I put 45K hard and dirty miles on an expensive, rare, collectible sports coupe, using it as a daily driver in my mountain commute from Wondervu to Boulder. It was the perfect car for this windy road. I wanted to use it, not let it sit in a garage. No regrets, I would do it all over again for sure. I set a goal of having an RS Audi by the age of 35 when I was 25, and I did it. It was a huge accomplishment in my life and I felt like I really "made it" - as a car guy, I had my (actually attainable and practical) dream car.
But I needed my not-so-dream job to afford my dream car. I had worked my way to Product Manager at a software company in Boulder - a lucrative job for sure. One that came with lots of stress and long hours too though; 60 hour weeks, weekend days spent in the office, so much responsibility. I did this for a while - trading happiness with life for a big check and a nice sports car. This was unsustainable; I eventually burned out and retreated. I quit the software company and took some time to live off savings while trying different industries and gigs. I knew I'd eventually need to address the car situation - big monthly payments were tough to swallow while being un(der) employed. So I sold it in June. I owed too much on it to pay off the title and sell it myself; I took a hit and just got rid of it by selling it to an Audi dealer. I got out of the payment, but also got out of the impending high mileage Audi maintenance, repairs, and rapidly diminishing value. In some ways, the novelty of the dream had worn off too - I still enjoyed it for sure, but it lost some of it's magic after time. These past few sentences have been me trying to reinforce the practicality of this decision to myself; honestly I really miss the beast.
I had hit the reset button on my life by leaving my corporate job; getting rid of the dream car was the final piece to really starting over. The reality of the situation was that daily driving an awesome machine didn't make up for where I was driving to, and what I was doing while I was there. Don't misunderstand me, it wasn't fucking terribly awful or anything; it was actually a really good job at a great company that treated me extremely well. But after all that time, I finally realized it just wasn't for me. I wanted more - a different "more" though, not the bank account and traditional success I had. The sports car was no longer the goal; I attained it and set my sights on something else.
I'm currently daily driving my snow plow camper. I had bought a 1998 Toyota Tacoma to plow with in the winter and camp in during the summer. Now it's all I drive. It's slow and ugly for sure, but rewarding in different ways. This won't be permanent though - I recently got hired for a work from home support position at a software company, making a bit more money without sacrificing my time and sanity. What's in store for my automotive future? I'm not sure yet, but I have Jeeps on my mind.
