15:50

The only vehicle I was ever attached to was my 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 Megacab RWD. It was my first new vehicle and I bought it at the young age of 21. I was living on my own and had no help from anyone. It felt like such a huge accomplishment to be able to afford such a thing. I had to sell it 3 years later and it was one of the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

I’ve owned nicer cars since the nicest was a 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and I did not have a fraction of the love for it then I did for my truck.

That truck was special all the others are just machines to me. I really wish I could get that type of connection with a vehicle again.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 16:09

I feel the same way.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
05/06/2015 at 19:36

Oh just marry the damn thing already.