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What is the worst car you ever owned?
- Thread starter TR6BILL
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Banjo
Yoda
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Fiat 850.... Spent 3 days trying to get it to run, only to have it break a ring land, and suck bits of ring and piston into every cylinder.... I was 17. Didn't have a lot of wrenching under my belt yet, but I still don't know how it managed to do that. The valve timing must have been wayyyy off. And the seats were about ready to fall out.
Close second was our possessed 98 Ford Windstar van.
Close second was our possessed 98 Ford Windstar van.
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You beat me to it Ben...
My worst car was my brand new Fiat 124 coupe; what a POS.
Lots of gremlins. The best was the time I pulled off the highway since all of my gauges went out. I shut it down, checked the fuse box and found everything OK. Went to start it and I had no starter. Got a truck to give me a push (stick shift), got it started and went right to the dealer. All the dealer did was to replace a blown fuse. I told him I checked the fuse box and he said "Oh, there are three more in-line fuses under the dash". Turns out the same fuse that protected the gauges also ran the starter
Got rid of it with 28,000 miles.
My worst car was my brand new Fiat 124 coupe; what a POS.
Lots of gremlins. The best was the time I pulled off the highway since all of my gauges went out. I shut it down, checked the fuse box and found everything OK. Went to start it and I had no starter. Got a truck to give me a push (stick shift), got it started and went right to the dealer. All the dealer did was to replace a blown fuse. I told him I checked the fuse box and he said "Oh, there are three more in-line fuses under the dash". Turns out the same fuse that protected the gauges also ran the starter
Got rid of it with 28,000 miles.
rkep01
Jedi Trainee
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'88 Chevy Beretta. Had to take it back to the dealer to try to get it demagnetized. Had so many accidents with that car :madder: First car I ever owned with a digital dash. Pretty cool, but it didn't make up for the time the in-tank fuel pump failed. 
Actually, Elliot, I also had a 124 Sports Coupe and loved it. It was a real fun driver. Had to get used to the driving position with the angle of the steering wheel, but once I did, it was a hoot to drive. The beef I had was with the dealer and with Fiat USA. Very poorly run organization.
Actually, Elliot, I also had a 124 Sports Coupe and loved it. It was a real fun driver. Had to get used to the driving position with the angle of the steering wheel, but once I did, it was a hoot to drive. The beef I had was with the dealer and with Fiat USA. Very poorly run organization.
weewillie
Darth Vader
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1975 dodge royal monaco wagon brougham
bought it used in '79. A/C went out after 3 mths, $900 repair. very comfortable car, 9 passenger, good 360 motor. However if it even saw a cloud it would quit. After 8 mths wife refused to drive it because of that, heavy car to steer when stalled.
bought it used in '79. A/C went out after 3 mths, $900 repair. very comfortable car, 9 passenger, good 360 motor. However if it even saw a cloud it would quit. After 8 mths wife refused to drive it because of that, heavy car to steer when stalled.
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1990 Ford Aerostar van. Put an engine and two transmissions in this pig. Bought it as I needed a van when I went on the road with a band (it had 94k miles on it when I bought it). Hateful thing. Seals on the rear windows were all shot and it leaked.
Bought it from a new car dealer (it was a used van of course) with a 30 day warranty. Transmission went out a week later, so they replaced it with a used transmission -- that had the exact same problem (2nd gear was gone). So they put in a rebuilt transmission. Engine went a year later -- remanufactured motor (paid for by my overloaded credit card) had a 1 year warranty, and one of the head gaskets went just before the warranty expired. So I got sorta lucky...
When the engine went the second time, I had a friend take me to the local Subaru dealer the next morning and I bought a brand new Outback wagon. A new car never felt so good. Sold it to the first person who offered me cash.
My whole vehicular history:
https://www.drooartz.com/index.php?page=30.2
The evil van in question:
Bought it from a new car dealer (it was a used van of course) with a 30 day warranty. Transmission went out a week later, so they replaced it with a used transmission -- that had the exact same problem (2nd gear was gone). So they put in a rebuilt transmission. Engine went a year later -- remanufactured motor (paid for by my overloaded credit card) had a 1 year warranty, and one of the head gaskets went just before the warranty expired. So I got sorta lucky...
When the engine went the second time, I had a friend take me to the local Subaru dealer the next morning and I bought a brand new Outback wagon. A new car never felt so good. Sold it to the first person who offered me cash.
My whole vehicular history:
https://www.drooartz.com/index.php?page=30.2
The evil van in question:
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drooartz said:Learned to drive in a Celebrity wagon, with the automatic and 4-cylinder engine. Safe car for a kid, as it had no power. Bench seats were handy sometimes though...JPSmit said:
Mine (sedan) had the six in it - it was cheap as it was an accident rebuild, ran OK, though I was in an accident caused when a salesman from the dealership where I bought it backed into it as I was driving by. (We lived in a village and the dealership was literally behind our house.) Also, when I bought it they oiled it for rust. The kid who did it was so zealous everything was sticky for years! In fact so sticky the PRNDL cable broke and I had to replace it. Fortunately it broke in the neighbours driveway.
G
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JPSmit said:
Top notch van, his was a lemon. They use them for Taxis here. I had one, great van. Still thinking about worst car. '88 XJ6 come to mind. Had a '90 too that was a POS. Paid $400 though.
rick_ingram
Yoda
Offline
1989 Nissan 200SX.
Bought it new.
A pretend sports car.
Sold my 1978 Datsun 280Z to buy it.
Drove it 8 months and traded it in on a 1990 Nissan 300ZX.
Took a hit in the pocketbook on resale of the 200SX, but never looked back.
Bought it new.
A pretend sports car.
Sold my 1978 Datsun 280Z to buy it.
Drove it 8 months and traded it in on a 1990 Nissan 300ZX.
Took a hit in the pocketbook on resale of the 200SX, but never looked back.
Gliderman8 said:
I drove my father-in-law's allot before we got married. Scariest vehicle I have ever driven. I am pretty sure that the steering wheel was only connected to the front wheels by a rubber band, and what gear you would wind up in when shifting was pure luck since it was so sloppy.
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"Dammed Dodge", '77 K-car. Horsemits' mom gave it to her, I swear it was done to torture me. <span style="font-style: italic">Every</span> time ~I~ drove that thing some component would fail. Timing belt, brake master (THREE times), heater valve, P/S pump, steering rack, front strut(s), it went on and on.
Herself called it the Dodge "Insipid". She could drive it for months with no issue but as soon as I would sit in the driver's seat, it would drop some part or fluid on th' pavement. Eeevile, man-hating thing!
One of the finest days of my life was when I saw the butt-end of that thing on a Jerr-Dan, headed for an American Legion hog-lot.
Oh... and one drive resulted in the headliner suddenly flopping down and wrapping itself over my head, effectively blinding me on an Interstate trip.... HATEFUL car, I tell ya. Malicious, malignant, hateful <span style="font-style: italic">beast</span>.
Herself called it the Dodge "Insipid". She could drive it for months with no issue but as soon as I would sit in the driver's seat, it would drop some part or fluid on th' pavement. Eeevile, man-hating thing!
One of the finest days of my life was when I saw the butt-end of that thing on a Jerr-Dan, headed for an American Legion hog-lot.
Oh... and one drive resulted in the headliner suddenly flopping down and wrapping itself over my head, effectively blinding me on an Interstate trip.... HATEFUL car, I tell ya. Malicious, malignant, hateful <span style="font-style: italic">beast</span>.
aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
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Interesting reading......
Probably my worst was a FIAT 124 sedan (with the pushrod engine). It was used and had endless problems, especially with the 4 wheel disk brakes.
Another bomb (for me) was a Ford Aerostar van. Again, used. Lots of engine problems.
It's hard to say if these cars were truly bad or just abused and worn-out by previous owners.
I've had very good luck with every new car we'd ever bought.
Probably my worst was a FIAT 124 sedan (with the pushrod engine). It was used and had endless problems, especially with the 4 wheel disk brakes.
Another bomb (for me) was a Ford Aerostar van. Again, used. Lots of engine problems.
It's hard to say if these cars were truly bad or just abused and worn-out by previous owners.
I've had very good luck with every new car we'd ever bought.
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Believe it or not, my worst car was a 544 Volvo! Bought it used, well used! Had carb problems continuously, engine ignition problems due to wet weather. Every time it rained, it would start to miss. Finally swapped it out for a Chevy pickup, and lived happily ever after! Only thing though, Knowing what I know today, I wish I had it back. Oh my, if hind sight and foresight could only be reversed 
PJ
PJ
G
Guest
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1990 Chevy S 10 blazer. Total garbage. Kept fixing the same stuff over and over again because of poor engineering. Was babied it's whole life and I watched it self destruct in it's last 6 months.
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I guess I'm pretty lucky in that I never had a "bad" car. But my first new car was a 1971 Pinto.
Got great mpg, and cost me $39/mo for three years. But soon after I bought it, I was driving down a bumpy road. Hit a pothole and the air conditioner actually dropped out of the dashboard, and fell on my feet.
Still blowing cold air.
Details, details.
Tom
Got great mpg, and cost me $39/mo for three years. But soon after I bought it, I was driving down a bumpy road. Hit a pothole and the air conditioner actually dropped out of the dashboard, and fell on my feet.
Still blowing cold air.
Details, details.
Tom