u/throwaway00784676

I have a gen 3 jimny and I bought it for a "good price", for the "good price" I bought this old nugget I could have definitely bought a much newer, fuel efficient more comfortable and more reliable car.

I definitely love this car way too much and I have already spent a decent amount of money on preventative maintenance and repairs, now i'm planning on replacing all the suspension bushings and the shocks and springs since I also want to do a 5cm lift and it's definitely going to cost me a totally unreasonable amount of money.

I get absolutely no respect on the road, most people think my car is a slow shitbox and "it doesn't even look like a real offroader", I'm almost constantly seeking for the source of some sort of noise/rattle/creaking at any given moment and definitely spend too much time checking the underside of my car for future problems. I also have a tendency to use it off-road and inevitably the occasional scratch or broken license plate will manifest itself.

Sometimes I feel "guilty" for doing this to myself, I spend too much money and energy for something that is invisible and unreasonable for 99% of people, however driving this tiny, uncomfortable, loud nugget definitely puts a smile on my face and it does feel more special than other more expensive cars I have driven.

Do you really think it's worth it?

This is my second season as an ocean lifeguard and now I'm working on some beaches with a lot of rocks, specially of the sharp type and with some waves.

I didn't yet get the grasp of how I'm supposed to quickly enter the water while trying to avoid becoming a trauma victim myself, specially when it's low tide and you have to navigate the sand mixed with sharp and uneven rocks in the whitewater and it's not deep enough to swim.

So far I did one rescue this season and it was ok-ish, it wasn't a total emergency so I was able to enter with more caution but it was still relatively difficult.

Is there anything I'm missing or is this just the way it works on these beaches, the way I see talking to more experienced people everybody just seems to accept injuries are part of entering the water but if there are some tricks/tips I would really enjoy to know them.