How do you deal with the feeling that you're "wasting money" on your shitbox? Do you ever regret spending money on your car?It seems that every single time I press "place order" on Rockauto or ECS my brain is telling me I should've saved up for a house, wife, child, better car etc.On the other hand, I'm a meticulous and thorough person, and if I do a job, I don't like skipping over or ignoring possible future problems. I'm also a neat freak so every job take twice as long because I have to clean everything. the "project" is a mk5 Rabbit fyi
>>28822981>wifedon't buy a wife it's not worth it
>>28822981>It seems that every single time I press "place order" on Rockauto or ECS my brain is telling me I should've saved up for a house, wife, child, better car etc.You probably should be saving. Most people in this hobby are not in the kind of financial situation that a person spending tens of thousands on a hobby should be in. I'm not saying live like the boomer savings advice guy memes say to, I'm just saying yeah, your conscience is probably right, you shouldn't be spending a bunch of money on a project car or a bunch of upgrades and should take it easy and try to enjoy what you have more.t. actually is in the financial shape to be spending tens of thousands on project cars because I already have a house, wife, kids, but I don't feel any better when I finish my next round of mods/upgrades, and it's just an endless cycle of chasing something that doesn't exist
>>28822981I've never felt that I was wasting money on my cars. When I was younger I'd spend whatever it took, which was very often more than I should have, and wouldn't want that money back in lieu of the good times I had. More recently it's changed to a "why bother?" sort of attitude since I usually just stay home now
>>28822981>How do you deal with the feeling that you're "wasting money" on your shitbox?My cars are worth the money and work to me, so it's never a waste.>Do you ever regret spending money on your car?Only if what I spent money on doesn't have the intended effect. Back when I was first learning how to wrench, I went through 3 crank sensors because that's what the 1's and 0's were telling me was the issue, and none of them fixed my issue. Sold the car before I figured out what was wrong (actually made a profit on it, too), but now I have knowledge behind me, I'm guessing that it was timing related.>It seems that every single time I press "place order" on Rockauto or ECS my brain is telling me I should've saved up for a->-houseValid.>-wifeDepends on how much you value companionship.>-childChrist, no. 9/10 dads I know always say they wouldn't give their child back for the world, but they absolutely don't want another one, and probably wouldn't've had one in the first place if they knew how much they'd have to sacrifice in the long run.>-better carDepends on your definition of "better". I have cars that are arguably worse than what I've had previously, but I love them far more, making them worth the money and time I spend.>the "project" is a mk5 Rabbit fyiI'm not exactly a fan of VAG stuff, but you do you. I've easily spent more on parts than how much I originally bought my car for, despite it being somewhat worthless.
>>28823032Solid advice. Sometimes not being thorough and patient costs more. I've bought parts that did not work, did not fit, or I just could not justify using because I'd have to sacrifice something else. If anything, wrenching on my project is worth it just for the knowledge and the experience.>I'm not exactly a fan of VAG stuff, but you do youlol it's my first German and it's interesting to work on. Sometimes I can appreciate the Germanisms, but not when you need a gorilliondifferent specialty tools to do something.>I've easily spent more on parts than how much I originally bought my car for, despite it being somewhat worthless.Yeah, I don't know if my car is worthless, but I think looking at people build flashy high budget cars on youtube and whatnot does make me feel that way. rn I'm about 5k into it in parts, altogether probably just under 10k. Damn I forgot that the reason I bought this car was because I was intrigued by the 5 cylinder sound...thanks anon, i just needed motivation :)
>>28823058>If anything, wrenching on my project is worth it just for the knowledge and the experience.Now this is a great outlook, nice.>GermanismsI have no idea how they manage to be both the most ingenious and yet idiotic designers on the planet.>thanks anon, i just needed motivation :)No worries, glad I could help :)
>>28822981you're not losing money until you sell
Got the house first, albeit no driveway or garage but had the important thing first.got the car, Audi Coupe GT and wanted to convert it into a UR quattro (same shell but implement the 4WD from a 2004 A4 quattro). Did half of it on my grandparents driveway but need a garage for the heavy duty welding really.Met my wife and were about to move to a bigger house with a garage. No fucking kids not at least until its done. Have had to take my time with it obviously, money, weather, free time in general. I definitely had moments where i think how many bullshit problems ive had to put up with with it but never regretted it. The whole thing has taken me 4 years so far but now that we're moving and ill have a garage is a real motivator.Basically don't have kids or anyone trying to stop you from doing it. It's a needy hobby.
>>28823692Oh yeah and i forgot to add- have a garage
I've got no regrets whatsoever when I sink 2 grand into a 100 buck car because I enjoy the car immensely.
>>28822981every penny spent on car is one step away from hanging myself>>28823702basedi'm too ugly and too retarded for dating but my biological clock keeps shouting at me to marry and get family or killmyself so i have to keep distracting myself with shitboxes
>>28823725fuck, how the fuck this get pasted in between. Fixin: >>28822981 (OP)every penny spent on car is one step away from hanging myselfi'm too ugly and too retarded for dating but my biological clock keeps shouting at me to marry and get family or killmyself so i have to keep distracting myself with shitboxes>>28823702based financial decisionbased locationbased car
>>28822981I despise new cars, can barely stand older modern cars. So I never consider money spent keeping my cars alive as a waste.
>>28824215True. Not many interesting cars out there on the market for young people like myself. It's either a GR86 which is impractical, or a civic si which is ok but but i dont want a 1.5 turbo.
>>28824215Its actually more economically friendly to keep older cars going as long as possible than it is to keep buying EVs with a life span of 6 years.
>>28824363Couple years ago I started looking for a new beater daily that was at least somewhat fun to drive...manual, n/a v6, but above all reliable. About the only thing I could find was the Accord coupe. You can still find the 10-11 model years (came with a 6-speed) in this form with 150k for about $8k.
Ive paid 1500€ for this beastits poverty spec 1,7 8v 85kw monster.By now i probably sunk like 3k€ into it and it still isnt roadworthy.Logically I shouldve gotten rid of it ages ago especially since im almost restoring a poverty spec model.I do genuinely love this car. never driven a car with an engine this happy to go.My biggest issue with it is not that its poverty spec or that ive sunk all that money.But its that it is that Ive got a sedan as a project car.When i bought it i was thinking on DDiing it(yup that retarded) Had i known it will turn into project almost immediately idve gone for a coupeIm still not selling it, I wanna drive it again.
>>28824866Probably more environmentally friendly as well in the long run.>>28825360Nice. I would definitely want to keep that Alfa on the road, especially considering that they're rarer here in north America. These also have an almost identical suspension setup to my Rabbit. >>28825360>When i bought it i was thinking on DDiing it(yup that retarded) Had i known it will turn into project almost immediately idve gone for a coupeLol, that's literally why I bought my "project". I just felt scammed a little after I found out it had a bad tranny (they tried to patch it with JBweld) and a cracked timing cover (JBweld again). Funny enough, I bought it so I could work on my actual project, which is even more poverty spec than your Alfa, and is now my daily, but is also in need of work and is about to break down. I'm basically rotating between two "project" cars...cool car anon, I would love to see that paint shine some day :)
>>28822981you should own a house before you go dumping down payment money into a car.other than that who cares
>>28825384In my case I bought the alfa unseen.Basically i was abroad, had my relative to check out the car. now he knows his cars but seems he just looked to see that its same model and colour.car was purchased in april and first time i saw it was in july.Had hidden defects such as engine oil in coolant system.HAd just passed TUV. was driving home for few hours with dad in it.He told me tha i should go trough inspection just in case again but is afraid i wouldnt be let out. Ive had it for 5 years or so now. Only drove 500km in it since purchase. it spent most of the 5 years in garage. Im waiting for garage owner to fix electricity so i could start doing bodywork prep.I am too deep to get rid of it so ill persevere and get it road worthy.But afterwards i want a GT car. Id love have 3 cars to keep alfa as pseudo trackcar, but if ill need money ill sell it.(Id occasionally see some guy in nearby town advertising his a70 supra(iirc) with no engine for 1k if the body is still there and the car wont be sold by that point il prob go for it)Im also saving up for downpayment for personal property
>>28825384>Probably more environmentally friendly as well20 years is what everyone says is the best length of time to keep a car if you care about the environment. me personally i like to make sure it outlasts me barring some tool crashing into me
>>28822981I'll have about ~$20-25k in my project car by the time it's "done". It's 100% discretionary spending. Would it have been more responsible to put that money into an investment or even just savings? For sure.But, I already own a house (with a mortgage, but I have over $100k equity in it), I'm married, I have a child, I have a reliable and practical daily driver. All my needs are accounted for. Professionally I'm on a decent track with good future prospects. I put 15% of my income directly into my retirement fund, I still manage to accrue savings over the year that I periodically put into ETFs when my savings account gets heavy.I do still sometimes think about how it's not exactly the most responsible thing to spend all this money on an old car that's not practical, not safe, and represents an expenditure of time and resources that I will never get back. It's a definite negative against my long term financial future and eventual independence and retirement.But then - I'm increasingly aware of how short life really is. I'm already in my mid-30s. While I don't want to be someone who just ends up slaving forever because I was impulsive and lived beyond my means, I don't also want to be one of those sad boomers that wageslaved their whole life putting off the things they wanted because "they'd do it someday". Then they're 70 years old and finally have a cool car and are too frail, scared, and old to really put it to use.I'm going to enjoy my life while I have a chance, while still accounting for my future. Life is a compromise.
>Make 45k a year>30 years oldShoukd I even try and work towards a house or is it over for me?
>>28828288yup think its worth it. I mean im making 12k per year(slavfag) and im still working towards getting my propertybut yeah me wanting another project is slightly putting sticks in my wheels
>>28822981>the "project" is a mk5 Rabbit fyilmao
