Not immediately. My record between buying and regret is one day, the time between buying a 1979 Triumph Spitfire and the car taking its name entirely too literally. High beam switch caught on fire and I spent the rest of my time of ownership rewiring it. Then once that was done, the hydraulics had started leaking, so I cut my losses and sold it.
No, I can honestly say I've never regretted buying a car, and certainly not immediately. But then again I agonize about what car to buy for months before actually buying one, because I tend to keep them on a longer timeframe than many GRMers. I think the shortest I have ever owned a car is 6 years and most run 10-12.
Chevy S10 Blazer, forget the year but it was in 2004 so likely '95 or so.
CEL on the test drive, the CHEVY dealership said it wasn't a big deal but made me stop at an Autozone to plug in, looked like a simple fix. The truck was only $2500 so I didn't expect perfection.
Ended up being an $800 repair, garage said the dealer had to know what it was. AC didn't work, driver window stuck, driver electric seat didn't work, radio used one speaker (all of this I discovered after the test drive and payment). Broke down regularly for the 3 or so years I used it. Ex wife tried to go back to dealership but in her usual hothead ways was kicked out almost immediately.
After we separated I planned to trade it in that spring, ended up totalling it in December 2008, bought my first Scion xB and didn't look back.
EDIT- forgot to add, 6 months after purchase I drove past and the dealership was out of biz. Beechmont Chevrolet for Cincy locals.
In reply to chaparral :
I owned a 1980 Fiesta and was so glad when Ford announced they would be sold in the U.S. again. I don't know how many times (surely dozens) I visited the Ford website to " Build and Price " my dream Fiesta or search dealer inventory. But the money never seemed to be there for a new car and used manual transmissioned Fiestas are few and far between, mostly cheap " S " sedans.
But last week I took an SE for a test drive: I fit, well, ok, in my 1980 model but a 2018? Nope, didn't fit, I couldn't get the seat far enough back from the steering wheel.
XKR convertible. It was british racing green and gorgeous. TPMS sensor died on the way home from the dealership. I knew right then that it was a sign of things to come, but I ignored my gut and kept the car. Convertible top motor went out, car overheated and stranded me on the highway...just about everything you'd expect from XKR ownership.
The WRX STI I bought brand new in 2007. What a pile that car was! Incredibly cheaply made, paint and interior were garbage, seats were incredibly uncomfortable and the shock dampening didn't match the spring rates. Sold it 6 months later with 5,000 miles on it for a loss.
Jerry said:Chevy S10 Blazer, forget the year but it was in 2004 so likely '95 or so.
CEL on the test drive, the CHEVY dealership said it wasn't a big deal but made me stop at an Autozone to plug in, looked like a simple fix. The truck was only $2500 so I didn't expect perfection.
Ended up being an $800 repair, garage said the dealer had to know what it was. AC didn't work, driver window stuck, driver electric seat didn't work, radio used one speaker (all of this I discovered after the test drive and payment). Broke down regularly for the 3 or so years I used it. Ex wife tried to go back to dealership but in her usual hothead ways was kicked out almost immediately.
After we separated I planned to trade it in that spring, ended up totalling it in December 2008, bought my first Scion xB and didn't look back.
EDIT- forgot to add, 6 months after purchase I drove past and the dealership was out of biz. Beechmont Chevrolet for Cincy locals.
Wow, what a weird year for a Chevrolet dealer to shut down. I can see 2009, but 2004 was a big year for car sales. And it wasn't the location, the Beechmont "Automile" was well known. They must have been bad. Maybe they had to sell the franchise to somone else in town or move it for a reboot.
Ugh. Yes. Both Tacomas I owned. WTF was I thinking.
Twice.
First was a 1998 Audi A4 Avant 2.8Q. Due to a botched timing belt job, pistons ate some valves on the way home from the purchase. The repair was covered by the selling dealer, but I ended up selling the car a few months later.
Second was an '88 E30 325is. I just never really gelled with that car from the moment I test drove it. My ex- liked it more than I did, but she tends to be a lot more influenced by how a car looks rather than how it drives, and that car did look great.
Instant dislike, no. But a 1983 Nissan Stanza taught me the limits of my automotive hatred early in our acquaintance. It had the second worse carburetor I have ever had the displeasure of working on. It took 4 custom bent wrenches to get the carburetor off. Two of those wrenches were for the same nut. That vehicle was the worst vehicle I have ever owned and I have owned a pile of $200 E36 M3 boxes. I didn't sell it, I just gave it away to someone I didn't like and didn't buy another Nissan product for 30 years.
I'm pretty sure if I end up in Hell I'll be destined to work on a Stanza for eternity.
That godforsaken shiny Red Ram on the showroom floor.
1) it was a first year remodel
2) It was the first year of uConnect (and it freaking STUNK!)
3) I was overextended on payments already, and knew I was making a huge mistake, but impuse got the best of me and I did it anyway...
4) I had literally 3 days to purchase a vehicle after my prior truck was totalled in an accident, and panicked and didn't shop around.
All of those led to about a decade of lateral car moves to get out from under water on it, and I didnt ever really like the truck to begin with. It was full of quirks, the coil rear towed like poop without airbags, and the infotainment system sent that truck back into the dealer more times than I could count, leaving me with a seemingly endless cycle of dodge dart loaners that smelled like butt instead of a truck I was paying absurd amounts of money on every month. Half my fault, half that stupid truck. But I knew it the second I signed the paperwork.
My ex-wife found an Isuzu I-Mark she wanted. I said no,but she hated driving my hotrod Buick Regal, so I bought it for her. Broke down on the way home. I hated that car before I even bought it.
Yep bought new 2015 Ram 2500 diesel 6spd crew cab long bed (tradesman, I don't use Benjamin's as fire starters). It was gorgeous but not worth the hassle.
First few months were fine, power was meh at best with torque management and didn't tow nearly as well as my previous 7.3 powerstrokes. Fit/finish was also lackluster, plastics cracked, seats broke down fast and were not comfortable. Generally not worth the monthly payment.
Traded it in after 2 years on a 21 year old truck, 97 F350 CCLB 7.3 which I've loved since day 1.
In about 2001, I decided I wanted a 4x4 v6 small truck for towing my boat and to daily. I was the winning bidder on a 95 ranger with a 4.0 that had been owned by the Hillsboro (Tampa area) county parks department.
It only had about 65,000 miles on it, and it ran really well. I took it in for service and for fluid changes, and learned that the transmission was "nearly completely rebuilt."
I think the engine made 190 hp, which made it relatively fast, but it was such a flimsy tin can of a truck, but I was afraid to drive it.
I sold it to my father-in-law to take up to North Carolina for his gardening truck. It hardly was driven, so I ended up with it again when I moved up there. Brought it to Florida when I moved back and sold it here.
I had always wanted a WRX wagon. I bought a 2004 in April 2020 from the original owner, sold it in six months. I had to choose between it and the 2004 Ralliart wagon that I'd had since 2009. The Subaru felt fragile, while the Mitsubishi has been very reliable. I sold the WRX, no regrets.
Apparently I'm just not impulsive enough.
Without a doubt the biggest pile I have ever owned. after loving my manual forester I traded up to this and for the first 1K miles it was ok. Ever 1K miles after it would develp some strange sound, then more then more then I finally gave up at 7K miles. I sold it for what I paid new due to some shenanigans with the dealership that sold it to me in the first place . HAve not been back in a Subaru since.
I flew all the way to Chicago to do a fly-and-drive on a 50k-mile '86 RX-7 (red, base model Sport Package, no sunroof, excellent condition, bone stock except exhaust) that I had won on eBay and negotiated to a reasonable price. I arrived there and the car was exactly as represented, if not better, but something about how cheap the interior felt and the wooliness of the steering really turned me off, and I ended up flying back home without the car. The whole ordeal cost me about $800 between the plane tickets, eBay fee, and Uber rides. Will never forget my one and only trip to Chicago to look at that red RX-7.
what the heck was I thinking? Anyone want a '70 beetle convertible?
chandler said:
what the heck was I thinking? Anyone want a '70 beetle convertible?
Slap that thing on a sxs...
1984 Cavalier wagon! Had a '81 Citation X11, had two kids, SWMBO wanted four doors. Hated the car and sold it to my sister after 9 months and got a GLH. My sister loved it so much that she another one - new - just like it. Go figure.
The $318 Ford Escort from Copart with a bad transmission probably qualifies.
But I'm not giving up on it.
GCrites80s said:Wow, what a weird year for a Chevrolet dealer to shut down. I can see 2009, but 2004 was a big year for car sales. And it wasn't the location, the Beechmont "Automile" was well known. They must have been bad. Maybe they had to sell the franchise to somone else in town or move it for a reboot.
Wyler is only one exit away and huge. That probably had an effect. Even in 2004, Beechmont was trending towards import lots, I can't remember if the Mercury/Lincoln lot was gone at that point or not. I think Maserati had opened up somewhere along there by then.
Every time I have bought a car because I needed one quick, I ended up hating it.
2000 Honda Civic. Had a 1997 DX and loved it. Bought the 2000 EX when it died, and loved how it drove, but apparently there was some BS with the title and I bailed quickly, taking a decent loss. I got a bad vibe from the seller, but was drawn in by the low miles and the price.
2006? Hyundai Accent hatchback. This should have been a fine car, but I was using it for a highway commute and it was a buzzy SOB. It got totalled thanks to some 70 MPH hydroplaning on said commute.
2000 Toyota Camry. By any reasonable standard, this was a good car. Basically maintenance free for the 120k miles I drove it, but it was the camriest camry ever. Beige on beige. 4 cylinder automatic. I knew during the test drive that I would hate it, but I needed a cheap, reliable car that got decent mileage. It checked all those boxes.
My A2 Golf--five door, stick shift. I had just graduated from school and needed wheels. This was before internet. I sold it soon after for a new SE-R.
In 1989 I drove my bought with cash 1984 Toyota 4x4 into the dealership to "have a look" at the swoopy new '89's. I walked out with the only new vehicle I have ever purchased. 18 per cent interest and it took every penny I had to make the down payment large enough to fit my income. They gave me about a dollar for my old one and all the salesmen did the Toyota jump when I drove out. It was just after Christmas and I spent the entire holiday at home looking at it in the driveway because I had no money to put gas in it. I had about a week to fully comprehend the stupidity of my purchase. I paid it off in four years and it was a lovely truck but I was also broke for four years and I sold it as soon as it was paid for and bought cheap 1972 Blazer. You can guess which was the better investment.
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