A car you instantly regretted buying
Discussion
horster said:
Volkswagon transporter t5. Everyone raves that it drives just like a car.......it doesnt. even on m1 driving home I was unsure id done the right thing but perservered.
I was close to making this mistake too. I was toying with the idea of getting a van and a close friend had a Transporter for sale. He absolutely raved about it, including mentioning the 'drives like a car' thing about 1,000 times, and I was seriously considering it. Fortunately he went out of the country for work for a few months and said I could borrow it while he was away, obviously convinced that I'd fall in love with it in that time. Err, no. I don't know what car it is that they supposedly drive like but it must be a very s
t one, and from driving it a couple of hundred miles to the Lake District and back it was clear that it had a number of things just waiting to go expensively wrong (juddery clutch, knocking steering etc). Why my mate thought I wouldn't notice these things I don't know, it seems that VW devotees have a Nelsonian eye when it comes to their many, many faults. It shat its water pump shortly after he returned from abroad too. Lucky escape that one.Peugeot 309 Goodwood GTI in about 1995, hated the thing but persevered for nearly a year with it. It was a pre cat full power version and I never felt it deserved all of the "best handling car ever" rubbish the mags trotted out at the time. Should have been exactly my type of car but I just never gelled, it was pretty low mileage as well so not worn out.
Wife had a 306XSI at the time, now that was good in every way and highlighted just how bad the 309 was.
Wife had a 306XSI at the time, now that was good in every way and highlighted just how bad the 309 was.
Porsche 924 Turbo. Dealer (not an OPC!) lied to me about service history, had to sue him to get it. Had an impossible to fix persistent petrol leak. First service cost me a fortune (new front shockers & disks). Failed its MoT with an exhaust leak; distorted exhaust manifold - had to get a new one. From Germany. At vast expense. Coil pack failed & squirted HT into the ECU & fried it. I was never so glad to see the back of a car as it vanished with its new owner in a large cloud of blue smoke (it needed a new turbo, or a head rebuild, or both.)
I've never really bought a lemon but I have sold one. I had a 1993 Honda Prelude which was used as a daily driver in addition to the TVR I had for weekend/sunshine use. The Prelude did the job and I kept it for about 4 years.
However, in the latter stages of ownership it had developed this strange habit of not starting whenever the weather was warm and it was always hit and miss. I had to park it in shady areas, under trees, etc as direct sunlight or reasonably warm weather would cause the thing not to fire up. Everything else worked fine (except the 4 Wheel steering). It's strange when you live in the UK and start to pray for cold weather!
It had 6 weeks to go before it's MOT and tax were due and by that time the exhaust needed replacing. I was totally fed up with it failing to start so I had to get rid quickly. Listed on eBay for 1p with no reserve and somebody won it for £330. All issues were explained in the listing. The buyer arrived (on a warm sunny day!) and it fired up first time. Odd. The cash bought me a few meals on a Greek holiday.
However, in the latter stages of ownership it had developed this strange habit of not starting whenever the weather was warm and it was always hit and miss. I had to park it in shady areas, under trees, etc as direct sunlight or reasonably warm weather would cause the thing not to fire up. Everything else worked fine (except the 4 Wheel steering). It's strange when you live in the UK and start to pray for cold weather!
It had 6 weeks to go before it's MOT and tax were due and by that time the exhaust needed replacing. I was totally fed up with it failing to start so I had to get rid quickly. Listed on eBay for 1p with no reserve and somebody won it for £330. All issues were explained in the listing. The buyer arrived (on a warm sunny day!) and it fired up first time. Odd. The cash bought me a few meals on a Greek holiday.
I bought an e46 330d touring from an ex-driving instructor who was so nervous and bossy on the test drive that I didn't test the car properly but got a feeling that it was really underpowered. Everything else was lovely so I paid my £2900 and drove it home. First junction I pulled out of, I realized it was sans-turbo and I was driving a pup. Luckily it was only the MAF sensor and didn't cost much to fix but the rest of the car slowly started falling apart, and the MOT 6 months in was a horrible experience.
The day before I sold it on, the engine flooded with water driving through a ford on a rural lane and it was written off. I wanted to like it but knew it was a terrible mistake the moment I left the sellers house.
The day before I sold it on, the engine flooded with water driving through a ford on a rural lane and it was written off. I wanted to like it but knew it was a terrible mistake the moment I left the sellers house.
R8Steve said:
RX8 - a moment of madness confirmed by the cool packs failing before I could even get it home
In defence of the RX8.... A friend bought a mint Prodrive PZ version last year for the princely sum of £2,500. It is totally immaculate, every single thing works, love Bose Hi Fi and electric leather seats . It was compression tested with a reading of 6.9, which is roughly 1/3 worn , 8 being new, 5 being it will start to have starting issues . It has done several non stop Trackdays , 150 flat out laps at least each time. Has done maybe 10 compettitive sprint events including Lydden hill and Goodwood, often being double driven with me, and also autosolo competitions where it is power slid constantly. The car has never missed a single beat and in the 2.0 production car sprint class we regularly beat the ex-champ in his Integra Type R, the car is pretty much undefeated in the Sevenoaks Motor Club Speed League.
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience, but ours is unbreakable!!!
Each and every car I've ever purchased with my sensible head on. Worst being a 1.1 Fiesta I bought in rush, and in the rain, for my daughter. It was truly awful in every respect, literally falling to bits, and I replaced it (after spending far too much money on it to make it vaguely safe) with a lovely '96 Audi Coupe which cost about £100 more, and is built like a tank.
1990 Corolla bought from an elderly couple who listed it on eBay as they no longer needed it and I needed a cheap leave at uni thing.
Dad and I waited at their house from 5:30pm until 11pm... Called them numerous times and they just said they kept getting delayed.
Car drove fine for a week then HG blew.
Sold it for 80% loss.
Dad and I waited at their house from 5:30pm until 11pm... Called them numerous times and they just said they kept getting delayed.
Car drove fine for a week then HG blew.
Sold it for 80% loss.
Ah yes.... this topic brings us to the MK1 Audi S3 we bought from a dodgy dealer in Kent.
We got there, saw it with bad paint, rusted through shocks, headlights on the blink and missing their backing panels etc.
And then his phone rang..... The Minder theme tune kicked into life!
But Mrs TS had been set on an S3, it was the only one we could find that was dirt cheap (for a reason) and we'd come a long way. So, despite her being the one that was then not sure, we bought it.
I think we knew as soon as we got home that we just shouldn't have bothered.
But I gave it a new lease of life with a Koni/H&R shock and spring set and various other bits of tarting up.
It went pretty well and did its job for the short time we had it.
But we definitely should have walked!
We got there, saw it with bad paint, rusted through shocks, headlights on the blink and missing their backing panels etc.
And then his phone rang..... The Minder theme tune kicked into life!
But Mrs TS had been set on an S3, it was the only one we could find that was dirt cheap (for a reason) and we'd come a long way. So, despite her being the one that was then not sure, we bought it.
I think we knew as soon as we got home that we just shouldn't have bothered.
But I gave it a new lease of life with a Koni/H&R shock and spring set and various other bits of tarting up.
It went pretty well and did its job for the short time we had it.
But we definitely should have walked!
A 72k '02 Seat Arosa when I first passed... Broke down at least once a week, did a set of spark plugs every month and a bit and munched 3 coils in the 9 months I had it. Got written off in a car park by an old lady and the last time I drove it one of the valves decided to introduce itself to me, through the top of the cylinder head...
Scrapped it and bought a Focus diesel, did 24,000 miles in that and never broke down once!
Scrapped it and bought a Focus diesel, did 24,000 miles in that and never broke down once!
56 plate passat 2.0 tfsi auto.
Part ex'd my Disco2 V8 for this, hateful turd of a car. It only had 46k on it when I bought it but it was falling apart already. I took it to my trusted indy and he gave me an A4 sheet of faults. Kept it 8 months.
2008 Civic Type-R
Bought it at 2 years old. Loved the test drive, but regretted it on the drive home. Just wasn't as fast as I thought it would be and it wasn't built properly. Might have been a Friday afternoon car, or maybe the dealer was just useless.
Part ex'd my Disco2 V8 for this, hateful turd of a car. It only had 46k on it when I bought it but it was falling apart already. I took it to my trusted indy and he gave me an A4 sheet of faults. Kept it 8 months.
2008 Civic Type-R
Bought it at 2 years old. Loved the test drive, but regretted it on the drive home. Just wasn't as fast as I thought it would be and it wasn't built properly. Might have been a Friday afternoon car, or maybe the dealer was just useless.
dfen5 said:
Car that I loved from the get go - Rover 3500 SDI
I miss my 3500 SD1, even 23 years later. Even though it leaked (rainwater in) like a sieve, drank like a fish, the handbrake jammed on all the time, the interior trim was made of fag packets, the tailgate handle snapped off ("they all do that, Sir"). OTOH, it was fast(-ish), quiet, comfortable, capacious & lovely to drive long distances in. I drove from London to Kintyre 2 or 3 times a year in it for some time. And it started a love affair with the Rover V8 that only finished last Saturday when I sold my TVR.Oak green MK2 Golf GTi 8v.
I had just sold my 500hp Supra and my Corrado VR6 as I was starting uni, and I wanted something nice, that stood out a little, but wasn't too expensive to run and was reasonably practical. It was a lovely looking car, and for the most part was in great condition. But it was so slow, and the fuel economy was poor for the performance.
I sold it 6 weeks later, and replaced it with a MK1 Golf GTi. Which was amazing.
I had just sold my 500hp Supra and my Corrado VR6 as I was starting uni, and I wanted something nice, that stood out a little, but wasn't too expensive to run and was reasonably practical. It was a lovely looking car, and for the most part was in great condition. But it was so slow, and the fuel economy was poor for the performance.
I sold it 6 weeks later, and replaced it with a MK1 Golf GTi. Which was amazing.
BMW 335i Touring
Bought this from a main dealer and it was plagued with problems from the start so after 4 times on a recovery truck in seven months enough was enough and they bought it back...albeit with a nearly £2000 loss in six months
This is not to mention that it was the worst handling car that I've owned, I honestly don't know how people can put up with the woeful M sport suspension 300BHP and you could safely use about 100 of them as you couldn't predict what side of the road it would swerve to next!
Hateful P.O.S
Bought this from a main dealer and it was plagued with problems from the start so after 4 times on a recovery truck in seven months enough was enough and they bought it back...albeit with a nearly £2000 loss in six months
This is not to mention that it was the worst handling car that I've owned, I honestly don't know how people can put up with the woeful M sport suspension 300BHP and you could safely use about 100 of them as you couldn't predict what side of the road it would swerve to next!
Hateful P.O.S
Edited by bangerturner on Wednesday 29th July 17:47
Pretty boring but in 2005 I purchased a 2004 1.4 zetec fiesta. Thoughts were would be a nice newish car plus with the package I had, shouldn't have any expenses if things went wrong. I did everything well but was just such a dull drive, all driving fun had gone. Traded it in at a loss 2 months later.
Toyota Prius, my first ever brand new car... bought when I was doing a long slog weekly along the M4/M25, thought some MPG and lack of congestion charge would be nice.
But that quickly changed, and as a normal car, well it had some nice gadgets but: It was really S-L-O-W... Waaaay too much body-roll. Horribly plasticky interior. Seated too high up. I'm sure there were redeeming features, but I can't think of any right now.
I swapped it for a Scirocco R. Quite a bit different.
But that quickly changed, and as a normal car, well it had some nice gadgets but: It was really S-L-O-W... Waaaay too much body-roll. Horribly plasticky interior. Seated too high up. I'm sure there were redeeming features, but I can't think of any right now.
I swapped it for a Scirocco R. Quite a bit different.
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