(slight) Car ownership regrets?

[briSk]

Are there any opportunities you perhaps wish you'd taken but didn't?

7 years ago I had done up my last house (mostly) and having been saving up to buy an R53 MiniCooperS i started to wonder about keeping the Puma i'd bought to keep us going..and buying a FWD M100 Elan. and still having some cash. Then as i looked and looked I actually realised that I i could just about afford a good condition 'proper elan' which albeit a bit on the small side is one of my all time favourite cars.

But being too 'sensible' and having only a drive at the time... i reveted back to the original plan. the BINI has been a really good 'companion' and has been used for all sorts not least of all my wife's 18k a year commute for one year. only now does it need a bit of work (new clutch on the hor-i-ZON) and it's been reasonable on depreciation so can;t complain.

but that elan would now be worth £25k easily. bummer!

Now i have the room, double garage and the nice area to live in.. well i can't really justify buying one! again.

should i just buy a 2002ti(i) before i can;t afford one of those?!

[Donatello]

When I passed my test I had some money left to me to buy my first car.

I got to choose how much I wanted to spend on a car and how much I wanted to put in with my 'house fund'. After alot of thinking, I opted for a stty Saxo VTR (I hated myself 2 years later when it had spent more time off the road than on it!).

My other choice was to buy a two seater, classic or otherwise and just enjoy it. Had some good quotes on a VX220 that was local (and ALOT more expensive than the Saxo I bought!) and some classic Triumph/MGB type cars.

I decided I wanted 4 seats and to put the money aside and it has bought me a house now, but I just wish I'd been more adventurous, as right now... all I want is a VX220!!!

[Vitorio]

Eh, i regret something about every car i've chosen myself sofar, even the company leases. The cars that were just assigned to me are somewhat different, nothing to regret about getting told to drive x.

My first own choice was a Alfa Mito 155hp, i really really to this day very much regret switching jobs, meaning i had to hand that back in, it was just such an awesome little car.

My second own choice was a Alfa mito 135hp, nice car, but it wasnt as sharp and axe-murdery as the 155hp, so every drive which involved any sort of speed had me regretting settling for a lesser engine

My third choice is my current focus, which is a hugely practical beast, especially with a small kid, and it is comfortable/luxurious like none of my previous cars, but it is the slowest thing i've driven, and still rather expensive, which isnt fun in times when everything gets more expensive and wages are frozen . half the time i find myself wishing i'd gotten the 150hp turbo version, and the other half i find myself wishing i'd just gotten a pov-spec focus, or rather something smaller alltogether.

As for my own buys, i have a tendency to buy old italian cars for a too-good-to-be-true price and think i'll be able to fix them cheaply so i'll have a nice little sporty run-around, then when fixing the stuff i knew about, i find dozens of extra problems which need fixing. Currently i'm working on a Fiat cinq sporting, already got the headgasket fixed, only to discover some rather serious rust on the rear-side

[Jasandjules]

Not really, I've always bought what I really wanted (except when I really wanted a 400SE but bought a Chimaera instead, but that was to me a good thing as I loved my Chimaera!).

[FoundOnRoadside]

Bought a 8 month old Mitsubishi Lancer GS3 2.0DiD. Awful car. Plastic-fantastic dash, woeful stereo, seats like an old tube train, and a VAG 2.0TDI PD engine "improved" by Mitsubishi. "Improved" by making it noiser, reducing fuel economy to 44mpg at best, and reducing the service interval to 5000 miles at £200 a pop.

Then there was the suspension, a unique blend of crashy on small bumps, wallowy on undulating surfaces, basically every setting was just plain wrong at all times.

Also, whoever decided 268mm front discs on a 1600kg 170hp diesel saloon was a good idea, needed shot. Two hard stops and the brakes were toast for 10 minutes, complete with smoking pads. First car I've seen with bright blue discs due to the heat.

Gave up on it after 8 months, lost about £6k as no-one wants a diesel Lancer, because they're rubbish.