Talk > Automotive Social > Vehicles you love to hate!

reply to DeltaElite

Re: Vehicles you love to hate!

LOL, My son had one of them so i know very well what you probably went thru. His tranny didnt make 25,000. His case split. Im guessing his was gone at around 35,000 also.

reply to DeltaElite
The worst car I owned was a 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Surpreme with a 307ci V8. It rode very smooth, was very comfortable, and not too bad on gas for a V8. But I swear the car broke every week.

I had to hit the carb with a hammer to free up the bowls most mornings. Rebuild the carb, but the problem came back. The A/C was replaced to the tune of $800 only to have it fail within 2 weeks. The power antenna stopped working, the exhaust fell off, and the valve cover gaskets went. The starter went out too leaving me stranded on a cold night. The last straw was the transmission (200 metric) failed at 110,000 miles. In the year I owned it, I dumped thousands into it and took a bath on it when I sold it with a bad transmission.

My wife's 2000 Ford Escort ZX2 was a piece of junk too. Electrical problems and transmission problems. We dumped the car at CarMax in 2007 with 70,000 miles and bought a 2004 Mini Cooper S which hasn't been all the reliable either but better than the Ford. Her first car, a 1989 Chevy Cavalier was horrible. The engine overheated and seized at 60,000 miles. She told me the temp light came on AFTER it stopped running as she coasted into a gas station.

Of the 14 cars I've owned, Nissan and Honda's have been the best while Ford and GM have been the worst. I had a 1996 Jeep Cherokee which was pretty reliable, but it ate gas like there was no tomorrow. I had a few minor problems with it, but nothing major. It was my best American vehicle experience, by far. Definitely on par with the Japanese cars.

-Dragasoni-

reply to DeltaElite
1984 Audi Coupe GT.

It blew 3 heads in 18 months.

Each time the dealer replaced the entire head assembly rather than trying to diagnose the problem. After the first time I did a lot of research (before the internet) and determined the problem was with the valve retainer design. After the third repair I traded it in for the first of my 6 Mustang GT's I have since owned.

-Bob

reply to Dragasoni

reply to DeltaElite
88 subaru justy, my very first car. sounded like a lawnmower. ran like one too. had alot of problems with the cooling system, it overheated every other day. the gas needle stopped working if i had less than half a tank of gas.

82 mazda 626, had power everything, but none of them worked properly. used a knife to complete the connection for the windows and the sunroof. one day it stopped working completely. in the middle of the summer. during a thunderstorm. i was PISSED.

86 pontiac fiero. I dont have the time to tell you.

02 ford taurus. worst POS I've ever driven. only had it for four months, put about 3k worth of repairs into it and the tranny still failed with less than 100k on the clock.

i've had a chrysler and now drive a dodge, which have been very good to me (the pt cruiser was a lemon, clutch issues, but was reliable otherwise).
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reply to DeltaElite
I have not had much trouble with my 2000 Avalon, just the typical wear-and-tear repairs for a car that age.

My parents had a 93 Ford Econoline conversion van they bought new in 93 and traded in in 2000 for my current Avalon. That van, especially once it was older was always having something go wrong and having to go to the dealer.

They also had a 2002 Honda Odyssey they bought brand new, and for the first few years had no issues at all. After those first few years it started having trouble with the a/c, and some other things I don't remember. The biggest and last straw was this summer when I took it to west Texas and the transmission went out in the middle of no where. That was no fun waiting in the desert for AAA. The repair was going to be $5000, so we instead sold it to the Honda dealer in El Paso and rented a car to get back. It was replaced with a 2011 Camry.
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Fiber Optics is the future of high-speed internet access. Stop by the BBR Fiber Optic Forum

reply to pcdebb

reply to Muscles

Fact: All Dodge 5.7L "Hemis" are made in Mexico.

2000 Toyota Corolla VE. I aquired this car with only 20,000 mi in 2006 from a little old lady. I thought I hit the jackpot...yea right. It was driven so little, and had zero maintance done that this car drove like crap. I had to replace the belt, the battery, tires, brakes. The check engine light was on with various evap codes and the cars computer was not adjusting things correctly so the car 'bogged' everytime you hit the gas and would just stall.The interior door fabric had huge glue spots come through the fabric and the seats got dirty and wold not come clean no matter how much I scrubbed them. As a matter of fact I left the window half down during a thunderstorm and the water stained the seats with permanent water spots.
My oldest son borrowed it earlier this winter to run some errands, hit an ice patch and totalled it....I was greatful he was not injured but couldnt help but smile inside knowing I would never have to drive that POS ever again....

Funny, my friends parents have 3 of them with a total of about 900,000 km.
They are as happy as can be with them, and everything still works, including the AC.
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The talented hawk speaks French.

reply to DeltaElite
1988 Alfa-Romeo Milano Gold V6 with A/T. Bought it used with about 30K on the clock with an already replaced instrument panel so the odo wasn't 100% accurate. $63 for an oil pressure sending unit... $280 for an OEM muffler (not available 3rd party). Every repair shop visit was a $500 minimum, this in the early 1990's.

I learned my lesson early... first and LAST European car I bought.
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I turned on my computer for this?

reply to DeltaElite

Re: Vehicles you love to hate!

The Eucalyptus Teapot

My father was a MOPAR guy, mostly though process of elimination. He dabbled in GM for a bit after I left home, probably 1975, buying both a Vega and a Monza ... at the same time.

He hated those things more than his legendary 59 Ford. Brakes, fuel pumps, random strandings. Glad I was gone by then or I would have been underneath helping him.
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Metaphors mixed while you wait.

reply to bobrk
My dad had a Vega panel wagon. It was a total P.O.S. It burned more oil than gas.
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...because I care.

My brother in-law dropped a 327 cuin V-8 into his Vega wagon. Then he has an over powered POS.

reply to nunya

reply to DeltaElite
Worst: 1987 Delta 88. It was a beautiful car with leather (first leather car my wife every owned). I got it used for her birthday. She loved the car, but it left on the side of the road as often as you see road kill in Texas. - Over 15 different problems and none could ever be permanently fixed.

Other vehicles that left me on the side of the road:
. 1984 Corvette - too many problems to list
. 1982 Silverado - freeze plugs and fuel pumps
. 1985 Silverado - front wheels fell off three times.
. 1995 Infinity - G20 (Transmission problems never did work right)

Best:

. 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. 118K miles no problems, and I have ran it HARD.
. 1994 (4), 1995 (6), 2003 (4) , 2010 (6) - Honda Accord (only the 94 had any issues all fixed)

Several others that were okay, minor problems, but nothing major.

I have owned more GM products than anything else, and have had more problems with them. I however haven't purchased a GM product since 2002 when I had the 35th Anniversary Camaro RS who's only problem was the fuel pump.

My newest are: 2010 Accord (6) coup, 2010 Civic, and a 2012 F150 Eco Boost. So far both the Honda's have over 40K and no problems with either car.

The F150 is still very low mileage so we will see. It' only my second Ford out of 32 cars so I am believing it will be a good truck.
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He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot