Too late now, he's 85.

My dad is 85 and bought another used car today. About a decade ago, he sat down and tried to count how many cars he's owned since the age of 15, the age you could legally drive in Saskatchewan. The count was 300 plus, a that was a decade ago. Buying a car is like going to the casino, the house almost always wins or less you have some special collectable, which father has never had. The house being the dealer selling you the vehicle since you're taking a loss on your trade in. The car is a year or two older and has higher mileage, so he loses a couple of thousand or more on every trade. He's lost a couple of thousand, in today's dollars for 70 years! I can't imagine if he just bought a car a drove it into the ground and replaced it when he needed to the amount of money that could have been saved and invested over the course of 70 years and the retirement he and mother could have had, never mind his carbon footprint. Is my dad sick or is he the bi-product of a sick and twisted culture? The fixation or fetishization of stupid sh#t apears to be pretty normal in this pathetic culture. It's not uncommon for people in this country to shake their heads in disgust at some other nation that's a mess or feel sorry for its people. Is what we're doing here really that much better? It's pretty warped if you take a step back and really look at it. Working to buy sh#t. What a waste of life and the planets resources. I feel sick and heartbroken today.

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Yes

Sep 19, 2020 at 2:41pm

I agree; cars as a fetish, I just don’t get it. Perhaps your dads brain is just wired a certain way, and your casino reference is on point. Wired for the thrill of yet another possession. But the high only lasts for so long. Someone will drive by with a nicer car and then the need to upgrade starts all over again. Consumer culture is us. Maybe that’s one good thing about the pandemic: buying stuff is useless and a lot harder due to supply chain issues. Maybe we will realize we don’t really need a thousand versions of our same gadget that we think makes us happy. With so many people and businesses financially stressed, maybe we will see our pre-pandemic consumption levels finally change.

14 6Rating: +8

But wait! There's more!

Sep 19, 2020 at 3:52pm

Much of the environmental footprint is in the creation and disposal.
Cars, mobile phones, clothes, shoes, furniture, accessories, tchotchkes... Even protest and political campaign signs.
We're just barely starting to reconsider the wisdom of the "consumer economy". As distinct from ideologies, by the way - virtually all economies are structured this way, regardless of politics. And only because it rains microplastic from the sky, all over the planet. Even the "right to repair", for example, is still being litigated.
Long ways to go.

15 5Rating: +10

Take a pill for your ills

Sep 19, 2020 at 3:54pm

It's your dad's money. You say he worked for it. Good on him! It's his money. He can spend it anyway he wants. Just tell him it's a nice car and let him enjoy his last few years.

The ugly North American.

Sep 19, 2020 at 5:05pm

The worst "investment" you can make is a car, they begin depreciating immediately the moment you drive them off the lot, but it won't stop the insecure boys and girls looking for a bump in their ego's and a need to overcompensate for their feelings of inadequacy.

You're right, the entirety of the world has to pay for the North American consumerist lifestyle. It would take the resources of 4.4 earths if everybody on this planet lived like North Americans.

18 6Rating: +12

That was his deal

Sep 19, 2020 at 6:08pm

Obviously he lived to buy cars. That was his passion and hobby.

@Take a pill for your ills

Sep 19, 2020 at 6:28pm

Dads and moms. That's how a marriage works.

10 9Rating: +1

Yes to that

Sep 19, 2020 at 8:01pm

I’ve only bought one new car in my lifetime, and that was only because I took some advice that a car lease would be right for me. It turned out to be a financially disastrous decision, because I became disabled shortly afterwards and no longer needed a car for work, especially because the whole lease decision was so that I could write off some of those payments on my tax. Other than that one purchase I’ve bought used and have driven them until the cost to maintain them was more expensive than buying another one. I think a lot of people buy into the whole image thing about material possessions, and a new car is one of the most obvious ones. They get to show it off to other people, right? “Look what I have!” I’m not saying that I am immune to that whole mentality because I definitely do understand the lure. However, I made a conscious decision many years ago to stop buying (Interesting that this term describes it exactly, don’t you think?) into the possession trap. That includes new stuff for the house, lots of new clothes and shoes, etc. I no longer care what anyone thinks about what I drive or whether my dishes match or anything else. It’s incredibly freeing.

8 3Rating: +5

I Wonder

Sep 19, 2020 at 8:15pm

If the OP is just upset that the inheritance that she was hoping for, won't ever be there.

I feel dumb

Sep 19, 2020 at 8:56pm

I don't get this confession...were they lemons???

Signed, a cyclist who has rode the same bike since 2001

7 5Rating: +2

My dad's 90

Sep 19, 2020 at 9:09pm

And he's had maybe 7 vans/cars and 1 or 2 motorcycles.

13 3Rating: +10

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