What Risky Car Purchase Ended Up More Reliable Than People Usually Assume?

A long time ago, one my ex left town for the weekend, and I decided to entertain myself that Saturday with a visit to the nearby motorcycle dealer. I'd been slowly saving up for a bike and just wanted to take a look. Except I didn't just look. They had a bright red 2006 Ducati Monster 620 in the showroom with a price tag on it that read "$2,500." If I'd waited only a few minutes, I would have lost the bike to another customer, but I pulled the trigger just in time and became a Ducati owner. 

It wasn't just a Ducati Monster. The '06 models still had the old, round headlight, and the previous owner had put an Arrow carbon fiber dual exhaust on there before selling it. With the meticulous nature with which the cables were all zip-tied, and as clean as it looked, I could tell the previous owner had cared about their bike a lot. They must have loved it, too, because they clearly rode it all the time. The $2,500 Ducati that I bought on a whim became mine with 22,500 miles on the odometer didn't end up as a total disaster. 

I rode that Monster all over Long Beach, and then when we moved to Koreatown, I rode it all over Los Angeles, too. I loved that thing so much. Until I got the keys to my Husqvarna, it was the prettiest, most special thing I'd ever owned. The ex didn't love it, but that's what breakups are for. Just kidding, we broke up for other reasons, but I won't pretend my vehicle choices haven't expanded since leaving that relationship. But despite what people usually assume, the red Italian motorcycle that's got a reputation for pricey ownership wasn't an expensive bike to own, and I'd even go as far as to call it dirt cheap. 

I can't be the only person who's bought a good, dependable vehicle that other people assume is an expensive, unreliable nightmare, though. I bet plenty of you have owned a few cars that, like my Monster, are reliable in real life, even if normal people assume otherwise. And hopefully, more than a few of you have owned some cars that were somehow, magically the one reliable one that particular company built among a sea of dumpster fires. Whatever it is, head down to the comments to tell us more about the car you bought that ended up being much more reliable than other people expect.