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What's the worst car you ever owned?

#161
Pics? In the states the Escort was only sold as a hatch.

I drove an 86 for years. Gave it to my brothers who drove it into the ground, at which point I took it back. Put $500 into it - which included a new stereo and a set of new tires and all the maintenance parts: hoses, belts, fluids - and drove it til I got married and left it behind. It was actually a great car.
 
#168
Bob Lee (QSC) said:
I thought I remembered there being an Escort station wagon, too.
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My parents had an Escort wagon. '93. They went through multiple automatic transmissions on it.

Girlfriend's '02 Pontiac Grand Am has a lot of annoying expensive issues as well. Light bulbs cost $75 for a dealer to install because one has to remove the entire front fascia to get to it.:rolleyes:

Hers also has electrical/computer issues that cause it to lock it up in a security mode. Spent over a grand towing it to local dealers after getting stranded and paying for "solutions" before finally getting an honest guy to show us the key security reset procedure that allows you to drive it normally again after waiting patiently for 10 minutes. It's not fixed but at least waiting 10 minutes every blue moon is $500 cheaper a pop and far less frustrating than being stranded and having the dealers misdiagnose it.:spit:
 
#169
Heathen said:
I'm surprised anyone else has had the Trabant experience. My Grandad has one from the early 80s, and you still see them around in the former Soviet bloc. Of course, that's disregarding the shells of many a former Trabant currently rusting peacefully in my Grandad's back yard :rolleyes:
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Had to google it....

Trabant_Limousine_front_corner1.jpg



I'm down.
 
#170
Rickengeezer said:
'86 Fiero here...the V6 model. Bought brand spanking new, left me stranded 600 miles from home when the clutch burned out at 2,500 miles. According to Pontiac, not covered under warranty because it was a "wear item". Ultimately went through 6 clutches in 22,000 miles, and went all the way up the Pontiac administrative hierarchy only to be told that I needed to learn how to drive a manual transmission better.
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I would cite operator error as the cause of your many clutch failures. My son has owned many Fieros (and still has an 88 GT) and even as bad of a driver as he is has not burned up clutches at the rate you did.
 
#172
The biggest POS I ever owned was my first car, a 1980 Chevrolet Camaro. It was about 9 years old when I bought it, but it only had about 70K on it. Typical of those cars, and factoring in the age, everything rotted, broke, fell off, burned up, rattled, died, blew up, melted, or had to be replaced. At least I feel now I could tear a second generation Camaro down to every nut and bolt and know where everything goes. I only kept it for 7 years.......

Coming in at #2 was my 99 Silverado 1500 4X4. Every time you turned around something didn't work. I hated that truck with a passion. It had to be towed more than any vehicle ever should because half the time it would not run or start. It leaked crap everywhere, the electrical system worked when it wanted to, it was a nightmare.

#3.....1994 Chevrolet S-10 4X4. Fun truck to drive, but a total turd. With the v-6 and the 5 speed it was kinda peppy, but again...spent as much time in the shop as it did on the road.
 
#174
Mike N said:
I would cite operator error as the cause of your many clutch failures. My son has owned many Fieros (and still has an 88 GT) and even as bad of a driver as he is has not burned up clutches at the rate you did.
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That same attitude cost GM any business from me for the rest of my life. I've had numerous other manual transmission vehicles and I average at least 60-75k per clutch. Furthermore, the initial clutch failure (at 2,500 miles) occurred as follows: (1) depress clutch, (2) feel something inside the clutch mechanism "snap", (3) smell clutch burn to cinders. I would challenge your son to attempt to replicate that with "operator error". The clutch assembly was clearly defective and was never properly repaired--it continued to burn through replacements at about one every 2,500 miles. I could probably ride the clutch in my Mazda continuously for 2,500 miles and not put a dent in it.

Maybe by '88 they worked the kinks out of the clutch assembly, but '86 was the first year of the V6 and I have a strong hunch that they simply used the same materials from the 4-cylinder version, which wasn't up to the job. Regardless, if your son drives a Fiero he has my condolences. He just better hope he never purchases my old one.
 
#176
dmusic148 said:
Sounds like the springs fatigued and broke, allowing it to slip. The slippage would be most likely to occur in top gear on the freeway where you might not notice. That'll kill it quick.
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But 6 times in 22k miles? Hard to imagine I could be that unlucky with defective springs. Something was off in that car, and various dealers never seemed to address the problem--they just treated it as "normal wear" and put in new plates, which would last about 2 months.

I don't think it's a coincidence that both the Fiero and Pontiac aren't around any more.
 
#177
Land Rover 110

Without a doubt the most unreliable, useless pile of scrap I have ever had the misfortune to own.

Every trip was fraught with worry about what would go wrong next, from the driver-side brake seizing-up so badly the the wheel actually stopped turning. The condenser mysteriously failing half way across a four-way intersection, the detonating muffler, the clutch, the electrics (all at once and then one at a time) and the leaking roof seals.

Never, ever again.

The Citroen Dyane we bought as an emergency measure for when the Landie refused to start (often) was about 1000 times more reliable and was actually better cross-country.
 
#178
Worst car was an 86 Crapelier. Nothing about it was good. At one time four of us friends owned one at he same time, all different years and models. The only thing they had in common was they were all crap, all had numerous breakdowns and malfunctions, and all found their way into junkyards.

Second worse was a 76 Audi station wagon. Really just a rebranded VW. Motor went out, transmission went out, constant problems with the fuel injection. In dry weather it handled like a sports car, the slightest bit of dampness, snow, whatever and you felt lucky to get wherever you were going.

Worse I ever rented was a Plymouth Acclaim. Rented it for a class work sent me to in Illinois. Less than 5,000 miles when I picked it up. Left Lincoln and it broke down on the interstate before I got to Omaha. When the rental company brought another one the guy looked it over and said "The fuel pump is out, happens to these all the time." How can a fuel pump going out at 5,000 miles be considered normal? No wonder they aren't a company any more. The replacement had nothing to recommend it, wind whistled in every door, wandered all over the road, loud loud loud road noise. Just an incredibly inept piece of technology.
 
#179
Though I loved for awhile, I'll say our 1995 Jett GLX VR6 was the worst. It drove wonderfully -- albeit after expensive suspension mods -- but had serious reliability issues and was in full disintegration mode by around 80k miles. The body flexed so much over normal bumps that it would break the seal around the door, and I could hear air coming in. I'd have a difficult time buying another VW/Audi after that, even though I know they've improved.
 
#180
1993 Ford Tempo. My 2nd car, I was 19 or 20? when I got it. My first car was an '87 Le Baron that took a giant crap on me in the parking lot at work and the cost to repair it was more than the car was worth.

But in hindsight, I should have gotten it fixed rather than get suckered into buying a Ford Tempo (that my former stepdad the mechanic and asshat said was "mechanically great" after he checked it out... ) which I spent.....lots...of money fixing. Constantly.

On the flip side, I've had the same 1999 Saturn for 10+ years now and have never had any major issues. But it is getting pretty old and it won't be long now before it just pukes...so I may have to trade it in towards something. Good car though, definitely got my money's worth and then some from it, and I bought it lightly used for 8k.
 

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