What is the worst car you ever owned?

[Skippy722]

Objectively thinking? Dodge Caliber, enough said. Or maybe the Camry…. At least the Caliber didn’t Three Mile Island itself and leave me and my now wife stranded on a hot summer day.

Subjectively? I cringe every single time I have to get into our Grand Caravan, whether I’m driving or as a passenger. I think I hate driving it more than being a passenger though.

 

[2009Caraman]

Objectively thinking? Dodge Caliber, enough said. Or maybe the Camry…. At least the Caliber didn’t Three Mile Island itself and leave me and my now wife stranded on a hot summer day.

Subjectively? I cringe every single time I have to get into our Grand Caravan, whether I’m driving or as a passenger. I think I hate driving it more than being a passenger though.

What dont you like about the van? I love caravans. So spacious, plenty of power and the seats are really comfortable.

2018 is after all the lifter issues. Only recurring problem with that van is flex plate is prone to cracking.

 

[Rygrego]

1969 Fiat 850 Coupe. Europeans can sure make a pile of crap. By far the worst car I've ever owned and turned me into a Fiat hater and the current Fiats will makes many more haters. Italians make pretty cars but pure crap.

 

[k1xv]

It was a family car that I used to commute to college. in the 1960s A 1956 Plymouth 6 cylinder. On damp days, it wouldn't start. My cheapskate father never changed the ignition wires. One day I was driving home from school, stepped on the brake, and it went to the floor. A brake line to one of the wheels ruptured, and I had no brakes. I downshifted the car and bounced it off the curb a couple of times to stop it so that I would not plow into a line of cars at a traffic light.

Also, my cheapskate father replaced tires one at a time as they wore out. The car usually had four different brand tires on the four positions.. All with a different state of wear. I remember, in the 1960s, he once paid $8 for a replacement tire.

 

[Skippy722]

What dont you like about the van? I love caravans. So spacious, plenty of power and the seats are really comfortable.

2018 is after all the lifter issues. Only recurring problem with that van is flex plate is prone to cracking.

I have no valid, objective reason for my dislike of the van. I drove one through high school, while eternally thankful to my parents for letting me drive their 2004 Grand Caravan, I always loved driving our 2004 Silverado 1500.

 

[road_rascal]

1988 Nissan Pulsar NX 1.8: 2 throwout bearings in under 60,000 miles and numerous ignition module/coil failures.
1990 Dodge Spirit ES with the 3.0V6 and A604 transmission. Have multiple rebuilds under the 7/70 warranty, with the 3rd rebuild lasting about 13,000 miles before it self destructed again. Took Chrysler to small claims court and won. Those jerks were about to screw me over and didn't pay the judgement until the last minute- I was ready to put a lien on their building in Plymouth MN. I will never, ever purchase anything from them again.

 

[stormgol]

2005 gmc canyon. and it was my last american car. i was at the garage every 2 months for repairs. bought it brand new. after a month, the entire exhaust system had to be changed. it was the epitome of automotive mediocrity.

 

[Tdbo]

I had two in a row.
Had a 1993 Chrysler 5th Avenue bought new.
The cars best quality was that it had the nicest back seat of any vehicle I have ever owned.
At least when the craptastic ultradrive transmission went at 66K, it had the decency to do so in front of the local Chrysler dealership. saving a tow.
After three pitifully pathetic attempts to repair under the 7/70 warranty, I traded it off.
The trade was a 1998 Mercury Villager van, also bought new.
After numerous malfunctions and attempts to repair (van was in the shop 52 days the first year,) I went through the Lemon Law.
At least with the new 2000 Honda Odyssey van that was the next batter up, the only issue for the first 70K were the recalls (over 10.)
Can't remember the exact number now, but I remember that it beat the 2000 Taurus that I also bought new the same year by one.

 

[Dave P.]

1969 Fiat 850 Coupe. Europeans can sure make a pile of crap. By far the worst car I've ever owned and turned me into a Fiat hater and the current Fiats will makes many more haters. Italians make pretty cars but pure crap.

I had a '69 Fiat 850 convertible when I was in high school that I inherited from my parents. It leaked rainwater so badly that I kept a coffee can in the car to bail it out, yes, just like a sinking boat. Eventually the floor rotted out so much, I wedged a 1" x 4" under the driver's seat to keep it from falling out onto the pavement. Other than that, it was kinda fun!

 

[addyguy]

I had a '69 Fiat 850 convertible when I was in high school that I inherited from my parents. It leaked rainwater so badly that I kept a coffee can in the car to bail it out, yes, just like a sinking boat. Eventually the floor rotted out so much, I wedged a 1" x 4" under the driver's seat to keep it from falling out onto the pavement. Other than that, it was kinda fun!

Our family had a 1978 Honda Civic that was the exact same way near the end - a 2x4 or something wedged between the drivers seat and the outer sill rail to hold the seat from falling out!

 

[wavinwayne]

Worst was also my first, and favorite. 1983 Chevy Monte Carlo purchased in 1989 with 110k miles. Smoked like a freight train, burned oil like nobody's business, transmission died at around 150k. Left me stranded more than once. But I kept it as clean as possible, and it always looked good! Eventually dumped it, but wish I could have kept it and restored it.

 

[Silverado12]

1987 Ford Ranger 2WD, 2.3 with the 5 speed. Basic truck w/o air conditioning or any other major options but it gave a lot of problems from engine to fuel mileage to electrical. Just cheap junk.

 

[ctrcbob]

2017 Lincoln Continental.

 

[bcossa2020]

Had a 1980 Pontiac Phoenix SJ followed by a 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit...both absolute junk.

1978 Phoenix here. I feel your pain.

 

[Allaneddie]

It was a family car that I used to commute to college. in the 1960s A 1956 Plymouth 6 cylinder. On damp days, it wouldn't start. My cheapskate father never changed the ignition wires. One day I was driving home from school, stepped on the brake, and it went to the floor. A brake line to one of the wheels ruptured, and I had no brakes. I downshifted the car and bounced it off the curb a couple of times to stop it so that I would not plow into a line of cars at a traffic light.

Also, my cheapskate father replaced tires one at a time as they wore out. The car usually had four different brand tires on the four positions.. All with a different state of wear. I remember, in the 1960s, he once paid $8 for a replacement tire.

Sounds like blame goes to your dad, not Chrysler.

 

[badman9]

My family had a Ford laser in the late 80s/early 90s. It was a hateful little thing which I believe was just a rebranded Mazda Familia?

It had no headrests, a 1.3L engine so weak you would have to turn off ac to climb some hills in my hometown (note hills, not mountains), and when my country passed the new seatbelt mandatory laws, my father and cousin had to INSTALL seatbelts themselves since the car never came with them from factory. Horrible

Looked just like this. Same beige

 

[Astro14]

Sounds like blame goes to your dad, not Chrysler.

So, his Dad buys him a car, pays for everything, how does anyone blame Dad?

Don’t like the car he bought for you?

Buy one yourself.

But don’t ever complain about the car he bought you, or the tires he bought you, or the maintenance he paid for.

If you don’t like it, don’t whine, man up and pay for your own stuff.

 

[odie]

Chevette =

 

[SHOZ]

We bought a new 1986 Ford Areostar. Not bad really except for the engine. It was the 3.8L from Germany with solid lifters and needed the valves adjusted every 15k or so. Ha. Ford did the first one free and then it was on your own. You could barely change the plugs on the thing.

Had a new 1975 Triumph TR7 that the throttle cable broke within 2 weeks and they had to steal one off one on the showroom floor for me to get running again. It spun a bearing about 100 miles over the 12k mile warranty. I wrote a letter to he President of British Leyland in the USA and they ended up paying for most of the repair. The throttle cable broke at least once a year. I got where I carried a spare and could change it out in no time Fun car with not enough gears.

 

[nomas]

My Dad had a Ford Fairmont . Company car . It had a hesitation that was so bad it was dangerous . Supposedly it was from the smog equipment and there was no fixing it .