A car you instantly regretted buying
Discussion
jakesmith said:
VW Tiguan, bought as a family car, kept for 6 weeks then sold for £500 loss which I was very happy with, the interior qulity was really poor and it handled horrendously, turbo lag was terrible, replaced it with an Evoque which is in another planet in terms of reliability
That's not how I expected that post to end! 
Most of them I think. Anything French was bound to go wrong and cost me a pile of cash. Citroen BX, suspension/brakes/steering. That taught me how to stop with the handbrake (helps its on the front wheels) and on one occasion the clutch cable snapped too so that taught me how to drive with no brakes (save handbrake), suspension, steering much past a quarter turn or gears (save third gear, applied with unhealthy revs). These days I'd just park up and let the AA sort it out. Oh and every now and again the engine would cut out while driving, then restart 5-10 seconds later. Deathtrap.
A Citroen ZX (I didn't learn the lessons of the BX so bought another Citroen) was remarkably reliable and nippy (well, it was when I messed about with the fuel screw - it was a TD) and ok on fuel. Amazingly bland though, should have got a Volcane. The girlfriend humoured me but secretly looked at everyone else with their hot hatches.
A Citroen AX 1.5D. Bought from new. 3 Head Gaskets (including the one it came with) in the first 6 months as it leaked oil from day one even as I gently ran it in. Amazing on fuel though. In a time when it cost £20 to fill up with diesel I regularly got more than 500 miles to its tiny tank. To be clever I ran it in reserve granny driving for 100 miles. On the way to the fuel station it ran out. Serves me right. Other than interiors crumbling before the warranty ran out, and the head gasket thing, it was nippy ("Have you done anything to this car sir? It's faster than all the others we have ever had in" - Dealer. "Thrashed it after it was run in. Hard" - Me. "Best way" - Dealer) So my instant regrets (oil leak thought I'd bought a lemon, albeit a brand new one) turned out not so bad.
Fiat Strada. 1.5 bland version, not Abarth. Warped head. Engine seized in traffic at 10-15mph, that was after I'd paid more than the car was worth to get the head sorted. Pile of s
t.
Mini. Given free, needed ground up resto. Money pit. Big end went. Not as much fun as people like to think. Bouncy, slow, at best average on fuel, everyone else is in a bigger car than you and on the motorway you can't hear yourself scream. Maybe biggest mistake. Should just have bought a car instead of devoting time, money and skinned knuckles sorting this one out. Took me years to pay off the credit cards.
A Citroen ZX (I didn't learn the lessons of the BX so bought another Citroen) was remarkably reliable and nippy (well, it was when I messed about with the fuel screw - it was a TD) and ok on fuel. Amazingly bland though, should have got a Volcane. The girlfriend humoured me but secretly looked at everyone else with their hot hatches.
A Citroen AX 1.5D. Bought from new. 3 Head Gaskets (including the one it came with) in the first 6 months as it leaked oil from day one even as I gently ran it in. Amazing on fuel though. In a time when it cost £20 to fill up with diesel I regularly got more than 500 miles to its tiny tank. To be clever I ran it in reserve granny driving for 100 miles. On the way to the fuel station it ran out. Serves me right. Other than interiors crumbling before the warranty ran out, and the head gasket thing, it was nippy ("Have you done anything to this car sir? It's faster than all the others we have ever had in" - Dealer. "Thrashed it after it was run in. Hard" - Me. "Best way" - Dealer) So my instant regrets (oil leak thought I'd bought a lemon, albeit a brand new one) turned out not so bad.
Fiat Strada. 1.5 bland version, not Abarth. Warped head. Engine seized in traffic at 10-15mph, that was after I'd paid more than the car was worth to get the head sorted. Pile of s
t.Mini. Given free, needed ground up resto. Money pit. Big end went. Not as much fun as people like to think. Bouncy, slow, at best average on fuel, everyone else is in a bigger car than you and on the motorway you can't hear yourself scream. Maybe biggest mistake. Should just have bought a car instead of devoting time, money and skinned knuckles sorting this one out. Took me years to pay off the credit cards.
gizlaroc said:
schmalex said:
I have two
Audi B7 S4 manual. Slow, all mouth and no trousers, almost unbearable to drive o. Th motorway due.to crazy gearing
Me too. Audi B7 S4 manual. Slow, all mouth and no trousers, almost unbearable to drive o. Th motorway due.to crazy gearing
2005 S4 manual avant.
Understeered so badly the fact it had 4WD was irrelevant, you were off the road before the AWD was of any use.
The gearing on the manual was so truly horrific it made it very hard work, many S4 owners said 'Just use 2nd, 4th and 6th.' Oh please do f
k off! Also, sitting doing 80mph it was doing 18mpg, the auto gearing much better and at 80 is showing 27mpg.
Hateful car all round.
The manual 'box was just horrific. We drove it to Tignes a couple of years ago and spent the trip cruising at 90ish on the autoroute, where the engine was spinning at ~4k rpm in 6th. We averaged 19mpg over the 800 odd miles. It was just horrible
A 2.5 52 plate Mondeo Zetec saloon.
I was running a 2.5 W reg Mondeo GhiaX hatch which I loved. My son was a baby and it was perfect at swallowing up all the kit that comes with having babies. It was comfortable, well specced and pretty impressive to drive for a none premium badged car. Fast forward a year and I got T boned at a junction and it was written off.
I decided to replace it with a newer shape Mondeo as it had the same engine and was fairly brisk. I realised after I bought it that what made my other car good was the luxury/comfort part. The Zetec had crashy stiff suspention, cloth seats, no toys and a saloon boot which was much less practical. It wasn't a bad car but I did regret buying it as soon as I got it home.
I was running a 2.5 W reg Mondeo GhiaX hatch which I loved. My son was a baby and it was perfect at swallowing up all the kit that comes with having babies. It was comfortable, well specced and pretty impressive to drive for a none premium badged car. Fast forward a year and I got T boned at a junction and it was written off.
I decided to replace it with a newer shape Mondeo as it had the same engine and was fairly brisk. I realised after I bought it that what made my other car good was the luxury/comfort part. The Zetec had crashy stiff suspention, cloth seats, no toys and a saloon boot which was much less practical. It wasn't a bad car but I did regret buying it as soon as I got it home.
Needed a cheap load lugger, so in 2010 bought a 2004 MG ZT-T
Loved the way it looked and drove, was immaculate, great ,mpg and vast inside.
Could not fit my size 12 feet in the footwell on the pedals without snagging my toes on the underside of the stering column cowling
Drove me insane for 2 weeks till I sold it for a Mondeo Estate. Oh well.
Loved the way it looked and drove, was immaculate, great ,mpg and vast inside.
Could not fit my size 12 feet in the footwell on the pedals without snagging my toes on the underside of the stering column cowling
Drove me insane for 2 weeks till I sold it for a Mondeo Estate. Oh well.
BMW E46 1.6 SE.
Horribly underpowered, turned out it needed a new MAF , once replaced it was still horribly underpowered. Despite being a comfortable drive , the fuel consumption was in the mid 20's, warning lights for the ABS wouldn't go out, I later found out it should have been full leather but had been changed to cloth seats, various bodges began to appear, like cable ties around the air dryer. Couldn't pull more than 90 flat out.
My own fault, I'd purchased a dog while wearing rose tints, but a lesson learned.
Horribly underpowered, turned out it needed a new MAF , once replaced it was still horribly underpowered. Despite being a comfortable drive , the fuel consumption was in the mid 20's, warning lights for the ABS wouldn't go out, I later found out it should have been full leather but had been changed to cloth seats, various bodges began to appear, like cable ties around the air dryer. Couldn't pull more than 90 flat out.
My own fault, I'd purchased a dog while wearing rose tints, but a lesson learned.
996 C4S. A failed coil pack on the way home didn't help with the bonding process. After a 1982 911 SC and then a 993 I though it would be the ideal everyday sportscar. It was lumpen, heavy, not much fun to drive and badly built. It certainly wasn't (and never in my eyes will be) a 911.
1/8/1988 - picked up new Mk2 Astra Merit - all of 1.3L. Real poverty spec but first ever new car. Remember driving up Welsh valleys thinking this hasn't really got any power at all and where the f*** is the 5th gear.
Immediately nostalgic for the 1.2 Nova I had just traded in - seemed a veritable ball of fire in comparision. A valuable if expensive lesson in power to weight ratios.
Was stuck with it for 3 long, long years. Every day the blanked off dashboard (no sodding clock even) and grey, not even silver wheel trims just mocked me. Would leave it unlocked in Merthyr and it would still be there when I came back...
Immediately nostalgic for the 1.2 Nova I had just traded in - seemed a veritable ball of fire in comparision. A valuable if expensive lesson in power to weight ratios.
Was stuck with it for 3 long, long years. Every day the blanked off dashboard (no sodding clock even) and grey, not even silver wheel trims just mocked me. Would leave it unlocked in Merthyr and it would still be there when I came back...
Can everyone stop just stating the car name. e.g Vw Bora. It's not really helpful, I want to know why.
For me it was a 58 plate Mercedes C180 Kompressor Sport with the garish, massive, ostentatious star in the middle of the grill. Had lovely AMG alloys and the top of range HK sound but Jesus it was awful.
It was slow, so very slow, heavy on fuel and Merc really don't do good manual gearboxes. It was nearly impossible to take off smoothly. I nearly had 2 scrapes in it and I had an underlying feeling that it would be in a prang at some point. After I left the company, someone else took it on and did have that crash (not a nasty one luckily).
For me it was a 58 plate Mercedes C180 Kompressor Sport with the garish, massive, ostentatious star in the middle of the grill. Had lovely AMG alloys and the top of range HK sound but Jesus it was awful.
It was slow, so very slow, heavy on fuel and Merc really don't do good manual gearboxes. It was nearly impossible to take off smoothly. I nearly had 2 scrapes in it and I had an underlying feeling that it would be in a prang at some point. After I left the company, someone else took it on and did have that crash (not a nasty one luckily).
shake n bake said:
Alfa 156, just st all way round.
I bought one for £250 on ebay, one that had been stored in a shed for 2 years. No MOT, nothing. Kept stalling, and the guy who did the MOT was able to poke through the floor and pull the wiring loom through the bottom of the car. After lots of attempts to restore it, I lost my job and gave up on the expenditure, and managed to sell what was left to Autolusso for £225. Made a massive loss after all the welding and MOTs. Heartbreaker, but my god that V6.t all way round. Thought I`d add to this one.
Landrover Freelander.
I knew before I bought it in spite of all the great (and obviously flattering and bias reviews from UK publications) that they were dung.
EVERYTHING went wrong with it. 10 months of hate and warranty work until I could pay off the finance and get shot of it.
Landrover Freelander.
I knew before I bought it in spite of all the great (and obviously flattering and bias reviews from UK publications) that they were dung.
EVERYTHING went wrong with it. 10 months of hate and warranty work until I could pay off the finance and get shot of it.
LittleEnus said:
Can everyone stop just stating the car name. e.g Vw Bora. It's not really helpful, I want to know why.
For me it was a 58 plate Mercedes C180 Kompressor Sport with the garish, massive, ostentatious star in the middle of the grill. Had lovely AMG alloys and the top of range HK sound but Jesus it was awful.
It was slow, so very slow, heavy on fuel and Merc really don't do good manual gearboxes.
Did it have "BlueEfficiency" written on the back, suggesting it was powered by economical porn?For me it was a 58 plate Mercedes C180 Kompressor Sport with the garish, massive, ostentatious star in the middle of the grill. Had lovely AMG alloys and the top of range HK sound but Jesus it was awful.
It was slow, so very slow, heavy on fuel and Merc really don't do good manual gearboxes.
Baryonyx said:
It was mechanical failure that got me.
I bought an Audi TT 225 from a colleague. Now, the price was about right and I knew the car had been well cared for. Just before I bought it, the cambelt snapped and the head was wrecked. it had been rebuilt at considerable expense to the owner at VW Silverlink, and in the meantime she'd bought a new mk2 TT.
I went and had a look over the car where it was stored, as it had been off the road for a few weeks since she'd got the new one. It all seemed to be working nicely. I paid up a few days later, handing the cash over and picking the car up in the evening. The first ten minutes of the drive were lovely, but then I noticed that it wouldn't boost properly; it'd rev to about 5000rpm, stutter and bog for a second and then surge to the redline. I thought that may have just been a hiccup, so I took it home, set it down for an hour or two and went out again at about 10PM. As I left my street, the ESP warning light flashed on, bringing me out in a cold sweat. I switched off and started again, but the trouble seemed ingrained then. I drove it out a bit and took it home, and noted that it also seemed to be running pretty rich judging by the exhaust smell, despite being properly warmed through.
Luckily, having bought this shonka from a colleague, she graciously accepted it back and refunded me, in agreement that it was obviously suffering from faults that needed rectifying. I dropped it off at VW Silverlink the next morning and never saw it again. I was gutted it didn't work out, as it would have been a lovely car if it had worked as it should have.
You are very lucky that she gave you the money back!I bought an Audi TT 225 from a colleague. Now, the price was about right and I knew the car had been well cared for. Just before I bought it, the cambelt snapped and the head was wrecked. it had been rebuilt at considerable expense to the owner at VW Silverlink, and in the meantime she'd bought a new mk2 TT.
I went and had a look over the car where it was stored, as it had been off the road for a few weeks since she'd got the new one. It all seemed to be working nicely. I paid up a few days later, handing the cash over and picking the car up in the evening. The first ten minutes of the drive were lovely, but then I noticed that it wouldn't boost properly; it'd rev to about 5000rpm, stutter and bog for a second and then surge to the redline. I thought that may have just been a hiccup, so I took it home, set it down for an hour or two and went out again at about 10PM. As I left my street, the ESP warning light flashed on, bringing me out in a cold sweat. I switched off and started again, but the trouble seemed ingrained then. I drove it out a bit and took it home, and noted that it also seemed to be running pretty rich judging by the exhaust smell, despite being properly warmed through.
Luckily, having bought this shonka from a colleague, she graciously accepted it back and refunded me, in agreement that it was obviously suffering from faults that needed rectifying. I dropped it off at VW Silverlink the next morning and never saw it again. I was gutted it didn't work out, as it would have been a lovely car if it had worked as it should have.
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