What's the worst car you've ever owned?

[GrimJack]

Mine was a '77 Ford Pinto. I recall that I had to carry solvent with me at all times, because the gas tank was so badly rusted on the inside that the fuel filter would clog up within 30 miles... then I'd have to stop, pop the hood, pull out the fuel filter, flush it out with solvent, and plug it back it.

I paid a whole $50 for that car, and other than the constant battle with the fuel filter... and one instance where the automatic transmission fluid cooler lines rotted through... it actually got me around pretty well.

So, let's hear your story... what's the worst pile of junk you've ever bought, and why?

PS: Crying about your Supra in this thread is bad form!

 

[Poodles]

PS: Crying about your Supra in this thread is bad form!

Aw crap...

 

[shaeff]

e36 M3. LOL. Terribly built, interior rattles like crazy, and there's a plethora of things that routinely go wrong with them. If it wasn't so damn fun, I'd sell it.




My old beater '71 Chevy c-10 stepside was better built, and my Toyota Pickup has been put through the wringer and I can't kill that damn thing. Seems that if I look at the M3 funny, the next day it throws a hissy fit and something breaks.

 

[7Matt-GE]

um, 2002 honda civic. blew headgaskets worse than any 7m

 

[Supracentral]

Light Blue Metallic 1977 Chevrolet Chevette - rated at, get this, 53 horsepower - 4 speed manual trans. I got it for free.

Mods: It had a Burger King tray for a passenger floorboard. There was a 2x4 wedged between the trans tunnel and the kick plate behind the pedals so you had a place to put your feet. (No floor on the drivers side -- driving in the rain was a miserable experience...). The drivers seat was mounted to what was left of the floor on its right side, on the left side, 1/2 a cinder block was wedged between the seat and the rocker panel to hold the seat up on that side. The defroster and headlights were run through a standard household light switch and hotwired to the battery with nomex household wiring that ran out the passenger door and under the hood. The wipers did not work. The passenger door was held closed by a wire coat hanger and it had no passenger side window, it had plastic over it instead held on with duct tape. The windshield was cracked from one side to the other. The back tires were more bald than my dad's head. The front end shimmied and it pulled very hard to the left when you put your foot on the (manual) brakes. It had no air filter. I never changed the oil on it once, but I did add quite a bit. Could run about 45 on level ground - on some hills it would get down to 15 mph. The car did 55 going down hill if you were lucky, I think I almost hit 60 once and it nearly scared me to death. The clutch slipped. It burned about as much oil as it did gas.

Drove that POS to work through one very cold, wet, miserable winter.

When it died, I pulled up to the pumps in an out of business gas station and took the tag off of it and walked away. I left the drivers side window open, the door unlocked, the registration in the glove box and the keys in the ignition. It sat there for 2 years before someone bought the station and demolished it, and presumably had the car hauled off as scrap.

Yes, I have been that poor. Never again.

 

[Dirgle]

I had a Mercury Topaz (Ford Tempo) for about a year. The car itself never really broke down on me, I'm pretty good about preventive maintenance so that wasn't a real issue. However the build quality was abysmal, the little 4cyl was noisy, and underpowered. I usually got 13 MPG around town. The transmission took a decade and a half to change gears. It wasn't any individual thing that made it my worst car, but as a whole it was horrible. I always felt worse about myself after driving it.

 

[Kangae]

Is it bad that I've loved all the cars I've ever owned?

 

[Poodles]

As I've only owned 2 vehicles (my supra and my old truck) I can't really complain too much. Supra is a love/hate relationship. When it's running right (or at all :rofl: ), and it's on the right road on the right time, it's pure love. Watching it fall apart and having shit happen to it make me absolutely hate the bitch...

 

[HIGHSPEEDDIRT]

The worst car for me was a 88 v8 camaro, it was a perfect running car when i purchased it. Then for a solid month one thing after the next started to go wrong, all the gauges quit working , it started to leak oil, I had to literally adjust the hood twice a week because the fibre glass and the front end would keep changing shape. The lights started falling out of the thing, headlights, marker lights, taillights you name it. It was the worst experience with a car, and when finally I ran out of gas one day, I walked up to the first person I saw and said hey for 20 dollars that car is yours, here and now. Good riddance to bad rubbish, and that was the end of that.

 

[ForcedTorque]

Anything I have ever owned that was produced by what is now known as Gubment Motors has been/is pure shit! I had an 81 Firebird with a 305 V8 Automatic that seemed to have all the power of a stock 77 Celica, and it got 13-MPG or so. I hated that car. In 1985, I traded in my most prized 67 Mustang on a 1984 Chevy Cavalier, because I was tired of the constant maintenance. That car went through clutches every 3-4 months, and I was not rough on it at all. It was so cheaply built too. You could literally rock the seat backs 2-3 inches in each direction. We currently have a 2005 Trailblazer that is no better. Wind noise is aweful. Headlights (low beam only) take a break sometimes, so we have to use brights to see at night when it happens. CD player has a CD stuck in it. Gas gauge shows empty just after fill up, and sooner or later decides to do something, sometimes it seems close to right, others no even close. Speedometer occasionally takes a break as well. I have driven at 80mph (I can just feel it), with the speedo showing 10MPH. I have told the wife she will be single the next time she insists she has to have a GM vehicle.

 

[Nick M]

um, 2002 honda civic. blew headgaskets worse than any 7m

That is true of many cars.

Worst car I bought was a Chevette.

 

[r45marsh]

This is a real tossup, I started driving a panhead harley that my Dad took in trade for a car. I was never heavy enough to kick it into life. But was determined enough to push it up a small incline and pop the clutch. Dad's mechanics never ratted me out, (I only 'drove' it when he was away from the shop.) But soon after that he 'gave' me a '49 Studebaker 4door that he had painted white. It rarely made it off the 5 acres around the shop. After getting my license my Dad allowed me to 'fix' me Grandad's '56 Chevy Belair 4door hardtop. Loved that car, but the PAIN. Grandad bought it new and he and Grandma traveled all over in it. He traded it in to me dad for a new '61 Studebaker Lark. The '56 was then sold to my Dad's brother. When he finally couldn't drive it anymore he sold it my Dad and I got to 'fix. The car was still a 'looker' but could hardly move. No power. Pulled the engine and the little 265cid had three busted pistons, two actually had the wrist pins pulled from the pistons. I ended up completely rebuilding the engine and spendt the next 2 years changing carburation three times, (stock 4bbl, 3*2's); pulled powerglide and tried a three speed. Sounded hot as hell and never got any better than 8mpg. Left Iowa immediately after graduation for a summer in LA, bought my very own Citroen, All I really remember is that it used more oil than gas and the roof kept coming off, completely. Returned to Iowa in the fall and painted the Chevy Black. Spendt two years failing College and joined the Navy. After boot and training was transferred to ship homported in Yokosuka Japan, Wife and I bought a three year old Toyopet. Two cylinder pancake up front with a four speed on the column. Used to catch all kinds of crap from my friends which had opted for the FairLady Z. They used to say nasty things like it was the only car they had ever seen slow down during a power shift.

Final Score:
Panhead 0 Too much mental and physical stress.
Studebaker -5 Real POS
Chevy +2 Enjoyable, but I think my Dad just wanted to suck all the time and $$$ out a horndog.
Citroen -3 Rollerskates would have been more reliable, but it did get me and girlfriend to Disneyland a few times.
Toyopet -2 Cheap, but way too much crap from FairLady Z owners.

Final Thoughts, I really love my 1JZ MKIII, but I've had my share of troubles before I pulled the 7M-GTE and I just wish it were as reliable as my '46 1/2T Chevy. This not my truck, but how I expect to have it in another year.

[/IMG]

 

[tekdeus]

Is it bad that I've loved all the cars I've ever owned?

Ditto, and can easily happen if you've owned nothing but Toyotas. My first car was a '79 Corolla, then an 83 mk2, an 84 Mk2 and my Mk3. All have been ultra reliable; never an engine or tranny failure, no BHG, etc.

I did drive an '80 Chevette as a courtesy car for a cheap shop and I was blown away at how terrible it was compared to my Mk2!

 

[RazoE]

my 1993 240sx..

first car I ever owned, picked it up for $700, died on me on the way home...

it would start when it wanted, and it usually didn't want to. Once I turned it on, and the fuel rail dissolved, pouring gas like you wouldn't imagine, had to leave it at work, first engine rod knocked spontaneously after getting off the freeway, ruptured tranny line, spilling all my ATF (also found out the tranny takes NINE QUARTS OF OIL), distributor died while waiting for a left turn at midnight, luckily the only other car around helped me push, had to walk to my aunt's house to get my uncle to help, spun out multiple times due to a screwed up rear differential that'd lock up when it wanted...


still, I loved it to death, had it slammed on tien springs with super sticky tires, AEM intake, front and rear strut bars, full exhaust, swapped in a '96 KA24...

sold it to my best friend that loved it regardless for the same price I got it for, he fixed some issues, drove it for over a year, then it started giving him problems, he let it sit for a year, fixed the faulty ignition wires, and lent it to his bro who crashed it a month later. Still drove fine for another year, and eventually he sold it as well for $1000...

 

[GrimJack]

I did drive an '80 Chevette as a courtesy car for a cheap shop and I was blown away at how terrible it was compared to my Mk2!

Damn, I remember those too - did exactly the same thing, got one as a courtesy car. I remember that if you floored the accelerator, it would make a lot more noise, and swallow a lot more fuel, but it didn't actually go any faster.

 

[87mk111]

For me its a toss up between my first 2 cars. THe first being my moms old 90 Buick Lesabre. She got it when i was 10 for 3500 with 35,000 miles on it form some old lady. By the time i got it, It had 145,000 miles on it, and something broke every other week. Fuel pump went after i just filled it up. Water pum went after that. Threw a rod so me and my dad rebuilt the bottom end. Rod knocked a week later, pulled he motor and tranny for one from a 98 uick Lesabre, that one lasted afew months before teh eu went bad.

my 2nd car was an 89 Accord, 2.o 2 bbl carb, 97 hp. Ran fine for a year or two, and the the carb decided it didnt want to play nice anymore. Me and the dad rebuilt it twice, but couldnt the darn thing runing right, FInally sold it to a freind last winter for 100 bucks.

 

[tekdeus]

Damn, I remember those too - did exactly the same thing, got one as a courtesy car. I remember that if you floored the accelerator, it would make a lot more noise, and swallow a lot more fuel, but it didn't actually go any faster.

LOL. I recall the headliner lining drooping down like a sheet and resting on top of my head, messing my hair as I drove. Also reminds me of my sister's '80 Sunbird. If you pulled the inner door handle too fast to close the doors, the entire door panel would rip off.

 

[briggsy]

The worst car i have ever owned was a 1991 holden commodore.

It was an absolute piece of shit.

The worst points
- did not handle everytime you turned a corner it felt like it was going to roll
- the engine, it had the buick V6 that should just about sum it up
- the fine engineers at holden decided that hey " lets put 185/75/14 tyres on a large family car.
- the AC didnt have a drain port for the water to drain out side the car instead it would end up on your feet when you turned a corner.
- it was blue

the good point was it saved our lives when the little one came along unexpected, it cost me a case of beer to purchase, and it was reliable.

 

[te72]

For me it's a bit of a toss up, my first three cars were more or less rubbish:

-94 Cavalier 4 door: Damn hard to kill, that thing caught more air than some rally cars...
-89 240sx: $900 and I didn't know how to turn a wrench to save my life back then...
-80 Corolla fastback: ~325k+. Fun car though.

Then the cars I love/d:

-88 Mk3: n/a auto hardtop. Stupidly clean, cost me $1000 and taught me a LOT.
-89 Mk3: 7mbhg > 7mrk > 1jz (mistress in the sig)
-84 Mk2: ~215k 6m and reliable as sunrise. Love the slip angle on these cars, so much fun to drive in the snow...
-94 Miata: Accidentally dropped it into 2nd from the top end of 3rd. Nothing exploded except the sound barrier and my tach.
-00 Miata: Did the same thing and locked up the rear tires on the freeway at ~90mph, possibly the best car I've had overall, save for the completely un-supportive seats...
-79 Celica: Mint car w/ 110k original miles for $400? Loved it, never drove it though because of the auto trans...

Then... there's the elephant in the room.

2000 Camaro SS. I could probably go on for days about why this car is a piece of shit... My biggest three complaints though:

-Grand Am interior
-Sports car potential killed by solid axle... feels like a fat kid trying to jump hurdles if you change directions and happen to hit a bump midway through...
-For what I paid for it, I could have saved up a bit more for a c5 Vette... My fault on that last one.

 

[fixitman04]

e36 M3. LOL. Terribly built, interior rattles like crazy, and there's a plethora of things that routinely go wrong with them. If it wasn't so damn fun, I'd sell it.




My old beater '71 Chevy c-10 stepside was better built, and my Toyota Pickup has been put through the wringer and I can't kill that damn thing. Seems that if I look at the M3 funny, the next day it throws a hissy fit and something breaks.

that damn m3 sounds like my supra.

my worst was a 77 chevy 2wd pu, it was a mn truck all its life, had so much rust that i literally had a floor board(think 2x6) and lots of open road below my feet. it only had 44000 miles on it 454, 4spd shortbox... in its day it woulda been a nice truck.. but this thing had holes on roof, no door skins below the handles and the classic chevy hood hinge buckle. i paid 200$ for it for the drivetrain, ended up driving it for a year!

that truck eventually gave its life to my nova, and in an interesting saturday night at the lot even financed my 72 blazer's purchase. i held a sledgehammer party and netted 800$ in one night of swing till you cant swing for $20. i even had a few local pd guys vent their frustrations on the poor truck. fun times!