Possessions; vehicles - irrational

[montesa]

Do you get attached to vehicles and end up worse off? Is there a time that makes sense to change it all up? How many projects can you handle?

Any stories of just “calling it”? Can’t do this, just buy stuff that works kinda thing.

Doing my own wrenching has been a necessity but doing it for pleasure would be much better.

@swampratt Did you buy your Corolla because you knew it would put it in work without problems even though you can fix all your own vehicles?

 

[joegrizzy]

to be honest, i think of this sometimes, but then i know every car i *used* to have i wish i *still* had, even to just SAY i would tinker on them and never tinker on them.

i spent summers with my great grandparents, and lord knows they wouldn't get rid of anything.

call me a hoarder, but when i read posts of the old timers here "i used to have" "boy i wish i never got rid of" "i will i still had"

it makes me go into NEVER SELL mode even harder.

 

[joegrizzy]

oh and if you don't count human powered ones, i have.....5 vehicles.

human powered i dunno like 10.

i should also add that "buying stuff that just works" never works out for me, thus the need to learn to fix things and/or keep buying things i already know how to fix.

probably not the answer you are looking for, but i feel your pain. i've replaced every part i could on my miata, she still runs rough and i've just parked her in the garage since covid. would have been the perfect time to really tinker on her, just had....well other projects lol.

 

[montesa]

But does having all of those cars really make you happy? It’s just stuff. Does having to keep it all from rotting not take away from you life? Why does stuff matter so much? Especially broken down vehicles.

 

[joegrizzy]

yeah it does make me happy, more so when i'm "enjoying" them. but i also understand that the vehicles that sat in my great grandfather's pastures weren't mechanically all *that* different from the ones in my garage and driveway, but the ones of today and the soon future *are* going to be very different. thus i feel an importance to preserve, again the ones that not only i enjoy, but also understand intimately, have memories with, but also from an objective standpoint offer something that newer vehicles simply can't: that is ability to go madmax.

it's not lost on me that the predictive programming in my life has led me to be prepared for a life of the lo-tek from johnny pnuemonic or the sewer people from Demolition Man. in order for that, i must of course have a stable of horses that can't be subject to the Domination of traffic control devices ala Ghost in the Shell.

 

[joegrizzy]

mostly this:

 

[montesa]

yeah it does make me happy, more so when i'm "enjoying" them. but i also understand that the vehicles that sat in my great grandfather's pastures weren't mechanically all *that* different from the ones in my garage and driveway, but the ones of today and the soon future *are* going to be very different. thus i feel an importance to preserve, again the ones that not only i enjoy, but also understand intimately, have memories with, but also from an objective standpoint offer something that newer vehicles simply can't: that is ability to go madmax.

it's not lost on me that the predictive programming in my life has led me to be prepared for a life of the lo-tek from johnny pnuemonic or the sewer people from Demolition Man. in order for that, i must of course have a stable of horses that can't be subject to the Domination of traffic control devices ala Ghost in the Shell.

But if you can’t make them run right now, how can you in a situation where they are older, have more problems and also parts are harder to come by? Seems unrealistic to me. Wouldn’t two perfect vehicles be superior?

 

[Big50]

Just like guns mine are a good distraction/stress reliever for me. I like American muscle cars and 4x4 trucks. I just sold two to make room for upgrades, one was a 2010 Ford Platinum with 18000 miles that was still wearing it's original tires and a 2012 Ford GT Mustang that was super naked with 3400 miles. The one and only repair to the truck was a battery.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I'm pretty mechanically able. If I can figure out what's wrong with something...which is usually the hard part...I can fix it assuming I can get parts that work.

Having said that, I don't like to work on cars. I'll do basic stuff...change filters, wipers, etc... Anything more than that and it goes to someone who knows what they're doing. I can do oil changes but then I have the hassle of disposing of used oil. I'd rather just have someone else take care of it.

I like having reliable vehicles that I know I can get into and drive across the country without issues if the need arises.

Aside from cars, I like to get rid of stuff I don't need or use. One of the benefits of moving. My wife was kind of a prepper and had to 20 foot shipping containers full of crap we'll never use. Some of it was perishable and we tossed it. Most of it we moved. Now we don't have room for it. She doesn't want to get rid of it...I do. Oh, well. We know how that will end up. Might as well get used to it taking up space.

 

[Forgalspop]

I'm pretty mechanically able. If I can figure out what's wrong with something...which is usually the hard part...I can fix it assuming I can get parts that work.

Having said that, I don't like to work on cars. I'll do basic stuff...change filters, wipers, etc... Anything more than that and it goes to someone who knows what they're doing. I can do oil changes but then I have the hassle of disposing of used oil. I'd rather just have someone else take care of it.

I like having reliable vehicles that I know I can get into and drive across the country without issues if the need arises.

Aside from cars, I like to get rid of stuff I don't need or use. One of the benefits of moving. My wife was kind of a prepper and had to 20 foot shipping containers full of crap we'll never use. Some of it was perishable and we tossed it. Most of it we moved. Now we don't have room for it. She doesn't want to get rid of it...I do. Oh, well. We know how that will end up. Might as well get used to it taking up space.

I am a minimalist and dispose of what I don't use or need and am working on that on a regular basis.

My wife on the other hand, finds it difficult to get rid of anything. So I basically have been gradually getting rid of items she does not know we even have, since she has not looked at those items for years, especially items in the attic and garage.

Now and then after disposing of an item we have not used for 5 or 6 years, she decides it is then needed or wanted. OOPS! That happened the other day. We had a bottle of Mane and Tail in a bathroom cabinet that was half empty and she had not used for years. I had recently thrown it away and she decided it might be good for her hair after not using it for years. OOPS!

At times, it seems like she has this sixth sense that I have disposed of something.