Cars you bought thinking you would hate, yet ended up loving?

Anyone else have any automotive surprises? Like, cars that you bought that you really disliked or had a bad gut feeling about, yet totally proved you wrong and ended up being an excellent vehicle?

My example is the '84 Renault Encore with the 1.4 and 4-speed that we bought for the BABE Rally back in 2007. It cost a whole $125, was a slow (52HP), rusty pile, and we were seriously worried about going the distance. Anecdotes about the Renaults tell most of the story, and that's what we expected. But it just...WOULD. NOT. STOP. Both rear shocks managed to punch themselves through the wheel wells before we even hit the road, we just tore them out and kept going, relying on the twist beam. We hauled ass through twisting Appalachia, down Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkaway, nipping at the tails of much more well-equipped GTIs and the like. We even hit 105MPH drafting a Lincoln LSC late at night, GPS verified! It survived the rally and we ran it more than 20k without changing the oil, as numerous friends learned to drive stick and it was passed around like the neighborhood bicycle. I got to drive it for the past few weeks of it's life, when the unibody eventually gave way to rust and it was sent to the great scrap heap on the sky. I know Renaults have a crappy reputation around these parts, but I ended up falling in love with that car, and it was arguably the best $125 I've spent in my entire life. THAT was the car that taught me momentum driving at the ripe age of 17. I'm still vehemently searching for the right Alliance GTA 2.0 so I can at least own the sporty pinnacle of the platform...god knows I'm the only one who would want to.

So, anybody else have any truly surprising auto stories?

Why would I buy a car I expect to hate?

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Why would I buy a car I expect to hate?

External obligations, perhaps? Necessity? Sheer coincidence? I hate most GM crap, but if something was offered to me running and driving for a couple of bills, you bet I'd buy it anyways.

'95 Corolla - 5 speed

Bought it b/c it was cheap and my '90 Cava-lazy died an uneventful, quiet, yet surprising death. LOVED the Ho-'Rolla. Epically dependable, cheap to operate, cheap to maintain, easy to work on, surprisingly nimble.

Great car, would buy again

SlickDizzy wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Why would I buy a car I expect to hate?

External obligations, perhaps? Necessity? Sheer coincidence? I hate most GM crap, but if something was offered to me running and driving for a couple of bills, you bet I'd buy it anyways.

I haven't bought anything I expected to hate but I have encountered the opposite. Cars I thought I would love that made me want to drive them off a cliff... a 2003 Passat Wagon comes to mind.

The '89 Probe GT I entered in the $2004 Challenge. It seemed solid enough although the engine was down on power. A test drive suggested it was a boring appliance car. And it behaved like one at normal driving speeds. Then I put it on an autocross course, and found that it would still corner with absolutely no fuss or drama right up until the tires let go - and when I put a set of Kumho V700s on it, that was up pretty far. The only thing that would upset it was lifting in a high speed corner. Suspension was totally stock, and with about 40 psi in the front tires and 30 psi out back, it was pretty neutral.

Mazda5 with an auto-tragic tranny. I bought it because we have 3 kids and my wife was sick of a manual in traffic.

I love the little thing. Hauls 6 people (not very fast) and is surprisingly fun to drive. Way more fun than the 5sp E46 323i it replaced.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Why would I buy a car I expect to hate?

Someone else bought it and you get it? Happens all the time. Parents for their kids, gift from a relative that can't drive, inherit a car from a death in the family?

Mine would be a CRX HF I got. Never thought I'd like it, but ended up really enjoying it for 130k of my own miles.

PT Cruiser. Enough has been said about them here not to rehash it all.

Buying a car I hate doesn't make any sense to me either.

I once had an Alliance as a rental car for a week...even though it was a new car, it was amazingly bad. Nothing on it seemed to work right. The last straw was when I was pulling into the rental car parking lot at the airport at the end of the week; I pushed the on-off button on the radio, and it sproinged out of the dashboard and flew into the back seat.

Two of my more recent cars, actually...

XJ Cherokee. I've never been an SUV/Truck kind of guy. SWMBO insisted on an SUV-y thing for winter reasons, and it had to be an auto.

The Cherokee berkeleying rules. Would buy again.

MX6, i bought only because i needed a car RIGHT NOW and it was $900. Didn't know anything about it. It was red, ugly, and didn't drive or handle too well. The rest is history.

my fiancee's 09 sonata, I didn't buy it but drive it from time to time, It understeers when pushed, but has enough punch to get out of it's own way, is smooth and quiet. I suspect that a proper set of decent rubber and fat rear sway would help with the understeer as well, she has enough courage and a strong enough right foot where that could land her in trouble though.

My folks gave me a 4 door FWD 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix that was just as fugly as can be, and despite its significant heft, footprint and FWD layout, left little room for people in the cabin. But the v6 and slush box were very well matched and it turned & stopped pretty well. Much better than expected gas milage too- 30 ish burbling along the interstate. So I ended up thinking it was O.K.

2 cars. One we still own, one I miss. THe first was our 2000 Accent GL. suspended like a lincoln town car, the power of a geo metro, the interior quality of a mail truck and the looks even it's mother would gag on. But damn that was one dependable beater. After I rebuilt the suspension, it become an awesome momemtum car.

The other is the current Rio. '08, auto-tragic. It's a great little car. Sure, it shifts itself (and rather poorly at that), but man.... it's quiet, is getting 35mpg in this E36 M3 weather/gas and it's awesome in the snow with worn out tires.

'93 Toyota Corolla Wagon. I hated wagons. But now I'm seriously considering getting another wagon if I can't afford a truck when the little Toyolla finally gives up the ghost.

'84 Toyota Tercel base (4 speed/rubber floors, vinyl seats). Drove it for a year in college. Reliable as gravity, was the epitome of "its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow".

Looked just like this:

I've never bought a vehicle I thought I would hate. I've bought a couple I thought I'd like and didn't, but that's another thread..

I have a 4wd minivan thing that I thought I would love but its just ok. The 4wd comes in handy occasionally and it always starts on the first try. Mostly just used to pull E36 M3 around the yard or the occasional dump run anymore. Thanks to this thread I just remembered I forgot to even get it re-registered last month. Haha.

I have a pickup truck that I like a lot more than I thought I would. (my first truck evar) I knew I would like it but I would probably go as far as to say I love it.

I bought a 09 Fit for DD reasons and so I could work on my Trans Am. I hated it at first, then it grew on me, then I took it to Sebring for the 12 hour race and slept in the back of it for 4 nights and slept like a baby. Then the witch I co-signed on it with decided to cheat on me in it so I sold it and profitted monies; but, I wish I would have kept it in retrospect. A) It would have been paid off for this year and B) It was a fun little thing and would have been a blast to autox (even though it was an auto it had the flappy paddles) C) the cupholder locations and the amount of versatility of the thing are awesome. I want to buy another one right now just to track and as a multi-purpose vehicle. Easily fit tools, cooler, and race rubber in one.

A car I bought and thought I would love and ended up hating. 2012 WRX. Not to say it wasn't fun and/or fun - the interior quality just drove me insane. Had I been 21 when buying it - I would have been okay with it. Grumpy and older I hated it for my daily commutes. Yes Irish - please insert your opinions about it here :)

I had a 79 450SL fall into my lap. A retired friend of mine had a sister who's husband passed away and they needed to unload it. I told him I didn't want it, but he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I expected it to be slow, soft, wallowy, and make me feel like a dentist. It was all of those things except it was surprisingly quick. The thing is, it was so well built, it just gave a sense of confidence and peace when driving. It's hard to explain, but it may have been the most comfortable car I've ever driven. I'd actually buy another......even if it made me look like a retired dentist. I bought it for $2,500, but about $500 into it, and sold it for $3,300 9 months or so later. Damn good car.

Kia Soul, I was looking for a vehicle and never though in a million years I would be driving a korean car let alone a Kia which is the bottom rung. I was pleasantly surprised, the first year of the model I only had one issue, the bluetooth stopped working, was under warranty and was replaced within a week.

Crown Vic Police interceptor, I am not a cop but I bought it because a friend of mine had always owned and I needed a car quick. It took a lot of abuse and started everytime.

I was assigned a Cavalier wagon as a fleet car many years ago. Turned out to be a remarkably good car. It did everything I ever asked of it, including many really dumb things way outside of what I should have asked it to do. From camping in it and leaving it running all night long so I'd have air conditioned comfort, to traipsing down fire roads, to long road trips. It really never complained and always ran. It was comfortable and surprisingly nimble on its feet, for what it was.

And since it was a Cavalier, I deny having ever posted anything like what somehow appears above. Cavaliers are loathsome cars to a motorhead, so clearly my account was hacked. I would never say anything nice about them, and will never admit having had one.

'03 Saturn Vue 4cyl, fwd, manual trans.
Over the past 6 months and 20k miles it has proven to be very reliable, surprisingly comfortable and surprisingly capable in snow when outfitted with snow tires.
Returning 26 mpg for combined driving.
Best of all, completely overlooked in the market so cheap to buy. Who really goes looking for a manual trans "cute-ute" from a manufacturer that no longer exists?

Loving? Maybe not but certainly has met or exceeded my expectations.
It is not the "penalty box" that I thought it may be.

I suppose the thread title should have been "ever been given or had a car you thought you'd hate," as that is what I intended.

In the car you were given at the rental desk category: 2013 Chevy Sonic Hatch. My previous experiences in anything b segment and GM were truly awful. I turned around and handed back a HHR a couple years ago. It was junk, smelled like it was burning, pulled hard when braking, clunked & rattled like it was self disassembling and I didn't even begin to fit at 6'4". They gave me odd looks and then the modern vw bug with the much hated 5 banger and it was many multiples better no matter how silly I felt driving around it in Detroit.

anyway- the sonic with the 1.4 turbo was great fun even with a slushbox, it was comfortable, nifty, and very utilitarian. A very honest solid car- no frills, just money on important stuff. I thought I was going to hate it as I signed up for a 'fiesta (or equivalent)'.