4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Yeah … this is a thread I keep hoping a fight breaks out so it ends … miserable nonsense for the most part …
Car brand that burned you so bad on reliability you'd never buy again?
- Thread starter Speak2Mountain
- Start date
Yugo. I actually never had one, but didn't want to offend anyone.
That’s one of the funnier things I’ve read on this site-we had vans & cutaway box trucks (E-250/E-350) running 5.8/E4OD drivetrains, and they ALL needed transmission rebuilds, some had it done THREE times! The 4R100 is better, but the early Ford OD transmissions are the poster child for their cheap junk!
Had a dodge neon. Brought it to the shop for the annual state inspection. The shop owner said that he knows that I took good care of the car because it had no leaks. Most of them leak he said. 10,000 miles later the car leaked every fluid. Traded it in at about 75k.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
The one in my 1986 Taurus blew apart 3 weeks after I sold it to a high school kid. 36K
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2020
- Messages
- 217
While I can understand this sentiment, I have found that certain manufacturers seems to have some certain quirks that transcend models, years and platforms... Most BMW's seem to eat cooling systems. Subaru has had decades of head gasket issues. And of course, there's the electrical switch gear from all VAG products. I can swap a VW door lock actuator in my sleep at this point...
I've never written off a brand completely, but my tumultuous, abusive, and co-dependent relationship with a '93 Eurovan resulted in me taking a pretty long hiatus away from VW....
I believe that, but that's not the transmission I was referring to. The E4OD and later 4R100 were the big transmissions used in everything from the 4.9 Ford's to the diesels.
That's my point.
Do cars have issues? Of course.
Are some of those issues systematic and longstanding? Absolutely.
Does that mean there are certain models and model year ranges you should avoid? Sure.
Does it warrant avoiding a whole brand right now? It certainly could.
Does that mean you should "never buy again", as the title says? That's extreme and unwarranted.
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2020
- Messages
- 217
Yeah, I guess if the question was "has a brand burned you so badly you'd take a 10 year hiatus", then my answer would have been "yes"!
Honestly, it may have been longer; but if you're looking for manual transmission wagons the options are pretty darn limited....
FORD. Paint issues, so many widespread defects that are not recalls. Done
Hands down the worst car EVER was a 1973 Volvo 142. My first brand new car - back then, Volvos were just an imported car without the snob image. In 2 years it broke three resonators, rear brakes every 5000 miles, fronts at 10,000. It had an exhaust resonance that started at 60 mph and you could judge your speed by the pitch of the drone. I was driving across Ontario and the fuel injection went "click" and accelerated from 65 to 80. At 24 months a body seam at the rocker panel started to rust.
The dealer felt sorry for me and bought it back at retail. Years later I saw a coffee table book entitled "The 10 worst cars ever" Lo and behold, the 1973 140 series was in the bottom five. Just thinking about it all these years later STILL ticks me off.
The dealer felt sorry for me and bought it back at retail. Years later I saw a coffee table book entitled "The 10 worst cars ever" Lo and behold, the 1973 140 series was in the bottom five. Just thinking about it all these years later STILL ticks me off.
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That's funny. My EXL V6 is absolutely perfect. Super smooth, fast, driving dynamics are great. Not one thing replaced except rear struts, pads, oil, tires. Just reverse caliper pins. No big deal. Very weak paint is my only gripe
GM. Where do I start? It isn't one particular item, but rather a culmination of a number of things that really have made sure that I never want to expose myself to the crappy way that GM perceives their customers.
Ignition switch. So let me get this straight. The fix is to glue a $0.03 piece of plastic into my keys? And it took them a really, really long time to admit any wrong doing. People were dying but GM wouldn't take responsibility. Only after losing a number of the wrongful death lawsuits did GM finally pony up and admit that something was wrong.
Head Gaskets Ok. Head gasket issues are nothing new Ford had them on the Triton engines. Subaru had them on their previous generation of engines. But so did GM. I was lucky and caught it before the engine was ruined. But a lot of people didn't.
Supplier Relations I need to be cautious here. Admittedly, GM has made significant improvements in the last several years in the way they treat their suppliers. But it was so bad at one time that many companies decided that they would rather make less money and not have GM as a customer than have to deal with a company that treated their suppliers as poorly as GM. Other companies decided that because of how much share of business GM is, they owed it to their stockholders to sell parts to GM. So they endured the abuse and poor payment methods that GM dished out.
I was on the receiving end of the way GM treated suppliers back before the ignition switch fiasco. I told my co-workers that if GM held their suppliers in such contempt, why would you think they felt any different about their customers? Then the ignition switch issue became public. My words were proven correct. And I swore off GM at that time.
Perhaps some day I'll have a change of heart. GM has come a long way. Their cars are no longer some of the most boring in the market. Some of them at least.
Ignition switch. So let me get this straight. The fix is to glue a $0.03 piece of plastic into my keys? And it took them a really, really long time to admit any wrong doing. People were dying but GM wouldn't take responsibility. Only after losing a number of the wrongful death lawsuits did GM finally pony up and admit that something was wrong.
Head Gaskets Ok. Head gasket issues are nothing new Ford had them on the Triton engines. Subaru had them on their previous generation of engines. But so did GM. I was lucky and caught it before the engine was ruined. But a lot of people didn't.
Supplier Relations I need to be cautious here. Admittedly, GM has made significant improvements in the last several years in the way they treat their suppliers. But it was so bad at one time that many companies decided that they would rather make less money and not have GM as a customer than have to deal with a company that treated their suppliers as poorly as GM. Other companies decided that because of how much share of business GM is, they owed it to their stockholders to sell parts to GM. So they endured the abuse and poor payment methods that GM dished out.
I was on the receiving end of the way GM treated suppliers back before the ignition switch fiasco. I told my co-workers that if GM held their suppliers in such contempt, why would you think they felt any different about their customers? Then the ignition switch issue became public. My words were proven correct. And I swore off GM at that time.
Perhaps some day I'll have a change of heart. GM has come a long way. Their cars are no longer some of the most boring in the market. Some of them at least.
1984 Ford Escort.......nuff’ said........
After skimming 12 pages of "cars I would never buy again", these are the cars forum members have sworn to never buy again: any GM, any Ford, any Chrysler/Dodge/FCA/Jeep, (so basically any American made car/truck), VW, Audi, Volvo, Subaru, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Mercedes, MG (anything British), Renault, Peugot, Saab, Fiat, Jaguar, Nissan/Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Opel, Vauxhall, and Yugo.
That leaves Mazda, Porsche, Lexus, and Acura as the only widely available cars we should buy. I've had 3 of those 4 and can vouch for their reliability.
That leaves Mazda, Porsche, Lexus, and Acura as the only widely available cars we should buy. I've had 3 of those 4 and can vouch for their reliability.
Has to be a 1984 Chrysler Laser turbo for me. Motor was fine as I used back then Valvoline Turbo V 15w40 oil in it religiously back in the day. Please don't ask me about electronics and transmission parts. Lets see. Speedometer cluster, speed sensor, alternator, two steering racks, clutch cable among other lovely parts. When it ran right it went like a bat out of you know where. When I brought it home from the dealer, I parked it in the driveway and a muffler clank decided right then and there to break. I closed the door and I heard a "clink". I owned it for four years and it had 122,000 miles on it when I traded it on a 1988 Ford Taurus back in 1988. That car was decent.
I'm a tow truck operator, I'll tell you something....the brand I tow the most is...Toyota...then Ford. I have kept track over a year. I see more post 2015 Toyotas on the hook, Ford I will see newer stuff if there some new feature, I for a while was towing a lot of new Fiestas where the electric power steering failed.
Personally, I'm a Mopar guy by heart, but I have flirted with other brands as I have had cars land in my lap. Now Granted, these are all used cars but I feel you can tell quality by age.
I had a 1998 Subaru Forester that had the head gasket replaced by a Subaru dealer by the previous owner a year before I bought it that then failed then 8 months after I had it. The Subaru community though drove me nuts where every suggestion was "Buy OEM from the dealer!" or "All boxer engines have the same problems!" They didn't get that Denso makes all the sensors on those cars and you could find the same part elsewhere; funny enough, I found out that the knock sensor is the same exact one from a Nissan Sentra with a different connector, so I made an harness adapter and volia....saved 200 bucks. Ended up selling the Subaru after I needed a full size SUV; the family that bought it had to replace the head gasket again about 6 months later. I don't think Porsche has this many headgasket issues with their boxers....
Then I had some Chevy Trucks for a bit; I had a 1989 Suburban that I loved, but when the tranny went south, I traded it for a 1994 Suburban that couldn't pass emissions; was an easy fix, just needed a new knock sensor for 15.00. Keep in mind, the 1989 Suburban held up very well for being almost 30 years old when I bought, it still felt "new" but the 1994 just didn't age well, those all plastic GM interiors of the time period were too plastic. I ended up selling it after it developed a very bizarre timing problem to a friend who ended up taking the 350 out, putting in a 454 in it he had on the shelf and kept the 4L60E that was in it.
Then I went back to Mopars; I've met Chrysler employees over the years in all departments and its the first car company I have to say that were the engineers admit "no car is perfect because its designed by humans.".
Personally, I'm a Mopar guy by heart, but I have flirted with other brands as I have had cars land in my lap. Now Granted, these are all used cars but I feel you can tell quality by age.
I had a 1998 Subaru Forester that had the head gasket replaced by a Subaru dealer by the previous owner a year before I bought it that then failed then 8 months after I had it. The Subaru community though drove me nuts where every suggestion was "Buy OEM from the dealer!" or "All boxer engines have the same problems!" They didn't get that Denso makes all the sensors on those cars and you could find the same part elsewhere; funny enough, I found out that the knock sensor is the same exact one from a Nissan Sentra with a different connector, so I made an harness adapter and volia....saved 200 bucks. Ended up selling the Subaru after I needed a full size SUV; the family that bought it had to replace the head gasket again about 6 months later. I don't think Porsche has this many headgasket issues with their boxers....
Then I had some Chevy Trucks for a bit; I had a 1989 Suburban that I loved, but when the tranny went south, I traded it for a 1994 Suburban that couldn't pass emissions; was an easy fix, just needed a new knock sensor for 15.00. Keep in mind, the 1989 Suburban held up very well for being almost 30 years old when I bought, it still felt "new" but the 1994 just didn't age well, those all plastic GM interiors of the time period were too plastic. I ended up selling it after it developed a very bizarre timing problem to a friend who ended up taking the 350 out, putting in a 454 in it he had on the shelf and kept the 4L60E that was in it.
Then I went back to Mopars; I've met Chrysler employees over the years in all departments and its the first car company I have to say that were the engineers admit "no car is perfect because its designed by humans.".
A non-luxury brand like Mazda having two percent market share is naturally going to have fewer compaints because there are so few of them on the road to begin with. Mazdas are notorious rust buckets. Maybe it’s an okay choice for a state that never sees winter road salt. Mazda sales dropped 14% last year and they continue to lose market share.
