Sellers remorse :(
Discussion
I regretted selling my E90 M3. At the time I had lusted after a F10 M5 for a couple of years and really wanted to get one when I bought the E90 M3 but just couldn't justify stretching to that much at the time, so I ended up 'settling' for the M3.
18 months down the line, I had the readies to go for a brand new one, thinking great I've managed to get the car I originally wanted. however, it felt like a heavy beast and not only that, the seats were hugely uncomfortable and bruised my back even on short journeys. I was desperate to get rid of the car after only month and I really regretted selling the M3 in the first place.
But it all ended well (for me anyway*), I traded the M5 in and got a brand new F80 M3, which I have now had for just over a year. Loved my E90 but the F80 is just that next step up.
- I learnt my lovely E90 had become a Cat C write off only two months after I sold it :-(
TSCfree said:
Good post and I remember the car/thread. Sold my turbo a few years ago now, much to my little boys dismay. Out of all the cars owned that's the one I'd quite like back one day.
That thread was some time ago. I think my main haunt was the rennlist forums in those days.Still love the 944 turbo. Not many options today that'll get you the same alround ability of a cabin you'd be happy to spend 10 hours in, enough power / grip to keep on the tail of the then current 911 and a good boot for the price of a two model old golf.
Probably the closest think to it today is the Jaguar XKR but its auto only, no LSD and the handling doesn't match up.
MWM3 said:
- I learnt my lovely E90 had become a Cat C write off only two months after I sold it :-(
blade7 said:
Niffty951 said:
My modified 3.2ltr 4 cylinder 944 turbo (with 495lb/ft torque lifting 1275kg it's still fast even by any standards).
I may be thinking of the wrong 3.2 944 Ben but hasn't that car been sitting unloved in a certain Indys yard for a long time ?Porsche prices seem off the chart now. £25k buys an awful lot of non Porsche metal:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
or
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
Probably the most poverty car in this thread, but I massively regret selling it anyway (and still do after almost 2 years).
The car in question was a 97 Citroen Xantia 2.0i of highly questionable provenance.
My old car had broken down, and I had just started a new job across town after having been laid off my previous position due to cutbacks. Cue a frantic TradeMe (the NZ version of eBay) search at 2pm on the Sunday afternoon - getting new wheels by the morning was not going to be an easy task.
Having been unemployed for a couple of months - and less than 6 months out of university - I didn't have a proverbial pot to piss in. Anyone who knows the NZ car market will know that finding cheap sheds is very tricky indeed ... 20 year+ old Japanese cars with Star Trek mileages and all sorts of faults still sell for several thousand dollars. I knew I had to be brave and bold and go European to get anything even remotely decent for my paltry $2000 budget.
As luck would have it, there was a Citroen Xantia with manual gearbox just down the road from where I was living. Seller was asking 2.5k, but I like to haggle, so I walked 500m down the road to inspect the car.
To my shock and amazement, it checked out. Sure, it was tatty in places (fading boot paint, usual supermarket dings, some wear and tear in the interior). The owners also openly admitted they were the type to only fix a car when it went wrong - routine maintenance meant nothing to them. A different brand ditch-finder was fitted to every wheel, and the oil was as black as the night sky ... you get the picture. However, the car drove very well and everything worked, including the hydropneumatic suspension. Only the stereo didn't work as the code was missing.
I told them to wait around 10 minutes, and disappeared to the nearest cash machine. I came back with $1500, and 5 minutes later was the somewhat proud owner of a Citroen Xantia that I was expecting to blow up on me at any minute.
As it turned out, it was just about the most reliable car I have ever owned. It only let me down once - the battery failed - and only because I had been using it for very short journeys.
During my ~18 months of ownership I did a bit to improve the car, getting 4 good quality tyres and alignment done (this made an enormous improvement to the way it drove) a full service, and then a tune-up of the suspension system courtesy of a local Citroen specialist.
It was comfortable, economical, easy-to-drive, and surprisingly a lot of fun with the combo of manual gearbox and grunty enough petrol engine. The magic carpet suspension was also perfect for the terrible roads where I live (courtesy of a massive earthquake in 2011). Everyone who rode in the car with me remarked on how nice it was to go along in.
I wound up getting rid of it when my dad offered me permanent use of his Fiat Stilo Abarth (I just had to pay insurance and maintenance). The Citroen wound up being sold to the son of his boss, where it is still providing extremely reliable service to this day.
I guess the tale of my Xantia is that you can still love a car, even if it probably is a bit naff. There was just something about it that I enjoyed so much. I think it was the fact that it surpassed all my expectations, and did everything I wanted at a rock bottom price. It got me out of a bind, at a time in my life where I wasn't exactly doing too well.
And anyone in NZ - if you're reading and have a nice manual Xantia you'd like to sell me, please get in touch! [url]
The car in question was a 97 Citroen Xantia 2.0i of highly questionable provenance.
My old car had broken down, and I had just started a new job across town after having been laid off my previous position due to cutbacks. Cue a frantic TradeMe (the NZ version of eBay) search at 2pm on the Sunday afternoon - getting new wheels by the morning was not going to be an easy task.
Having been unemployed for a couple of months - and less than 6 months out of university - I didn't have a proverbial pot to piss in. Anyone who knows the NZ car market will know that finding cheap sheds is very tricky indeed ... 20 year+ old Japanese cars with Star Trek mileages and all sorts of faults still sell for several thousand dollars. I knew I had to be brave and bold and go European to get anything even remotely decent for my paltry $2000 budget.
As luck would have it, there was a Citroen Xantia with manual gearbox just down the road from where I was living. Seller was asking 2.5k, but I like to haggle, so I walked 500m down the road to inspect the car.
To my shock and amazement, it checked out. Sure, it was tatty in places (fading boot paint, usual supermarket dings, some wear and tear in the interior). The owners also openly admitted they were the type to only fix a car when it went wrong - routine maintenance meant nothing to them. A different brand ditch-finder was fitted to every wheel, and the oil was as black as the night sky ... you get the picture. However, the car drove very well and everything worked, including the hydropneumatic suspension. Only the stereo didn't work as the code was missing.
I told them to wait around 10 minutes, and disappeared to the nearest cash machine. I came back with $1500, and 5 minutes later was the somewhat proud owner of a Citroen Xantia that I was expecting to blow up on me at any minute.
As it turned out, it was just about the most reliable car I have ever owned. It only let me down once - the battery failed - and only because I had been using it for very short journeys.
During my ~18 months of ownership I did a bit to improve the car, getting 4 good quality tyres and alignment done (this made an enormous improvement to the way it drove) a full service, and then a tune-up of the suspension system courtesy of a local Citroen specialist.
It was comfortable, economical, easy-to-drive, and surprisingly a lot of fun with the combo of manual gearbox and grunty enough petrol engine. The magic carpet suspension was also perfect for the terrible roads where I live (courtesy of a massive earthquake in 2011). Everyone who rode in the car with me remarked on how nice it was to go along in.
I wound up getting rid of it when my dad offered me permanent use of his Fiat Stilo Abarth (I just had to pay insurance and maintenance). The Citroen wound up being sold to the son of his boss, where it is still providing extremely reliable service to this day.
I guess the tale of my Xantia is that you can still love a car, even if it probably is a bit naff. There was just something about it that I enjoyed so much. I think it was the fact that it surpassed all my expectations, and did everything I wanted at a rock bottom price. It got me out of a bind, at a time in my life where I wasn't exactly doing too well.
And anyone in NZ - if you're reading and have a nice manual Xantia you'd like to sell me, please get in touch! [url]
I don't really have any regrets as I'm almost incapable of selling anything I own. In 12 years of driving I've sold 2 cars and currently own 7.
First was my 1999 Audi cabriolet 2.8 final edition, very low mileage, excellent condition and every possible option. The handling and performance were so different to my Audi 80 quattro that I just didn't ever love it, the archaic 4 speed auto really was it's biggest flaw. I sold it at an £800 loss after 2 years and really didn't care as I bought a 71 MGB GT with money left over and it's more enjoyable to drive and cheaper to run. I saw it up for sale recently at twice what I sold it for, someone has spent a lot of money on it but I'm more pleased to see it's survived while they were at their lowest value than I am disappointed that I didn't hold onto it.
The other is a car I was very glad to be rid of, I traveled to Australia with very little money, unable to find work without a car I bought the cheapest I could find, a 1990 Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 GL. It was a neglected heap, but it worked. I had it for 10 months and sold it for a profit of $50, it had so many problems it wasn't worth fixing just one, so I didn't fix any. One thing it has made me appreciate is how it feels to be that poor, I hope to never experience it again. Sorry to expose everyone to this, I don't miss it one single bit!
First was my 1999 Audi cabriolet 2.8 final edition, very low mileage, excellent condition and every possible option. The handling and performance were so different to my Audi 80 quattro that I just didn't ever love it, the archaic 4 speed auto really was it's biggest flaw. I sold it at an £800 loss after 2 years and really didn't care as I bought a 71 MGB GT with money left over and it's more enjoyable to drive and cheaper to run. I saw it up for sale recently at twice what I sold it for, someone has spent a lot of money on it but I'm more pleased to see it's survived while they were at their lowest value than I am disappointed that I didn't hold onto it.
The other is a car I was very glad to be rid of, I traveled to Australia with very little money, unable to find work without a car I bought the cheapest I could find, a 1990 Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 GL. It was a neglected heap, but it worked. I had it for 10 months and sold it for a profit of $50, it had so many problems it wasn't worth fixing just one, so I didn't fix any. One thing it has made me appreciate is how it feels to be that poor, I hope to never experience it again. Sorry to expose everyone to this, I don't miss it one single bit!
Edited by Crosswise on Monday 31st July 13:23
garagedreams said:
The car in question was a 97 Citroen Xantia
A different brand ditch-finder was fitted to every wheel, and the oil was as black as the night sky ... you get the picture. However, the car drove very well and everything worked, including the hydropneumatic suspension. Only the stereo didn't work as the code was missing.
As it turned out, it was just about the most reliable car I have ever owned
I have a great fondness for cars like this. The unexpected heros of the sub £500 bracket. After I rolled my first car immediately after passing my driving test I was left with a bruised ego, zero savings and no wheels.A different brand ditch-finder was fitted to every wheel, and the oil was as black as the night sky ... you get the picture. However, the car drove very well and everything worked, including the hydropneumatic suspension. Only the stereo didn't work as the code was missing.
As it turned out, it was just about the most reliable car I have ever owned
I bought a mouldy non running, custard yellow, 1983 vw polo breadvan from an elderly gent for £50 with a cheque that the seller never cashed.
Amazingly it got through the mot with only a bulb, a new battery and wipers. I drove the car from coast to coast with new found driving freedom and excitement covering thousands of miles before I gave it to a friend on long term loan who'd lost his job and needed wheels, he gave it to another friend to help him and the car never let anyone down. Sadly the second friend scrapped the car and took the money
A sad end to the story but despite living so close to death for so long it had much love and gave much pleasure to many.GreatGranny said:
Go and buy one then :-)
B7 RS4 I mean
I bought mine from new, and absolutely loved it, for five years. It was everything I wanted, but ai had a brief wobble after the suspension needed some work, and so,d it. Fountain Audi rightly described it in their advert as "Probably the best example available today", and I regretted selling it almost immediately.B7 RS4 I mean
I replaced it with a 911 GTS, then an R8, which I love, but I really do miss it.
mjf93 said:
AMGJocky said:
Letting my Megane go was painful. The AMG that replaced it is fantastic, but there are things that the RS can do that would leave me sliding around in the Merc.
Luckily, the other half was persuaded to get one herself, so I'm not too sad
I see this car parked in Eastleigh train station car park all the time. I'm sure its the same car, I recognise the registrationLuckily, the other half was persuaded to get one herself, so I'm not too sad
It was only a Fiesta, it wasn't a sports derivative and it was the mk4 body shape that was pretty much unloved by everyone. But it was the first car I bought brand new and 15 years of memories are hard to forget, especially in a car that weighed little more than a shoe and into which I'd put the oily bits of a Racing Puma. I was genuinely sad to have to sell it on owing to young family and a corresponding lack of time to enjoy it or space to store it. And in the months into years that followed I missed its character on my favourite roads, I missed its nimbleness, the feedback from steering, gearchange and brakes, and I missed how you could place it pretty much anywhere on the road because it was so small.
There is a guaranteed cure for seller's remorse, however.
Last year the car popped up on eBay so I dropped everything and bought it back, making me the first and third owner on the log book. It's still a hoot to drive. No plans to sell it again.
There is a guaranteed cure for seller's remorse, however.
Last year the car popped up on eBay so I dropped everything and bought it back, making me the first and third owner on the log book. It's still a hoot to drive. No plans to sell it again.
generationx said:
In the 90s I had a really nice bog-standard black Mk2 RS2000 Custom, and I sold it on a whim to a mate for about 2K who then made it even better. I later saw it at a couple of shows and it really tugged at the old strings. I couldn´t justify the expense of another now.
Bugger me it´s just shown up on Car and Classichttp://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C845417
Clearly with added Ford RWD tax...
generationx said:
generationx said:
In the 90s I had a really nice bog-standard black Mk2 RS2000 Custom, and I sold it on a whim to a mate for about 2K who then made it even better. I later saw it at a couple of shows and it really tugged at the old strings. I couldn´t justify the expense of another now.
Bugger me it´s just shown up on Car and Classichttp://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C845417
Clearly with added Ford RWD tax...
I've suffered both buyer's remorse and seller's remorse with the same car.
I bought an old Esprit about 15 years ago.
Then sold it.
Then bought it back again.
Then sold it.
Then bought it back again.
The same damn car three times.
It is hopelessly crap and joyfully magnificent at the same time.
I bought an old Esprit about 15 years ago.
Then sold it.
Then bought it back again.
Then sold it.
Then bought it back again.
The same damn car three times.
It is hopelessly crap and joyfully magnificent at the same time.
I did regret selling my Clio 182 as it had just been so faithful to me... and I modified it to the exact specification I want.
I think it was worse picking up the new car because despite how good it was, it was standard! I honestly can't stand driving around in a standard guy, just no personality. As soon as I started messing about with the new one I was happier though
This situation will probably occur forever more lol. To be honest before the Clio every car I sold, was because it was f
ked!
I think it was worse picking up the new car because despite how good it was, it was standard! I honestly can't stand driving around in a standard guy, just no personality. As soon as I started messing about with the new one I was happier though
This situation will probably occur forever more lol. To be honest before the Clio every car I sold, was because it was f
ked!
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