Daily driver syndrome

You know what I hate, more than having a nice "clean" used car?

Having a damn near perfect new car that gets daily driven.

I feel like I have some sort of disease, constantly thinking about - am I driving too close to this semi, that I might catch a rock and chip my paint? Where the hell am I going to take this thing to get the lousy tires rotated without someone scuffing my paint or dinging up my wheels?

My poor PT is already showing signs of the daily driver plague. A rock chip here, a scratch from an errant passerby there.... And some scratches on the lower portion under the door that were repaired by someone make me sick.... Was it the original owner? Was it the dealership that did the warranty work and ran the lift pads into it? Was it the body shop that replaced my fender? Who didn't tell me they scratched it, and obviously kinda fixed it? UGHHH...

Sorry, I forgot to post at the beginning that this is a rant.

Is there a drug that will make me NOT care? Or at least care a LITTLE less? I am pretty anti-prescription drug, but man I think I would do anything just to take the edge off. Now, instead of having a car that the common ding or scratch, and dealing with it, I have to deal with the inevitable decline of a car that was once damn near perfect.

Yep, it's just a PT. But then, I think, it's MY PT. There is a certain amount of pride that comes with having a super clean, super low mileage PT GT with the rare manual transmission. A lot of people will laugh at that. But, here I am, wiping every last square inch dry after a hand wash. And, here I am, hoping someone doesn't rub up against it in the apartment complex underground parking. ****.

Some people claim they have an attention to detail. Then, sometimes, I see their ride, and just flat out laugh inside. There is always something not real attentive about it. Others, however few, do get it. It doesn't take money either. Probably just this affliction, that I can't attach a word to... Maybe I need to be judging Concours-quality vehicles as a hobby?

Maybe I should just go straight performance, and wash the thing once a season (maybe never - what's rain for, after all?). But, then, someone will say its not fast enough to be "fast". Then I will constantly second guess myself again - why bother? (It IS getting S-1, etc... at least)

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS DISEASE?

I need a beer.

o.k take a few nice deep breaths and relax

but i know what your saying when my caprice had good paint i was the same way

There's no purpose of having a car and paying insurance if you're not going to drive it. Yeah the paint will get scratched. But after a few years if it really bothers you, you can spend $3k and get a completely new paint job.

Atleast you got it cheap, I'm the exact same way about my stuff and nothing I own is nearly as clean as your PT. It also doesn't help that its black, even though it is the best color.

pOrk wrote:

Atleast you got it cheap, I'm the exact same way about my stuff and nothing I own is nearly as clean as your PT. It also doesn't help that its black, even though it is the best color.

Every word of this I agree with and can relate to.

I think this "disease" you're experiencing is rooted in our wondrous capital economy which unfortunately makes us slaves to our possessions.

Desire, greed, and fear.

We need to learn to tame these immutable emotions, hold our desires more lightly, and use our possessions to artfully create a space that nourishes us.

I find what helps me is nature (and skydiving). Best of luck to you, friend.

That's how I was with the last truck. I worried about it so much that I would go crazy. Now that I'm driving a normal truck I don't have to worry nearly as much because I know all the pieces are easily replaceable.