The most feeble, unrealiable car you've ever had

LandyAndy

Worst car I ever owned: - 1981 BMW 320 (bought in 1985) - the only car I ever owned where I would leave home never knowing if I'd get back. Haven't risked buying one since.

Currently have a Peugeot 405 on 219k miles doing 20+k a year - a great motor that I have owned for 7 years.

save-a-lot

Can't believe I even owned this car... Rover 216 Coupe. It was terrible. I reached the maximum call-outs allowed with the RAC in the year I had that car. Cost me a fortune in repairs.

northstar23

Yeah this thread has certainly stirred up some unpleasant memories... I've had a few sheds in my life but like a previous poster said, at least anyone with any nous could fix the old bangers.

So, the roll call of dishonour that is the worst cars I've ever had

82 Morris Ital - Awful in every single way imaginable

85 Fiat Uno 55S - Rust issues; Merely sneezing near it would create enough damp for the engine to refuse to start; Rusted so quickly that the doors had more filler than metal; leaky sunroof; carburettor jets blocked up thus fouling the engine... did I mention the rust? .

1978 Peugeot 104 - 4 camshafts in 6 years tells its own story.

1978 Fiesta Mk1 - A car I look back on fondly now and spawned possibly one of the best motors for generations to come. However at the time it turned slower than milk, had a crashing ride, vestigial boot, no rear wiper, a useless heater and left me with a £380 bill for damaged valve seats. And in 1990 that was a lot of money. Finally sold it for £200 in 1994 to a guy named Jason who drove it so hard the engine siezed 6 weeks later.

Deserving of a mention for being naff anyway... Austin Cambridge, Hillman Imp and early 1975 Range Rover. That last one is only due to the fact that it had a gearbox like stirring concrete though.

Deserving mentions for being the best cars I've had... Focus Mk1, Morris Traveller, Fiesta Mk5. All 3 were / are a total joy to own.

Bob63

Following my worst cars post in this thread, my best ever was a 1998 Toyota Landcruiser Colorado with a 3.0L diesel and automatic gearbox. I had it from new and did 90,000 miles in two years - all it need was servicing and tyres. Not a single fault or warranty claim. It even shrugged off the 10 litres of petrol that I put in the tank by mistake one very early morning at Newport Pagnell services - all I did was fill the rest of the 70 litre tank with diesel then run it as normal. It was the perfect car - huge, relatively economical and fast.

jimmo

Favourite car I ever owned was a 1969 Hillman Imp 875ccs of absolute joy.
The engine for the Imp was a de-tuned Coventry Climax formula 1 engine. It absolutely loved high revs and definitely didn’t appreciate it if you were gentle on the throttle. It did need regular servicing and an oil change every 3 months was absolutely vital.
I did 100k miles over 7 years but I did go through a couple of clutches.
Least favourite car was a Citroen with a suspension that pumped itself up when you started up. So many problems it was unbelievable.
Best car I ever owned was a Vauxhall Carlton 1.8. Totally comfortable, totally reliable, it was a beauty, but I still miss my Imp.
Worst car I ever owned was a 1961 Morris 1100. To be honest it was an absolute shed and on its best days the best I could get out of it was nearly 65mph.
However it was my first car and I learned a thing or two on the back seat in country lanes in the middle of the night that live with me to this day.
Happy days.

pulliptears

northstar23 wrote: »

Deserving mentions for being the best cars I've had... Focus Mk1, Morris Traveller, Fiesta Mk5. All 3 were / are a total joy to own.

:T I had a Morris Minor for a few years, and although reliability wasnt brilliant at least I could fix 90% of its problems myself, usually by the roadside.

I look into the engine bay of a modern car and feel a bit _pale_

jammin_2

1998 Renault Megane. Head gasket went.

Bought another 1998 Megane (what can I say, the wife liked the seats).. Second Megane needed £100s every month. Gearbox, clutch, ignition coil, wheel bearing..

I'll never buy French again.

*firmly closes can of worms*..

vaio

Old convertible triumph herald back in the ‘70s, used to coat no 4 plug in oil every 50 miles, I used to keep a spare in a jar of petrol and swap it when required.

Tuned 998 imp from the same period with a scary appetite for head gaskets (eventually cured by fitting a front rad) and clutches (eventually cured by not driving like a mad thing).

Herald was a babe magnet so worth all the hassle in the long hot summer of ’76.

Modern cars are so much better (although much much harder to fix) with the exception of my dear old dads small engined automatic Fiesta which is horrible on every level.

VincentVega

Fiat Punto 1.8 HGT. I could watch the fuel gauge move in real time. Handbrake was duff, and the clutch was appalling. I sold it after three months - losing around £3200 in the process.

goldspanners

jammin wrote: »

(what can I say, the wife liked the seats)..

you should have let her know that most cars come with seats as standard these days! :rotfl: