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Old 03-28-2011, 06:29 AM   #21
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1972 Corolla, bought new. Leaked oil from the get-go, clutch wore out after 40,000 miles, and numerous other big and small problems 'til I got rid of it 4 years later.
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Old 03-28-2011, 06:31 AM   #22
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Volvo 240. First 4 years were OK, but all hell broke loose after that! Mainly electrical problems.
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Old 03-28-2011, 06:34 AM   #23
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My worst car wasn't so bad. The auto transmission on my 2000 Mazda 626 died shortly after the warranty expired. Cost me about $3k. The replacement started making the same 'I'm about to die' noises and shudders when it had the same miles on it as the original. Quickly donated the car to charity and claimed Blue Book value, which happened to be the last year the IRS allowed such things.
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Old 03-28-2011, 06:35 AM   #24
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1977 Plymouth Volare wagon. Had a nasty habit of stalling and the engine dying 2-3 seconds after stepping on the gas, usually in the middle of a busy intersection...
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Old 03-28-2011, 06:40 AM   #25
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When I was about 18 my brother and I bought an old Dodge of some sort from a used car dealer. We barely got it home and the steering went out -- literally, we were driving down the block in front of our house and the steering wheel started spinning free with no connection to the wheels. The dealer came out and towed it and made "repairs." We took it home and the same thing occurred the next time we took it out -- thank goodness it again happened on our own street at low speed. At least the dealer gave us our money back.
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Old 03-28-2011, 06:49 AM   #26
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My worst car...Renault Fuego. Just not made for out climate.

Best car...Toss up between a BMW Z4M Coupe and Audi A4 1.8T Quattro. Honorable mention to Honda CRX and an older Toyota RWD Corolla.
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Old 03-28-2011, 06:56 AM   #27
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Mine was the first new car I ever bought and it was also my first front wheel drive - a 1984 Mercury Topaz
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Old 03-28-2011, 07:03 AM   #28
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1970's era VW Rabbit with manual transmission. It had a body water leak that followed the wiring into the fuse box, which was in a continual process of self destruction. I had to make sure to leave it in neutral because sometimes when I came out to start it, it was already running. The engine valves also burned out way early and I had to replace them as well as the clutch. What a contrast to the beetles I had previously owned and loved.
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Old 03-28-2011, 07:04 AM   #29
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Worst ever ~ 1984 Chevy DIESEL....notice the DIE in diesel....

It came with a 50,000 mile warranty on the engine which was actually pretty
good back in those days.... 51,000 miles, the engine blows....did GM give a
$hit....not even a "We're sorry".....put a new gasoline engine in it....never
trusted it...sold it.....

My runner up POS (piece of poop) was my 1972 MGB....when it
was running, it was a dream....but then WHEN was it running?....Ok...so maybe
it wasn't THAT bad...but if you knew just how NON-mechanically inclined I was (AM!!)
then you'd know that when I tell you that I could change out a fuel pump
on that car in less than 10 minutes...you'd know why I named the car "Adventure"...

'cause it was an adventure every time you drove it especially not knowing just
where you'd be when you broke down....
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Old 03-28-2011, 08:04 AM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VaCollector View Post
..........I could change out a fuel pump
on that car in less than 10 minutes..........
I thought all MGs came with a rock that was used to tap the electric fuel pump awake.
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Old 03-28-2011, 08:10 AM   #31
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Our worst was a 95 Dodge Caravan. Two transmissions, a steering rack and most front suspension replaced under warranty. Sold it a month before the warranty expired. Second was a 67 Vauxhall Viva automatic.
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Old 03-28-2011, 08:20 AM   #32
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My first car was a '67 Volvo. It was great, dependable, drove it for 13 years. When it came time to give it a decent burial, Volvos were out of my price range. So I bought another Swedish car, a Saab. What a lemon! Towed to the dealer 11 times in the first year. Cracked exhaust manifold 4 times in one year. Eight weeks to get the part from Sweden each time. Alternator belt broke due to rubbing against alternator shroud so dealer use hacksaw to saw off shroud. Took dealer to small claims court - got thrown out because I didn't have an expert witness. Sold car a big loss at end of one year warranty period. Oye!
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Old 03-28-2011, 08:40 AM   #33
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LOL... this could be an adventure.... and I have not owned that many cars in my life...


Worst has to be my 85 Mecury Cougar... it was in the shop at leat 5 times under the one year warrenty.... fuel pump went out during that year.. then, like someone else mentioned it created a stalling problem... I took it in many times and paid many thousands to get it 'fixed'... it usually went away for awhile, but then came back... the car also ate batteries... I had the car for 10 years (I did like it for some reason) and put in probably 20 to 30 batteries... most were under warrenty, so I did not have to pay for them.. at around 100K miles the transmission would not go into gear...

Second worst.... and I loved this car.... my 87 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350... quick and fast... there was a transmission mount that (from what I was told) was on a long piece of metal... so the engine would break this on a regular basis (I think 4 or 5 times in the 95K miles I owned it)... it also had the head gasket go out twice.... and mix the coolant with the oil... it had the headlights that would flip up and both went out (used some kind of nylon or plastic gear).... the radiator went out... the alternator (twice)... hmm, at a loss on what else went out, but I know the list is a lot longer...
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Old 03-28-2011, 08:45 AM   #34
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A 1973 Ford Maverick. Bought it new, and never run right. Idles rough, don't start when its cold. And stalls. One time, it stalls right on the railroad track. I was able to restart it and moved away from the track before the next train came in.

I learned to maintain my own cars from this one. Tune up (on par with Ford service without the hassle), brakes, steering idler arm, oil changes.

I finally got rid after 8 years with 54K miles in it.
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Old 03-28-2011, 08:52 AM   #35
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My very first car was the worst. 2002 Mustang. In the middle of driving down the freeway in Florida a couple miles from a very backed up toll road, the brakes went out.
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Old 03-28-2011, 08:59 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RetiredGypsy View Post
My very first car was the worst. 2002 Mustang. In the middle of driving down the freeway in Florida a couple miles from a very backed up toll road, the brakes went out.
Wow; I also own an '02 (GT vert). Everything original - never replaced a thing. Just get the oil changed every year.

BTW, it has slightly over 18K on the odometer ...
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Old 03-28-2011, 09:03 AM   #37
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The worst car I ever owned, I only owned for 15 minutes. 1965 Buick Special, supposedly good mechanically, but cosmetically challenged. I bought it for $38 from a guy who was going to "fix it up", starting by repainting it. Apparently he thought you needed to strip all the paint off first, using household paint stripper and a putty knife. He started on the roof. His wife came home, saw his handiwork, pitched a fit and told him to "get rid of it, NOW ". I was 16, and riding by on my bike at the time, he thought he'd show her and yelled out "hey kid, you want to buy a car?" I did and gave him the whole $38 I had in my wallet for it... threw my bike in the trunk and took off for home, signed title in hand. I stopped three blocks later to talk to some friends, when I put it back into D it wouldn't go into gear.. After a few tries I was able to get it into R... so I drove the rest of the way home (about a mile) IN REVERSE. When I got home my dad took one look at it and said... you guessed it- "get rid of it, NOW". Our neighbor owned a repair shop, so he bought it from me... for $125...

The transmission was a simple fix, he had it painted by Earl Scheib for $59 professionally repainted and drove it for a couple of years.
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Old 03-28-2011, 09:05 AM   #38
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Hey, my first car was a Chevy Vega around 1974...let's see you top that one for bad! Lasted maybe 60,000 miles or even less.
Another was a Toyota Corolla, but it wasn't the car so much as I hated how low it sat. I couldn't even see muhc over the steering wheel to see past the hood, and I'm only 5' 4-1/2" which is pretty average for a woman since 5'5" is average here in America. And it was a baby poop brownish taupe...barf.
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Old 03-28-2011, 09:13 AM   #39
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'94 Ford Ranger w 3.0 V-6 - Many electrical problems that caused the engine to suddenly die, sometimes at highway speeds. It took 3 dealers almost 2 years to figure it out. Huge PITA. In addtion to the engine/computer/electrical problems, I had big trouble with the transmission (automatic) as well as the emissions system. Ended up selling it in 2001 to an hispanic gentleman who spoke no English, for cash money and no questions asked...lol! Serious! It got hauled back to Mexico along with several other vehicles. Don't ask, don't tell.
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Old 03-28-2011, 09:22 AM   #40
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Kinda hard to pick one...... as a starving college student, I had a whole fleet of short-lived >$500 cars. A '61 VW bug whose brakes went out on Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown and endedup in the Potomac River... a '61 Cadillac hearse (hey - it was cheap!), a '67 Dodge pickup whose previous owner had replaced the brake fluid with kerosene (that was exciting) and, the ultimate, a '73 Vega GT wagon whose engine started drinking a quart of oil every 25 miles when the mileage hit 50,000.
The upside is that it makes me apreciate being able to afford dependable, SAFE and comfortable cars nowadays.
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