If you never lost hours of life – you didn't… invest! – browsing classifieds sites looking for cars that you will never, NEVER(!) buy, so you can turn around… this article is not for you.
It's nothing personal, it's just that you won't understand anything that is written here. This chronicle is about my personal experience, but I bet it could also be about yours.
At the company where I worked, before I made the decision of a lifetime (until now…) that I was to dedicate myself 100% professionally to this – and by “this” I mean one of the largest car websites in the country, a member of World Car of The Year award and a series of new features that are coming up very soon (yes, yes… I'm damned sure!) – blocked social media on computers. It didn't make any difference to me…
Where I busted a substantial part of my working hours was on car websites! Namely classifieds sites. And if you ask me, I always surpassed all goals.
it was a drug
My addiction was to look for rarities, bargains and other cars that I never really intended to buy. Why?! I do not know. But I know there are more addicts like me... yes, I'm talking about you. Don't frown, boy!
Today I'm better. Admitting this problem here is part of this "car detox" process. I owe this change in mentality, in part, to Automotive Reason, which has been productively feeding this addiction of mine, which is now under control. It has been a real escape (this expression has never made so much sense…).
From denial to awareness
I realized I had a problem when I decided to change my car. I needed a replacement for my Volvo V40 – a model that had everything to be a real Russian salad (French engine, Japanese platform and Swedish bodywork) and turned out to be one of the most reliable cars that passed through my hands – and I started looking at the usual dealers. Sometimes I searched on foreign sites.
Order book for the replacement of my late Volvo V40? Simple. It had to be a cheap car (with Razão Automóvel taking its first steps, budgetary restraint was required…), it had to spend little and it had to have air conditioning and cruise control. The Olympic minima therefore.
After four or five searches I had already forgotten about the specifications. I found myself looking for classic and neoclassical rear-wheel drive, six-cylinder, right-hand drive wheels and thinking with my buttons “maybe this is just what I need”. No, it was not! I almost didn't even buy a BMW M3 (e36) imported from England.
I still regret not having bought it today - if you have any regrets of these leave a comment.
from consumer to producer
Let's be honest. As long as it's controlled, car addiction, whether expressed through searches on classifieds sites, a taste for mechanics, personal tuning projects, Stance, OEM+ or other similar moves, is no problem. It's even healthy…
Life changed for me. I went from being an avid consumer of car content to being a producer. It was quite a turnaround. Today I dedicate myself body and soul to Razão Automóvel, in a daily dedication so that more and more people read and hear about Razão Automóvel.
I hope that, in a regular way, today Razão Automóvel also contributes in a healthy way to break your productivity, or better… that it constitutes a form of rest between tasks, in order to restore productivity rates. Glass is half full guys… glass is half full!
We are immensely proud of the special sections of Razão Automóvel such as Autopédia, Classics, Tests or even these texts, about everything and anything else. From trucks in Dakar, to cars in Le Mans, passing through a “salty” of Formula 1 with rallies.
Start with garlic and end with boulders
This text turned out to be nothing like what I expected. It wasn't clickbait you believe – something we tried our best to avoid, despite the pressure of views – it was… Friday.
The desire to “talk” with you overcame the desire to write about automobiles and that's it… that's the end of it. The day was not fantastic. And since I don't have a Mazda MX-5 at the door like the other day, I decided to stick around and write.
Just one more subtitle...
I ended up not telling you which car was chosen to replace the 2001 Super-Volvo V40 1.9d CR. It was a 2003 Renault Mégane Break 1.5 dCi (82 hp).
Yes, oh harbingers of disgrace, who have the habit of walking around the forums decreeing the ailments of all models (another addiction…). I also wasted hours on forums reading about the problems with the connecting rod covers, injectors, crankshaft sensors, electric windows, and other “chronic” problems of this model and this engine, but I ended up buying it.
For your rest, know that it has been a machine! Maybe talk about her again soon. What do you think? And by the way… is someone still reading this?!
note: This article was illustrated with images from George Basdos's Instagram. It's worth following!