928Gal

Hello,

I wonder if I might ask you for some perspective on my 928Guy's obsession with his 928. This man has not slept a full night in over two years. The reason? His precious car hasn't been on the road reliably and dependably since that time. It has been one thing after another, and every time he would fix something, something else would break, or he would do some upgrade project that didn't work out as advertised and then he'd be grounded again waiting for more money to try again or undo the damage. Like most people, we're not rich, and the expenses have frequently been so excessive that months would pass before more money could be gathered for the next piece of the puzzle. I've tried to be understanding and sympathetic. Heck, I've even refinanced our house twice in under two years to help fund larger projects. My own Durango has languished for ages, not getting the attention it needs, because he was too wound up in whatever he was doing on his 928 to "open up another can of worms," in his own words.

I have listened to literally 10,000 hours of automotive theory lectures, rantings and ravings about how long it takes to collect money or get parts or whatever, and whining and complaining about how tired he is because he is up nights worrying about his car!!

But even though I've been watching this drama unfold for the past two years, I'm still utterly in the dark about what drives him to be so completely obsessed like this! In four years, he's poured over $60K into his car in maintenance, restoration and upgrades, and now, as of yesterday, it's finally, FINALLY done, everything that he could possibly want to do to it to make it go, and make it go FASTER, but he's still not happy. I think, though he won't admit it, he's now upset because he has nothing else he can do to the car, other than do the radical paint job he wants to give it, but that will take, you guessed it, more time to save up for.

I just don't understand him. Is this normal? Can anybody out there shed some light on his mental malfunction? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

928Gal

a4sfed928

I think this is normal amoung 928 owners!

SMTCapeCod

Seems like he's trying to fill some sort of void or fill some kind of vacuum in his life....thinking that the car's final iteration will actually make him happy in lieu of whatever he can't find...

That probably didn't give you much solace!

My girl has put up with a similar littany, although my investment has been smaller the trajectory is the same. I am happy that its just running at this point, and after quite some time and a lot of introspection have come closer to dealing with the rest...

heinrich

Did you ever have an erector set as a child? Maybe even Lego is a good example. Remember how you were DRIVEN to build the perfect hotel, house, car, kittycat, whale?

Mike Frye

Sorry, what does it mean: 'Done'?

Cameron

$60k in four years. With receipts? Hmm.

I think that you should force him to make a choice for you or the car, and instruct him to accept my offer of $5k.

tv

Is his name BC Davis?

I can not imagine how anyone can pour that amount into any car. I have spent 75.00 in the last year on mine excluding gas and insurance. It drives perfectly and hard. For that 60K you could have had a couple low mile perfect examples incl. the S4/GT listed today.

He should have sold it and got a decent one at the beginning. At least he has something that doesn't need improvement! (you)

RngTrtl

I feel for you, and I agree SMT. There is just something about these cars that are maddening and addictive. I Love to Love my 928, and the sick part is I Love to hate it too.

dr bob

I'm pretty sure that there's an international commission that's dedicated to the elimination of land mines. We need to make a donation in JD's name.

------

"80% of every job is managing expectations" That sign hangs on my office wall at home, and it applies here as well. Define the goals. Then define the methods, in both schedule and budget terms. Both are adjustable during the planning stages. It's tougher to "create" tme or budget later. Easier to manage the scope to keep the other two in line.

You have two "projects" on your hands. Primary is your 928Guy. Manage that project. You have the car too, but that's indirectly managed through Project 1.

The biggest differences between dreams and projects is that a project has defined scope, schedule, and budget. In a real project, those things are written down clearly, and reviewed regularly. Dreams too often go the grave unfulfilled, mostly because we forget to actually get them done. Projects, on the other hand, are easily broken down into tasks that can be managed reasonably. The impact of delaying a step in your project can be easily assessed, like when your kids --need-- braces and your car 'needs' paint. One can wait, the other probably can't. Dreams aren't really organized enough to do that.

Life and relationships all fall into the project category, in my opinion. Dreams are hard to share, as you admit that you do not share your partner's car dream. Make the car part of a bigger 'life' project, with clearly stated goals and expectations in writing, and you are a long way towards helping make both of your dreams into a reality. That reality may or may not include your partenr's car project, but at least you'll both have a clear understanding of what the plan is.


Good luck with your projects!

928Gal

Oohhhh, how sweet! I'll have to tell him that next time he gets mad that we don't have $2k in the bank for something. LOL.

928Gal

heinrich

60k is WAY over.

Shane

Yes quite normal. Right on track with me...

One exception though... I've spent my $50k on three cars (including purchase price), two supercharger kits, lots of upgrades, and upgrades on top of the upgrades, but there is always something else to be done... YMMV

928Gal

Wow, Dr. Bob, a finely worded and thoughtful look at 928 addiction.

Sigh. I guess I probably wasn't completely clear in that, even though I don't understand his addiction, I do share his dream. The difference is that, while I understand that dreams have their place in everyone's life, because we would all be boring, angry, frustrated people without our dreams, I also know that they can't take precedence in life, nor should they be the cause of the anger and frustration in your life. I have trouble impressing this message on my husband. Braces, a good example, is a need (though not for us, quite yet). More to the point, the 928 shouldn't take precedence over the Durango, which can be driven right through winter, while his princess is locked in the garage half the year.

I do truly share his dream. I love fast cars. And I love our car. And I have really looked forward to seeing just what that car has under its hood when it's feeling good. (If you can believe, he has not let me drive the car but twice in the four years we've owned it. And then, it was only because he had dental surgery and needed a ride home! He's not very good at sharing his toys.) But I just don't get how my 928Guy can be so one-track-minded that he doesn't see that his obsession is slowly killing him. Or maybe the killing will go a little faster now that he's got it back on the road once and for all.

928Gal

heinrich

I think you are one in a million for expressing your thoughts and frustrations so productively here, asking questions in stead of just bashing. Personally i think your guy is outside the parameters of what could be considered normal sportscar addiction or enthusiasm or whatever the nomme du jour may be. 60k is too much. Are you sure about that number? Does it take into account the expenses as well as income from perhaps sold parts? If it truly is 60k, then something should have been done long ago. For 60k you can have the apex of 928 reliability, beauty, performance. No need to spend another thousand for many years.

With a wife who is thoughtful and shares her husband's passion for sportscars, a man should treasure such a wife, let her drive the car, share the joys and experiences with her ... make her part of it.

928Gal

Ok, I forgot that part of that $60K was purchase price. He bought it at a used car dealer in expensive northern NJ, so he didn't get a great deal. He just saw it and fell in love and had to have it, no matter what the cost. $13K purchase price, plus all that other stuff.

$50K goes fast when you're working on 928s. It needed everything from soup to nuts since we got it: all the suspension and front end stuff, every piece of rubber, every sensor (some of them three or four times), every working or moving part just about, plus he's on his third (or fourth? I forget) exhaust system because the stuff he bought never seemed to work out as advertised, the radiator, carpets, interior refurbishing, supercharger, you name it, the list goes on and on. And yes, I have receipts. My folder is two inches thick!