even though I'm kinda a car guy in theory - done everything from everyday maintenance (oil, brakes, etc) to shocks, starters, all the way to rebuilding the top end of my MG motor while in college - yet I'm 60ish and have only owned five cars in my lifetime - from age of 16 - still have two of those.

Working on cars is becoming less fun for me. It's no longer a challenge about figuring out why it's not working and adjusting, tinkering, rebuilding and maybe eventually replacing a part. It's about reading a code and being told which black box part to replace and the challenge is having the right tool or curved wrench just to be able to get my hands on, or even see, the part in question - after taking off 4 or 5 other parts just to get to it.

And that's on my 10+ year old cars with almost 200k miles. Can't imagine trying to work on something new.

So I'm in the market to get something newer (I typically buy about one year old and drive it until it drops) and now with the age of what I have to get rid of, it is looking financially painful. Likely will just gut it out until things improve - things still run well - just that itch, and some safety things that would be nice.