Any Regrets Buying and Selling Cars? (Alternative Car History)

In the Appendix below I list my car history.

With all this Coronavirus stuff going on, it gives you plenty of time to reflect on the past. One thing I've been reflecting on is my car buying and selling habits.

If I go back in time and imagine an Alternative Car History where I'd have kept hold of certain cars for longer, and not moved them on for other cars, it's quite easy to find cars I regret buying and cars I regret selling. At the time though, there were no regrets, it felt like the right thing to do (at least it was what I wanted to do.)

My biggest regret is not keeping hold of cars longer. And if you look through my car history, since car number 10 (of 23), no car has lasted longer than 10 months. Unless you're a car trader, buying and selling a car within a year is idiotic. I've lost many many thousands of pounds by not being patient, not taking the time to truly enjoy a car before moving it on.

I regret one car I didn't buy. Back in 2016, I very nearly replaced my Audi A3 for an Audi TT (a bit like the one I have now) but pulled out for certain reasons. Would I still have that Audi TT today? Probably not but you never know. I'd like to imagine that instead of wasting money chopping and changing my cars, I'd have attacked my mortgage instead!

Anyway, here's an alternative car history in which I have a rule that "You must enjoy your car for at least 2 years before moving it on!"

There's a great quote from Charles Spurgeon which I wish I'd known about years ago:

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness."

My Alternative Car History

In my alternative car history:

i) I don't buy the 'Peugeot 205 Gentry' in 1997, which means I don't need need to get the replacement 'Peugeot 205 Diesel Turbo' in 2000. I never really gelled with the Gentry and was kind-of happy that I wrote it off. I loved very much my 'Peugeot 205 Diesel Turbo' 5-door in white, and if I'd not moved it on for the Gentry, I'd have had it for 8 years.

ii) I regret to this day selling my ‘Audi A3 Sportback Sport TDI 150PS’ 5-door in Scuba Blue Metallic. This might sound surprising until you factor in the gorgeous off-white Alcantara interior. Of all the cars I've had, interior-wise, that was the my favorite. That was the perfect daily driver, and I regret selling it, and if I'd not sold it, a lot of the cars I go on to buy as a second car/daily car, I would never have bought.

iii) In hindsight, I'd have realized a Lotus was never going to make a good daily car. A Lotus is a fun car. It's a car that makes you smile like no other. I don't regret for one moment buying my ‘Lotus Elise Sport 220’ in Metallic Blue in August 2017, and if I keep it for two years, it coincides perfectly with upgrading to the ‘Lotus Exige V6 S Club Racer’ in Exige Orange that I have now.

iv) Having said all I said in (ii), I like very much my current Audi TT TDI, so would have to have replaced my original A3 with my current TT. Meaning, I end up with exactly the same cars in my Alternative Car History as I do currently have now ;-)

1) 1993: ‘Ford Fiesta 950 Popular’ 3-door in Burgundy (2 years)

2) 1995: ‘Ford Orion’ in Red (1 month – the car broke)

3) 1995: ‘Peugeot 205 1.1’ 5-door in Gold (2 years)

4) 1997: ‘Peugeot 205 Diesel Turbo’ 5-door in White (8 years)

5) 2005: ‘Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 Diesel Turbo’ 3-door in White (6 years)

6) 2011: ‘Audi A1 TDI Sport’ 3-door in Black (3 years)

7) 2014: ‘Audi A3 Sportback Sport TDI 150PS’ 5-door in Scuba Blue Metallic (5 years)
8) 2017 AUG: ‘Lotus Elise Sport 220’ in Metallic Blue (2 years) (FUN CAR)
9) 2019 OCT: ‘Audi TT TDI’ in Scuba Blue Metallic (7 months so far...)

10) 2019 DEC: ‘Lotus Exige V6 S Club Racer’ in Exige Orange (5 months so far...) (FUN CAR)

Wow, what a difference hindsight makes. That would have saved me over £60k in depreciation alone, which would have gone a long way to reducing my mortgage!

Image: I wish I'd kept my original Audi A3 because of this interior - pic 1

Image: I wish I'd kept my original Audi A3 because of this interior - pic 2

Image: I wish I'd kept my original Audi A3 because of this interior - pic 3

APPENDIX: My Car History

Highlighted are my two current cars.

1) 1993: ‘Ford Fiesta 950 Popular’ 3-door in Burgundy (2 years)

2) 1995: ‘Ford Orion’ in Red (1 month – the car broke)

3) 1995: ‘Peugeot 205 1.1’ 5-door in Gold (2 years)

4) 1997: ‘Peugeot 205 Diesel Turbo’ 5-door in White (2 years)

5) 1999: ‘Peugeot 205 Gentry’ in Gold (1 year – I crashed it)

6) 2000: ‘Peugeot 205 Diesel Turbo’ 3-door in Black (5 years)

7) 2005: ‘Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 Diesel Turbo’ 3-door in White (6 years)

8) 2011: ‘Audi A1 TDI Sport’ 3-door in Black (3 years)

9) 2014: ‘Audi A3 Sportback Sport TDI 150PS’ 5-door in Scuba Blue Metallic (2 years)

10) 2016 JUN: ‘Audi A3 Sportback S-Line TDI 184PS Quattro’ 5-door in Daytona Grey (8 months)

11) 2017 MAR: ‘Audi S1 Sportback Quattro 231PS’ 5-door in Sepang Blue (5 months)

12) 2017 AUG: ‘Lotus Elise Sport 220’ in Metallic Blue (8 months)

13) 2017 NOV: ‘SEAT Ibiza 1.2FR’ 3-door in Grey (2ND CAR) (3 months)

14) 2018 FEB: ‘Audi A3 Sportback Sport TDI 184PS Quattro’ 5-door in Scuba Blue Metallic (2ND CAR) (10 months)

15) 2018 MAY: ‘Lotus Exige V6 S Coupe IPS’ in Signature Orange (6 months)

16) 2018 JUL: ‘Mazda MX-5 Z-Sport’ in Mica Ebony Pearlescent (3RD CAR) {part-exchanged later for Lotus Evora} (4 months)

17) 2018 NOV: ‘Lotus Evora V6 NA Sport Racer’ in White (6 months)

18) 2018 DEC: ‘SEAT Ibiza 1.4FR’ 5-door in Black (2ND CAR) (3 months)

19) 2019 MAR: ‘Audi S3’ 3-door in Solar Orange (2ND CAR) (7 months)

20) 2019 MAY: ‘Lotus Exige V6 S Roadster’ in Yellow (4 months)

21) 2019 SEP: ‘Mazda MX-5 2.0 GT RF Sport Nav+’ in Mica Blue (2 months)

22) 2019 OCT: ‘Audi TT TDI’ in Scuba Blue Metallic (2ND CAR) (7 months so far...)

23) 2019 DEC: ‘Lotus Exige V6 S Club Racer’ in Exige Orange (5 months so far...)