Instead of a Boxster I wish I would have bought....

[johnsimion]

Instead of my 08 Cayman, I wish I had bought a Mini Cooper S. I enjoy the Cayman ... beautiful car, runs great, fun to drive ... but at the end of the day, it's really just another car, and an expensive, impractical one that ends up sitting in my garage through the week and through six months of winter. It also has the IMS issue hanging over it once the warranty is over with and the dealer is incompetent and 40 miles away. My battery just went dead after three years and just like every time it does need some kind of service, it becomes a major ordeal. And this state hits me up for a ton of personal property tax each year just for the privilege of owning an expensive car.

By contrast the Cooper is also a beautiful car (no Cayman, but not bad, either) and would be equally fun on the city streets where I almost always have to drive. I coulda had a whole lot of fun with the extra $20K. The Cooper would be driveable in winter due to front-wheel drive -- you don't baby a $30K car the way you do a $60K car -- and my wife could drive it to the dealer for service (with automatic).

I kinda sorta also regret not getting the 370Z because the dealer is just 3 miles from my house, but that would have a lot of the same problems I have with the Cayman, plus it's relatively ugly to look at.

Regardless of the regrets, however, I made my decision and there are enough merits to the Cayman that I plan to stay the course rather than get soaked again in selling or trading.