Has There Ever Been A Vehicle You Wanted But Didn't Buy Because Of What Others Might Have Thought?

2003 M3 - it was about $5k out of my price range at the time. I wish I would have waited and saved for an extra couple months, but I don't miss the high service costs I would be having right now. Great car though!

— lock (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 3:15:07 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I have never cared what other people think about me or what vehicle I drive, As you can see I am a truck guy that drives a Honda Civic, sad,lol I like the Civic and need it for economical reasons, When I first got it my friends were in shock that I drove such a small non performing car.lol

— truckman (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 4:55:40 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 8   

I bet a lot of you guys will mention Hyundai/KIA Products. Deep down inside you know they are Great Cars, but you cave into Adult Peer Pressure. You guys are scared becuase of others in the outside world plus the few assholes in here like: huu76, 1UAW, abcd, Shredmo, RKash, Mitchell, lexworld, M0T0RH3AD, etc....

If you drive a Lexus GS spend the day with the Genesis Sedan that has only 20 less HP but 3 more MPG.

If you Drive one of the various Penis Extension Coupes available for sale in this Republic spend the day with a Genesis Coupe.

If you drive a Buick, Lincoln, or Chrysler product spend a day with the Azera. Its a real undiscovered Gem with close to Lexus ES performance at 28 MPG. Spend the day with a Sonata also.

If you Drive a Mercury Product, spend the day with a Santa Fe or Sonata or a KIA Amanti or Sportage.

If you Drive a Toyota Avalon, spend the day with a KIA Amanti. The KIA Amanti according to some auto Journalists "Brings back the good old days of big Floaty American sedans that have been lost through trying to compete with Imports and Nuurburgring testing."

Spend the day in an Elantra or Accent, they will grow on you.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 6:25:05 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -8   

The Accent is like the reliable dependable wife you get into spirited debates with about the minor things of life, but whos good in bed, and doesnt cost much money. Shes a tough rugged woman who is low maintenance.

She looks like the type who can get down and dirty in the mud or under the hood, but with the right clothing can be very elegant.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 6:31:05 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -8   

This hasn't happened to me personally. But my father wanted a sports car about 5 years ago. He ended up settling with a yukon because it didn't give off the image of him having an ego.

— Joe_Limon (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 9:34:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

My wife wanted a Pontiac Aztek and I was mortified but ready to buy her one. At the last minute, she found a VW Jetta wagon she liked better.

— kuvakas1 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 10:01:59 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

I remember when I was a teen in the late 80's my father did something WAY uncharacteristic and test drove a Alfa Romeo Milano, in red and with a stick shift, breaking a life-long series of Chevy sedans. But, he did contract work for a medium-sized American engineering company that was big on flag waving...and he ended up with gray Chevy Caprice instead because of this. It was a lame move, and less than 10 years later he was divorced and then died of cancer. LIVE NOW. WHO GIVES A &$#& WHAT PEOPLE THINK.

— t_bone (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 12:13:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 7   

Yes. Currently, my workers and my clients usually only see my 1998 Ford Explorer Sport or my girlfriend's 2007 Ford Fusion if I can help it. Clients especialy, cannot stomach the idea of me turning a profit. I am starting to care less and less about this as years go by, but there are some that would torture my life if they sensed that, for a moment of 2 seconds, I did not have a colossal headache. I'm not all that much into badges. I like value and low maintenance now.

I remember my friend's Dad, who was a very successful businessman before he retired, used a 90's Ford Windstar for work. One day he was complaining that he didn't have a working air conditioner in the car. I asked why he wouldnt just use his 1996 Lincoln Continental (then new and arguably relatively prestigious)for some work since things rarely got messy. He told me if the 2 or 3 guys he had working for him saw it they would demand more money. So he ended up trading for a Chrysler Town & Country which he has held on to into his retirement.

— Lexxxus (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 1:16:09 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Never. Period. That really is the problem with the masses. No one ever pays my bills or want to so why really care. When it all boils down to, when your life winds down, what did it all mean, caring and running around pretending. Not worth it.

— inspirion7 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/5/2009 1:40:14 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I've always gone against the grain with my cars. When everybody was trying to get into Toyota Starlet GTs, Nissan Sunny GTS', or Honda Integras I bought a 1987 Hyundai Excel. When everybody was trying to get into Honda Civics or Toyota Camrys, I bought a Daewoo Cielo GLE. Then on a crazed whim I bought a Suzuki Swift GTI. That was followed by a VERY uncharacteristic Toyota Corolla LX. I now drive a 1999 Mitsubishi Galant Super Saloon and though it's not totally against the grain, it's unusual for somebody my age to drive one. Lovely car that tends to say more "upwardly mobile but got bills to pay" than the "boy racer that knocked up some chick" message that the Honda Accord tends to send.

— tango (View Profile)

Posted on 7/6/2009 7:46:53 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Nissan GT-R.

I've thought long and hard about it. Great car, but I'm not sure I can pull the trigger on a $90K ($114K CDN) Nissan. I just can't. Maybe in the future I'll change my mind. But, if I do it's probably as a winter car, not my primary one.

— weaponX (View Profile)

Posted on 7/6/2009 9:56:16 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

People don't know as much about cars as me...people suck and only care what they ant, not what you want! Have hand...be the Master of YOUR own Domain. I went from a broken BMW 330Ci convertible to a Subaru WRX 5-door with nav. I like the 2010 VW GTI 5-door coming out too. I am done with high end cars, they cost too much and the performance is not anything spectacular unless you keep paying more creating a marginal diminishing returns in my utility over thus payments!

— pennfootball (View Profile)

Posted on 7/6/2009 10:31:05 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

I don't think I could care less about what people thought. If I cared, I'd have spent all my saved money when I turned 15 and bought something much more expensive than my $300 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. And I'd have definitely never bought a Fiero GT a few years ago. I'm also 99% sure that, if I cared about what people thought, I'd be driving a Subaru WRX while I work at a Lexus dealership. :)

So no, I haven't let people dictate what I drive. In doing so I've learned from some mistakes, yes. But teaching is only so effective; learning for yourself and pissing away your own hard-earned money is much much more effective.

— TehShibbs (View Profile)

Posted on 7/6/2009 8:35:58 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

along with mechanical factors, i choose what appeals to MY eyes. whether it appeals to others as well is strictly secondary.

(although with my sophisticated visual sense, family and friends tend to approve my choices. i've even influenced a friend on two new car purchases he hadn't considered before, on the basis of style as well as mechanical competence-- an acura Integra, and a toyota Celica GT.)

— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 7/7/2009 4:50:43 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Prius - rates a 12 on a geek scale of 1 to 10. Might as well ride a Segway.

Cadillac (any model) - the new models may not be my grandfather's Caddy but to me, they are.

Most Convertibles - no matter how hard a guy tries, you always end up looking like you're driving your girlfriend or wife's car.

— thstone (View Profile)

Posted on 7/7/2009 6:20:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

One more ...

GT-R: No one will believe that you spent $80K on a Nissan (regardless of how fast you tell them it is). They will all shake their heads and say that you could/should have bought a new Corvette or a nice used Porsche for the same money.

— thstone (View Profile)

Posted on 7/7/2009 6:22:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

2008 VW R32.

Had all the paperwork done up, just had to sign. If I had not been in an unpredictable time in my life, she'd be in the driveway as we speak.

— Agent00R (View Profile)

Posted on 7/8/2009 11:01:31 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

2003 Hyundai Elantra GT.

I was torn between that and my current 2003 Mazda Protege5. I chose the Mazda largely because the Elantra GT wasn't as sporty, but, also because I was concerned about the comments I would get from family/friends about purchasing a Hyundai. I had done enough research to know that most of what I could expect to hear would be based off Hyundai's past and not reflective of their current progress, but I honestly didn't want to hear it or have the ignorant thinking.

Six plus years and SEVERAL major repairs later, I'm fairly confident the Hyundai would have been the better choice. My friends that drive Hyundais rave about them now, but, back just 6 years ago as they began their turnaround, Hyundai was still the brand to scorn. For the record, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't buy another Mazda build during the days of Ford ownership.

— mggray (View Profile)

Posted on 7/11/2009 5:25:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1