The financial benefits of maintaining our own cars

[CaptainAmerica1]

maybe no money but has great stories!

Man I have seen some stuff! Been all over this country, met some very interesting people. Been in situations that have taught me so much. I’m proud of where I’ve been, makes where I am now a miracle.

 

[Rocket Man]

I spent all of my money when I was young on drugs, alcohol, smoking, and the resultant associated costs/ loss of income/ changing careers due to being in jail and paying for lawyers. So I had no choice but to buy old used vehicles that needed fixing. My dad had money and bought new cars but never knew a thing about fixing them. He didn’t share his money either. So I learned early on how to do repairs, in order to afford the drugs and hookers like @Doubeleive mentioned. And you guys thought I was joking when I called those expenses necessities. The money I spent was enormous- during a rehab stint when I was in my late 30’s they had us calculate how much total in costs we had racked up, added to the amount of extra income we lost out on due to career changes, lost jobs, etc and at that time, I calculated it was about $500,000 which was enough to buy a nice home here FOR CASH. But one day (it took many more years, I wasn’t done) I decided that wasn’t going to be my life anymore so I sobered up and never looked back. And found out it’s amazing what I could do with my life when I wasn’t spending 70% of my income on things that were killing me. But my habits as far as vehicles remained with the exception they were no longer beaters. I still don’t see the point in buying a new rig when the first few years they lose 60% of their value yet are only 10% used up. I’d rather buy something that someone else has owned through its major depreciation years. I do tend to spend a lot of money on upgrades but I’d do that even if my trucks were new, I can’t stand stock vehicles. I might cringe doing it to something new, but I’d still do it. This way, I end up with a one of a kind rig that drives and performs like I want, for way less than a new truck. Plus I can fix everything myself because I’ve pretty much taken everything apart and put it back the way I want it to be. I don’t see me ever wasting my money on a new vehicle.

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

my first job outta high school was working at a speed shop in Memphis TN. Mostly Ford Mustangs, cam swaps, rear ends, suspension upgrades. Serious street racers. My folks moved to KY so I went to Auto Tech school and got my AS in Auto Tech. Worked at a few dealerships, a small repair shop in Berea KY, working on my BS in Psychology before I got tired of the red necks and moved back to work in Memphis at a machine shop rebuilding mostly small block fords. Local drag race teams road racing SCCA and NASA road racing. Moved to TX and got into electronics, worked at Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter, etc. Somehow got into scales and industrial automation before I found a pay scale I could live with so here I am, managing a regional service department. I love working on cars. Just wish it paid more….

 

[Doubeleive]

I spent all of my money when I was young on drugs, alcohol, smoking, and the resultant associated costs/ loss of income/ changing careers due to being in jail and paying for lawyers. So I had no choice but to buy old used vehicles that needed fixing. My dad had money and bought new cars but never knew a thing about fixing them. He didn’t share his money either. So I learned early on how to do repairs, in order to afford the drugs and hookers like @Doubeleive mentioned. And you guys thought I was joking when I called those expenses necessities. The money I spent was enormous- during a rehab stint when I was in my late 30’s they had us calculate how much total in costs we had racked up, added to the amount of extra income we lost out on due to career changes, lost jobs, etc and at that time, I calculated it was about $500,000 which was enough to buy a nice home here FOR CASH. But one day (it took many more years, I wasn’t done) I decided that wasn’t going to be my life anymore so I sobered up and never looked back. And found out it’s amazing what I could do with my life when I wasn’t spending 70% of my income on things that were killing me. But my habits as far as vehicles remained with the exception they were no longer beaters. I still don’t see the point in buying a new rig when the first few years they lose 60% of their value yet are only 10% used up. I’d rather buy something that someone else has owned through its major depreciation years. I do tend to spend a lot of money on upgrades but I’d do that even if my trucks were new, I can’t stand stock vehicles. I might cringe doing it to something new, but I’d still do it. This way, I end up with a one of a kind rig that drives and performs like I want, for way less than a new truck. Plus I can fix everything myself because I’ve pretty much taken everything apart and put it back the way I want it to be. I don’t see me ever wasting my money on a new vehicle.

took me a couple trips thru rehab and the threat of prison hanging over my head to finally "see the light", it kind of happened magically overnight one day and everything has fallen together since then.

 

[Fubar0715]

I spent all of my money when I was young on drugs, alcohol, smoking, and the resultant associated costs/ loss of income/ changing careers due to being in jail and paying for lawyers. So I had no choice but to buy old used vehicles that needed fixing. My dad had money and bought new cars but never knew a thing about fixing them. He didn’t share his money either. So I learned early on how to do repairs, in order to afford the drugs and hookers like @Doubeleive mentioned. And you guys thought I was joking when I called those expenses necessities. The money I spent was enormous- during a rehab stint when I was in my late 30’s they had us calculate how much total in costs we had racked up, added to the amount of extra income we lost out on due to career changes, lost jobs, etc and at that time, I calculated it was about $500,000 which was enough to buy a nice home here FOR CASH. But one day (it took many more years, I wasn’t done) I decided that wasn’t going to be my life anymore so I sobered up and never looked back. And found out it’s amazing what I could do with my life when I wasn’t spending 70% of my income on things that were killing me. But my habits as far as vehicles remained with the exception they were no longer beaters. I still don’t see the point in buying a new rig when the first few years they lose 60% of their value yet are only 10% used up. I’d rather buy something that someone else has owned through its major depreciation years. I do tend to spend a lot of money on upgrades but I’d do that even if my trucks were new, I can’t stand stock vehicles. I might cringe doing it to something new, but I’d still do it. This way, I end up with a one of a kind rig that drives and performs like I want, for way less than a new truck. Plus I can fix everything myself because I’ve pretty much taken everything apart and put it back the way I want it to be. I don’t see me ever wasting my money on a new vehicle.

At the end of the day, just the addiction has changed, but its part of what makes you do what you do. Congrats on the sobriety and stay the course!

 

[Rocket Man]

took me a couple trips thru rehab and the threat of prison hanging over my head to finally "see the light", it kind of happened magically overnight one day and everything has fallen together since then.

For me it happened after a 10 year stretch of no trouble, just drank every day still and still smoked cigarettes. Then suddenly I found myself in jail again with some serious stuff hanging over my head. I made the decision right there I was done. Never drank or smoked again, I quit my last 2 vices cold turkey. Been on an uphill trajectory ever since instead of the peaks and valleys I had been on.

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

I got lucky, I was just a pothead, tons of lsd, dabbled in coke, wow P E Y O T E was censored, mdma, mostly recreational but smoked enough weed to rival Willie Nelson. Woke up on my 29th birthday with nothing to show for it. No car, in debt to everyone, decided then and there to stop. Moved to TX and started over.

 

[Meccanoble]

Love the stories guys, the inspiration for people still in it that its not too late to change and get better for themselves. Weed legal many places now so....

Edit: I shared some of the vices mentioned but all seemed controlled except cars. I wasted so much money on cars and dont necessarily regret it because I LOVED it but I really couldnt afford what i was doing and gave me a very slow start in life compared to where I should have been. I could never afford anything new, repairing used was always my only option along with mainly sticking to reliable brands to avoid risky situations. I definitely almost killed myself on multiple occassions when I was younger thinking I had the handle. We do stupid risky fun stuff when we young even without alcohol, drugs, etc

 

[Joseph Garcia]

We are all not that much different, Guys.

We have all learned, some in much harder ways than others, that at the end of the day, we are responsible and accountable to ourselves, with no valid excuses. I had my crazy days, as well, experimenting with whatever and driving like a lunatic. As a teenager, driving with a six pack on the back seat floor and beer between my legs with no seatbelt was the way to go. After 20 vehicle accidents and many ugly and expensive citations, I'm lucky that I'm still alive with all of my appendages still intact. No one to blame but myself.

We all eventually 'learned', and that is a testimony for us still being alive and coherent.

That is also why we all get along well on this Forum and have informative discussions and learning, as well as good natured kidding around, rather than the constant backbiting, insulting and sniping activity that goes on in other Forums, by folks who have not experienced all sides of life and remain clueless.

This Forum AND its active members ROCK!!

 

[Geotrash]

We are all not that much different, Guys.

We have all learned, some in much harder ways than others, that at the end of the day, we are responsible and accountable to ourselves, with no valid excuses. I had my crazy days, as well, experimenting with whatever and driving like a lunatic. As a teenager, driving with a six pack on the back seat floor and beer between my legs with no seatbelt was the way to go. After 20 vehicle accidents and many ugly and expensive citations, I'm lucky that I'm still alive with all of my appendages still intact. No one to blame but myself.

We all eventually 'learned', and that is a testimony for us still being alive and coherent.

That is also why we all get along well on this Forum and have informative discussions and learning, as well as good natured kidding around, rather than the constant backbiting, insulting and sniping activity that goes on in other Forums, by folks who have not experienced all sides of life and remain clueless.

This Forum AND its active members ROCK!!

100%!

And all of the stories makes me wonder if there may be another, less spoken of benefit: mental health. When I look back on my years, some of them were full of sadness and grief: Loss of my parents, best friend died too young, divorce, career disappointments. Every time I was struggling with grief, I ended up spending a lot of my time in the garage, working on cars. In a way, it was a coping strategy that I didn't know was a coping strategy at the time. It kept me out of the bars and away from the pills and needles, and gave me something I could feel accomplishment with on a smaller timescale than my work. In my work, the results can take months or years to manifest, but repairing a car can almost always be done in days to weeks.

The pioneering psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote the original work on "Flow", discovering that it was simultaneously the highest state of human performance and the source of greatest happiness. When I'm in my garage working on a car project, I spend most of that time in flow. No wonder so many of us have stories of recovery through working on our cars!