I have always been the kind of person that does a bunch of research on cars when looking for my next one. That inevitably leads to me finding a car that I love the idea of but find out that they are too impractical to be worth my money.
Am I doing things right by skipping cool but "less reliable" vehicles or am I missing out?
I do a bunch of research and still always end up with something I dislike for one reason or another.
I do both: I pick several models I may want, then I check the reliability ratings on them and then I by the best deal in my budget.
My Outback was the 6 speed manual I wanted but in a color I like the least out of the available colors....love the car.
Every time I buy with my head I regret it. I get bored quickly and keep looking at the cars I really wanted on autotrader etc.
I tend to keep one of each in my life.
One is practical and I buy it based on how useful it will be for my life, as well as consideration for reliability and fuel economy. Currently a Corolla is filling that role.
The other I buy because it's what I want and I don't ever really measure it based on any metric beyond pleasure. Currently a lowered Chevy truck is filling that role in my life. I hardly ever drive it and I really don't need it, but I just enjoy owning it.
Honestly, I do both. I've basically impulse splurge bought two Miatas and the current Audi A6 I have. I also do a lot of research when I'm buying beaters that I just need as basic transportation. Admittedly, I've done a TON of thinking and research on specific JDM imports and various Porsches and it sort of pushes me away from buying them due to the hassle and other factors. Back when I was younger this kind of stuff wouldn't bother me but now that I have responsibilities it basically limits my impulse buys to cars that aren't too expensive (to limit my risk) and wouldn't be complete money drains.
I'm on my third 1st gen MINI Cooper...what do I know?
I usually use both, but sometimes ignore one or both.
96 Impala SS - definitely used 6both. That car was wonderful. Fast, hot-looking, conversation starter, and gave me 150k of great, practical use.
73 AMC Hornet - used just my heart. What a turd that thing was. Like, down to its DNA, the engineering was flawed in every way. Unfixable.
73 Impala wagon - used both. What an awesome boat.
87 BMW 325iC - used just my heart. Turned out to be a wonderful ownership experience
98 F150 - used just my head. Yawnfest. I hated the appliance factor. It was good at one thing... working. zero fun
83 Corolla wagon - used neither head nor heart. My friend offered it to me for $200 and I handed it over without even knowing its color. Turned out to be blue and rust. Look for it in a challenge in the next few years.
I bet most of the people on this forum do both, as I do.
Toyota Prius: got for free, amazing gas mileage, totally reliable, capacious hatch to haul stuff. It's an appliance.
Long list of stupid cars in my shop: not so much!
The Tesla might be fairly close to satisfying my heart and my head. ~700hp, AWD, amazing to drive, luxurious inside, great stereo, etc.. and cheap to operate. Big, big caveat: expensive as hell to purchase, locked in to Tesla for most major repairs, not Toyota reliable for sure.
I'm probably going to buy a pickup even if I don't exactly need it. 97% of cars are meh.
I almost always have a boring, reliable DD so the "head" part is covered. That allows me to jump on CL or facebook finds (too) quickly
If we made purchasing decisions solely a financial decision we would probably all be driving an older Prius.
We always need to make certain sacrifices to drive the car that fits our hearts desire the best. My list of cars I've owned is long.
Life is too short to drive something boring everyday.
my heart for sure. I have an unnatural desire to odd and rare version of crappy regular cars. Like cars with the northstar for example. Not rare and valuable, just rare.
in april of 1997, i did not need a red '95 Integra GSR hatch. my 1988 Civic DX sedan did everything i needed a car to do. that's really the only car i've ever bought exclusively with my heart. the GSR is an easy one to make excuses for, because Honda.
most of the time, i buy what makes economic sense. even when i'm not "in the market" for a car, i'll buy something if it's the right price, then decide whether to keep or flip.
camopaint0707 said:my heart for sure. I have an unnatural desire to odd and rare version of crappy regular cars. Like cars with the northstar for example. Not rare and valuable, just rare.
someday i'm gonna build a V-influenced RWD N* SRX for the Challenge
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
yeah, that would certainly be a weird one.
A small sample of just some of the convertibles I've had:
And here's is just some of the black cars I've had:
Only one of these cars (the Bolt at the bottom of the black car group) was bought for practicality and value. And even it had elements of heart decisions (being black and quick with a sunroof). I like fun cars. When I go to buy a car, I already know what car I'm looking for, and try to get the best example of it that I can. There's never a selection of cars that I'm thinking of choosing from that I compare for any reason. The problem is I really like way too many cars. Can't own them all at once, so I've owned them sequentially... lol! And there's still a huge number that I'd love to have.
Head/Impulse. =~ (
I would never impulse buy a car...I do careful research and only make the wisest purchases.
Like these.
I've done plenty of both. Life is about balancing wants with needs.
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