I was talking to my friends at the dealership just now, and they had just sold an expensive car to a local real estate developer. He arrived to see it in his new Rolls Royce convertible, haggled a bit, then left buying it.

One of the salesmen said that he had followed this same buyer to his house a while back, and was astonished to see him take to the footpaths, bumping over the curbs in the Roller. There were already a couple of scratches on the bodywork. He treats his other cars similarly.

Not long ago I watched a dark haired beauty pull out from a parking building and scrape the nose of her black DB9 heavily on the concrete sidewalk, speeding off without a care. In the same week I came across another Aston parked in the city with numerous scratches on the bodywork and curbed wheels.

My previous Bentley had 4 or 5 parking lot dents in the doors, and some curbing. Thankfully I managed to get them all out perfectly without a repaint.

And later today, as I watched another DB9 owner swing past me in our suburb and realized he hadn't washed his car for weeks, I began to wonder...

Those of us who can eat off the bonnet, and are regularly blinded by the reflection from our wheels no matter what time of day or night 24/7... are we special... the tiny percentage of owners who care?

But I wonder about these others - it seems the richer they are the worse they treat their cars. I don't care what they do to their modes of transport, but it annoys me that the car I might buy from them will be a fixer.

 

It has nothing to do with your money. Has everything to do with if you bought it as a status symbol only or are passionate about the car you purchased.

 

why are people smart enough to make a lot of money,
the worst, most oblivious drivers?

 

Yep, most guys will lease exotics and luxury vehicles out for a year or two and go on to the next trend. You got to have passion for your vehicle or you will wind up ruining a piece of art.

 

I always thought caring for stuff was a positive indication of both your self worth and ego. Looks like the rich crap out on both fronts.

But they're not immune. When I walk the city streets I see 95% of car interiors are a mess, used as mobile rubbish tips and storage. And this is with a lot of high end mid-range cars too. There's not many clean freaks out there.

It's a big joke among my dealership fraternity that I always trade in their cars in better condition than when I bought them. I don't see that as being OCD, I've always done it since I read that the wealthy always have clean desks and homes. I thought a reversal of that theory would help me in my financial career, but it doesn't seem to make a blind bit of difference

 

Thank goodness I'm not rich.

I scratched my right front bumper on the underside a couple of weeks back on a curb and I was almost sick. I will have some repair done soon but it is not really very visible.

 

DrD, relax my friend. Besides, you should see my front bumper duct tape work. Hey, it's still my first (original) bumper so i'm doing better! So relax, yours is just a small bit of the front bumper.

 

Thanks Steven i appreciate that. Let me tell you that the sound was awful! I was making a left turn into a bank that I have been to many times but I was turning a bit wide and then hurried to get out of the way of some oncoming traffic. Ssssssrrrrraaapppppeee and cuss!!!!!! I should have slowed down and risked letting them hit me broadside. I was actually trying to be a courteous driver, last time I do that.

I am way to poor to treat my stuff badly.

 

There are guys who buy cars, and then there are car guys. There's a difference.

 

No good deed goes unpunished

Just face it, you're going too go through an entire bumper, sh*t happens. So my friend just find a used/excellent one in your car's factory color and store it until you really need it. That's my plan.

See, duct tape works GREAT on the front bumper imho
http://enjoythetrack.com/ferrari/new/front_diag_big.jpg

 

Is that the same car you "lightly walled"? You could have at least bought some red tape man that looks dreadful.

 

True car lovers would never treat their car differently than their child (lol)
When people buy an expensive car just for the sake of having one, they probably do not appreciate the beauty of the car, and dont treat it properly.

 

Yup, see part of it on the front left corner. i 'fixed' the rest with a soft mallet. Look, the track was around 55F and damp with ongoing light rains and was hard braking into a sharp turn (T3 NHMS) and for just a fraction of a second the tires locked up (unlike they did during other laps) and that small little lock up ment the car was about 10 feet deeper into the sharp righthander and thus....

As a driver i firmly stand behind my choice to blame the equipment
It is ALWAYS the equipment's fault... or that of totally unexpected track conditions for which there is no way for the driver to predict/control.

Geeze, are you ganging up on me because i really use my cars? C'mon, can't a brother get a break.

Can't
We
All
Just
Get
Along?



Ummm... never had children (by choice) and so that must make me the World's Best Father Ever! LOL

 

I better shut up now because given time you are right i will need more parts and paint. I would not say I abuse my car but I do use it with gusto. I guarantee I respect the $ that beast cost me.

 

Ditto. I started with literally 2 pennies to my name 21 years ago... and will enjoy every penny of it.