What worst car have you bought ever?

[steeveshephord]

Hi to all,

I bought this one. Just look at this.

‘It’s a fun-size Audi TT! Only without the fun! In fact it was dreadful to drive – utterly gutless. But the worst thing was you felt such a prat driving it. When I went to drive it, I really did feel like Noddy and Big Ears.

[GreenZZZ]

I had an '84 VW Vanagon. The first year they did water cooled "wasserboxer" motors which had massive corrosion problems and the AC was a mechanical mess. Loved driving the thing, but it was awful mechanically. Going from a 240Z which is like driving the back seat to a Vanagon which is like driving on the front bumper is quite an interesting contrast. The only way to get real enjoyment into that hulk was a "Vanaru" motor conversion which drops in a nice performing pancake six Subaru engine.

All-in-all, it took me 15 years before I bought another German car.

[rdefabri]

I had a few really bad cars - '76 Pinto Wagon, 84 Dodge Aries K Wagon...but the worst was a '97 Geo Prism (Corolla). Normally, these cars are solid, but this particular car looked like it had been to hell and back. Primer gray hood, you couldn't open the car door from the inside, it rattled, it smelled...really a horror story...

[ConchZ]

In college, I briefly had an 84 Dodge Charger 2.2. I hated that thing. When I married my wife, she came with an 87 Plymouth Sundance. While we didn't have the expected mechanical issues with it, it was so underpowered that it wouldn't go up the mountains around Reno very well. My wife then bought a 95 Pontiac Sunfire. (why she likes the sun cars, I don't know. Maybe she'll get a Solstice next.) That car has to be the lowest quality vehicle I've ever owned. It was neat, when new, because it was one of the first 200 made of that body style, so it was unique for a long time. Over the years, it's had many small problems, but its worst sin is that interior and exterior trim parts just magically fall off of it, including both side mirrors. We still have it. It's our island car. We don't trust it to leave the island, but we don't worry where we park it, either. It's only got 115k miles on it, so it might last a few more years if I keep it up just a little. Holes are starting to rust in the roof, though. I gotta fill them, or it's going to start leaking soon.

[zlady]

My worst vehicle was a 1989 Jeep Wrangler. I loved the full door, hard top and soft top in black but this thing was the devil. Not long after it was bought the idle was never right. It was an auto but you had to drive it like a manual with two feet. Stalling often in dangerous places. We left it at many dealerships hoping they could fix it and never could. It was the last year before fuel injection. What a waste of money!!!

Then there was my first car a 1975 Mustang. Red with the white interior and four cylinders. For some reason this car had no power and some bad luck too. My third day driving with my new license I logically figured out if I picked up enough speed at the bottom of the hill by the time I was at the top I would be at the speed limit. The police officer waiting for me at the top wasn't as logical as I was.

Why do I always get in trouble with police officers in my red cars???

[MEZZZ]

I have always had good luck with cars and have bought the majority of them new, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Dodge Dakota 4X4,and beleive it or not, my current car, a 2005 Hyundai Sonata that has 69K trouble free and maintenence free miles on it right now but I will get to that car in a moment.

When gas started to climb, I dumped my 4X4 for a 2003 Hyundai Accent GT 5 door, a cheap, economical car. It was nicely equipped for the price, leather, power sunroof, etc.

11 months into owning it, my 3 year old spotted a black Jeep Wrangler and told my wife and I that he thought it was cool. Mommy said, Jimmy, do you want Daddy to get a black Jeep like that? Long story short, I traded in the Accent for a brand new 2004 Jeep Wrangler...

The soft top buffeted in the wind, it got terrible mileage, getting my son in and out of the back was a challenge. No power anything, the ride quality was awful. My wife (5 feet even) bitched about climbing in and out of it. Even the coolest part of it, taking the top down in nice weather required 5 minutes to drop and 10 minutes to put back up.

I ended up HATING the thing. One day after driving to Toledo from Cincinnati and back on business and getting beat to hell and back on the drive, I drove to a Hyundai dealer the next and bought my current Sonata. They were discounting them heavily and with the bath I took on the Jeep, it was the only thing that made sense at the time.

When I picked my son up that day at daycare, he asked what car it was, then asked "Why is it called a Hyundai". I told him if he wasnt in Daycare (at $760 a month) it would be called a Mercedes

Edited November 11, 2009 by MEZZZ

[Zak's Z]

When I picked my son up that day at daycare, he asked what car it was, then asked "Why is it called a Hyundai". I told him if he wasnt in Daycare (at $760 a month) it would be called a Mercedes

LOLLOL

I have 2 kids in daycare, Thats why my 2001 Honda is not an Infinity G37!

[Oiluj]

My worst was a used, early 80's Toyota Cressida. It seemed like the fuel injectors were normal wear parts with a 8,000 mile life span. Was very surprised given it was a Toyota. Dumped the car after 2 years.

[conedodger]

'70 something Chevrolet Vega Wagon. I was an undergraduate in Minnesota and it was my winter beater. It started throwing off clutch cables ever week. I just had to make it through the semester so at $40 something a pop plus a half hour under the car I would change them as fast as they would break. Turned out the body was rusted and cracked and it would flex and snap the line. Got the car for free but with all those clutch cables...

[Mikes Z car]

Worst car for me was a 61 Metropolitan. Had a nice tube radio that did work. Only problem was it was my first car and the exhaust kept falling off of the exhaust manifold. What I didn't know is that this can cause the valves to burn which did happen. I tried to drive it to school some 400 miles away and it ran so bad from the misfires from the burned valves that it wouldn't make it up this one big hill so I limped into a gas station and sold it to an attendant for $10. Poor guy, I still lay awake at night in thinking how he got screwed.

Mike

[d240zx2]

My worst car was a '68 Mercury Montego. Gawd, was it pretty. Red with black vinyl top and interior.

God married in it, and on the honeymoon trip everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) fell apart. The A/C failed, the front end decided to go it's own way, the brakes took a vacation....all this happened at 24,500 miles, just after the warranty expired. I traded it on a new Mercedes 230 sedan and never looked back. That Mercury was the last new US produced car I ever owned.

[psdenno]

The worst was the first Porsche 914 that I owned - a 1974 1.8 liter. I never drove it farther than I cared to walk home. I was on a first name basis with AAA tow truck drivers in my area until AAA threatened to cancel my membership. My apologies to the current owner. When it was stolen, I should not have reported it missing.

Dennis