Anti-OCD
 

Curious to know if there is anyone else out there anti-OCD with the Z like me. I like my car, its a great car (except for minor details), it is a very expensive piece of hardware, but I feel as if I am the only one in this forum who is not OCD about their car.

last time I washed my car was over a month ago, I have put close to 16k miles in one year, and they where decently hard placed miles.

I respect very much how some of you guys take care of your car, and some of the pics you post with it all shiny are incredible... but really does anyone else think that while its a great car its still just a car, not an investment?

I don't see any car as an investment, a house is.

However the car cost pretty money so I will take care of my Z as much as I can.

Ditto here. Cars are lousy investments but such fun. Make 'em last and look nice as long as possible to minimize the hit and maximize the longevity and pride of ownership. Extra effort with a Z, as it's not mere equipment, like my Altima. That car gets good care and conscientious maintenance, as do all my possessions and equipment, but it's not fawned over and doted on like the Z.

its not that I treat the car bad, I do stay away from pot holes, clean up any bird crap on the paint, good fuel, good oil, etc... but not to the point of washing the thing 3 times a week... I give that kind of treatment to my road bicycle.

but i guess I am alone in this...

cars aren't investments. its something you buy and use, it just happens to be expensive. You don't buy your clothes or video games or whatever and say 'hmm how much will this be worth in 5 years?' you enjoy them

I think the problem is that since some cars are so expensive and since we often have to pay for them over a few years, it feels like they are investments. But in reality, they are just expensive toys/tools which will depreciate and lose much of their value.

What is precious and must be treated as such is our lives. Our health, our emotional well being, our physical fitness and the wellness of family and friends. We can share driving experiences with them and laugh and smile as we enjoy our good fortune.

That is my two cents.

i think if you have the time to wash your car 3x a week you have quite the free time or not be so dirty

an investment is something that retains or increases value(hopefully)...purchasing a car doesn't fit this bill (unless your buying some classic car and plan to keep it in a showroom). i consider a car as an expensive toy. while i dont wash my car every week, I do try to take some care (washing it every couple weeks, giving it a wax every 2-3 months, claying 2x a yr).

as much as i love it if i can keep my car looking as new as possible, i have to reserve some of my time enjoying it driving around :)

I don't see it as an investment. I see it as an extension of my penis. I wouldn't throw rocks at my penis, or smash it in a door...so there ya go.

Even a house isn't an investment - it depends totally on inflation. Housing bubbles pop...same with cars of yesteryear, they sell for less than what inflation + original purchase price. A few exceptions based on rarity, but for the most part, you'll never come close to breaking even.

You hint at what I'm after.

If I need it, I get what's cheap and use it until the wheels fall off. Still, I like to keep it nice as long as possible...like my Frontier - still looks great but the windshield, I noticed this morning, already has pitmarks from the road salt/sand over the past 2 months (bought in January). Disappointing, but I'm not going to run out and get a new windshield...I washed it by hand for the first time last weekend. I didn't do that great, but it looks brand new from anything more than a few feet away. Water spots up close...just needs another wash/rinse and it'd be great - which I could do at a pressure-washing place and be happy.

My Z, I didn't need. I wanted it, therefore it goes into another category. I bought it in June, and have washed it by hand maybe 3 or 4 times. It's garage kept...it's my precious. /golem

My Civic (my wife's actually) is pure utility. It's an 05 that has minor hail damage, 75k miles, chips and rust spots where the chips were never fixed, and all I do with that car is maintenance, and according to my blackstone report, I'm going too long on oil changes...lol. I think we've washed it by hand 3 times since we bought it. It's due w/ salt/sand/film on it now, just I've not done it yet. Probably this weekend...might start working on touching it up as well.

My motorcycle is also utility w/ some fun thrown in if the weather is right. It was my previous until I got in a wreck and nearly totalled it, and myself ended up with a broken wrist. It's such a pain in the *** to wash it, I don't until it's really bad. Bugs everywhere, road film and crap...I have to pull the seat to get the tank bib off, and pop off the saddly bags. More work than what it's worth - lol...

hahahhahhahahaha

+1

Yeah I beleive my English sucks, and has been misunderstood... i am far from thinking the z is an investment, Its just a daily driver to me... but i feel a lot of the people here while they understand a car is not an investment, well at least soemthing like this, they treat it as such... it was more of an observation.

the difference is that i dont think my z as a car. just a toy. and a toy needs to be clean and shiny and good looking all the time...well, that's how i play.

i have 2 dd's i use for work. they are dirtified and have not been washed since thanksgiving. :D

that's all.

What's that line from The Transporter?

"I always say, the way a man treats his car is how he treats himself."

:)

I think you're going to find this on any "enthusiast" forum......

For instance, New money guys buy Porsches, etc. and treat them like crap. It's all about image to them. Enthusiasts treat them like their first born child. There's a certain amount of both here with lots of in between. On any main stream affordable performance car you'll find both with probably more treating them like regular DD's.

I believe in this too. Keeping all the required maintenance and the little aspects that make for a better comprehensive whole is a measure of how well the car will last in the long run.

Having said that I've seen some of the most abused cars pass through high-end detailers at the end of their stay, and come out looking damn good. You just need to worry about the maintenance at that point if you are the next owner.

Nope, you're not alone. I have a life and don't need to dote most of my spare time on my cars. My vette is 'survivor' status. My Z will be survivor status if I choose to hang on to it for 25 years. Yep, i like to drive my cars and came to grips with normal wear and tear many years ago.

I've had my car 10 mos, washed once and no oil change yet (3500mi). I keep the inside clean and I avoid potholes and big trucks that tend to kick up rocks. I imagine for some it's a matter of having over extended themselves to get the car and over caring is a coping/justification measure, for some it's the first car they got that they had a say in what it was or it was their own money this time and still others where cars in general (and all the babying) is just their thing, be it for escape or release. For me, this car is the car before THE CAR. I love it and appreciate it for what it is, but she's the girlfriend I had before my wife....know what I'm sayin?.

^^^ word....I feel the same way.. and good to know I am not alone in this anti-OCD thing with the z car...

still for those of you that do wax the hell out of your cars... keep posting the pics... they look great.

:iagree:

And if waxing is you're thing you can come over and do mine also....

Nail on the head... Dont take me wrong... Im ocd about my car... but i flog the $hit out of it too... You take care of it... it will take care of you :)

...til you turn off VDC.:eek:

Why the bicycle and not the car? The car cost a hell of alot more. You just kinda answered your own question, everyone is OCD about different things. Since the House and car cost so much I take really good care of them but not to the point of washing it everyday, once a week for me and thats just to pass some time on a Sat since Im here alone for now.

Throw away societies spawn a don't care attitude. ***** me.

I enjoy washing my car (which is one of about 100 of the same model in my small town) and keeping it looking well and in good shape. I wouldn't let my dogs goes weeks without baths, I wouldn't skimp on their food, and I wouldn't generally take mediocre care of them. It's not as much OCD as it is a general care for all of the things I own.

a nice car is more than just transportation. it's a thing of beauty, a work of art. just like a fine woman. you always want her looking her best. it has nothing to do with money or investment or depreciation.

Yet some how applying a thin layer of protection makes using it much less fun. The clear bra doesn't seem to have the same effect however.

Waxing it is just keeping it clean for the ladies.

They do the same think come bikini season. ;)

I just want my car to shine


always

perfectly

I treat my car very well...better than 95% of the people. But I bought it to drive it. Chips and dings are part of driving it. I try to avoid them, I repair the ones I see, but when I get the chance. Not when I notice them.

But my last car was my first "really nice car" and I was more careful/more OCD with that car---at least for the first 3 years. Then I realized it was more fun to flog it than to wax it.

I think people are more OCD with their first real nice car, then you start dial it back.

I had a neighbor once that put 40 coats of wax a week on his Lexus. Filled up with gas every trip he made out to town. Washed it daily. That's OCD.

Keeping it clean, wiping it down after driving in the raid, and doing everything you can to make sure it looks good (inside and out) isn't OCD to me. :)

Nail on the head there, Pharmacist!

Irony in all this is that many of us take better care of our Z's than of ourselves. Just remember to get your PSA tests, colonoscopies, etc. so you have a lot of years to enjoy your beautiful cars.

I always take care and pride in ANYTHING that I've worked hard for. I'm not obsessive about keeping my car clean, but I do know that a car that has been taken care of and well maintained will be worth more when I trade/sell it for the next great car.

For me it's just transportation - really fun and enjoyable transportation, but it's still just a car. It gets washed once a week (usually).

i believe you have OCD when you think too much about something. your neighbor clearly thought too much about his car.

^^wow..he might be a tweaker?..lol..

i am ocd about tennis. i think about tennis all day long. i dream about tennis too :)

So Tiger not only has a SEX addiction (cuz he likes to have sex with other women) but now since he obviously thinks about it alot is OCD about SEX too? Im addicted and OCD too then when it comes to sex. But Im happy.

haha. TW has ocd about sex in my book. but i really admire him. he managed to be the world's best athlete in his sport while having a wife and 14 plus girlfriends. obviously he is in incredible shape but his time management skill is simply incredible.