I just purchased a new (used) car and there were so many to choose from that it felt overwhelming at the start of my search. But as I set the filters, it reminded me of dating and dating apps. With generous filters, the sea is plentiful. As you distill down to what you think you want to find, there are fewer aligned options. Thank goodness. For years, I thought I wanted a white Range Rover. Every time I saw one, a wistfulness overtook me. This was my automotive goal. A light dream. Well, within my defined parameters, there were so many Range Rovers I could have purchased. An alarming number relative to other brands\/makes I was looking at. From lowish miles to high miles, from white to all the colors. In my search, which included Chat, online research, and asking everyone I know, I learned that they are not reliable and likely have major expenses as they age. Is this the bad boy of vehicles? Looks so great from the outside but inconsistent, unreliable, and a choice that only leads to heartbreak when you’re left stranded alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if I had learned all of this about my dream car years ago? I’m sure I heard it but it didn’t really affect me. Wasn’t immediately applicable. I probably thought mine would be different. The exception, not the rule. But is a bad boy always a lemon or can they sometimes go the distance? There was a give and take throughout my search. If I wanted a luxury vehicle, at a price I felt comfortable with, well then it would have higher miles than I initially thought, and possibly be an older model with less technology. What was I willing to sacrifice? Experience creates knowledge, and my weeks of car searching equipped me with more and more insight. There was a car that seemed to be a great purchase, checked so many boxes. The obvious red flag was that it was a fleet vehicle. With decades of experience in rationalizing red flags, I decided that rental companies tend to do regular maintenance on their cars, so maybe this was a positive. I was debating driving the hour to go look at it when thankfully I studied the photos once more. What had initially looked like a sun glare now appeared to be a big dent on the door. The dealership confirmed that it was dented. Hence the “priced to move.” Thank goodness I didn’t drive an hour for this first date, but it did remind me of sitting across from someone and thinking that their profile was a total misrepresentation. Or maybe it was I who did not focus on the right things, seeing only what I wanted to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pre-Owned. Such a better term than used. And aren’t we all pre-owned? And likely have had some less than ideal drivers. But you rebuild, make improvements along the way, and continue with self-care. Only you can know you are worthy of the best maintenance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we think we can’t have something that we want, a consuming craving can happen. The thing, or the person, becomes pedestalized and a myriad of emotions can take place ranging from feelings of low value to a constant “what if?” and “if only.” The car to dating analogy stops short here because with dating it is imperative to get to the point where you do not want someone who doesn’t want you. If someone doesn’t choose you, they are not worth taking up any real estate in your heart or mind. End of that story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somewhat ironically, I actually found my new car at the Land Rover dealership. Surrounded by Range Rovers as I completed the paperwork, I felt no wistfulness. The sales guy said that you really just want to lease a Range Rover. Get it new before the issues start. Is that like lightly dating the bad boy? No big commitment of ownership, just an easy drive when everything is brand new and sparkly. Or is the fantasy of the Range Rover more potentially like “the one,” that is all smooth sailing in your mind with none of the time in the shop. Just like with love, my new ride is a gamble. The future is always unknown but you have to at least take the leap. One day, or one drive, at a time. XO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I just purchased a new (used) car and there were so many to choose from that it felt overwhelming at the start of my search. But as I set the filters, it reminded me of dating and dating apps. With generous filters, the sea is plentiful. As you distill down to what you think you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2784"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2827,"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784\/revisions\/2827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notmyguys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}