What's the worst car you ever owned?

[Archae]

I bought a 1965 Ford "Country Sedan" station wagon in 1978.
To call this car a POS was being charitable.

(Mine was black though)

[ohiosmith]

1. 1978 GMC van. The fucking rear doors fell off six months after I bought it new

while I was driving on Highway 1 in Canada.

[pagerbear]

2. Tossup

I had an '87 Yugo.

More recently I had a 10-y.o. Accord with 100K on it. In itself that's not so bad, but things kept needing to get fixed on it, and the friend I'd bought it from had souped it up so that it sounded like a teenager's hot rod. It was always meant to be a temporary car, and I sold it within six months.

[nini]

3. 1970 Ford Pinto

the kind that used to catch on fire but mine didn't.

[Inchworm]

4. Both of the minivans I've owned

'93 Caravan and forget model of other. Bought it and the transmission went out after having it for about 3 months. It was 2 years old when I bought it.

:hi:

[Wapsie B]

5. Anything built domestically in 1977.

I put way too much $$$ into keeping those cars on the road. God what a horrible year for cars. :puke:

[question everything]

38. Include the Ford Mustang 1980

This was the last domestic car in our household.

In cold Midwestern days, if I drove it a short distance, then stopped for a short visit - it would not start again. Until it really cooled down. A co-worker who would read many car magazines said that, yes, this was a known problem with the car - and no one could offer a remedy.

[grace0418]

6. My husband's really OCD about researching cars so we've been pretty happy.

Our Hondas rock(ed). Our Subaru is the most troublesome car we've had, but it's still pretty great.

[sarge43]

7. 1975 Ford Pinto

That POS fell apart faster than a blouse bought at Wal-Mart.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

42. Known amongst lawyers as "The Molotov"......

[sarge43]

55. I called it my Paranoia wheels n/t

[NoPasaran]

8. 1970 Volkswagen Super Beetle

Total piece of shit.

[Xithras]

26. Hey, I liked my Super Beetle.

I abused the heck out of that car and it never quit.

[DrDan]

9. 1972 Vega

What a pos. A real dark spot in General Motors history.

[mopinko]

27. i made the mistake of buying one from a mechanic in 78 or so

completely gerry rigged, sold to a poor single mom. i owned it for all of 2 months. it was that bad.

[DrDan]

54. I think it qualifies as one of the worst cars ever made - if not THE worst

Funny that it came out the same time as the Ford Pinto; both those pigs competing against each other. These should be remembered as other complain about the introduction of foreign autos into the U.S. - like Toyota and Honda. Thank goodness GM and Ford had to compete with these, otherwise the Vega would still be a GM offering.

[Paladin]

97. Wasn't It The Vega......

....that you had to pull the engine to replace the spark plugs? One of my cousins had one,and it was absolute junk.....

[DrDan]

99. I bought mine new

had to replace the engine at 20,000 miles . . .

"junk" is a compliment when referring to a Vega

[Pacifist Patriot]

10. 1981 Dodge Colt

Mixed feelings about it though. It was my first car. Baby poo yellow. No one else in my circle of friends had a car so "Doc" was our lifeline. Except for some really bad moments, it was a great car that served me well. Unfortunately, it chose really really inconvenient times to go bad.

[MichiganVote]

11. 1976 Rabbit- Worst car ever. Never, ever any good. Piece of shit.

[maveric]

12. 1983 Pontiac Sunbird wagon.

Four whole cylinders of lagging and spitting. Leaked a white milky substance from the window trim.
A true POS!

[Adsos Letter]

13. 1996 Ford Taurus Wagon...

handled great, had a special 200hp engine so it flew along smoothly; however, we went through 2 transmissions in 160,000 miles, and the interior trim didn't hold up well.

[unsavedtrash]

14. Buick Opal

piece of shit worked for four days.

[Throd]

15. 1976 Peugeot 504 wagon

And these people built the Eiffel Tower?

C'mon, changing spark plugs on a four banger should be a twenty minute task, not a epic journey of disassembly.

[Adsos Letter]

18. Oh, the oil filter on my 1982 Chevy S-10 was a journey of pure delight

Practically impossible to get to and, no matter how much I tried to gently "hand-tighten", by the time it was due again it had managed to practically weld itself to the block...

:D

[Lyric]

16. 1994 Geo Metro

Felt like we were riding in a Pepsi can with wheels, the alternator kept messing up, and the heater never wanted to work if we were going faster than 25 mph.

Never again, ugh.

[Xipe Totec]

17. 1977 Dodge Aspen - My best and worst car ever

Except, mine was two tone green.



Last of the V-8 engines.

[lizziegrace]

20. I had a 1978 Volare 2-door

medium blue with a slant-six engine. Great engine, lousy car. The trunk rusted through (I lived in the south...)

No wonder Chrysler couldn't sell cars then.

[av8rdave]

75. My parents had a 77 Volare

As soon as they realized they didn't have to pay for my college, they went out and bought it. What a piece of junk! You could be driving down the freeway at 60 mph and the engine would die.

Guess the last laugh was on them!

[lizziegrace]

86. I got 66,000 miles out of mine

then the differential went out. Bought a 1984 Honda Civic and never looked back.

Serves your parents right. ;)

[av8rdave]

92. You definitely made a good choice with the Honda

My dad vowed way back then that he we would never again own a Chrysler product. He never has.

What did it for him was when he had the car in for the umpteenth time trying to get the problem solved, with no results as usual. The dealer told him to come in the next day, since there would be a factory rep visiting, and maybe he could discuss his problems with the rep.

My dad showed up and gave the rep a complete rundown of all the problems, dealer visits, and the results. This is no joke: The Chrysler rep looked at him, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "so we built a crappy car. What do you expect?"

Nothing like good customer service. Sadly, this was before the advent of lemon laws in Maryland.

[flvegan]

19. Jaguar XJ6

I bought it for my mom (she always wanted a Jag) to drive while she was here for the winters. Well, it served her pretty well for the 4 months she was here. After that, I drove it once a week to keep it in shape. It broke once a week. 19K miles, total shitbox.

[Crabby Appleton]

78. You know why the English drink their beer warm?

their refrigerators are made by Lucas.

http://www.lucaselectrical.co.uk/

I had an XKE many years ago, beautiful car, fun to drive, left me stranded many a time - hard to keep it running.

[Kutjara]

96. 2002 Merc SLK.

If it wasn't driven every day, the battery ran flat. If it was put through a carwash, the "emergency maintenance needed" light would come on and the car would automatically lock itself into first gear, until whatever was wet dried out. The leather seats could be scratched with a feather and the roof mechanism left an enormous scratch down the top the first time I used it. It was a total piece of crap.

[likesmountains 52]

21. A Saab, don't recall the year, but every single minor repair cost at least $600..

[LibDemAlways]

47. Reminds me of a BMW I had for a few years. A routine

oil change was $250.00. The brakes are apparently designed to fail after a few thousand miles, and new ones were a grand. Great handling, but maintenance on the thing was a killer.

[Capn Sunshine]

74. I feel ya- Saab turbo

The design meant you had to pull the motor to change the starter; plus I took it with me on a consultant job in Tejas, and they literally had no idea wtf it was.

[likesmountains 52]

93. I ended up giving to a junkyard and was GLAD to get $250 and not have to

worry about any more repairs...

[Redstone]

22. 1) A 1999 Audi A4. $32 grand, and it fell apart in two years.

2) A 2002 Passat V6. Ditto.

I'm off German cars forever.

Redstone

[LibDemAlways]

49. German cars handle great, but they sure do have

maintenance issues. My one and only BMW was a total money pit. And the dealer had a snotty attitude that wouldn't quit. $250.00 for an oil change. Service appointments that had to be scheduled many weeks in advance. (If the thing just broke down, too bad.) It was a nightmare.

[leftofthedial]

23. 1999 Saturn

After they turned them back into Chevrolets, they sucked hard.

I had a 1967 Country Sedan and loved it.

[ironflange]

24. 1986 Mercury Marquis wagon

It wasn't the car's fault though. It was a lease-back, and I sure won't get one of those again. Turns out the previous guy had the bad habit of driving around sans coolant and oil. His solution to that annoying check engine light was to unplug it. Needless to say, we had to drop in a new engine before long, which did help.

[Wcross]

25. A 1960's ford falcon owned in the late 80's....

It had no fabric over the seats, I had to use a blanket to cover the springs. The ignition didn't work so I had to jump the solenoid to start it up. It was painted olive drab and the tires were shot. It had 300,000 miles on it when I got it. All in all it served its purpose.

[baldguy]

28. POS all around

[MilesColtrane]

64. Wow...

That answers my question, "What if the special effects crew of Space:1999 designed a clown car?"

[krispos42]

90. Lewis Black did a bit about the Plymouth Horizon...

"This is a car that'll do 45mph with the wind. If you turn off the air conditioner, you can supercharge the little fuck to 48!"

:rofl:

[wildhorses]

29. 1975 chevrolet vega

:yoiks:

[swag]

101. My family owned one of those pieces of shit too.

Fortunately, it got creamed while parked on the street in front of our house.

[lost-in-nj]

30. I don't even remember the year

but I drove it in 1981 and it was old then
It was a gold Ford Fairlane with NO RADIO




lost

[cloudbase]

31. 1978 Olds 88 diesel.

Incredible engine and transmission problems that disappeared after a conversion to a gas engine and a new tranny.

[Mojambo]

32. Datsun B210 Hatchback

I'll spare you the photo.

[Robeson]

33. AMC Gremlin....

...total crap.

[Archae]

35. And I had a 1971 Gremlin...

And it was the BEST car I ever had.

Straight 6.
No back seat room, but I never rode in the back seat.

Especially if it needed any maintenance, I could actually climb all 6 feet of me into the engine compartent if needed!

Just *TRY* that nowadays is the latest cars! :wow:

Lost it, when I was hit head on in it by a Buick.
(You bet I was busted up but good!)

[LibDemAlways]

46. My husband bought a 73 Gremlin. Total POS. He kept

it just over a year, and it was already developing engine and transmission trouble. Traded it in for a little Honda and never looked back.

[MilesColtrane]

34. 1985 Chevy Blazer

Two years into owning it I felt like taking it apart piece by piece and force feeding it to Roger Smith.

[Broken_Hero]

36. 1995 Ford Windstar Minivan....nt

[Catshrink]

37. Renault Alliance a.k.a. "The Appliance"

One day I was driving on the highway and my car seat came unbolted! Cue the "fat ass" jokes.

[Archae]

69. What was worse...

Renault's "Le Car."

"Le piece of shit." :-)

[Poiuyt]

103. I had a Le Car once

I kept it for about a year and then sold it to a friend. It then promptly fell apart. I actually liked the car, but man! was it poorly engineered!

[Digit]

39. I've had a few...1980 Diesel Rabbit

Ford Cortina
1966 Fiat (it would die whenever it rained)
1984 Dodge Caravan (transmission, then engine, then transmission again)

That is when I purchased a used 1992 Honda Accord at a Toyota dealer because I did not like the Camry. For one thing, being 4'11, the hump in the dashboard impaired my vision. Secondly, they had mostly used cars with leather seats and gold emblems on the outside. I refused to pay more for leather seats and gold emblems as they did not interest me one iota. In fact, I hated the gold emblems on the vehicle.
Anyway, my Accord was the most trouble free car I have ever owned. I sold it finally in 2005 for $3,500.

[SeattleGirl]

40. 1970's era Pinto. Mine never caught fire, but my mom saw one that had.

My daughter was only a couple of weeks old when mom saw that burnt out car (three girls died in the fire), and she ordered me to get rid of the car. Can't say I blame her (and mom is not bossy). I did get rid of it, and got a different vehicle. Can't remember what it was, but it wasn't prone to exploding.

[krispos42]

89. In "Motor Trend" a 1976 Pinto just sold for almost 13k

Only 7 or 8 thousand miles on the odometer. In good shape, apparently.

The original owner must have been someone like your mom... :-)

[Writer]

41. You will not believe this, but a 1990 Lexus ES250...

bought for 8K in 1995. By the end of the year I had a folder an inch thick of maintenance work.

[SoCalDemGrrl]

43. The MAZDA RX with the Rotary Engine - UGH!!

I bought it because it was supposed to be revolutionary technology

that would eliminate CO2 emissions, but alas they were recalled...

[Lindsey]

44. It's a toss between a piece of crap Ford and a Chevette n/t

[Archae]

70. I had a RX-3 from Mazda

Like this one.



Tiny car with a rocket engine.

Got horrible gas mileage.

[Poiuyt]

102. The early rotaries were bad, but I had an RX-7 that was one of the BEST cars I've owned

[KitchenWitch]

45. 1981 Mazda 626

Had power everything, and unfortunately the power doorlocks froze both my front doors shut, I had to get in the car through the back doors and over the back of the front seats.

[usaftmo]

48. Toyota Soarer

The timing belt broke a month after shipping it from Japan to Panama, and I couldn't even get the part from a dealer! The broken belt was original equipment, and the part number was still visible...still no help from multiple Toyota dealers.

A few months later while on leave here in the States I brought the broken belt with me and went to several Toyota dealers. At every dealer I went to I said the part would probably have to be special ordered from Toyota headquarters (in Japan), and I am willing to pay 100% of the cost up front (including shipping)...still no cooperation!

The closest thing I got to cooperation was being told the part would be special ordered if I can prove the car is physically in the United States. What does that have to do with anything?

This experience has completely soured me on Toyota. My family has always bought GM, and I have continued in that tradition while in the States. It's hard to avoid Toyota or Nissan while living in Japan.

[greymattermom]

50. chevette

1976 I think. A large hole appeared in the floor and we totaled the car after getting drenched because of a puddle. Not even 100K miles.

[cobalt1999]

51. worst mechanically...1964 Spitfire

It was a lot like dating a high maintenance model...pretty as hell, fun to ride, but eventually more effort than it's worth.

Woeful English engineering. Dual Carbs on a four cylinder engine that were next to impossible to keep sync'ed (why would anyone think that was necessary on a four cylinder engine?). Positive, yes, POSITIVE ground! If another car parked touching your fender, there was an immediate short circuit and you both had dead batteries (note to the english, just because you ride on the wrong side of the road doesn't mean you have to design backwards too). The remainder of the components were built with the strength of balsa wood, that included things like the AXLES! Then, I imagine for fun, the english decided to put U-joints between the differential and the drive wheels.

[lizziegrace]

72. Saw a bumper sticker on a triumph once

"The parts falling off this car are the finest Britain made."

:)

[terrya]

52. 1974 Chevrolet Vega

It was hideous beyond belief. It had an automatic transmission. Highway driving was a fucking chore, to put it mildly.

It practically started rusting the minute I left the dealership.

[ET Awful]

53. '90 Toyota Tercel

Complete piece of crap.

[malta blue]

57. I had one and I loved it....it went for 207k

until the third cylinder crapped out.

[ET Awful]

60. Mine went for about 40,000 miles and the crankshaft broke.

Maintained perfectly, Toyota wouldn't give me any help because it was 3 months and 4,000 miles out of warranty.

[MissMillie]

56. 1989 Mercury Tracer

Before it got to 100K miles, it was looking for a 3rd (no that's not a typo... I didn't say 2nd, I said 3rd) engine.

[malta blue]

58. 1998 Honda Civic

Not necessarily the car - just the bad karma associated with it. Three accidents in 7 months, none of them my fault, ALL of them while pregnant with little MB.

[mikeytherat]

59. Not mine, but my parents' 1978 Plymouth Volare

The day we drove it off the lot, the front bumper came off and we drove over it (this was about as big an automotive omen as I've ever seen). Also, when you made left-hand turns, the car would often die and could not be restarted for about 10 minutes (almost as if left-hand turns resulted in vapor lock). When we finally sold it, a friend of dad's showed up and wanted the car; my father begged him NOT to buy it!

On a side note, Mrs. Rat's parents had a similar vintage VolAspen. We call it this because half of the badges and ID on the car say Volare, and the other half say Aspen (quality was Job 12 that day).

mikey_the_rat

[AwakeAtLast]

65. My uncle had a car that had two labels!

One side said "Impala" the other side said "Parisienne"

:rofl:

How is that possible!

:rofl:

[av8rdave]

61. 1984 Pontiac Fiero yeah, I was a sucker...

[RebelOne]

62. An English Ford Cortina. I forget the year.

But that car had no power whatsoever and whenever it rained the engine stalled out.

[Haole Girl]

63. Ford Pinto

People didn't tailgate me though! ;-)

[AwakeAtLast]

66. '93 Pontiac Grand Am

Can't believe I actually bought another one in '96!

I have a great Toyota Camry now! :hi:

[baldguy]

79. I had a '95 Grand Am

It was a good car - until the tree fell on it.

[reyd reid reed]

67. 1974 Ford Maverick

Piece of shit. I hated that car.

:scared:

[Zavulon]

68. 1981 Camaro

Good: last year of the big Camaros with the body style I liked.

Bad: first year of a new experimental engine with a computerized carburetor. Nothing but problems. I eventually yanked the piece of shit out and put a real engine in it, but only after months of saving up.

[montanto]

71. 1988 Dodge Daytona

engine blew the first time at 7000 miles. second time around 14000, got rid of it before it could get me again.

[jobycom]

73. Prehistoric Fiat whose front seats wouldn't bolt down.

I was fifteen, and had just gotten my license. I don't know the year model, it was something my dad bought for me at a junkyard. The back end was smashed, so I had to wire some replacement taillights and duct tape them to the body. The front seats had been removed, so we found a couple of seats that didn't quite fit. The driver's seat had one bolt to hold the seat, so it swiveled around. The passenger seat wasn't bolted at all, so it tilted backwards when we took off, and forward when we braked. It had a bad engine mount, so the clutch cable kept snapping, so I had to shift it without a clutch at times. My dad was a former service station owner, so he had some friends who would give him inspections stickers without actually seeing the car.

I'll never forget, the first time I drove it around town, the clutch cable snapped, and I drove it the rest of the night anyway, with my friend rocking back and forth in the passenger's seat. When I got it home and told my dad what I'd done, he got upset and said "Son, you might have ruined a really good car."

[JCMach1]

76. 1981 Chevy Chevette

Worst ever in every way!

[Capn Sunshine]

77. as an aside, wagons are hot in collector world now

I would LOVE to have a '64 Mercury Colony Park with the sky window

[catmandu57]

80. 1974 dodge dart the money pit

That thing ate balast resistors for breakfast and electronic brains for lunch, I chased electrical gremlin after gremlin put more money into it than it was worth if I'd been smart I would have dumped it when I had the chance, but I was trying to prove that I could keep a car.
I bought it used for 700.00 and nine months and 3000.00 dollars later I declared it the winner and gave up.
At least I was a world class hitchhiker back than so I didn't mind standing on the road, can't say that I was thrilled at why I was standing there, but I found myself there regularly because of that pos.

[Joe Fields]

81. 1986 Cutlass Calais...

Had engine design problems, and was in the shop more than out.

[spinbaby]

82. A Volvo

An 850. I think it was 1993 vintage. It was a real dog. The doors fell off. Well, not quite, but they didn't make the hinges strong enough to support the doors so eventually they started to sag and make horrible noises. Cost a fortune to fix. Add in the bum transmission, the fumes in the passenger compartment, and the way it generally fell apart, it was honestly the worst car I've ever owned.

[SoxFan]

83. '88 Chrysler LeBaron

Oh, it looked sharp, and it was very comfortable, which certainly came in handy while you were sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck. This POS blew two CV joints in less than a year, then finally croaked when the engine inexplicably seized at midnight on I-93 just north of Boston.

[Presidentcokedupfratboy]

84. A 1987 Chevy Celebrity

This car made crap look good. It was the GW Bush of cars.

[TK421]

85. A 1991 Ford Tempo

man did I celebrate when that POS got junked

[SacredCow]

87. 1980 VW Rabbit C

But to be fair, I think the people I bought it from did absolutely no routine maintenance.

That said, it was the last "pre-owned" car that I bought.

[krispos42]

88. 1987 Suzuki Samurai

Could only break 65 going downhill. Heater barely worked. No AC. Thin panels. Cheap cheap cheap. And God save the poor soul that had to be in the back seat.

Went good in the snow, though. And being a convertable was nice. And when that Oldsmobile hit me, I walked away. The Samurai flipped over, but I walked away. Roll bar.

All the others have been okay.

[smitty]

91. A 1980 Chevrolet Citation, a truly awful automobile.

[Hawkeye-X]

94. '81 Buick Skylark

that my dad bought for $50.

It leaked steering fluid every 500 feet, and needed to refill it every 2 miles or so.

Pain in the ass. Dumped it for a Mercury Zephyr which I crashed later, while stoned.

3rd car was a black Chevy Nova I loved, also met its fate with a bumper of a big-ass truck.

4th car - '00 Toyota Echo - sold it.

Current car - '04 Honda Accord. Love it, car'll be paid off next year! :woohoo:

[BreweryYardRat]

95. My current one. '89 Volvo 240 DL station wagon.

Just got done with a $700 repair job, and it still needs another $100 of parts and labor.

And the A/C, which was a major focus of the repairs, is only partially working. I could probably fill it to overflowing with coolant, and the damn thing still wouldn't stand up to a Florida summer.

[DS1]

98. As far as getting laid, definitely my Renault LeCar

but it was good, and fun.

I can't say I've ever owned a shit car.

[SammyWinstonJack]

100. A 1968 MGB Midget....it caught on fire a lot ...LOL. Backfired through the carburetor.

I had to lift the bonnet and throw sand on it, to put the fire out. :silly:

[donco]

104. 1952 Jagaur

sorriest POS I,ve ever owned,temp was below 60 degrees it wouldn't start.Mine was black,had two tanks on it, need both full if you ever wanted to go over a couple of hundred miles, and then you were taking a chance on breaking down.If that happened better grab your ass, because it will cost that, and some more, for repairs.