Go to enough car meets and you stop seeing cars and start seeing the same twelve people. The location changes, the cars change, the twelve do not. Here they are, with love, because we have been every one of them at some point. Find your local meet on the Drivesome events pages and count how many you can spot.
1. The car spotter
Armed with a proper camera or a phone on a gimbal, usually young, always moving. The spotter is hunting for the rare exotic and the perfect build to post before anyone else does. They know what is coming before it arrives because someone messaged them. They do not own an interesting car yet. Give them ten years.
2. The attention seeker
You hear them before you see them. Unnecessary revving in the car park, an audio system that is louder than the engine, and a habit of pulling in and out of the lot in a way that makes the organiser sweat. Every meet that has ever been shut down was shut down by one of these, and every other person there knows it.
3. The garage queen owner
Brings out an ultra-clean, rarely driven car just for the morning and spends the whole morning wiping off dust that only they can see. The car has done fewer kilometres this year than most people do in a week. It is also, to be fair, usually the best-presented car there. Do not touch it. Do not stand too close to it. Do not ask if it gets driven.
4. Mr Know-It-All
Stands beside a popular build and loudly explains every spec, every modification and every supposed factory flaw to anyone within earshot, including the owner. Sometimes right, occasionally very wrong, never quiet. The best version of this person is a walking encyclopaedia and worth an hour of your time. The worst version is why the owner went to get a coffee.
5. The camp chair loyalist
Folding chair set up directly behind the car, drink in hand, watching the crowd walk past. They have been to hundreds of these. They are not here to look at cars, they are here to sit with mates, and the car is the excuse. Usually the friendliest person at the meet and the one with the best stories, if you sit down.
6. The noob
First meet. Arrived too early or far too late, parked in the wrong spot, not sure whether to stand by the car or walk around. Slightly worried someone will ask a question they cannot answer. Everyone was the noob once, and the meets that last are the ones where someone walks over and says hello. Be that someone.
7. The photographer
Different from the spotter. The photographer has a tripod, arrives at sunrise for the light, and will politely ask you to move your car three metres to the left. Their photos are the reason you remember the meet at all, and on Drivesome those photos land on the page of every car in them, so the owner gets to keep them.
8. The organiser
Hi-vis vest or a clipboard, or both. Has not looked at a single car all morning because they are watching the entry, the exit, the attention seeker and the council ranger. They did this for free. Say thank you on the way out. It is the difference between there being a meet next month and there not being one.
9. The detailer
Microfibre in the back pocket, quick detailer in the door bin, and a working knowledge of paint correction they will share if invited. Related to the garage queen owner but drives the car more and enjoys it more. Their car looks better at ten years old than yours did new.
10. The for sale sign
A4 sheet on the dash, phone number in marker, price that is fifteen percent higher than it will be next month. Every meet is a car yard if you look at it right, and this person is looking at it right. Talk to them. Half the good cars change hands this way and never touch a classifieds site.
11. The club convoy
Eight identical cars arriving together, parking together, and standing together in matching shirts. A club run that ended at the meet. They will be gone in an hour to the next stop, and the car park will look empty when they leave. Car clubs are how a lot of people go from turning up alone to having somewhere to be every weekend.
12. The kid with the dad
Seven years old, being lifted up to see into an engine bay, asking what everything does. Will not remember the answers. Will remember the morning. This is where all eleven other people on this list came from, and it is why a meet is worth running.
Which one are you?
Honestly, several. The spotter grows into the photographer, the noob becomes the camp chair loyalist, the detailer buys a garage queen. The one to avoid becoming is number two. Everything else is part of the furniture, and the meet would be poorer without it.
Car meets are listed on Drivesome by city and type: Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and more. Post your photos from the day and they land on the page of every car you tagged, which is a nicer home for them than a group chat.
More on car people
Questions people ask
What should I expect at my first car meet?
A car park or venue full of cars and owners, no entry fee at most meets, and a friendly crowd. Park where the organiser points, do not rev or drive fast on the way in or out, and walk over and talk to people. Nobody minds a question.
Can I go to a car meet without a car?
Yes. Most meets are open to anyone who wants to look, and plenty of regulars turn up in a daily driver or on foot.
What is the etiquette at a car meet?
Do not touch or lean on cars, ask before opening doors or bonnets, keep noise down in the car park, take your rubbish, and thank the organiser. Meets get shut down by councils and venues when those rules are ignored.
How do I find car meets near me?
Drivesome lists Cars and Coffee mornings, car meets, shows and cruises by city and state, with dates and locations. Start at the events page.
