Car envy and how do you deal with it

It's a bit of a "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence" situation. There's always something faster or more fun or a better deal that you could have bought, but without actually owning those cars you don't really know what it's like. Owning any of them could easily have been an awful experience for any number of reasons, and no matter what you bought you would probably end up having the same feelings.

I guess I don't really have any advice other than just be happy with what you do have and try not to waste energy agonising over what could have been, because in your head you're only seeing the negatives of your car and the positives of other ones

I actually just had this happen to me but it worked out financially. I bought a new 2017 Civic sport hatchback and after 4 months of ownership started to look at a Fiesta ST. Strangely enough I was hit by a kid in a uhaul and used that check to cover my loss on the Fiesta. Glad I made the switch but financially it could have been a bad choice.

For me when I was looking at my abarth there were so many actual sports cars I was looking at instead, and while I do see them on the road a lot and get a little envious at what I almost bought I know that every time I hear my car startup I get the smile of a happy little kid.

Without fail every time I get in my car I have fun and smile, so I just remind myself about that.

I just went through this. I looked for a Mazda6 all summer with dark blue paint, tan cloth seats, and a manual transmission. Couldn't find one. Then I bought a '17 Jetta base model. It was a good car, but I had it for six weeks before the Mazda I'd been dreaming of popped up for sale used at a dealership I trust. So I did the sensible thing and bought it. It's costing me an extra $80 a month between payments and insurance to drive the 6 instead of the Jetta, and to me it's completely worth it.

Buyer's remorse can hit pretty hard if you feel like you settled. My story is a little different from yours because I wanted a very specific car for a long time, and then bought something objectively worse on impulse. It sounds like you're just wondering what else you could have gotten instead. There's always going to be something else that's faster and prettier. With my Jetta, I told myself that those faster, prettier cars cost more to run and got worse gas mileage, which was completely true.

I'm in the USA so I've never even seen a Polo, but it looks like a hilariously fun car. If you didn't have your heart set on something else, give yourself some time to fall in love with your GTI. I'll bet it's a riot after upgrades.

In my BRZ I get it all the time. If I pull up next to a 370Z, new Mustang, new Camaro, really anything you can immediately see the difference in body panel thickness, paint quality, engine characteristics; a lot of stuff. Then again though, there are a lot of other cars out there that I would not choose over my car.

My biggest envy is those people who can afford their house and car, garaged, and keep their car clean and perfect having other cars to daily. That shreds me up when my car has dings, scratches, cracked windshield, lots of mileage, and a short list of maintenance items to clear up. Also big time envy of those people who can do their own maintenance in these spaces, have friends who help them, meanwhile I can barely into DIY and nobody wants to help me.

I guess I reassure myself by enjoying the car for what it is. On its own, with no other cars around, I'm having a fantastic time driving by myself at my own pace, and I always try to get that empty road experience where I can open up the car and have a lot of fun. Also, some people are nice and give compliments, thats nice. Then again, there's plenty of rude people to deal with.

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Every time I think I want a car, i just remind myself that my motorcycle is more fun.

Already own my dream car; so I don’t envy anyone, not even exotics.

The roof on my car broke and now the windows won’t go all the up so I’ve been feeling some of this lately. I’ve been thinking “if I got an s2000 my car wouldn’t be broken; I wouldn’t be getting wet right now.” But ultimately I picked my car because it was the one that I liked the most and little things like starting it up and seeing other boxsters help remind me why I picked it.

You just have to love what it is that you have. I drive a currently bone stock Focus ST and absolutely love it. My roommate has a 500whp c6 Vette. Is his car faster than mine? Yes. Does it get more attention? Hell yes. Would I rather have his car instead of mine? No. I bought my car because it’s the car that I wanted.

Learn how to work on your car and your appreciation will grow for it every time you turn a wrench. Even more if it's not just a repair, but an upgrade. It's amazing what a set of thicker swaybars can do for some cars. Anytime I replace something, I try to make sure it's also an upgraded part when possible, like brakes and such.

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