It’s a common cliche to reminisce on cars that simply got away from you. The $500 RX-7 that went to scrap, the reasonably priced E30 3 Series that sold before you could get there, the squarebody truck you just didn’t have space for. However, it’s about time we put a spin on it: Not the cars that got away, but the ones you walked away from. Today, I want to know about cars that you almost bought before deciding to spend your hard-earned cash on something different.
Weirdly, both cars in my current stable have been my top picks. However, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t close to buying something else before. See, about three months before I bought my Infiniti G35, there was a trade-in at work that I was trying to justify selling my Crown Vic for. That car? A blue Buick Estate, complete with woodgrain and aluminum wheels.
It was in much better shape than my Crown Victoria, felt more lavishly appointed than my Crown Vic, had the cargo space for carting a lifetime of detritus across the continent for college, and was just an absolutely magnificent beast. However, for whatever reason, I just decided to instead fix a few little things on the Crown Vic and aim it east. It made for an entertaining road trip, and just barely got the job done before suffering a series of dramatic and entertaining failures that led to me moving on into the world of sports sedans.
Do I still love these B-body wagons? Absolutely, but I don’t regret passing one up. In a way, I’m happy that the big Buick didn’t work out, as the opportunity that opened up a few months after that led to me learning how to heel-toe, learning how to enjoy a somewhat powerful car without getting into trouble, meeting a whole bunch of people, and in a way, becoming who I am today.
So, what’s a car that you almost ended up with, and what stopped you from making the move? As ever, I’d love to hear your answers in the comments below.
(Photo credits: Buick)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Do You Own A Car That Has Way More Capability Than You Actually Need?
-
What Car Feels Like Home To You?
-
What Utilitarian Vehicles Look Way Cooler Than They Have Any Right To? Autopian Asks
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
I spent ~3 years lusting after the new Broncos, but supply scarcity, dealer markups, closed order books, price increases, and multi-year waits changed my mind.
I wound up ordering a Model Y Performance after the huge price cuts and haven’t looked back. I came from a ‘16 WRX, and before that a lifted ‘14 Wrangler…. The WRX kept my interest for 7 years, the Jeep barely 2.5… so “sportiness” and acceleration seem to be the winning combo for me these days.
I would buy a bronco / wrangler again… but only as a second car.
I almost bought a pre-owned Audi A4 Cabriolet off Autotrader
But I happened to be stuck in traffic on Santa Monica when I saw the star….
…and drove out w my Mercedes a couple hours later.
I was going to a nearby Hyundai dealer (an actually good one! One my family still works with to this day!) to look at an ’08 Impala back in 2020 to get a more reliable daily than my ’03 Tracker. My dad encouraged me to keep looking on their website, and I found a 2016 Mazda 3 and a 2017 Hyundai Sonata (in case I didn’t like how small the 3 was). I test drove the 3 before any of them, and… I signed the paperwork without looking at the rest. I still have it and plan on keeping it till the wheels fall off.
This is comforting as someone who recently recommended and helped a family member buy a 2016 Mazda 3, ha.
It’s kind of the other way around, but in 2014 if I was unable to get my GK Fit, I would have bought a Focus, but only with a manual. But the Fit happened.
A used U-Haul GMC Savana-based 10-foot 1-ton box truck. I passed on it because they had gouged the hell out of the paint when peeling off the U-Haul stickers.
I almost bought an F-Type convertible instead of my 124 Spider, but I realized that the Fiat was 95% as fun as the Jag for 1/3 the price.
Lol – I bought a Jag because it was 95% of the fun for much less than 1/3 of the price of a Bentley. I did really want a Bentley Turbo R, and it would have been easy to pick one up in LA for $25-30,000. However, I gulped at the possible insurance, restoration, and maintenance bills so instead I settled for a pristine ’88 XJ6 Vanden Plas with under 40,000 miles for the princely sum of $5600.
Hah! I’m also in L.A. and at the time used Jags were going for about $60k. I got the Fiat for $23k. I couldn’t finance at the time because the pandemic had screwed up my credit, so I felt much better leaving that extra $40k in the bank. I love my Spider and don’t regret the decision one bit.
2018 Honda Accord Sport 1.5t with the six speed. I bought a 2016 Sonata 2.0t instead, saving $8k.
I know, I know, it would have been $8k well spent, because the asking price for those Hondas has NOT gone down as of yet. In fact, in Ottawa, they are within 20 percent of what I would have spent new.
Live and learn.
1st-gen, pre-facelift (2000 – 2001) Saab 9-5 Aero was the alternative for a couple of cars I’ve purchased:
At the time I just never found a good enough example to buy over those two, but I still would like one. Black on black with the BBS rims please. Unfortunately the odds of finding a good example now are even more slim, although an NG 9-5 Aero is still pretty tempting…
Ironically, the only vehicle I own that I strongly considered an alternative for was the Viper. I had set out to buy a C7 Z06 at first, until reports of overheating in hard/track driving began to surface at the same time that Vipers started being discounted. That made the decision easy and I have never regretted it.
My other vehicles were pretty much decided on before I went to buy them.
F350 – did not seriously consider alternatives because I wanted the aluminum body.
Sienna – did not seriously consider alternatives because nothing in the segment made me as confident in its reliability.
SS – did not consider alternatives because I bought it on a whim when GM discounted them 20%. Not to mention there were no real alternatives with a 6 speed.
I test drove a 2005 Honda Accord Coupe v6 6speed and passed because the clutch didn’t disengage until well into the floormat – ended up buying a 1995 Cadillac Eldorado instead.
Test drove a 2015 Ford Mustang GT Premium 6MT and passed because I’d have very quickly ended up dead or in prison, bought a 2013 SVT Raptor crew cab instead.
Fiance` and I test drove a 2012 Chevy Cruze and a 2011 Honda Civic before buying a 2015 Honda Civic. She was a die-hard Chevrolet fan (and still is) but admitted the Honda felt way better put together than the pile-of-average Cruze.
Test drove a 2015 Ford F250 Lariat 6.2 gas and a 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 SLT Duramax before buying a 2011 Ram 2500 Laramie with the 6.7 Cummins (two years before DEF was added to the Rams). The gas ford was a sacked out plow truck, the GMC was really nice but out of budget. The Ram? Well, green paint, no DEF and a Tuner in the backseat really sold me on that one. Plus it was 10k cheaper than similar age and mile trucks and didn’t have any rust.
” ..and passed because I’d have very quickly ended up dead or in prison”
Yup,story of my life XD
Current DD: 2017 Honda Accord
Considered alternative: 2017 VW Golf GTI
This was out east of Houston. We test drove both and the 5M GTI was a hoot around town and on most of the two-lane roads, but a couple of those roads had some weird camber changes due to soil subsidence and the Golf sometimes altered its course in response. It also had a pretty cramped rear seat, and we periodically had to chauffeur a volleyball-playing niece.
The V6/6A Honda tracked straight and true through the same messed-up pavement and had all the room we needed. It also had a far more compliant ride over broken pavement and freeway expansion joints.
I had only considered the GTI because a buddy of mine has an Audi S4 and pointed out that the GTI could be chipped and turn into a real beast.
But when I was honest with myself, I realized I don’t drive the way he does. Further, VWAG really screwed me over on a barely out of warranty issue I had with my Jetta TDI and that really left a bad taste in my mouth.
At the time I was making at least one trip a week into Houston and rowing the TDIs gears in heavy traffic was getting old. Over time, I grew to appreciate the creature comforts of the Honda and didn’t miss the superior dynamics of the GTI.
I had to go back and look, but the Accord is actually half a second faster in the more relevant 5-60 mph run than the GTI. But the only times I ever summoned maximum power was occasionally during passing maneuvers on the 75-mph two lane highways that crisscross much of that state.
That was 7 years ago. I’ve moved back to the PNW and many of the vehicular criteria in my life have changed, but I think I’m still happier with the Honda than I would be with the GTI. Call me old, I guess.
I gave serious thought to a locally available Renault Sport Spider before importing a Triumph Acclaim from the UK instead because I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing and really shouldn’t be trusted with automotive decisions.
A lot. Thankfully most of them sold before I got my hands on them.
There was
Most recently a 1970 Opel Rekord caught my eye, but I didn’t have the money nor could I arrange to get a truck to get it from halfway across the country. Yes I am stupid enough to drive that as my daily. I don’t travel enough for it to matter, and “reliable” is for boring people.
A different ’83-85 red Mondial cabriolet!
There are two answers here: an ’06 Boxster/’92 190E combo, and a 2019 Alfa Giulia Sport Ti.
I had what amounted to a weekend to buy a car before I had to start paying for a rental myself this past July. The 190E was the right color, interior, engine, and what I label my affordable dream car. The problem is it was in Oregon, and a flight up there to make sure it would be a decent daily and having to drive it back to Texas and still have time to look over the Boxster as well made it a no go… and it sold the day I’d have flown out. As for the Giulia, it was just too far of a drive for me to deal with, especially after Beryl. That was the only car in that part of town I was interested in, and everything else was a minimum of an hour away. I ended up with my Mazda 3 because that dealer had about a dozen other cars I’d have been okay with buying.
All that said, I ended up with the right car. I adore this turbo 3, and the more I drive it the more I love it. I might eventually pick up a 190E as a project, or maybe an FC RX-7. My partner is not into cars, but she loves to learn new things and wants me to get a project so we can both enjoy our favorite hobbies together.
Well my current rides are My FJ and my Cummins for dailies. The Cummins didn’t look at anything else just saw it listed went to look at it and was sold when I saw it.
The FJ I had looked at an Xterra before test driving an FJ and was sold on the FJ after the test drive (though I didn’t buy that FJ as it was for sale at a Porsche dealer and they were being sticklers on the price.)
And my Firebird I was only looking at third gens f-bodies when looking at it. I was 20 at the time and there was no way I was affording a 1st or 2nd Gen firebird and 4th Gen LS1 birds were to much also.
Eh. Last car I bought for myself i was choosing between a Matrix and a Mini. When I got in the back of the Mini (I have friends (honest!) who would be sitting in the back), it was hard to get out of. So, Matrix it is
That was in 2002. 230K later, and still going strong.
I’ll need a small wagon, electric or PHEV, to give it up.
Or just suck it up and buy the Acura ITS and not drive it, ever.
Before I bought my MGB GT, I was looking hard at a 1977 Porsche 924 Martini Edition. It was rust-free, looked good outside, needed some cleaning and upholstery work inside, and ran on three cylinders. It would have made a fine project, but I decided to take one last pass through Craigslist that night, and found the yellow GT. No way was I going to pass that up.
A week earlier I had chickened out on a car I just knew would be impossible to find parts for, but damn, was it cool: a 1969 Sunbeam Alpine GT coupe. Looked like a 3/4 scale Plymouth Barracuda. Ran, drove, body was straight but needed paint, interior was trashed. I have seen it change hands a couple of times since then. No one has restored the interior. It seems I was right; you just can’t get parts for it anywhere.
The Forest Service truck I bought immediately when I spotted it, but I had also test-driven a couple others, including a dark green Dodge Dakota with a five-speed that would have been okay, and a beat-up Chevy S-10 that was dirt-cheap and had nothing else going for it.
You’ll recall my daily is a ‘96 K1500. I almost bought another K1500, a ‘94 instead of this one. Except when I went to go check it out (2hr drive each way), it had 220k miles instead of the advertised 120k, the driver seat wasn’t bolted in, and it had a huge dent in the passenger side. Pass.
In ’21, a Ford Maverick and the cheapest Honda Civic hatch I could spec. Waiting list on the former was way too long (plus markups) and the Civic was also tough to get (plus, markups). Then the GR86 dropped and I liked the looks a lot more than the previous car, the reviews were glowing, it had minimal safety and other horrible electronic garbage, small RWD 2+2 sports cars with curves you can see through the windshield are a favorite of mine, and I knew the mediocre mileage numbers would be BS. Built one online the day it went live on the website, dealer called me, and I picked up exactly what I wanted 6 weeks later (no markup) for cheaper than any Civic hatch I could find.
The only new car I ever bought was a 2012 VW GTI 6MT (cloth, no sunroof) which I still have today. At the time I debated getting a 2012 Mazda3 (2.5 6MT GT) or a used 2011 MazdaSpeed3.
Up to that point in life I had driven a 1990 Mazda Mx-6 GT MT and a 1993 Infiniti J30 that had both been dead reliable and while I loved the looks of the GTI I was scared of the perceived lack of german reliability.
The Mazda3 attracted me because of the extra content (leather seats, xenons) but it was during their wierd cat/fish design language which I found ugly compared to the prior generation and it was also a little too slow. The MazdaSpeed 3 (same body) was a spiritual successor to my Mx-6 GT and almost convinced me to overlook the uglyness (IMO) of the exterior. However it was too rowdy and did not feel it presented the right image for me at that point in life (newly minted “professional” in finance).
The GTI was the perfect compromise of understated speed/looks/utility and has been my reliable DD for the last 13 years. The car has never left me stranded (other than that self-induced water pump fiasco which I have posted about before) and I never think about replacing it with something else. The timing chain and tensionser (old design) were preemptively replaced at 100K and I look forward to another 100k.
GR Corolla. I legitimately have no regrets. The Kona N is better for our needs and as a track day enjoyer the N’s are better suited to handle an HPDE day that the GRCs, especially with all the cooling issues and, you know…exploding engines, warranty claim denials, etc. I also like how little attention my car attracts. I feel like the tooner crowd would be trying to race me constantly in a Japanese fun car.
Plus my wife can drive it in a pinch. She can’t drive stick. I’ll teach her eventually, but learning on a 300 horsepower turbocharged car would be asking for trouble. Slash I prefer a DCT for DC traffic anyway.
A W124-based hearse. Apparently, it was in different part of the country.
It’s early 2000s, and as every red-blooded American should own a pony car at some point, I was cross-shopping SN95 Mustangs and 4th gen Camaros.
In the end, I chose Mustang for easier everyday livability & to my eyes a more classically handsome design, but 20 some years later, I sometimes wonder if I missed out NOT getting the Chevy rocket sled. They were better performers for sure, and it’s weird how the design now looks quite good, sleek and clean, esp. compared to what Camaros would later become.
3-row 4Runner, but the GX470 was cheaper.
As a fellow GX470 owner, seems like a slam dunk win over a 3-row 4Runner for less money. Especially since the money saved will be going entirely to buying more gas.
That’s true, though the 2000s 4Runners didn’t get much better fuel mileage, V6 or V8.