"...when we knew we had lost him."

SAN DIEGO—In an unprecedented move, a major credit card company called for a wellness check on longtime customer Daniel Vasquez after noticing a sudden and unexplained halt in purchases. Authorities arrived at Vasquez’s apartment expecting the worst, only to discover a scenario even more shocking: he had quit cars cold turkey.

“I just woke up one day and decided I didn’t need to spend every dollar I make on car parts,” Vasquez explained. “No more eBay bids at 2 a.m., no more ‘must-have’ wheels, and definitely no more convincing myself that a full exhaust system is an ‘investment.’”

His bank was understandably alarmed. “We monitor account activity for unusual behavior,” said credit risk analyst Stephanie Chu. “When someone who’s been buying parts non-stop for years suddenly stops, we assume something is very wrong. Usually, it’s fraud—or worse, financial responsibility.”

Friends say the signs were there, but no one wanted to believe it. “He started walking to work,” said best friend Julio Navarro, shaking his head. “Then he sold his track wheels instead of buying new tires. The final straw? He skipped a Cars & Coffee meet to go ‘hiking.’ Hiking! That’s when we knew we had lost him.”

Vasquez insists he’s happier and financially healthier, but experts remain skeptical. “We’ve seen cases like this before,” warned Dr. Rafael Ortega, an addiction specialist. “They swear they’re done, but one innocent ‘window shopping’ session on Facebook Marketplace, and boom—they’re back in the game, negotiating for wheels they don’t need and barely even want.”

As for Vasquez, he remains confident in his newfound freedom. “I’m totally fine,” he said. “I don’t even miss it.” Then, after a pause, he added, “Wait… are those TE37s for sale?”