What is the worst purchase you ever made?

[tvguy]

My Dad always said, "Buy the warranty and something will happen to it the day after the warranty expires." With my luck, I took that to heart and never bought an extended warranty.

Probably our 2007 Explorer. I was T-Boned in our 04 Explorer, while driving our then DD2 and newborn and we all walked away without a scratch, so I was adamant I wanted another Explorer. Big mistake.

We've rebuilt the transmission, then the radiator blew, then the timing chain and now it is waiting on DH to have time to rebuild the engine, all within 2 years (he has the rebuild kit). Just one nightmare after the other. DH reminds me though, it will "practically be an brand new car!" once he's done with it.

Well, to be honest, there are lemons in any make. We have used Explorers at work for years, but are transitioning to Escapes. Only constant issue we have had is breaking the rear window glass. But when you are opening and closing the rear hatch a dozens times a day, that may just be normal wear and tear. My wife has a 2000 Mountaineer (an Explorer with Mercury name badges on it) and we did do a transmission it it, but after 19 years, I can't complain. And Explorers are all my mechanic buys for his wife.

 

[traviesojmt]

Easily a Pottery Barn bedroom set we bought for our son. It did not hold up well at all and was definitely not worth the money. It was the worst set of furniture that we have purchased in over 20 years. On the positive side, it saved me money in the long run because I will not shop there again. Lol.

 

[amberpi]

All of the money I spent on my ex-husband?

 

[jsmith]

Dodge Caravan. Worst vehicle ever. A total lemon. I poured thousands of dollars into repairs before I finally ditched it for a new van.

I have read that the particular year of van I owned was notoriously bad, but I will never, ever purchase another Dodge.

this is interesting- We currently own our third Caravan and they have been amazing work horse vehicle. We are sad Dodge stopped making them as they are our go to dog show vehicle

Mine would be my 2006 VW beetle-I love loved loved that car to drive and it got amazing mileage but it was an electrical nightmare. Fuse box on top of the engine melted 3 times, glow plugs had to be replaced annually. after 6 years I finally had enough-traded it on an Acura. I will never buy another Volkswagon of America product again-to include Audi's. I will probably always have an Acura.

 

[china mom]

We had a travel trailer on a campsite in the mountains 90 minutes from our house. Per the campsite rules, the trailer had to move at lease every two weeks in the summer (so, what, maybe 8-10 times?) The campsite would move it for a $25 fee. We bought a $30,000 Chevy Tahoe so we could move it ourselves and not pay the $25.

Hardly ever drove the Tahoe otherwise and sold it 20 years later with less than 50K miles. It had fallen apart from lack of use.

 

[J'aime Paris]

A treadmill.....most expensive clothing rack I've ever owned!!!

 

[luvsJack]

A treadmill.....most expensive clothing rack I've ever owned!!!

Saaammme!!

I was walking every day at the track and then it started raining every day and I just had to have a treadmill to keep walking. Hated that thing but wouldn’t admit it to dh. The idea was I would walk while watching tv. Yeah, I would stop and run go start supper, stop and go check supper, stop and let the dog out, stop and let the dog in. Just could not be motivated to finish! I went back to the track and it collected clothes!

 

[Floridaman999]

marriage licence for #1

I'm gonna have to go with marriage license #1 as well. Paid way too much for that nightmare.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Mine isn't one big thing, it's little stuff adding up. I'm one of those shoppers that just picks things up on the spur of the moment, and then realizes later I didn't really need them.

 

[Floridaman999]

Mine isn't one big thing, it's little stuff adding up. I'm one of those shoppers that just picks things up on the spur of the moment, and then realizes later I didn't really need them.

I do that at the grocery store ALL the time. I end up donating or tossing so much food because I seem to lack self control. I understand your pain.

 

[wenrob]

Mine isn't one big thing, it's little stuff adding up. I'm one of those shoppers that just picks things up on the spur of the moment, and then realizes later I didn't really need them.

I used to do that. I broke the habit by taking photos of things that I think I want if I’m in store or putting them in wishlists/favorites (or making a screen shot) online. I let them sit for a couple three days and then go back and reevaluate. Nine times out of ten I realize I don’t really want/need them. A lot of the time I forget all about them. If I keep going back to it after a week or so then I go ahead and get it.

Grocery store, if it’s not on my list I don’t buy it.

 

[ronandannette]

Nothing so far in nearly 61 years. There are advantages to being cheap and never buying anything.

But seriously, extended warranties on used cars. Done that 3 times. 1 car had no issues, 2 others did....that were not covered by the warranty.

That tickled my funnybone - thanks for the chuckle this afternoon. I gotta say, your plan is better than mine. I'm also cheap but I still buy things, and the more I pay for them the less I like them. Expensive things have absolutely no chance whatsoever of meeting my ridiculously unreasonable expectations. There are so many things I have resented over the years I couldn't begin to narrow it down to the worst. I'm currently sitting here hating on the 3 high-end Kitchen-Aide appliances I broke the bank on a few months ago. And looking at the extremely expensive wool-and-silk carpet I had to have for our living room; right now I want to rip it out, haul it into the yard and set it on fire. I could literally go on and on with examples...

 

[Floridaman999]

I used to do that. I broke the habit by taking photos of things that I think I want if I’m in store or putting them in wishlists/favorites (or making a screen shot) online. I let them sit for a couple three days and then go back and reevaluate. Nine times out of ten I realize I don’t really want/need them. A lot of the time I forget all about them. If I keep going back to it after a week or so then I go ahead and get it.

Grocery store, if it’s not on my list I don’t buy it.

I wish I had the will power, but it seems I do not. I do make a list, but I clearly go off the list too. Sometimes things just look too darn tasty.

 

[lecach]

Cool Sculpting. It was VERY expensive, incredibly painful, and I couldn't really tell a difference after.

 

[wenrob]

I wish I had the will power, but it seems I do not. I do make a list, but I clearly go off the list too. Sometimes things just look too darn tasty.

Grocery pick up, haha.

Many moons ago my DH went to the store for one thing and came home with $75 worth of cereal that was “on sale.” I still give him crap about that. He’s not as bad about it now but he still impulse buys junk food every once in awhile. Kind of my fault because I don’t buy it.

 

[Brancaneve]

Cool Sculpting. It was VERY expensive, incredibly painful, and I couldn't really tell a difference after.

I had a laser treatment done on my face and it was horribly painful and did not work at all!

 

[DLgal]

Easily a Pottery Barn bedroom set we bought for our son. It did not hold up well at all and was definitely not worth the money. It was the worst set of furniture that we have purchased in over 20 years. On the positive side, it saved me money in the long run because I will not shop there again. Lol.

That's so weird because we bought our boys a Pottery Barn Kids Camp bunk bed in 2007 and that thing has moved cross country twice, been taken apart and put back together three times, and it is still rock solid. It held up so well that we bought a full set of PB furniture for our bedroom that is now 8 years old and still looks brand new. We did get everything 40% off since my sister used to work in the corporate office, but still, the stuff is amazing quality. We have a dining set, a bar, and a couch also. I routinely consider getting a part time job there so we can buy more stuff.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I bought my wife a 2017 Cadillac CT6. We went to buy a Yukon Denali but she said the Caddy bought her. Later that year we drove it to Disney in September 2017 but soon after returning home it started having serious problems. It had autonomous cruse control so on our way to orlando I just sat back and let it drive its self but that stopped working properly. It would give us pedestrian warnings on the interstate and hit the brakes. The super cruise would think there was a car in front of us and it would slow down for no reason. One day it would shift smooth and the next day it would break your neck. We owed it for 19 months and the 12th time it went into service (for pushing us into an intersection) we tried to trade it in where we bought it. They offered us $32,000! I asked why so low and the salesman said it had too many problems lol. So we traded it in at a loss for a 2018 Yukon Denali at another dealership. I paid $68,000 for it and with less than 20,000 miles we got $40,000 trade in. Thankfully the Denali had a $18,000 incentive with GM brand loyalty and a rebate which took the price down to $61,000. We had to tack on about $5,000 negative equity but the $18K off covered that so we didn't do too bad.

 

[arminnie]

I bought a set of sterling silver in the early 80s when the prices were astronomical. They soon plummeted and as of today no one wants sterling silver. One can't even give it away unless it is something that can be melted down.

 

[DeniseJH]

Same, only I'm less than 4 years in. My husband talked me into it because we couldn't agree on the firmness of a mattress.

We sleep on the same freaking number - 100.

Yup, us too. Anything lower and it kills my back, but at any number it's hard...too hard for me.