My newest two vehicles are 30 year old minivans. Both now presumably have blown head gaskets and other problems. They've both passed 300,000km. They leak and burn an entire oil change worth of oil every 5000km. They both drink coolant. And they're old, everything's starting to fall apart. The old rule of "If you own a crappy van, you have to own TWO crappy vans" has never been truer. I basically juggle driving one while fixing and repairing the other. And I have a 3rd van I'm supposed to either fix or throw out from a friend, that's not worth the engine work it needs to troubleshoot/repair. So, 3 vans in barely-running condition, that I'm throwing 500-1000km/week on. My vans get used like trucks, the rear seats haven't been put back in in years, hauling all kinds of things for everyone I know, because I'm a guy with a van.
I used to have a more modern SUV, but I fixed it and sold it for 10x what I paid for it at the tail end of the pandemic. Which has been nice, the most I've ever paid for a vehicle was $1500. I've had 3 non-fault near write-offs (2 of which I'm still driving). I've actually made a responsible net amount of money on vehicles in my life.
I've never finished, or even got any one of my several EV projects rolling, and the newest of those is a 1985. They drag on and on. They take up space. I keep shuffling them aside to work on the cars I actually have to drive.
I'm not a car guy. It's not part of my identity. I don't enjoy working on vehicles. I don't enjoy maintenance. It's a big part of why I first got into EVs, because I never wanted to have to learn this stuff. Maybe that's burning me out on working on my EVs, maybe not. Who knows.
So, it's time I make a decision. I think it's time to give up on my whole dilapidated fleet, get rid of it. I need to just go buy a modern vehicle in good shape. A small SUV or crossover, something with AWD for Canadian winters that doesn't need constant, exhausting repair and troubleshooting. Just bit the bullet. Time to browse the classifieds and go spend $15k (not new, maybe 5 years old) on a reliable vehicle with an engine, that I can inspect in person, like an adult, and stop acting like a broke teenager.
... which is why last week I purchased a 50 year old, 2 seat, gull-wing, non-running electric sportscar, 1 of 50 ever made, sight-unseen, in a different country, 1500 km away, across a mountain range, with no plan of how to get it home.
If you get rid of the vans you're no longer the man with the van, huh? Lot less to drive.
