Sunday 30 April 2017

Breaking a very old habit


I have reached a point in my life where, well, "enough is enough."

Throughout my driving life, it's mostly been worn out, second hand vehicles with some having pretty serious and/or expensive issues. I had never been in a position to walk into a dealer and say, "I'll take that one," and leave the lot in something more modern and under a warranty of some kind.


Nope, usually I read a classified ad about a cheap vehicle that has been previously loved/hated/flat out tortured and I get that fantastic idea that it will become my new "ideal" vehicle. Time and again, I go check it out, perhaps drive it around the block, ignore some of the issues it may exhibit and buy it, with grand ideas about fixing the minor problems or more ambitious plans about restoring it.

One such recent example was a 1994 Chrysler LeBaron GTC convertible, the day I bought it, the issues and letting it go


Sometimes, I get lucky, like when I drove my well used 2001 Chevrolet Impala for six years of nearly trouble free motoring. I wrote about my experience with this former police car here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3.

Now, I am very tired of this way of thinking and doing things. Fantasies of finding a "diamond in the rough" and not only getting a fantastic deal buying it and having it brought back to showroom condition is nothing more than a pipe dream. I don't have a big shop and all the tools, nor time to do the work myself. The big, fluffy bank account to pay somebody else make a dream become a reality, doesn't and will never exist.

So, it's time to come to terms with my age, time available, financial considerations and the stark realization that sometimes dreams are nothing more than frustrations and limitations, disguised as a good deal waiting for me to come along.


Then again, I could be doing it all over, fooled by a new and shiny package.

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