Does anyone else feel overwhelmed at their car sometimes?

[nando]

I don't get overwhelmed because if I don't want to mess with it, I don't. I can just drive one of my other cars. :p

Right now it has a dead battery though. Really need to deal with that.. Pretty sure the stereo I put in has a power drain, I just haven't had time to mess with it.

[Northern]

I get overwhelmed sometimes with the whole perfectionist vs imperfect car thing. Other side of the coin is that if it were perfect, I wouldn't want to drive it.
There has to be a happy medium somewhere, but I'm still trying to find it.

Definitely are times where the car sits without any work being done. I need to do a bunch of exhaust work and don't have energy for it, so the car has sat since July this year.
The drive for this comes and goes, but I've never considered selling it.

[Ritzace]

my 2₵

I've had my e30 for around 2 years now and it has definitely felt overwhelming at times. its definitely a project car and will be a project car for a while. I would have to agree with the others and say that if you don't enjoy the processes/outcome of fixing or driving the car is it really worth it? from my experience I have learned a lot from fixing up a shitty project car and making some fun memories with friends so it was worth it for me. its been stressful and overwhelming at times because this is the first car I have ever worked on but when I finally get to drive the damn thing its worth all the blood sweat and tears.

[moatilliatta]

My E30 has pushed me to make more money.

Vice versa, The E30 has been a great project, a zen place to rebuild and drive to get away from the load of working harder..

Its an evil lovely loop hole.

But I did spend a good 5 years without a project car and focused on life. And I see people getting out of cars all the time because of the time and financial commitment. You really could have a new car for what it takes to revive some of these cars properly.
If you cant keep at it and make progress, as with anything it will be overwhelming.

[varg]

Overwhelmed? No. If you don't organize what needs to be done and wind up not knowing where to start and constantly looking at it as a big picture, you might get overwhelmed. But if you approach it by prioritizing and listing what needs to be done, it shouldn't be overwhelming unless you got into it with the expectation of it being significantly less work or don't know how to approach a significant amount of the list.

or if I should be investing my money and time elsewhere.

If you think you're "investing" in a project car, you should be looking elsewhere. Project cars are an entertainment expense, and sometimes transportation, not an investment. The money and time you put into one is a sunk cost, so if you don't get enjoyment out of the process of improving it and the experience of driving it, you're wasting that time and money. Unless you get lucky enough to ride the appreciation wave on a car that happens to experience one, you will lose money no matter what, and time is always something you can never get back. I'm going to spend the money on a car either way because I need and want one, so I may as well enjoy what I'm spending my money on.

[Scott540]

Totally understand this. I'm kind of in the same boat. My 25 year old son works on older bmws like e36 and 39s. He has the skills. I do not. We've both always loved e30s and are always talking how cool it would be to fix one up. So about a month ago an 86 325e came up for sale near his house and we talked about it. He said he might look at it. Hour later he texts and says "you own it. Paid 3k . You need a project." So now I'm learning to do stuff like brakes but I get on this never ending search for a new front valace, worrying about fixing the rust, painting or wrapping it........ And worrying

I guess like you guys said, I need to define a purpose ( fix to keep, fix to sell)and realize it will never be perfect. Very hard. We already have a 79 911 we picked up cheap 15 years ago so not sure where the e30 fits in the mix. Like my wife says. Why are you worried about an old bmw? Have fun with it or sell it. Easier said than done

[sert57]

I definitely feel this. Purchased a 2000 528iT a few years ago and this last year it has had a ton of things go wrong (rear ended - damage to bumper and hatch, engine blew a head gasket, headliner going, other electrical gremlins). I'm also very perfectionist about things so it was all adding up. I thought about selling it and buying something else, but at the end of the day anything I liked more was 25k+, and I didn't like them 20k more than the E39. Just recently put a good bit of time and money into it and I'm really happy with where its at. I swapped in a 3.0L myself, got the damage repaired, and fixed a TON of small cosmetic / trim things that were missing.

I really like knowing my cars and I've enjoying doing the DIY route, plus I'm proud of the end result. Looking back it was definitely worth it for me (E39 AND E30) but at times it definitely feels overwhelming.

[ZeKahr]

My only advice to you is to learn how to speculate on crypto and then, if you make a lot of money speculating, use that money to have a competent restoration shop that specializes in vintage BMWs redo your E30 the way you like. The cost of a shop redoing your E30 ranges from $20k-60k plus depending on how far you want to go and what you want. It's expensive but it saves a lot of time, pain and agony down the road.

[82eye]

i can agree with everything here.

i have no business owning a collector or classic car. i simply don't generate an income matching that pursuit. i've been saving for close to 10 yrs to afford body and paint work. i could have financed a new car with fewer issues and made payments.
but would that make me happy ? i kinda figure i'd be looking at now unobtainable e30's and kicking myself for not getting one when i had the chance,

the point is the grass is always greener etc etc.

i don't get near enough time to work on my car. but the satisfaction in knowing i've built the thing myself and will have touched every part can't be replaced.
i'm not sure what i'm going to do with myself if i ever finish or sell it.

[roguetoaster]

Project cars are awful investments. You have to want to do it.

To be happy in any other scenario you have to realistically manage your expectations. Unfortunately you can often only do so accurately after tackling a project or two.

Basically, if you can't or don't want to take your car to the level you will be happy with it you should replace it with something that makes you happier. Don't feel bad at the end of the day if you move on to something else, it's a car and you owe it nothing.

[twright]

I don't feel overwhelmed about my E30. I work on them till I am happy with their condition. My current one will be very nice when I am done with it, but it won't be a new car. It will drive as well as a new car, and from 10 feet, will look as good.
It doesn't need to be perfect.

[skitzy777]

I have always been very low on funds, and I could have fun because I didn't need to stress on things I couldn't fix or upgrade or make look perfect. I just drove my e30, but still daydreamed of what I wanted.

I have spent the past 4 years researching and bookmarking over 300+ pages about what I want and how I would do it, but never had the funds to do any of it.

Recently I secured a well paying job for someone with my background. I find now that all these things I wanted to do is so much work and so much money its not worth the time or effort, and the payoff would be small.

My e30 is a POS, and needs a lot of work to get it where I want. Does anyone else feel overwhelmed by their expectations of what they want their car to be? I'm a perfectionist, if i uncover something I don't like in the process of modifying or fixing something I will fix that too, and its a never ending scenario of time and effort and money.

It is really exhausting and makes me question if I like cars or if I should be investing my money and time elsewhere.

I would like to hear thoughts on this.