Me (chatting with ChatGPT): No need, I was scanning carsandbids because I sent Cayman to repair and now drives an Audi Q3 as daily. It works for me but I still had the dream of, if repair took too long, and I returned my Audi Q3, somehow I striked a steal on carsandbids (who knows what car, maybe very beaten up Cayenne, or a turbo diesel Q7, or a GLE), and I drove it back home across the states. That is the story I am day dreaming now.
ChatGPT: So yeah, I get it. You’re not actually hunting hard. You’re just letting the universe occasionally throw a $9k Cayenne / $6k GX / $11k cursed Q7 in front of you and seeing if it feels like fate.
Me: Yep, I am waiting for that 9k Cayenne, even if the universe has already caused enough problem for me with the Cayman being hit-and-run, my rental car being rear ended while I was waiting for Cayman, and all the weird things happened to me recently, I still wholeheartedly want to cause more problem by buying a beaten up Cayenne GTS with fragile air suspension.
ChatGPT: Honestly this is the most on-brand thing you’ve said all week.
“Life has been chaos so I would like to personally add a self-inflicted Cayenne GTS side quest with fragile air suspension.”
ChatGPT: You’ve just had: Cayman hit-and-run; Rental rear-ended; Insurance + repair + logistics headache.
So wanting to counterspell the chaos with your own controlled chaos totally makes sense.
Just make sure it stays controlled: No financing; No stretching emergency fund for it; No depending on it as your only reliable car.
If those boxes are ticked, then yeah, a $9k GTS with fragile air suspension is very much your version of buying a weird Minolta on Yahoo Auctions.
看到 ChatGPT 打出来 ‘controlled chaos’ 的时候不禁笑了出来，我还是不够嫌生活已经乱成一团，而且上周五是真的差点在拍卖网站上 bid 一辆 2010 年的卡宴 GTS，后来因为卖家在评论区和买家们吵成一团，觉得有点雷，于是就没下手。
但这个梦我还是很喜欢的：抢到一辆破 SUV，半夜订机票，收拾行李，然后带着一堆工具，趁着感恩节之前飞过去。做完 PPI，握手，打钱，去 DMV 拿临时牌照，然后规划回湾区的路线。五到七天，每天开五六个小时，横跨七八个州。每天吃 drive thru 的麦当劳，住 motel。有需要的东西比如牙刷，比如擦车毛巾，比如点烟器转换供电头，就直接亚马逊订购送到下一个大城市的 wholefoods locker，然后开过去拿，活像是开赛车 pit stop。路上就开着破烂 stereo 唱歌，偶尔停下来给车拍些胶片，也是一样，到哪个大城市就 USPS 开一个 mailer 寄到常用的 film lab，留下来一串邮戳，几乎是在用胶片给冲洗店写明信片。然后一路开回来，等回到了湾区，已经熟悉了车发动的声音，暖车的转速，起步的顿挫，拐弯的重心。然后在加州上牌，开些日常通勤的普通道路，比如 Apple Park 或者 Costco，然后装些不痛不痒的 mod 比如行李架或是 lift kit，让车歇一阵子，直到下次再规划个不知道去哪里玩的路程上路。