[mix4fix]

This isn't about bad mouthing a brand or model, but maybe you realize you should have gotten the bigger or smaller model.

[rockadanny]

Back last century when I was working for an automotive company during the "fuel crisis", I bought one of their POS, tiny, fuel efficient cars. On my way to work one windy day, driving down I-75, a semi truck whizzed past me. The road was dry, but the combination of the wind + roaring semi + the puny mass of my car, pushed me half over onto the next lane. About sh$t my pants. That night I went out and bought a proper mid-sized car. Fuel-economy be damned - I needed to survive the drive.

[Early B.]

Yeah, I bought my current 2-seater pickup truck 10 years ago. I should have gotten the larger model, but I was too cheap to pay more and deal with higher fuel costs. Now that truck prices have skyrocketed, it's harder to justify the upgrade.

Rockadanny -- years ago, I also had a car that would "jump" whenever a semi whizzed by. I got rid of it as quickly as I could.     

[WGH]

... but maybe you realize you should have gotten the bigger or smaller model.

or maybe a more reliable model.

My 1977 Jeep Wagoneer got around 8 mpg in town, it was very reliable but filling up once a week was getting expensive. I bought a very low mileage 2012 Ford Focus for $4000 in June 2021 as an interim vehicle, not having committed into buying a new car yet. The Focus was great and got 30 mpg in town. My friend said the car had numerous recalls which she got fixed but was done with it by then, not really a car you could fall in love with.

So I had two reliable years until the Focus broke again, this time the power steering sensor went out. No problem right? Just replace a cheap sensor. Turns out the sensor is an integral part of the front axle, my mechanic would charge $1000 to replace the axle. No way was I putting $1000 into a 10 year old $4000 car. Now I was done with it too.

I traded-in the broken 2012 Focus for a brand new 2023 Subaru Outback. The dealer gave me a $3000 trade-in value even with no power steering. Over my two year ownership I saved more than $1000 in gas alone by not driving the Jeep. Turns out it was the best car purchase I ever made.

I checked the Subaru dealer's website a couple weeks later and the Focus was listed for over $6000.

[tull skull]

"Power Steering Assist Module Failure" is the reason I will never ever own a Ford again.

[Phil A]

I have a friend who just bought his fourth vehicle (traded them in - all SUVs and now he has a Nissan 4 door pickup truck) in about the last 4 months.  He doesn't put on a ton of miles and had a 2013 Toyota 4Runner he wanted to replace when he started his quest.  I see him every couple of weeks for breakfast and I joke about him not having another new car.  My last 3 vehicles have all been Lexus RX models, the last two non plug in hybrids (2020 RX450h and now 2023 RX350h).  I have about 31,000 miles on the current vehicle and have averaged 36.6 mpg.  So I'll likely wait until the 2028 models and get another.

[FullRangeMan]

I thought this topic would feature exclusively post on electric or hybrid vehicles.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Back last century when I was working for an automotive company during the "fuel crisis", I bought one of their POS, tiny, fuel efficient cars. On my way to work one windy day, driving down I-75, a semi truck whizzed past me. The road was dry, but the combination of the wind + roaring semi + the puny mass of my car, pushed me half over onto the next lane. About sh$t my pants. That night I went out and bought a proper mid-sized car. Fuel-economy be damned - I needed to survive the drive.

That was an every day occurrence when I was on a busy HWY in my 1968 VW Beetle back in the 1970's.  It weighed 1600 pounds. It was a fun car after I hot rodded the engine and double its HP.

[WGH]

I got to ride in the back seat of one of the first VW Beetles in Chicago around 1955 when I was 7 years old. I remember because it was uncomfortable, I barely fit and the engine was loud.

Years later, in 1968, I was a very poor college student home for the summer and borrowed my brother's VW Bug. My brother never paid more than $100 for a car back then. The Bug's floor boards were rusted through so you could see the road go by and it wouldn't go over 40 mph even with the gas pedal smashed to the floor.

Good times.

[Tyson]

I thought this topic would feature exclusively post on electric or hybrid vehicles.

I like my Tesla more over time, not less.  Especially with gas prices now 

[deadhead]

The car I had just before this one had a very harsh ride.  It handled like a go kart but after an hour it was just too hard on my body.  Traded it in along with my SUV for something much more comfortable (and much faster!).

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Many times I've been burnt by buying a car. The latest a Holden (ex GMH) sv6 ute caused me heaps of problems. I bought this car at it looked really nice but the guy hadn't finished using a shammy to wipe off the water and it looked great. When we went for a drive he drove it straight into the shed.  I got it home and the next day I saw almost a hundred tiny dents on both sides of the car, probably, caused by hail damage. It cost me $1500 for a pointless dent removal guy to remove all the dents. He was fantastic!

That wasn't the major problem though as I had an intermittent problem that the car would not turn off when I removed the car from it. I drove from Perth to Melbourne return and on the way back the bugger of a car wouldn't turn off. I eventually worked out a quick fix by removing the fuel pump fuse.  I think I spent over $2000 fixing this problem which turned out to be the alternator overcharging the battery causing the ecu to think the battery had low charge.

Anyway, it's okay now but it's on probation. One more problem...

Cheers Rod

[Jeff_From_Michigan]

I got to ride in the back seat of one of the first VW Beetles in Chicago around 1955 when I was 7 years old. I remember because it was uncomfortable, I barely fit and the engine was loud.

Years later, in 1968, I was a very poor college student home for the summer and borrowed my brother's VW Bug. My brother never paid more than $100 for a car back then. The Bug's floor boards were rusted through so you could see the road go by and it wouldn't go over 40 mph even with the gas pedal smashed to the floor.

Good times.

Classic!!!

The ceiling was way up to $200 for me and my brothers in the mid-70's. The bad news was that every one of those heaps needed a LOT of work.  The good news was that we learned how to work on cars.

Back to the bad news - other than brakes and oil changes, very little of that knowledge helps us with these new "computers on wheels". The engine light comes on, I head over to Auto Zone for the diagnosis, and they hand me a printout with needed parts that I've never heard of and would have no idea how to install.

I just went from an '08 Grand Marquis and an '04 F-150 that both ride SO much smoother than my current '23 Explorer - and without all of the annoying Big Brother "safety" features - like my favorite so far: the 2 honks when I walk two steps away from the car with the key in the ignition that I am told can't be disabled without a trip to the dealership.

Yes, I find myself wondering if I bought the wrong vehicle this time for sure.

[Zuman]

Interesting question. I'm one of those weirdos who wants to love a car, not just respect it as basic transportation. Cars I haven't loved included a Merkur Xr4ti and a Gen 1 Audi A6 turbo. They just didn't press the right buttons for me. I've had my current Mazda CX-90 for eight years now, and feel affection for it, as I did for its predecessor, a Mini Countryman All4. My '74 Lotus Europa still occasionally appears in my dreams, and my Triumph GT6+ in my nightmares. My wife was absolutely smitten by her 2010 Prius, but despises her 2023 Kia Sportage hybrid.