Cars you have bought but regretted?
Discussion
Mk1 Focus, my first car. Huge disappointment, largely because mine seemed to be the least reliable Focus in the known universe. My friend also had a Mk1 around the same time I did, and his never missed a beat. In two years of ownership, I had to replace:
- electric window motor
- speedo sensor
- fuel pump
- entire exhaust system
- front springs and shocks (both corners)
- boot latch
- fanbelt
- battery
Also the fabled brilliant Mk1 Focus steering was crap, although this may have just been my car. And occasionally when stopping at a junction it would stall...while not in gear.
- electric window motor
- speedo sensor
- fuel pump
- entire exhaust system
- front springs and shocks (both corners)
- boot latch
- fanbelt
- battery
Also the fabled brilliant Mk1 Focus steering was crap, although this may have just been my car. And occasionally when stopping at a junction it would stall...while not in gear.
R56 MINI Cooper S. Great engine, but not all that fun to drive after my R50. Hopelessly unreliable, and I found it to be very unstable at high speed, strange as every other one I have driven has been exemplary. Sold it after 2 1/2 months and 4k miles, lost about £1k.
My 2001 Discovery cost me a stupid amount of money in repairs in the 6 months I had it. I loved the car, but this one must have been a Friday afternoon car! Sold after 6 months and 7k miles, lost about £6k.
My 2001 Discovery cost me a stupid amount of money in repairs in the 6 months I had it. I loved the car, but this one must have been a Friday afternoon car! Sold after 6 months and 7k miles, lost about £6k.
t car.A few haven't been great:
Mk2 Astra (when I was 18) - in its past it must have had a dodgy history as it was a bit rubbish overall.
Vectra Arctic - bought new - taken away by Vauxhall after 11 months due to the large number of key components failing a number of times.
AMV8 Vantage Roadster - not the car it should have been given the price/age (almost new) - unreliable and hugely disappointing.
Escort XR3i Convertible - bought when it was already 20+ years old - bodywork was amazing, engine was not, sold soon after buying.....
Mk2 Astra (when I was 18) - in its past it must have had a dodgy history as it was a bit rubbish overall.
Vectra Arctic - bought new - taken away by Vauxhall after 11 months due to the large number of key components failing a number of times.
AMV8 Vantage Roadster - not the car it should have been given the price/age (almost new) - unreliable and hugely disappointing.
Escort XR3i Convertible - bought when it was already 20+ years old - bodywork was amazing, engine was not, sold soon after buying.....
Went from a RS4 B7 to a Megane R26 F1 Team, totally regretted it from about a week in, just did not have trust in the car at high speed corners etc.
also my current Range rover evouque is nice and feels good inside etc i miss the big engine of a RS4 or even a C63 next, i only do about 4k a year at the moment.
also my current Range rover evouque is nice and feels good inside etc i miss the big engine of a RS4 or even a C63 next, i only do about 4k a year at the moment.
That would be a 2011 Nissan Juke 1.6 DIG T.
What on earth was I thinking?
A stupid low gearing ratio meant that motorway travel was pretty much out of the question (in 6th gear) and appalling, appalling fuel economy (low 20's) combined to a 30L fuel tank.
It was entirely my own fault though.
Oh and the turbo engine was way too much for the chassis.
It was reliable though, so that's a plus. And the dealership was very good.
What on earth was I thinking?
A stupid low gearing ratio meant that motorway travel was pretty much out of the question (in 6th gear) and appalling, appalling fuel economy (low 20's) combined to a 30L fuel tank.
It was entirely my own fault though.
Oh and the turbo engine was way too much for the chassis.
It was reliable though, so that's a plus. And the dealership was very good.
Mk 2 Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec.
I bought the car at 3 years old and it was fine until it started to misfire after about 10 months.
It turns out that there was an issue with 1.6 zetec engined cars due to the design of the washer jets, meaning they'd leak onto the rocker cover. The spark plugs ended up being corroded into the cylinder head and would not budge. I took the car to a garage to see if they could remove them and they couldn't. I took it to Ford who tried to remove them; snapped one and cross threaded another and charged me a further £210 for the privilege and then said bring it back and we'll have another go when we have a bit more time.
The washer jets were changed, I removed all the water from around the spark plugs and after heavy rain - they were full of water again. All the drains were clear and a simple engine cover would have probably stopped a lot of the problems. Fords response was 'you need to change the plugs every year and that way you shouldn't have a problem'.
This was exactly the issue I had (not my thread) but the rust was more severe.
http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/16039-w...
Ford were useless and I'd certainly think twice before buying another based on that experience.
I bought the car at 3 years old and it was fine until it started to misfire after about 10 months.
It turns out that there was an issue with 1.6 zetec engined cars due to the design of the washer jets, meaning they'd leak onto the rocker cover. The spark plugs ended up being corroded into the cylinder head and would not budge. I took the car to a garage to see if they could remove them and they couldn't. I took it to Ford who tried to remove them; snapped one and cross threaded another and charged me a further £210 for the privilege and then said bring it back and we'll have another go when we have a bit more time.
The washer jets were changed, I removed all the water from around the spark plugs and after heavy rain - they were full of water again. All the drains were clear and a simple engine cover would have probably stopped a lot of the problems. Fords response was 'you need to change the plugs every year and that way you shouldn't have a problem'.
This was exactly the issue I had (not my thread) but the rust was more severe.
http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/16039-w...
Ford were useless and I'd certainly think twice before buying another based on that experience.
Edited by motor mad on Wednesday 24th September 11:23
Two for me;
306 XT (95 reg): looking back I'm sure it was dodgy and probably clocked, horrid in every way, always £££'s to get through MOT's, seats were horrid, ride was terrible, only handled ok with very new tyres on, which it seemed to eat through with astonishing voracity (yes I got the tracking/suspension/etc changed/reset/updated). Big expensive problems for such a cheap (i.e. when new) car.
Jaguar S-Type: the first and only time I've taken out a loan to get a car, completely understand why this is a stupid idea, but not the car's fault. Constant niggles, like high wind noise, eye wateringly expensive tyres, potential borkage factor with so many different "systems". Not that much fun to drive, thirsty, cramped, numb steering, difficult to see out of. Can do straight lines very well though...
The Jag made me regret getting rid of my MG ZT which cost me more in repairs... MG is still a better car!
306 XT (95 reg): looking back I'm sure it was dodgy and probably clocked, horrid in every way, always £££'s to get through MOT's, seats were horrid, ride was terrible, only handled ok with very new tyres on, which it seemed to eat through with astonishing voracity (yes I got the tracking/suspension/etc changed/reset/updated). Big expensive problems for such a cheap (i.e. when new) car.
Jaguar S-Type: the first and only time I've taken out a loan to get a car, completely understand why this is a stupid idea, but not the car's fault. Constant niggles, like high wind noise, eye wateringly expensive tyres, potential borkage factor with so many different "systems". Not that much fun to drive, thirsty, cramped, numb steering, difficult to see out of. Can do straight lines very well though...
The Jag made me regret getting rid of my MG ZT which cost me more in repairs... MG is still a better car!
Fiat Coupe 20VT, bought to replace one that had been written off (non fault).
Should have backed out when I collected it, roof needed respraying & it felt slow compared to my previous one. Found out why a few months later when the turbo shat itself.
Paid about £3k for it, sold it less than 6mths later for £500 & was happy to see the back of it. That was the end of cheap motors for me.
Not bad for a 26yr driving history & 16+ cars
Should have backed out when I collected it, roof needed respraying & it felt slow compared to my previous one. Found out why a few months later when the turbo shat itself.
Paid about £3k for it, sold it less than 6mths later for £500 & was happy to see the back of it. That was the end of cheap motors for me.
Not bad for a 26yr driving history & 16+ cars
Spanking new jaguar X Type 3.0 . Horrible, under performing gas guzzling nail.
Impreza. See above plus gearboxes galore and an engine rebuild. Then my mates son decided he wanted one (newer than mine). He kept it for 2 months then was very happy to take a loss and replace it with a MK3 MX5.
350Z, reliable but just not the performance you want from a 3.5 litre 2 seater sports car and plasticy cheap interior.
Impreza. See above plus gearboxes galore and an engine rebuild. Then my mates son decided he wanted one (newer than mine). He kept it for 2 months then was very happy to take a loss and replace it with a MK3 MX5.
350Z, reliable but just not the performance you want from a 3.5 litre 2 seater sports car and plasticy cheap interior.
This thread makes me feel better. Group therapy, if you will.
Sorry VW but you got it very wrong. One of the very first mk4 Golf Gti 1.8T's. Bought already remapped. Fairly quick in a straight line. Like a jelly on a tray of marbles when faced with the slightest hint of a bend. As I learnt, more power does not equal more fun if the chassis can't cope. Avoid. Please.
Sorry VW but you got it very wrong. One of the very first mk4 Golf Gti 1.8T's. Bought already remapped. Fairly quick in a straight line. Like a jelly on a tray of marbles when faced with the slightest hint of a bend. As I learnt, more power does not equal more fun if the chassis can't cope. Avoid. Please.
Vauxhall Zafria 1.9 CDTi SRI 150bhp 58 plate. Went to back to dealers after 7 days -continually at dealers more than at home. was 6 months old when I bought it. Faulty EGR valve which leaked carbon monoxide into cabin where me and my newborn son where. Absolute dreadful car. Vauxhall claimed it was my fault as i didn't run int on the motorway for 10minutes a day??? Never bought a Vauxhall since.
Never really had a particularly bad car, maybe cars have just been quite reliable over the last 38 years (the age now of the oldest car I've had).
I had an admittedly old (15 years) and high mileage (180k) W124 Merc 230CE that was a bit rubbish (lots of trim breaking and ultimately rusty) but never broke down. I bought a 19 year old 1976 Triumph Toledo for £125 that needed a new drivers seat, had a few clutch hydraulic fixes and suddenly lost all nights in the dark on the M4 (broken switch on stalk it turned out) but was actually otherwise a pretty good car!
I had an admittedly old (15 years) and high mileage (180k) W124 Merc 230CE that was a bit rubbish (lots of trim breaking and ultimately rusty) but never broke down. I bought a 19 year old 1976 Triumph Toledo for £125 that needed a new drivers seat, had a few clutch hydraulic fixes and suddenly lost all nights in the dark on the M4 (broken switch on stalk it turned out) but was actually otherwise a pretty good car!
i bought a lexus is200 mk1 shape, and sold series 1 discovery as we didn't need 2 cars or so we thought.
thirsty, gutless (meant to have 150 ponies, 149 asleep i think) and totally impractical.
lovely inside, but such a disappointment, brand new as well. i will never be taken in again by marketing tripe!
thirsty, gutless (meant to have 150 ponies, 149 asleep i think) and totally impractical.
lovely inside, but such a disappointment, brand new as well. i will never be taken in again by marketing tripe!
Lotus Esprit (first of the Stevens shape, NA). My third Lotus. I bought it cheap and paid the price. Spent a fortune keeping it on the road, parts very hard to find. Don't get me wrong - when it was working well it was fabulous, but that just didn't happen very often. Sold it and got back into another Elise (which was the best one I'd had, wish I'd never sold it.)
Would I have another? Yes. But I'd spend an awful lot more time researching and looking for the 'right' car.
Would I have another? Yes. But I'd spend an awful lot more time researching and looking for the 'right' car.
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