Hello everyone, I've been a very active member of this forum over almost 2 years; ever since I bought my 2011 XKR 175. I sold it and missed it so much I had to replace it with an upgraded, 2013 XKR with dynamic/performance exhaust. The 2011 XKR 175 was a gift to myself. My first exotic car. Since, I've also bought 2-3 performance oriented other cars. Money is not an issue.


The cars put a huge smile on my face when I drive them. I like to drive them because of the performance, distinctive looks, and exclusivity. I have about 1,000 posts on this forum and have enjoyed the many hours of discussing our fine machines.


Now that I've experienced my stable of cars, I ask myself, "what I'm I doing, do I need all of these cars, or do I even need 1 one of them. A simple Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry would serve my needs. This question puzzles me because the answer is: No, I do not need these cars and more importantly I don't want them to define me. Before buying these cars I was very content with my family Nissan Altima and my truck. Now that I have bought all of these great cars and I can see how they are defining me, I do not like it. I don't want to be known as the guy with the great garage full of cars. I don't want to be defined by my cars. There are so many more important quality things in my life and issues happening in the world to spend my time on. When I look at these unnecessary trophies I now feel shallow, pretentious, and wasteful.


Did I just go through a mid life crisis? Did I just shake my head and become more realistic?


I'm posting this thread here because this is the section were I spent most of my time discussing our Jaguar experiences and members should recognize me. I don't want my cars to be responsible for a large part of my happiness. I think I may have created this situation.

 

I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by "defining you"? Those cars are inanimate things. Who you are is what you believe in, what you stand for, your character, honor and integrity to name a few. What kind of car you drive does not define you in my opinion. It certainly doesn't define me. I have my car because I want it, not because it is who I am. I have been blessed to be able to afford it.

Sounds like you may have "AFluenza". This is a condition that occurs with some people that after reaching a point in their life at which they have acquired a degree of wealth and success they begin to feel guilty and self conscious about some parts of their life. They feel that since they have the wealth and success (and expensive cars) and others don't that is bad or negative.

News flash: while it is noble and compassionate to think so, we are not all created equal in ability. We don't all have the ability or drive to attain any particular degree of wealth or success.

Do you feel guilty about having the cars or think they make you "look" or "appear" to be shallow and self-centric?

I don't think you should feel this way. My cars have been toys. I did not/do not have them to make myself feel any particular way.

I know some look at a person driving a Lamborghini/Aston Martin/whatever and say, "look at that rich person - they don't need all that...they make too much money". I have always looked at those people and said that's a smart person I want that kind of success.

Nothing wrong at all with having these cars, or having a degree of wealth and success.

And there are ways to give back if you feel you need to.

 

Thanks for your reply...





IMO what we buy, where we choose to live (type of house), how we dress etc. does portray and sends an image to the public of who we are. Some people want to be seen in a nice car because they feel insecure and the nice car makes them feel good. Some people just buy the nice car because they just want it, like it and have the money. I believe the reason for buying the car is what is important. However, in any case a simple Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry will get the transportation job done well at a very reasonable price. How does one justify paying 3-4 times the price for an exotic brand?



Yes, to a little extent.


I don't like the way some of public looks at me. About 8 months ago I was at the mall with my daughter. When we came out of the mall to go home we found that someone spit on the passenger side window. I was pissed, to have my daughter see this. I cleaned it off before allowing my daughter to get in the car.


Yes, I used to look at people with envy that drove nice cars, but the reality is not all people have good thoughts when they see a nice car. Nice cars get all kinds of bad attention which does bother me. I know I shouldn't let this influence me, but I don't like it.

 

Having these toys to me demonstrates someones success in the goals of their life. Others may take it as "in your face" which seems to be more and more of today's political mantra. If you are feeling some form of guilt then you are falling for the share mentally. The ability to earn these toys was/is fueled by your success in the career field you have chosen. I am proud of the success that I and my family have made and one of the results is my ability to own one of these cars . To me DGL you have demonstrated the drive and success of your life and as long as you feel the same way then that is all you need to be happy. Enjoy the ride as life is short.
So with that being said will you start selling off your toys cheap. LOL

 

Well, I know who I am, and I am *very* comfortable knowing who I am. I don't care what other - possibly ignorant - people think of me. You live in Canada and I understand the politics of your situation may be somewhat different than mine. And, unfortunately here in the US, we have experienced a brief surge of the "rich people are evil" mentality.

So, becoming just another sheeple will solve your problems of appearance? Not to sure about that. I will never be ashamed of or put myself down for achieving some degree of success. I grew up *extremely* poor, and I have worked my *** off to get where I am. I will *never* apologize or let someone else tear me down because they did not get off their lazy *** and do something to better themselves. You cannot be everyone's keeper, and tearing yourself down only exacerbates the issue.

People, who no fault of their own, that cannot achieve are a different story. They deserve a helping hand.

You are fine. It's the person who spit on your window who has the problem. Do you want to be like that person????

 

You live more in 5 minutes driving a car like this than some people live in their lifetimes.

I am sort of in the same boat as you. I love my XKR, but it seems like an awful waste of money when a cheaper car like a Miata would probably give me as much driving excitement (although it would take getting used to) for a fraction of the price. We are in the process of buying our first home so I'm really considering selling the XKR along with a beater Mustang that I have. I am in my late 20s now and as far as I can tell, the party's over--now I need to be an adult. There will be time for Jags when I'm 55 like everyone else on this board! Haha!

I do get a little bit tired being a Jaguar owner. I never tell anyone I own a Jag because, especially at my age, it sounds pretentious and it's hard to say you own a J-a-a-aaaag without sounding like you're bragging. Sadly, I have not found a satisfactory replacement for the XKR yet...

 

Thanks for your comments...


I don't like the notion of demonstrating to someone through a nice car that I have attained a level of financial success, that's pretentious. It was certainly not my goal when I bought my cars. I don't feel guilty in owning them but just don't like some of the negative public opinion.


I did sell my GTR yesterday and I made $23K on it. I could have made more. Hardly a sell off LOL. But that is not the topic of this thread; so, please do not ask how I managed to bank $23K on a GTR I owned for 1 month. Hey, I am successful and not foolish.

 

Yes amcdonal86, At your age your most important goal should be to save and build wealth. If you spent it at your age you will never have it at the end. I'm in my early 50's and still don't like to waste money. I started investing every $1 I made since the age of 12. We must live within our means to create wealth. This is not my problem. I'm living will within my means and my cars are not costing me much. In fact I'm making money on my cars. Don't ask how. I'll leave it to a different thread.

 

First and foremost....

I GIVE A FOOOG what the public thinks of me ... I learned you cannot satisfy the PUBLIC. You always have too much for some and not enough for others.

I went through similar phases in my life. At one point I had a Cayman S turbo, a Boxster RS60 Spyder and 911 turbo all hanging on trickle chargers in my garage while I drove a Jetta TDI for my commute. I was faced with paying insurance for cars sitting in my garage and I could only drive one at a time. I sold them all and "upgraded" my commuter car to an A5. Great car, great commuter but not very efficient in doing that and not exciting enough to get me up at 5AM on a Saturday to go to a C&C. I lost the car meetings, the camaraderie on the Porsche boards and the cruises with friends I made through the car.

I went to two car meets this weekend. One was the largest in our area with over 500 cars and showcasing a McLaren 650S before the USA debut, saw many exotics, cars you do not see every day. Then a second one right by my house which was very small and is almost exclusively VWs, BMWs and Audi's which was done by a local group called Eurogeeks. I thought I stop by with the XKR-S and check out what they do, some crazy mods, all about stance, super low and an empty engine comparment except for the engine. Now everyone there is at the max in the low 20s so I was way old and had a car that did no fit. There were two old 360s as the next closest "exotic" car. When I rolled in with the windows down you could hear all kinds of comments but one struck me .... Woaw, give me money so I can buy something like that ....

WTF???????? ... Get a shitty job, then get a regular job, work for thirty years, then decide whether to refi, move into a bigger house or live a little and buy a superfluous car .... I never cried give me money, nobody "gave" me money, I do not recall that my generation ever said that, we asked “How can I get something like that?” ... both my wife and I work getting close to 50 and have enough money to "waste" on something that entertains us ....

FOOOOOOOG them all ... you cannot satisfy the "public" .... If I do not spend money on a car which gives me pleasure driving it, I will spend it on the house, maybe build a pool which may aggravate my neighbors, or buy a boat, or go on "extravagant" vacations or buy expensive watches and clothes or whatever .... things "OTHER" people do not deem necessary, like a fresh razor as in 1984 ... this country is going to hell in a hand basket while the successful now have to feel guilty for the lazy and misfortunate.
I do not see where Jay Z is sorry for my misfortune of not having his talent or his perfect timing in life where people have an interest and pay for to see my amazing talent of woofing down a large Blizzard in under a minute and make me go platinum.

If you let jealous people rule your life you are done for. You can NEVER satisfy them, they will NEVER like you, they will TAKE everything you have and then call you a LOSER.
This is all going to end, sooner rather than later. I am afraid I will see civil unrest in the US in my lifetime.
They do not just HATE you for your car, but the school you sent your kids too, your job which you earned and qualified for, your business you built, the woman you court shipped and married, they even hate you for the amount of money you donate, the time you spent on chairty, for the privilege of hard work you were born into ... what the hell are you doing at the mall?
I have not been to the mall in three years, the only time we go there is for the movies 2-3 times a year and park on the highest parking deck as everyone is too lazy to go there.
Sorry for my rant but I will not apologize or feel sorry for my family's success and especially not to people who have no respect for other people and their property. The most hateful people in this country have become the most boisterous minorities who use the exact same extreme and militant tactics of exclusion and ostracizing, judging, stereotyping, slander, prejudice and obstruction they claim they are a victim of. I have never purposely destroyed somebody elses property, I admire it and congratulate the person for their taste, success, fortune, determination, stamina, drive .... whatever.
Don't let hateful people decide how you have to live your life. Teach your kids that there are people out there who do not like you no matter what you do because they want to hate you. Tell them that they do not have to like "EVERYONE" either but have to be respectful of everyone until they disregard your respect for them and become threatening.

Sorry for this endless rant here, right now it is chique and en vogue to be PC and give minorities of all facets an outlet through social media. They scream loud, vilify and destroy people's lifes. It is chique to find something unique and turn it into another minority in need of protection and in turn receive card blanc to attack EVERYBODY they deem deserving so without any justifcication or verification. We are at a time were purple on green crime is a hate crime and green on purple crime is understandable and we show compassion. The easiest target for all these minority groups to agree upon in a bad economy are the succesful.
What these minorities forget is that they are in the minority and at some point it will be no longer fashionable to support their cause.

Now if you feel this is a waste and you rather spent it to prepare for your children’s future go right ahead.

 

Did you change your pills? What does DGL's issue have to do with your hatred of 20 somethings?

Some people just can't take a compliment, apparently!

 

Sorry but I'll need to leave this post as today will be my 1st day of golf with my buds at the country club. The weather will be in the high 50's-60 and a little overcast but the fairways are green and the greens are mowed. Sadly I sold my ferrari (was golf car) and haven't purchased my XK yet so I'll need to take the Lexus . We are not wealthy but have done well so after retiring some 5 years ago it is time to enjoy the spoils of our success. We support our fellow man and provide for our family but we also need to enjoy what we sacrificed for. I'll catch you guys later so have a great day. (not meant to be arrogant but only to be realistic and proud)

 

+1 Schwabe. Some people will **** all over you because you have attained a goal they want. The human race does make me sick sometimes. There seems to be more people with bad intentions than good today. We live in a very materialistic world. We are judged by our possessions and not by our values.


I own several apartment buildings and you would not believe what people have done on purpose to destroy my properties after giving them several breaks and it's happening more and more every year. Although, I would like to help some of my tenants, I can't. I've been stabbed in the back too many times.

 

Then don't let them.

Define *yourself* by how you treat other people and how you behave at all times. You have the opportunity to do so every time you come in contact with another person.

Strangers and passersby will always make summary assessments based on superficials. There's no getting around that so don't bother trying.

Cheers
DD

 

No hatred for 20 somethings, sorry if you got that from my ongoing and incoherent rant. I was just reporting my most recent experience were people do not appreciate something for what it is but question how you came about it. It was just an example. I have kids in their twenties.
But I also had my tires slit, all my windows cut in a Jeep with nothing stolen. I had people **** on my car, my boat at sometime, gum smeared all over it, beer bottles broken on my boat with glass scattered all over the place, propably thrown them at it. I thought it was me and that I need to change, all the while showing more and more restraint on my part towards others and their behavior - but tolerance is not good enough. I toned down my hobbies and which places I frequent while the same places are taken over by groups who show no respect to others, their property and have no restraint in verbally attacking just because you are different.

DGL's issue seems to me that he feels the car is too much and that at times it makes him uncomfortable because other people give him the sense that it is not necessary.

 

That is pretty shocking! I can see where you're coming from, but it's no reason to write off an entire generation of people, although I get annoyed at my generation--taking on huge debts to go to college to get useless degrees in communications or marketing and then acting surprised when they have to live in their parents' basement forever...

 

Its funny, here in the UK is no different.

I'm not extremelty wealthy by any means, just doing ok at the moment.

My wife and I work hard and live in a nice area, we have the A6 and more recently the Jaguar XJ X358

I constantly hear snide comments / see weird looks etc as if its not something I should have. I try really hard to keep my cars and my property in good shape ( looking after my possesssions was something I was brought up to do )

The cars are not new by any means, but look great for their age and of course its an Audi and a Jag.

Jealousy seems to oooze out of every pore of some people, and of course they want to see you fail, lose what you have....it seems to make them feel better about themselves for some reason?

I have seen many nice houses / cars etc and may have at times a little envy, but not in a bad way wishing the owners harm or ill will.

I always try and help my neighbours / fellow man but it seems sometimes that its just never enough, no matter what you do.

So put it away and don't let "them" bring you down....

You've worked hard for you, for your family and your lifestyle so be sure to enjoy it.

I'm sure that none of these things define who you are as a person, surely its what you feel, know to be true and the thoughts of those you care about that matter............not random strangers obsesed with jealousy?

 

I don't own my DBS to demonstrate my success. Unfortunately, others may think I bought it as a status symbol? I did not. Money is just a means to and end for me. And, no matter what I do, there will be some who think I am trying to "show off" or be pretentious. It isn't pretentious, and I don't care that some may think that.

Congrats on the GTR deal...sounds like more success there...


So, I am curious...do you think I am flaunting success by owning a DBS?

 

DGL, Fascinating topic. As the great Mickey Rooney once said, "I've worked hard all my life, but it seems longer than that". Life is short and those few things that we receive some pleasure from should be cherished, not questioned. If you purchased your Jag because you're a poser and simply seek attention and need people to admire you, then chances are, you'll never find true contentment in your life. If, however, you purchased your Jag because you love its lines, performance, unique overall design and the sheer thrill of driving a performance machine, then your motivation is one of passion. The fact that you owned a Jag, sold it and then felt compelled to buy another one tells me you fall in the latter category. Why would any self starting, hard working, successful person deny themselves the enjoyment of achieving their passions? Guilt? If you've looked after your family, are a productive member of your community, are responsible with your finances and are morally rich, then you are a far better person than most. You're a Canadian for Christ's sake. What's not to like. I can tell from your posts on this forum that you are proud to be a jag owner, love your car and are happy to help out other owners when you can. Nothing wrong with being a proud individual. In fact, there's nothing wrong with doing something for yourself once in a while. I think you've earned it and then some.

 

.....

 

All this banter and in reality it means nothing (not looking to insult anyone). I have owned my own business since 1980 and will always remember the saying, do what you love and the money will come. While this might not be an perfect analogy, I have always felt, drive what you love and love what you drive ! Its YOUR life.... enjoy it, you only get one ! If you LOVE your Nissan and you LOVE to drive it then there is your car ! I have always loved to drive Jags so for me its pretty simple, I can drive something else but I don't love it and I don't love driving it.
I know someone who loves there 1994 Mustang, they love driving it, they love owning it, that's all that matters in my opinion. Lifes to short, I know I lost a wife, enjoy and forget the other stuff.