Cars you're happy you DIDN'T buy

[dasherHampton]

I was blown away by the CLS 500 when it came out around 2007. It struck me as such an unbelievably cool design.

Around 2012 or 2013 I seriously looked at a used CLS 550, either 2009 or 2010. I was SO close to plunking down the cash for it (I think it was like $30,000). Boy am I glad I passed on that one.

A guy in my neighborhood bought one about a year ago and I see him driving it all the time. All I can think is "That didn't age well, did it?". What I once thought was ultimately slick now just looks kind of dorky to me.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

AMG CLA 45. I was seriously close to pulling the trigger when they first came out, but refrained and bought something far cheaper and more spartan. Glad I did. We ended up doing more and more trips that needed cargo space and cargo boxes, neither of which the CLA 45 had. Still a beautiful car in my opinion, but wouldn't fit my current lifestyle.

 

[Yuriman]

When looking at buying my first car, it was between a 90's Jetta (VR6) and a Del Sol (B16A). So glad I went with the Honda. I can't imagine having to do maintenance on a high mile German car while in college - I wouldn't have known these have a timing chain which needs replacement.

 

[highland145]

1990 Ford Probe

When looking at buying my first car, it was between a 90's Jetta (VR6) and a Del Sol (B16A). So glad I went with the Honda. I can't imagine having to do maintenance on a high mile German car while in college - I wouldn't have known these have a timing chain which needs replacement.

Bought a Prelude instead. Awesome decision.

 

[tsupersonic]

I had a '07 CLS 63 and I loved that NA 6.2L V8. I'm biased, but I think it still looks great today. It started the trend of '4 door coupes,' which inspires modern cars like the newest Honda Accord.

 

[JCH13]

I looked at a MK1 supercharged MR2 and was ready to buy it when it was sold to someone else. I wound up getting a Miata instead. Reflecting on it, there were a lot of red flags: not being able to drive it on the road because it wasn't registered, for example. I think that I dodged a heap of PoS (previous owner shit) and got a better car because of it.

 

[Yuriman]

I had a '07 CLS 63 and I loved that NA 6.2L V8. I'm biased, but I think it still looks great today. It started the trend of '4 door coupes,' which inspires modern cars like the newest Honda Accord.

By this do you mean the sloping roof in the style of a "fastback" ?

 

[JulesMaximus]

I was blown away by the CLS 500 when it came out around 2007. It struck me as such an unbelievably cool design.

Around 2012 or 2013 I seriously looked at a used CLS 550, either 2009 or 2010. I was SO close to plunking down the cash for it (I think it was like $30,000). Boy am I glad I passed on that one.

A guy in my neighborhood bought one about a year ago and I see him driving it all the time. All I can think is "That didn't age well, did it?". What I once thought was ultimately slick now just looks kind of dorky to me.

My wife has a 2013 CLS550 and we love it. It is the best road trip car I’ve ever driven. Fast, smooth, comfortable for up to four people. It is a great car. I could see a 2019 CLS53 replacing my E550 Coupe eventually.

 

[tsupersonic]

By this do you mean the sloping roof in the style of a "fastback" ?

Yeah.

 

[Yuriman]

Yeah.

Pretty sure it's the push for fuel economy standards, the fastback shape is basically the ideal aerodynamic shape and all manufacturers are going to have to go to that shape eventually, if they want to be competitive in highway economy.

Mercades may have been first because they do the most wind tunnel testing and seem to place a lot of emphasis on coefficient of drag, but the roofline on the CLS 63 is actually identical to the 2000 Honda Insight.

 

[dasherHampton]

My wife has a 2013 CLS550 and we love it. It is the best road trip car I’ve ever driven. Fast, smooth, comfortable for up to four people. It is a great car. I could see a 2019 CLS53 replacing my E550 Coupe eventually.

It's not meant to be personal. I'm sure people think my 650i looks dated.

I'm just very happy I didn't make that purchase.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's not meant to be personal. I'm sure people think my 650i looks dated.

I'm just very happy I didn't make that purchase.

I totally get that and I didn’t take it personally but as someone who owns one we love it. It’s not the most practical and it’s not particularly roomy but for two or three people on a long drive? It is pretty good. Plus, it is powerful and comfortable.

All cars are a compromise. It just matters what you want to compromise on.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Well, there are several cars I bought that I wish I hadn't (pretty much any american car of the 80s or 90s), but probably the only real lemon I considered but did not buy was the Vega when it first came out. (Guess it is obvious that my car budget is lower than most on this forum). I first bought a Japanese car in 2000, and all my subsequent purchases have been Japanese as well (Nissan and Honda). They have been quite reliable, although I am sure American cars are much better now than the last ones I bought. Last American car I bought was a Pontiac Sunfire that ate 3 headgaskets in 40k miles.

 

[IronWing]

Mini Clubman. I like the look of the car and it test drove well but Mini's reliability numbers haven't been so good.

 

[Ns1]

That moneypit R53


oh wait....

 

[SNC]

1975 Bricklin

 

[SearchMaster]

I really wanted this used RX-7 convertible in the early 90s and a friend ended up buying it. She had nothing but problems so I was always happy I passed on it.

 

[sdifox]

My wife has a 2013 CLS550 and we love it. It is the best road trip car I’ve ever driven. Fast, smooth, comfortable for up to four people. It is a great car. I could see a 2019 CLS53 replacing my E550 Coupe eventually.

E63 AMG S wagon dude. Comes with RWD only Drift mode :awe:
0-60 in 3 seconds. And you can carry more lego than Madoka.

https://www.caranddriver.com/mercedes-amg/e63-s-wagon

 

[A5]

I almost got a Sonata instead of a Mazda 6 in 2009. That generation of Sonata has not aged well at all, but that version of the 6 at least still looks decent even if it guzzles gas.

 

[hans007]

i once had money in a poor performing investment that had gone down about 70%. really wanted a bmw m4 and was telling a friend , maybe i should just liquidate whats left and trade my car in with that money to get the m4. Anyhow the dealership and I were about $3-4k apart on the deal when I just said I couldn't do it.

Anyway didnt touch the investment, and it went up like 400% in the next 6 months. Dodged a bullet there.

 

[draknon]

Back in March '02 when I was 19, I was all set to buy a new Tiburon. They had just hit the lot that week and the GT models were going for about 23k. The payments and insurance were crazy high but "I could afford it since I lived at home and had no other expenses". I came to my senses the next day and realized that it would be a stupid decision to buy a brand new car. I bought something used for a few grand which served me well and allowed me to move out without any financial commitments.

In contrast, there is the car I didn't purchase but wish I had. Back in 2009 when Pontiac was killed off, I was getting somewhat bored of my Civic and stopped by the local Chevy dealer and was thinking about purchasing a 2nd fun car. This dealer had 8 new Pontiac G8 GTs leftover in stock and GM had some stupidly huge incentives on them to move them. You could get a new G8 GT for 25k. Used models are still going for 15k-20k+ today.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Back in March '02 when I was 19, I was all set to buy a new Tiburon. They had just hit the lot that week and the GT models were going for about 23k. The payments and insurance were crazy high but "I could afford it since I lived at home and had no other expenses". I came to my senses the next day and realized that it would be a stupid decision to buy a brand new car. I bought something used for a few grand which served me well and allowed me to move out without any financial commitments.

In contrast, there is the car I didn't purchase but wish I had. Back in 2009 when Pontiac was killed off, I was getting somewhat bored of my Civic and stopped by the local Chevy dealer and was thinking about purchasing a 2nd fun car. This dealer had 8 new Pontiac G8 GTs leftover in stock and GM had some stupidly huge incentives on them to move them. You could get a new G8 GT for 25k. Used models are still going for 15k-20k+ today.

Because the Chevy SS was $50k.

Damn Chevy - every time they try to sell a big displacement RWD sedan in the US, people drool over it and then don't buy it.

Now it's RIP, Holden.