New car you were disappointed with

'98 Merc SLK. The retractable top was flawless, but the rest of it held up poorly.

'96 Jeep Grand Cherokee, for various quality issues, and it was a bore to drive.

 

2004 VW Toureg

in the shop every 2 weeks for each of 3 years of ownership.

Lesson learned.... NEVER buy a first year vehicle.

JD

 

I would never buy pretty much every new domestic vehicle I have rented in the last 2 years. Does that count ?

 

Nissan 370Z.

IMO,one of the best looking cars available today, but has some serious flaws.

-340hp in a modern sports car? Family sedans from 9 years ago have 300+hp

-The sound deadening is utterly inadequate. Owners convince themselves this is forgivable because "it's a sports car". No, it's not. Sports cars don't have 340hp and overheat in one lap on the track and don't come with heated seats, "sport shift", auto trans options and navigation systems.

-Stuff clutch and shifter. See above.

Really nice car in general, with a few really stupidly idiotic compromises.

 

Don't own one, but as owner of multiple Z-cars, they really missed the mark trying to capture the essence of the original car.

Ironically, I was discussing my 13 year old Lexus GS400 with my daughters...that's 13 years old with 300HP, FWIW, so your point is right on the mark.

 

Wouldn't there be a huge difference in performance between these two examples? Considering weight and all...

 

2002 Maserati Spyder Cambio. I went end eyes wide open, and still sold it after 4 months (at a painful loss) because I couldn't tolerate the cowl shake. Replaced it with a 2004 BMW M3 convertible, which stunk because the performance was really dulled by the extra weight of the drop top.

 

Funny I kept mine since 2002. I really like this car. Interesting how people have different takes.

 

Ferrari 360. Has no low end torque. Not really a nice car for traveling across Euroe. Always sounded like the engine was about to explode when doing 150+ mph.

Porsche 996 turbo ('01). Found it boring/soulless, and the small fuel tank annoyed the hell out of me. Had to refuel every 150miles on a fast trek across Europe.


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2002 C32 AMG.
Sound of a power saw,very annoying and awful seats that made me a cripple after 10 minutes of driving.
Spent tons of $$ with Renntech before even driving it first, for nothing,got rid of it after a week, taking bath.

 

So true I just bought an 2013 M3 convertible. When I drove it they said it had 411 hp. The handling was not up to the "ultimate driving machine. When I bought the car the salesman told me after a few miles they could bump up the power to 120 hp for $2100.

The BMW was not a good handling as my 2002 TII or 1989 M3 were in the day they were new.

I mentioned that to the dealer and he upgraded the handling to Sport Plus handling mode and it helped alot. He did with a key stroke.

It turns out there are no performance upgrade packages for the new M3. I do not know if they are on the way or the salesman made it up. The dealership did not know anything about the "future upgrades" Not a good sign.

It is not a bad car but not really exciting either. I suspect part of the problem is the weigh of a hard top convertible as you suggest. My wife thinks I am just spoiled because of the cars I own or have owned.

So if you decide to buy one drive it with a keen eye before you decide.

On the positive side I just bought an Audi R8 with a V10 motor. It is an awesome car to drive and a stunning looker. The Lotus Evora is also a great drive. Sadly I traded in my Vette ZR1 for the Audi. I would rather have that car than the M3.

Lee

 

I almost bought a 996 back in the day, but was extremely disappointed after a test drive. Mostly because the interior felt very low rent, and it didn't look or sound very Porsche-like. I ended up buying a used 993 instead.

I love the R8s. Based on other Audis I've owned, I think that would be pretty disappointment-proof, because the basic ingredients are so good. Also stunning, as you say: the rear view in particular I think is the best of any car on the road. Saw one in black yesterday and it made the yellow Gallardo nearby look old.

 

I agree on the 996 version of the 911. It drives okay but Porsche lovers do not like the runny egg front head lights. The 993 has the best chance of gaining value over the years. It would be a cetter choice. I would rather have a 993 turbo than my 996.

Mine is a 2002 Turbo 996 911. The 996 is much like the 993 in handling with a stronger engine. it does have some of the scary driving issues of the 993. The 997 911 do not have these driving issues 9997 911 is a much better car and they changed the headlamps back to the round style like the 993. I like the 991 Porsche also but have not owned one.

The great thing about Porsche is even 11 years old they feel new as they drove in 2002. It feels like a new 2002 Porsche. Technology moves on so newer is usually better but I do not need a new Porsche.

Good luck to you and thank you for the kind words on the Audi R8. I admit I cannot stop driving the car and it always brings s crowd to look at it.

Lee

 

Lee -
We have an early R8 V8. Love the car overall, but disappointed with some of the interior ergonomics. Also, the tire size/brand makes the car really noisy at most speeds, can't have much of a conversation. Is your V10 quieter inside?

(looking for excuse to upgrade.....;-)

 

Funny thing back in my car crazy days I hated them all and had to take them apart and make them the way I wanted them. I would buy the car just to prove it could be made better what a moron I was. When I look back I know why I had so many cars I just liked finding ways to make them better. I remember the M3 I spent 6 months redesigning that thing (even changed the steering) and then after only 1800 miles I dumped it. I wish I had all the money back LOL.

 

2006 Lexus IS250 6sp manual: Terrible shifter and performance. The leather seats turned blue from my jeans after about a week. I traded it in less than 6 months.

2011 BMW Z4 35i: The double clutch transmission is terrible. The throttle response is so bad that I have to try to predict if I'm going to need to give the thing some gas a couple seconds in advance. If you're in auto mode and give it some gas it either stays in the gear you are in and goes nowhere or downshifts so far that you are immediately at red line. I've had the transmission stumble when pulling out into traffic and just leave me there. It's truly sometimes a dangerous car because you never know what it's going to do. I've also had three of the 19" wheels crack. The TPMS system goes off every time the temperature drops. The blue tooth corrupts my phone, I've had to erase my phone 3 times now. I finally gave up and don't connect the phone to the car anymore. Only 6 more months until the stupid lease is done.

 

James,

I am not sure if it is less noisey. I do not hear much road noise but I love the wonderful sound of the V10 motor.

I do not have a problem talking to my wife at highway speeds with the windows up. I do not think it is louder than my other cars and maybe a alittle quieter. They are both the same car maybe they made improvements over the years of manufacturer.

I saw this with my Lotus Evora S. Top gear complained about several issues on the Evora they test drove. I could tell the issues where real. Ehen I looked at the Lotus Evora I was thinking of buying these had been designed out of the car in my model year. Maybe Audi did the same.

I love the Audi R8 and can not stop driving it. The V10 car is my favorite car of all time.

Now you have your excuse to upgrade

Go to Jay lenos garage. He has several videos discussion on both R8 cars the 8 and 10 cylinder versions.

Good luck finding what you want.

regards

Lee

 

I looked at one of these very seriously. The salesman at the dealership who later became my friend told me the same thing. This was later when he moved to selling motorcycles.

He also told me the paint was fragile. Also the cars when all three of the performance adjustments were set for "hostile driving" The car would not hold up very long. The subsequent repair bill was $20K. I understand the new one have eliminated this now.

I never bought one because the exterior never looked supercar like. it looked more like a grocery getter type of car. It maybe just me

Lee

 

Picking up new Mercedes GLK350 (midsize SUV) this week. Hope I'm not posting in this thread in a couple of months!

 

Nope... the Z weights ~3300lbs "base". Mine is the touring + sport one so it has heated seats, navigation, spoiler, leather, etc. I haven't weighed it, but I bet it weighs a good 3500lbs easy.

I used to have a 2004 Acura TL with 300hp that weighed 3500lbs. Honestly, it's pathetic that a 2013 Nissan Z-car has 30hp more than a Honda from 10 years ago. If a guy in a Z rolls up to a guy in a 10 year old TL, the guy driving the Z better hope he gets the jump, because if the guy driving the Honda does, the Z is toast.

Nissan ought to be embarrassed that they sell this as a sports car.

 

2006 Mustang GT. this was the old 300 bhp 4.6, so it wasn't too quick (the new V6 is faster!)

and it was definitely built to a price...lots of really crappy details.

but it looked great, sounded great, and was silly fun to drive in the rain

 

2009 MDX. After the previous version it was clear Honda had completly lost the plot. Ugly to look at, motor as vibratey as a Buick pushrod V6 with an unhappy tranny, whereas the old 3.5 in the original MDX was sowing machine smooth. Atrocious suspension, it was hard and pogoed over unduilating bumps. Ok steering, the brakes were great though.

I really liked the previous original version of the MDX.
After 3 months I hated the new one so much that I took the hit and traded it on a Mer GL.

The best new car I ever bought was a volvo 850 turbo, still have it. The car has 80K on it, sat for a year, put a new battery in, fresh oil and used it for a month without a moments hicup.

 

Man that is pitiful! Even 9 year old 18 wheelers had 600+ HP and them thangs is slow! Jeesh, even that old McLaren F1 "sports car" had 600. Even TVR had an 800 HP car... man, Nissan needs to get with the times!

Also goes for the old Ferraris from 1949 through 1990! I mean, that old junker the "Lusso" had less than 300! What a joke!