Does a TRUE e30 enthusiast need to wrench on their cars?

[Mr. Burns]

I had this conversation with a buddy of mine the other day.

To be a car enthusiast, one would assume they like to work on their cars.
A true gear head to me, is someone who gets their hands dirty, and knuckles beatup working on their rides.
It's an extension of themselves.

If you were mega rich, would you still do your own work on your E30 (or any other car for that matter?)

or just say f'k it let the pro's do it and just turn the key and hoon about....?

-inquiring minds

[LJ851]

This thread needs a poll.

[slammin.e28]

I'd still work on them.

Where's the fun in just paying someone to do the work?

Real enthusiasts get their hands dirty.

[ttrousdell]

To me a car enthusiast and a gear head are different. I know a lot of people that claim to be "car enthusiasts" that dont work on anything. A gear head knows about the inner workings of his car and does at least some work on his car.
Even if i was mega rich i would be working on my car. I get satisfaction telling people "i built that"

[Ether-D]

Iffin' I was real rich, I'd still do the work. I'd just be able to afford the expensive shit.

[willworkfore30s]

Were I mega rich, I would still have cars that I would work on myself. But I would have cars that I paid people to work on as well. I would most likely pay someone to do things like brake jobs and other monotonous maintenance and I would do the more enjoyable jobs. I would imagine that I would hire a mechanic to look after all my cars and he and I would work together on them.

[noid]

I always chuckle when I go to car meets and the E36/E46/E39 guys are talking about rims, how much they wax their car, and how they took it to the local shop to get XYZ done.

Then you get to the E21/E28/E30 guys and they are talking about what THEY have done to their car.

[nando]

the E90 guys are too afraid to change light bulbs. it's fucking annoying. Anything remotely difficult and they take it to a shop - wouldn't want to get any dirt under their fingernails!

what gets me is this - the same people complain about not having any money, especially car guys who want to do mods. But then they pay $1000 in labor to install $200 worth of parts, because they don't want to turn a screwdriver or chip their nails.

the car isn't even difficult to work on. Most of the "problems" can be solved sitting on your ass with a laptop plugged into the car, and even that is too difficult for most people.

[Mr. Burns]

so we all agree to a certain degree.

Nando hit the nail on the head.

Jeremy Clarkson= Car Enthusiast. not gearhead
Richard Hammon= gearhead
James May=mega gearhead.


what about "famous" people who use older BMW's as part of their image? such as:

Tyler The Creator
Frank Ocean
Action Bronson

think any of those guys actually truly turn wrenches on their Bmw's?

I doubt it.

[varg]

True enthusiast

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

I'm a car enthusiast, not a E30 enthusiast or a BMW enthusiast. I don't get delusions of grandeur about my being a "true enthusiast" because I work on my cars, though it is definitely a part of my being an enthusiast, because being an enthusiast is a totally subjective experience.

[Mr. Tasty]

Jeremy Clarkson= fracas creator
Richard Hammon= gearhead
James May=mega gearhead.

ftfy

[agent]

E39 guys

Don't paint with such a wide brush there, kemosabe. ;)

[nando]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

I'm a car enthusiast, not a E30 enthusiast or a BMW enthusiast. I don't get delusions of grandeur about my being a "true enthusiast" because I work on my cars, though it is definitely a part of my being an enthusiast, because being an enthusiast is a totally subjective experience.

while it is certainly a logical fallacy, there is still truth in it. There are people that show up with a chequebook, "mod their car", don't know anything about it, and then sell it when they get bored.

lets put it this way - I like food. Technically, I'm a food enthusiast - but I'm not even close to being as much of an enthusiast as a professional chef who can cook their own meals from scratch. I'm better at paying somebody else to do it for me.

[slammin.e28]

ITT: why I enjoy the Vintage and quit going to Bimmerfest.

[MF DOOM]

Id still work on my car. I am far to cheap to pay for any work besides alignments.. Hell, thats probably why my e39 is still collecting dust. That and theres not a shop worth taking your car to here. The one "import" shop here charged me for a 4 wheel alignment on my e30..

Plus working on cars always ends up being a pretty good time. My family is full of gear heads so the usual get togethers are mostly car oriented.