Cars
LostSoul
Veteran
So, I have a small obsession with cars. Maybe that's why one of the reasons I don't/can't call myself a buddhist...
Just recently I started saving up for a car. Well, I had a car at the time, but I was convinced it was a piece of crap. (It kept breaking down.) So, I started saving my $$$ for a new car.
Instead of getting something economical, I instead figured I should get the car I really want. So I save and save and save.
Long story short, I now have a brand new car, that is probably perfect for me - gets up to 30mpg, is sporty, fun to drive, etc. I love it. But then the nagging feeling that I want more comes in...
And I think of all the cars I wanted in my childhood. Big, powerful cars. This car is too "new" and underpowered.
So, now I plan a test drive for a Corvette. And am already thinking about how I can "afford" to buy one.
Yes, I can "afford" to buy one. Do I want to ? I'm not sure. Every day I long for something more. I want the feeling of that v8 under my foot, the raw power when I put the pedal down, the awesome ego boost passing all the other cars at the race track would give.
But is that worth the cost?
I know the answer is no, but unfortunately I'm not always in the right state of mind...
Comments
Hey man, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm a fellow motoring enthusiast. Though, I prefer the two wheeled variety, I still love my automobiles. What country do you live in? the Corvettes are nice. if you're saving up for one, wait for the brand new Stingray to come out, it will be so worth it, trust me. I'll slap a pair of pictures on it down at the bottom of this post.
But if you want something fun, practical, fairly powerful, economical, stylish, and agile, go for the new Ford Focus ST. It is important you go for the ST model, as that's the sport model, with 257 Horsepower, 270 lb-ft of Torque, optional racing seats with harnesses (the regular seats are plenty comfortable and supportive though) and I do believe it is RWD with a limited slip differential. All for under 20k, and with great MPG.
http://www.ford.com/cars/focus/trim/st5door/
Now, for the Corvette. And trust me it is the best Corvette in years and years and years. Here are the figures. You get a 6.2 liter V-8 engine, which will give you 460 Horsepower, a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds, a suspension which is common on European sports and supercars, but rare on American ones, all new styling, a genuinely beautiful interior with leather and carbon fiber being themes... For roundabouts 50k.
Anyway here's some pictures, enjoy the car porn.
Even when you get the Corvette, you may find something still niggles you unsatisfactorily about it and it's not quite right, causing you to seek out something faster, bigger and better. Perhaps you should look at what is causing the unsatisfactory niggling, and what is being niggled, rather than let the niggling push you down that road.
Mettha
@LostSoul - maybe you should just forget all the Buddhist posturing and just buy the damned car!
That's what I'd do.
I wanteda little 2-seat roadster, ever since I was old enough to know that cars are cool and that girls like cars. That's a LONG time. I got a '99, black-on-black, Miata last summer and quite frankly it's pure heaven.
Yes, there is that niggling but you know what?
I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!
I even started a blog about driving it!
http://altrteb.blogspot.com/
Motor on dude!
I get you @Chaz - We bought a soft top last year for the first time, for a little fun - a VW Golf Convertible, and it was well worth it.
Our main car is a bit of a monster a Mercedes Benz GL350 AMG Sport with 20 inch alloy wheels.
I don't get niggles about either car...
Oh great just what I needed, more car porn LOL.
I'm just kidding, actually very pleasantly surprised by the car enthusiasm here.
@Zayl I love love love the c7. Wonderful looking & I'm sure feeling car.
I think I honestly just have to at least drive the vette. I mean it just keeps nagging at me. Maybe if I drive one and try to be mindful it will help me realize there's always something "wrong" or "off".
Also, my current car isn't all that bad... I'm not going to say what it is for personal reasons, but lets just say I would never trade an ST for one, however awesome that little killer hot hatch is
@chaz Love miatas!
Cool car glad you're happy with it thumbs up
We are still humans, working through things. If you want the car, get the car. Just don't expect it'll make you happy, because on a long term basis, it won't. But you probably already know that, so all is good.
I honestly don't like cars much. I don't like having to have and drive one, and once my kids are grown up, I will probably not drive very much. But we don't live in an area with any public transportation and it's winter 6 months a year. Don't think my kids want to ride bikes to school 4 miles in January
But I do love my bicycle. And my snowshoes. And my books. OH I love books. And my computer. There are always new books and new computers I want. Sometimes I get them, sometimes I don't. But my attachment to them has lessened and if I don't get them, oh well.
Getting stuff or wanting stuff doesn't make you not a Buddhist. Even being attached to things doesn't make you not a Buddhist. In fact, it makes you more a Buddhist than those who don't realize they have attachment, and that desire doesn't solve the problem of happiness. You know that, so you are leagues ahead of a lot of people. Don't define your Buddhist practice by your desire for a new car.
Wow, thank you very much for the reply! Definitely resonated with me, and its weird & nice to hear compassion for something I feel is so "wrong"
Have a wonderful day everybody & blessed be
@LostSoul Also, if you want to try and feel more satisfied with the vehicle you have. take a page from the motorcyclists handbook. Every morning this winter I go out, check all the fluids, check the tire pressure, run the engine (to circulate the fluids) examine the brake calipers, make sure the throttle cable is properly lubed and seated, etc. I do all of this mindfully, and I take very good care of my bike. When spring comes and the weather warms up, I know it'l be ready to ride. I also like the tedium of maintaining my own vehicle. Much in the way the Tibetan monks make those beautiful sand pictures only to blow them away. I spend a lot of time making sure my bike is in tip-top shape. But I know that every time I come home, all of my hard work is gone. And that I have to start from the beginning, every single day.
Most people don't lavish this much attention on their vehicles, and I admit it's maybe a bit obsessive (then again, you should always make sure your vehicles systems are functioning properly) But I view it as a sort of hobby. Sure I could be doing something else during the three hours I spent making sure the timing chains inside my bike's engine were properly aligned. But I just... enjoy it.
And because of that, even though many people see it as "Just a Kawasaki" if you lined it up next to one of the same make, model, year, and color, I'd still be able to tell them apart. Sure, my bike has it's flaws, we all do. But I love it all the more because of them.
There is a certain mindfulness to be had, working on vehicles.
EDIT - Also, might I suggest doing what I do, and taking your vehicle to a drag strip/race track for one of those public entry events? Sometimes you just gotta work the speed out of your system, and I find taking my bike to the track is a good way to do that. Plus there is a whole culture and atmosphere in those race tracks that is very addictive. Video related, not mine, but it'l give you an idea.
But then the nagging feeling that I want more comes in...
What's the cost in your estimation?
You say you know the answer but if that were true would you ask?
This is one of many opportunities to consider - don't waste the opportunity or each opportunity as it arises as I don't think there is anything else to wait for!
Every action has a consequence, no escape.
@LostSoul
Funny cars and tricked up motorcycles were my thing..
One of my loves was being able to reach for the horizon as quickly as possible on high end motorcycles with a twist of the wrist.. Street racing was my Adrenalin fix.
I have an 11.6 on the quarter mile.
I am not sure that I ever grew out of it, just circumstances eventually arose that were not compatible with such activities,(becoming a father). Even after I stopped racing and sold my last bike and a car that got 10 miles on the gallon, I still continued dreaming of racing for years.
As my practice in meditation matured, a number of karmic influences unfolded to explain the force of this particular fixation but in looking back on it all now, only the action of leaving it behind, as difficult as it was for me, saved my ass.
@Zayl gotta love street bikes... damn those are fast. I loved the perspective from a bike rider, you guys are always so down to earth. I think this is something I should start incorporating into my daily routine- I check & change my fluids frequently, but probably not frequently enough.
Also I've taken my car to a circuit track, and it was an absolute blast. Will be going again soon
@Zero The cost? Of the car - well, it will cost my time & money, obviously. Since I like to track my purchases in the "time" it takes to "purchase" the item, I'll consult the calculator...
WOW. I didn't even expect this. It would cost me at least 300 hours to just equal the payments of my current car (to upgrade).
That's a lot more than I was expecting actually! And that's without any extra maintenance costs - gas will definitely be more expensive, tires will shred faster, cost more (at least 3x more for a set...), and....
@how That's interesting to hear your take on it, thank you for the post
. Would've never guessed from your posts you've been faster than I have ever been down the 1/4 
My dad is the car guy in the family. My wife and I saved up and surprised him with this a few years ago:
That is just perfect. You are an awesome son.
My dad is a huge car guy as well. Maybe if it ends up not working with me & miss red hed corvette I'll try to wait it out and save up for something for him instead
. Heh, easily said than done cars are expensive I can barely buy the one I want :P. I'm sure it was a very rewarding experience.
Also nice car & choice. I'm assuming that's the exact car he wanted, or did you pick it yourself for him?
@ Lost Soul
He was in the car business for 40 years and when he retired I asked him what his favorite car was. Actually, I only got as far as, "So of all the cars you've loved over the years, what was..." and he went on for forty-five minutes. I hadn't heard him talk so passionately about anything my whole life except my step-mom. So my wife and I found it: 1955 Olds Super 88 Holiday - the blue and white one. It came out the year he got his drivers license and he always wanted it but never had the opportunity. Incidentally, and it's a weird story, but the car only had 3016 original miles when we found it. Second time in my life I ever saw my dad cry.
Awww...you guys are making me reminisce.....Up until a couple of years ago when gas went up in price here, I had a 71 Pontiac Ventura, Holley carb on it and all, haha
I couldn't afford to restore it...so My Father and I had did a homemade fiberglass job on the front floor that was rusted completly out.
To make matters funny....I drive slow as hell and all my friends talk about it. hahah I just loved the look (old Nova style)....and I don't speed bec of safety and I never wanted to give the city any money on speeding tickets.
Ill see if I can find a pic of my Betsy....
Lost time and unexpected costs.
Consider that all of these considerations relate to you from your perspective.
They are framed around your needs and wants and desires.
This however is just one view of many, one perspective in the mix.
For example:
The extra emissions to the environment.
Raw materials.
The results of your additional labour.
Perpetuating the status quo.
The cost is immense, incalculable as is the cost of anything I suppose.
I think therefore that as action seems inevitable as does corresponding chaotic costs, one should be careful when considering overriding the 'I knows'.
Otherwise it seems akin to being stuck in a seemingly unrecognisable rut.
Thanks for your insight yet again Zero. I definitely see how this could create many negative consequences. Currently feeling a lot better about the whole situation & feels good to just get it off my chest. I don't think there's any reason for me to upgrade, I love my car & buying another car won't help anything in my life except maybe satiate my adrenaline for a little while. And then I'm sure the niggling will come back. I know it always does with everything else, including cars.
Thank you guys I can't repeat enough how much better I feel now. I think what it boils down to for me is comparing myself to others & addiction to speed, both of which are probably not healthy. And hopefully both of which I can satisfy at the race track outside in a (relatively) safe environment. (I also realize this is probably not good for emissions, time & money, etc. but I like to think this is a better "middle road" to take than not living it and having it bite me later, which is one of my worst fears if I'm honest.)
Perhaps meditating on my feelings for wanting a car, and the possible negative karma it could bring, might help me more as well.
Wow that's really awesome. I love the look of those Olds, but I'm just probably not in the right age group/culture to truly appreciate them. Definitely a classic & a looker though and I recognize the car for sure. I'm sure it would be lovely to drive, I've always wondered how old 40-50s v8s drove.
That care looks mean, but at the same time fairly sleeper. Like a crazy looking nova, love it.
At least you can say you've driven it & most likely loved it. What do you DD nowadays just curious?
For commuting purposes I went down to a little 4 cylinder Sentra...
The 07 redesign
I love filling the tank for $29!
That's crazy, costs me ~$40-45 on my little 4 cyl
Well, I got it down to a science hahahaha
There is a food store that usually has gas/fuel for about 3.22 per gal...and
with coupons and grocery points, I can get it down to about 2.99 -3.01 per gal
@LostSoul - Just because you like something doesn't mean you "can't" be a Buddhist... where did you get that idea?
That's what, a '58 Olds of some sort?
Yeah, no kidding.
Being a Buddhist isn't about wearing rags and living in a cave somewhere.
Being a Buddhist isn't about how much or how little you have. It's about where your refuge is.
I'll try to elaborate on my previous comment to @LostSoul by adding this:
Even monks in the Thai Forest tradition have their "likes" and "dislikes." Read any book by a published monk and you can get a sense of this, even if it's their preferred meditation method or translation of a sutta. Buddhists obviously "like" Buddhism. Mind-blowing paradox, or maybe just a "skillful" type of preference.
Buddhism is, as @Chaz pointed out, about where you take spiritual refuge: in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. In particular, taking refuge (or placing your faith in) the Dhamma means that you strive to understand and practice the teachings. The craving that Buddhism says is the root of suffering is tied to ignorance of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self.
So... to be pragmatic and a bit modernist about it all (some very strict Theravadans may disagree with this), likes and dislikes are fine. Just don't be caught up in the idea that these likes and dislikes will bring you happiness in the long run.
Wax on, wax off.
This is my 65 Galaxie I've had for 25 years. I don't drive it much, I have an old Toyota Cressida I've done 300,000 kliks in for my everyday car and I love it.
^^^ Love it!
@Che beautiful car :O
Thank you very much for the insight. This is an interesting way to look at it - that monks still have their pleasures & preferences.
Love that movie