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      07-24-2020, 01:52 PM   #1
bobkat09
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What’s the WORST car you’ve ever owned?

Mine was an Audi 2001 A4 Quattro 2.8. It had transmission problems, suspension issues, terrible brakes, heat/AC that mostly didn’t work at all, wheel bearings that would last about 10k miles, and continuous engine oil leaks. The final straw was when the head gasket failed.

My second worst car was a 95 VW GTI I bought new. That was the first year they were produced in Mexico. The engine and suspension were great. The rest of the car was total crap. I never knew a car could have that many squeaks and rattles.

Last edited by bobkat09; 07-24-2020 at 02:56 PM..
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      07-24-2020, 02:04 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobkat09 View Post
Mine was an Audi 2001 A4 Quattro 2.8. It had transmission problems, suspension issues, terrible brakes, heat/AC that mostly didn’t work at all, wheel bearings that would last about 10k miles, and continuous engine oil leaks. The final straw was when the head gasket failed.

My second worst car was a 95 GTI I bought new. That was the first year they were produced in Mexico. The engine and suspension were great. The rest of the car was total crap. I never knew a car could have that many squeaks and rattles.
It's a tie, but they were both Audi. 1972 100LS that left me stranded from different causes several times. Repeatedly cracked the oil pressure sensor which turned the car into James Bond's Aston Martin, spraying all behind me with oil. Made lots of friends that way. Gearshift handle came off in my hand...not just the knob...the entire lever! Warpage under then carb when driven more than a couple of hours made it non-driveable, etc., etc.

Like a fool, I went along when my wife fell in love with a 2016 A6 3.0T Prestige. There had been no Audis in-between. I assumed/hoped things had improved. NOPE! Transmission unable to shift properly and dealer said they knew, but there was no fix. Electrical features worked randomly. Rotors warped in the first 18 months and they denied warranty as "wear and tear". Worse yet, the tech told me the rotors were defective, but he was told the modify the repair order to support denying warranty. That was it. We dumped it and will never send another penny their way. Nothing VW/Audi forever!

Best car ever? Not coincidentally, this 2 Series! Solid, reliable, no issues, does exactly what it should, always.

Had a lot of domestic cars in-between while working for a domestic car company in Detroit. Those would all be in-between. None were ever as bad as Audi. Nothing else has touched the excellence of the 2 Series. These days, I would buy a car from any of the Detroit 3 (wherever they are legally headquartered) before ever considering anything VW/Audi.
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      07-24-2020, 02:04 PM   #3
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Thanks for reminding me.
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      07-24-2020, 02:10 PM   #4
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1984 Chrysler Laser. By 5 years old the paint had crazed on the roof, the interior trim was peeling, the clutch exploded in the middle of rush hour traffic, the rear suspension torsion bar had a crack in it and various oil leaks and electrical gremilns existed. Much worse than the worst of the few old British cars I have ever owned.
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      07-24-2020, 02:30 PM   #5
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      07-24-2020, 02:50 PM   #6
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      07-24-2020, 03:25 PM   #7
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Jeep clear exists to give 4th quartile engineering school graduates something to do that is kind of like engineering, but without all the math and hard stuff.

I loved my Wrangler, but it was horribly built and had a leaky roof that no number of visits to the dealership could plug. It also just generally didn't hold up well.

I know y'all are shocked to hear that Jeeps are poorly engineered. So much for "purpose built;" unless the purpose was having me drink the shitty dealership coffee on most of my Saturday mornings.

It was fun while functional, however.
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      07-24-2020, 04:32 PM   #8
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      07-24-2020, 05:02 PM   #9
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The two least reliable cars I have ever owned were both Ford products.
The first was my first new car, a Capri, which I loved, but it kept shedding bits and pieces.
The second was a Taurus wagon, great for transporting kids, but it ate transmissions.
The most boring car we ever owned was a 2012 Honda CR-V. IT was a rock, but very boring. We gave it to our daughter after three years and she still drives it. We bought an X3. Not boring.
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      07-24-2020, 05:08 PM   #10
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A 1968 Mustang 289 cu, tricked out with 4 barrel carb and tuned headers. I rolled it once and crashed it a second time. Damn, 1970 was hard on us. But really, the only bad vehicle I have ever owned was a 1982 Nissan pick-up that the paint, not once, but twice looked like ocean salt over metallic brown. Fixed by Nissan twice but still a pain.
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      07-24-2020, 05:30 PM   #11
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Definitely my 1976 Pontiac Sunbird.

But I bought it because I wanted something deliberately bad/funny to race at Lemons. 5-speed manual, RWD....and about 100 hp at maybe 3500 RPM. Shift at 4000 RPM, because...well it doesn't make power much higher than that with it's 3.8L V6 running (extremely efficiently mind you) on gasoline.
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      07-24-2020, 06:01 PM   #12
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      07-24-2020, 06:04 PM   #13
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1989 Ford Escort. Needed a screwdriver to close the driver side door, was running two donuts at one point, and the dog had chewed through both of the "motor mouse" seatbelts so there was just a frayed piece of seatbelt fabric hanging from them. Used this to drive pizza delivery in NY.

It was a real piece of shit.
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      07-24-2020, 06:45 PM   #14
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      07-24-2020, 06:53 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moflow View Post
Definitely my 1976 Pontiac Sunbird.

But I bought it because I wanted something deliberately bad/funny to race at Lemons. 5-speed manual, RWD....and about 100 hp at maybe 3500 RPM. Shift at 4000 RPM, because...well it doesn't make power much higher than that with it's 3.8L V6 running (extremely efficiently mind you) on gasoline.
I loved my '82 Pontiac Sunbird. When people got in my way on a commute, I just gave them a little nudge. The thing was like a little tank. Mine was a 4-speed manual and I think an inline 4-cylinder engine.

Last edited by Winemaker2; 07-24-2020 at 06:59 PM..
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      07-24-2020, 06:59 PM   #16
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      07-24-2020, 07:54 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 9t2hoo View Post
I was desperate...
I know about that part. It's never fun.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bthomas518 View Post
...the dog had chewed through both of the "motor mouse" seatbelts so there was just a frayed piece of seatbelt fabric hanging from them.
I had a whippet that one afternoon tore off the entire front seat leather upholstery in my very nice 1959 Rover 100. I was visiting a lady friend who didn't care for dogs, so I'd left him in the car; apparently, that was his opinion of the matter. The gfs came and went – the dog stayed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Winemaker2 View Post
When people got in my way on a commute, I just gave them a little nudge. The thing was like a little tank.
Yeah, it was guys like you that convinced me that owning an M6 in San Francisco was delusional. I sold it, bought a Nissan Sentra, and was back in business.
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      07-24-2020, 08:52 PM   #18
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      07-24-2020, 09:20 PM   #19
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      07-24-2020, 10:05 PM   #20
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2008 BMW X3...

I was seduced by the 6 speed manual...? I guess? Having owned only one other suv, a ‘96 Lexus LX450 (a true beast of a car for the apocalypse), I somehow found myself behind the wheel of an X3... with less room than a sedan, a suspension out of a Lambo, and a propensity for leaving me stranded in the cold of Maine. After the last plastic bit in the coolant system broke, unleashing the volcanic eruption of antifreeze all over the engine and up my windshield, I bought a ‘97 Impreza for $800 as a quick way out and boy THAT turned out to be one of the most fun and indestructible cars I have ever driven. Just try to kill one of those, it can’t be done easily.
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      07-24-2020, 10:17 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeanuKeeyes View Post
2008 BMW X3...

I was seduced by the 6 speed manual...? I guess? Having owned only one other suv, a ‘96 Lexus LX450 (a true beast of a car for the apocalypse), I somehow found myself behind the wheel of an X3... with less room than a sedan, a suspension out of a Lambo, and a propensity for leaving me stranded in the cold of Maine. After the last plastic bit in the coolant system broke, unleashing the volcanic eruption of antifreeze all over the engine and up my windshield, I bought a ‘97 Impreza for $800 as a quick way out and boy THAT turned out to be one of the most fun and indestructible cars I have ever driven. Just try to kill one of those, it can’t be done easily.
Yours is an instructive post.

My first reaction is that if to the extent possible we could gather together every data point for every relevant vehicle (e.g., the reports produced by Consumer Reports), and then associate those with a wide range of anecdotal experiences such as your own, many enthusiasts would be better prepared to go out to do battle with the reality of the cars that are out there to be purchased, new and used.

Clearly, the internet has helped in this regard. At the same time, the complexity of the new cars on offer today suggests that we may never catch up to the manufacturers.
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      07-25-2020, 01:42 AM   #22
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Worst car would be my 2008 Acura TL type S. So many little things made noise and flooring it from a stop was begging to hit the car to your right. Fast but not sporty at all. Just badly designed.
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