It doesn’t feel like my car until I...

John Welsh said:

...I fart in the seat

This.

gumby (Forum Supporter) said:

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to WillG80 :

New wheels. 

Yup! Usually in conjunction with an altitude adjustment

Yes! Wheels and lows. 

The new Caddy has nice wheels on it. I still have to change them to make it my trucklet. Until I do it will be a former burrito conveyance device.

It's mine as soon as I hand the cash over. 

It doesn't feel like my car til it sounds like my car

Find out how many dead hookers fit in the trunk... 

...until I flip-a-bish.  No joke.  If I'm not comfortable enough to throw it into a long power slide it doesn't feel like I've really gotten comfortable with a car.  FWD is similar--if I don't know how to make the rear end come around I haven't really gotten to know it yet.

Gold Mesh Wheels

Or that first well matched double clutch down through the gears.

After the first track day.

Tyler H (Forum Supporter) said:

After the first track day.

Yeah, you'd think so. Unfortunately I crashed my M3 the first weekend I had it on the track. Never got to gel with the car. After I mostly fixed it I was so disgusted with myself I only drove it one more time until I sold it. I think you need a bit more of a relationship than just a single weekend.

Take the PO owners home/office/mechanic/side chick address out of the GPS

Type Q said:

...If I take a load, it belongs to the credit union...

If I wasn't so PC, I'd swear there's a joke in there somewhere.

It doesn't feel like its mine until I am fixing something that either wore out in my ownership OR broke myself. I've fixed stuff on other people's vehicles numerous times that just bringing out the tools doesn't make it feel any more mine, but crawling underneath to discover, yup needs a sway bar link, makes it feel like its my own since now it needs a folder for receipts to keep track of repairs/upgrades.  

...Listen to Mike Ness/ Social Distortion while driving it.

I haven't really found a switch-flipper, it's more of a gradual process.

I think it's when I don't have to think about handling quirks, and the seat is adjusted just right and FEELS just right.

also, 55,000 miles later, I still downshift my Volvo when I want to upshift, unless I deliberately think about what I need to do.  Stupid backwards shift pattern...

Maybe till I fix something on it lol.

More realistically, first time on track does it.

It's usually after some type of road trip, or traveling through some type of storm.  I think the two of us against the odds are the ticket.  I thing thats why the above posters talked about track days.  There are cars I have driven home in storms, or cars that I knew would die if I turned them off before I got home.  Some of these cars seem to want to bond with me and live in our driveway.  Dang, we do love these things.

Depends on the vehicle:

Family Truckster: after the first big road trip.

FWD commuter:  First time on the back roads with snow tires and at least 6 inches of snow on the ground.  (You southerners are missing out)

Low Power RWD:  First autocross.

Hight Power RWD:  Don't know, never owned one.  I assume first burn out. 

Truck: First time a friend asks you to move a couch, fridge or load of lumber. 

thedoc said:

It's usually after some type of road trip, or traveling through some type of storm.  I think the two of us against the odds are the ticket.  I thing thats why the above posters talked about track days.  There are cars I have driven home in storms, or cars that I knew would die if I turned them off before I got home.  Some of these cars seem to want to bond with me and live in our driveway.  Dang, we do love these things.

Heh.  When I got teh R, I drove eight hours in the dark in a wet snowstorm on spectacularly crappy all seasons.

Did I mention the completely unfamiliar controls, and the car felt about 2 feet wider than anything I'd owned in twenty years?

Good times...

 once I can control all the features without having to think about it.

Also when I can open the hood and feel comfortable knowing what/where everything is and how to service it.

When I roll it off the trailer into my driveway, and put it up on jack stands.  Most of my cars come to me as somebody else's cast off, and need at least some work to get them road worthy.  

For a winter DD, I'd say it feels like mine when I'm comfortable sending it sideways through any intersection lacking in other cars to hit.