What's the Worst Car You Ever Had?

[Fat Brian]

We had some pretty horrible cars while we were young and broke but probably the worst was a 91 Olds Cutlass with a Quad4 engine. The valvetrain noise was incredible, like a hundred squirrels in tap shoes on a tin roof. You had turn it off in the drive thru to be able to hold a conversation.

[BlackSheep214]

Hmmm... that’s a hard one. ‘75 Chevy Monza because the passenger door didn’t shut right and front end  was welded on wrong I later found out. A desperate impulse buy to use for college transportation.  Did own a used ‘92 Topaz. What a POS. The final straw when brakes failed on me at a local mall. Ditched it right after that because I didn’t want to put any more money for repairs.

 

[Joe Handley]

13 hours ago, BlackSheep214 said:

Hmmm... that’s a hard one. ‘75 Chevy Monza because the passenger door didn’t shut right and front end  was welded on wrong I later found out. A desperate impulse buy to use for college transportation.  Did own a used ‘92 Topaz. What a POS. The final straw when brakes failed on me at a local mall. Ditched it right after that because I didn’t want to put any more money for repairs.

 

My HS had a Tempo from around then for Drivers Ed, better than the Pontiac Dad had, but still garbage.

[vamach1]

Ford Windstar minivan (head gaskets and junk transmission) and 85 Mustang convertible (V6 head gaskets).  No major issues with other older or newer Mustangs I’ve owned or Explorers or Edges.

[MrMiles]

I had 2 really bad cars. One was a 2017 mustang gt. I owned it for 1 year and it wan in the shop for a total of 6 months during the year. 

 

the other was an rx8. It had a lot of problems. I owned it for 2 years and had 20 something work orders. The dealership knew me by my voice when I called and knew my face when I came in. 
 

I had always dreamed of owning a mustang so it was truly a disappointment that I had so many issues. 
 

these days I rarely drive so I been saying that I want to just sell my car

Edited April 21, 2022 by MrMiles

[espo]

I have a long list of POS cars that I have had the misfortune of owning. One I recall was a car I took in trade for one I was selling. I used to pick up old cars on the side and fix them up a little and sell them. No lot just sold them out of the gas station I was working at. Anyway, this guy traded me a '53 Ford Ranch Wagon. The Flathead engine had so much blowby from the crankcase you would get a headache in just a few miles. The car would use at least 1 to 2 quarts of oil to one tank of gas. Going down a grade and then getting back on the gas and you would no longer be able to see the cars behind you. The CHP was not amused at all. Changed the oil to 40 w and added a couple of cans of STP and I told the buyer that it was on it's last legs but he really wanted that wagon. I was in it about $50 and sold it for $200 and the buyer loved it. 

[AMT68]

On 4/9/2022 at 3:14 PM, Fat Brian said:

The valvetrain noise was incredible, like a hundred squirrels in tap shoes on a tin roof.

That one gave me a good laugh. And I wasn't aware those motors had such issues. I do remember the Quad4 being pretty heavily marketed by Olds at the time. 

[TransAmMike]

The worst vehicle I ever had was actually a company provided vehicle. It was an early 70's Isuzu pickup, 4 cyl, 4 speed.  That darn thing couldn't get out of its own way. On a steep incline from no or low speed I was always afraid it wouldnt make to the top.  

[426 pack]

The worst vehicle I have owned is my 77 Ford F-150 short box 4X4, I’ve only ever driven it for about a month and a half 2 years ago. It has so many things wrong with it. Including but not limited to a broken track bar (the hole is wore out and when you hit a bump the front axle moves 2” side to side), rear axle has a 6” block between the leaf and axle and it moves almost 6” when putting it in gear, the tires hit the fender, trailing arms and bumper before you hit full lock, it is full time 4X4 and the shifter linkage for the t case just went missing one day well driving, the speedo is out by about 30mph, the oil pressure gauge, temp gauge and fuel gauge don’t work, the truck gets 6 mpg (it’s left me on the side of the road a few times) and burns oil, leaks oil from the engine, front and rear diffs, transmission and t case, I would have to stop every 30km to add break fluid, the drives side calliper fell off one day for no reason and almost cut my rim in half, the right exhaust manifold was split in two and had such a bad exhaust leak that I had to drive with the windows down and the rear slider open, the stereo had one CD stuck in it (not that it mattered because the tires and glass packs over powered everything else on earth. Despite all that and the fact that it’s the worst vehicle I’ve ever owned it’s also the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. I have had a lot of fun with it and plan on resorting it soon. 

[webestang]

1980 Mazda 626 4-door. RWD.....it had 3 u-joints that used to fail constantly, the auto trans was sluggish and zapped so much power 0-60 seemed to take forever but the biggest reason it was a POS was the head gasket that used to spring a leak every 1000 miles or so. Oh yeah, rust, I'm talking a lot of rust. 

Only had that car for 1 year. 

[deuces wild]

'80 Pinto wagon and an '82 Pontiac Phoenix.... Never again!.....

[Mike C]

It was an '89 Merkur Scorpio. My Dad and I each had one. My car had a bad alignment, my Dad had transmission problems.

[OldTrucker]

One just like this! 1978 Ford Fiesta

[W Humble]

A 1959 Rambler Rebel 4-dr wagon -- but it had been through a few hard times -- and though I had to do all the work on it, the thing was my younger brother's first car!*  

To make a sad story short;  he bought used/cheap with a busted three speed; goofy concentric column shift clamps came loose and previous owner ground the gears up.  I pulled it, replaced the parts, reassembled, and discovered that the overdrive was shot too!  Repeat; fixed that and in the process, I put in a Hurst Mystery-Shifter.  Now bear in mind that this involved taking out the rear-axle (a torque-tube car, like old Fords, and quite a few Buicks) and replacing it -- and springs, etc, every time.  Back together, and it wouldn't move; the rear axle splines -- the ones in the hub! -- picked that time to strip out.  Replaced hub, took it to front-end shop for alignment; ball-joint broke and almost brained the mechanic!  Fixed, he took it to a H.S. football game where he was varsity center; called from the bench to see the fire in his engine compartment; the overdrive switch shorted onto the leaking Holley 4-bbl, put out with snow but left a huge brown scorch on the hood.  Left for college, and 400-miles from home, the new brakes (front end shop, again) all locked, flat-spotting his tires,  Fixed, he sold it --  and ran away, I hope! 

The only good thing, I suppose, was the front-seat made into a lumpy bed, which he may have needed to camp-out while it was waiting for a tow!  He said the frieze seat covers really rubbed his knees raw, too -- but I don't think that was from sleeping.  He called it 'The Rebel GT' because it rebelled from ever doing anything right!  This all happened in 1966, btw.  Wick    *(I'm just lucky it wasn't mine!)

[W Humble]

Brian mentioned 'NOISY': an early '90s Ford Contour; ran really strong, but engine noise was beyond ridiculous; it howled, clattered, thrummed, roared, and ground it's way around N CA; never so glad to get rid of a car!  Actually, our 2016 and 2019 Camry fours when accelerating sound like... well, have you ever heard a bartender and customer rattling the liar's dice for drinks?  It's that sound, and loud, too!  Plus the crazy downshifts from the 'electric six-speed' -- the old Accord was never like this!

[Mike C.]

On 4/23/2022 at 1:36 AM, 426 pack said:

The worst vehicle I have owned is my 77 Ford F-150 short box 4X4, I’ve only ever driven it for about a month and a half 2 years ago. It has so many things wrong with it. Including but not limited to a broken track bar (the hole is wore out and when you hit a bump the front axle moves 2” side to side), rear axle has a 6” block between the leaf and axle and it moves almost 6” when putting it in gear, the tires hit the fender, trailing arms and bumper before you hit full lock, it is full time 4X4 and the shifter linkage for the t case just went missing one day well driving, the speedo is out by about 30mph, the oil pressure gauge, temp gauge and fuel gauge don’t work, the truck gets 6 mpg (it’s left me on the side of the road a few times) and burns oil, leaks oil from the engine, front and rear diffs, transmission and t case, I would have to stop every 30km to add break fluid, the drives side calliper fell off one day for no reason and almost cut my rim in half, the right exhaust manifold was split in two and had such a bad exhaust leak that I had to drive with the windows down and the rear slider open, the stereo had one CD stuck in it (not that it mattered because the tires and glass packs over powered everything else on earth. Despite all that and the fact that it’s the worst vehicle I’ve ever owned it’s also the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. I have had a lot of fun with it and plan on resorting it soon. 

For a vehicle that was so plagued with problems, it's a very nice looking truck. This era of Ford trucks is my favorite looking.

[BeakDoc]

1986 Firebird T Top Coupe. FI V-6, 5 spd. It was a true money pit. Bought it when I was stationed in Hawaii in 1991. Shortly thereafter the T tops developed a bad leak. Managed to fix it with new gaskets. The leaks and tropical climate led to the entire interior smelling like mildew. Had it professionally cleaned and partially reupholstered. Then the 7,000 pound doors caused the hinges to sag. Replaced and fixed that issue. Then both headlight motors burnt out (not at the same time, of course.) Finally, one day as I’m strumming along on H-2 at about 60 mph the catalytic converter decides to clog. No warning. Full stop. Smashed from behind by a Jeep Wrangler.

[thatz4u]

      71 Capri (Crapi) mine had a 1600cc, traded it for a Gremlin....

[Classicgas]

1986 Yugo, bought new. Pos. 1995 GMC Sonoma 4 cylinder 5 speed. Money pit. 2 head gaskets inside 15,000 miles. 

[Dave Ambrose]

Not mine, but my mother's 1974 Dodge Dart. Underbuilt suspension, and the engine was simply a failure. It would constantly flame back through the carb and stall; usually in a dicey traffic situation. I was tempted on more than one occasion to have an accidental engine fire with that car. 

[ChrisBcritter]

OK, I'm in:

So after my dad's cast-off '69 Olds was on the ropes some family friends suggested I get a VW - great on gas, easy to park, easy to fix - but I wanted an automatic. So after looking through a lot of classifieds, I spotted this '71 411 wagon being sold for $900 by a Porsche mechanic. And if you can't trust a Porsche mechanic... ?

The good: It was a California car so it wasn't rotten like every other one I saw. It did get pretty good mileage compared to a '69 Delta 88 with a 455. It was pretty nimble and fun to drive. The cassette deck worked. And... that's about it.

The bad: A lot of nickel-and-dime stuff. Neutral safety switch failed a week after I got it, tires had cracks like the Grand Canyon, left side wheels were off another car (silver), ineffective heater (VW, duh!) and the engine had a fatal flaw: one of the case bolts had stripped and was hanging on by... a thread. It soon developed multiple oil and transmission leaks and my parents weren't too crazy about the 10w/40 and ATF doing a Jackson Pollack number on the driveway. The fact that the oil pressure warning light had been disconnected didn't help matters either. It finally crapped out in the snow-covered parking lot at my work six months later, and the money I was saving to put toward a better car by next summer (preferably a good used Karmann Ghia convertible with AutoStick, about $2500 then) instead went toward this:

Rusty but a lot more comfortable. One of my co-workers (a VW buff) saw it and said, "Let me ask you one question. ARE YOU CRAZY?"

I plead the 5th on that one.

Edited July 10, 2022 by ChrisBcritter

[unclescott58]

[lucky 130]

The worst vehicle I ever owned was a Chrysler PT Cruiser, bought new in 2001. every 20,000 to 25,000 miles, I got to replace the entire braking system. At 31,000 miles, the head gasket blew. Now you could say that I'm hard on a car, but the car I traded in was a 1991 Turbo MR2 with 385, 000 miles on the original clutch. I went back to Toyota, never to return to the "big" 3. Oh by the way, Chrysler said the problems with the PT Crusier, were design flaws. 

[Mike C.]

My '77 Westfalia WV bus was the worst and the best at the same time. The Worst whenever you had to drive it but the best when it was parked. The fuel injection system never worked right. I put new injectors, plugs, and ignition wires. Took it to 2 different Volkswagen specialists. Nothing. They both told me it was the brain. Which was the electronic box that controlled the fuel injection system, and it would cost a fortune to replace it, So I sold it to some Deadhead for $800. Looking back, it was a big mistake. All my friends seemed to like it though until they had to drive it. It seemed like I was the only one that knew how to keep it running.

 

[ChrisBcritter]

Thanks for that GNARLY '80s flashback, duuuuude!