These Are The Cars You Love But Would Never Own

Sometimes car enthusiasts and the vehicles they really want are just star-crossed lovers. For whatever reason, you two just can't be together. It's sad, but it's just a fact of life when you're a car lover. We can't (or shouldn't) always get what we want, and that thought is what led me to our question from last week.

I wanted to know what cars you loved but could never justify owning. You all delivered, let me tell ya. We've got just about every type of car from every corner of the world on here. On top of that, as varied as the cars were, so were the reasons you could never own them.

Some of you just can't justify spending millions of dollars on a car, which is very fair. Other folks could not spend what it would take to keep an incredibly unreliable car on the road, and I get it. Also, a few didn't like the image they presented to the world, to which I say, get over yourself. No one is looking at you.

Anyway, why don't we all head to the next slide and get this show on the road for cars we love but won't own?

Painfully pretty and amazing to drive with the right transmission, but it would cost me a kidney, half a lung and all of my bone marrow to keep it on the road.

Who cares man? Life is short. Treat yourself. Who needs a kidney, half a lung and all your bone marrow anyway? Have fun.

Submitted by: FijiST

I love the idea of a full size truck, but can never justify the high Total Cost of Ownership. TCO of a mid-range truck is easily 40-50% higher than my mid-range Mazda6.

But how do you let people know how big and many you are in a Mazda6? The world needs to know.

Submitted by: Stephen

Alfa Romeo 4C. I love this car. It looks absolutely stunning, has amazing driving dynamics, and has an Italian pedigree. It is by all accounts, a special car. There was one for sale in town that I could've pulled the trigger on. It was a beautiful pearl-white, lots of carbon fibre, and low miles. I was sorely tempted. And then I had a vision of what Alfa ownership really is: heartbreak, lots of shop time, and waving goodbye to your money.

I'm not a "should have had a manual" guy for most things, but I am for the 4C. It's still a neat little thing.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

I did own this Evora S...for awhile. It was the scariest 8 months of vehicle ownership to date. I've never thought a vehicle could actively try to murder my savings, but this one might've if I'd kept it. Thought maybe I'd be lucky to escape the "lots of trouble, usually serious" by picking one up with low miles, but still had the known foibles of the model: faulty/leaking AC, popping airbag cover on the dash (requires dash out to fix the spring), failing clutch (requires clamshell removal to replace), difficult to source international parts or find service (in the midwest), $400 oil changes (would've done the rest myself, but wanted the first one to be with someone who could look it over—and they found leaking CV boots). I knew I was in trouble when I had to go to two places and get a special tool to remove the wheel, just to repair a nail in the tire.

So beautiful and engaging to drive though...

Ah, a better version of the 4C. Kudos to you for actually buying the car you wanted, though. Sorry it didn't work out.

Submitted by: gokstate

This shot was taken at the Dodge Speed Week event in Vegas when the Demon was unveiled (brought in by helicopter!) and I was there. Seeing a production ICE car rip down the dragstrip that fast.... It was one of the most stupefying things I had ever seen a car do in my entire life. And with the end of the Hemi v8 from Mopar, the fact that Dodge, the muscle car builder, went flat-out with the Demon and its no-one-needs-this-much-horsepower-but-eff-it-we're-going-out-with-a-bang Challenger just tickles the hell out of me.

But actually own a Demon? A car that specialized with its fuel requirements and those soft slicks that mean instant death by spinning out if you're caught in a rainstorm, yeesh, that's something I can do without. And where I live Challengers are as common as dirt. So if you drove it here, probably no one would notice...awfully ironic for a Dodge that probably cost each dude $200K a pop.

If you can afford a Demon 170 but don't buy one, you should be thrown in jail. I mean it. Best car on sale.

Submitted by: the1969DodgeChargerFan

Just about any classic and rare exotic.

(Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale for a prime example.)

1. I would want to actually drive it.

2. Most replacement parts no longer exist, and would have to be custom fabricated when needed. Maintenance would need to be done constantly. And, I don't have the time to devote to a second full time job as a classic car mechanic.

If you've got enough money for a Tipo 33, you do not care about money enough to ever think about it.

Submitted by: Knyte

Early Aston V8 Vantages are dipping back in to the 30s price wise. They are gorgeous and basically everything I want in a sports car, but parking that much money in a weekend car that will probably cost thousands a year to maintain is very hard to justify. One of those things where I could, but I really don't think I should.

I firmly believe Aston Martin would be in a better financial place today if they were still selling this generation of Vantage.

Submitted by: FloridaMna

I started looking into these semi-seriously, but the more I learned the more it scared me away – ultra rust-prone chassis since it was Jaguar's first unibody, very expensive interior, dubious electrical... Resigned myself to admiring from afar.

This is a car for evil people. If you are evil, buy one. If not, don't.

Submitted by: Fjord

Ferrari F355 coupe. Will forever by my favorite car and favorite Ferrari (and IMO, the most beautiful looking). But with all the horror stories, and despite my European car ownership history, I'd still hesitate to buy one if I'm ever able to afford one. But dammit If I don't think about owning one of these every other week, exhaust noise is intoxicating, and the shape of it is like a beautiful Italian dress shoe. Also, gated manual Ferraris are the stuff of dreams. I've only ever ridden in an F355 spider that had the F1 box, but the moment it fired up, my life changed. F355 dreams were the reason I once bought a 2005 Maserati QP with the Ferrari V8 and Duo-Select (F1-style) gearbox.

God, I love how the F355 looks. I yearn for one. Perhaps one day I will have the money (and the stomach) for one.

Submitted by: Da Car Guru – 15,000 RPM daily driver

The Maserati Gan Turismo. Not sure why I have such an affinity towards one, but the car looks good, sound absolutely fantastic. You can get it shockingly dirt cheap, like look how cheap they are, low mileage! But I would never own one.

What? Are you scared? Grow up, dummy.

Submitted by: darthspartan117

Walking to high school, I would pass a house that had a forgotten '66 Continental parked around the side (this was also just a couple years after The Matrix came out, so the suicide door Continentals left a mark on me either way). It might be peak mid-century American optimism (and reasonably attainable if I can skip the convertible), but I literally don't think anything big and American of the period could fit through my narrow driveway back to the garage, and I'd rather die in this house than have to deal with buying another place.

Buddy, it sounds like you need a bigger driveway. Change your life, get the car.

Submitted by: Maymar

Nissan Skyline coupe R34, especially any GT-R trim from lowest base trim to Z-Tune trim

Not only I don't have that kind of money, but let's say I do then I don't think it's worth to buy Japanese 3-series coupe / M3 at that level of price anymore, at least for now

At that price, there're tons of objectively better used 2-door coupe or sportcar around same price range such as Ferrari 458 or brand new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 C8 or so many more that you can choose

I dunno probably it's because I had a chance to go inside and ride one, that now I able to took that rosy-tinted glasses off and stop those nostalgia drugs

The worst part of the R34 is the weebs you will attract by having one. The Skyline isn't worth it.

Submitted by: hayase

A 2012 MB C63 AMG Black Series. Love that car in games like the first Forza Horizon, but after Daimler-Chrysler? I don't care if they build the most reliable or luxurious cars ever, there's no way in hell I'd ever support them.

Dude, I really respect you. Hating is my favorite thing, and you are a purebred hater. God bless.

Submitted by: directionalheaps

Why? Because I want to drive around town to pick up groceries in one with the top down, wearing a double-brested herringbone English drape suit with matching driving gloves, cap and goggles; then hop on the freeway and pass people at 100 MPH in second gear.

Why I would never own one: Beside the expense, I don't want to be the subect of the headline "Local Eccentric With More Money Than Brains Dies in $1 Million, 100 MPH Freeway Crash."

Yeah, but you'll die looking so fucking badass that no one would blame you.

Submitted by: Gin and Panic

It's an XJS so it's going to have electrical, overheating and rust problems.

It's also been fiddled with by Lister by boring and stroking the engine to from 5.3 to 7.0, slapping a couple of superchargers on it, adding more injectors, new throttle body, Cosworth conrods and forged pistons. Luckily also fiddled with the gearbox so it's good for 600+bhp and 200+mph

So it's going to be even more expensive to service, also the last one to sell went for £112,500

I love British engineering. It is so batshit when it wants to be.

Submitted by: Tacet