Knowing me my list will change.
Years ago I regretted selling my 1200 Beetle and my 944 S2. Now I regret selling two cars:
-1991 Porsche 944 Turbo 250.
Why did I sell it? Owning 3 roadworthy cars, with two of them being projects can make you spend money you don't have. Especially if one of them has gone well past the point of being a moneypit. The 944 wasn't. But it did have a few things against it:
-The seat was ripped
-It had little service history before me since it was bought by a garage after a non-paying customer
-It had 190k on the clock.
-For me it was a little low ; it's nice to get to places without destroying your underside
.
The latter IMHO put off many people and I feared over 200k it would be unsellable. But in all honesty it was the best car I had at the time with the Pug coming close if it had a full respray.
However,
-It was in much much much better condition than my 120k S2. They were like chalk and cheese
-It was in better condition at the time over many 944s, even those with sub 100k. There was a reason for that however
-It had tons of money thrown at it. I am talking KWv3s, BBK, New bushes throughout, head rebuild, cooling system overhaul, new dash, new clocks, new wings, new sills. It never wanted for anything
-It was a known car. It was owned by the great ProMax Motorsport outfit.
-I put 10k onto it within a year and it didn't miss a beat and was for the best part enjoyable.
-It's got to have been one of the most tight and fun cars I have ever driven. It was mental on full throttle thanks to it having a dyno proven 290BHP under my ownership
-If I had a 944 Turbo it had all of the mods I'd have wanted bar a dual port wastegate and an electronic boost controller.
It was admired then and they are really admired now. Worse still? They are worth £14k+ now; I sold it for £6.5k in 2014.
The other one? My Series 1 Escort RST.
There was plenty wrong with it:
-The breather system IMHO was compromised for very fast road driving and the track as I realised one day
-The clutch was brutal being a Helix 4 paddle
-It was not the most refined thing.
-Some spares were pricey. It's not like Burton sold them or Ford did either. Parts availability in some areas was none existent. God help me if I needed a water pump. Oh wait, it's a CVH...
-All of my Fords have been great. This one kept me busy most weekends repairing other people's poor work etc.
-Worrying about it getting nicked. It's not like it has died down.
There was plenty to like too:
-With 230BHP on tap it went like the clappers. OK, maybe not as fast as my M3 or 944 Turbo but certainly great in its own right
-It had a full nut and bolt restoration. Sure, some bits could have been done better but it did make the car far easier to work on.
-It had the right combo for me. Stock exterior with a subtle drop on Leda coilovers. 230BHP courtesty of a tuned ZVH and stockish looks. With the interior back in that car would have been 'my RS Turbo'. Loads of power but with control and not much to shout about.
-People loved the car! It really got the best out of people. I was surprised.
-For me it was a boyhood dream to own one. Sure, so was an XJ220 etc. but I used to love seeing these things burbling around in my youth.
-Every drive was an event. I am not talking about the breakdowns silly! I am referring to the feelgood factor.
This makes my next decision very tricky. I love my E46 M3. Drives in that are an event and TBH the car is spot on and is the right combo of everything for me, moreso than my 944. However due to a few factors I dip in and out of selling it and consider jacking it in for a modern diesel ; at one point I even debated a new ST (yup, it was at one point more expensive to run on average per month over a new Fiesta ST but with the hassle).
However, debates about the mileage, what spec sells best and the fact that they are an arm and a leg to maintain makes me think otherwise. However, I thought the same about both 944s.
I guess I am damned either way with whichever car I buy. Either I haven't found the car for me or I want the moon on a stick.