What's The Worst Car Choice Your Parents Ever Made?JalopnikAndy KalmowitzFri, September 11, 2026 at 1:25 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleJeepAs lifelong car enthusiasts, I'm sure there are car choices your parents made when you were a kid that were real head-scratchers at the time, and maybe have aged even more horribly. I know that's the case for me, and it's what led me to today's question. I want to know about the worst car choice your parents ever made. What car-related decision, whether it was to buy, sell, keep, or even pass on a car, still leaves a bad taste in your mouth all these years later?Of course, these sorts of situations can sting even more if your folks ignored the advice you gave them and made an asinine car purchase instead. You stay up all night, thinking of the life and childhood you could have had if your parents had just listened to you, but because they didn't, you had to be driven around in some heinous piece of garbage. Has this ever happened to you, too???Read more: These Were The First Cars Ever Made By The World's Best-Known AutomakersMy choiceMercuryWell, now that I'm good and worked up, I suppose it's a good time to bring up the worst car-related choice my parents ever made. I'd like to preface this with the fact that they're wonderful people who gave me a great childhood and continue to be a fantastic part of my life, but damn, they are not into cars. My mom couldn't care less, and my dad is a motorcycle guy through and through.AdvertisementAdvertisementMy mom was looking for a new car in the early 2010s, and I suggested, because I'm very smart, that she should look at late-1980s and early-1990s Jeep Grand Wagoneers. Back then, even the nicest ones in the world would barely crack $20,000. Sure, they were terrible on gas and not particularly safe for a family, but they were sick as hell, I could tell they would be worth a lot more one day. Welp, my parents bought a 2010 Mercury Mariner instead. There was even a time when my parents had that Mariner and a Mountaineer at the same time. That's right, we were a Mercury family. The horrors.Now, that Mariner is worth about $5, and a clean Grand Wagoneer can go for well over $80,000. I will never let them forget it. Anyway, that's enough out of me. I can feel my heart beating too fast, and I need to calm down, so how about you drop down below and let your fellow Jalops know what the worst car choice your parents ever made was?Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.
