My car credo is designed to help me find, or keep in my possession, a vehicle that meets 85% of my perceivable car-based needs, and is as follows.
“My car must be able to provide reliable transportation, easily haul eight-foot boards, and comfortably seat at least five people. If my car can complete these three essential tasks, then all other features are simply nice and are therefore, optional. If the car I own can do all these things, I will not shop for another one.”
Which is cool, but why even have a car credo in the first place?
Well, I made this credo because after spending nearly a year scrolling digital marketplaces I realized that the hedonic treadmill of car buying and car shopping would never end. I realized that make-and-model envy would follow me wherever I went if I couldn’t find some other method of valuing the car I currently owned. I realized that if my car could do a few specific tasks really well, then it would inevitably be okay at doing a lot of general things.
I realized that if my car covers at least 85% of my perceivable car-based needs, then even though it would be nice to have features that cover 100% of them, nice is all it would be.