Do you enjoy driving your $70,000 FPV?

[ltd]

I drive all my cars as often as I can because I secretly enjoy murdering baby carbons.

Seriously though, what's the point of having something nice and then not using it?
I find cars that are always garaged and only used once in a blue moon blow seals and gaskets often.

I had a friend who bought a 1970 something rolls royce silver shadow 2 for over $80,000 in 1982, and only drove it twice a year. In 2004, the complete lack of use had allowed the aluminium 6.75 litre block to corrode from the inside, and the repair bill would be 35K to fix properly at Rolls Royce in Five Dock.

He ended up selling it for less than 5 grand in its broken condition in 2006.
Point is, he had this thing under cover all year, only ever drove it at a maximum twice a year, and adjusted for inflation spent over $150K for something that he only ever used 25 times. That works out to be $6000.00 per outing. That's not including the tens of thousands he spent having the silver repolished, the oil changed every 100klm (every time he drove it he changed the oil) and all the extra maintenance done on the thing.

What a waste of time, money and resources. Even now he talks about how much of a waste it was, and how he should have at least appreciated it's beauty by not covering it up. Same can be said of every car. If you spend mega thousands, enjoy the stupid thing. What are you waiting for? You could die tomorrow and you'd never got to enjoy the fruits of your labour. Plus, I find the more money you spend on a car the safer it is, and when it comes to your kids, wife, girlfriend or both you'd rather have them in something safer should you be involved in a serious accident.

[MercurySilver]

its a car
drive it i say
my g6e even goes on dirt

[Sioso]

I don't believe the enjoyment comes from the car but rather how you view it.
You can enjoy driving anything if you have gratitude.

I had '95 XJ Cherokee a couple of years ago and I absolutely loved driving it, it was a heap when I bought it but after fixing everything that was wrong with it, modifying it and washing and polishing it, it became part of the family.

I drove it more than my brand new FG XR6T that was sitting in the garage.

It had a lot of flaws but I viewed it as character, if the option came up to buy it back I probably would.
I miss it more than any of the newer ones I've sold in the past.

There are plenty of miserable people driving around in Merc's, BMW's and Porsche's.

If you think the new car will increase your level of happiness prepared to be disappointed after a couple of weeks or months.

[SteveJH]

Originally Posted by Rodge

My Dad once said to me avery long time ago, Son never spend more than 1 year's income on a car and never spend more than 4 years income on a house..

That would probably be most people in Australia never owning a house then, at least in the coastal areas.

[VICFPV]

My FPV is the best car I bought.
I use it everyday and I can't get enough of it.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

That would probably be most people in Australia never owning a house then, at least in the coastal areas.

Well then live somewhere else. I recently bought a 4 bedroom house 200m from schools, 1000m from the CBD in Maryborough for $170k. There were other houses for $500k not that far away.

So if you can afford a FPV buy it, if not then buy something cheaper and if the FPV is too cheap then there is an Aston Martin dealership somewhere who can assist you........

With regard to the topic, I have owned 3 FPVs, 1xGT-P 2xF6 and did over 200,000km in them. They went very fast on tracks and in NT, were washed yearly whether they needed it or not but were always maintained and shod with expensive performance tyres.

I now have a ute and it is not an FPV as it has to go on crap roads that need a bit more gound clearance while carrying loads so I just grabbed a cheap XRT manual with 18" wheels.

[XBROO]

Hey flap were you saving water to only wash your cars once a year.

[WPR1]

love it AND drive it I say. If something goes wrong that is what insurance is for.

Couldn't think of anything worse than having a great car just sitting in the garage.

[Stagg]

Originally Posted by WPR1

love it AND drive it I say. If something goes wrong that is what insurance is for.

My fairmont is insured and if something happens I am covered... but still.. if someone rear ended my car and it was totalled, I think it would feel like cheating if I had to go out and pick another car :(

[Troll]

Originally Posted by rors

Hi all,

Referring back to the original question... Does anybody feel that something has been lost with newer cars that are a) much heavier, and b) use fly-by-wire throttle?

I did, which is why my last two cars have been a 99 WRX, and more recently, a 99 AU XR8... and a motorbike, just for a new experience...

Cheers,
Rors

I know exactly what you mean. The newer cars I have driven with all the electronics, sound deadening etc. never felt as alive as my old XE. There's just something about a carby motor that makes it feel real especially because I was the only one who knew how to start it

Saying that the only new Falcons I have driven have been Autos so perhaps the manuals feel different and of course am yet to try a Coyote

[Stagg]

Originally Posted by Troll

I know exactly what you mean. The newer cars I have driven with all the electronics, sound deadening etc. never felt as alive as my old XE. There's just something about a carby motor that makes it feel real especially because I was the only one who knew how to start it

Saying that the only new Falcons I have driven have been Autos so perhaps the manuals feel different and of course am yet to try a Coyote

Coyote will eventually be running my AU

And second that about newer cars being heavier and using fly by wire, it's why I refused to buy a BA and kept with my AU lol

[SSD-85]

My GT is my daily.

I actually bought mine to drive it, believe it or not.

[irish2]

Originally Posted by xisled

It is funny, people will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on house and furniture that will get used every day, but a car that is worth a quarter or in many cases a lot less, they park in the garage in fear of a person knocking the car with a door or a shopping trolley.

Or you could go the other way, with people who fill their garages with useless junk worth a couple of thousand dollars and then leave expensive cars in the elements.

[Buntz]

Don't think I will ever own a new FPV. But doesn't matter what the car, I have mechanical sympathy for it, and always take care where I park it that it won't receive dents or scratches. (Would be paranoid if it were a $70k car, but then I would make sure nothing happened to it by having a car that does all the fetching.)

If the car is a piece of crap though... I hurt it.

[Phil B]

I put 6000ks on my XB coupe in about 4 months after I bought it. I bought it to drive it, always finding excuses to drive it, I love driving it hard. Hasn't lost its appeal yet, always makes me smile driving it, so does the looks I get from everyone, all the time.

[GTP owner]

I drive my gtp only very occasionally. 8 years old and only 25,000km. Feels brand new when i jump in, and i fully enjoy it. It gets raced around circuits, taken to the drags, and spends most of the time above 4,500rpm. Money well spent i think, and fully enjoyed.
Compared to my drag car, that cost just as much, gets driven a total of maybe 100km a year, and enjoyed even more!

[xisled]

Originally Posted by irish2

Or you could go the other way, with people who fill their garages with useless junk worth a couple of thousand dollars and then leave expensive cars in the elements.

Yes my GT gets parked under trees out in the street and such. Not too worried if it gets a dirty or bird poo on it. That’s what polish and other products are for to protect the car from the eliminates. I also park the GT in shopping centres, as close to the door as possible. No point worrying about the car. If anything happens, it will be the insurance's problem.

BUt then again I alos treat the Mrs VX commo the same as my GT.