So i bought the wrong car for me, Anyone else been here ?

Supergurrier

2007 Volvo S60 2.0T

Seemed like a great idea at the time.

-Comfort
-Sleeperish
-Respectable sort of yoke.

Reality it seems.

-26mpg
-Slow as an ass drawn cart
-Lots of warning lights/Somewhat unreliable
-Suspension isn't that great over bumps.

Now it was bought just as a daily but has anyone on here ever bought a car and been so bored with it after a couple months that they just find themselves driving less and less ?

Im sure it's the perfect car for some folk but not for me.

This paticular car comes across as one that had a relatively hard life and i thought i would restore it to 100% but i find myself unable to summon up the motivation to even wash it and even the birds love using it for target practise

Tell me your stories of motoring purchases that in hindsight seemed like a bad idea.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

You should just buy an e39 530d as your daily then get back to the business of yanktank shopping like you mentioned a while back! Has that gone on the backburner?

Disclaimer: I might be biased, maybe I want to set up a yanktank section at the meets :P

PLUG71

Supergurrier wrote: »

2007 Volvo S60 2.0T

Seemed like a great idea at the time.

-Comfort
-Sleeperish
-Respectable sort of yoke.

Reality it seems.

-26mpg
-Slow as an ass drawn cart
-Lots of warning lights/Somewhat unreliable
-Suspension isn't that great over bumps.

Now it was bought just as a daily but has anyone on here ever bought a car and been so bored with it after a couple months that they just find themselves driving less and less ?

Im sure it's the perfect car for some folk but not for me.

This paticular car comes across as one that had a relatively hard life and i thought i would restore it to 100% but i find myself unable to summon up the motivation to even wash it and even the birds love using it for target practise

Tell me your stories of motoring purchases that in hindsight seemed like a bad idea.

You should have got the T5 !

Supergurrier

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

You should just buy an e39 530d as your daily then get back to the business of yanktank shopping like you mentioned a while back! Has that gone on the backburner?

Disclaimer: I might be biased, maybe I want to set up a yanktank section at the meets :P

It's on the backburner until spring as was the plan, but im hesitant to do anything until i find a suitable replacement for this Yoke.

My milage is tiny atm (12,000km a year) and a diesel makes no sense.

Have realised that i need something relatively sport as a daily to keep me sane.

RX-8
MR2 Turbo

or the like.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

12k km per year, at that I'd be looking at some fun cars alright.
I like the idea of an RX8 alright. You might find it small though coming out of the ST.

Perhaps a 530i?
Or for a really different car (depending on budget of course) an early 645ci?

PLUG71

Or a Megane R26 230 !!!!! ;);)

Foxhole Norman

There's a mint 530i for sale for around 2.5k, E39 model that is. Seems to have gotten anything it needed by its previous owners.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

On the topic of wrong cars for me - I think my skoda and my e36 belong on that list anyway.

The skoda because it was god awfully underequipped.
And the e36 because it couldnt stand up to its intended function, which was to be a drift mobile. It fell apart (literally) with a couple of boardsies (and one ex boardsie) inside.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Actually, considering the spec etc you could do worse than negotiate a deal for a certain imola red bmw.

Supergurrier

Well.

I can only afford 3k or so on a daily if i am to get a vintage in the spring.

Could just spend everything on a fast daily but nothing out there screams to me atm.

Volvo C30 T5 (just a rebadged ST)
Volvo V70R/S60R fast and sleeperish but i dunno.
Beyond those two i see very little worth having enough to delay buying a vintage.

Also purpose of thread was to get some stories of cars people bought and didnt really like in hindsight even though they did the job.

Toyotafanboi

is there anything to be said for a non BMW solution to this problem :P

Tea 1000

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

is there anything to be said for a non BMW solution to this problem :P

Not with the GT86 being too new for affordability... Give it a few years though!

Toyotafanboi

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Not with the GT86 being too new for affordability... Give it a few years though!

hopefully some people spec some nice ones now :pac:

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Supergurrier wrote: »

Well.

I can only afford 3k or so on a daily if i am to get a vintage in the spring.

Could just spend everything on a fast daily but nothing out there screams to me atm.

Volvo C30 T5 (just a rebadged ST)
Volvo V70R/S60R fast and sleeperish but i dunno.
Beyond those two i see very little worth having enough to delay buying a vintage.

Also purpose of thread was to get some stories of cars people bought and didnt really like in hindsight even though they did the job.

ahem

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

On the topic of wrong cars for me - I think my skoda and my e36 belong on that list anyway.

The skoda because it was god awfully underequipped.
And the e36 because it couldnt stand up to its intended function, which was to be a drift mobile. It fell apart (literally) with a couple of boardsies (and one ex boardsie) inside.

Idbatterim

doesnt it have to have some go in it to be referred to as "sleeperish"? How about a 525?

Supergurrier

Idbatterim wrote: »

doesnt it have to have some go in it to be referred to as "sleeperish"? How about a 525?

The go isnt the be all and end all. Just the nature in which its delivered

pred racer

I once bought a seat Toledo (the old square one) coz I needed a daysul.
I fookin hated that car, no turbo, wouldn't pull a slippy stick out of a dogs hole.
Luckily enough I crashed it and bought something else:p

Gavman84

I'm kind of regretting getting the Accord. Still mad for a Focus ST as have been for awhile now! On the look out at the moment for a good one. Nothing wrong with the Accord other than its not an ST!

Bpmull

My focus I know I've said it on here in general but I'll say it again.

Buying ford focus expectation:

Hard wearing car that never let's you down just from the ford image in general I got that and how people would always praise them.

Really cheap to fix and cheap parts not sure why I thought this.

Figured it must be a good car look at the number of mk2s on the road.

Reality:

Being broken down and stranded for 5 hours on the motorway as the engine decided to stop working at 120kmh while overtaking a car.

Flimsy enough in general interior didn't feel well put together rattly enough kind of felt thrown together.

Constant oil and coolant leaks from literally everywhere in the engine.

Extremely Expensive parts and the car would cause trouble if you looked at it crookedly.

A joke among people I knew as to what would go wrong next with it.

Overall it wasn't a bad car to drive when it worked but that was about the only thing it had going for it.

Nforce

Back in the early 90's I needed a cheap runaround for about 6 -8 months. Had access to free diesel at the time (which may or may not have been of a similar hue to Kermit) and bought a Renault 11 which was converted from a van to a passenger car. Several years of psychiatrist treatment have helped remove most of the memories of the ownership of that dog but among the things that I can remember are that the 1.6/1.7lt non turbo engine delivered glacier like speed, it tended to overheat all the time (probably due to me having to virtually weld the accelerator pedal to the floor in order to get anywhere), it handled like a Little Tikes car (possibly due to the fact that it had the same plastic tyres) and the dire light output from the headlights was the butt of jokes from the local moth population. The tail lights too were a bit of a lottery,sometimes all worked,or none or the lot would light up at once.
Wound up tinting the windows limo black (to hide my embarrassment of driving it), fitted Renault alloy wheels,drove the rag out of it for several months and sold it for a profit!

MuppetCheck

Octavia VRS.

Couldn't look at it for too long as something would inevitably break. To drive it you needed a recovery truck on speed dial. Got to know the lads in the garage very well.

Thought the abrupt power delivery could be gotten over with tyres. Nope. Turn the wheel and it just did it's own thing on anything other than a dry road/moderate throttle.

If I was in the army I'd probably have gotten away with a deafness claim because of it.

Drank more than I did.

On the plus side I lost feck all on it, traded it in when the warranty was up.

Hal1

If only for a few months use I would just buy something that made me smile .

Chris_Heilong

Dude, get something Japanese and 90s, I have ever had a problem doing this and I am on my fourth car and they have all been good, Although I have never owned a wankle engine.

Chris_Heilong

double post...

ShadowHearth

Once I bought I wrong car. I can't blame car though, it was my own fault. It was clk200 and I got it when I was 22... I was way too young for it. Forward 6 years and I would love that merc again.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

It fell apart (literally)

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

(and one ex boardsie) inside.

You make it sound like someone was killed :P

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Deleted User wrote: »

You make it sound like someone was killed :P

Nah, just the car.
Sold it on for a loss of approx 250 quid so not so bad (although it had only cost 500 to begin with!)

Sobanek

My E46.
Bought it with expectation of reliability and 30mpg.

Spent over 5k on repairs so far and get 28 mpg average, but still love it to bits. :pac:

MuppetCheck

Jesus dude, that's some serious wonga for a car worth half the purchase + 5k on a very good day. You must really love it:D

visual

Sobanek wrote: »

My E46.
Bought it with expectation of reliability and 30mpg.

Spent over 5k on repairs so far and get 28 mpg average, but still love it to bits. :pac:

Your going to have to take up DIY 5k would buy lots of tools the car parts and a holiday

Sobanek

visual wrote: »

Your going to have to take up DIY 5k would buy lots of tools the car parts and a holiday

I knooooow.
I'm all thumbs up when it comes to DIY.
About to save 30 quid on MAF Sensor replacement though. It's a very simple job.

Jobs done on the car since day 1:

- Rocker cover gasket
- Breather pipe
- Thermostat
- Complete Suspension
- Power Steering Rack
- 2 Complete Services
- Air Con refill & clean
- Belts and pulleys of all kinds replaced
- Serpentine Belt replaced
- BMW Business CD radio installed
- Foglight replacement
- Front bumper replacement
- Wheel speed sensor replacement
- Auto Gearbox mounts replacement
- Brake pads and discs replaced front & rear.
- Handbrake adjustment and replacement of the handbrake shoes

Still to do:
- New MAF Sensor
- New catalytic converter
- New alloys / alloy refurb
- Set of proper new tyres
- Wheel bearing replacement
- Wheel speed sensor replacement (again)
- Brake lines replacement

power pants

sounds like a complete lemon

however it looked good in the initial pics you posted when you bought it, think if I remember rightly the tow hook was on the front bumper?

must surely have been an indication all was not right

anyway at least you will have a solid car now -they do look very good!

Taylor365

Wow, i have been blessed with my car purchases...even all the way from Japan!

If i ever get a lemon, i'll just cut my losses, strip it, and burn it :cool:

Timooo_23

Was smitten by a diesel Alfa 159 a couple of years ago A very pretty car that wasn't a VAG 1.9 or 320d. People had me convinced diesel was the future, and I'd love how much I'd save at the pump. I spent those savings and then some on repair bills. It started when it felt like it, crapped out at the worst possible times; roundabouts, motorways, country roads.

And it wasn't that nice to drive. Vague gearbox and power band as wide as a human hair. I suppose it handled well, but I was always afraid to push it in case something else went. It's only saving grace was looks. I ended up despising the B*stard.

Funnily enough, it put me off diesel more than it put me off alfas, I'd like to try another one at some point in the future. A 2.2 jts Brera perhaps...

At the time it really was an awful car for me. Lesson learned!

visual

Bought an astra 1.4 8valve (98 model) was two years old
car was untra reliable nice and clean low mileage and had all the factory options but I just didn't like it
it had a flat spot accelerating between 50 and 65phh made overtaking difficult.
Suffer with my back and the driver seat was horrible to sit in for anything more than hr.
Gave it to the wife and bought something else.
Two years later wife gives back the car and says she needs something else anything else.
Just fed up driving it.

Sold it with low mileage in perfect order and never missed it.

It just wasn't a fun car to drive. Ive driven bigger and smaller cars previous and since all had good and bad points but the astra was just a bland car even with all the factory options

Tea 1000

visual wrote: »

Bought an astra 1.4 8valve (98 model) was two years old
car was untra reliable nice and clean low mileage and had all the factory options but I just didn't like it
it had a flat spot accelerating between 50 and 65phh made overtaking difficult.
Suffer with my back and the driver seat was horrible to sit in for anything more than hr.
Gave it to the wife and bought something else.
Two years later wife gives back the car and says she needs something else anything else.
Just fed up driving it.

Sold it with low mileage in perfect order and never missed it.

It just wasn't a fun car to drive. Ive driven bigger and smaller cars previous and since all had good and bad points but the astra was just a bland car even with all the factory options

They were remarkably dull alright. And there was a guy on here who claimed his Astra non-turbo diesel van was by far the best and most exciting car he'd ever driven!

visual

Tea 1000 wrote: »

They were remarkably dull alright. And there was a guy on here who claimed his Astra non-turbo diesel van was by far the best and most exciting car he'd ever driven!

Probably reliable but far from exciting and a van would make me cringe. But if diven on minor roads they grip the road well. Maybe the diesel being heavier gave better feeling behind the wheel but doubt it

Tea 1000

visual wrote: »

Probably reliable but far from exciting and a van would make me cringe. But if diven on minor roads they grip the road well. Maybe the diesel being heavier gave better feeling behind the wheel but doubt it

I'd say delusion was the largest factor to be honest!