What was the WORST car you owned.

Ohtobbad

Ohtobbad

Administrator
Staff member
This could be fun or scary :)
maybe its the worst car you owned
or maybe own now.
Was it as bad as this?

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Tell us what it was, can't inagine you took a photo of it
but if so post it.
 
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Bit of a story with this one..... my worst car I ever owned was a truck. Behold my '85 K1500 Silverado, bought it from a friend somewhere in the early 90's, this pic was after I had the body and paint done, along with new 33" BFG AT's. I loved this truck....it had a 350, 4bbl, headers, it was loud and rode like a lumber truck. In other words.....perfect for a single guy in his late 20's into his early 30's. lol

I certainly let the cool factor make the decision over common sense, I looked past all the flaws because it really was a cool truck, my first 4x4, couldn't wait it get it out there and run through the trails.

Problem was, it was a bit of a Truckenstein. Unknown to me, it had gone through several owners and been abused badly in the six or seven years before I got it....... found out later as I took a closer look just how badly it had been butchered up, there was nothing done to a high standard on this truck, it was all "good enough" and cheap and cheerful. The exhaust was held up in true redneck fashion with mechanics wire and chain, the engine block was out of an Oldsmobile and on and on and on. Reliability was terrible, and something broke at least every two weeks it seemed, and I swear the gas mileage was almost single digit.

Unfortunately, I really loved this truck, but it was the worst because I just kept pouring wheelbarrows full of money into it for more years than I should have. I don't regret owning it, because it was a riot to drive, and I had some pretty good times with it.

Eventually though, its time came and I sold it and ended up with my first "new" truck, a two year old '98 F150 XL lease return buyout.
 
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I never had anything like Mike’s story above, but around 1993 I bought a 1984 Tempo as a second vehicle because it was cheap, rust free and ultra low mileage.
It was a trade-in from a little old lady who only used it locally to get groceries and essentials.
Was also kept in a garage.

This explained the ultra low mileage and clean body of the car.
It drove great until the governor gears in the transmission let go.
In hindsight, it probably had not been driven enough.

Other than that it held up to the hype.
The only expense was the tranny and a passenger side mirror because it was born without one.
I had to have one.
I drove it for little over a year and with the still very low mileage traded it in on an 89 Mustang Cobra for the same amount I had paid for it the previous year.

This is not the actual car.
A close resemblance only.

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Wow, sad but true, you called it Trevor, I really did have a mullet back then.......when I still had hair. lol

There was a happy ending to that story though, after all, I did end up switching to an F150 and have driven Ford ever since, been over 20 years.

Quite a step up with the F150, it was so quiet I sometimes wondered if it was still running compared to the Chevy.

Plus, all of a sudden I stopped having reliability problems, and drove many miles problem free.
 
Worst was a Pontiac Sunfire that we had just after moving back from Toronto. Don’t remember the year but we didn’t keep it long. Issue after issue after issue. Finally we traded it for the Mazda 3 which was kept for 7 years. I remember the first time we took the Mazda in for an oil change and such to the dealership. The salesman saw me, walked over and said he totally understood why we traded it lol. I guess they had to put some big money into it before they could boot it out the door :)
 
My worst car must have been my 2006 Mazda 3. Being the replacement to my first car (hand me down 2000 Escort ZX2 which I really loved as a first car), the student me thought he was going to have a nice car, newer car, without any major problems and hopefully cheaper maintenance since newer (the ZX2 had 292 000kms when I sold it :) ).
Don't get me wrong, the Mazda3 was a blast to drive, really dynamic little car which was hatchback, 2.3L with the 5speed. Well, after 6 months of ownership, started to consume oil as if it was gas. I mean, I literally called the other Max one day to check the paint on my trunk as I though something f*!(ed it up and it was literally filthy with OIL. Bought the car used in 2010, oil problem started, Mazda Canada left me out to dry (was still on warranty) to say to me the oil consumption was deemed acceptable. Picture this: Moncton to Tracadie = 230kms= 1QUART (full dipstick) ---- Tracadie to Moncton = 230kms NO A DROP OF OIL. Full night of exhaust notes videos and others shenanigans (speed, limiter, spin, you name it)= NOT A DROP. other long runs = at LEAST a quart. I was always having a 6 pack of oil from Costco in the trunk of the car lol.
And this is not even starting on the rust issues that generation had. I had been lucky that buying a 2006 in 2010 it had not already started to rust I guess. I've redone the rear quarters in 2011 and they were already starting to bubble and rust back by winter 2011/2012.
The ones on here (on the forum) who knows me the longest are knowing me from my Focus ST days. The Focus Replaced that car. I guess the Focus could be listed if I count the turbo failure, that must be on me tho with 255WHP and 326TQ at 2600RPM LOLZ. Rest of that car had been a charm (except it's the car I hated the exhaust the most, wayyyy too loud and drony).
Don't get me wrong, I did setup this car very nice for a student's car. Lowered on coilovers, aftermarket suspension links in the back, Mazdaspeed3 stock catback (sound upgrade on the regular 3), wheels, intake, Mazdaspeed Wing, offset license plate holder, Rally Armor Mudflaps, 50% tint ALL AROUND (Quebec car, never been pulled over for them with that car), HID lights in high, low and fogs. But, I hated the way I had to check Fuel while putting oil, so I guess that's my worst car.


Picture of both the Escort ZX2 (292 000kms young in the picture) and the Mazda3 in question.

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Funny you mention rust on the Mazda. That’s the reason the sedan we had was traded after 7 years. Just started to rust I n a hurry but they were famous for that. Funny thing is I went and had the car looked at. They said ummm yep it’s rusting...looked it all over, gave me the keys, said someone will make a decision if it’s warranty or not and call you so I left. Decided at this point time maybe time to trade. Got a new Civic and a month later the phone rang. Your new parts are in to fix the rust issue on the Mazda lol. Said good thing you told me you were gonna fix it.....oh wait you didn’t. Well it now belongs to Honda so call them. Told her she should get the body shop to communicate with the customer a little better. She wasn’t impressed with my suggestion :LOL:
 
Canuck121 said:
Funny you mention rust on the Mazda. That’s the reason the sedan we had was traded after 7 years. Just started to rust I n a hurry but they were famous for that. Funny thing is I went and had the car looked at. They said ummm yep it’s rusting...looked it all over, gave me the keys, said someone will make a decision if it’s warranty or not and call you so I left. Decided at this point time maybe time to trade. Got a new Civic and a month later the phone rang. Your new parts are in to fix the rust issue on the Mazda lol. Said good thing you told me you were gonna fix it.....oh wait you didn’t. Well it now belongs to Honda so call them. Told her she should get the body shop to communicate with the customer a little better. She wasn’t impressed with my suggestion :LOL:
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Wow almost sounded like you dealt with the same dealership (But I know you didn't :LOL:). Mazda's customer service experience? :unsure::rolleyes:
 
I have owned over 200 cars and have had a few
bads ones more than the average person.
Even some of the bad ones had some great stories
or adventures along the way.

This car was none of the above. I was convinced to sell
a truck I had to buy a good 2nd car that made sense.
Sold my truck :( and preceded to buy a low Km
1991 Volkwagon Passat, This was mid late 90's

Car was in great shape and low k's, bottom of car was
a litte rustier than I would have liked ( should have been a clue)
I paid $5500 cash and away we went. It looked good, drove nice,
4 doors, fairly well equipped, I thought I did well :)

Then it began, 2 weeks something broke, $800
Ok, 1 week later, $600, 10 day $900
and so it went for 6 months and close to $6000 later. :oops:
We determined the rustier bottom, meant it sat outside somewhere
in a bad spot and this did not help.

I found out after buying, VW Passats were more expensive to fix
than Mercedes :rolleyes: I finnaly got tired ( fed up) and sold it.
Some may think, I fixed everything, might have been true
maybe next owner drove it for years LOL, but I had enough.
in 6 months I drove it less than 2 and spent more on repairs
than I did car :LOL:

internet picture of this car.
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Ohtobbad said:
I have owned over 200 cars and have had a few
bads ones more than the average person.
Even some of the bad ones had some great stories
or adventures along the way.

This car was none of the above. I was convinced to sell
a truck I had to buy a good 2nd car that made sense.
Sold my truck :( and preceded to buy a low Km
1991 Volkwagon Passat, This was mid late 90's

Car was in great shape and low k's, bottom of car was
a litte rustier than I would have liked ( should have been a clue)
I paid $5500 cash and away we went. It looked good, drove nice,
4 doors, fairly well equipped, I thought I did well :)

Then it began, 2 weeks something broke, $800
Ok, 1 week later, $600, 10 day $900
and so it went for 6 months and close to $6000 later. :oops:
We determined the rustier bottom, meant it sat outside somewhere
in a bad spot and this did not help.

I found out after buying, VW Passats were more expensive to fix
than Mercedes :rolleyes: I finnaly got tired ( fed up) and sold it.
Some may think, I fixed everything, might have been true
maybe next owner drove it for years LOL, but I had enough.
in 6 months I drove it less than 2 and spent more on repairs
than I did car :LOL:

internet picture of this car.
View attachment 42880
Click to expand...
Nice .I owned 125 car .110 new and the rest second hand .I owned Corvette Camaro Tran am Road Runner and 15 mustang But nothing beat the Mustang ?
 
I had a couple that were not great but I guess the worse was a mid 80’s Chrysler K car wagon we bought in 90-91. Should have been a great car for a young family . Bought it used, only had 70,000 km. Had it 2 weeks changed the oil and then had it jacked up in the yard to take the oil pan off to replace oil pump and bearings to fix low oil pressure. Who knew must have had 90% STP in the pan or 50w when I bought it ? Ball joints and brakes lasted less than a year - park brake cables broke yearly. Then it went ablaze in the yard - beside the house. Glad I was home - got it pushed away from the house. and it got crispy. It was not a “reliable automobile” like the song said!
 
I have been Lucky as far as Cars go.

Until recently would buy used and keep for 8 to 12 years and it is Normal for older cars to require more repairs.

Now my Wife and I are done with Keeping older cars (Daily Drivers) on the Road and are at the end of our 5 year Lease of our Mazda CX3 and are Leasing our new Subaru Impreza Wagon for only 3 years so we won’t have to replace anything but Engine Oil and Filters.
 
TrueBlue02058 said:
I have been Lucky as far as Cars go.

Until recently would buy used and keep for 8 to 12 years and it is Normal for older cars to require more repairs.

Now my Wife and I are done with Keeping older cars (Daily Drivers) on the Road and are at the end of our 5 year Lease of our Mazda CX3 and are Leasing our new Subaru Impreza Wagon for only 3 years so we won’t have to replace anything but Engine Oil and Filters.
Click to expand...
TrueBlue02058 said:
I have been Lucky as far as Cars go.

Until recently would buy used and keep for 8 to 12 years and it is Normal for older cars to require more repairs.

Now my Wife and I are done with Keeping older cars (Daily Drivers) on the Road and are at the end of our 5 year Lease of our Mazda CX3 and are Leasing our new Subaru Impreza Wagon for only 3 years so we won’t have to replace anything but Engine Oil and Filters.
Click to expand...
My bride is on her 4th Subaru all 3 year leases - never put a penny other than routine in one of them
 
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