Let's foster some discussion shall we? I wanna know what the worst car you have ever owned is. I, personally have owned many terrible cars and it's hard to pick the worst one. Maybe the Ford Taurus wagon that had the wrong door on it? (Tied on with twine! It rained in my car if it was raining!! I had to hop the center console to get out!!) Or maybe my first car, the Plymouth reliant that was anything but, I was in an accident with it and was sandwiched but couldn't afford a new car so we just kinda.. Pulled it straight? Or or.... Maybe it was my first Impreza with the busted ass diff that made all sorts of crazy howling noise and made my whole car stink like I had bathed in gear oil? I'm sure you folks have stories that can top this, and damnit I wanna hear them! Now.... Go!
I had a mazda 626 sedan that i called “the bucket”. If you slammed the door too hard the window would drop inside the door. And it always smelled like a belt was on fire. Edit:i payed $500 cash for it and sold it a year later for $500 cash. Which didn’t suck.
I guess the STi, since I bought it from a jackass that misrepresented the car and the valve guides went out on the way back from Iowa with it... hasn't driven under its own power since.
Let's see: I had a Mazda 323 sedan. I bought it for 1000 bucks off some scummy car lot just outside of the Navy base in San Diego because I had some awkward and disturbing bus rides to the beach and decided I wanted to not have that anymore. The suspension was worn out, so for such a tiny car it rode like a boat. And it smelled like someone dumped a gallon of armor-all into the carpet...but not in the good way. More in the "it smells like the armor all is still wet, and it's been there for a few weeks so it is getting musty." Strangely enough, one of the most underrated cars I "owned" was my first company van down in San Diego. It was a 2002 GMC Safari van. The only thing I didn't like was that it was built before the concept of "hide-away seating" was popular, so in old van fashion, the entire bench would come out of the vehicle and had to be stored somewhere. The driver sat almost on top of the front axle, so the front wheel wells would protrude into the driver's footwell, which was obnoxious. But it was still a super cool ride for what it was. I don't want to give my first car too much ****. It was a 1989 Pontiac Sunbird coupe. With the little corroded luggage rack on the rear decklid with an integrated spoiler. The car wasn't terrible, it suffered from the same problems most GM cars do. Crap interior, dull handling, Fisher-Price dashboard components. However, I got rear ended while waiting to make a left hand turn on a two lane road by a Volvo doing 40mph. The moron that hit me tried to blame me for it (the police thought otherwise) and fought for months to keep her insurance from paying for the repairs. Still don't know how that even happens. Car was still driveable, but the rear end was mushed. The trunk had to be held shut with bungee cords, and since the tail lamps were broken, I had some cheap walmart flashlights jammed into the rear spoiler and held down with duct tape. Taped over the lamp itself was pieces of a transparent red project binder that I found in the school supplies aisle. These were my night time running lamps, and I had to manually go out and switch them on at sunset. Oddly enough, my brake lights still worked fine.
Unfortunately, it has to be my 4Runner. It's blown up 2 toyota 22RE engines (due to careless/clueless POs, but still). And it's current configuration has left me stranded more often than not. I've owned the thing for more than 10 years, and driven it about 1500 miles. Since I've never been able to get this engine to run right, I never bothered to weld up the exhaust (slip fittings and clamps in a few places), or the center console/shifter boots. As a result, I have a sweatshirt wrapped around the shifters to keep the exhaust fumes out of the cabin.
2002 Cadillac SLS. Electronics had a mind of their own (par for the course for any older Caddy I think) - blower motor would randomly turn on heat full blast (in mid-summer mind you) and could not be turned off/adjusted unless you just turned off the car, gauge cluster would light up like a Christmas tree, speedo didn't always work, steering wheel had a fairly sketchy amount of up-and-down and side-to-side play. She "rode like a Caddy" though. I actually ended up trading that car in for my first Subaru - 1991 Loyale
All of them. Cars are dumb and they all suck in one way or another. From worst to... least... worst... Worst: 2001 v6 rwd Ford explorer. Traded my v8 4x4 to Josh's brother for his POS bc he needed a more reliable car and I wasn't using my explorer at the time. Ended up donating it rather than addressing the millions of things wrong with it. This was the definition of a throwaway car from beginning to end. Also terrible but not the worst: 2000 v8 Ford explorer. Winter beater that I got for something like $1000. Constantly chasing down something wrong with this car. It was one of those fix one thing then another pops up immediately scenarios. Slightly less terrible: 2000 bmw 528 wagon. Similar to above but at least it was fun to drive. Super smooth manual trans as well. Marginally less terrible but still horrible: 1984 Nissan Stanza wagon. My first car and a hand me down , hand me down. It was somehow not totaled after running throw a deer at hwy speed when my parents owned it. Not sure how my sister managed to not kill it. Auto trans slipped going into 2nd so it constantly felt/sounded like I didn't know how to drive a manual. Total POS tin can that I almost flipped on several occasions... allegedly. Somehow managed to not completely kill it myself despite plowing into a tree when said trans slipped and re-engaged mid-corner. Def a cockroach of a car. Pretty decent but a thief magnet 1993 Honda accord lx: My college car. Never had an issue with it but I resent it bc I sold my supra for this (more practical) car. Manual trans so never had a trans issue. Somehow never had to deal with the captive rotors either. It got broken into no less than 3 times. Just barely not-ok 2007 Subaru STi. Bought it new bc I didn't want to deal with a modded used STi. Naturally, the stock motor blew at 8k miles. Had to shop around forever to even get a test drive (but at least I ended up getting a test drive unlike the evo I was cross shopping). Actually decent and mostly content with it 2006 Subaru wrx. My first new car purchase and my first "grown up" car. Got broken into twice so owning it was always an adventure. Pre-brotard subaru so no real complaints. Fun till it popped a coolant hose 1984 Mazda rx7. Main complaint is liking it too much to get rid of but not liking it enough to invest any time/money into. Haven't even really driven it but it's already a headache 2002 Subaru wrx. Bought it broken (blown headgasket). On one hand there were a ton of little things that needed to be addressed, otoh that wasn't totally unexpected. Neutral about this car so far. Also fun till it blew up 1989 Honda Civic SI. Also bought this one as a throwaway car. Blew up the second event I took it to but still feel like I got my money's worth, all said and done, considering how cheap it was and how much fun it made my commute having DDed it for about a year. Super fun commuter so I can't hate this one at all. Only hate it bc of rust 2000 Toyota 4runner. Wanted to drive this one into the ground. Bought it from my parents who bought it new and drove it 170k miles over 12ish years. MN salt eventually destroyed the frame. Only hate it bc patient zero 1987 Toyota Supra. Definitely caught the mod bug from this when I bought it ~1998. Miss it considerably 2000 2.5RS (and svx). Got it for stupid cheap. Loved it. Swapped in a H6. Loved it more. Probably should have never sold it. Biggest complaint is I'll never be willing to pay to for another one based on current prices. Zero complaints aside from not making the time to enjoy it more 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo. Only real complaint is other people when driving this car. At 10 years it's the longest I've ever owned a single vehicle. No complaints yet 2017 Toyota 4runner TRDOR. Time will tell. Only thing I hate about it is that it does everything so well and every time I want to mod it, it reminds me it doesn't need to be modded. Good problem to have, I guess.
This. It is unbelievable how designers at the same manufacturer can get some things so right yet other things SO wrong (especially when other companies can get them right...but yet other things wrong).
I can honestly say I've never had a bad vehicle. Just lucky I guess. But I will say that every vehicle got used and abused and was probably a terrible vehicle for whomever had it after me.
By far the worst was my '98 Audi A4 2.8L. Money pit. I was on point on all the maintenance, and it still kept crapping out on me. Bought it for 9k, and over 6 years, I probably put around that same amount into fixing it. 1-Rear differential grenaded on it. 2-Brake line blew when I was driving it 3-One of the 6 front control arms broke 4-Oil pan cracked (from idiot at Firestone overtightening the drain plug) 5-PRNDL switch got waterlogged (from same guys at Firestone) 6-Exhaust had a couple of leaks by the flex tubes 7-Power steering had a leak (had to put all mineral PS fluid in it, which was about 2-3x what normal fluid costs) 8-Crappy painted interior (plastic is painted, and when it rubs off...IT WILL RUB OFF...shows the white plastic that they make the interior out of) 9-Same exact parts as a Passat, but since it's an Audi, they have different part numbers, so therefore 2-3x the price. 10-Battery died on it, had to crawl in through the passenger side, since the drivers side lock is 100% electrical. I was thinking of keeping it, until I found out to get everything in tip top shape, I'd have to dump another 4k into it...granted it was Imola Motorsports, so I'm sure their prices were severely inflated. Sold it for 2k. They're great until they hit about 110-120k, then everything starts breaking on them.
I think the worst I ever owned was a 05 Sebring convertible. The transmission would slip on occasion (yay Chrysler!) the top was worn and the windows/doors needed adjustment so it was loud down the freeway with the top up. It was the most difficult and crazy design to replace the headlight bulb... it took so much longer than it should have. Well, my 13 crosstrek wasn’t great when it had some issues the dealer couldn’t solve and lost all its handling on snow. That was fun. It was really in for repairs more that a car of that age and mileage should have been.
I've never really had a true beater car. The closest was in high school I had an 87 Cutlass supreme that was not perfect but I liked it even if it wasn't the turbo Buick I dreamed it was. It was still an 80's G-Body that I still love to this this day. The worst one is still my favorite vehicle to date. 2016 Polaris Slingshot-In perfect condition it is still probably a deathtrap. Throw in the build quality and fit/finish(ill fitting plastic everywhere!) Now add to that the many recalls including but not limited to-the fuel line that may rupture causing a nice little fire, the swingarm that was replaced due to possible bad casting potentially leading to losing the one and only drive wheel, seat bases with missing/bad welds, faulty seatbelts....Minor things! That said, it really does combine my love for being out in the open on a bike and the fun of driving a sporty car. I'll take my chances with the deathtrap.
Truth. And it’s that experience that makes the wife pretty anti subaru at the moment. We’ve spoken a bit about replacing the outback with an ascent and she is leaning very hard for a highlander. (She’s put 230,000 on her Toyota with only usual wear and tear replacemnts)
2009 GMC Acadia - DO NOT GET AN ACADIA, OUTLOOK, ENCLAVE, TRAVERSE - EVER! Supposed to be our family car. We bought it used at 89k miles. Down 2 quarts of oil after the first month, no puddles, just burning it in pcv. Now always checking oil. Next a low oil pressure warning which turned out to be just the sensor and again after a few months. Then things went really bad. Just put new tires on and on the way home, misfires, lost bank one. Turned out to be shorted coil pack, blew out the fuse. A month later (in January) on the way to the Dells with my kids, it quits on the interstate. Tow it in and they call it clogged catalytic converters. Fine, put on new GM ones. Still not running right. Take it in again, now it's skipped timing chain $4k job because they have to drop the engine cradle, Ugh! Not long later, spring/summer it quits while driving and doesn't restart without a few turns of the key. I replace the starter. Also has low oil pressure at idle. Eventually looking at trading it in and while at a dealer it pulls this stunt again. They get us going and at the next dealer happens again. We leave it with them in Winona and they give us a loaner. Now its the fuse block. Wife picks it up with the kids and it happens again, low oil pressure and quits at a stop light. Takes it back and they have no idea what's wrong but want to take the engine out to investigate. No, we'll just take it home. We traded it in last summer for a suburban and took what they offered for trade in, good riddance. /rant
I'm having a hard time remembering exactly what it was. A Dodge 600, maybe? Some huge POS Chrysler product for sure. Clearly the head gasket was failing and the PO had dumped a can of that sludge that temporarily plugs the gaps and sold it to me. Let loose less than 2 weeks after I bought it, and I was totally broke, living on friends' couches. I had just gotten my first real job after college. During the job search, my '81 Ford Crown Vic's engine seized (that was actually a good car for many years, mostly for my friend who sold it to me though). Bought the Dodge as a desperation move. I ended up having to mooch off of friends for another couple of months while I drove a car borrowed from my parents (think an early 80's Ford Granada Coupe?) which tossed a clutch during that time too. Anyhow, I saved up enough to put down a down payment on a brand-new '93 Nissan Sentra SE-R, which got totaled two months later in a flash flood... The SE-R that replaced that was probably my favorite car of all time though.
Yeah, for sure. And the highlander is pretty established in the used market so I’m sure if we go that route I can find the equipment I want at the price I wanna pay. I’d love to get me hand on another convertible. But no Chrysler’s ever.
My worst car that I ever owned was a 1984 Audi 4000 Quattro, what was left of it, anyway. No radio, no a/c, power windows didn't work until I figured out the wires had been cut at the door junctions, no muffler, stuck brake caliper, the list goes on. It actually had the throttle cable disconnect from the gas pedal while traveling through the Lowry Tunnel one evening, I was able to get it to the left shoulder of 94EB and spent about 20 minutes working blind under the dash but was able to get it reconnected. It finally died on me and I was able to bid that POS adieu. 2nd worst was also one of my favorite cars that I've owned (when it worked), a 2010 Taurus SHO. I bought one that was 2 years old as a lease return with 24k miles on it. In 50k miles of ownership it went through: LF/RR wheel bearings, 2 power transfer units for the AWD system, RF/LR struts, brakes (pads/rotors) front and rear (It was delivered with new pads/rotors), a transmission valve body, torque converter, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It got to the point where it was going in with something wrong every oil change. When it worked, it was a great car. Fast, roomy and quiet...but when it got to the point where it was spending more time in the shop than it wasn't, it was time to go. I went to a Toyota 4Runner and never looked back.
That was the one part of the car that was working correctly...it disconnects to prevent the unintended acceleration phenomenon that Audi was experiencing around that time.
LOL, you bastard No, that was back in 2004 or 2005, whenever my first Subaru got stolen. Needed something cheap to replace it, that ended up being it.
Was it black? My uncle had an '84 4000S that he tried to sell me in about 2002, my parents wouldn't let me (I stopped asking after that ). I can't help wondering if it was the same car. I don't remember it having any of those issues, but I only drove it a couple times, and maybe someone owned it in between.
Jokes on them now. People think Brian's been working for the FD because he believes in the mission. Little do they know it's just his alibi.
First car, handed down to me. Worst? Maybe. But it could be because I was not very nice to it. Rusted, overheated, ran the tires bald until they finally gave up on the highway, the door latch rusted out so it was held closed with a bungee strap. Spent lots of time sideways on the backroads with this thing. I eventually sold it for $50 to a guy at the lumber yard, used that money to buy lumber for a new dock. Ended up selling the aftermarket WalMart radio a couple weeks later to the same guy for $100. I've always loved wagons.
Never got a ticket if that's what you're referring to. Did get a couple of warnings though, only one was for speeding. The speedo only went up to 90 but I definitely got it going faster than that.
I guess it would be my first car, a 1983 Grand Prix. Gotta love the G body cars! Although this car wasn't in bad shape body wise for $1200, I was young and didn't do inspect the car properly. We ended up putting more than what I bought the car for back into it within the first 2 months. All 4 tires, starter, alternator, thermostat, wheel bearing, and a leaky fuel tank. The lady actually sold a kid a car that leaked fuel at the seam of the tank. Nice. When we contacted her about it, she said she never filed it up more than half a tank. Yeah, I wonder why lady. Plus the power moonroof that "leaked only during a downpour," leaked all the time. Had to use silicone caulking to seal it up. Other than that, I drove the crap out a that thing, and it never failed me after all that. Learned some valuable driving skills in that rwd beast.
I think a lot of how we feel about a particular car is where we were in our life when we owned it and the life experiences we had with it. I owned three (slow learner) Mustang IIs back in my formative years. The '78 hardtop with the German V6 and three-speed automatic was probably the worst car I have owned (on the plus side it was the first car I had with air conditioning). It was "Chamois" in color (beige) with a plaid cloth interior. One of my all time favorites was the '77 Cobra II which was a 302 four-speed. Probably the low point for HP from the 302, but still had a respectable (for the time) amount of torque that would chirp the tires on the 1-2 upshift and the 2-3 upshift if the conditions were juuuuuust right.
