Car Boredom

[garethj]

Do you suffer from this? It's the very strange situation where you own a car, it's running fine, it does most things you need (and let's remember that no car will do everything you ever need) and yet, and yet...

 

You want to get something different. If you're financially embarrassed like myself you can't afford to run more than one car so the new car will be your daily driver. The thrill of the chase is good fun; researching which model is best, hunting ebay like you’re foraging for survival and planning the collection with stoppages for breakdowns.

 

But it’s a risk, a new car always is. You know the sensible thing is to stick with what you’ve got. Should you do it?

 

Here’s a hypothetical case study. Person A lives in Bedfordshire and commutes every day to Cambridge, it’s 75 miles a day on a mix of dual carriageway and twisty A roads, plus going through the city. Obviously fuel economy and a bit of fun handling is nice so Person A has a Pug 205 diesel which cost £500 and does 55-59mpg and has run this car with minimal outlay for 9 months.

 

There’s probably nothing that does fun to drive and good economy better. So why on earth is Person A looking at other stuff, the fucking twat?

[Rocket88]

If you need to ask the question, you have no place on here. We don't buy stuff because we NEED to [in most cases] we buy it because it's our civil duty to do so. We are the motoring equivalent of the Salvation Army.

[155V6]

As you said,boredom.I've had my MG as a daily for 4 1/2 years and although I've got no plans to get rid of it,I found myself looking at bigger engined cars as I used to have Granadas,a 528i & my Alfa V6 & loved having a bigger engines just because I could.When the Xantia V6 I've got was posted on here,it was only a matter of time

[messerschmitt owner]

you need a second car, that keeps the itch away! When it appears again, get a third car to satisfy it. And so on, ad infinitum - before you know it, you'll be Mr Bickle!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

you need a second car, that keeps the itch away! When it appears again, get a third car to satisfy it. And so on, ad infinitum - before you know it, you'll be Mr Bickle!

 

 

That is the correct answer.

[pompei]

Been meaning to ask you, Luxo, did your car get written off after your accident a few months ago? What are you driving now? (sorry to hijack thread)

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Well, technically it wasn't written off as it was a single-vehicle accident and I didn't want insurance to get involved and load my premiums to buggery. However, a lot of work would've been needed to put it back on the road, and I had neither the willpower nor the space/resources to faff about with it, so it was shoved on cartakeback. I immediately bought an LPG Lexus GS300 as a replacement, which I never really got on with (bonus: it has some bizarre intermittent cooling issues) and in June I was lucky enough to buy an F-reg Granada Scorpio off a mate. I went in that to the Shitefest, and there must be a couple of pics floating around.

 

Edited to add: here's a pic, though I seem to be unable to get the url of the image itself.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonysphoto ... 584129652/

 

The only problem is I still haven't gotten rid of the Lexus...fucking ebay mongs!

[Spiny Norman]

Person A lives in Bedfordshire and commutes every day to Cambridge, it’s 75 miles a day on a mix of dual carriageway and twisty A roads, plus going through the city. Obviously fuel economy and a bit of fun handling is nice so Person A has a Pug 205 diesel which cost £500 and does 55-59mpg and has run this car with minimal outlay for 9 months.

 

If I were person A I would almost certainly be thinking that my nice reliable Pug 205 was far too small and noisy for such a long commute and chop it in for a nice 5 series or an old Jag.

[dollywobbler]

Car boredom is my biggest enemy. Somehow the 2CV manages to escape, but probably only because I own so many other cars. The Saab 9000 was a superb machine - probably the best car I ever owned. It only cost me £595 and I did a fair few happy miles in it. Sadly it bored me so I sold it at a loss and bought a BX Mk1 wreck. Now that's foolish!

 

I should never have sold the BX Mk2. It was a little rusty when I sold it, but I'd replaced practically everything that could ever go wrong. Now I've got it back, it's worn out and critically rusty. That was boredom again.

 

Usually though, it's frustration. The Scimitar frustrated me because it had no suspension. The Landy V8 frustrated me because it didn't sound as good as I thought it would and appeared to have as much power as Chris Moyles on a pushbike. The Rangey frustrated be because the electrics had been utterly meddled with. The Peugeot 309 frustrated me because it just felt a bit tinny and crap and it didn't like starting. The Rover 75 frustrated me because of the usual clutch-related issues. It's horrible having a clutch pedal you don't trust.

[vulgalour]

I don't know that I get bored, or just have a wandering eye. I've been considering a 1930s British hearse lately, not that I'd have anywhere to put it but.. yanno... I just want to know what it'd be like.

[garethj]

you need a second car, that keeps the itch away! When it appears again, get a third car to satisfy it. And so on, ad infinitum - before you know it, you'll be Mr Bickle!

May I respectfully direct my learned colleague towards this statement

 

If you're financially embarrassed like myself you can't afford to run more than one car

I've done the owning more than one car thing, whilst it's got good and bad points it's just not possible with my current levels of disposable income and time.

[pompei]

I have been very promiscuous with cars in the past and would be again if funds/time/space etc permitted. Having seen a load of old Alfas and Citroens over the weekend, I am lusting again. Plus, the Fronterror went a couple of weeks ago, so I would be quite justified in getting something rugged and (im)practical. Like a Fiat Panda

[Micrashed]

All the damn time.

 

For a little while (10 years) I worked on the district and got paid 54p/ mile off the NHS for all my work. This meant that I could afford to change my car every 6 months or so when I go bored and so a whole fleet of interesting bangers came into and went out of my life. I was quite proud of the fact that I owned the oldest car in the health centre car park, and also of the fact I could take it into Moss Side, Mereside and Grange Park estates and not worry about it.

 

Then a couple of years ago I had a mad moment, spent more than I should have on an uBer low mileage T plate Micra with FSH and now am bored of it. But cant really justify the expense in replacing it because there is nothing wrong with it.

 

All talk of a Mk 1 Fiesta seems to have cooled with Mrs Shed, so I guess thats not going to happen any time soon

[Negative Creep]

Exact reason I'm selling my Bluebird. It really is a genuinely great car, but I just want something new

[willswitchengage]

I was planning to, but on Monday my car exploded, so ebay hunting has been brought forward. I currently bicycle to work. Annual car...

[ifc63]

you need a second car, that keeps the itch away! When it appears again, get a third car to satisfy it. And so on, ad infinitum - before you know it, you'll be Mr Bickle!

 

So I can now categorically state to the wife that this :-

 

 

is actually a known medical condition, just an itch really.

 

Trouble with itches is that I find it difficult not to scratch them !!

 

Luckily the past 12 months have been a bit tight financially so although I've had several cars I wanted to buy for no other reason apart from I wanted to buy them, I've had to let the itch subside of it's own accord

[drum]

It's an obsession, nay, a disease. And if you find the cure let me know.

 

It used to be easier. The weekly purchase of autotrader followed by hours of black thumb inducing study. Always in the same order too - bargains, classic and American, prestige, 4x4 then general cars. The fix only lasted one evening giving you 6 days of cold turkey to come down. It was more of a dabble than a full blown addiction.

 

Not so easy now though. Ebay, gumtree and a hundred other online pushers are selling their gear 24/7 and I'm smoking, snorting, rubbin it in my gums, injecting and even stick it up my arse morning noon and night.

[eddyramrod]

Car Boredom explains much of my back-catalogue. Look, we've been in Cyprus a bit over three years and I'm on car number 7, that should tell you something!

 

For the example of Person A: if he stops smoking he can ditch the Pug and pick himself up a Volvo 740, which he can then afford to run out of his fag money. He'll never commute in a small car again.... After a while, if he gets bored, one of us will give him his money back on it and he can go to a Xantia for a bit, then perhaps a Sierra......

[Cavcraft]

Oh God, aye. Longest I owned a car was probably about 3 years or so, except the 190E which was probably about 7 years but a lot of that was shoved in the garage not being used. I owned a GT380 for 7 years once though which was only sold when our first chiled was officially confirmed as being on the way. Regret selling the bike but don't regret the reasoning behind it.

'Long term' cars I've owned were a Mk4 Astra, Mk2 Cavalier and a Mk5 Cortina, about 2.5 years each. I had a real love for these three but eventually got bored of them which I deeply regret as the former and the latter are defo scrapped and the middle one I've not heard about in years so suspect the same fate has befallen it.

 

As said previously I like to have one (or more) 'boring' cars for everyday use and something different for occasional use, hence having gone through Jags, BMWs, Mercs, GMC Sierra pick-up, GMC Suburban 4x4, Vespa TX200 and countless other 'toys'.

The only things I'd plan on keeping long term now are the current daily (purely for economy/veg oil reasons) and if I can get my hands on a decent, cheap Transit beavertail (mission impossible), anything else would probably be on my 'toy' list and I'd get bored of it before too long.

[Lord Sterling]

Car boredom does strike me sometimes, but then somehow, I always manage to reignite my enthusiasm. But I must admit though, the want to try something new and different as a daily is always in the back of my mind. Sadly, I am pretty financially embarassed to do anything about it. Besides, I have 3 different Sterlings to keep me occupied.

[406V6]

Nope, had this one for 12 years and only plan to replace it if it breaks big time or gets smashed up. Too good a car to get bored with. Car hell would be replacing it with a silver German so-called executive box like most of the other t@@@ers on the roads round here.

[garethj]

The fix only lasted one evening giving you 6 days of cold turkey to come down. It was more of a dabble than a full blown addiction.

 

Not so easy now though. Ebay, gumtree and a hundred other online pushers are selling their gear 24/7 and I'm smoking, snorting, rubbin it in my gums, injecting and even stick it up my arse morning noon and night.

 

That made me ROFL, and I think you've hit on part of the problem.

 

I notice that cures for this issue are a bit thin on the ground?

[CreepingJesus]

Maybe I've got a variant of the disease: I'm not bored with the V70, in many ways its' my perfect car, and I hope I can keep it hanging around for years to come.

What it lacks is any or all of...

*a ruddy great V8

*four wheel drive

*tiny turbo buzz-bombness

*minibus-ness

*the badge of a defunct British sports car maker

The thing is, I earn reasonably well, and live fairly frugally, so I could probly afford to cross a few of those off the list, just for shits'n'giggles. Sadly, I have no garage, or even a drive, and the local cops are wise to me storing untaxed things on the road, so I get no leeway. Hence anything I want has to be T+T'd, and not needing major work. Which knocks about 99% of the interesting stuff on eBay/Gumtree/AutoTrader etc., straight out.

Someday (hopefully sooner rather than later) I'll get this sorted out!

[fotorabia]

If you need to ask the question, you have no place on here. We don't buy stuff because we NEED to [in most cases] we buy it because it's our civil duty to do so. We are the motoring equivalent of the Salvation Army.

 

I bought my Viva HC in NZ off the Salvation Army..im one car..a battered classic daily..older blokes in new Mercs always give me the eye-over at the traffic lights..the rusty patina..the broken aerial..the rare metallic red..plus it sounds like a tractor..im ok with economy..i only use it to tend to itself..like buying new batteries and getting new windscreen..plus everybody avoids me..i blocked two lanes of rush hr traffic this morning..and being able to floor it to get out off that situation..it knows how to shift!

[nigel bickle]

Bored? Me?

 

Nah -I just store it & get something else out -or go for a bike ride..

 

I DO get them back out though. My eldest has just disinterred my Mondial for me, needed for a wedding in a few weeks. Then it has to go back (-wifes orders)