[Mark07]

Regrets, I’ve got a few… but what was the car (or bike) that you regret not buying?

A few years ago, I looked into buying a Ford Fiesta ST. I’ve always thought a hot hatch would be great fun but also practical enough to drive everyday.

Long story short, I told myself that I was too old to have a boy racer car and stuck with the more practical choice. I like the car I have, but whenever I’m on a country road I still think that I made a mistake.

[fifiriw965]

Originally Posted by Mark07

Regrets, I’ve got a few… but what was the car (or bike) that you regret not buying?

A few years ago, I looked into buying a Ford Fiesta ST. I’ve always thought a hot hatch would be great fun but also practical enough to drive everyday.

Long story short, I told myself that I was too old to have a boy racer car and stuck with the more practical choice. I like the car I have, but whenever I’m on a country road I still think that I made a mistake.

Hello,
The Ford Fiesta ST is a blast to drive and a hot hatch like that would have made those country roads a lot more exciting. It's never too late to reconsider—maybe there's another opportunity for a fun and practical car in your future. Who knows, you might still get that adrenaline rush yet!

Thanks

[Drivingforfun]

I've had a few of these and not just with cars!! Usually "silly" purchases that I've been too "sensible" to buy, which in hindsight would have been good investments

I've said "no" to a few cars that have since gone up wildly in price, and used examples are very close to their original RRP, which would've meant I could have driven them almost for free!

With regards to your "being too old", I had the same thought being 30 and choosing a John Cooper Works ... however putting aside that "too old" is nonsense anyway(!), what teenager or 20-something can afford to insure a hot hatch these days??? For fun I put my JCW into a calculator thingy and set my age to 17 and quotes came back at £8,000+

[davidbravo]

I can relate! I regret not buying a Mazda MX-5 a few years back. I wanted something fun for weekend drives, but ended up choosing a more practical sedan. While the sedan is great for everyday use, I still think about how much I’d enjoy those winding roads in the MX-5. Sometimes, you just have to follow your heart!

[Mark07]

Originally Posted by Drivingforfun

For fun I put my JCW into a calculator thingy and set my age to 17 and quotes came back at £8,000+

For insurance? Ouch.

[TC1474]

I nearly brought a Ferrari 308GTB once.

Dealer was a friend and me being young, single and earning a decent crust, the car needed 4 new tyres (which were probably by comparison more expensive then than they are now) and said if I was interested he would let me have it for £5K which for a Ferrari seemed a bit of a bargain.

Anyway, he threw me the keys and said take it for a spin and see what you think.

2 minutes later I handed back the keys and said "thanks for the offer but I won't be buying it"

Horrified he said "Why, what's up?"

I said what is the point of buying a car I cannot fit into?

Literally I could not even get into the drivers seat as it was clearly built for a dwarf.

So I came to within a whisker of owning a Ferrari. For many years I had no regrets until I saw one at auction and it went for a Kings ransom, an then the question mark appeared "If only? In hindsight I kick myself for not buying it and maybe putting it into storage, but then I could say that about many of my previous cars or bikes.

[Rolebama]

A friend in Germany bought a Mini Cooper through the NAAFI. Unfortunately, when we relocated back to the UK he had owned it for a couple of days short of a year. This meant he had to pay the full duty on it, £90. He could not afford it, so he announced that whoever was willing to pay could have it. I didn't like the idea of taking advantage of him, so declined. It ended up at Auction and HM Customs, as they were then, made a profit on it.

[Drivingforfun]

@TC1474

If it makes you feel any better, it's perhaps less likely you'd have made a profit if you'd taken into account maintaining the car for all those years - if you'd just left it in a garage uninsured it'd be worth a fraction and that's if it hadn't been stolen

That being said I have had a similar story but with watches, I tried on a particular watch (a green Rolex Submariner "Hulk" if anyone is interested) which was retailing for £6,500. That was a lot of money to me for a watch even though I had it on my wrist and the lady wanted to sell it to me. About 5 years later a discontinuation of the model combined with a watch price bubble meant used ones were going for over £25,000!!!!