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

cyclonebri1

Ahem, https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3686913 Post #11, :rotfl::rotfl:certainly was "interesting"

poppasmurf_bewdley

1st worse car - 1968 Mini Cooper bought new. In 12 months, big ends went, brake calipers seized, drive joints failed, handbrake failed, water pump failed, rust came through the roof and front wings.

"2nd worse car - 1988 Mazda 323. Again bought new. Creak in the centre pillar every time the car moved, and a continuous rattle under the dashboard. Neither could be traced or cured and I sold the car after six months at a huge loss.

TrickyWicky

Worst was a fiat.. can't remember the model (and remembering the brand is painful). Bought it for £700, week later the box blew up, got shot of it asap.

Had a few french motors, I think we must of got lucky as only one was a money pit and weirdly its the one i still really miss! Great car it was but always had things going wrong, breaking or the exhaust was threatening to drop off. The rest of the french ones have been ok touch wood.

chrisw

P Reg Hillman Avenger. 3 years old, wings held on with cable ties where they'd rusted off, hammer to the starter motor every time I wanted to go anywhere, footwells full of water which sloshed around and froze solid in the winter. Front wheel tie bar rusted through causing the wheel to fold under during braking on the M6 finally sent it to the scrapyard at 5 years old.

But every trip was an adventure - you just don't get the same sense of achievement or character in cars these days. (Thank goodness). Good experience in car mechanics as well.

mikey72

I think technology has just improved with the years.
I had an avenger, nothing major went wrong, a headlight fell out, I taped it back in, I had a Alpine, that had an indicator fall out, gearbox was poor, I still have a 60's beetle, an 80's renault, we have a 80's mini in the family, and they all drive ok, and keep going, the mini started first time every day last winter.
All the doors freeze shut, but then every car I've owned has.
The modern Vauxhall we have goes just as well though, but does tend to let you in on a cold day.
The only thing they all have in common is the heaters are better over the years.

I want a Hillman Imp though. One car I never owned.

Lum

Whilst I've owned a number of cheap nasty sheds over the years, I'm going to cast my vote to the 2 1/2 year old Audi TT that I had as a company car for six months because no-one else wanted it (I later learned how company car tax worked)

23 years old and driving around in a TT, should have been awesome, right?

Before I'd gotten it, the coil packs had been replaced twice, the dashboard clocks had been replaced twice but the fuel gauge still didn't work, oh and the rear hatch would fill up with water and then pour it over the back seat when you opened it.

Not long after I got it, it developed this odd whirry rattle noise between 2000 and 3000 RPM, took it to an Audi dealer who said it wasn't important bring it back in two weeks and they'll sort it, I say "so it's not going to explode on me half an hour down the motorway". They assured me that it would not do that. Technically they were telling the truth, it made it an hour, to the end of the motorway and onto a busy 2 lane roundabout that was down to one lane due to roadworks, then it exploded.

Turned out that some pulley involved in the variable valve timing had fallen off stopping the camshaft from turning. New cylinder head under warranty and from then on it was guzzling a litre of expensive Audi oil per week, which I had to buy and then claim back on expenses. Audi insisted nothing was wrong and the company had no interest in fixing it.

A few months later it broke down again, once again leaving me stranded in the middle of a busy roundabout. This time the crank angle sensor had failed.

Not long after that fix it developed another interesting fault, if you sat idling for a bit, then drove off it would leave behind a white smokescreen, it would be thicker and last for longer if you left it idling for a long period of time. The boss suggested it was probably a knackered turbo and no way was he paying to fix it (I'd exceeded the 30,000 mile warranty by this point) with only 2 months left on the lease.

With a month to go, it had also started to develop a quite noticeable amount of play in the steering, and it was decided that I should stop driving it and they'll just park it for a month and hand it back to the lease company like that.


I've owned far worse cars, but you expect things like that from £100 bangers, not from a premium brand car that's still under warranty.

avantra

[QUOTE=you_expect_things_like_that_from_£100_bangers,_not_from_a_premium_brand_car_that's_still_under_warranty.[/QUOTE]

We have to face the truth,VAG (apart from Skoda) makes innovative but not very well built cars period.

We own a B5 2003 Passat TD 130 S and it is reliable.
But, that said this design was a one off and many of their cars in the following years were expensive tat (The TT if I remember well was the worst car Which? could have find 10 years ago).

mikey72

avantra wrote: »

We have to face the truth,VAG (apart from Skoda) makes innovative but not very well built cars period.

We own a B5 2003 Passat TD 130 S and it is reliable.
But, that said this design was a one off and many of their cars in the following years were expensive tat (The TT if I remember well was the worst car Which? could have find 10 years ago).

True, the Skoda Estelle was an interesting car to drive. Wish I had one now.

jase1

Never could understand why the TT developed such a reputation when it was little more than a parts-bin special.

I've been fairly lucky -- the worst car I've owned was an old Vauxhall Cavalier which was basically falling to pieces when I had it -- I think it would be easier to list the things that weren't broken.

mikey72

jase1 wrote: »

Never could understand why the TT developed such a reputation when it was little more than a parts-bin special.

I've been fairly lucky -- the worst car I've owned was an old Vauxhall Cavalier which was basically falling to pieces when I had it -- I think it would be easier to list the things that weren't broken.

But half the parts you didn't need then, and the other half you could fix at the roadside.
Mates cavalier's gearbox fell off, literally, we found a couple of bolts, pushed it back, and hand tightened them back off, and drove home.