Corona Virus: A Time to Reflect - Worst Vehicle You’ve Ever Owned
- Thread starter BlowMeAway
- Start date
Maine, I do notice some commonalities amongst that list of vehicles
Had a BMW parked in front of my house for ~4 months. Kid's friend's car. Needed a radiator. How hard is a radiator? 1 beer job, right? 4 months and ~$2000 worth of parts later it was running again. (Time was waiting on parts delivery) If you touched a part, it broke. If you put a wrench on a bolt, it broke. But I'm sure the turn signal stalk was completely unworn.
I also shared the no-GM view since the '75 vega. Somehow I now drive a 2019 Bolt, and while the doo-dads and interior fit are pretty much the mediocrity that I'd expect from GM, the car is an absolute ball to drive (and was cheap...free actually when I consider the cost of gas)
1985 jeep cj7. bought it new, built locally, still own it. was a piece of junk the day i bought it, never ran in the salt. silly to operate. it is so poorly designed on so many levels that it's fun to parade it up and down the shore road to aeolus. a true jalopy when new
'78 vette..first car
In 1989 the midas guys said to let it die, we still spent many hundreds keeping it alive, "Hey, now we know its in good condition" my mom said. It was supposed to be a 'throw-a-way' car they said.
Later on in 1996 (still broke) I picked up another one thinking they last a long time actually. An electrical fire started while it was sitting on my bosses concrete driveway. Was a blackened husk when it was dragged on the rims and melted tires down the driveway and up the tow truck flatbed.
Spent the next saturday scrubbing the melted rubber and plastic off the driveway.
I'l never let a 10 year old vehicle in my garage and usually trade out after 10 years now that I can.
I had a 1990's subaru whatever back in 1997 that the mechanic said was impossible to align tires for. Burned through tires (one side only to the metal bands) every 3 months. Finally got a loan for a mazda and never looked back.
In 1989 the midas guys said to let it die, we still spent many hundreds keeping it alive, "Hey, now we know its in good condition" my mom said. It was supposed to be a 'throw-a-way' car they said.
Later on in 1996 (still broke) I picked up another one thinking they last a long time actually. An electrical fire started while it was sitting on my bosses concrete driveway. Was a blackened husk when it was dragged on the rims and melted tires down the driveway and up the tow truck flatbed.
Spent the next saturday scrubbing the melted rubber and plastic off the driveway.
I'l never let a 10 year old vehicle in my garage and usually trade out after 10 years now that I can.
I had a 1990's subaru whatever back in 1997 that the mechanic said was impossible to align tires for. Burned through tires (one side only to the metal bands) every 3 months. Finally got a loan for a mazda and never looked back.
The “one I didn’t buy” award for me goes to a 1960’s vintage InternatIonal Harvester Scout!
I was in high school, in Montana, and all my friends had Jeeps. I couldn’t afford one, so was looking for a cheap 4x4, and found the Scout.
I jut remember my dad saying, “it is up to you, but top speed is about 45 MPH, and you drive 35 miles one way to work...“.
I think the owner wanted $600 or $800 bucks, and I painfully walked away. In retrospect, glad I did!
Got that sweet VW Squareback for free from my dad!
This is not the Scout I looked at, but will give you an idea in case you have never run across one. The bullet i dodged was puke green with a while hard top. Butt ugly, slow, rode like a truck. But it was a 4x4!
Greg
Owned a 1982 CJ-7 and agree 100%. High fun factor but for every 2 hours of fun it was 10 hours of work. My 82 was a hybrid mish-mash of GM, Ford and AMC parts. What a freaking mess.... Still, it was fun to own...
Same engine as my “Squareback” I think. It was an aluminum block that I cracked.
Greg
That is all we will own now days (other than my wife's antique Mercedes). Boring as hell, but they are reliable, take a beating and just keep on going... You'll need to pry my 02 Sequoia from my cold dead fingers, unless rust gets it first, then I'll fly to Texas and buy another one, maybe even upgrade to an 07 or perhaps even an LX-470........
My local wheel repair guy knew me all too well when we owned the M3. We averaged about 5-6 bent wheel repairs a year and that was only doing 3K miles per summer. Suffice it to say 45 series tires, on soft magnesium wheels, are one of the dumbest things you can do in Maine.... D'oh....
(1) 1975 Dodge Dart, 225 slant six. Bought brand new. Great car, no problem at all as Chrysler was building good cars at the time. But right after warranty, it won't stop. I.E. run on after shut off. People look at me funny at parking lots. Tried everything, just can't fix it. Live with it for 5 years. Rusted out everywhere as there are no fender liners. Gave it to a new immigrant.
(2) 1979 VW super beetle. Great car but no heat. Need a windshield scraper inside in order to see out. Need to wear heavy coat just to keep warm. Always running out of windshield washer as it was powered by the air from the spare tire. German engineering wasn't always great. Never had to change oil as the filter was just a screen, and the engine leak continuously.
(3) 1984 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. Some smart guy at Jeep decided to use aluminium-copper wire. Stalled + towed many times. Changed all sensors, rebuilt the engine $$$ as it blow oil out of the crank case.
I had my share of bad cars.
(2) 1979 VW super beetle. Great car but no heat. Need a windshield scraper inside in order to see out. Need to wear heavy coat just to keep warm. Always running out of windshield washer as it was powered by the air from the spare tire. German engineering wasn't always great. Never had to change oil as the filter was just a screen, and the engine leak continuously.
(3) 1984 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. Some smart guy at Jeep decided to use aluminium-copper wire. Stalled + towed many times. Changed all sensors, rebuilt the engine $$$ as it blow oil out of the crank case.
I had my share of bad cars.
I had a '77 Toyota Land Cuiser FJ-40 (short wheel base) soft top with a 327 Chevy small block, painted with zebra stripes, 4" lift, 37" tires. I had a BLAST with that car.
One time I came back to the car and there was a note from a girl saying she loved my truck, call her and left her phone number. No, I didn't call since I was at my girlfriend's place when the note was left.
It was a lot of work to keep it running. I broke a shock strut hitting a beaver dam (it was dark, and I was flying through a foot of water in a swamp), burned out the clutch because of the extra torque from the V-8 - cost me a case of beer to get some friends to help pull the engine - I'm on the right - boy that was a few years ago
I had to let the air out of the tires to push the car back, the cable hoist didn't have enough travel to clear the grill.
There were a few other small things like fuel pump, alternator, some wiring. In the end I blew out the rear differential and decided to part ways. I certainly learned a lot from that car. I would not classify it as a bad car, in fact it was surprisingly tolerant of abuse.
78 CJ 7 Jeep. Bought it in 79, by the end of 80 couldn't open the tailgate because hinges rusted solid. Lots of trouble with switches, sending units,gauges. Traded it for a brand new Diesel Rabbit in 1981. Kept that car ( became our spare care in the late 80s) until 2012. Family and friends mocked me as it aged. Mourned it when it was gone. Sold it to a kid who is restoring it, moved on to an Eos convertible. I'm 65 now, recently listed lifetime inventory, 15 cars, 1 jeep, 2 motorcycles,5 pickup trucks, now on the second boat.
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I also drove a CJ 7, that was the Renegade. The only thing it was good for was cruising down Main St. Without the soft top, and the winch. So nice to have the winch. Driving through a deep puddle would kill it because the distributor cap would get wet from the splash. It slid sideways off the crown of the black ice road in a snow storm. When the passenger side wheels hit the ditch, the car fell over. Only doing 4 mph.
I also had a $#!+ green Scout II. I loved that car. It was rugged and sounded like a baritone Harley. It was wide with lots of space and the best part was driving in Boston, no one wanted to get near you.
-Will (Dragonfly)
I also had a $#!+ green Scout II. I loved that car. It was rugged and sounded like a baritone Harley. It was wide with lots of space and the best part was driving in Boston, no one wanted to get near you.
-Will (Dragonfly)
1999 Isuzu Rodeo. Somehow Isuzu manage to design it so the A/C, the transmission, the suspension all wore out at the same time. I took the car in to the shop and $7000 later it was all fixed. It only lasted another two years. The car only had about 120k miles on it.
Top of the worst heap was probably the '85 Audi 5000S. I got a sweet deal on it with low miles from a friend. But not too many miles later, just about everything was breaking. The radiator had a cheap plastic tank at the top that would crack, and the rear electric windows would just drop into the door. I can see in this picture the rear window is probably just sliding down bit by bit!
I did own a 1979 MGB from new that I kept for about 20 years. It only had about 50k miles on it, and I sure learned a lot working on cars with that thing. But it was a fun car and didn't cost a tremendous amount to own. Only the 17% interest rate I had to pay when inflation was rampant. I was a college student, so I had to borrow. I still paid it off in 3 years.
I did own a 1979 MGB from new that I kept for about 20 years. It only had about 50k miles on it, and I sure learned a lot working on cars with that thing. But it was a fun car and didn't cost a tremendous amount to own. Only the 17% interest rate I had to pay when inflation was rampant. I was a college student, so I had to borrow. I still paid it off in 3 years.
So many cars, such a bad memory. Anyway, someone mentioned a Renault which reminded me that I once owned a Renault Dauphine for about 12 hours. Bought it very used for about $100 in 1972 in Paris. Drove it about a half mile and parked. The next morning there appeared to be no gears. Not sure what the seller did to make it roll, but I got out and took a train. It may still be at the curb if you want to check it out.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,087
What? Am I the only College Sophomore who bought a used Ralph Nader Death Car to get around town in the 60’s?
The Venerable Chevy Corvair...Now there was an affordable car - after Nader trash it. Yes it had it’s problems, but “good Girls” would be allowed to jump in the front seat by their dads a lot easier than hopping on the back of a motorcycle driven by a college punk. Oh what I suffered to adapt and overcome.
We had some good times. That rear wheel blowout on the interstate could have killed me, and the time you dropped the gas peddle linkage on the street while I was waiting for the Halloween kids to cross the street in that Ohio town was a pain, but all in all you got me home and fetched a $100 bonus when I sold you. 6 months and 4000 miles later.
The Venerable Chevy Corvair...Now there was an affordable car - after Nader trash it. Yes it had it’s problems, but “good Girls” would be allowed to jump in the front seat by their dads a lot easier than hopping on the back of a motorcycle driven by a college punk. Oh what I suffered to adapt and overcome.
We had some good times. That rear wheel blowout on the interstate could have killed me, and the time you dropped the gas peddle linkage on the street while I was waiting for the Halloween kids to cross the street in that Ohio town was a pain, but all in all you got me home and fetched a $100 bonus when I sold you. 6 months and 4000 miles later.
