[225]

Now anyone that knows me knows I am a car person. I have however certainly mellowed the last few years.
For instance I have had the m340 for a couple of months now and still procrastinating about getting a ceramic coating on it or do it myself. It also recently gained a pigeon shaped hole in the grille&flaps behind and I haven't got it booked in yet as I'm still pi55ed off at having to fork out 500 quid to get it done.
I would have been on the case straight away with my old 340.

I think having the Volvo and really only seeing it as white goods changed my mindset, both the cars we have now are leased. While I obviously look after them, wiping bird cr8p instantly, using quick detailers etc I am not attached to them as I once would have been.

Anyone else mellowed with age?..

[KCH1984]

I was pretty anal when I was younger, and like you've described, any imperfections or damage I'd pretty much have remedied straight away! I think moving to one car between me and my Mrs (and having kids!!) has probably changed my mindset as the car is very much now the family bus.

That said, I'm going to get a second car for me later this year so my mindset will perhaps change back. Like you though it will be a short term lease so the same attachment might not be there as I know in 2 years it will be replaced.

[Sennen]

I always think cars are for driving and enjoying and I have never treated mine as some sort of ornament.

My cars will get a trip down to the local Eastern Europeans once every 3 months at the most.

As long as the car is not covered in dents etc come PX time the Dealer couldnt care less.

I appreciate some warped individuals like to spend the whole weekend preening their cars, personally I have better things to do

I say Drive it, Enjoy it and take it down to the local lads for a clean when you can no longer read the Number Plates

[MashinBenzin]

Always cleaned them myself, but never kept them too clean in between - I enjoy the look of a car that's been on a journey.

But…white goods..yes. My mindset changed in 2019. I love the Discovery in many ways, and have no doubt that it's the best at what i need it to do, rivalled only by the X7 and the Highlander. Would I be bothered if the latter, less premium and vastly cheaper, was on the drive? Not one bit.

On the other hand, I've been on two configurators today. One was a 911, so I've got a petrol head somewhere, and one was a Rivian R1S. I also became intrigued by the Lucid Gravity. Still hooked perhaps. No plans on buying any of these three in the next 2-3 years.

ETA - the Disco is also still adorned with the daubings of the Cornish "sea"gulls from last week. White goods again. Literally.

[F20MAW73]

I know the feeling OP. The last few years I have been consumed with buying cars with the N55/B58 engine. M135i > M440i > Z4 40i.

I'm now going down the SUV and Hybrid route with an order on a new Audi Q5. I'm a proper old man now.

[D69GMB]

Can remember when I had my Z4M roadster, was totally obsessed with keeping it clean even down to removing the wheels every second wash to clean the arches and insides of the wheels . Nowadays I still like the cars clean but quite happy with snow foam, wheel cleaner and my new found favourite detailing thing, Autofinesse Lavish ceramic infused snow foam, it is easy to use and leaves an amazing hydrophobic layer and superb shine.

[Grant_7]

I think age definitely plays a part and, in my case, having kids.

Kids make you realise that it's just a car. Plus, and this is probably the bigger factor, you just have far less time available when you have young children.

Case-in-point: I kerbed the Tesla the other week. With previous cars I'd be mortified and it would really bother me until it was properly sorted. These days, it still annoys me, but only for a few minutes then I just get back to being busy keeping children alive.

In fact, I'd completely forgotten about kerbing that wheel until seeing this thread!

[Tengocity]

I still enjoy the pride of ownership, and one reason (among a few) I sold my Lotus is that it wasn't an enjoyable or easy car to keep clean. For a small car it had a lot of complex surfaces and edges so took longer to clean than much larger cars, and even after detailing always looked like a well used car.
On the other hand my M4 looks pristine and that's sometimes restricts when and how I use it.
With the 340, it's a great balance of still looking very well looked after, cleans up really well, and yet I don't worry about using it as a normal family car. The dog jumps in and out, the wife loads it full of crap at the garden centre, skip runs, it does it all, and I don't worry about it.
I think one of the main benefits of a ceramic coating is so that when you do clean it, it cleans easily, so is as much about time and hassle saving as anything else.
I really don't think anyone should kid themselves that this stuff improves future resale values though. The part ex price is based on age and mileage and barely anything about how well it was looked after.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by 225

Now anyone that knows me knows I am a car person. I have however certainly mellowed the last few years.
For instance I have had the m340 for a couple of months now and still procrastinating about getting a ceramic coating on it or do it myself. It also recently gained a pigeon shaped hole in the grille&flaps behind and I haven't got it booked in yet as I'm still pi55ed off at having to fork out 500 quid to get it done.
I would have been on the case straight away with my old 340.

I think having the Volvo and really only seeing it as white goods changed my mindset, both the cars we have now are leased. While I obviously look after them, wiping bird cr8p instantly, using quick detailers etc I am not attached to them as I once would have been.

Anyone else mellowed with age?..

Me. For sure... Now, I am like you.. Yes, I keep on top of the bird do do, keep it clean inside, but I am not bothered if the car is outwardly dirty... That's why I went for the ceramic coatings... just so I know it is shiny and protected underneath...

[AndyCKent]

Having kids has changed my perception a little. I still clean the cars as often as I can (2-3 times a month) but I am less bothered these days as anybody with kids will tell you, kids don't care and it will just stress you out worrying about it.

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Always cleaned them myself, but never kept them too clean in between - I enjoy the look of a car that's been on a journey.

This is me. My cars are either pristine, or have mud caked half up the side with wheels that are black with brake dust.

I quite enjoy the process of getting it from filthy to sparkling but don't do it to the level or frequency some people do. Sometimes it's quite a therapeutic process to do the paint restoration once a year or whatever but even then I get bored beyond a point so it's never been a two day affair. One of my neighbours is out twice a week with the snow foam even if the car looks clean, and that's looking 'clean' to me as someone who is already a bit anal

[TodmordenLad]

When my children were growing up, I always had company cars and honestly don't remember ever washing them. Not because I was particularly lazy but because I simply had better things to do with my weekends. I do look after my cars now, mainly because I enjoy doing so and have the time - although I'm pretty relaxed about it now that I'm out of premium brands. Not wishing to offend anyone on here but the more extreme detailing crowd with their bewildering array of products are a bit unhinged, imho.

[KRS_SN]

I take mine every couple of weeks to the local hand car wash. The boss of the place comes out and inspects the finish and corrects any areas that may have been missed. I like that attention to detail.
When a rock hit my pristine new x5's windscreen( from a council rubbish type truck in front of me I think) and it cracked I was upset 'it would never be the same again' feeling. 3 alloys are scratched cough cough mrs. It's a product for use now. But I keep the interior clean exterior I'm nose bothered by.

[Kendo67]

Enjoy looking after my vehicles , will happily spend a couple of hours or so every week giving them a once over as I like them to be as clean and tidy as used cars can be without getting super OCD about them.

Got inside and outside cleaning products I am happy with so not searching for the next best " game changing " thing in the detailing world.

It is nice to get into a freshly cleaned and nice smelling car for the trip to work in the morning.

Wife and son don't give a toss about their cars so I don't bother either and it is a trip to the local car valeters for them once every few weeks.

K

[winther1]

probably a good time to start working on a way to reduce our love for cars. Within a decade or so, it's game over anyway. Time to get excited about plant meat

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by winther1

probably a good time to start working on a way to reduce our love for cars. Within a decade or so, it's game over anyway. Time to get excited about plant meat

Yep I can see in 25 years unless you are rolling in money..... no decent cars, no juicy steaks, no foreign holidays, no motorsport, castration of men that show any male characteristics, no chatting up of the opposite sex unless 3 witnesses are present, farting by prior arrangement only and Greta as Queen of the Universe.

The worrying thing is many out there would be happy with this type of world.

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by Sennen

Yep I can see in 25 years unless you are rolling in money..... no decent cars, no juicy steaks, no foreign holidays, no motorsport, castration of men that show any male characteristics, no chatting up of the opposite sex unless 3 witnesses are present, farting by prior arrangement only and Greta as Queen of the Universe.

The worrying thing is many out there would be happy with this type of world.

how dare you Sennen ...how dare you.... 'evil stare'

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

how dare you Sennen ...how dare you.... 'evil stare'

You gotta love our Greta

[XAlp]

The XC90 has adaptive cruise and lane pilot - I use the former all the time and the latter too occasionally. My wife commented “I thought you’d hate that stuff as you like driving (fast was the implication!)”. Maybe it’s the nature of the car but I do suspect age is playing a part too!

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by Sennen

Yep I can see in 25 years unless you are rolling in money..... no decent cars, no juicy steaks, no foreign holidays, no motorsport, castration of men that show any male characteristics, no chatting up of the opposite sex unless 3 witnesses are present, farting by prior arrangement only and Greta as Queen of the Universe.

The worrying thing is many out there would be happy with this type of world.

Oh loads of them would be, because it's now a fashion statement to be 'woke', which as far as I can see is getting enjoyment from pushing your opinions on everyone around you (or the misery of living your increasingly strict beliefs), not listening to the other side of the story, and ignoring all the hypocrisy and contradiction in their statements and beliefs. Some world. It's fucked.

[DaveA]

The thread drift in this forum is rather predictable sometimes and, frankly, somewhat bizarre at others...

Jumping from an observation on age and car cleaning on to ruminations on "woke" and the loss of lifestyle is rather stretching things...

To be honest, the "no politics" thing wasn't such a bad call...

[Abzynthe]

I find that as I get older, Im caring for my car more haha.
When I was young, I wanted it to look cool, but I went the cheapest and bodgiest way to do it.
Now, Im researching things and making decisions based on that rather than a whim, and taking care of cleaning the car better than I used to.

This may also be because I have more energy from losing weight and more money since then