1969912 0 #1 January 12, 2008 In the $2500 Car thread, Quade posted a link to a "Worst Cars of All Time" list. I was surprised to see that I've owned 2 of them. Chevy Vega (Major League POS, but no problems over ~3 years/20,000 mi. Got ~32 mpg Hwy) Mazda RX-2 (Bought it to repair/resell during college. Didn't drive it much, but it hauled ass. Made $800/two days work) ------------------------------------- So, has anyone else owned one or more from the list? Comments? The list: http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/26/cx_dl_0126feat.html. Click "See slideshow" link at bottom of page for info on each car. "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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swedishcelt 0 #2 January 12, 2008 I haven't owned one but there is a 57 Edsel without wheels behind my Aunt's house. Among others...I thought for sure my first car, a 79' Nova would be on the list. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #3 January 12, 2008 Cheap cars I've owned: I've owned a Chevette Scooter and a Plymouth Sundance America. And this that I got for $350. Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grannyinthesky 0 #4 January 12, 2008 The worst car i've owned would have to be the 60 something Corvair that I had in the early 70's. About a week after I bought it, the motor fell out of it on Main Street in downtown Salinas. I called the car lot I was making payments to and told them to come and get it!!!"safety first... and What the hell..... safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy POPS #10490 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #5 January 12, 2008 It's been 13 years since I had a break-down of ANY sort...that one cost me $100 for an electronic doo-hickey (I narrowed it down myself to one of two parts, each of which were $100. Dealer wanted $100 to diagnose & another $100 for the part, so I flipped a quarter hoping to save a hundred bucks & was right the first time). Oddly enough, I've NEVER had a flat on the side of the road, so I'm sitting at 22ish years of driving with just that one breakdown that affected a drive of mine. Obviously, I'm knocking on wood here. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #6 January 12, 2008 WHEW! Just missed with my 1990 Bronco II. Which I loved, BTW. And it's nice to see my first car, a 1977 Honda Civic Hatchback, wasn't even on the list. Even with the windows rolling down on bumpy roads, and the bolts holding the stick shift vibrating off on my way home one day. Not to mention the personalized touches on the AM radio ... Budweiser beer caps for knobs (not from me, from the PREVIOUS owner - my brother). Oh that endearing way the windows would "vibrate" DOWN on the road (which necessitated shoving cigarette packages between the windows and the frame to keep them up). Yep, an all around "classy vehicle". God I miss that car. RIP dear Wembley ... RIP. Thank you for getting me out of a speeding ticket on the way to the DZ one day. And that is left for another story another day. 'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zing 2 #7 January 12, 2008 I had a first year model Corvair convertible in the mid-60s, but only for a few weeks. Not long after I bought it a bunch of us skipped school on a warm Spring day and ended up down on the river doing donuts on the ice. As we spun to a stop on the last run the engine stalled and we heard the ice crack. Luckily, I had the top down, and all five of us bailed as the back wheels went through the ice. We watched as the car settled tail end first through the ice and sank in about 15 feet of water. The worst car I ever owned was a 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite. It was a fun little car when it was running, but it was cursed with Lucas Electric systems. If it rained, or the temperature went below 35 degrees F., it wouldn't start.Zing Lurks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boinky 0 #8 January 12, 2008 I had a Ford Pinto. My first financed car. I had it for a year and never had any problems with it. I made the mistake of trading it in for my next car, though: A Plymouth Horizon, TC3. Biggest POS that I've ever owned!!! Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shell666 0 #9 January 12, 2008 Quote It's been 13 years since I had a break-down of ANY sort...that one cost me $100 for an electronic doo-hickey (I narrowed it down myself to one of two parts, each of which were $100. Dealer wanted $100 to diagnose & another $100 for the part, so I flipped a quarter hoping to save a hundred bucks & was right the first time). Oddly enough, I've NEVER had a flat on the side of the road, so I'm sitting at 22ish years of driving with just that one breakdown that affected a drive of mine. Obviously, I'm knocking on wood here. Blues, Dave Ya know, the ONLY flats I've ever had have happened in the same place. LP. To two separate vehicles. Think there's something to that?? And I've only had to call a tow truck twice. Once on the way to the DZ here (I left the vehicle in their hands and went to the DZ) and once on the way home from LP (which necessitated a night over in Lethbridge and while they fixed the Bronco II, I smacked my head on the waterslide at the hotel). I chock it up to bad luck. 'Shell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grannyinthesky 0 #10 January 12, 2008 Quote I had a first year model Corvair convertible in the mid-60s, but only for a few weeks. Not long after I bought it a bunch of us skipped school on a warm Spring day and ended up down on the river doing donuts on the ice. As we spun to a stop on the last run the engine stalled and we heard the ice crack. Luckily, I had the top down, and all five of us bailed as the back wheels went through the ice. We watched as the car settled tail end first through the ice and sank in about 15 feet of water. And I can't think of a more fitting end for one of those things!!"safety first... and What the hell..... safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy POPS #10490 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969912 0 #11 January 12, 2008 Lucas - The Prince of Darkness "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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigway 4 #12 January 12, 2008 Would you please leave my family name out of this .Karnage Krew Gear Store . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JSBIRD 1 #13 January 12, 2008 Quote I haven't owned one but there is a 57 Edsel without wheels behind my Aunt's house. Among others... You may want to make a deal for that 1957 Edsel, since they didn't make them until the 1958 model year. (God, I hate knowing that) BASE359"Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skiskyrock 0 #14 January 12, 2008 Come on. The Renault Encore doesn't even make the list? It saves wear and tear on the radiator cap by blowing the heater core and venting steam and boiling water onto the drivers legs when it over heats. I haven't owned one for 17 years, but I still get letters from personal injury lawyers checking up on my health. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #15 January 12, 2008 I had a light blue Pinto. I couldn't complain about it because my parents bought it for me so I could drive myself to swim practices. Man, was it ugly though.She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usedtajump 1 #16 January 12, 2008 Can't remember the year model but bought a Pinto station wagon to haul skydiving gear back and forth from home to the DZ on the weekends....... big mistake. After about two months I traded that POS in on a new car and a week later the dealer actually called me at home and berated me for screwing them on the trade in. The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkycndo 0 #17 January 12, 2008 As a kid, we had the Mercury version of the Pinto called the Bobcat. It was one stylin' wagon, even had the phake woodgrain paneling sticker on the sides. 50 donations so far. Give it a try. You know you want to spank it Jump an Infinity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #18 January 12, 2008 As I wrote in the other thread, my college boyfriend owned a Mazda RX2. Yellow. It belched BLACK smoke when you started it. We would hide down below the windows when it did this, then peek back up to see if anyone saw before we'd head off down the road. When I took an "auto engine rebuilding class" it was decided we'd rebuild the Mazda. Couldn't lose, right? Rotary engine and all. Had the most fun dismantling and rebuilding the thing. Grease up past our elbows many nights until 10pm when the prof said we'd have to leave for the evening. Ah the memories. Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkycndo 0 #19 January 12, 2008 Quote Grease up past our elbows many nights until 10pm Ah the memories. Did either of you actually do any work on the engine, or just each other?50 donations so far. Give it a try. You know you want to spank it Jump an Infinity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #20 January 12, 2008 Quote Quote Grease up past our elbows many nights until 10pm Ah the memories. Did either of you actually do any work on the engine, or just each other? Barely met the deadline to have the car back together before the end of term...ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #21 January 12, 2008 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. "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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #22 January 12, 2008 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. Singed a bit where we...? ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #23 January 12, 2008 No, I don't think ours ever caught on fire, but I do recall a lot of time spent on the side of the road. "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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #24 January 12, 2008 Quote No, I don't think ours ever caught on fire, but I do recall a lot of time spent on the side of the road. One summer I spent a few weeks at a friend's house (while my folks were on a vacation). This friend's parent had a Pinto. I thought it was the coolest car EVER. This was '76 IIRC. Of course I was all but 12 years old, and in to horses and everything... ;^) ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lastchance 0 #25 January 13, 2008 I used to drive an 88 Formula Firebird over the road to LP all the time. It was a great, solid ride but every time I took it over that road it felt like it was going to rattle apart because of the stiff suspension. I totally understand flats on that road. Sure glad it's half paved now. I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
