WORST car you've ever owned for whatever reason...

[MeanDean]

Not even sure what year it was. I think about a '71 Chevy pickup. Ran and started fine, but the brakes were never right. Very very dangerous to drive in winter as the back end would always want to pass the front end when you applied the brakes in slick conditions. The only safe thing to do was pop it back into neutral at every stop. I bought it to drive in winter to keep my good car out of the salt. Needless to say, I sold it before the next winter.

And I owned a '79 Pinto Station wagon. Bought it used in 81. First newish car I ever purchased. Had a bout 36,000 miles on it and it never left me stranded. Nice medium blue color with one of those foil shade scenes in the back window and little curtain rods on the sides. Wide oval bias ply tires were fine, but not in winter. I remember one Christmas morning I had to pull over onto a field entrance near my parents home. Then went to back out and those racing tires just spun on a little bit of snow on a perfectly flat surface. So I had to walk home in zero temps about 3/4 mile. I also remember pulling over in a rest area in TN on a trip to Florida and stretching out in the back for the night.

I kind of wish someone made a smaller 2-door wagon. I always liked the 2 door wagons.

 

[ItsCyence]

My 04 Hyundai Santa Fe, it has had more electrical problems than I should care to deal with. I could just get rid of it and drive my F-250 from home to college but, so far everything that has happened I've been able to fix.

 

[CyCloned]

This is too easy. FORD FREESTYLE. It had an "innovative" continuously variable transmission. Problem was, these transmissions were garbage, so they stopped making them. We found that out the hard way. Ours went out 2 years ago and it was going to take over 3 months to get one, so we sold the piece of crap with no transmission. It's the last Ford I'll ever buy.

I test drove one of these and walked away very disappointed. Noisey, rough ride, uncomfortable, hated that they put a 4.0 Liter engine in it, as the 3.5 in the Windstar was a big enough gas hog, and more motor than a minivan needs. Ford has had decent luck with the CVTs in the Escapes, Edges and Explorers, but I never liked the idea.

 

[rbrook]

1974 baby blue Ford Pinto with an automatic transmission and a/c. Had to turn off the a/c to pass anyone, Always wanted to put V-8 in it. They made motor mount kits to do that then. Probably good I didn't. Traded it for 1979 Mustang. Got my V-8 then. That Mustang was real front heavy. Can't imagine what the Pinto would have been like.

 

[00clone]

1995 Buick LeSabre. It ran great, but the AC and CD player were both shaky (got it used in 2009). It had some of the typical things go wrong that weren't a major deal (just minor electrical stuff), but then I started hearing this low-toned rattle behind me when I was driving. Turns out, the frame was almost totally rusted out and I was one decent bump from having a V8 rammed up my *** on the interstate.

Hmm, never knew the LeSabre was rear engined.

:wink:

 

[jbhtexas]

1995 Pontiac Bonneville. Bought it new. It had the great 3800 series II engine, but after the warranty expired, the rest of the car fell apart...electric window motors, alternator, water pump, power steering pump, tail light mounting studs breaking off, Ugh...

 

[alarson]

My 1993 chevy corsica. It literally lit itself on fire.

 

[cowgirl836]

My 1993 chevy corsica. It literally lit itself on fire.

we need to hear the story on this one!


mine was definitely the 91 Toyota Celica we got when I needed to get a car and apartment on about 5 days' notice sophomore year. Very low mileage and it did get me through 4 years......not without its issues though. The battery died a couple times, got that replaced and then the wires got corroded and it wouldn't start on random occasions. The best was the day I was going home for the wedding, was on the other side of town picking up the programs, got back out to the car.......wouldn't start. Had to walk to the grocery store to buy baking soda, water, and a toothbrush. That got the lights back on, but I still had to get a jump from a very nice gentleman who though we didn't speak the same language, clearly read the intense stress and dismay on my face!

The fuel gauge stopped working at some point - the little marker only went to half full and then down to empty. That worked out well one time when someone borrowed it and I forgot to mention that. They thought they were running on empty and filled me up, haha.

Power steering hoses leaked a couple times (that and fixing the battery corrosion are the only things I know how to fix on cars!) A/C never worked, the horn quit working, about three weeks into owning the car, the brakes went out in the middle of a tornado warning coming up to a 8 lane intersection.....that was fun!

It even got the last laugh - the day we were taking it back to my parents', DH was late getting home and I was sick of waiting so I left with my new(er) car to get to IL at a decent time. Two hours later I still hadn't heard from him. Called to find out that in a last act of defiance, my car, that had worked fine that morning, wouldn't start. Poor guy had to push it out of the parking spot to get it lined up to his car so he could jump it. He too cried no tears when we left that POS at home!
My mom let us know multiple times that they have never once had it not start for them!

 

[00clone]

we need to hear the story on this one!


mine was definitely the 91 Toyota Celica we got when I needed to get a car and apartment on about 5 days' notice sophomore year. Very low mileage and it did get me through 4 years......not without its issues though. The battery died a couple times, got that replaced and then the wires got corroded and it wouldn't start on random occasions. The best was the day I was going home for the wedding, was on the other side of town picking up the programs, got back out to the car.......wouldn't start. Had to walk to the grocery store to buy baking soda, water, and a toothbrush. That got the lights back on, but I still had to get a jump from a very nice gentleman who though we didn't speak the same language, clearly read the intense stress and dismay on my face!

One last hurrah, eh?

 

[ianoconnor]

1990 Chrysler LeBaron convertible. It was actually a pretty fun first car.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

Mine was a '83 Impala. I gave up my sweet Olds for that POS. Naive me thought that it would be a good car cause it only had 30,000 miles on it, in 2001. Needless to say, the thing ran like crap. Plus it ****-blocked me in college one winter day when I was taking a lady friend out. Car was covered in snow, so I hopped in to warm it up while I cleared the windows, and the thing sucked up a bunch of the snow and covered the inside of the car, and my date, in a fine layer of snow. I was happy to get rid of that thing, even if it was for a slightly less POS Ford.

 

[Rabbuk]

My 1993 chevy corsica. It literally lit itself on fire.

That thing could probably burn for days and be no worse for wear. My best friend had one in high school from around that year.

 

[cowgirl836]

One last hurrah, eh?

ha, yes! You're a married man, you should ask your wife about her stress level the days before the wedding. That was already a stressful day and the car not starting......I think DH knew I was close to cracking by the intense calm in my voice over the phone, lol. He chose his words carefully in that conversation! I was actually driving it to the mechanic's back home anyway - they were going to work on it while we were on our honeymoon. I wanted them to just blow it up by the time I got there!

 

[MaccloNe]

1970 P​into.

 

[00clone]

ha, yes! You're a married man, you should ask your wife about her stress level the days before the wedding. That was already a stressful day and the car not starting......I think DH knew I was close to cracking by the intense calm in my voice over the phone, lol. He chose his words carefully in that conversation! I was actually driving it to the mechanic's back home anyway - they were going to work on it while we were on our honeymoon. I wanted them to just blow it up by the time I got there!

Oh, you mean like the stress level when the bridal store went out of business that she bought her dress and all bridesmaid dresses from...like a couple months before the wedding?

 

[cowgirl836]

Oh, you mean like the stress level when the bridal store went out of business that she bought her dress and all bridesmaid dresses from...like a couple months before the wedding?

yes. that. Did they get their dresses?!

 

[00clone]

yes. that. Did they get their dresses?!

She got hers, had to have the last fitting at another place. The bridesmaid dresses were too close to re-order and get fittings, so she found a style at Dillard's that ended up working. Didn't lose any money, but she lost a lot of sleep. Honestly, though, I'm glad I got a practical woman, I can't imagine dealing with a diva during that.

 

[cowgirl836]

She got hers, had to have the last fitting at another place. The bridesmaid dresses were too close to re-order and get fittings, so she found a style at Dillard's that ended up working. Didn't lose any money, but she lost a lot of sleep. Honestly, though, I'm glad I got a practical woman, I can't imagine dealing with a diva during that.

that's probably about as good as that could have turned out. I could have handled it if my dress were ok and the girls didn't lose money. I'd have been a sad and mad puppy if my dress turned into a no-go I've seen stories where the bridal salon burned down and brides just days out from the wedding lost their dress. That would suck a lot.

 

[jbindm]

My first and worst car was a 78 ford Granada. AM only radio, manual locks and windows, and the headlight dimmer was actually a button located on the floor. That car met its end when it overheated and caught fire. My second car wa s a 92,ford Thunderbird that crapped out with bad headgaskets at only 102,000 miles. I have a Chevy now with a transmission that had to be replaced at 70,000 miles. After this one I'm done with ford and Chevy. If I can squeeze my lanky *** into a Subaru that's my next car.

 

[boyd]

Ford Escort "Pony". So, take a 1990 Escort, and be like "can't you make it cheaper"? Didn't come with a radio, but had an aftermarket one when I bought it, that if you turned it all the way down, it would go around to all the way up. No power steering, much less power windows or AC. 5 speed manual. Red paint that wasn't clearcoated in a time when they went cheaper on the base paint because 'everything is clearcoated'...so you could wash and wax it to a nice deep red, and in a half hour, it was turning orange/pink.

And honestly, as a college kid who was paying his own way thru school, I was happy as heck to have it when my dad 'splurged' and got it for me.

Had one of those and loved it. Got 50 mpg. Been looking for another one ever since. It was trouble free.