Happy New Year to you all! I trust everyone had a delightful festive period. Family time, relaxation and indulgence is good for the soul and personally I love Christmas, it’s a magical time of year. The sudden glut of downtime the lucky ones receive over this period can be bitter sweet though. On the run up the thought of doing absolutely nothing with your days sounds like pure bliss. Personally, that never materialises as I can never sit still for long and I get easily bored. What happens next when like me you are the type of person who thinks about anything with engines and wheels so frequently some could argue its an obsession? The phone comes out and the futile browsing begins. I say futile as the process begins with absolutely no intention to part with any hard-earned gains. The phone coming out of the pocket though is the first step in an inevitable process I have tortured myself with more times than I care to admit. Whether it be Auto Trader, Pistonheads or whatever site you prefer I normally begin by very childishly searching “highest price first” and fantasising about a lottery win and what that La Ferrari would be like on the coastal roads around Monaco with the wind in my hair, gleefully scorching my very own hole in the ozone. I do love a good day dream and if they’re honest, who doesn’t!
Reality though does have a habit of creeping in and as a result of the fantasy, cogs begin to turn. Logic wearily tells me “you don’t even play the lottery, so a win is not likely” forcing my search parameters to shift. Gone are the 6 figure hyper cars and as reality tightens its grip the distance between the phone screen and my face shortens. What is the recipe on that brutally cold December day that has got my juices flowing? Summer, speed, and freedom is the best answer I can offer. Those of you who are all too familiar with the process I am describing will know at this point what normally occurs is a brief reprieve for my eyes from the glaring phone screen while I take a deep breath staring into space for a second. Thoughts like “What can I afford”? and “Where would I store it”? followed by “Does it really need back seats”???? Nah….
I always end up back viewing the same type of vehicles as deep down I want the sports bike experience, but I don’t want to get unnecessarily cold and uncomfortable while looking like an oversized power ranger before my face and a tree become acquainted at an unhealthy rate of knots. I end up viewing Caterham’s, Mega-Busa’s, Westfields and alike. Raw, selfish “bang for the buck” toys that conjure up a fantasy so vivid the next phase is inevitable. Screen shots. I’m now shortlisting. I am feeling excited but worried I have let it get this far. Mathematics spin through my mind but not sensible stuff like insurance, I immediately jump to “I wonder what a turbo conversion on that would cost”.
On a biting winters day in Yorkshire the thought of a warm summer breeze circulating the cabin of a Caterham barking its way through the Moors is evocative to say the least. That’s the problem and the problem is real.
Emails are now being sent and enquiries being made. Oh god, what am I doing?? You only live once right!? Right.
Guilt comes next. Guilt at the fact I know through my actions at some point soon there is a very high chance I will waste a salesman’s time and maybe even justify a test drive to myself. Oh, the shame. Isn’t this exactly how these things start though? A romance in your mind, that wriggles its way into feasibility and if your guilt laced enquiries find their way to a skilled salesman that screen shot can very quickly be staring you in the face…… in your garage. It has happened to me before and IT WILL happen again.
I ask myself though, have I regretted any of them? No. I honestly have not. I will say that some I have perhaps only kept for a summer but that’s ok. The toy won’t suffer any abandonment issues when its potential new owner takes that screen shot!
In my humble opinion life is for living. When I am too old to do the things I enjoy, my aim is that my regret list will be as short as possible! No point in being the richest man in the graveyard. Logically winter is a great time of year to buy something childish as they are cheaper. You will absolutely pay more for whatever childish adrenaline pump takes your fancy when the sun shines so whilst I am sure Christmas was expensive…. maybe, just maybe you could find a way to treat yourself.
Happy Shopping!
THE AUTO VIP.