One difficult aspect of being a car enthusiast is being hopelessly in love with a car that you know you shouldn’t buy. You may think about this vehicle often and maybe even have an example saved in your Facebook Marketplace list, but you just can’t get yourself to buy it. Maybe the car you want is known for its performance but is also known for emptying its owner’s bank account. Maybe you work one of those jobs or live in one of those places where you’re expected to drive a certain kind of vehicle. No matter the reason, what car do you want to buy but are too scared to actually follow through with?
Some of you see me as a bit of a fearless collector. Currently, I own a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, a retired transit bus, a couple of BMWs, and a Suzuki RE-5 rotary-powered motorcycle. Any one of these vehicles can bankrupt a person when they break, but I’ve rolled the dice on them. Thankfully, if these vehicles ever do break on me, I could either just sell them or wait until I can repair them. I don’t need to depend on any of them to get me around.
With that said, there are cars I want, but keep myself from buying. Ironically, one of those vehicles is a Volkswagen with a 2.0-liter turbo four from the late 2000s and early 2010s. These cars are notorious for timing failures. I mean, Jason’s wife’s Tiguan had a timing failure, even though Jason knew the crossover was a bomb just waiting to blow.
It’s a shame because so many cool cars came with that engine from the Holy Grail Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen SEL to the surprisingly capable Tiguan 4Motion. Of course, don’t forget that there are a lot of cheap GTIs with those engines But even I am too scared to pull the trigger.
While we’re on the subject of sketchy VAGs, another vehicle I want to buy but stop short on is the Volkswagen EuroVan. I’d love a EuroVan MV Weekender as a sweet factory camper, but I keep reading reports about automatic transmission failures. This wouldn’t be an issue with a manual transmission, but we didn’t get higher trim EuroVans in America with manual transmissions. It was hard enough to find a B5.5 Passat that didn’t have a dying transmission, so I’m not sure how quickly I want to repeat the process with a van.
Yes, all of this is patently ridiculous when you remember that I own a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI and used to own a Phaeton. Both of those cars are known to break catastrophically, costing their owners piles of money. In my silly head, at least those vehicles are special enough to take the chance on, whereas a Tiguan and a GTI are cool, but not exactly V10 TDI cool.
Another vehicle I want but am too scared to buy is an old Land Rover Discovery. I’ve heard enough horror stories from David Tracy and Rob Spiteri that I have yet to buy one. Yet, I’m still allured by a Disco’s off-road capabilities and excellent style.
Alright, so you know my fears and the vehicles that make me toss and turn at night. Seriously, I’ve lost sleep over buying a EuroVan once. Are there any cars that do that for you? What do you want but are too scared to buy?
A 2000s Bentley. I see pretty nice Arnages in the high 20s/low 30s all the time and they do be tempting me. The other would be literally any secondhand Porsche. Their certified program is about as good as it gets but once the warranty is up I would live my life in fear…I also love 2000s Maserati Quattroportes and they’re absurdly cheap now I can’t imagine what the upkeep costs.
BMW or FIAT – Both wallet draining experiences.
Go with the BMW. The quality of some of the interior materials on the 500 is appalling, especially as they age.
Hmm, some to think of it Lewin’s article a few weeks ago about the crank pully on his 320D wasn’t exactly confidence inspiring either…
Pantera. You know how much it’d have to be chopped up to fit a normal human, let alone a 2m beanpole?
My husband is 6’2″ and fits. Barely.
I’m 6’5 and don’t fit at all. Balanced between long body and legs. Mangusta is the same.
Any car for my Husband.
He tends to run into things – or get run into and its somehow deemed his fault.
Some people should just stick to public transit.
I’ve met people who have moved to New York City, not because of work, not because of school, not because they love the city, but because they realized they are terrible drivers.
I lived in SF for 20 years – the last 14 of which I didn’t own a car at all.
But when I moved to LA and bought a car – it all came back to me easily.
My Husband lived in London for 20 years after growing up on the south island of New Zealand. Where you’re more likely to hit a sheep or drive off a cliff than hit another car.
I’m considering that the reason.
(Why did I decide to marry a guy who’s a terrible driver?!)
If you really want a Mk V Golf or Jetta, go for the five-banger instead. In fact, go for the five-banger on any VW it’s available on. So much better suited to American highways.
On the question, I’d have to go with a Mercedes W220- the S-class from 1999-2005. I love everything about that car except the repair bills, and I don’t trust my own skills to be able to deal with the worst of it. I might be swayed by an S350, with the 6, but those are very rare.
Have to completely agree about the 5 cylinder on a VW. My wife had a 2012 Jetta with the 2.5 5 cylinder, and that was a great engine. It had a surprising amount of power for the car, and felt eager when I drove it. Rest of the care fell apart sure, but that engine couldn’t be killed.
What convinced me was a cross-country trip out west. As we approached a long uphill grade at 80 mph, pickup trucks and V8-equipped SUVs were downshifting like crazy and struggling to maintain speed. But I left the Rabbit in 5th gear and it just torqued up that mountain without even breaking a sweat. The speedometer needle stayed pegged on 80 and did not budge.
Funny how everything on my list is made in Germany. And I’m living the dream with a e39 540i which hasn’t left my driveway in 8 months.
I’d love to buy an older Maserati but I don’t think my daughters college fund would appreciate it
Manual E90/91 … but mainly because BMW. Even if relatively reliable, is still relative.
Yep. You play: you pay.
Prepping to remove my S52, I found the guibo to be literally held together in one section by the fibers.
Y’all pray/pour one out for me: I’m headed up the hill with a sawzall & a torch: that recalcitrant exhaust is coming out
Godspeed.
The gearbox was great in my e90, everything else was not.
Yeahhhhh, kinda what I feared.
Had a great 9 year, 120,000 mile experience with my E90, but it was a 2006 330i with the N52 engine. Wouldn’t have wanted the later ones.
Alrighty then. Good to know!
Cars where parts are expensive. I don’t mean slightly expensive, I’m talking ceramic brake expensive. I’ll never buy a used car with ceramic brakes. Couldn’t care less about labor, but dropping a whole Civics’ worth of cash on rotors alone will send me running.
Any modern diesel passenger vehicle. The fuel is more expensive than premium. The exhaust system isn’t also as simple as a few O2 sensors and some cats. DPF, DEF, EGR and probably something else all have the possibility of breaking and bricking the car.
2011 Sportwagen TDI, your fears are well founded
First generation Audi TT coupe. Maybe the last couple of years are OK?
My automotive bravery is on the high side. As in I’m going on my 6th Italian car purchase soon. But even I draw a line at modern Maseratis. The amount of financial and emotional pain I’ve seen caused by Maseratis puts them firmly in the NOPE category for me. I’d be willing to put up with a Merak or something if I was in that tax bracket, but that’s not modern so fair game. The price to pain ratio on the current stuff ain’t worth it.
Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. I’m scared that I’d be tempted to put the top down and someone I know would see me driving it.
I’ve driven one, not scary to drive, but definitely socially questionable
It’s not that bad! I was riding in one during the LA Auto Show after they first came out and I thought it was fun! Beats a boring old 4 door SUV any day!
Oh, I know. I was mostly just making a bad dad joke. Considering how few were sold, I am genuinely shocked how many of them I see in St. Louis, and this is not the best town to own a convertible (only 1 week of spring and fall, the rest too hot or too cold). This I know as a former S2000 and MR2 Spyder owner.
I seriously want an Alfasud Sprint, but could never deal with the terminal rust they’re born with.
I’m such a tightwad that pretty much anything beyond a Toyota/Lexus or Honda makes me think about an extended warranty.
Deep down, I know they all can’t be that bad. The internet tends to distill the worst, even on the “enthusiast” forums. But I also would be keeping a new car for 7-8 years at least. So the person who just loves BMWs, but never has one outside of a 2 or 3-year lease doesn’t rate for me.
Besides the standard trite answer of “anything German other than a Porsche”, an EV… I have enough issues with my 12V batteries dying because I didn’t drive at all between early Nov and late Feb or early Aug until early Nov, also my garage’s electrical starts tripping the breaker whenever there’s a load over around 12A. (I have a 60% success rate of turning on my air compressor without the breaker tripping.) When I do drive it’s usually a minimum 130mi round trip with limited ability to charge it at my destination, but usually a 250mi trip, camp for 3 days, and return. I’m not the ideal EV owner, but I want one for no logical reason.
Put a new breaker in!!!! Com’mon snoman!
rental 2 unit building deep in Chicago right by wrigley field… I’m lucky to get the whole garage to myself 🙁
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
I think it’d make a killer daily and kid hauler, but I don’t think I could prepare myself for the repair bills.
A Bentley Turbo R. Always liked them, but would NEVER want to own one. A W8 4Motion Passat. Mazda RX-8 R3. Glorious cars, but terrible life choices.
I’ve had an 04 RX8 since they were released with 92K miles on it, and have had no issues with it other than clogged injectors and apparently nobody makes a reliable fuel pump anymore, and my original one needed to be transplanted into our Lemons RX8. Not surprising as the car is parked every winter from Nov to April. That said, I did have these two interactions with the dealer service departments:
42K mi – I’ve been tracking this car a lot and once you’ve really been flogging it for about 20 minutes I get a grinding shifting into 3rd. What oil do the race teams use in their transmissions?
“leave it here and we’ll have one of our techs take a look at it”
next day – “Good news, our tech tried really hard and had a lot of fun but finally reproduced the problem. Mazda authorized us to replace it with a new one, and fill it with the amsoil fluid the race teams use”
74K mi – So I’ve moneyshifted this car twice going from 3rd to 2nd because I hit a bump right in the middle of the shift and sent the engine to 15K rpm. I’m noticing that once the car is fully warmed up, I can’t re-start it for about 15 minutes. Can you confirm my theory that my apex seals are now shaped like a crescent moon and I don’t get enough compression until the oil thickens up?
3 days later “Good news, Mazda authorized an engine replacement, it’ll take 4 days, would you like a loaner?”
no-need, I can just drive my project car. Any chance I can have the old engine or buy it for a core charge or something?
“NO! Mazda is insisting we ship this back to them so they can investigate it”
The few times I got to drive an RX8, I loved it. They just handle, and driving them they way they want to be driven is ever so much fun. But I missed out on them, and now it’s a game of Russian roulette (but with apex seals instead of bullets) if you go shopping. Especially in the middle of the country. If I’d bought one new, I think that would be different, since I trust myself on use and maintenance. Other people, not so much.
I let a buddy learn to drive a clutch on one of my Subarus because I had read how much it cost to replace one in an RX8. (this was after I replaced the clutch in his Eclipse 6 weeks after he bought it—which he then traded in on the RX)
Got to borrow the 8 a few times. I stopped borrowing it because I live in Va & my license was hanging by threads as was.
believe it or not, but this has worked twice to buy an RX8 for under 1K to later use for Lemons… Search for listing with a “broken timing chain” or timing belt. The ignition coils used don’t tolerate heat very well and when one of the ones feeding the bottom spark plug goes, it has symptoms that many mechanics will mistake for a broken timing belt. $30 part to get it running again.
The RX8 is on the short list of cars I want if I can ever justify a stupid fun second car, although as much as the rotary stuff doesn’t really scare me (I’m assuming either buy cheap, buy thorough maintenance records, and just plan to do some wrenching), a mid-2000’s Mazda in a salty environment is a minor cause for concern.
I worked with a fella who runs a 1999 Continental (among other assorted British and German beasts)
He told me he just budgeted $3000 annually for maintenance – No matter what. Some years were higher, some years were lower – but that was the average.
I’m guessing post-pandemic its more like $4000-5000.
But when he shows up in Monterey during Car Week, he always gets waived into the Bentley paddock
What Lincoln takes $4k for annual maintenance?!?!
Ohh…that Continental!
I keep seeing examples of Porsche 928’s in my price range and stopping myself because I know there’s really no such thing as a cheap 928. Sometimes a little voice in my head says “It could just hang out in your garage for a while and never run but still look cool” but I try my best to ignore that. That voice was really responsible for my Triumph Spitfire, so I can only ignore it but so much.
As an alternative take on the question, I’ve looked at some seriously fast modified MR2 Spyders but I’d be scared to actually drive them in anger.
The same probably goes for a Raptor R or TRX.
This would make a really good Autopian Asks for next week.
Hard agree on the fast MR2 danger. Just in principle, I’m terrified of driving anything where the engine is behind me at more than 70% of the limit. On more modern cars, there are a ton of safety features working in the background, but that strips the fun from driving in anger. And if there are no safety nannies, I will end up sideways, backwards, upside-down, or otherwise in a geometric orientation that’s suboptimal for continued survival.
It’s not just the mid engine thing but the knowledge that you’re piloting a 2000 lb go kart that is hard for other drivers to see.
Adding serious slower to that seems tempting and would probably be a blast but I think I’d just be too nervous to really enjoy it.
*power, obvious autocorrect fail
V10 M5. I think I’d divorce myself, and I wouldn’t exactly say I’m married to me in the first place.
I know a guy who bought one. He was SO relieved when an inattentive semi driver sideswiped him and pinned it into a jersey barrier. He wasn’t hurt, and since the car was in great shape right up until that moment, he got a good insurance payout.
This is my answer as well. Specifically, an e61 from abroad that I’d import (as soon as it clears the 25-year rule) and have converted to manual transmission.
The scary thing is that you might get half your retirement money in the divorce.
Anything with less than 300 total sold units.
Bentley Continental from the early Aughts. Cheap, fast, gorgeous, luxurious, and financially ruinous running costs
Yes – The W12 GTs & Flying Spurs will kill ya financially.
I don’t know how the Uber Black drivers could afford to run their Flying Spurs when they were doing so in SF and LA…
Came here to say this. Those early coupes are so pretty, but keeping one on the road would bankrupt me (and probably the government of Norway).
A “65 series” AMG.
I can’t tell you how many of them I’ve looked at for 10% of their original MSRP, said a version of “how bad could it really be?” then go read the owners forums again to remember exactly how bad it can actually be.
Repeat every 6 months.
You are just looking for avenues to use your other user name…V12omous
It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way, but I’d embrace it.
I’m the same way with older AMG cars in general. So much performance for so little money…. until you factor in the maintenance and potential issues
I’d avoid all cars loved by Budget Ballers in general.
Yes I’m looking at you, the AMG G-Wagen
XJ-S. ‘Nuff said.