Which do people more often regret? Buying too big a vehicle or too small?

[-]

I've only had a couple vehicles that felt big and definitely disliked that more than having a smaller vehicle. I really dislike parking a large vehicle. It's a daily annoyance. If my car is small, I only notice on rare occasions when I have it full of stuff or passengers.

[-]

Yotsubato@reddit

Too small.

Dont mind this small community of enthusiasts, which are comprised of primarily single men or men without kids.

Most regular people complain about not having enough space to bring passengers around or haul stuff.

Having the space and not needing it is better than not having it when you need it.

Also larger vehicles tend to take bumps in the road better, and offer a comfortable and smooth ride. There is a reason why Rolls Royce sedans are huge.

[-]

kaasenappeltaart@reddit

Taking road bumps better has everything to do with suspension rather than size. You can fly over bumps with a light side by side with soft long travel suspension and rattle to death on the same trail in a heavy truck with stiff leave springs

[-]

Stevenwave@reddit

Suspension is obviously vital to how a car handles anything on the road, but size is also a big factor. The overall size, weight and wheelbase all play a role.

A smaller car will have a harder time providing a comfy ride in all situations.

[-]

ZannX@reddit

Meh, my Model Y had an enormous wheel base with a lot of weight. Commonly considered a terrible ride.

[-]

Stevenwave@reddit

I didn't say it guarantees a great ride. I also said it isn't the only thing that's important. Tesla fucking something up shouldn't be a shock. Do you think the Cybertruck is a good representation of all pickups?

[-]

Yotsubato@reddit

I have driven a variety of vehicles, and the most comfortable have always been large heavy luxury sedans.

Even body on frame SUVs are less comfy. But overall staying within the same class, weight usually equals comfort.

[-]

ComboBadger@reddit

Agreed as a married man with no kids. My GR86 is great for my wife and I. We can go to the store and get groceries easy. We can take a nice drive on the weekend. For literally anything else, we use her car, and it's not much bigger (honda fit).

[-]

VokN@reddit

I had a VW up and that thing was ginormous for its class in terms of boot storage with the seats down, zero regrets tbh

[-]

chang_bhala@reddit

I had the smallest car in the universe suzuki alto. It took bumps better than many SUVs. Its maintenance cost was next to nothing. Its replacement clutch was $20 + labour. Beat that. I still have it now, used by my father, who likes it because it is nimble, responsive and easy to control.

[-]

Flaky-Soup@reddit

I own a Model 3, me and my wife carpool, and it's been a great commuting vehicle. We were looking for the best deal on a new EV, and the Model 3 happened to be it at the time.

I also own a Ram 1500, which 80% of the week. sits in the garage. It's a gas guzzler, so commuting is a no go unless theres schedule conflicts with my wife.

I ask myself this same question everyday, is owning this truck worth it? The payment is about $200 more than the Tesla. Filling up the tank is $140 where I'm at (I don't ever fill it up all the way because we barely take it anywhere far) BUT, I can't tell you how many times this thing has come in clutch. Everytime I NEED a truck, I am thankful I bought one. Heck, I used it yesterday to haul some stuff to the dump, and I'll be using it next week for some backyard renovations.

You have to weigh the pros and cons, because every car has one. You just have to choose which cons you can live with, and which ones you can't!

[-]

Cautious-Concept457@reddit

A small trailer, renting, or listing stuff free online could be cheaper than the TCO of a truck - there's always pros and cons, not saying any of them is the best, just got me thinking

[-]

Flaky-Soup@reddit

Yes absolutely, renting one when needed is for sure cheaper. We originally bought it to move across country. We traded in both of our vehicles for the truck(We bought the Tesla after moving), so that we didn't have to tow a vehicle behind a UHaul and still have to drive another car. It was easier for us to rent a 6x12 trailer and tow it ourselves (and several thousand dollars cheaper). Just in the last three years I've used it to move furniture, haul trash away, for the big purchases that wouldn't fit in our car (Like a 75" TV), we've moved twice, gone on so many roadtrips. We have gotten our use out of it for sure. For me, it's nice to know that its there when needed. It's definitely not the smartest financial decision I've made, but it was what we needed at the time. It's also a very nice truck and will last us another 15 years at least. The interest rate is a 3.2%, so we got a good deal on it. It was just an expensive purchase.

[-]

granolaraisin@reddit

I never said I wish I had less cargo room.

If you have to worry about gas prices then the question is moot. Get the car smaller car.

[-]

WordWithinTheWord@reddit

We’re a growing family with a Kia Telluride. We live hours away from family so we travel a lot. I wouldn’t call it regret by any means because we love our Telluride. But we are getting some longing eyes for bigger SUVs like the Expedition or Suburban.

[-]

Trollygag@reddit

We shopped for a Telluride when we were about to have our 3rd. Big SUVs sucked to drive, especially for traveling. The Telluride didn't have space for a stroller with all 3 rows occupied, and access sucked, and it, being a crossover, meant kids getting in and out sucked.

Then we test drove a minivan and it all clicked. It did everything right. Low floor and doors that slide open so the kids can get in and out safely on their own without bashing into other cars or falling. The trunk big enough to be usable with all 3 rows up. Comfortable, efficient, and reliable (from Honda and Toyota, not Kia or Chrysler).

I feel like young families get so locked in to their ego, perceptions, and biases that they totally overlook the vehicles literally designed from the ground up for families, not for towing boats or offroading.

My sister couldn't swallow the truth pill and ended up getting an Expedition MAX instead, and ceaselessly complains about having to own it and use it.

[-]

WordWithinTheWord@reddit

Lol we are actually in that minority that needs to tow, however.

[-]

GovernmentThink@reddit

I think there is a nice middle ground. I’ve owned quite a few vehicles, driven dozens more. Depends a lot on location and use case. Driving a telluride in NYC SUCKED, but we needed a larger rental to haul workers and tools. Still I feel like something a tad smaller would’ve felt a lot more comfortable. On the other hand, I had 2 small German vehicles (190e and 2 door e30) in central California for renovating my house and almost never felt like I didn’t have enough room, although I did have to get creative a few times. If anything I wish I had gotten a small pickup instead of the 190e, same size dimensions wise, just more practical for large items. Towing heavy loads I always prefer a larger vehicle, small ones feel unwieldy but and dangerous. Now I’m in Germany with small streets and my wife’s vw Touran feels too wide/ big for 90% of our driving even though it’s smaller than more than half the vehicles I’ve driven. In my opinion, unless you have a large family, smaller is better in almost every way, MPGs, parking, space inside lanes, handling, braking distance, etc. If you need something bigger once in a blue moon, a rental or borrowing a vehicle from family/ friends is always an option.

[-]

Vencha88@reddit

Too big. I can find a spare car or rent a van if I really need it, but at the moment when I'm looking for a park or navigating tight city roads then a small nimble car is a must.

[-]

AngryScottish@reddit

Too big.

Having a truck that was difficult to park, didn't fit in my garage, I had to worry about parking garage heights, the terrible ride quality, people always wanting to borrow it, the terrible gas mileage vs performance, the terrible handling, the terrible brakes, visibility was subpar.

Now that I have a smaller vehicle, if I ever need to haul things, I rent a U-Haul for $50. Saves me a ton.

[-]

Mindless-Visit-4509@reddit

Small sedans are the perfect size for me. Toyota Corolla 2004 comes to mind.

[-]

Mindless-Visit-4509@reddit

Too big. If you live in the city u don't want to lug a big car to dart around the place. Impractical and an unnecessary nuisance.

[-]

uchigaytana@reddit

I love my small car, but I hate its practicality. I can't transport anything without a lot of effort and car-tetris, and I can't bring more than one friend to any social engagements. I've had probably half a dozen times in the last year where I would buy something furniture-like at a store or off facebook marketplace, get it out to the car, then have to remove all the parts from the box so they would fit.

I'm currently looking to get an aftermarket roof rack for it, but even that's questionable in its effectiveness. Then I can only transport things that come in a sturdy box, and I'm stuck figuring out a way to lift them up and strap them down to the roof, which still isn't particularly ideal.

[-]

AvarethTaika@reddit

i don't think i really count as a people here as an enthusiast who dailies a stripped drift car and can't drive anything bigger than an Accord without hitting something, but given most sane people buy SUVs, I'm going to assume they want bigger and would regret smaller.

[-]

pool4ever@reddit

Who told ye that -?-

[-]

deadstump@reddit

I love me my compact car, but my wife's car is a pretty big SUV. We both commute, but we travel in her car most of the time because while technically our family of 5 can fit in my car, it isn't comfy.

[-]

TheDutchTexan@reddit

Too small because the only fix for that is buying bigger. Too big? You can make that work because at least it wasn’t too small.

However I’d like to think people do their research before they buy a car and get one that will satisfy them for the coming years.

[-]

kaasenappeltaart@reddit

This doesn't necessarily make logical sense. If it's too big it's too big for a reason as it would be if it's too small.

For example it won't fit in your parking space, it consumes too much fuel etc

[-]

FmrEasBo@reddit

Neither. I’ll have lived my life w/o owning one. Unless you live in respectaburbia maybe give it a try?

[-]

That_Ad1423@reddit

Too small!! Trying to pack everything in and be comfy on a road trip!!

[-]

Viperlite@reddit

I like a small 2-seater and a sedan and/or truck for cars to use when needed. The right tool for the job vs one tool for all.

[-]

czarfalcon@reddit

I’ve owned big cars and small, and I’d personally rather have a car that might sometimes be too small than have a bigger car that’s empty most of the time.

99% of the time when I’m driving it’s either just me, or me + 1 passenger. My first car was a Ford Expedition and the size was convenient a handful of times, but didn’t outweigh the cons of the horrible fuel economy and overall difficultly parking/maneuvering in tight spaces.

[-]