Midlife crisis purchase/investment

is this really a thing ?    it must have bypassed me...... never felt/needed anything.

Loads of high end nine speed triple spares, enough to last me until I’m 120!

Loads of high end nine speed triple spares, enough to last me until I’m 120!

When 3x9 comes back into vogue: minted.

As @ton says, but I don't even know when midlife is.

Not a crisis but bought on impulse 9 years ago. Allowed us to explore and ride in some amazing places

No regrets

Been and gone now, think doing my test and getting a motorbike will be next

I'd like to buy a chunk of woodland for bush crafty camping fun, but it's not very likely. Marginally more likely is to get a van again to convert.

54,but doubt I'll make 108!

If 68 counts as mid-life then this:

Right, I don't think I've told this story on here before, although some ON here have probably been regaled with it in the past.

A few years ago, and for a few years, I really fancied a Porsche, (yep, the quintessential mid-life crisis car). Nothing spectacularly spendy, a 2nd generation, 2.7 litre Cayman and after going on and on about it to my partner, she enthusiastically* came around to the idea. So like the good mechanical engineer I am, I thoroughly researched all the problematical areas to look for, (IMS bearing, front mounted radiators but not the bore-scoring issue, that's the 3.2's for example) and after a few weeks found one in my area that looked nice, had service history at a sensible price from a garage with good review. Cool, I'll arrange a test drive for the weekend.

So I rock up in morning armed with my list of checks and in the showroom it looks exactly as advertised with none of the warning signs of an impending wallet raping. Even had some new receipts for ignition coil packs the garage had done when it came in. Test drive went well, I like it so I shake the blokes hand and give him a small deposit it hold it while I sort out the balance.

That same evening I'm sitting at home and get to thinking about the practicalities of ownership, because this is going to be my daily driver too. How will I transport my bikes being the chief one as I do a 2 or 3 day per week half drive half ride commute in addition to weekend MTB trips with all the muddy gear etc. Can't put a tow ball on them, central exhaust pipe. Roofbars? Seasucker bike rack? Hmm, again coming back to the mechanical engineer idea of function being greater than form...

Rang the bloke up at opening time the following day, told him I'd changed my mind. Didn't even have the brass balls to ask for the deposit back. Bought a Diesel Transit Connect instead. My missis still pisses herself about the shortest mid-life crisis in history. 18 hours start to finish, done.

*I can still remember the exact words of endorsement, they were, "Well you might as well go and get one now before you get so old you look like a dick driving it". I was 45 years old at this point.

I prefer the phrase mid life opportunity rather than crisis.

I think at last count I know 8 people with Porsches. Every one of them would have had it 20 years ago if they had the money/time/space/lower insurance.

Older kids, smaller mortgage, higher salaries and perhaps moving out of other hobbies are typical. It's not a crisis it's an opportunity. Enjoy it!

Ha, I even found a photo of the avoided Porsche.

even found a photo of the avoided Porsche

You know they make bike racks specifically for Caymans, right,?

https://birdautomotive3.com/cayman-bike-rack/

It's not too late for crisis mode ..

@fruitbat - that is beautiful!

I met a bloke at Goodwood a year or so ago who had restored one of these (could have been you!), he was also telling me that he'd just started the restoration of a Jensen Interceptor - if i get around to a midlife crisis, then this would be it!

The bloke has retired, so it is too late...

my wife told me that I couldn’t afford to have a mid life crisis/opportunity 😉

I was considering an exotic car. Bought some woodland instead. Possibly requires even more maintenance..

2009 Carrera Banshee X with parts improvements was mine. Not sure £800.00 is midlife crisis material!Still it's served me well for 15 years.

went to ibiza this summer, for first time since 1995, booked flight and accomodation for a long weekend next summer too..

Get a motorbike

My first ever car was a 78 clubman. It’s a great drive.

Estate version so the dogs can come along 🙂

Not very fancy in the scheme of mid-life-crisis cars - but this has been great fun...

...and not sure I'd even call it a mid-life-crisis car. It's just choosing the sort of car I would have had for the last 25 years but practicalities of families ruled it out. All I need now is a seat for me and one for the dog.

think at last count I know 8 people with Porsches

That's actually cheered me up no end. I don't know anyone with a Porsche. Quite chuffed.

Get a motorbike

...doesn't that usually lead to an end-of-life crisis!!

Never bothered as I'd done or bought the usual stuff (motorbikes since 16, 16 valve/GTI's/V8's, travelled across the world and a 2nd Wife) when younger.

And the Porsche/Transit story earlier, my OH test drove a 3.2 Cayman too - ended up with a 3.5T Ducato Horsebox instead.

You just need the right Porsche. You can easily get a bike in front engined stuff, so 924/944/968/928 or even a Ferrari FF if you're feeling spendy.

As @ton says, but I don’t even know when midlife is.

I think you may have missed it,did you not get an alert >old person laughing really loud emoji<

Bought a Porsche. But to put that crisis into perspective, it’s a small suv and it’s diesel. And Ulez compliant. The 15 year old 200k miles CRV that is not Ulez compliant has still not died though! I could have driven the crv in the Ulez zone every day for the next ten years and still be quids in! I live five miles outside the zone and hardly drive at all!

I'm thinking about getting a porch.

Does that count?

You just need the right Porsche. You can easily get a bike in front engined stuff, so 924/944/968/928 or even a Ferrari FF if you’re feeling spendy.

You can get a bike in the rear engined porsches too! Brother in law gets his orbea wild fs in his 996 911, both wheels off, passenger seat folded flat.

A guy i work* with bought an old Porsche about 20 years ago. Needed some restoration work, engine rebuild, new body work, lights, interior trim. Some work to make it fully roadworthy.

(* Ok, He's a senior director who i occasionally sit in meetings with.)

It's a 962C. He drives it about 1000km a year, and it probably does 5 times that in a trailer.

I’m considering buying a shirt from HebTroCo, does that count?

Does a pair of Santa Cruz Stigmata count?

Walked into a shop a couple of weeks ago on holiday and they had one in my (XXL) size and a small for my wife. Seemed rude not to.

I can't stop looking at these... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205031583310

I won't buy one. That would be the easy part. Being slowly led dry by running costs would kill me.

Another one with ongoing menoporsche issues here...

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Financially ruinous, utterly pointless, but on the right road and the right day, utterly superb.

Surprisingly practical - we did a 2-up, 3 week walking/climbing trip to the Alps this summer with (a bit of) room to spare. Bikewise, a Brompton fits comfortably in the frunk; a road bike fits (uncomfortably) in the passenger seat...

I wouldn't say it was a wise investment, given the money its siphoned away in maintenance and running costs, but its still worth around what I paid for it, so could be worse and a much more interesting way to burn money than renting a white-goods style car

I think the whole point of a MLC is to be something that you'll never regret. Cars, bikes, C+Hs. etc.

Apparently, I've been fully embracing mine for the past 20 years...

Bought the day before I turned 30. No regrets. Undoubtedly I looked a fanny driving it but I didn't care.

Bought the month before my 40th. Started by looking for an interesting hire car for a family hol to Australia. One thing led to another and I somehow justified that buying one was more sensible than hiring something for a few weeks. Glad I had 4+ years as my daily driver and regret selling it, but there's plenty about it I don't miss.

A few years until I'm 50... what then?

Wanted a Curtis since the late 90s when I was approaching middle age , finally got one and I'm staring at 70 in just over a years time.

I bought a new TVR Chimaera V8 in the late 90s, when I was mid 30s.  I was posted to Cyprus so could buy it tax free. It was fun while it lasted but I sold it for what I paid for it couple of years later, having scratched the sports car itch.  A couple of years later I revived a teenage interest in motorbikes. Mid life is now in my rear view mirror, but motorbikes are the only stereotypical MLF accoutrement that has endured. Still on wife MK1, never done C&H, happy with my lot.

I do like seeing your Curtis, oldfart, and can imagine how that rides on some of the descents I know you're near to in that pic 🙂 I've been thinking about getting a proper hardtail again ...

I remember when the first Curtis BMX bikes started turning up at the Poole Panthers track, bright yellow and super-stable geometry IIRC from the quick rides I managed to get on one of them (Dave's, I think) ... longer head tube than was common at the time, maybe?

T5 and a Ti Hardtail! "that's probably the last one....better be a good one"

Bought the cliche 911 a couple of years ago. Took it around Europe a couple of times with my road bike in the back (there’s a roof rack available for mtbs), put 5000 miles on it and sold it for more than I paid. Then bought a slightly better 911 with the money. I did consider a campervan but they didn’t seem as practical.

Foot shaped shoes. Don’t laugh!
Altra Running. Topo. Birkies. Vivobarefoot.
No more winkle pickers for me.
Got the speedy cars and scary motorcycles thing out of my system in my 20’s and 30’s.

I bought my menoporsche 944 S2 during my stag weekend so I had something nice to use as a wedding car. Brilliant, of course, but I had to sell it after a few years mainly because 944s are like greenhouses on wheels and with no air-con are unusable on sunny days.

Very practical in all other ways including carrying bike and kit with the back seats folded down.

I've got a milestone birthday this coming weekend. I keep looking at the Lego millennium falcon ucs. Does that count?

Sensible side of the brain keeps asking the other side what I'd do with it when I'd built it though.

I bought a fat bike….

in my early to mid 40s had a bit of a MLC run - did a one night in Ibiza ( flew in sat AM - went clubbing - flew back sunday AM, no hotel) bought a Rolex ( which since doubed in value) bouight Steve Peats Megatower off actual Steve Peat, spent about £15k on high end guitars and a drum kit and started wearing a biker jacket and going to tons of gigs again like I did when I was a student. Did test drive a porsche boxster and almost bought it but my senseible hat was on  that day!.

The guitars  have all mostly held their value so I guess that was almost a good investment as it stopped me splurging the cash on C+H!

Still going to gigs though so I suppose this is my life now.

Not even sure it counts as a crisis, but I have bought an Audi TT earlier in life. It was decently priced, well maintained and had space for the dogs or a Stumpy FSR with the wheels off. Kept it for a few years and then, when I knew I was moving to Sweden, tried to sell it to someone that would actually take care of it. No takers at the book price, so it went to WBAC and I took the loss.

Ended up driving my T5 around until I moved, with that, to Sweden. Sadly had to scrap the T5 when it came to the time for "import or get shot" time and no one wanted an RHD T5. Van owed me nothing though, but still miss it despite _eventually_ buying a Citroen Dispatch equivalent this year to make up for it.

I'm glad I did; since my partner broke up from me it is my only mode of transport.

Sold my new'ish L200 pickup (last 20+ years this has been my drive, so as I am office based you could class this as a midlife crisis?), and bought an older VW Caravelle.  For the first time in 35 years I got back on the tools and did all the work myself, except the new engine, and went through it top to bottom.  I now have a slightly dented, sort of Swamper and mint to drive old van.

Camp in it, take bikes on massive road trips to Corfu, Ventoux and skiing etc.  Now saving for my fun older vehicle.  Lancia Beta Coupe VX for the odd track day (I know Beta's back to front so no need to tell me how bad they are).  All this instead of buying new and having big loans 🙂

I treated myself to a lovely Ti gravel bike when I was 50 (well nearly 51 by the time I got it due to COVID delays). I've been mostly injured since then so only done about 100 miles on it.

I treated myself to a lovely Ti gravel bike when I was 50 (well nearly 51 by the time I got it due to COVID delays). I’ve been mostly injured since then so only done about 100 miles on it.

Yes, I too am also experiencing a Mid Life Injury Crisis.

Liking the Curtis and '78 Clubman. Not fussed about the rest. I am also likely past mid-life and not had a mlc, nor can afford one if means a fancy car. Can I target a faux mlc at say, 55/60 or so? Steel bike seems a good plan.

I’m considering buying a shirt from HebTroCo, does that count?

I'll save you some money - buy a Porsche.

Got myself polio a skateboard for my 50th.

sorely tempted to make the hodge to this:

though it’ll prolly be 35c in the shade 🙂

@Tracey, we're currently looking at Motorhomes or people carrier vans (like Tourneo) - thinking the van better for general driving and lane access/parking. That particular Chausson (Flash 610) is top of the list if a camper, with the boot.

I'm in my early 50s and get distracted looking at cars now and again. Last research was reading the 40 page build thread on this

sadly a Stratos replica is beyond my means. So ill take the donor car for the engine - Alfa 916 with Busso V6, Alfaholics handling kit and diff upgrade. Still can't afford it just now!

@Fossy

Its a 718 Welcome so a bit longer 7.49m than the 610. we can get 4 29rs in the back with wheels on.as the gas bottles are in a locker behind the cab. some of the later models have the gas locker in the garage which limits the space for bikes unless you remove wheels

We have never slept in our  LWB Tourneo Custom but our youngest daughter has been all over Europe in it as we couldn't get the camper insured at a reasonable cost for under 25s

Most men get a paunch..

For my 40th I bought a canoe, within two years we had three, and within five we sold them all. I'm not sure what's next...

Thanks @Tracey - how do you find the motorhome ?  Do you have to plan journeys a bit more - thinking steep hills in N Wales.

Just a little bothered about it advertising we're not at home (it will be on the drive) although there will be four cars there. I ideally want a Pug Traveller with all the bells and whistles and 180 horses under the bonnet. Remove one row of seats, pop in fold out bed in boot, paddle boards/bikes and stuff in back. Also for carrying camping gear - we've got a really nice tent, but use Traveller for a day van to coast (many of the car parks have height restrictions).  Occasional overnight sleeping in the Traveller.

The sports car has gone out the window ! Don't need one.  Got a few months pondering to do before pressing the button.

Working in an industry that made good profits during Covid and working silly hours with good reward for doing so , I treated myself to a second mid life "want"

I can honestly say that its been fantastic, a 4500 mile road trip during the glorious summer of 2022 being the icing on the cake.

Its bloody brilliant. Best thing I've ever bought. 4 years in and  it brings me joy every time I get in it. Be that for a trip to Aldi, a blast across country or even a trip to the tip.

@Fossy No more planning than we would normally do before we got it. We use it all year round in the UK and abroad. It been up and down loads of hills in the Alps and Pyrenees with no problems and is easy to drive. Now Abigale isn't racing EWS we tend to have two longish MTB holidays in Europe, rather than 4 or 5 shorter ones for races, and at least one or two weekends a month in the UK a year.

Its always ready to go. Just needs bikes, food and some spare undies and we are off.

had to sell it after a few years mainly because 944s are like greenhouses on wheels and with no air-con are unusable on sunny days

Yes only an idiot would remove the aircon on a black 944, especially a turbo, which generates enough heat to shut an iPhone down in the height of summer…

Does it count if you’ve owned the same type of car for 20 years (30 then)?

I bought the car at 23 so hopefully not a midlife crisis!  It's pretty much appreciated inline with what it costs to keep running so I can't complain.

The bikes new to me though.

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@Mark

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I bought my fat bike for my 50th and went on to do things like the Rovaniemi 300.

My 60th is in January and I've convinced Mrs DB to let me have a Rockpool Taran - the 'boy racer' of sea kayaks - I've got a nice kayak at the moment, but wanted something more suited to downwind runs and better handling in big swells as I'd like to do a round-Mull next year as well as some of the off-lying islands such as Staffa, Coll & Tiree.

I've already got a 1974 VW camper in the garage.

Had a Civic EP3 and now a Golf GTi, some I'm half arsing the car thing, but with an eye on reasonable performance and practicality. So for me the silly stuff is usually coffee (Niche, Flair Pro2, Hario switch, Commandante C40 and currently thinking about a flat burr grinder)/home theatre (5.1 surround with a Panasonic OLED) based.

Sports cars I like the look of, but really can't see the point, I think I'd rather go in a friends than own my own money pit. Motorbikes would end poorly and rapidly for me I suspect. Divorce, not really for me there are enough overweight balding IT workers on dating apps already I'm sure.

I spent as much at the vets keeping this rescue dog alive as I would have on a sports car too, she's a combination of my new kitchen, lots of ski trips and a sports car all rolled into one fur shedding sleeping/eating machine.

My second car was an Audi. But I didn't pass my trust until I was 27 so not sure if that counts. ?

Always thought my MLC would involve something nautical, but seems not now.

Here's mine

@dorsetknob I've had a few steel hardtails over the years none of which come close to what Gary has blended together with Reynolds and Columbus, yeas a hoot down Franks and the descent back into Corfe !

And it's one of the last to be brazed by Brian Curtis as he's finally passing his torch at 82 .

I got a Mustang a couple of years ago in my early 40s but for some reason Toyota Finance gave it me for £308/month so I'm not sure that's financially irresponsible enough to count as a mid-life crisis purchase - it was very nearly half the monthy cost of a new Yaris!

The mid-life crisis bit came when I decided I definitely wanted to keep it so I paid off the finance and got it supercharged. It was a comfortable GT car with a glorious exhaust note and surprisingly good fuel economy that was my daily driver. It's now a 700+bhp hooligan, in equal parts wonderful and terrifying, and I've driven our van more since it was done purely out of a sense of self-preservation. An utterly ridiculous waste of money, but I love it.

Here it is leaving the Ard Rock campsite/mudfest in full "family car" mode - bike, tent, roof box, wife, two kids and a labrador - and it still managed 28mpg back up to Fife.

Currently in the process of ordering it. Thread to follow.

Not my picture but I keep day dreaming about a turbocharged MX5 with some kind of home made bike rack. Just for days when the wife has the Octavia

I say 'daydreaming', I've also had an actual dream about it. I dreamt that I was in an MX5 with the roof down and my Airdrop Edit in the passenger seat, disembarking the chunnel and driving south in the middle of the night. When the sun started coming up I could see thunderstorms in the distant mountains and it looked like the bit at the end of Terminator where she says there's a storm coming.

To be honest, of all the wild dreams and nightmares I've had, this one seems quite achievable.

I’m not sure if it’s a true midlife crisis purchase more if I don’t buy one now I’ll probably never buy one. Harley Davidson 883 Sportster, not particularly expensive, not loud and no tassels on it. Actually quite a capable bike, below is when I rode it over to Kerry last year - that trip was probably the midlife crisis thing.

easilyFree Member
I’m considering buying a shirt from HebTroCo, does that count?

Given the price of them, yes!

hot_fiatFull Member
Its bloody brilliant. Best thing I’ve ever bought.

Lovely!  Quadrofolgio?

@plusone that is superb.

I went for an 88 Austin Mini 1000, my first car was a 1275GT, out of my league price wise now.

MX5 above

I've got the use of daughters Eunos Mk1 roadster that she has worked on including removing the air con to squeeze a turbo in giving 235bhp

MX5s you say? Bought this in 2016 I think so still in my 40s. Just 😉 It was fab, I was working in Cheltenham at the time so had a fun a/b road 30 mile commute to enjoy it. Loved it in the spring and summer. Was only the 1.8 but it made a nice noise and handled brilliantly.

Sold it to fund a car for my daughter. Keep looking at getting another one, but not sure how much it'd get used now as I really don't have to drive much post Covid.

Also does 'paying off your mortgage and sliding into semi-retirement count'? No, thought not!

Bought at age 57 years, so probably past mid-life.

Not the V6 beast Hot_Fiat has, but with a re-map pushing almost 330BHP.

Its awesome and makes me smile every time I look at her, never mind go for a drive.

Keep looking at getting another one, but not sure how much it’d get used now as I really don’t have to drive much post Covid.

Same. I either work from home or commute on foot. My last fun car was awesome but it just sat there doing nothing 90% of the time. I had to think of excuses to take it out.