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Do you stress about your new car?

Batiman

Banned
I got my first brand new car and it’s stressing the hell out of me. I bought it for the sake of reliability and the fact that my old car was falling apart and becoming an expense. But now that I have one I’m stressing over dings, scratches etc. It’s driving me insane.

It’s a cheaper car but I’m treating it like it’s a vintage Ferrari or something. Keeping a close eye on neighbours that park beside me or parking it at the back of every parking spot. I sort of regret getting it for this reason alone. I miss my old piece of shit where I could just make a mess of it and not have to worry about anything besides mechanical failures.

Makes me wonder how you car enthusiast with expensive cars even sleep at night. A part of me just wants to Han solo the shit out of it until I don’t care anymore
 
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Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
Just a matter of time until the first scratch. :messenger_grinning:

But good on you for taking care of your new car. Just don't stress out to much. It's just a commodity, after all. Albeit quite expensive.

My first car was a gift from my father. The second one a used car i bought on my own for 2200€. The third was new and i felt the same as you.

Just try to be happy and think about the reliability.

Edit: The first dent in my new car came from my mother who used the car in my absence. The second from my father who rammed it with the lawnmower. These things happen.
 
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Mohonky

Member
I got my first brand new car and it’s stressing the hell out of me. I bought it for the sake of reliability and the fact that my old car was falling apart and becoming an expense. But now that I have one I’m stressing over dings, scratches etc. It’s driving me insane.

It’s a cheaper car but I’m treating it like it’s a vintage Ferrari or something. Keeping a close eye on neighbours that park beside me or parking it at the back of every parking spot. I sort of regret getting it for this reason alone. I miss my old piece of shit where I could just make a mess of it and not have to worry about anything besides mechanical failures.

Makes me wonder how you car enthusiast with expensive cars even sleep at night. A part of me just wants to Han solo the shit out of it until I don’t care anymore
That's why I don't buy new cars.

I had a nice car as a teenager; it got the side kicked in once and keyed twice and the respray is never nearly as good as the factory paint.

It was already bad enough of course that I already had to worry about dumb shit like people opening their doors into it etc.

Never again
 
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Quasicat

Member
I bought my first brand new car in December, parked it in the garage and my wife has hit it with her car hard enough to make a five or six dings in the passenger side door. It sucks, but whatever. In the end, it’s just a thing.
 

Billbofet

Member
I never used to care, but years ago I bought my first brand-new car. I took it to the store for some errands and got a big ole' dent right on the driver's door.
I saw this dent each and every time I got into the vehicle and now I park so defensively, my family doesn't even want me to drive anywhere.

Just bought a new car a couple of months back, but my previous car I owned for over 8 years and not a single scratch, dent, or anything on it.
I'm still in the phase of stressing over the newer car, but I usually chill after a few months.
 

Beer Baelly

Al Pachinko, Konami President
Op like

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Winter John

Member
It’s the same with anything new. New phone, new TV, new shiny thing. You treat it with kid gloves for a few weeks then the new wears off, it gets a few dings and you treat it like anything else.
 

Fools idol

Banned
I had all of my cars PPF wrapped and ceramic coated. This protects from 95% of light road wear and tear like stone chips, scratches, swirl marks from cleaning etc. It also even protects against light collisions depending on what you hit and how fast obviously. My Pista has the worlds best PPf on it, XPEL ultimate. It cost $14k to have the whole car covered in this stuff but it is the best. The dealer has videos showing nasty door dings not even making a mark on the paint, even if the door takes a huge dent which can be popped back out, markless.

It also means I am protected from typical stresses of owning nice cars - assholes keying and, what I have had in the past, graffiting. Someone spray painted a cock and balls on the driver side door of my 991 turbo S, a car which I adored. Unfortunately for the dick that did it, i just used a paint removing fluid and a wrag right onto the XPeL, something that would have destroyed the paint had it not been protected. Came right off after 3-4 minutes of scrubbing, and the XPEL self heals so didnt even need to replace the sheet on the door. Saved me thousands in respraying a PTS colour!

My Ferrari's all have full body PPF for obvious reasons but my classics like the SL and the 355 F1 I opted for front end only, since they are already deemed 'classic' in the true sense of the word, a little wear and tear is considered authentic as it means the car hasnt had dodgy repaint work done.

The world of car collecting becomes expensive for most if you are too ocd about it. I have personally just picked up a brand new GT3 and it came with front end factory PPF and side flare arches. I plan to leave that as is... i like you am stressing about damaging it because it is insanely rare and hard to buy, any major damage and I would be raging.
 
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dorkimoe

Member
I did when i got mine. Ended up with a small chip on the hood literally like the size of a piece of salt. You can do what you can to protect it, but its going to get scratched. Just keep it clean and enjoy it
 

navii

My fantasy is that my girlfriend was actually a young high school girl.
I owned a few new cars over the years and I never stop caring everytime a new scratch or dent appears. It's my experience that other people just dont give a fuck about your car and will damage it no matter how much you baby it, no matter how much room you give other cars when you park. Even though my expectations are realistic I still paid good money for it so I would like to be driving a new looking car.

I would never own an expensive car for that reason, people are cunts.

My first new car I actually had a good run with, was involved in an accident that wasn't my fault that was fixed and I don't remember any other incidents. Kept this car for 10 years. It was a cheap Suzuki hatchback.

Second was a Mazda 3, this was twice the money of the Suzuki. Within the first year some cunt valet driver dented the right wheel panel arch. Took me a week to discover this dent, then another week to connect the dots that it was the valet. I drove with this dent till I wanted to sell the car so I got it fixed as cheaply as possible.

Then there was a beautiful orange mini cooper with these sexy 19" alloy wheels. Every time I scraped them it was like I just got punched in the face. Again, very early in the cars life i parked it behind another car with a tow bar, when I parked it I gave extra room to the car Infront. But the cunt still reversed into me and put a dent in my car. They must have done it on purpose as I gave them so much room. I also would scrape under the front bumper many times as the car was pretty low. Finally another cunt scraped the right hand side of it and tried to blame me.

The mini cooper experience taught me not to own a car you love as a daily driver.

Last and most recent car, Mazda CX30. Bought this car to try and care less. But I still care. Again some cunt with a tow bar reversed into me within the first year of owning the car. Then in the second year, my car was parked in a really quiet residential street and someone just side swiped me, I just got the car back from repairs after 6 months and you can tell its got imperfections. At least the guy was apologetic and owned up so I could claim on insurance easily. But now I feel my car is not perfect anymore and want sell it, but there are no guarantees it won't happen again with a new car.

That new car feeling you pay for does not last long thanks to assholes. One day I will snap and get a chain saw and start cutting off people's tow bars. Or get one myself and use it as a parking aid to "feel" the car behind me.

Finally, my mum inherited an old banged up Toyota and she lets me drive it every time I visit. Now this is a worry free car, I park it as badly as I want to and don't give a fuck who wants to hurt my car.
 
I haven't bought a new car since 2014. I paid it off years ago. Since COVID I've driven about 6,000 miles per year, i.e. not much.

I think cars are a waste of money, but I'm not going to tell someone else how to spend theirs.
 
I buy cars to drive them, not be garage queens.

If you drive your car, you're going to get rock strikes, dings, and scratches. You're eventually going to curb one of your rims. Someone is going to open their car door and smack a dent into yours. Eventually a huge fucking rock is going to crash into your windshield and make a giant crack and then you're buying a new windshield.

That's just how it is. My car is lived in and loved, I've put 85k miles on it over 4 years and I couldn't be happier with it. The paint has some chips from rocks hitting it but oh fucking well. It's a car, not a fashion show.
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
As with all things, the first weeks are a little stressful for me, when i want to preserve the „newness“, but eventually reality sets in and i stop obsessing.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
Expsensive are a waste of money. The insurance, the fuel, the MOT, the servicing, the cost of repairs. Thousands each year, just so you can move around.

My 2012 £6k car has all the features and comforts you need. I find it quite crazy so many people pay £20-50k for new cars that will likely be damaged or breakdown every few years.
 
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T.v

Member
I very much doubt I will ever own a brand new car, nor do I want to unless I was filthy rich. I'll keep buying used.
 

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
I live in a city with very good public transport where the mayor is actively pushing cars out and reducing car-related facilities i.e. lanes, parking spots, etc.
When I need a car I will rent one.
 

CSJ

Member
The amount of new cars driving around makes you wonder if people really are still struggling financially or just making bad choices and I live in a country with a low population.
Never had a new one myself :(

I did have a car I cared about, but not enough to stress over it, and now I just have a runabout which I am happy if it just works and that will keep me happy.
 

RagnarokIV

Member
Never owned a new car. I do it like razors, buy disposable cars.

Buy it cheap, drive it until it dies, buy cheap again.

Edit to clarify: I've never and will never pay over 2.5k max for a car.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Just park you car far from everyone else. Never park it close to the store or other cars. I’ve had my current car for 5 years and got zero door dings.

My older crappy car i park it like everyone else (close to the store or front doors to work if I saw an open spot). Had the car for 7 years. Had 3 door dings on each side.

Parking the car far away from assholes who swing their car door open is one benefit. Another one is it’s easy to just park and go.

Another thing you can do is try to find those good spots where one side is blocked off or no parking. So take spot and edge over closer to the No parking spot. Therefore, if the jackass swings his car door all the way open it still might not hit your car.

If you have to park near other cars try to find a spot where you’re beside good cars. People who own nice cars care about door dings. A guy driving a Mercedes isn’t going to swing his door open. But someone driving a crusty family car or dodge caravan full of kids won’t give a shit.
 
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I've never owned a new car but my used car I treat like a queen. I've already learned how to DIY detail my own car having polished and applied a ceramic coating. It's always clean inside and out (washed & vacuumed once a week).

I now bought new car care products which will be delivered today to maintain the coating.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
A few little scuffs in and you'll stop worrying about it

I got my first kind of nice car (Acura ILX) last year and at first it was a bit like that, but it's a tool for getting me around, I treat it well and clean it well but it's going to get some scratches.
 

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
Just park you car far from everyone else. Never park it close to the store or other cars. I’ve had my current car for 5 years and got zero door dings.
I’m some places in the world it’s not possible e.g. lack of parking space in Paris means everyone is parking bumper to bumper. Still cannot figure out how the driving culture here is so much worse than Poland.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
On the plus side, if you got some minor door dings, it shouldnt make a difference in resale value. I remember when I was goin to sell my car and I asked my shop guy (a bunch of us at work used him for stuff), I said is it worth me fixing my doors like new and he said dont bother. Wont move the needle. People buying a used car for under $10,000 wont give a shit if it's got some minor scruff marks. It's expected.
 

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
No scratches on my new challenger yet. Been almost 2 years. Still vacuum it out every day off. Could wash it more but I'm a lazy fuck.

1st scratch is the worse, my sister in law dinged the door on my last car (mini copper club man S) car was spotless for over 3 years before she fucked it up.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Not to derail but whatever you do don't double park. I guarantee it will be keyed.
I never do. But to recap for everyone, best way to avoid door dings:

- Park far away from everyone else

- Good spot are one sided parking spots (like corner spots in a parking lot). These are good spots. Park your car a bit farther away from the other car so if they swing their door open it still wont hit your car

- If there's many open spots and it looks like you got to choose a spot near other cars, try to pick one where you DONT park beside the other car's driver side door. At work, 95% of people dont car pool, so you only have to worry about their driver side door

- If you got no choice but to pick a spot near everyone else, look for spots surrounded by good cars

- Avoid parking by shit cars, mini vans, pick up trucks etc... You want to avoid cars with people who look like they dont give a shit, vans with kids, or vehicles with giant swinging doors
 
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