cfoster

..... you've lost interest in cars etc?

I've been in my own house a year now and over the last 6 months my interest in cars, having a nice one on the drive etc is becoming less and less!! I have the Lightning at the moment but as much as I love the truck and enjoy driving it (rarely anytime to go out for a blast now) I keep thinking I would get away with something much cheaper and put the money into my house. Seems a waste having £xxxxx worth of money on the drive doing not a lot.

Has anyone else felt like this or is it just another 'getting bored of car, need a new one' phase?!!!! Just worried in case i sell it, buy something cheaper and regret it afterwards!!!!

GavStyli

sign of getting old mate!

JohnnyB

I am the same, but I am sure the bug will hit me again

cfoster

Gav - possibly, people have said to me to buy a cheap track toy but again it would still be wasted I wouldnt get time to use it, plus i'd miss creature comforts like aircon!!!!!

JohnnyB - quite possibly! Thing I dont want to do is sell it and spunk the cash on the house, then want another nice car and not have the money to spend!!!!!!

rs combi

its not that ive lost interes just the fact that i dont have the time to sort the cars out there just sitting there un loved
house is getting therenow so roll on the summer then i can crack on with them

rog

iTrader: (2)

It won't last, been in my place 5 years, my saph sat with no engine for about 2 of them as i couldn't be arsed with it, fixed it in the end and glad i did.
Once your happy with your house etc and attention diverts off that, you'll be back on the scene again. Who's not to say it's not a good idea to sell up and keep the money until you decided what to do though.

alistairolsen

Ive had my own place for 5 years now. I never spent big money on cars, always secondhand bits, deals and time. That hasnt changed, the idea of wasting money still sickens me (I'm scottish afterall) but Im still building!

P412KER

The love of cars soon comes back, i bought my first house at 18 and found that my love of cars have gone up and down over the years, one year its a new kitchen or extension, then once done its i want my car back?? if i could turn back the years i would of kept my cars as i have always ended up spending twice the amount getting them back to the standard i had.

rog

iTrader: (2)

Never a truer word spoken! Atleast you know what you've got, instead of having to go out and buy somone else's car with lots of unknowns.

zedtechs

It goes full circle mate,

I moved in to a bungalow, actually down the road from your mums, lost interest in cars whilst doing the place up and bummed round in a fiesta........however

Now the pad is finished I bought myself a saph to play with as the house has now become boring.

So stick with it, only a phase!!!

GavStyli

on a more serious note, priorities change as we get older and get our own places and kids etc
how much spare time you get during the week?
i leave my house @ 6.20am and home by 7.30pm so i just cant be bothered to play around with the car as im tired even tho i do want to.

natehall

iTrader: (2)

One of my cars took 2 1/2 years to do a simple engine swap due to buying a house!

now back on it though with a vengence

cfoster

Spare time = nothing, work in london so commuting time either side work hours, then signwriting business some evenings, also do canvas printing in evening as well as decorating the house and spending time with the missus and dog!! No time for getting hands dirty under a car anymore!!

alangti

no way i bought a house years ago didnt loose the bug then and since coming back to uk last year have just bought a new house and still love cars lol it must be old age

p.cressie

It will come back once you've finished the house off. The trouble is you finish the house then you start on the drive and gardens. then when you've done them there's allways something else to do in the house.

GUZZLER

iTrader: (3)

i was the same with the escos, 20k car sat in the garage..... driving around in an old mk6 escort..... now got a nice little golf diesel & done some bits round the house/garden that i wanted to.
if i want another car in a couple of years then i'll get something then.

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

mmm dunno about this but im only youngish. I tend to look that the house is a long term investment. but id never give up cars for it. But yeah houses are expensive so unless your on a good wage you cant always afford to do both, both in terms of time and money.

Id ideally like a house which is basically a massive garage with lifts and loads of space and maybe a flat built in.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Nope, not at all for me, cars will always be a driving factor in my life I think, only thing that might change that is kids, but never for a house.

you can sleep in your car but you cant trackday your house

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

nah just a big dent in the budget!!

erm you obviously missed the campervan motorsport special on topgear. but yeah

RANJ

yup im the same, cant be bothered anymore,

PeterRST

iTrader: (1)

I'd rather sleep in a tent and keep the cars I love then having to work for a house for the rest of my life...

1223456

total opposite for me, not that the interest went but more like my priorities changed, now I spend very little on achohol and going out but more on the house and bits on the car when I can. When I do get stuck into the car days pass by, to the mrs annoyance.lol

If I didnt have my house I think the mods on my car would be not so performance oriantated (dodgy spelling) and less expensive, but at the same time I would probably have a much better car.lol

Catch 22, always thought that by the time I was 30 I would own my own cossy, well Ive got 2 months to find one,,,,,,,, come on santa ive been a good lad this year

DaveZS

Totally. Had the house since march, been working on it everyday that I haven't been in work.
No doubt i'll get back into them at some point, but I think I've realised there's more to life.

MikeR

I thini it is a personal priorities thing, l am keen to trade my car in our buy another but l really want the house right before l can justify it to myself or the wife to be honest, once the house is sorted then it will be another car

Mike

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Guess thats the difference if you do work on your own cars as a hobby, or just have cars via your chequebook rather than your time.

For me even if Im totally skint I still have lots of things I can do on my cars, my nova really needs the entire loom ripping out and remaking for example, which I will do at some point when I have enough spare time and it wont cost me much to do so, so that will be weeks of cheap entertainment.

cfoster

Definitely right mate it is a long term investment but decorating it to a level that your happy with is something that most would rather do sooner rather than later.

Wage wise isnt really as issue as me and the missus both earn a decent wage, do what we want etc (ie - having the car doesnt limit us on anything), just sometimes i think that having 13k/14k, sitting on the drive doing fook all seems pointless!!

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

theres a common denominator in this thread - wifes who have a controlling interest in money

Does she have to justify her make up, pointless pampering, excessive shoes, handbags costing loads, clothes she only wears once etc etc etc etc etc. I dont think so

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

Youve definitely lost that loving feeling

do you just not get the buzz out of driving??? I can understand its a lump of money but do you need to spend the money on something else???

Maybe im a bit sad but when i find a good empty country lane or a good stretch of empty road to have a play then it all seems worth it. Track days are even better.

cfoster

yeah definitely not feeling the love at the moment!! To be honest if I go out rather than make the effort and go in the truck I take her Beetle!!!!! Far more comfy and easier to drive (must be getting old!!!!!!!).

I do get a buzz from driving the truck but its pathetic in the wet, just pointless using it so very limited on when i drive it!! Dont need the money for anything else and it owes me nothing sitting there, just thinking i could make better use of the money!!

Alan_D

I would get it sold and move on. Put the money into your house while you can, as there will always be time in the future to get other toys etc.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i could have bought a hose for the money i've spent on cars, but i think my time is coming to an end as well

things have moved on and with a wife and kids, i simply don't get the time to do the things i'd take for granted

it wasnt a problem to work on the car all night, then go to work in the morning, but now i've got to make sure the kids are asleep and have family time and watch the telly with them and learn stuff that they've learnt t nursery and all that

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Its good that you are finally getting up to nursery level education, even if it is only by proxy

Alan_D

You surely wouldn't spend that much money on a hose?

Ade

Being into cars is like being into oxygen, music and girls..... can't remember a time when I wasn't into any of the above so I don't predict anything changing

MikeR

Time is a very very limited a precious thing in my life Chip or lack of it at home, if l had another rs turbo l would work on it and play with it but being as l have a Porsche and did have an Evo 8 ,l as you say use my "cheque book" as l would rather somebody more experienced and qualified then my lowly city and guilds level 2 mechanics qualification work on them, l dont think this is bad just realistic

Mike

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Fine by me mate, I wasnt saying it was "bad" to tune a car on a chequebook, I was just saying that I think its a big factor in deciding wether you will continue or not, most of the people I see "giving up on" cars when they get a house are the ones who pay others to do the work, where as the ones who do it themsleves often just do something cheaper, like Alistair Olsen up above who is designing and building his own Lotus 7 style kitcar for pennies

If all that cars are is something to drive and something to sign a cheque to pay for, rather than a hobby you actually get involved with doing, its easier to give it up im sure.

Personally I find it does my head in not being able to do anything with cars during the week when Im away working, I just love working on cars, which is why so many people near the london area have had free mapping jobs off me etc, its cause i love doing it and am not near my own cars to do it.

If all I was doing was spending money out though and getting no time spent or enjoyment from it, I would probably give it up too when money got tight, but as it is I can still enjoy my hobby even if I had little income.

alistairolsen

Same here, I really want the car finished so I can drive it, but building it in anticipation and analysing every decision is most of the fun for me. If I had to save by working, to pay for the parts/services and then to ue t properly had to then pay more for trackdays, I would have given up long ago as the house is more important to me financially.

On the other hand, give it ten years when Im making a little more money hopefully, and possibly have family, and then I guess my time will become more precious and Id rather spend out on one trackday a month, then spend half that money to have 3 weekends in the garage.

CraigoScott

iTrader: (1)

to buy my house i sold my car to raise some of the deposit, i was gettin a company car anyway, so it was only going to sit.

Ive been working on my house since we got it, and we are still nowhere near finished, but i want to buy something nice and fast around July time, because i really miss having a nice car!

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

I love being in my house and there has been many a time where i just couldnt be botherd to do anything to my car,i just think thats cause im a lazy twat.I work on vans for a living so when it comes for me to work on my car i just cant be fooked.I love my car to bits though.

Rod-Tarry

When i got married sold a flash Sports car to fund my 1st house, decided must get large house & plenty of space before spending more money on fast cars. Took me 8 years to get their but better option than keeping a fast car all that time parked outside my Semi. Life is longer than your 20's & 30's, build for the future & have a nice place to play with your cars at a time of your life you can afford to run them.