Motoring regrets

Boomer54 · September 6, 2023

I have only two, but they are both noteworthy.

1.Letting my LWB 1959 Landrover go (and for peanuts).

2. I declined to buy the Jensen (colour yellow I think). Same marque as the chappie below. At the time circa '95 priced just under 5k with restoration required. As decisions go, what a stinker.

Share yours if you feel inclined.

Spock66 · September 6, 2023

Now a Lexus owner for 2-years, so not getting one sooner!

Selling Mk2 Golf GTi.

Bezzer · September 6, 2023

In the early 70s I turned down an MG MGA for £100 from the next door neighbour, bit scruffy but it ran well, I was a biker and cars didn't and still don't do anything for me. In hindsight I should have known girls preferred someone with a sports car than pillion on a bike.😟

Biggest regret though was finally having to give up bikes 4 years ago after having two replacements on the same knee, the UX is fine for what I want from a car but cars will always be just a mode of transport full stop.

LenT · September 6, 2023

2 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

. I declined to buy the Jensen (colour yellow I think).

A friend - and neighbour - had an Interceptor and they were outstanding cars. It must have been a difficult decision.

As for regrets…well, I’ve had a few….

There was the Bristol 404 I could have bought - but didn’t!

And the Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint much like this one..

…that I did sell, but shouldn’t have. 🙁

Dells · September 7, 2023

Boomer54

You did the correct thing rejecting the Jensen as I have restored a few in the distant past and they are a very expensive rust bucket to restore.

Many years ago I went to look at a Mk2 Jag but I didn’t buy it because it was tatty and a bit overpriced but I wish I had because the number plate was

CUP1D what would that be worth now ?.

Dell

PRT68 · September 7, 2023

1 hour ago, Dells said:

Boomer54

You did the correct thing rejecting the Jensen as I have restored a few in the distant past and they are a very expensive rust bucket to restore.

Many years ago I went to look at a Mk2 Jag but I didn’t buy it because it was tatty and a bit overpriced but I wish I had because the number plate was

CUP1D what would that be worth now ?.

Dell

As Kenney Everett would have said, 'You Cupid Stunt'.......

Glyn Jennings · September 7, 2023

Regret buying TVR 390SE loved the looks and sound but all it did was break down so I spent more time working on it than driving it. It also took me a year to sell it as it was just after everyone was buying new ones but because of the reliability issues that stopped and the market subsequently collapsed.

Regret selling my BMW Z3M Coupe. Mainly because since selling it 10 years ago it is now worth 3 times what I sold it for. Again loved the looks but I found the seats uncomfortable and I am not overweight and the ride was not that great. It also seen to rattle a bit and tramline.

Third regret is not buying. SC430 earlier however they were newer then and probably outside my price range at the time. The SC is everything the other two weren’t. ie lovely ride with the most comfortable seats ever, more storage space as 2 + 2 as opposed to only 2 seater. Open top or solid top. So reliable and looks wise what once was a bit of an ugly ducking has turned into beautiful swan.
I won’t be selling this one.

Boomer54 · September 7, 2023

1 hour ago, Glyn Jennings said:

Regret buying TVR 390SE loved the looks and sound but all it did was break down so I spent more time working on it than driving it. It also took me a year to sell it as it was just after everyone was buying new ones but because of the reliability issues that stopped and the market subsequently collapsed.

Regret selling my BMW Z3M Coupe. Mainly because since selling it 10 years ago it is now worth 3 times what I sold it for. Again loved the looks but I found the seats uncomfortable and I am not overweight and the ride was not that great. It also seen to rattle a bit and tramline.

Third regret is not buying. SC430 earlier however they were newer then and probably outside my price range at the time. The SC is everything the other two weren’t. ie lovely ride with the most comfortable seats ever, more storage space as 2 + 2 as opposed to only 2 seater. Open top or solid top. So reliable and looks wise what once was a bit of an ugly ducking has turned into beautiful swan.
I won’t be selling this one.

Looks like we have twins ! Nope, I see you have Ecru leather.

Malc1 · September 7, 2023

My biggest regret is not to have found the Ls400 sooner than 25 years back when I got my first !

Should have tried to find a 1989 Ls400 car back in the day ........ I don't regret buying nor selling any of my ordinary other cars tbh

Malc

The-Acre · September 7, 2023

Mine will forever be this. Mine was the same colour and model, a 1969 Chevy Malibu with around 35k on the clock, plus, right hand drive!

Glyn Jennings · September 7, 2023

1 hour ago, Boomer54 said:

Looks like we have twins ! Nope, I see you have Ecru leather.

I also have the lighter wood colour which is not to my taste so I wrapped it. Had it been the darker colour like yours I would have left it as it is.

Illogan · September 7, 2023

My 1929 Austin Sixteen (Very similar to the one below)

Lovely, drove well, (but no land speed records)

(And before anyone asks - I did not buy it brand new!)

Spacewagon52 · September 7, 2023

I sold all my cars too cheaply!

The-Acre · September 7, 2023

3 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I sold all my cars too cheaply!

Yes, my mum always said buying and selling were totally different things, how right she was!

wivenhoe · September 7, 2023

A long time ago, I was at an auction and really wanted a 2 year old Aston Martin Vantage. Great condition, low mileage. Was with a trader and he said no more than £30k as it was dodgy as there was no V5. It went for £ 31k online with few bids because of the lack of a V5 and no ownership known. A week later I saw the dealer and he said everyone was really cheesed off - the guy that bought it online bragged that he knew why there was no V5 - the car was being sold by Buckingham Palace and they had taken the personal number off of it and the V5 was awaiting a replacement reg. He had it up for £ 50k !

Glyn Jennings · September 7, 2023

7 minutes ago, wivenhoe said:

A long time ago, I was at an auction and really wanted a 2 year old Aston Martin Vantage. Great condition, low mileage. Was with a trader and he said no more than £30k as it was dodgy as there was no V5. It went for £ 31k online with few bids because of the lack of a V5 and no ownership known. A week later I saw the dealer and he said everyone was really cheesed off - the guy that bought it online bragged that he knew why there was no V5 - the car was being sold by Buckingham Palace and they had taken the personal number off of it and the V5 was awaiting a replacement reg. He had it up for £ 50k !

I do like Aston Martin but a friend of mine hired a nearly new DB9 a few years ago. The ride was terrible unless it was smooth tarmac. The glovebox wouldn’t stay shut. The boot struts didn’t work. The bonnet was so far out of alignment it was scraping the paint off the edge of wing by the windscreen and the leather was lifting where it had been glued down on the door panels. A few years later my daughter worked as a service adviser for a Aston Martin dealership near me and the stories she told about unreliability and astronomical costs was disturbing. Sadly the way the dealership treated their customers was appalling too telling customers a pack of lies when they had messed up. That was 10 years ago so hopefully not the story now. The great thing with Lexus they always come top on the things that matter.

Boomer54 · September 7, 2023

2 minutes ago, Glyn Jennings said:

I do like Aston Martin but a friend of mine hired a nearly new DB9 a few years ago. The ride was terrible unless it was smooth tarmac. The glovebox wouldn’t stay shut. The boot struts didn’t work. The bonnet was so far out of alignment it was scraping the paint off the edge of wing by the windscreen and the leather was lifting where it had been glued down on the door panels. A few years later my daughter worked as a service adviser for a Aston Martin dealership near me and the stories she told about unreliability and astronomical costs was disturbing. Sadly the way the dealership treated their customers was appalling too telling customers a pack of lies when they had messed up. That was 10 years ago so hopefully not the story now. The great thing with Lexus they always come top on the things that matter.

There is a an underlying truth begging to get out in that story. It is this, 'handbuilt' tends to be conceptualised by people has superior and worthy of a premium. The reality is it can almost never replicate the precision and reliability of a machined product. Essentially we are being encouraged to buy a misrepresentation of reality and if you dig into it ,it is invariably just great marketing behind it. Indeed, if the production was ever as good as the marketing you' d be making a good buy.

Glyn Jennings · September 7, 2023

2 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

There is a an underlying truth begging to get out in that story. It is this, 'handbuilt' tends to be conceptualised by people has superior and worthy of a premium. The reality is it can almost never replicate the precision and reliability of a machined product. Essentially we are being encouraged to buy a misrepresentation of reality and if you dig into it ,it is invariably just great marketing behind it. Indeed, if the production was ever as good as the marketing you' d be making a good buy.

I couldn’t agree more the TVR was the epitome of that. I get the feeling that with all these mega expensive cars we all dream of owning is more the situation where we are allowed to buy and run what they have made on their terms and we are privileged to have the opportunity in their eyes.