Of the last 5 cars I have bought (over about 8 years), I spent a long time looking for a particular type of car, reading about it, etc and finally bought one after finding what I thought was exactly what I wanted, but 4 of them I regretted buying before I even had driven all the way home. Two of them I still have, but I want to get rid of them and buy something I can keep longer but I'm worried the same thing will happen again. Kinda a silly problem to have but it's still mildly frustrating.
Buyer's Remorse is a pretty common thing, maybe your left brain regretting the cash outlay. Maybe test drive a few more cars to be sure you will like it and look for a good deal, insurance or fuel savings to justify it.
I usually get to like my cars the longer I have them, but fret about the money spent from time to time.
Yes. Many times.
Many times. Two notable:
1. $75 89 civic four door, automatic. Called the guy about two hours later (needed towed) and told him to keep the money and the car. Major relief.
2. $350 Porsche 914. Dug it out of where it had sank into the dirt and hooked up the winch. Car broke in half in the middle before moving much. Guy transferred the money over to a 77 f150 for my niece that was in his backyard.
I sold our POS 1986 Pontiac Grand Am SE and bought a low mileage 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Broh that burned more oil than my father led me to believe.
He wasn't being dishonest its that he was clueless and didn't realize it as he had given up being a mechanic at that point.
I hated that car once I had it and I never mentioned my regret to him or my wife.
Many times. I've come to the conclusion that if I don't immediately get the "this is the one" feeling when looking at a car, walk away.
Once. 73 AMC Hornet.
I won't say I regretted it, but it was a crash course in just how pathetically cheaply they made these things. Normally I love driving old, wasted stuff because it's fun to learn how to get it to stay in gear, or it's whimsical how poorly balanced the braking is.
The Hornet was just off the charts awful. It had 7400 miles on it, but despite an entirely new braking system (except for hard lines since they were pristine) there was just no way to stop it. Four wheel manual drums. In the winter, you could absolutely stand on the brake pedal with both feet, and when you put it in drive, one of the rear wheels would just start spinning in the snow, and yet if you went in reverse, they locked up the moment you touched the pedal. The manual steering worked like the mayflower. I think it had 231 turns lock-to-lock, it had 185mm rubber, and yet somehow it was still impossible to turn the wheel even when moving. The little I-6 made something like 72hp, and the 904 Mopar auto behind it shifted like getting rear ended by a Silverado.
The suspension was marshmallow soft in the turns, yet abusively punishing if you drove over a dead moth. The seats were vinyl and the ends of the bench sloped off to the outside, so after an hour of sweating in the seat you found yourself wedged between the door and the cushion. Moving the seat meant reaching under the bench between 37 razor-sharp protrusions that would slice your hand in 12 places.
Changing the AM radio station? Thank goodness it had the shoulder belts that clipped in after the fact which I never used. You had to lean over so far that you almost couldn't see over the dash. I never did change the heater settings because your choice was outside air or luke warm outside air.
I can find fun in driving anything. That car was just not fit to drive.
Nope. Fell in love with every vehicle I've owned. And I was faithful to them, even though I left them for others.
Back in my younger days I was a sucker for a deal. My worst was a mid 80's S15 Jimmy with a bad transmission, got an ok price on the truck but the trans shop that estimated a $500 repair bill ended up wanting closer to $1200 if I wanted the truck back. To top it off it was supposed to be for my wife and she hated it. Never drove it other than home from the trans shop. it took six months to sell at a loss. Worst brand new purchase was a dirt bike. I kept buying used stuff that would last a month and blow up. For a few hundred more than I was spending on used, the local Kawasaki/Yamaha dealer had a entry level brand new dirt bike. I don't remember what the initials were maybe WT or TR but it was not was I was looking for. It was a cruise around your campground kind of bike, I thought I was getting an off road Baja beast. I rode it twice and took it back for a $400 loss. Over the long run, the ones that were/are good far outweigh the clunkers.
Yes, I've done it with project cars. I'd get all excited about the deal then realize it would have been wise to pass on the deal. Fortunately I was always able to pass them on for what I paid for them.
I've sort of done it with other cars; I got good deals on cars but they had automatic transmissions, I usually remember within 2 miles of driving the car how much I hate automatics in daily drivers.
Yup! I'm hoping what I just bought isn't one of them.
I've always had a few good years before learning not to like my purchases. Sold my first car after 2 years, the next car after 2 years, the next car was technically my parents' that I drove for 3 before finding my next car. Still have it 8 years later. Bought my most recent 4 years ago and still in love with it(until it brakes again).
The soonest I ever felt remorse was the 85 Audi 4000CS Quattro I bought in Ft. Myers after my 740 wagon blew its head gasket on the interstate the day before we were driving home to IL. I had to replace the battery as soon as we got to my mother's trailer in Napels. The next day about 2 hours into our trip the Audi started bogging down & would barely run. That required renting a Uhaul & trailer to tow it back to IL, plus an extra day(and the hotel cost) because of the lost time dealing with it.
Probably the second quickest was the 2003 Beetle we bought for our oldest daughter's first car. I really should have known better with that one.
The 97(?) Sebring convertible we got for our oldest son was actually a decent sunny day cruiser. Until the 2nd trans went out within a month's time.
Of course there was the 85 Vette, but I went into that with the expectation that I'd regret it, which I eventually did. But I felt like I needed to experience that misery firsthand & get it out of my system.
Yes. Fiesta ST last year. Best-handling car I've ever owned. Didn't fit at all and didn't want to hack up the steering column mounting to lower the wheel until I did. Sold it two weeks later for a net profit of $300.
I typically exhaustively research everything, to the point where the deal is no longer available. I was really excited about the FRS - until I sat in one. I'm still excited about the WRX STI, luckily I've never sat in one. Although I feel like I would be disappointed.
Yeah, sucker for a deal here, too. I think anyone that's talked to me for two minutes knows my northern rust sob stories so I'll leave it at that.
Curtis, you have quite a way with words, my man.
Many of them.
But currently I'm regretting the car my son bought since I'm tasked with getting it roadworthy in the next month.
Cars, no. I've come to dislike a few over time, but I've never regretted owning one.
Motorcycles on the other hand...
First bike was a 74(?) Honda MT125 I bought for $75 after one of my roommates showed up sophomore year of college with a basket case Hodaka project. It was the cheapest bike at the swap meet and looked like it was dumped in a creek before rotting in a barn for 30 years, but I had to have something and so I bought it. Ultimately ended up acquiring two more parts bikes and piecing most of a motorcycle together out of the pile. It ran once, for about 60s, then died and could never be restarted again. I think it's still in a shed somewhere at my parents'.
After that came a 80-something KZ550 LTD, which was another case of buying the cheapest thing available. Another complete heap, gave up on that one after it caught fire.
The cream of the crop had to be the GS550 hardtail bobber project I owned for about a week this past winter. Regretted that one before I even handed over the money, but it was advertised for $150 with "title available" and I was off work burning vacation time with nothing better to do. Total basket case, non running, booger welded swingarm hardtail conversion, ridiculous extended forks. Totally not my style, likely a death trap, but I talked myself into the idea that it would be fun to build on a minimal budget and try to flip, or worst case part it out and make a buck. Long story short, when the title situation fell through (surprise), the seller, who turned out to be a really stand up guy, offered to take it back and I took him up to avoid the effort of parting it out.
1984ish Dodge Charger. I feel like the computer was wonky and it had a carb, bad combo. You couldn't really diagnose it. I bought it when I was really hungover and missed a ton of obvious stuff. Don't shop hungover
imgon said:Worst brand new purchase was a dirt bike. I kept buying used stuff that would last a month and blow up. For a few hundred more than I was spending on used, the local Kawasaki/Yamaha dealer had a entry level brand new dirt bike. I don't remember what the initials were maybe WT or TR but it was not was I was looking for. It was a cruise around your campground kind of bike, I thought I was getting an off road Baja beast. I rode it twice and took it back for a $400 loss. Over the long run, the ones that were/are good far outweigh the clunkers.
Sounds like an RT180? RT100? TW200? With dirt bikes you definitely want the motocross model or the woods bike based off of the MX bike. Usually the budget ones that are based off of a 20-year old bike are a huge letdown. Learned that the easy way by having so many people over to ride at our farm and trying their bikes.
Yes. Often.
Some recent examples: a couple of years back I'm looking at the classifieds and I see a 1986 Grand National for sale at a very good price. I called the owner and he is a Buick guy and also owns am early 70s Buick GS.
I went to look at it and while a little rough around the edges it was priced properly. I should mention that the Grand National was the poster on my wall as a kid, and I started driving in 1986.
I bought the car and agreed to pick it up a couple of days later. He wanted cash and when I went to pull the cash from the bank seeing my balance drop and Handling that giant stack of $100s made me a little sick.
Nonetheless I proceeded with the purchase. On the way home, I was faced with the following realizations: 1. Cars have come a LONG way in 30 years. 2. Fast in 1986 is not fast today. 3. You cannot rekindle your youth based upon what you are driving.
The good news: I sold the car a few months later and to my astonishment I made a little on it. Good riddance.
Another more recent is my 2020 Mustang GT. I have owned 6 other Mustangs but haven't had the means or interest with small kids in the house. Around my birthday I talked with Mrs. Loweguy and she fully supported me buying a new one. I bought a velocity blue GT stick and picked it up shortly after.
Mustangs have grown in size and weight and of course now have the rear irs. While the car is significantly improved in many ways, very quickly I began to feel that the car was portly and too big for my liking
Thanks to an insane used car market I sold the car to Carvana for more than I paid new, so no harm no foul.
These examples aren't even to mention the many project cars I've purchased that ended up needing more love than I was willing to give them.
Even with all of those experiences, I remain undeterred in my search for the next "thing"!
My '76 T-bird.
I bought it for its engine, to re-engine my '72, but decided that its body was in better shape, so I decided to try to stick the '72's nose and rear bumper on it instead, because park benches suck. After driving an '88 Subaru for a year and a half, I realized that I no longer liked huge cars.
Then a month later, I bought my first RX-7. Never touched the Fords again after that.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot the car I bought before the '76. I owned, for exactly two hours, a rust free four door '85 Subaru RX Turbo. White, I think all of them were white. I do not even remember if it had the close ratio dual range trans, but what I do remember is that it was advertised as being in good running condition, it was great on the road test, and after I handed the guy $1200, the coolant temp gauge was a needle width from the H after my fifteen minute drive home. Being not rich, and having heard lots of stories of the crackability of the EA82T cylinder heads, I took it back. The guy handed me my money back, grumbling that it ran that way for years and it was fine. I just let it go, mentioning that if it was fine, he'd have no trouble selling it to the next guy, but I wasn't comfortable with it.
My son's first car ('04 Honda Civic).
I taught him how to negotiate, not to actually look the car over. Bought from a co-worker and trusted the car was decent.
Once it was dug out of the snow and brought home, I discovered that it was three Honda Civics welded together, in the dark, by a three-legged dog.
I told my son "Spend zero money on this car. Drive it until it quits or gets hit in an intersection."
It is currently being parted out.
I thought about this initially thought no way, I've loved each and every car I've bought. I thought about it a little more, and realized that was partly because I was too ignorant and blinded with one car to realize that I should not have bought it. Definitely has to be my worst purchasing decision I ever made. Ironically, it is my favorite car that I've owned. Ignorance really is bliss. I was 19 and recently married. We shared a car for a while, my excellent '88 Mazda 626 5dr. We decided it was time for another car, but had a limited budget. We needed another inexpensive, practical car. Instead I found my dream car- a '90 Eagle Talon. Turbo AWD goodness. And it was in my price range, at a Chrysler dealer no less! That should have been my first clue. It was way cheaper than any other comparable Talon. Lots of miles. And had my eyes not been so glossed over, I would have recognized that they were hard miles. Real hard miles. The car had a few mods to it that I later learned were done by a company very early on, well before all of the well known tuners. The car needed more than a little TLC. I didn't care that it had bald tires, with three different brands between them. Two badly bent rims. That it leaked pretty much every fluid. Or that I could smell the exhaust leaks through the unplugged holes in the firewall used for shoddy wiring hacks. I ignored the signs that it had been in a fender bender and had a cheap fix and respray in the front. But it was fast! Not really. Well, compared to my 110HP Mazda, it was indeed fast. Compared to a stock Eagle Talon in good shape, it was slow. Accounting for the mods it was down more horses than my first car, a Pontiac T1000, came with from the factory. I'm confident that this was the worst DSM for sale in 1995. I went through the car thoroughly AFTER I bought it, and wasn't fazed as the repair list got longer and longer. More opportunities to make it better! It needed- tires, brakes all around, shocks and struts, new T belt. Maintenance done, I bought a boost gauge, and prepared to crank up the boost. Wondering what the boost controller it came with was set to, I made a baseline run. The needle SLOWLY climbed to 8psi. Huh. Much less than stock. No fiddling with the boost controller affected it. I suspected the exhaust leaks had something to do with it. Probably would have figured it out sooner if it wasn't for the carbon monoxide poisoning. The exhaust manifold was cracked in half. The turbine housing looked like a used up piece of fire wood. Huge cracks with large chunks of metal missing. Hard miles indeed. I replaced those, and reset the boost controller to the setting it had been at. Test drive time, I took it for a spin. I mashed the loud pedal while watching the boost gauge, waiting for that turbo lag. Except this time, I just barely caught a glimpse as the needle raced to 15psi as my head snapped back. I let off when I heard a new noise, a high pitched whine. Turned out to be my brother in the passenger seat squeeling like a little girl. Once all of the deferred maintenance was done, it was an awesome car. It got faster and faster it's whole life, and was extremely reliable. I commuted over 100mi a day in it. In the span of three days I once tracked it at Button Willow, drag raced it in Sacramento, and drove it through a blizzard in Tahoe. It survived numerous autocrosses, drag strip runs, track days, and rally crosses with nothing worse than faded brakes. Such a great car that I never should have bought.
chaparral said:Yes. Fiesta ST last year. Best-handling car I've ever owned. Didn't fit at all and didn't want to hack up the steering column mounting to lower the wheel until I did. Sold it two weeks later for a net profit of $300.
That's me right now. I didn't buy it as it was my dads everyday car when he passed away. I love the boost, suspension, and the 6spd, but damn it's low to the ground. I already barely fit in it, it needs tires as the rubber band sidewalls have more lumps and bumps on them than a pickle. It needs brakes and has needed brakes for a long time as the rotors flash rust over just sitting overnight ruining the pads in the process. Unless your shorter than 4' or still a sub 8-ish yr old, you ain't fitting E36 M3 in the back seat.
40 mpg is nice but I'd rather have another larger sporty car getting 20.
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