What's the Car You Most Regretted Buying?

[72 Challenger]

1988 Volkswagen Fox.

Nothing wrong with the car. Slapped a volvo turbo on it, stripped it, caged it, upgraded the brakes and tires and hit the race track. I Was 18 this was my first ever and only "race car." Felt great on the warm up laps. Started to push it more and more just before the race, and I felt like a million bucks after I finished my first ever lap accident and break down free - I had built my own race car. On the second lap someone got up my arse, touched the rear quarter and with zero experience I couldn't regain control. The car went, in what felt like slow motion into the tire wall. I had spent all my money making a racecar that lasted two laps. I stripped what I could on the car and left the carcass at the racetrack. that was the end of my race career. I recently threw out the helmet as it expired too.

Not the cars fault, but it reminds me of the harsh lesson of "if you can barely afford it in the first place, you can't afford it at all"

@anlauto , let me know when the AAR is in the clearance bin, I should be able to afford it then!

[anlauto]

let me know when the AAR is in the clearance bin, I should be able to afford it then!

I wish...I think I paid top end for it, so it will be awhile before I can give it away

[Mark_B]

A couple of years ago I bought a 1972 Mustang 302 convertible without looking at it properly.  It looked great from 20 yards but the paint wasn't good up close.  Well that was just the start.  My mechanic called it a death trap.  Loads of serious mechanical problems and rust including the cowls. I later found out it had been sitting outside in the rain for a couple of years as the owner had died. 

I spent $18,000 partially restoring it including a respray and sorting out the mechanical problems.  But I found out the floorpan were covered in bondo and had large rust holes in and the inner sills were rotten and they'd been covered up with underseal.  My mechanic said $25,000 needed spending on the car.  As it was only worth $20,000 dollars restored anyway I flipped it.

Here's what it looked like after my resto:

[MEK-Dangerous]

This is tough for me, because I never really bought a dud. In looking back though, in 1988 I saw this 1986 Pontiac Gran Prix for sale. It had the powerhouse of a 305 engine in it(sarcasm). It had a T-roof. I was too stupid back then to realize what I was seeing in a 2 year old car was paint failing. By the time it was 5 or 6 years old, I had to have it repainted because the paint was wearing down to nothing. As a side note, I had that car for 11 years, and sold it with 147,000 miles on it. The T-roof never leaked. I would have to put high octane fuel in it if I was traveling in the mountains, because the engine would ping like h@ll going up the mountains.

[dodj]

I never really bought a dud.

I thought you bought one of those '78-'79 Challengers? ...

[Dakota]

Dodge Caravan around 1990.   It was a demo out of a dealership.  It was a complete POS from the standpoint it seemed to have something not working on it but never the same thing twice.  My wife's "favorite" moment was pulling into our driveway on Mother's Day and removing the ignition key but the engine kept running.   We parted company with it after someone driving a U-Haul and towing a trailer lane changed into her on the interstate.  The van was up on 2 wheels at one point, tires blew, driveline took a heavy shot.  Took it straight from the body shop to a different dealership to trade it in.   I clearly remember my wife explaining to the sales rep for the replacement vehicle that she would park our new car on his desk if we had similar reliability problems.   

[greentween]

95 Eagle Talon. 1st new car I ever bought. All kinds of problems with the car. All kind of problems getting the dealer to fix it each time. Eagle dealer finally wore me out with all the trips there trying to get things fixed. I Bought a new Honda Civic. That was Last Chrysler I bought.

[Dakota]

Dodge Caravan around 1990.   It was a demo out of a dealership.  It was a complete POS from the standpoint it seemed to have something not working on it but never the same thing twice.  My wife's "favorite" moment was pulling into our driveway on Mother's Day and removing the ignition key but the engine kept running.   We parted company with it after someone driving a U-Haul and towing a trailer lane changed into her on the interstate.  The van was up on 2 wheels at one point, tires blew, driveline took a heavy shot.  Took it straight from the body shop to a different dealership to trade it in.   I clearly remember my wife explaining to the sales rep for the replacement vehicle that she would park the new vehicle on his desk if we encountered the same reliability issues. 

[MEK-Dangerous]

I never really bought a dud.

I thought you bought one of those '78-'79 Challengers? ...

OUCH!! That was a good burn. I have to give you credit there.   

Honestly I never thought of that '78 Challenger as being a bad car. Sure, it was a 4 cylinder, so not a muscle car by any means. It was a cute buggy though. I was 20 when I bought it, I loved the plaid cloth interior. The overhead console. Yes, the low fuel light did work. Really, the only reason I sold it was because I moved South, and the car didn't have AC. I worked 3:30 to midnight back then. I would be soaked with sweat by the time I got to work in the summer.

[ragtopdodge]

Black 2006 PT Cruiser convertible GT

Was brand new with 20 miles on it.  Paid $19k on it.

Was a neat car with a stick shift and turbo.  But just wasn't me (obviously).

After putting another $2k into it making it look nicer (rear spoiler, wheels, dropped springs, smooth rear bumper), I can only sell it for $10,500 with only maybe 20k miles on it.

I.e. took a real bath on it.

[ec_co]

when I was 17 I bought a '73 Fury 3 4dr land yacht with a 383 ... threw a rod in a Safeway parking lot somewhere in Seattle ... just left the keys in it and walked away. it's a tie with my '74 Mustang II .... what a pile

[cuda dad]

1995 Chrysler Town and Country Mini Van. Bought it new (demo) with 2,500 miles on it off the showroom floor.  It was always in the shop for one thing or another.  The last time it was the instrument cluster went out.  I got it back with a few hundred less miles on it than when I took it in.     I traded it in on a 1997 4Runner in December of 1996 and we still have it.  So I traded in the worst car I ever owned on the best (most reliable) I've ever owned.