Discussion No more desire for nice things...

Smedley

Member
I just wonder if anyone else feels like this.

Both of my cars are 10 years old, in decent shape but I was thinking I could use something that could tow. I was considering building out a camping trailer from an enclosed trailer and fitting it with a solar panel, house batteries, a tankless propane water heater, a 5000btu window AC, etc etc.... but I need a vehicle that could tow that.

So I started looking... holy crap everything decent is expensive! I don't really like turbos, but even a 5l f150 or 6.2l f250 is $55k to $59k for base models.... chevy, ram, and toyota are much more. If I gave into the turbo mania, the 4runner, landcruiser, tahoe, suburban are all well over $60k... some of them are $80k to start! Even new is expensive.... a 4 or 5 year old truck with 150000km is still overpriced.

Then I start thinking what if I owned one of those expensive vehicles? I'd constantly be worried about theft, car jacking, being swerved into or rear ended by a jeet (or anyone else for that matter), and all these ideas go out the window.

Even my house. I could have a nice new driveway installed, a nicer front porch and patio, I could make it nicer inside, but then I start thinking every will be attracting attention there too.

It's sad really... nice things used to be so much cheaper, and we used to feel a lot safer having nice things! In the 80s and 90s my Dad had a series of brand new Cadillacs and once a Lincoln Continential... never stolen, never vandalized. We had a fleet of 7 pickups and a cube van (ran a concrete finishing company)... they were not that cost prohibitive, and no big risk of them being stolen. I still remember him bringing home a brand new 1987 Chevy 1500 4x4, hell of a nice truck. I grew up driving 1980's to 1990s chevy pickups and loved them.
 
Upvote 28
I love my first-gen Colorado to death, don't get me wrong, but next spring/summer is finally time for something new. I'm thinking a Honda of some type.

And modern vehicles are so damn expensive because they're overcomplicated extensions of one's living room. All the average shmoe really needs is aircon and a radio to get from A to B - nothing else.
 
Yeah. My wife got rear ended 6 or 7 weeks ago. Car shopping sucked. Used vehicles are way too expensive now. She ended up paying $33 000 for a used 5 year old SUV with 100 000km on it.

I let her choose, it's her money. I sure as hell wouldn't have paid that. I was just there to support her and make sure she didn't get handled by the salesmen.

The REAL PROBLEM is the Canadian dollar is shit. They printed too much money during Covid. Now we are paying the price for it. Everything across the board is expensive. Our economy is shit, 10+ years of Liberal Government fucked us over.
 
I love my truck. I'll probably drive it until it's dead.

The new vehicles are annoying and overpriced. The onboard UI steals your personal info from your connected device. They sell it to third parties. There's sensors everywhere, HUD projected on the windshield. The steering wheel rumbles when you do anything. Light sensors that flash other drivers with your high beams when the sun is low(dusk/dawn), man does it piss off other drivers. The breaks auto apply in ridiculous scenarios(parking/approaching). The car beeps everytime a vehicle drives past if you are parked.

The wiring harnesses and window seals, etc. are now made out of "sustainable materials" which degrade and are eatable(mice/rats/birds eat them). I was pretty surprised to read about this.
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I’ve definitely stopped caring about ‘nice’ things - only what is useful. I should probably replace my work attire, which is looking pretty worn/tired; 10 years ago, doing so would have made me feel more confident or polished. I could care less now. We’re effectively living in a third world country - might as well look the part.
 
Wife drives a 2004 crossover and I drive a 2010 F150. My house inside is all renovated almost as i am nearly done. Outside i will do something eventually when the tide turns but as for right now I am content with the way things are. I live in an uppity neighbourhood so i want the thieves and vandals to go to the house next door and leave ours alone. Cameras help i think.

Drawing attention to yourself right now is not a good thing better to look as if you dont have money even if you do. If i purchase a new vehicle which i might in near future I will park my older ones in the way and store it in my garage to avoid a home invasion
 
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Dress like a hobo and take the bus.
 
I never give money to a beggar dressed better than me, it's saved me thousands.
 
I just wonder if anyone else feels like this.

Both of my cars are 10 years old, in decent shape but I was thinking I could use something that could tow. I was considering building out a camping trailer from an enclosed trailer and fitting it with a solar panel, house batteries, a tankless propane water heater, a 5000btu window AC, etc etc.... but I need a vehicle that could tow that.

So I started looking... holy crap everything decent is expensive! I don't really like turbos, but even a 5l f150 or 6.2l f250 is $55k to $59k for base models.... chevy, ram, and toyota are much more. If I gave into the turbo mania, the 4runner, landcruiser, tahoe, suburban are all well over $60k... some of them are $80k to start! Even new is expensive.... a 4 or 5 year old truck with 150000km is still overpriced.

Then I start thinking what if I owned one of those expensive vehicles? I'd constantly be worried about theft, car jacking, being swerved into or rear ended by a jeet (or anyone else for that matter), and all these ideas go out the window.

Even my house. I could have a nice new driveway installed, a nicer front porch and patio, I could make it nicer inside, but then I start thinking every will be attracting attention there too.

It's sad really... nice things used to be so much cheaper, and we used to feel a lot safer having nice things! In the 80s and 90s my Dad had a series of brand new Cadillacs and once a Lincoln Continential... never stolen, never vandalized. We had a fleet of 7 pickups and a cube van (ran a concrete finishing company)... they were not that cost prohibitive, and no big risk of them being stolen. I still remember him bringing home a brand new 1987 Chevy 1500 4x4, hell of a nice truck. I grew up driving 1980's to 1990s chevy pickups and loved them.
Smedley
That is the way of the world, in the 3rd world, people who have money also have walls around their houses and make sure nobody around knows they have nice shit inside. This is what you have to do in Canada now, except it's illegal to put up walls around your house.
 
I would only buy turbos from automakers that have been using those engines for a while but only for cars or small SUVs.

I would definitely never buy a truck with a turbo that I intend to use for actual towing. The engine won't last 250k kilometers.

Thankfully I dont like trucks because they cost upwards to 100k which is insane to me.
 
I bought a nice new car (300hp non turbo) 2.5 years years ago because the used market is trash. No regrets but it still kills me every time I see a new scratch (surface level usually) no matter how careful I am. Part of me wishes I went shit box.
 
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