Ever owned a "Worst Car of All Time"?

[hungarianchick 0]

Being Europian, I had the (mis)fortune of owning some of the more "exotic" ones. My ex and I owned a Citroen Dyane 6 when we lived in England:

http://www.vea.qc.ca/vea/v/citdyane68a.jpg

and while in college in Hungary, we drove the the
flagship car of East German engineering, the Trabant, which is basically a lawnmower with four wheels and a transmission.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant

"I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food."

[freefallfreak 0]

Dude,
I own a 2006 Charger R/T and it's a pretty nice ride. Drive one before you put it down and you'll be suprised.

TripleF

"Upon seeing the shadow of a pigeon, one must resist the urge to look up."

[RevJim 0]

Quote

Dude,
I own a 2006 Charger R/T and it's a pretty nice ride. Drive one before you put it down and you'll be suprised.

TripleF

Not knocking what the car can do, but growing up with Classic Mopars, well, you know, it's a F-O-U-R D-O-O-R!

True muscle cars fans from that era liken this to Chevrolet coming out with the Brand New, Improved 4 door Corvette, or Ford making the announcement that the Mustang, beginning in 2010 will be available in 4 door only. It just ain't right.

I'm sure the car is great, but if you're going to revive a muscle car name plate, by god put it on a muscle car! I mean, geez, even the Stratus R/T is (was?) available in a 2 door!

Now the Challenger...... Droooooolllllll..... SRT8 2 DOOR Retro done right. Nice!

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[Bolas 5]

I almost bought a used Fiero. My thinking was since it was sporty looking but not real powerful my insurance wouldn't be that much more than the econobox my under 25 self was driving.

Boy was I wrong.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[RevJim 0]

Yup, it was marketed as a grocery getter (where the hell you gonna put the bags?) but insurance considered, and to some extent still considers it a sports car.

84 when just the 4 cyl was available, you probably could have got away with it, but when 85, with the V6 and "GT" plates (read my rant above) rolled into the showrooms the insurance went through the roof. Well, the 84 model engine fires didn't help matters any...

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[slotperfect 7]

Mine was one of GM's dreaded "X-cars" - a 1981 Buick Skylark. It NEVER ran right the entire time I had it!

Arrive Safely

John

[Unstable 8]

No, I've never owned one of those on the List, but I put about 100,000 on a first Generation Ford Taurus (The full length station Wagon Body) and I would vote that Automobile on the list any day of the Week. Even though I loved the car because of some of the good memories in it, it was just not a well build touring machine. 2 transmissions, a couple head gaskets, a jerry-rigged wiring system, and it's ability to guzzle fuel at an alarming rate are a few of my complaints.

=========Shaun ==========

[freefallfreak 0]

Classic Mopars? Geez, I owned a 68 Plymouth Roadrunner with 426 Hemi and a Dodge Charger r/t with the same hemi. Then when the Challenger came out it was next. Then there was the 65 GTO, the 55 Chev and the 56 and 57 Chevy and even an old Triump with a 327 cu.in. Chevy mill. So, yeah, I also grew up with them. But bottom line is this - two doors or four, the Charger, as it stands, is still heads above the rest. But I bet you wouldn't recognise my old Polar Bear (49 Ford) as a muscle car, either. Some of the old timers on here would remember the pic's of him and a few lucky ones actually got to see him in person. And I dare say, not only was it a true classic muscle car, it would out perform most of the so called muscle cars made today.

TripleF

"Upon seeing the shadow of a pigeon, one must resist the urge to look up."

[RevJim 0]

Most people wouldn't call my '66 Buick Special a Muscle Car either back then, and I would agree with them. It was more of a sleeper. 310 Wildcat, 2 speed powerglide, it embarassed many drivers, especially with 4 doors. It was fast, light, and handled great. It consistently beat Firebirds and Camaros with a distinct weight advantage, and depending on how good the other drivers were, would give mopars and mustangs a run for their money.

But it wasn't a Muscle Car.

I even see the Super Bee stripe and sticker on some new Chargers too. Super Bee was on a Coronet base.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[Shepp 0]

Anything made by KIA or Hyundai. In 6 years, my 2001 KIA Sephia has needed the following repairs:

- 2K miles, spedometer stopped working, electronics fried
- 22K miles, two new ignition coils (warranty)
- 23K miles, new battery #1 ($130)
- 26K miles, new battery #2 ($130)
- 31K miles, new alternator (warranty)
- 40K miles, completely new clutch kit ($900)
- 42K miles, the springs in both front door handles broke (haven't bothered to fix)
- 58K miles, complete CV axle replacements, both sides ($1,300)
- 64K miles, new batter #3 (mind you, the factory battery was supposed to last 5 years - $130)

At around 40K miles, it started doing this weird thing where you have to crank it 3 times to start it - every time, like clockwork. The first try, it will just crank til you kill the battery if you don't quit. The second try, same thing - or it will catch then splutter. Third try, it fires up like a Lamborghini.

Everything in the whole damn car vibrates and rattles - rearview mirror, sun visors, door panels, glovebox. The paint is spidered and flaking off the bumpers, and the taillight assemblies and trunk leak water.

You might as well go to the bank, take out $20,000 and just burn it on the sidewalk out front....

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Accidents don't just happen. They must be carelessly planned.

[riggerrob 561]

A Plymouth Horizon, TC3. Biggest POS that I've ever owned!!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Funny! A Plymoth Horizon TC3 was my first car.It ran great until a friend drove it into a steel post TWICE!
Then it became a POS. I eventually siced a collection agency on him to recover the cost of repairs and the last thing I heard about him was his being drummed out of the Air Force for accumulating too many debts.

[riggerrob 561]

My Honda Civic was a POS when I bought it off my sister - for cheap!
My first clue was the rusted through door sills.
It ran great for a couple of years, until I burned a valve driving while driving from Chicago to San Francisco. A mechanic - in San Francisco took one look at the rusted out front suspension and warned me against driving it at highway speeds. Then it developed radiator leaks, oil leaks and even battery leaks.
By the time I delivered it to the scrap yard ....
But Hey! that Civic served me well for four years, at least three years longer than expected.

[Goody_23 0]

Ford Taurus station wagon...A car my parents gave me to go back and fourth to school in 5 hours away...It was pretty sweet having a car but it never once made a round trip there and back in 2 years...apporox 10 trips.. I had to count on every trip home costing me an extra $400 for repairs.

My friends actually gambled on how far I would get before breaking down.

SKYDIVING = HAPPY

[Jumpervint 0]

We had the Mercury Sable version of this. had to put in a new transmission after about 86,000 mile. The second time it went out, we got rid of the car.

Bought a used Taurus wagon a few years later. Someone came around the corner and slid into it in icy weather while it was parked in front of our house and totaled it. Best thing to happen to us before it started to nickel and dime us to death.

Vint

. . . . .
"Make it hard again." Doc Ed

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

[gonzalesna 0]

owned a 1988 mercury tracer (about the size of a geo metro or ford fiesta) had a hole in the gas tank just over the half full point, rusted so bad, you needed a tetanus shot to drive it and the exhaust was so beat up and rusted it rattled.

I miss that little car.

Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie.

[riggerrob 561]

Oh!
Did I mention that my "rust bucket" Honda Civic was so badly rusted that even the fuel filler nozzle leaked!
Every time I refueled it, a flammable puddle appeared under car. It was barely noticeable on rainy days, but embarrassing on dry days!

[gonzalesna 0]

Quote

Oh!
Did I mention that my "rust bucket" Honda Civic was so badly rusted that even the fuel filler nozzle leaked!
Every time I refueled it, a flammable puddle appeared under car. It was barely noticeable on rainy days, but embarrassing on dry days!

Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie.

[tbrown 26]

Quote

Well, I was not the owner, but my family did have a Pinto from about 76-81, so I did get to experience all of its delights.

I learned how to drive in my dad's 1971 Pinto. Four on the floor, a good thing to learn that serves me well to this day. Eventually Dad sold the car to my little brother, but I got to use it a lot because he was away so often. The gas tank never exploded on me and I don't recall any other serious problems or breakdowns.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[1969912 0]

Quote

owned a 1988 mercury tracer (about the size of a geo metro or ford fiesta) had a hole in the gas tank just over the half full point, rusted so bad, you needed a tetanus shot to drive it and the exhaust was so beat up and rusted it rattled.

I miss that little car.

In HS, I had a '62 Studebaker Lark that burned so much oil that I'd put used oil in it from the recycling drum at work. CHP gave me a ticket for "excessive smoke" once. Later on, it started consuming water so fast that I could barely get home from work (~5 mi) without filling the radiator. Several times while stuck in traffic, the engine got so hot it seized. After cooling a bit, it'd start right up and run great. The car never broke down other than when it seized. Ended up trading it for a gun and some pot

Edit: Addded pic of '62 lark (mine was white). Wish I had kept it.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[wmw999 2,166]

My first car was a 1963 Ford Falcon station wagon with holes in the roof (bless duct tape), floor (but only the back seat), and the rear deck (so I never carried anything there). The paint was so bad that the one time I made the mistake of trying to wash it, the water ran off white .

The ridiculous thing is that I spent nearly as much in front end repairs as I did on the car ($150). When it was finally towed off after the oil pump died (it was mounted inside the engine), I still had to retrieve it from the car pound because it had new tires I wanted to put on my new car

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[NWFlyer 2]

Quote

I learned how to drive in my dad's 1971 Pinto. Four on the floor, a good thing to learn that serves me well to this day. Eventually Dad sold the car to my little brother, but I got to use it a lot because he was away so often. The gas tank never exploded on me and I don't recall any other serious problems or breakdowns.

I learned to drive on a 1981 Chevy Chevette, also manual transmission. It was our family's 3rd car, so it was mine to use (unless one of my parents needed it for some reason). So I got it most days for school and work. I enjoyed telling people I drove a 'vette. Boy were they unimpressed when they saw that thing. But hey, it was a car, and it was mine to use, so it was better than nothing. And I'm very glad I learned to drive stick - all the cars I've purchased for myself have been manual.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Muenkel 0]

Ooh, I just thought of one. It wasn't a car that was considered a 'Worst Car of All Time', but it sure gave me problems.

In '87, my parents gave me their '85 Olds Toronado. They never had a problem with it. When I got it, all hell broke loose. It started to constantly overheat. It was in the shop several times with no success. I think the mechanics were retarded. Finally, a new radiator was put in along with other parts. After that, it worked like a charm.

_________________________________________
Chris

[riggerrob 561]

Stop reminding me!

My "rust bucket" Honda Civic also had a rusty hole in the top of the gas tank. It was only a problem when driving in the rain. It got worse when roads were "slushy." I pumped many gallons of gas line anti-freeze through that car, until they welded a patch on the top of the gas tank.
I firmly believe that pumping all that salty slush through the engine contributed to its demise .. well past 100,000 kilometres.