The best car you didn't buy.

[chunkymonkey71]

Was thinking back this morning on cars that I've "nearly" bought but ended up either being beaten at auction, driven a bad one or just bought something else.

Got me thinking. All of us must have a car that we were going to buy, went to drive it, had the cash ready but didn't buy for whatever reason. Then at some point down the line regretted their decision not to buy.

So... what was the best car you didn't buy?

Today I'm thinking of an immaculate 1989 Honda Prelude with 4ws. Could have got it for next to nothing in 2002. Haven't seen one in ages and any time I do see one, they look cool!

[mike13]

Mk 1 escort,resprayed in jupiter red,original L reg,looked at it in 1982,regretted not buying it almost immediately,saw it weeks later at the local army camp.Insurance would have wiped me out hence not buying.

[Proxy]

I nearly bought an '04 plate 320D M-Sport a couple of months ago.
Was all going well until the insurance companies decided to do a complete U-Turn on my original quote & near enough triple the premium.

I really bloody wanted that car too

[marcosgt]

Integrale - Test drove it and it was great, but the costs and the speed put me off - I figured I'd lose my licence if I had one of these!

I ended up buying a Calibra instead!

M.

[SteveS Cup]

Lotus Exige S2 NA. I was doing very well in IT Recruitment but got all sensible and pulled out. I wish I had of done it though.

Impreza P1 - I wish I had of done it when I was single, now the Mrs won't even let me look at one

[mnkiboy]

2 years ago an immaculate Focus RS (old shape) with reasonable milage for £10K.

I reckon I could have run it for 2 years and still sold it for what I bought it for.

[vixen1700]

In 1985 Hills of Leytonstone had a 246 Dino for sale for a shade over £6k.

What did I buy for similar dosh?





















An MG Metro.

:greatbigfacepalm:

[GravelBen]

STi-RA V-ltd Impreza (Ver.2, with the McRae/Ringer autograph seats etc). was a student at the time and couldn't afford to run/insure it. Still get tempted when I see one for sale, but there aren't many good ones left now!

[clarkmagpie]

A Metro over a Dino
Thread closed/

[ScottMc91]

about 7-8 years ago I was looking for a restoration project and viewed a red Alfa Alfetta GTV6 (IIRC he only wanted around £500 for it), it was pretty rusty but the interior was immaculate. i still remember the the wood rimmed Nardi steering wheel and the leather seats. It had been sitting in a shed at the bottom of the guy's garden for about 15 years. In the end we couldn't get the engine to fire up on the day and i decided it was probably a bit more work than i would be able to do myself.

I ended up getting an E30 325 sport instead (for £700 - it was also a rust bucket) but i still wish i'd taken the Alfa!

[sider]

When i was 18 i wanted a sportyish diesel hatchback, new, and went looking.

Why oh why did i not buy a Seat Ibiza 1.9 TDI Sport (130) bhp? No idea!

So, found myself buying a top spec Pug 206 2.0 HDI Quiksilver, which was a nice car, but i spec'd a lot of extra bits and pieces on it - for it to kick out at a smidge under £14k. (I sold it 14 months later with 24k on the clock for around £8k!). 90 bhp btw!

It was only half way between ordering the car and taking delivery that i saw a shiny new Skoda being offered for £11995 pre-reg - that being the fab Fabia VRS 1.9 TDI 130.

I should've bought on of them really.

[Garlick]

You had to remind me.....

964RS when they were affordable - before they reached £60k +

NSX when (good ones) were still around at £20k

Merc SL Pagoda when I thought I'd wait for them to get cheaper than £25k

[anonymous-user]

doogz said:

chunkymonkey71 said:

Today I'm thinking of an immaculate 1989 Honda Prelude with 4ws. Could have got it for next to nothing in 2002. Haven't seen one in ages and any time I do see one, they look cool!

I bought one of them a few years ago for £600.

It was a fantastic car, never let me down, and i sold it for more than i paid for it. The new owner still has it, passed it's MOT the other day. Needed a new downpipe and centre section, the ones on there were originals!

Actually, just noticed you're from Glasgow, if you see/have seen a red one kicking about on a K-plate, that's my old one!

A friend of mine bought one I found for him a few months ago, 1989, 2.0i-16 4ws. Fantastic. An exciting car to drive (considering it's a 20+ year old Honda), and the 4ws means you can turn it around in any bellmouth without needing a 3-pointer. I grin like a cheshire cat every time I get in it. It's a slusher though so not quite as sporty as I'd like. But I'd def consider a manual as an everyday car.
As as alluded to above, very reliable - his is still on the factory original exhaust. Crazy bomb-proof-ness.

[Deerfoot]

A few years ago I was this close (Imagine the tip of my thumb and tip of my fore finger about 2mm apart) from buying an Imola Red BMW Z M Coupe.

I couldn`t make up my mind and went home to think about it. At around 1100 the next day I phoned the dealer to say I`d have it only to be told it was sold an hour previously.

Everytime I see one (getting more and more infrequently now, sadly) I rue my indecision.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Deerfoot said:

A few years ago I was this close (Imagine the tip of my thumb and tip of my fore finger about 2mm apart) from buying an Imola Red BMW Z M Coupe.

I couldn`t make up my mind and went home to think about it. At around 1100 the next day I phoned the dealer to say I`d have it only to be told it was sold an hour previously.

Everytime I see one (getting more and more infrequently now, sadly) I rue my indecision.

I hear you.

Hesitated over going to see this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2423718.htm

(e36 328 Sport Coupe)

last week and when I eventually followed up my first email found out it had been sold a couple of hours earlier. If I'd not faffed I could have viewed and bought 10 times over...

[sider]

Nothing specific also - but i really regret not buying a 2 seater before the kids came along!

Company car regs didnt permit, and when they did, funds didn't! When funds recovered, baby nr 1 was born!

I doubt a weekend car is on the cards right now - mainly due to money and the fact i've just not got the time to use one - but i don't reckon i'd go down that 2-seater route anyway now.

[6potdave]

A very nice E36 328i which was a complete M3 replica - even a purist wouldn't have been able to tell it wasn't one. I called the guy to say I was coming to see it and set off. An hour later I arrived, looked round the car and decided I wanted it, I was in love so went straight in to see the dealer who told me immediately a woman had 10 minutes put a deposit down on it. Gutted!

I did however grab a copy of the autotrader and look for cars in that area, only to find a standard 328i 5 miles away. I bought it and was extremely happy with it but still wanted the last one!

[HellDiver]

I was going to buy a Mazda 3 2.2d Sport. The dealer didn't want to make commission that day and sat talking to his mate on the phone, so I went across the road and bought a Mitsubishi instead.

[djt100]

When i was younger i could have brought many Escort Mexico,RS2000's etc fir utter peanuts, but I wanted newer, With I'd brought and kept them for a few years, the prices for them these days are just barmy.

[Daston]

Either an NSX or Dodge Viper

Was very close to buying either but ended up with a Tuscan, partly due to cost and the driving seat and interior was much nicer.

Although I have seen NSX' with rather nice full leather interiors.