Regrets in Buying Mustang, It's Too Nice!

[GNN60GT500]

Well OP

I owned a 67 Shelby GT500 for about 20 years that I drove almost every weekend for most of those 20 years ....so here is the thing

I decided that I would just budget out a few grand and every 5 years or so I would repaint the front lower valance, hood, and have the paint shop take care of any road rash

So get out there and enjoy it- its amazing what painter can do to touch up cars for not a ton of money if you want to stay partial OCD like me lol

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[Spartan1]

I know this has been mentioned before, but I am the worst type of owner of a nice car. I just cannot force myself to drive it for fear of it getting dirty, getting wet, or getting damaged.

I live in the country, on a long gravel driveway, surrounded by corn fields. I have 31 acres that we keep full of livestock for our own personal needs. I needed a farm truck. So I got a 2015 F150 Lariat. I needed a truck and went looking for an F150 but then got caught up in all the fancy options that I was never offered before. My previous truck was a 2000 F-250 XLT. I wasn't planning on getting a fancy truck, but it was hard to say no.

Anyway, after hauling a load of hay and getting the inside of my truck covered in mud and dung, I decided I needed something different, this truck is too nice to use for this. Well always being a Mustang guy I figured, I would get a Mustang as my daily driver, and get an older farm truck for hauling. Well here I am 2 months into the purchase of my 2021 Mustang GT, and I am at work, and my car is sitting in my garage, and I am driving the spare car because of a chance of rain. I am paying a fortune for a car that I don't want to drive, and I just cannot force myself to do any different. I literally go out an dust it off nightly in the garage, and have washed it more times than I have driven it.

Even as a kid, I took extra good care of my stuff, almost to the point of not enjoying it, and I am doing the same now. To add to this, even on perfect days, I usually wind up riding my motorcycle.

I honestly can't think of a more first world problem then this....

It doesn't matter if you drive it a little or a lot, the important thing is it's in your garage, and not someone else's.

My 2019 has 6,000 miles, sits in storage 5 months a year and is my summer fun car. I spent 5 days at our cottage getting it ready for summer, putting the boats in, cleaning gutters, etc. Came home last night and realized I hadn't driven it in 6 days, so I picked up dinner for the family. Even that 15 mile roundtrip drive was fantastic, and made having the car worth every penny.

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

I know this has been mentioned before, but I am the worst type of owner of a nice car. I just cannot force myself to drive it for fear of it getting dirty, getting wet, or getting damaged.

I live in the country, on a long gravel driveway, surrounded by corn fields. I have 31 acres that we keep full of livestock for our own personal needs. I needed a farm truck. So I got a 2015 F150 Lariat. I needed a truck and went looking for an F150 but then got caught up in all the fancy options that I was never offered before. My previous truck was a 2000 F-250 XLT. I wasn't planning on getting a fancy truck, but it was hard to say no.

Anyway, after hauling a load of hay and getting the inside of my truck covered in mud and dung, I decided I needed something different, this truck is too nice to use for this. Well always being a Mustang guy I figured, I would get a Mustang as my daily driver, and get an older farm truck for hauling. Well here I am 2 months into the purchase of my 2021 Mustang GT, and I am at work, and my car is sitting in my garage, and I am driving the spare car because of a chance of rain. I am paying a fortune for a car that I don't want to drive, and I just cannot force myself to do any different. I literally go out an dust it off nightly in the garage, and have washed it more times than I have driven it.

Even as a kid, I took extra good care of my stuff, almost to the point of not enjoying it, and I am doing the same now. To add to this, even on perfect days, I usually wind up riding my motorcycle.

I honestly can't think of a more first world problem then this....

I feel ya. I'm very OCD about keeping my '21 Camaro ZL1 clean. I thought I was OCD about my Mustang (2018 GT PP1), but it was silver so dust and pollen didn't really show that much (except on the gloss black rear trunk insert) - though I still washed it once per week. My ZL1 is a dark blue-ish gray (Shadow grey metallic), and it shows the dust after just one drive on certain places: side skirts, rear bumper, and brake dust on the wheels (noticeable after a couple of drives). The rest of the car stays fairly clean for a few drives to/from work. At first, I felt like I needed to wash it every time I drove it because I couldn't stand the road dust building up on it. Or, I would decide to work from home instead of commuting to the office (even on a clear day) to keep it clean, since I washed it the day before. But, after owning it a few weeks (I ordered it in Dec. '20 and picked it up in March before the factory stopped making them), I made the decision not to let a little road dust/pollen get to me, and now wash it about once a week. Yes, the dirt and brake dust that starts to show up after a few drives bothers me a little, but I have to look (mostly) past it otherwise it won't be enjoyable to drive, knowing that it's getting dirty. Making that conscience decision to not allow it to control me has made it more enjoyable. If I can do it, you can do it.

I also had quite a bit of XPEL PPF installed at 170 miles (full front, full hood, full fenders, mirrors, lower half of fenders in front/behind rear wheels, door edge, and behind the door handle), which helped a lot. It's already saved my hood from a pretty good-sized rock chip (just a small imperfection in the PPF now). I'm sure there's other impacts as well that don't even show up since they "heal" if they are small enough. If you do PPF, don't skimp and only do partial hood, the line will drive you crazy, and you'll get a rock chip 2" past the line within a week of having it installed. Just go for full front coverage.

 

[SEAICE]

That's me... Even when I intentionally by a "daily driver", I end-up fixing it up to the point I worry incessantly about keeping it perfect. Then it sits in the garage... Then sold to repeat the process...

 

[Bikeman315]

OP, I thought you might appreciate this video.
Owner drives it to the track, races it, wins, and drives it home. Big deal, you say. We can all do that. Not with a $16M car you won’t.

The point is enjoy it. That’s what you bought it for.

 

[shogun32]

Owner drives it to the track, races it, wins, and drives it home.

he raced a Ferrari and won his race. This was just his commuter to/from said track event.

 

[Bikeman315]

he raced a Ferrari and won his race. This was just his commuter to/from said track event.

I liked my version better. One hell of a commuter, right. Besides the moral of the post was, buy it, use it, and enjoy it.

By the way, the track was Spa. Not to shabby.

 

[RazzaRossa]

This Saturday morning, wake up early take your car down your long gravel driveway, hang a right, travel 20ft, check your rear view for approaching farm vehicles('specially them combines), place foot on right pedal, depress clutch with your left foot (if available) wind 'er up to about 4 grand (or more if the mood fits) slide your big toe off the clutch, then hammer down. Now you may need to modulate gas/clutch to maintain directional control, it can be invigorating. Keep an eye on the tach, and pull into second around 7.8K. Third can be a little more tricky and requires finesse rather than cave man-like punch. Continue up thru 4th until your eyes begin to bleed and/or your hair spontaneously combusts. This is where nirvana occurs, and can be seriously addicting, but the side benefit is Michelin will send you Christmas cards. Brakes, meh, they're for weenies.
Seriously though, take it out, drive it, a little hard even, and enjoy the crap out of it. It's not a Bugatti Veyron, or whatever the farque they are called. If it breaks, warranty baby. Rinse, repeat, often.

 

[RazzaRossa]

I forgot, if it's an automatic. Just push the right pedal, and, yawn....go. Still kinda fun though.🥱🥱🥱

 

[Aldra]

Im the same, but part of owning it for me is having something that i consider to be nice, to take care of. I definitely drive it, or i was until i got ran into, and now i hate to look at it, dont really want to drive it, and another month until i can get it 'fixed', though it will never be the same to me.

Ive been thinking of selling it and buying some pos and forgetting about owning a nice vehicle, it's just been a painfull experience, or at least not one that can work with my mindset. Not to mention the roads and the drivers where i now live are really awful.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Just for the record, even though my driveway was muddy from the rain yesterday and there is a chance of thunderstorms today, I did drive the stang to work. So progress!

 

[friedmud]

Just for the record, even though my driveway was muddy from the rain yesterday and there is a chance of thunderstorms today, I did drive the stang to work. So progress!

Nice!

Also, I didn't mention it yesterday, but a good way to get some more piece of mind is using RokBlokz: https://www.amazon.com/RokBlokz-Spl...ywords=rokblokz+mustang&qid=1622125871&sr=8-5

They look decent (you can see them on my car in my avatar) and they do the job. Helps me think less about the gravel around here...

 

[LETHAL]

I can not say much, as my 18' only has 11k on it. Bought it in June of 2018 new.

That said, I drive it when I can and when want to. It also sees drag days and NC mountain roads for fun.

I am fortunate enough to have a vehicle provided by my job and several others to drive daily.

 

[Sigma6]

This thread is the reason why I got rid of my multiple awarded mustang…. Darn near a trailer king. Too afraid of driving it and getting it dirty let alone chipped. It was pure joy to drive but stressed me out. I got another one… saying will get driven more but never gets driven more than 2,000 miles. It’s a nice example but it’s not kept showroom new. I will say it’s a free feeling not worrying or having to avoid bumps, trucks, certain times of days (bugs) and be more carefree.

 

[friedmud]

This thread is the reason why I got rid of my multiple awarded mustang…. Darn near a trailer king. Too afraid of driving it and getting it dirty let alone chipped. It was pure joy to drive but stressed me out. I got another one… saying will get driven more but never gets driven more than 2,000 miles. It’s a nice example but it’s not kept showroom new. I will say it’s a free feeling not worrying or having to avoid bumps, trucks, certain times of days (bugs) and be more carefree.

Man - that does sound tough (to have this awesome car and fear driving it).

I can relate in a small way: there is a Mustang meetup (poker, show and shine, etc.) this weekend in Cody, WY. I was really fretting about getting my car super clean just before I go... but then I have a 6 hour drive. I was worried about how I was going to clean it when I got there, etc.

BUT: Then I realized I don't need to do any of that. My car is already clean enough since I cleaned it last weekend and have barely driven it... and I don't need to enter into the show and shine or anything. Instead - I should just drive and have fun.

It's a tough balance sometimes. I'm sure as the car gets more dings, etc. I won't feel it as much....

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