There are a lot of cars that just aren’t a good idea to buy: Cars that were once very expensive, now on their third or fourth owner. The first time something goes wrong, you’re going to be hit with a ridiculous repair bill. The best thing to do with this kind of car is steer clear.
We asked readers what cars carry the threat of financial ruin in your minds. These were your answers.
Take a Jaguar XJS, a car well known for its perfect build quality, superb electrics and that has never been known to rust. Then bore and stroke out the 5.3 litre V12 to a frankly deranged 7 litres (making it one of the largest V12s in a production car) good for about 500bhp/500lb ft. Change it to a manual as it would explode the auto. Also cram in twin superchargers to the plumbers nightmare under the bonnet.
Starting at around £90k.
mmmmmmm so very tempting.
A mid-’80s Jaguar GT with an engine whose lines and hoses look like the sewer system of a large city, modded by a tuner with an obsession with XJSes? Hard pass.
The NA only model E60 M5 with V10 and 6 speed manual. It’s amazing, but anyone who has owned an older BMW knows. It can get super pricey really quick.
This one is wild because even I didn’t know it existed. Apparently, for the 2007 model year, BMW introduced an M5 with a six-speed manual transmission just for the North American market. I’m sure it’s way better to live with than that glass-like SMG. But repairs on the V10 would still give me pause.
Submitted by: Raymond Fernandes via Facebook and xspeedy
You’d have to be someone with some seriously deep pockets to pull the trigger on this. I’m talking millionaire status. Parts on this thing probably don’t even exist anymore.
Submitted by: Bob
BMW 850csi! Gorgeous shape, smooth V12, 6 speed manual transmission and BMW reliability in a 30ish year old car. Robbing a bank every year to keep it running seems reasonable.
Wanna know just how expensive it is to maintain one of these things? Nearly a decade ago now, an owner selling his on Ebay detailed how he spent over $47,000 for repairs in just 37,000 miles.
Submitted by: Peter Brown via Facebook
2000 TVR Tuscan Speed Six targa (in this exact color) chromaflare purple or one of the other crazy chromaflare colors TVR is known for. And it’s not even the price of the car that is scary, because they aren’t bad. Currently a 2000 TVR with decent mileage, and in good condition with service by Str8 Six, the TVR specialist in the UK, is in the high £20,000 to mid-£30,000 British pounds.
What scares me to death is if it needs virtually ANYTHING!! Not like I can just go to a AutoZone for something. Everything will have to come from overseas, which means pricey shipping and waiting. But just look at it! It’s INSANE! Drive in to your local Cars & Coffee, and all those exotics that are there, will all of a sudden be invisible as EVERYONE would come to check this out. Not like there is another one down the road. I’m just biding my time!!
I’ve heard that TVRs are pretty wild to drive. Wild as in “it feels like it’s going to kill you.” I couldn’t imagine having that experience and having it make you broke.
Submitted by: 05FordGT
So much torque and yet I’d never be able to afford the bills that would likely come with it.
We have extensive proof that a Touareg V10 TDI is a vehicle you should avoid. Aside from its insane complexity, Jalopnik alumna Mercedes Streeter owns one. Here’s to hoping hers is still running.
Submitted by: Ron Luebs via Facebook
Bentley T2. James May warned us that it would not only ruin our lives, but it would make us look like a “failed porn star”. I’m very conservative with my money, but I can feel a midlife crisis coming on. Sure, I be be like the dads of my kid’s friends and buy a Jeep Wrangler, Harley, and/or Corvette. Or, I could do something stupid and buy one of these. After all, a failed, broke porn star is still a porn star.
James May said of the T2, and I quote: “Everytime I go near this thing it kicks me in the head and runs off with my wallet.”
Submitted by: paradsecar
OG Land Rover Defender - you get what you pay for with those bad boys. Find one relatively affordable and it’ll be rusting and needing a lot of mechanical work. But if you want one that’s clean, low mileage and well taken care of you’re approaching sky-high asking prices. And I can only imagine what the maintenance costs are but it’s still a bucket list vehicle/forbidden fruit.
Most of these things that are available on the market in good condition go for well over six figures. Either way, you’re going to be stuck with a utilitarian money pit.
Submitted by: Matthew Shipanik via Facebook
A Series 1 E-Type. If I could afford a good-one I’d be forever dumping money into keeping it in shape. Anything I could afford will cost me my soul in restoration costs; and then the aforementioned money dump to keep it in shape.
I’d sell a kidney for one.
I’d imagine owning a Jaguar E-Type, you’d have to have some Saudi oil money so you can store this thing in a climate controlled garage somewhere.
Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy
An R34 GT-R. Since I live in the USA, getting one of these in my garage is an enormous (read: costly) undertaking. It’s also pretty risky; if someone messes up the paperwork, the Feds might knock down my garage door and seize it.
Even if I got all of that right, getting it fixed will be a chore. Getting something as simple as a window fixed probably requires navigating Japanese sites and hoping they ship internationally.
That being said, I’ve seen more GT-Rs running around than I have Ferraris. So maybe one day.
It’s wild that R34 GT-Rs go for six figures now. Not surprising at all. Just life-changing money and likely life-changing ownership and maintenance.
Submitted by: put-some-turbo-on-meeeee
LR4 with the 5.0 V8.
Or an LR3. So good, but so many problems.
I mean this is my cheapest luxury choice. I could say something more ridiculous, but I was shopping these not too long ago. I think I’ll find a nice cheap Toyota Highlander and not have to worry about the driveshaft seizing and having the transmission come through the floor.
The annoying thing about the LR4 is that, if you find one that has less than 100,000 miles on it, it has a ton of problems that need to be handled/fixed before it hits the six-figure mileage mark. We’re talking major things like control arms, coolant crossover pipes, and voltage issues. It’s a poster child for JLR unreliability.
Submitted by: BrianMadigan
Between a guaranteed to fail DCT transmission and a PTU (front wheel drive system) as well as ceramic brake bolts that rust and host of other expensive common issues you’re spending the price of a lightly used M3 just in repairs.
I was honestly surprised at how cheap FFs have gotten. They’re still over six figures so this is one-percenter cheap, but of all the ones I found for sale none were over $200,000. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised at spending used-luxury-car money on just repairing one of these.
Submitted by: BD
VW’s luxury sedan hand built next to the Bentley Flying Spur in the Dersden, Germany glass factory. 444 W12 engine, designed to run 186 MPH all day at 120-degree weather while maintaining a cabin temperature of just under 72 degrees.
I’ve seen decent examples for around $15K but I’d have to budget that much annually just to keep it on the road.
These things are cheap. Like you’d think you’d have to be crazy not to buy cheap. But you’d also be looney to actually go buy one of these things too.
Submitted by: 900turbo
A Jeep M677 Truck- basically a military variant of the jeep FC-170 with a crew cab. So cool, so weird. I want this to haul my mountain bikes and go camping with even though it’s probably too loud to get over 50 miles an hour and less safe than just riding my mountain bike on the freeway.
Parts are probably beyond rare, probably gets about 8mpg on a good day and getting one roadworthy would probably cost me as much as buying a new electric Hummer. But a boy can dream.
I wouldn’t even want to know what it would cost to own a museum piece like this.
Submitted by: Buckfiddiousagain
I already own it. 2013 Audi A8 L 4.0T. Surprisingly, it’s been behaving itself lately.
I’ve always had a weird soft spot for the D3/D4 Audi A8. I don’t know why. I know they’re full of crap that is very expensive to fix, but I still want one. But I can’t bring myself to cross that line. You’re braver than me, sir.
Submitted by: Kyree