Hey guys - for anyone who may be wondering what I ended up doing, I’m happy to announce I traded in my Type R on Wednesday for a 2017 Mazda3 Grand Touring Hatchback!

Yes I did actually! I sold it on Wednesday. The last time I got out of it I got a bit emotional but I stayed determined and completed the transaction. I picked up a 2017 Mazda3 Grand Touring Hatch that I fell in love with when I first started test driving cars for replacement.

Took me about a week before I was “comfortable” in traffic... even then... lol those were not the best times. Some people learn quickly and others need more time.

Hey, I have tinnitus too! I actually got formally diagnosed with minor hearing loss (nerve based) last month lol. There was one time in my car a certain frequency was emitted, I don’t know where it was coming from, but the noise drove me insane. Like I started to get a headache from it. It was the weirdest experience.…

If I’m being realistic the percent of my driving time that is on roads that are curvy and fun and clear enough that I don’t end up trundling along stuck behind a lineup of cars doing half the speed limit is probably in the 0.1% area.

I’ve been trying to schedule a test drive with this dealer. They aren’t even contacting me back which is weird. Definitely want to try one though.

I actually had to ditch caffeine because it sent me into borderline panic attacks just by sitting there. I drink decaf coffee now. I like the taste of coffee, not the caffeine effect, and the little caffeine in decaf is enough to tide me over without making me into a jittery anxious mess.

Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. I want something I can love but not love so much I’ll get panic attacks when something happens. I remember how defeated I was when I kept finding rock chips on my car.

I don’t know how to ride motorcycles :( that thing would probably kill me knowing my lack of experience LOL

Kudos man - that’s an amazing thing to get rid of a V8 sports car for a 4 cyl crossover. CRVs kick ass though. And yeah, owning cars is fun, and that’s why I’m open to changing it up again. Life changes... why not try new things? It’s how I learned to enjoy exploring outdoors after being an indoor person most of my…

It’s funny, I was considering Optimas and Sonatas as well! Unfortunately, I test drove a Sonata the other day and it has this weird footwell situation where my feet CONSTANTLY ram into it when just moving from brake to gas. It’s annoying. Some cars have it, others don’t. I don’t know if it’s because of my big feet, or…

I saw a used GLI around my budget. They always looked pretty sharp, just wasn’t sure how they were to drive (I know the new ones supposedly are the GTI in sedan form, not sure about the last generation) ones.

Looking at an Elantra GT this weekend actually. I’ve been a sucker for their European looks for a while. The TourX is something I’ve also thought about - it’s very stylish and the interior is a pretty nice place to be for the price they go for.

Yeah, that is something that concerns me. That’s also why I don’t want my Type R if I have a dog - I know dogs love to do their own thing when you’re driving, and that’s either a good or bad thing.

Test driving one hopefully this weekend. I hear a lot of good things about the GTI.

I was so impressed with the 3. It’s at the top of my list right now. I have like 4 other cars I’m test driving but the 3 is gonna be tough to beat. That red is gorgeous!!

Thank you dude. Social media kind of consumed me for a while and in the beginning it was fine but then I started to realize the car wasn’t doing it for me and I held onto it because I was scared of people making fun of me for getting rid of an enthusiast car for something more basic. I’m so glad I’ve come to my…

The interior on the new 3 is SO nice. But yeah, I think I will stick with used.

Thanks dude! What car did you end up getting (and which car did you used to have), out of curiosity?

Thank you for the words of encouragement - I actually have a huge interest in Outbacks - I really have an unexplainable liking to them - and I nearly bought one a year ago used (2007ish?) but the dealer was super shady and the car had some questionable damage the dealer was trying to hide.