We all have been there. Waiting for months if not years to buy a car or bike only to lose steam slowly (or worse, immediately!) until realizing yes, it was a mistake. Like seeing your dream die a slow death right in front of your eyes.
Thorns of reality piercing you, bringing up the ugly question how will you ever explain this debacle to your family and justify next purchase? Fret not.
We give you a shoulder to cry. Won't solve anything but crying in a group among sympathizers is better than doing it alone in your head. Bring up your bad decisions. Let us feel we are not alone in this world.
I begin. I have had enough of these.
First car
I was in the US and looking for a reliable and cheap (read Toyota/Honda) car like a true blue Indian techie too afraid to think boldly. I had some notions about owning a car and I fell right in the trap. Everyone around me had Corollas, Civics and Sentras while ones with little flair had Accord V6s. A few even had SUVs from early 2000s
look at the guts?!
I chose, for some rational reasons, the 2008 RAV4. Mind you it wasn't a bad car but nothing to be excited about. I was okay. Until the water pump broke, long out of warranty it set me back by $784. It was slightly less than 10% of my car's cost. Umm, operational costs.. I told myself.
However, only a few months and few thousand miles later damn thing broke again! Then on one fine day the car decided to throw its own Christmas party. While cruising along one of the freeways every light on the dashboard started blinking. And I mean EVERY single one. It probably also flashed headlamps and indicators but I was too busy inside trying to gather courage.
The car also started shaking as if it fell in ice cold Pacific and caught cold.
From 70 odd mph it limped to 40-45 and I panicked. This is downright dangerous. We stopped on a wide exit with 10-15 feet wide shoulder, opened up the hood and acted all pro but nope, nothing. We called Uber, sent the ladies home and I along with one of my friend, took a looooong way home through some slow country roads reaching home with car throwing a bash inside. Thanks to Google maps, I saw some incredible scenery right in my backyard that day.
Toyota dealer was about 30 seconds away from where I lived so that was a relief. Upon checking, they confirmed two things : A spark plug had given away and... water pump - the third freaking time. While they didn't replace the pump, Christmas inside the car stopped immediately after replacing the plug. But that was it. All my trust and notion of Toyota reliability went out the window. I felt betrayed by my car expert friends. The car in the end did exactly opposite of what I had in mind - be trouble free and cheap. What did I ever do so wrong?! I wasn't even expecting it to be a hoot to drive for god's sake.
First big-ish bike
This is going to stir some pots.
Again, being a little conservative I wanted something reliable, fast (by Indian standards - big mistake) and of course cheap to maintain. One thing led to another and I landed on a pristine Kawasaki Ninja 650R in white color. The bike was owned by a lady, ridden only 3400 miles without any crash or drops and just like new.
She was selling it because she was, and I quote "bored" with it. Hmmm. Bored? In 3400 miles? That was something I had unheard of. In India, I had ridden a battered old 2004 Activa for 40k kms.
Anyhoo, your loss my gain I thought and paid cash, signed the title and took the bike home. Next few days went in ogling at it and just showing it to colleagues and friends who were surprised I was going to do daily commute to office on it. I used it to commute to office dead in the winter with piercing PNW cold before giving it a rest.
Summer came and I took the bike to twisty roads of Mt. Rainier NP. It was then when I realized this isn't a "big bike". Sure its big physically, but that's about it. The acceleration is mild, in gear rolling is average and the exhaust not just terrible. Add to that one piece of the massive fairing had a tendency to vibrate incessantly above 45 mph. Only a large serving of double-sided tape stopped it from going wild.
And then there's the inherent characteristic of the bike - just plain jane, unexciting appliance like a Whirlpool washing machine that does its duty for years without any issues, without any maintenance. I was so disheartened. It had excitement quotient of a wet sock. I swear I had more thrills on my puny Pulsar 200 back in the day.
Unlike the RAV4 though, bike had 0 issues until being sold. I was almost happy to part ways with it. A guy bought it for his young son. In fact, I was so glad I also threw in my BELL helmet as free.
It was also the day I realized why the previous owner was bored with it in 3400 miles. That milestone came to me at about 2100~ miles.
After that I bought Triumph Street Triple 675 and my mind was blown. Frantic and bonkers wild is how I can describe it, despite having engine approximately the same size as Ninja. I believe it to one of the best automotive decisions I made but of course it is a story for another thread.
Second hand regret
In 2019 my sister out of some weird wisdom decided to sell their incredible green/brown Duster AWD and asked me if I wanted to buy it. I was in the USA and asked my dad if he wanted it. We had a Kwid back then, being used approximately 3000kms/year. Buying Duster made little sense and he said no. My BIL with his vast network managed to sell the car within 2 days at asking price, cash. It was (is) clearly a high demand car within enthusiasts but I was too dumb to realize it.
Fast forward to 2020, Covid put literal halts on all my plans and I came back home. The Kwid felt too small, too slow and too flimsy for our war torn roads. So I immediately started looking for an SUV slash crossover in used market. It was only then that I realized what a gem the Duster AWD is and that there is nothing like it in the market currently. Used markets were dry. One or two examples were from Bombay with high mileage with a lingering fear of them being flood damaged.
I literally could not find a single AWD Duster to my liking for months, in about 300km radius from my place. I finally gave up and bought a Thar. Not that I am unhappy with it but Duster AWD was still my first choice.
I have bought, and ultimately repented those purchases but this is the only one that I regret without even buying it.
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So, what shattered your expectations? What mauled your joy? What left a big hole in your pocket and nothing else to remember? What do you want to forget? let it begin!