A car you instantly regretted buying
Discussion
Where do I begin?
Ferrari 360 Spider F1. The doors fell off. The roof stopped working. It was truly vile to drive around town. It cost me £8 a mile in depreciation alone.
Porsche 997TT Cab Tip. Tiptronic is sh*t. End. Traded it in against an Audi S5 Cab. Which is a better car. Which is sad.
997GT3 Mk1. Sounded like a bag of spanners in a tumble dryer. Didn't handle - turned out the rear dampers were shot. Sold my 964 Turbo 3.6 to buy it. Not my best ever financial decision.
Audi A4 3.2 V6 Tiptronic Quattro. Long badge. Excruciatingly dull car.
Golf R (mk6). Noisy. Short-geared. Thirsty. Good fun for the 2% of my time not spent driving below 30mph or on motorways. Truly awful motorway car.
80's Range Rover Classic V8 Auto. Leggy as hell. Wouldn't do more than 70. Struggled to manage 15mph. Wouldn't pull up hills. Interior velour sagged like a superannuated tart's backside. Smelled.
Alfa 33 Cloverleaf. Just don't. Built by apes out of bacofoil and yoghurt pots. Gearbox bushes used to fail every 1,000 miles, leading to comedy random gear selection. Develops good clutch foot reflexes.
...and on the other hand...
Porsche 993RS. Best. Car. Ever. No, really. Why why why why why did I sell it? For £26k... (in my defence it was a long time ago, it was LHD and nobody wanted them then).
Ferrari 360 Spider F1. The doors fell off. The roof stopped working. It was truly vile to drive around town. It cost me £8 a mile in depreciation alone.
Porsche 997TT Cab Tip. Tiptronic is sh*t. End. Traded it in against an Audi S5 Cab. Which is a better car. Which is sad.
997GT3 Mk1. Sounded like a bag of spanners in a tumble dryer. Didn't handle - turned out the rear dampers were shot. Sold my 964 Turbo 3.6 to buy it. Not my best ever financial decision.
Audi A4 3.2 V6 Tiptronic Quattro. Long badge. Excruciatingly dull car.
Golf R (mk6). Noisy. Short-geared. Thirsty. Good fun for the 2% of my time not spent driving below 30mph or on motorways. Truly awful motorway car.
80's Range Rover Classic V8 Auto. Leggy as hell. Wouldn't do more than 70. Struggled to manage 15mph. Wouldn't pull up hills. Interior velour sagged like a superannuated tart's backside. Smelled.
Alfa 33 Cloverleaf. Just don't. Built by apes out of bacofoil and yoghurt pots. Gearbox bushes used to fail every 1,000 miles, leading to comedy random gear selection. Develops good clutch foot reflexes.
...and on the other hand...
Porsche 993RS. Best. Car. Ever. No, really. Why why why why why did I sell it? For £26k... (in my defence it was a long time ago, it was LHD and nobody wanted them then).
Back in 2006 I had a Subaru Impreza P1 which had been great for the last 3 years but thought it time to 'upgrade' so I bought a 2004 UK STI PPP. In comparison the STI was slow, wallowy and altogether dull so after 3 months I traded it in for another P1 and was instantly much happier!
Then in 2009 I bought a 2006 (E46) 325 M Sport Convertible and aside from the fact it was an all round 'Friday Night Car' (The only car I have had where Kerb Assist means the passenger wing mirror goes up instead of down?) it was also quite dull to drive and not that quick considering my wife kept up with me in her E46 320cd Sport Convertible. That lasted 6 weeks until I found an E46 M3 Coupe, which was an absolute peach of a car!
Then in 2009 I bought a 2006 (E46) 325 M Sport Convertible and aside from the fact it was an all round 'Friday Night Car' (The only car I have had where Kerb Assist means the passenger wing mirror goes up instead of down?) it was also quite dull to drive and not that quick considering my wife kept up with me in her E46 320cd Sport Convertible. That lasted 6 weeks until I found an E46 M3 Coupe, which was an absolute peach of a car!
1) BMW X5 - (35x drive or something or other - never could remember what it actually was called, SE) - 6 years ago or so = how did I ever think that ride was acceptable or tolerable?
2) Audi Avant 2.5 diesel - a while ago - just clumsy when paired with manual gear box
3) Lotus Elise - nearly 20 years ago- when you braked it skidded, when it rained you got wet
4) Porsche 997 gen 2 2S cab..... about 7 years ago...early PDK was a bit rubbish, always changing up TOO EARLY
5) BMW 320d touring - 10 years ago - didn't check that 2 Labradors would be VERY unhappy in the not too capacious boot
Oh well - still more hits than misses over the years
2) Audi Avant 2.5 diesel - a while ago - just clumsy when paired with manual gear box
3) Lotus Elise - nearly 20 years ago- when you braked it skidded, when it rained you got wet
4) Porsche 997 gen 2 2S cab..... about 7 years ago...early PDK was a bit rubbish, always changing up TOO EARLY
5) BMW 320d touring - 10 years ago - didn't check that 2 Labradors would be VERY unhappy in the not too capacious boot
Oh well - still more hits than misses over the years
I bought a lovely, low mileage Maserati 4200 not long ago. I "owned" it for six months, only actually having possession of it for 4 weeks during that time, and not even consecutive weeks. Due to electrical gremlins. Got a full refund after that, and moved on. That was my second Mas, and my last I'm afraid. Had similar problems with my Shamal back in the late 90's but not quite as bad.
Audi A2 1.4 TDI 'Sport'.
Worst handling, most uncomfortable POS I've ever driven. Sold it within 2 weeks. Steering felt bent, things inside it broke and it was practically brand new from an Audi dealer. Ruined me for Audi's forever.
VW Passat
Handled like a barge that was sinking. Horrible engine, horrible gearbox, just horrible. Actually managed to give it back inside a week!
Worst handling, most uncomfortable POS I've ever driven. Sold it within 2 weeks. Steering felt bent, things inside it broke and it was practically brand new from an Audi dealer. Ruined me for Audi's forever.
VW Passat
Handled like a barge that was sinking. Horrible engine, horrible gearbox, just horrible. Actually managed to give it back inside a week!
dfen5 said:
You might not want to google some of these..
Avenger 1600 Gls. Probably the worst car ever built. Gearbox, engine, steering, seating, dash etc.
Princess 1800 HL. Slow, probably the most boat like car ever built.
1300 GT. Feels like the engine mounts allowed 90 degree forward tilt at each gear change.
Rover 2200 TC. Corners? Lolz.
Triumph Spitfire. Shocking - dangerous handling.
Daimler Sov'. Thirsty.
Metro 1.0 HLe. Would have been safer in a crash in a Sinclair C5.
And so on...
Newer cars might be bad, but looking back, it's amazing that we're not all on public transport.
Eta. Car that I loved from the get go - Rover 3500 SDI
Awww, an Avenger 1600GLS was my first car. Pretty good it was too, bar one instance of an awful fuel leak (for which I blamed my mate's mechanic). Except it was never the same after a long thrash from Norwich to Salisbury. Avenger 1600 Gls. Probably the worst car ever built. Gearbox, engine, steering, seating, dash etc.
Princess 1800 HL. Slow, probably the most boat like car ever built.
1300 GT. Feels like the engine mounts allowed 90 degree forward tilt at each gear change.
Rover 2200 TC. Corners? Lolz.
Triumph Spitfire. Shocking - dangerous handling.
Daimler Sov'. Thirsty.
Metro 1.0 HLe. Would have been safer in a crash in a Sinclair C5.
And so on...
Newer cars might be bad, but looking back, it's amazing that we're not all on public transport.
Eta. Car that I loved from the get go - Rover 3500 SDI
Edited by dfen5 on Tuesday 21st July 20:02
The car I instantly regretted was a Daihatsu Sirion Rally2
Whilst being very nippy with a fantastic engine and great fun to rev the nuts off, sadly it just wasn't big enough for me at 5ft 11, the seat couldn't go back any further, ended up with aching knees all the time, and I'm not one to usually put my seat all the way back, even kids couldn't use the seat behind me if I drove.
In my defence I bought it unseen as I lived on a remote island at the time and finding cars was hard.
Honourable mention goes to my Mazda MX6, auto box blew up after 4 weeks at a cost of £1000 which is what I paid for it, the heater blew hot or cold at random matter what setting you had it on and the sunroof dripped right onto my head when it rained, although it was already 15 years old at that time.
Whilst being very nippy with a fantastic engine and great fun to rev the nuts off, sadly it just wasn't big enough for me at 5ft 11, the seat couldn't go back any further, ended up with aching knees all the time, and I'm not one to usually put my seat all the way back, even kids couldn't use the seat behind me if I drove.
In my defence I bought it unseen as I lived on a remote island at the time and finding cars was hard.
Honourable mention goes to my Mazda MX6, auto box blew up after 4 weeks at a cost of £1000 which is what I paid for it, the heater blew hot or cold at random matter what setting you had it on and the sunroof dripped right onto my head when it rained, although it was already 15 years old at that time.
Ferrari 360 - bought it from West Sussex, drove 50 miles to the M25 and rear tyre blew out (realised for the first time, no spare !). 23 hand gestures from 'helpful' motorists in 1 hour waiting for the recovery truck. Eventually got it home and wouldn't fit into my garage. Spent the first night sitting at the window cacking myself in case it was stolen. Took another 6 months to realise this car (although brilliant in many respects) wasn't for me and now back in an enthusiasts car......
My first car a Mk1 Golf 1275? Cl(CNC443Y) My aunty sold it to me for a bargain price in 1989. The car took me from agricultural college in Ayr the length and breadth of the UK for holiday jobs on various farms. A great wee car, you could really make those tyres squeal.
But no as a 19yr old I knew better and wanted a Nova SR, looked at a Manta GTE, Renault 19? Turbo scary insurance. Eventually bought a Polo coupe s. It was s
t, poor handling, poor brakes, 4sp box, poor hot starting.
I had several close shaves in it, youthful stupidity and lack of talent perhaps.
I did one night crash it into the crash barriers near Ardrishaig. Good job they were there or I would have landed in the sea!.
Was mended and sold to my ex GF when I got a co car.
But no as a 19yr old I knew better and wanted a Nova SR, looked at a Manta GTE, Renault 19? Turbo scary insurance. Eventually bought a Polo coupe s. It was s
t, poor handling, poor brakes, 4sp box, poor hot starting.I had several close shaves in it, youthful stupidity and lack of talent perhaps.
I did one night crash it into the crash barriers near Ardrishaig. Good job they were there or I would have landed in the sea!.
Was mended and sold to my ex GF when I got a co car.
Ford Sierra Ghia 2.8i 4x4. Liked it on the test drive, but that was just up a dual carriageway, round the island and back again...... (Moral of the story, do a longer test drive!)
On the way home as soon as I pointed it down the first county lane en-route I realized it didn't handle, proper wobbled like a jelly, unbelievable understeer in tight bends, wasn't that quick and yet it didn't seem to be happy being driven slowly either! The worst thing though was the horrendous fuel consumption, it drank more than Ollie Read and Richard Burton on a bender. Then a new girlfriend came on the scene and my sister moved house so with all the extra running around I was often spending more on fuel than I was earning........
And then it started to become unreliable........
It overheated, and started misfiring. The misfire was quickly sorted but the overheating took months to sort out. As soon as that was done I dropped it like a hot potato. Unfortunately after the terrible fuel consumption I turned to the darkside and went with the fuel of Satan for a few years........
My other regret, although it wasn't instant was an Audi A4 2.5 TDi Quattro. I thought I was moving up in the world and at first it didn't seem a bad motor. It was so unreliable, it probably had more faults than all the other cars that I ever owned put together, old bangers included. And the seats were REALLY uncomfortable on any run that lasted more than half an hour. It went as soon as the warranty ran out.
On the way home as soon as I pointed it down the first county lane en-route I realized it didn't handle, proper wobbled like a jelly, unbelievable understeer in tight bends, wasn't that quick and yet it didn't seem to be happy being driven slowly either! The worst thing though was the horrendous fuel consumption, it drank more than Ollie Read and Richard Burton on a bender. Then a new girlfriend came on the scene and my sister moved house so with all the extra running around I was often spending more on fuel than I was earning........
And then it started to become unreliable........
It overheated, and started misfiring. The misfire was quickly sorted but the overheating took months to sort out. As soon as that was done I dropped it like a hot potato. Unfortunately after the terrible fuel consumption I turned to the darkside and went with the fuel of Satan for a few years........My other regret, although it wasn't instant was an Audi A4 2.5 TDi Quattro. I thought I was moving up in the world and at first it didn't seem a bad motor. It was so unreliable, it probably had more faults than all the other cars that I ever owned put together, old bangers included. And the seats were REALLY uncomfortable on any run that lasted more than half an hour. It went as soon as the warranty ran out.
loudlashadjuster said:
306 HDI
Had fond memories of earlier 306 DTurbo hire/pool cars that used to take a good thrashing and hang on gamely. The later cars were very poor in comparison, no faster (maybe even a bit slower), DMF problems, broken springs (2) and shonky aircon didn't help the feeling I'd bought the wrong car.
The 306 hdi never came with a dual mass fly so you are either mistaken or a garage has had your pants down!Had fond memories of earlier 306 DTurbo hire/pool cars that used to take a good thrashing and hang on gamely. The later cars were very poor in comparison, no faster (maybe even a bit slower), DMF problems, broken springs (2) and shonky aircon didn't help the feeling I'd bought the wrong car.
Agree with the aircon tho.
Vauxhall Astra MK3 1.4 8v with single point injection. A Truly miserable underpowered car that couldn't even pull you out of bed, busy roundabouts were certainly the number 1 enemy! it also stopped on steep inclines, I would have to attempt the slowest 3 point turn ever, go back to the bottom of the hill and get a bigger run up and hope for the best.....
T0MMY said:
knitware said:
This thread must include anyone who bought or was given, even for free, an Insignia of any description, horrible things.
Nobody buys these do they? I mean other than fleet departments. I assume literally every Insignia on the road is a company car. 
A 1974 Vauxhall Viva mk3 1300 HC
In my defence it was my first car back in 1979 and it did force me to learn how to work on cars as everything went wrong, I even snapped the crankshaft. I fixed it and stuck with it for 5 long years whilst building up my NCB.
Eventually replaced the Viva with a MK1 Golf GTi A reg 1800cc
In my defence it was my first car back in 1979 and it did force me to learn how to work on cars as everything went wrong, I even snapped the crankshaft. I fixed it and stuck with it for 5 long years whilst building up my NCB.
Eventually replaced the Viva with a MK1 Golf GTi A reg 1800cc
Edited by mario328 on Wednesday 29th July 21:08
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