The worst car I ever owned...

Wow, 30 cars? Were you a used car salesman?

My worst car by far was a MG Midget. I bought it brand new at 18 y/o. What a total piece of junk. It got towed down the freeway more often than I drove it on the freeway. And that was with on 3,000 miles on it!

 

The first, and worst, for me was a Fiat 128 sedan. My brother sold it to me. In the 2 years I had it, I spent more than the purchace price in repairs. One of the happiest days of my life was the day I sold it.

 

Considering the cost, my 2002 Subaru WRX was the worst. Talk about lack of refinement.....the drivetrain noise and shift action was the worst.

 

I've never really owned a bad car -- but the first car I ever drove was my mom's AMC Gremlin. Visibility was awful, and at about 50-55mph, it would start shaking violently.

 

It's a tossup between my Fiat X1/9 that made me smile when it eventually caught on fire so I could total it, and a Jaguar XKE that seemed to always break on a Friday afternoon and take until Sunday night to repair.

 

1981 Oldsmobile Delta88 Royale Brougham. In the 11 months that I owned it I had to replace the transmission and the ECU. When I sold it it needed at least a new engine, steering column and master brake cylinder. It had about 120k miles on it and was never abused. The rear seats with their "loose pillow look" cushions were the most amazingly uncomfortable torture devices to sit in for more than about 2 minutes. You would have to sit in one to believe that anybody could seriously install something like that in a car and get away with it!!

At least the air conditioner worked great.

I was glad to be rid of it, have owned only Japanese cars ever since and have never looked back.

 

Chevy Chevette. Had to take out the stearing coloum when we replaced the starter. When we were done, started it up, backedup, turned my head around and the steering wheel fell off :blink:

 

I've owned about 35 cars in my life also....and have fond memories of the majority of them. Even if there where mechanical problems with some of them, it didn't really matter until my 'worst car ever'

2001 Cadillac STS :angry:

I paid close to $50 grand for one of the supposed finest cars on the road. It shook like the dickens between 67 - 78 miles per hour. Took it in 4 times to get it repaired. In the end, they said that was the way this car was designed...what a crock. When I tried to trade it back to them, they would only give me $7,000...that was 4 months after I purchased it new. :angry:

.....got $12,000 for it for at the Toyota Dealership and will never own an American car again....good f*&#'n riddance. Between GM and Ford, I don't know who is worse for quality and service...

 

1972 Ford Pinto. It had a mechanical breakdown once per month that would leave me stranded. It drank oil like an SUV drinks gas. The a/c blew out hot air and the heat and defrost blew out cold. The inside door handle broke off in my hand, leaving a sharp, jagged edge perfect for slicing up skin. The driver's side windshield wiper assembly flew off the car in the middle of a downpour on the interstate at 70 mph. It vapor locked frequently in the summer and would not start. The oil pump died right after a tune up, which resulted in a blown engine. However, it was my very first car, so I still loved it.

 

1986 Chevy Cavalier sedan. Transmission was a total POS.

 

Worst car I ever owned was a Ford Thunderbird. Forget the year, but it was right before anti-lock brakes became standard. Every time I had to stop quick the rear wheels locked up. But the worst part was the handling. Every time I made an emergency swerve the car would oscillate and try to go off the road. I sold it after about a year because I couldn't drive it safely.

That was the only car I ever felt unsafe in at any speed over 40 mph.

 

The worst piece of junk car I ever owned was an '81 Oldsmobile Cutlass that I bought new in 1980. I owned the car for three years and put maybe 40,000 miles on it. In that time it went through three transmissions, 5 starter solenoids, one differential, and it pinged constantly even on premium gas. The dealer said it was normal to ping.

 

1976 Mercury Monarch

I'm a 30+ new car owner and the Monarch won the prize! I knew I was making a mistake when I ordered it, but I did it anyway. What a dummy! I owned it for less than a year and traded it in on my "close second" a 1977 Porsche 924.

I also owned a 1972 Pinto; the seventies weren't my best years!

 

My first car was a bright yellow 1974 VW Beetle. The car didn't run right from the day we got it to the day we sold it. It always ran way too hot. It burned oil like crazy. It also only got about 22 mpg. It was back to the dealer and other service providers for the entire first year as the automatic choke didn't work. Twice, the points and condenser were fried. The first time it happened I was on my way to Las Vegas to see a friend. Fortunately, I was near Barstow, and was able to coast back into the city and find a VW dealer. The car was repaired but I spent most of the money I had for the vacation to fix it.

 

Renault LeCar, and I didn't even own it! But it gets dishonorable mention because it consumed so much of my time under the old shade tree.

Also sympathetic to the Fiats mentioned above. A friend of mine had his spark plugs glued in, and would have to stop and reglue when they popped out. You can't helicoil a helicoil.

 

By far Jaguar XKE. I bought it used very cheap from a rich guy ( my brothers boss because it had a valve knock. I removed the cam cover and freed up the valve in 10 minutes and it ran great.
It handled poorly, wasn't fast, was uncomfortable.
So I sold it for a high profit and the buyer still got a great deal.
The buyer was Robert Caridine the actor.
The English have never built a decent car.
MG, Triumph, Austin Healy etc. Not that we do a very good job here in the USA.

 

1978 Dodge "Quaking" Aspen.

The choke could never get adjusted properly and it was like riding a jackhammer when it was in 2nd gear, drive also in cold weather. The right front brake piston kept seizing. I had to carry a large C-clamp and an old pad everywhere I went so I could squeeze the piston loose. Usually happened once or twice a month. I replaced everything a couple times and it never got fixed. Steering leaked, on and on. The day it got stolen and crashed and burned was it's best day.

It had a 360 CI V-8 though and I still like it - it was my first. And no, no Fine Corinthian Leather, Mr. Montalban.

 

A 78 Diesel Automatic VW Camper Van. Nick name Van short for Van won't go. What a slug. I got the auto because my wife did not drive stick at the time. It blew a hole in the engine at 51K. It was like one of those cutout engines so you can see the inner parts although most of those were bent and broken. Just out of warrenty and we got hosed on it. I have since been told that it was a gasoline engine built to run diesel (this was just after the oil embargo) and it turned out I was not the only one to have a engine blow. I will never own another VW or go back to that dealership.