Car brand that burned you so bad on reliability you'd never buy again?
- Thread starter Speak2Mountain
- Start date
I am pretty sure I "dodged" a bullet with that car.
I replaced it with a 1999 Chrysler Concorde with the 3.2 and the maintenance compared to the Intrepid was so much less intense. That car is still going as I gave it to my daughter. It has 290k miles on it now.
I replaced it with a 1999 Chrysler Concorde with the 3.2 and the maintenance compared to the Intrepid was so much less intense. That car is still going as I gave it to my daughter. It has 290k miles on it now.
I had a bad Ford Ranger I bought new in 1987. For 29 years I never owned another Ford until I bought a used 2010 Mustang GT from a friend. I currently have 2 Mustangs and have given Ford another chance. FWIW there were a lot of bad cars in the 1980s.
I got burned by a Toyota. Never again.
Infiniti
Chrysler/Jeep/FCA
Chrysler/Jeep/FCA
Originally Posted by THafeez
BMW. Had an 02 BMW 325xi and nothing but problems with it. Struts, window regulators breaking multiple times. e46 so it had the head gasket issue throughout ownership.. had it from 132k to 145k. 12mpg. steering clunking issues and oil leaks.
Yes, those troublesome E46 head gasket issues; I don't know what it was about that platform- you could even perform an LS swap and the head gaskets would blow in less than 1,000 miles.
BMW. Had an 02 BMW 325xi and nothing but problems with it. Struts, window regulators breaking multiple times. e46 so it had the head gasket issue throughout ownership.. had it from 132k to 145k. 12mpg. steering clunking issues and oil leaks.
Yes, those troublesome E46 head gasket issues; I don't know what it was about that platform- you could even perform an LS swap and the head gaskets would blow in less than 1,000 miles.
I've owned a Honda, Nissan (2), Audi, Jeep, Toyota, Ford, and the two cars I currently drive and have spoken about before on here, a Chevy Impala and Hyundai Elantra. The only one I ever had an unpleasant experience owning was the Audi, and it had nothing to do with how it drove. It was just expensive as heck to maintain. I doubt I'll ever own another Audi, just because I won't own one out of warranty and I won't spend the money to buy one that has a warranty.
My favorite car was my Jeep (ZJ), hands down. I loved that thing to death. It wasn't the most reliable, but it was easy to maintain, comfortable to drive, and the darn thing was just a tank. I'm hoping to buy myself a Wrangler sometime, but that's probably a few years away still as we're trying to save for a house and kids.
My favorite car was my Jeep (ZJ), hands down. I loved that thing to death. It wasn't the most reliable, but it was easy to maintain, comfortable to drive, and the darn thing was just a tank. I'm hoping to buy myself a Wrangler sometime, but that's probably a few years away still as we're trying to save for a house and kids.
The most unreliable vehicles I've owner were GMs and Fords. I'd possibly buy a GM vehicle as long as I had an extended warranty but never a Ford because they weasel their way out of paying for things under warranty.
My wife and had I bought a one year old certified preowned Ford that still had two years of factory bumper-to-bumper warranty remaining. Within six months all the window seals started creaking and squeaking as I drove. Ford replaced everything under warranty. Six months later I go in with the same issue and this time I was told to pound sand despite still having 1.5 years of warranty remaining. Worse yet, I received a letter in the mail stating that "Your vehicle has reached the lifetime maximum diagnostic and repair costs for parts XXXX YYYY ZZZZ. These parts are now considered out of warranty. Thank you for being a loyal Ford customer." They lost any hope of a future sale because of that letter.
My wife and had I bought a one year old certified preowned Ford that still had two years of factory bumper-to-bumper warranty remaining. Within six months all the window seals started creaking and squeaking as I drove. Ford replaced everything under warranty. Six months later I go in with the same issue and this time I was told to pound sand despite still having 1.5 years of warranty remaining. Worse yet, I received a letter in the mail stating that "Your vehicle has reached the lifetime maximum diagnostic and repair costs for parts XXXX YYYY ZZZZ. These parts are now considered out of warranty. Thank you for being a loyal Ford customer." They lost any hope of a future sale because of that letter.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
None … zero … nada … I buy almost all GM …
but we all know what these kind of threads always do … wake all the howler monkeys in the trees …
but we all know what these kind of threads always do … wake all the howler monkeys in the trees …
Chevrolet Corvettes. I have owned 5 of them and still own an 05 however they have some of the weirdest problems with things like rocking seats, A/T problems, steering column lockups, Opti-Spark distributors in C4 models. Many have problems with leaking rear ends and poor tire wear and chattering rear ends. They are very fun cars however they all have their quirks. My second worst was a Plymouth Horizon TC3....that thing was a nightmare and had a Volkswagen rabbit engine in it. That car was a total POS.
Originally Posted by UncleDave
BMW.
Two were enough for me. Love the driving experience, hate the ownership and dealer experience.
I watched many friends go through the same, some bought 6 figure cars whose air cons stopped worked while still wearing paper plates other simply went electrically dead.
UD
Makes sense. With many of these cars the more expensive they are, the more complicated and troublesome they become. I wouldn't buy any V8, V10, or V12 BMW with the intention of it being a daily driver. They are rolling nightmares. Ironically the cheaper models with the 4 and 6 cylinder engines can be quite reliable. Dealerships are also a huge no-no with these cars. Many dealers need people to keep coming back for "repairs" so they can refurnish their fancy showrooms. It happens across the board brand-wise, but often the dealer techs who are hired fresh out of school only know the cars on the lot.
I've fixed a few older 3-series cars that were almost scrap-yard worthy with the problems they had just because someone had not taken the care to work on them properly. They really aren't difficult cars to work on, but there is a way everything comes apart and goes back together. Screw it up and it will cost you.
Like I stated in the brand loyalty thread, there are cars I like from certain brands, but that doesn't mean I like everything the brand makes or that I am loyal to them. I've never purchased a new car anyway, so technically I'm loyal to nobody.
The post earlier in the thread about the people who kept buying Silverados and Equinoxes even though they have trouble with them is a bit interesting though, not sure I understand that.
BMW.
Two were enough for me. Love the driving experience, hate the ownership and dealer experience.
I watched many friends go through the same, some bought 6 figure cars whose air cons stopped worked while still wearing paper plates other simply went electrically dead.
UD
Makes sense. With many of these cars the more expensive they are, the more complicated and troublesome they become. I wouldn't buy any V8, V10, or V12 BMW with the intention of it being a daily driver. They are rolling nightmares. Ironically the cheaper models with the 4 and 6 cylinder engines can be quite reliable. Dealerships are also a huge no-no with these cars. Many dealers need people to keep coming back for "repairs" so they can refurnish their fancy showrooms. It happens across the board brand-wise, but often the dealer techs who are hired fresh out of school only know the cars on the lot.
I've fixed a few older 3-series cars that were almost scrap-yard worthy with the problems they had just because someone had not taken the care to work on them properly. They really aren't difficult cars to work on, but there is a way everything comes apart and goes back together. Screw it up and it will cost you.
Like I stated in the brand loyalty thread, there are cars I like from certain brands, but that doesn't mean I like everything the brand makes or that I am loyal to them. I've never purchased a new car anyway, so technically I'm loyal to nobody.
The post earlier in the thread about the people who kept buying Silverados and Equinoxes even though they have trouble with them is a bit interesting though, not sure I understand that.
Originally Posted by THafeez
BMW. Had an 02 BMW 325xi and nothing but problems with it. Struts, window regulators breaking multiple times. e46 so it had the head gasket issue throughout ownership.. had it from 132k to 145k. 12mpg. steering clunking issues and oil leaks. In the cars defense, I didn't know anything about cars at the time much less BMWs with the special tools they needed. sold it for 1300.
On the other hand, I've had an 04 solara for about 5 years now, put 50k on it, hitting 200k soon and no major problems. Basically learned how to work on cars from this toyota and its been a good experience so far.
But again, I would never own a BMW out of warranty. Maybe leasing it if I really wanted another one.
AGH that sucks man.
If you bought it at 132k it sounds like someone before you already beat the snot out of it. Those cars don't blow head gaskets. When they get over heated (the cooling system is a weak point) the head bolts going into the block strip out the threads. Any replacement head gasket won't fix the issue. The only way to fix it correctly is to install thread inserts into the block. Many people will overheat these cars, pull the threads out of the block for the bolts, then sell the car when it constantly overheats and drinks coolant (likely why you got 12 mpg). The sad part is you can install an entirely new cooling system into an E46 (radiator, water pump. thermostat, etc) for around $200 in parts and prevent this failure.
I've worked on quite a few BMWs, and the only "specialty tools" I own are a set of timing tools (for locking the cams in place), some E-torx sockets, and a laptop with diagnostic software.
BMW. Had an 02 BMW 325xi and nothing but problems with it. Struts, window regulators breaking multiple times. e46 so it had the head gasket issue throughout ownership.. had it from 132k to 145k. 12mpg. steering clunking issues and oil leaks. In the cars defense, I didn't know anything about cars at the time much less BMWs with the special tools they needed. sold it for 1300.
On the other hand, I've had an 04 solara for about 5 years now, put 50k on it, hitting 200k soon and no major problems. Basically learned how to work on cars from this toyota and its been a good experience so far.
But again, I would never own a BMW out of warranty. Maybe leasing it if I really wanted another one.
AGH that sucks man.
If you bought it at 132k it sounds like someone before you already beat the snot out of it. Those cars don't blow head gaskets. When they get over heated (the cooling system is a weak point) the head bolts going into the block strip out the threads. Any replacement head gasket won't fix the issue. The only way to fix it correctly is to install thread inserts into the block. Many people will overheat these cars, pull the threads out of the block for the bolts, then sell the car when it constantly overheats and drinks coolant (likely why you got 12 mpg). The sad part is you can install an entirely new cooling system into an E46 (radiator, water pump. thermostat, etc) for around $200 in parts and prevent this failure.
I've worked on quite a few BMWs, and the only "specialty tools" I own are a set of timing tools (for locking the cams in place), some E-torx sockets, and a laptop with diagnostic software.
I've owned 44 vehicles and have been pretty lucky with most. The worst was a Dodge PU I had. I had the trans rebuilt twice and the rear end once. It was using oil on top of that. I do own a Jeep made by Chrysler that has been pretty good to me.
Ford. Never agsin.
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