Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?
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I'm coining the term Used Car Spotting Syndrome (UCSS) because... well, I have it. A condition where, when focused on a car for so long, you begin to notice just how many of them are out in the wild.
To that point, holy shit 2012 to 2015 model Honda Pilots are everywhere!
Honestly, these things look way older than 2012 to 2015, they're so very ... plain... especially when 2016 followed up with this:
Then again, this looks like every other SUV on the market... so I obviously like the older one better.
But why am I on a kick about Honda Pilots? Simple. Some of you may know that my stepsister needed a car, and Oppos sent me down the path of a Honda Pilot from 2006 to 2008. I had a few that I was going to look at a couple weekends ago, but didn't bother when I got a text from my stepmom after roping me (and all of you) into this saying they were just going to "sell her" my dad's Subaru.
This Subaru, in fact, a car that I very much like:
(Not a promotional plug for a channel I don't upload on anymore, this is just the only photo I have of it).
Dad I guess bought another one that day, a couple years newer, and so the old one is going to her. And while I'm happy she's in a car that will serve her very well... it's annoying cause it kind of feels like a "family" car, because it was purchased in honor of my recently deceased grandmother (purchased using will funds, I believe) and aptly names "Big Sonia." And you all know my fixation on naming cars.
But maybe that's just the path I'm directing my mild annoyance over the fact that I did a bundle of research only for the people I'm advising to go a totally different direction... it's a curse us car guys face.
Oh! And another one! My dad bought this new Subaru at the dealer I used to work for (and am, surprisingly, still in good standing with, even after I bailed). But when the check engine light came on on the old Subaru (the one going to stepsis), he brought it to a "quality car" quick lube general shop... knowing that the dealer I worked for is good... and also a Subaru dealer...
He said something about his neighbors complaining that they took a car in for service and it died on the way home, only to be told that they'd have to pay to get us to tow it in... but the car they were talking about was an Equinox, so I didn't exactly blame the dealer for that one...
I got derailed from the original point. This is a post about Honda Pilots. Not Subarus.
This isn't the first time this has happened either. Waaaaaaay back when my parents and I were looking for my car, we came within inches of buying a Honda Crosstour. Grey, odd, wagon-ish, and met all the criteria. Dealer wouldn't give my dad what he wanted for his car at the time, so we said nay nay. Glad we did. Nothing against the Crosstour, but I like Iris better.
Anyways, right after that experience, we started seeing them everywhere. And, keep in mind, this is a car I didn't really notice before. But they were running around all over the place without me even realizing... Weird, right?
So question one is does this ever happen to you? Where you're suddenly bombarded by a vehicle you've never noticed before after you're looking at buying one?
Question two is how often do you give people automotive advice only for them to do something totally different. I want horror stories!
Some journalist told me about this site. Now I own three cars.
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@Taylor-Martin If I didn’t hate the dash design of that gen Pilot I would be interested. The outside looks pretty good though.
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Every single used car I look at and think "Hey this is kind of unique!" results in this outcome
I feel like the only real differentiator now is color, which is getting harder to find in a world where everyone has 3 gray/silver options, a black, and a couple whites.
Just imagine Ryan Reynolds' low-cost backup stunt double.
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@ash78 Well, keep looking till you find one that you don't notice. That's kind of what happened with the Acura. The only one I'd consistently seen before was parked in my neighborhood.
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@Taylor-Martin There seems to have been a flood of 1995-2004 Ford Mustangs around.
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My current used car dreams are Lotus Esprit or Evora. Needless to say I don't end up seeing many of them. I do drool over the Esprit Turbo sitting in the field next to where we board our horse every time I go out there. Apparently it'll be put up for sale soon. Pretty sure it won't be in my price range of "I gotcha a dollar."
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@3point8isgreat said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
"I gotcha a dollar."
(I'm guessing this was the joke. But you should make a low low low offer anyways).
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@Taylor-Martin said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
coining the term Used Car Spotting Syndrome (UCSS) because... well, I have it. A condition where, when focused on a car for so long, you begin to notice just how many of them are out in the wild.
This happened to me when I bought my Ram 2500 with a gas engine. All the diesel bros have their straight pipes, aftermarket wheels, and lift kits, so I'm well aware of their presence on the street. However, once I started noticing the the gas engine trucks, just going about their business in the background, I realized how many there actually are.
But its the same with any car that comes into my interest. All the sudden, they are everywhere. Except that they always were, I just started noticing them
72 CJ5 V8
03 E39 525i 5mt
22 Ram 2500 gas
19 Pilot
20 Vstrom 650
01 XR400r -
@DrDanteiii said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
Except that they always were, I just started noticing them
It's a strange little phenomenon. I'll write my thesis on it.
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@DrDanteiii said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
Ram 2500 with a gas engine. All the diesel bros have their straight pipes, aftermarket wheels, and lift kits, so I'm well aware of their presence on the street. However, once I started noticing the the gas engine trucks, just going about their business in the background, I realized how many there actually are.
Just yesterday as I was pulling into a parking lot an older Super Duty pulled in in front of me. When I heard the sound of an unmuffled V8 it really threw me for a loop.
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@Taylor-Martin My interests are literally the best selling vehicles in the US so, um, yeah? It's a real thing though, when I bought my black crew cab FX4 I suddenly noticed just how many black, crew cab, FX4s are on the road, the majority have the 5.5' bed vs my 6.5, but I'm not naïve enough to claim my config is even remotely uncommon.
Question 2. A buddy of mine is getting back into motorcycles and has been asking a lot of questions and sending me a lot of listings. I'm happy to help and answer many questions but eventually I said something along the lines of "Don't overthink it, find a few bikes you like in your price range and go check them out. Test ride anything and everything possible". After that I just respond "Good Bikes" to nearly any add he sends me.
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@Taylor-Martin It's like a varietal of recency bias. Your brain has been primed with information about a certain vehicle, and thus hones in on identifying examples of it in the real world.
2012 R55 LCI N18B16A 6MT
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I dare you to try it with Saabs or Volvos...doesn't work because they're thin on the ground, at least here in ND. They serve as a counter point to this syndrome; they're so rare, you notice them the moment you see just a flash of them in traffic.
60% of the time, my Jeep runs every time.
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@Man-With-A-Reliable-Jeep Then you go to New England/VT and they're everywhere... also, there's a Saab repair shop maybe half an hour from my house (though I've never snapped a pic)
Some journalist told me about this site. Now I own three cars.
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@flatisflat said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
It's like a varietal of recency bias
I like my non-scientific explanation better
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@Taylor-Martin said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
@Man-With-A-Reliable-Jeep Then you go to New England/VT and they're everywhere... also, there's a Saab repair shop maybe half an hour from my house (though I've never snapped a pic)
You lucky bastard...
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@Man-With-A-Reliable-Jeep said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
they're so rare, you notice them the moment you see just a flash of them in traffic
That's me with my 300D. The ones I have seen, I definitely do notice now. But they're not exactly common and I usually see them parked in driveways.
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I’ve been seeing a lot of Saturn ions for some reason. The plastic body is rust free but I hope underneath they are okay. They are old and I’m in Michigan and you don’t see many Cobalts or similar variants these days
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@Man-With-A-Reliable-Jeep said in Anyone Else Have Used Car Spotting Syndrome?:
I dare you to try it with Saabs or Volvos...doesn't work because they're thin on the ground, at least here in ND. They serve as a counter point to this syndrome; they're so rare, you notice them the moment you see just a flash of them in traffic.
I was driving with my former spouse a couple of years ago, in their 740 wagon and a woman in a 240 wagon came around the corner in front of us. Smiles and honks and waves all around. It was good.
