What is the worst car you ever owned,and why?

Paradigm

A 1979 Alfasud, great to drive when it worked.
Biggest problem was it developed rust at the 1st sign of a rain cloud, you could almost see it forming before your eyes!

Flearoy

Peugeot 306 turbo diesel bought for a grand as a second run-around. Not a bad model of car, but the well used example I bought from a dealer (it was a part-ex to clear) was an absolute pig. I've learned a lot since then mind...

The heater matrix had been bypassed, presumably it was leaking, so no heating at all. The turbo began making some interesting noises soon after purchase. The electrics were hilarious - the boot would randomly unlock itself whilst driving and the indicators were possessed. It was a collection of short circuits. Trim fell off if looked at.

Anyway, the same day I took it back, kicked up an epic stink and got my money back. I had been told a pack of lies by the sales person, who conveniently wasn't there. He'd said he'd driven the car personally for a month - his colleague said 'Why would he have driven this, he has a 15 grand Lexus?'. I did laugh out loud at that - Mr Bigshot and his second hand Lexus!

plutoniumpilot

My worst car has to be the Renault 11 GTL 1.4. Brakes didn't always work, neither did the heater and there was more rust than bodywork left. It was over the hill when I got it and only had it for a few months as it failed its MOT on numerous items. I was glad to get rid of it, awful awful car.

Weird_Nev

993 Audi 80 TDi Estate.
Bought it because I wanted something with a bit of class and space ,and cheap to run. Paid £2,600 for it, back in 2002.
It had: Some engine fault causing stuttering/no power/inability to accelerate. Intermittent fault that no gagrage could ever get to the bottom of.
Shredded it's auxilliary belt in wales, stranding us.
Electric windows failed, down of course.
Handbrake lever ratchet failed and needed welding back on to the car.
Needed the front end of the car diassembling to change cam belts/ access engine, so was very costly to service.
Finally it ate 2 wheelbearings and then developed an ABS fault.

Horrific car ,and over 20,000 miles I spent more on servicing/fixing it than I spent on fuel.
Sold it honestly described on ebay for £1000.

It did teach me some useful things though: It inspired me to learn how to service and fix cars myself to save money (I still remember the pain of the £850 aux belt/tensioner bill) and it taught be that cars are expensive ,so you might as well run one that's fun and you actuall enjoy.
Both my 2 litre turbo Nissan 200SX and my BMW 328i were far better cars, and actually cost less per mile to run!

avantra

The worst was a 1.6 VW beetle, it was old when I got her but restored by some farmer (yes I know should have spotted that one) , endless problems, engine overheated, use to pop spark plugs every other day. The best thing about her was how easy it was to work on.

Eventually sold her over to another VW mug for profit.


Most reliable motor was the Rover 45 diesel hatch, got rid of her when at 190k her future looked expensive, the wife hated her but the dogs loved the big boot.

bap98189

Worst car I ever owned was an L-reg Renault Clio (technically it was my OH's but I still loath it with a vengeance). Thing was about as reliable as a chocolate teapot. It finally gave up the ghost when the timing belt went. I didn't even bother to try fixing the thing - just stuck it on Freecycle. Someone gave me a bottle of wine for it - I think they were done.

Oddly the car that gave me the most grief was one of my favourite cars. It was a G-reg Peugot 206 1.8 diesel. My second ever car - which I bought for £500 aged 18 and had for about 4 years until it finally gave up the ghost with 150k on the clock. I loved that little car, despite its attempts to kill me. In separate incidents the brakes failed and on another (much more scary) occasion the steering column coming loose whilst I was doing about 60mph. Being able to spin the steering wheel when you are moving at speed on a main road sure brings a new meaning to the old brown trousers.

prowla

I had an R-reg Ford Escort Mk II 1.3 estate; it wouldn't accelerate uphill, it had rust, the gear stick used to come out in your hand.
Eventually, and I've no idea why on earth they would do it, somebody stole it and it was never seen again.

scheming_gypsy

bap98189 wrote: »

Oddly the car that gave me the most grief was one of my favourite cars. It was a G-reg Peugot 206 1.8 diesel.

G reg? that'll be a 205 won't it? J105 NBU I think my 205 was, 1.9GTi and I loved it until somebody stole it and had it crushed because they were sick of seeing me posing in it.

iolanthe07

In 1977 I bought a new Datsun Cherry - in less than four years the wings had rusted right through, and there was no warranty for corrosion in those days. The brakes were terrible too.

cajef

Hillman Imp, used to blow head gaskets for fun, it was an engine out to change them it got to the stage that the engine nearly jumped out by itself, then one day I wanted to turn left round a sharp bend and the car decided to go straight on, the steering column had come out of the rack.:eek: