Why Do We Only Bond With Specific Cars?
As our parents and/or other halves often take time to remind us, people like us do spend a lot of time looking at buying or swapping cars. It’s a bit of an addiction for some of us – or at least it can seem that way to those on the outside.
From year to year (or even month to month) we’ll chop and change our rides because they don’t excite us anymore, they keep breaking or just because of the constant lure of something better. On the other hand, sometimes we come across a car that we just can’t part with. What’s that all about?
Often we buy cars for our current circumstances, forgetting the bigger picture. Towing a lot? Great excuse for a pickup or a V6 diesel estate. Parking in cities all the time but want something fun? A hot hatch it is, then. Getting into trackdays? You simply need that cheap E46 M3 you’ve just spotted less than 10 miles from home.
If you play chess one move at a time, you’re going to lose. That same principle is why buying a car for what we need right now is often the wrong thing to do. How often is ‘what you need right now’ also what you need two years from now? Through your late teens and 20s, that’s pretty much never. Your lifestyle changes. Your income changes. Your priorities change. Inevitably, your cars change.
Secretly we quite like this financially ruinous merry-go-round. It’s all the excuse we need to swap cars as often as we want to. The enjoyment is partly down to the endorphins released by buying something we tell ourselves we really want; that rush of something new (to us) and the honeymoon period that comes after.
There’s something deeper than that, though; a bug that only bites sometimes. Some cars’ novelty begins to wear off after a week, or a month. Their faults and compromises start to show, and while we tell ourselves that we still love them, we already know exactly why we’ll end up selling them. Shh, don’t tell anyone else aboutthe issue for now, until you’ve found a replacement.
In the space of a few years I went from a Renault Sport Clio 182, to a Peugeot 206 GTI HDI, to a MkI Mazda Eunos Roadster, to a base-spec Citroen Berlingo, to a Mazda 6 Sport diesel, to a Skoda Fabia vRS and then, after a gap, a Honda S2000.
Looking back, the best all-round solution would have been to keep the 206. It was a really, really good car and would have got me through that entire period. We’re not always the most sensible people when it comes to these choices, are we?
But. Occasionally you’ll land on a car and after a week, or a month, you still can’t wait to take each drive in it. You keep finding excuses to go out. “Ahh, the Mrs needs some more paprika.” “Hmmm, I’m only on three-quarters of a tank so I’ll drive to that Shell station three towns over.” “I, err, thought I heard a clonk on the front suspension so I’m just going to go and have a drive to check…” These are cars we fall in love with.
Maybe it’s a particular noise the car makes. The way it feels. Maybe it’s how many things it’s good at. Something unique to you and the way you’re coded just creeps up, whispers “you’re mine, now” into your ear, and wham: you’re in a long-term relationship.
I know I’m not alone in saying that I haven’t bonded with most of the cars I’ve owned. Hands up, I admit it: I’ve bought more than a few cars that made precious little sense at the time, let alone after six months. But there were a few, like the 206, that I really did like a lot and should have kept longer.
I’ve had my Octavia vRS for three weeks, now. I can see it from my office window, and every time I look at it, part of my mind involuntarily finds an excuse to drive it. Right now it’s that I need some new number plate fixings, and you can bet I’ll hit the road as soon as this article is written. It’s been too long since I had that tiny everyday thrill in my life, and I have a sneaky feeling it’s going to last.
Which cars have you bonded with and kept long-term? Which ones gave you short-term thrills but ended up getting annoying? Which cars do you wish you’d kept for longer? Let us know below!
Comments
I’ve owned 4 cars in my 7 years of driving. I still own two of them. Of the two sold, the one I miss is my old Wrangler. It wasn’t fast or powerful, but I always enjoyed the drive and it would go most anywhere in any weather.
The third car I bought and still own, is my 67 Cougar. It’s over 50 years old now (fitting of the Cougar name considering my young age, I suppose) and the outside shows it. Despite a very clean, well-preserved interior, the paint is all but gone with cracks everywhere. The engine runs strong and only has 70k on it but a rebuild is probably not long in the future and it needs new mounts. I’ve already invested a good bit a money into it and it will surely become quite the money pit. It’s not fast but the experience is unlike anything else. I don’t have the money to quite take as good care of it as I like but I simply cannot bring myself to sell it (even if it would allow me to supercharge my M3 as I much wish to do).
My daily is my e46 M3. Despite replacing the fuel pump, shifter, rear shock mounts, headers, cats, etc., I still love the car. Each drive is as great as the last. I don’t think I will ever tire of it.
In the weekend i always want to find a excuse to go for a drive. Like yesterday, one friend of mine was 40kilometers away of mine tow and i drove it for drink a beer with him. Sry bad Eng, i am a bit rusty. And no dicionary
Im keeping my 2011 wrx, even with all the paint chips, the odd random squeal, and the mini rust devils appearing everywhere. I love it.
Definetely in love with my 6Gen Celica. Been my first car, and although i have driven many, many other cars as of now none have given me the feelings this one does. It’s an analogue machine, not particularly powerful, N/A 115hp but just about 1100kg make it a BLAST on twisty roads. MPG is just about fine in the city and quite good on highway, but don’t check it whilst having a blast in the road….
As i said, the feelings, the feedback it provides is uncombarable to any other car I may have tried. None understeer, ALL of the lift off oversteer. In fact i have spinned 3 times in the rain already, need to replace rear tyres, they’re good on the dry but when wet they just don’t grip at all.
It needs MASSIVE body work but mechanically is close to perfect, i have already installed coilovers and 7Gen Celica wheels on it, next move is spacers and GT-FOUR spoiler, for that rally look. I’ve already spent 3 times more than what the car originally costed me on parts and mainteinance and i’m just fine with that.
I really miss my pile of junk nissan primera that I had to sell two months ago and my opel ascona that was even more of a piece of crap that the nissan was. The opel was kinda retro, everything was analogic and that made it feel so awesome, but I have no idea why I loved the P11 so much. If I get the chance I’ll buy a P11 with the sr20de so that I can have that feeling I had with the previous rustbucket back with more power
I really wanted this same generation Octavia vRS a few years ago. They seemed like the perfect car for me, plus I really dig the looks of it. After I couldn’t quite get the money for it, I found a great shape Mazda 6 wagon instead and immediately fell in love with it. With its base diesel it was no vRS killer, but it was remarkable how many things the Mazda 6 excelled at. My bond with it didn’t fade for over 3 years, only for the car to die on me for the last time, with no chance of fixing anymore. As they say, my blood, sweat and tears went into that car.
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I sometimes wonder how long I could keep my Golf r estate going after the electric car apocalypse hits…
I’ve bonded with this. My 2005 MG ZS. Started life as a 1.4K-series and was on its 2nd engine. I ended up putting a 1.8 K-series into it which was going for about 5 months until the bottom end started knocking and now I’m putting a 1.8 Turbo K-series in it which has plenty of challenges but I would not change this car for the world. I have been offered up to 3 grand for this car and I still refused it. I know for a fact I will never sell it
Interesting Blog,keep it up!
love your work