<p>As the Big Three are on the brink of bankruptcy. I thought it would be fun to go back in time and ponder on the worst car that you ever owned. I am sure someone out there can give us a great Ford Cortina story. I myself have to give the award of worst car to my first new car purchase. I bought a 1975 Chevy Monza with my own money and a loan from my grandmother in my senior year of high school. What a piece of junk. I paid $4500 (after the $500 rebate). The had nothing but problems. It drank oil like a drunken sailor. It might not have helped that I rolled the car off a canyon driving back from the beach and did some serious damage to the frame. The worst was losing the oil cap and having oil slosh out of the car going over Grants Pass and having the engine mounts burn off. I will always remember driving the length of California with the engine about ready to leap out of the hood. I cannot believe I was able to sell that car for $1100 cash.</p>
<p>My 1998 Ford Exploder - the least reliable vehicle I’ve owned. I was in Brianhead Utah (ski resort) when the front hubs (part of the 4wd) broke the first time while just barely moving through the snow. The second time the hubs broke I was on a 4wd trail in the middle of nowhere out in the Borrego desert. Luckily I managed to get out but barely. Then the transfer case exploded while I was just driving 65mph on a hwy in 2WD mode. That stuck it in Bishop, Ca (after being towed 70 miles) for a week. On top of those were numerous other issues. Luckily I never had the exploding tires these were known for.</p>
<p>After all the above I tacked on my office wall a picture of the Exploder hooked up to a tow truck (on the way to Bishop). I think that picture might have cost a sale or two.</p>
<p>In fairness to Ford, I’ve been driving my 1966 Ford Mustang almost daily for over 25 years and it was old when I bought it and this vehicle is very reliable and easy and cheap to work on when needed.</p>
<p>Chevy Lumina. No real horror story; it was just cheaply made. Things seemed to break off if you looked at them the wrong way.</p>
<p>Toyota Tercel. I’ll never buy a Toyota driving appliance again. Hondas are far superior. My next car will probably be a used Viper though…always loved them.</p>
<p>'72 Ford Maverick, no power steering, no AC in SoCal, no radio, a stripped model. I think it was reliable because there was nothing to break!</p>
<p>It’s my current car; 1999 VW Passat wagon. </p>
<p>In so many ways I love this car but it’s been a pain in the arse since day one. Lots and lots and lots of repairs.</p>
<p>It was my first car, a 1974 Dodge Colt. It leaked fluid right and left. Fluid actually leaked into the passenger side floor. It was red, which is cool, but an orangey shade of red, which was ugly. I paid $1100 for the car in 1982 and had nothing but problems. I was so glad to get rid of that thing a year later and bought a 1978 Toyota Corolla. Happily ran it for 130,000 miles before buying a brand new Camry. Have had many cars since then, but no lemons like the Colt was.</p>
<p>1969 VW fast back…NO 3 cylinder blew up
1975 VW Rabbit…everything broke after 1st year, in year 21/2 NO 3 cyl blew up
…year 4, clutch plate broken, the wheels were aluminum, and over</p>
<p>…the years even the wheels were not perfectly round because the aluminum too soft
German / VW engineering is actually just cutting corners</p>
<p>1969 VW bus, fun hippy bus didnt last long before you guess it, no 3 cylinder blew up</p>
<p>1981 Subaru 4 wheel drive sports wagen…the hydraulic lifters got stuck and got loud ticks sounded like Gatling guns going off while driving</p>
<p>No problem with GM Monte Carlo,Ford Taurus/Sable,Toyota,Buick. Buick was especially good and reliable. Only prob was occasional carburetor jam needed overhaul otherwise ran beautifully and was roomy and comfortable, and has a nice ride, good power, easy to drive.</p>
<p>1963 VW bug no 3 cylinder valve(s?) constantly needed replacing. I should have installed the external oil cooler. But what a fun car! It was even fun taking the engine out.</p>
<p>My parents owned a 1975 Mercury Montego. The steering wheel locked while driving! At first it started only in reverse, just very hard to turn the steering wheel. Nobody was ever able to fix it. Then the steering wheel locked while my mother was on the highway! They just got rid of that lemon.</p>
<p>A Mercury Sable wagon (mid-90s I believe). It was my parents car and I’ve never seen a car break down so often! We got rid of it pretty quickly.</p>
<p>Also we had a Pontiac Voyager mini-van that constantly overheated and had blue smoke leaking from the exhaust. That was an early 90s model. Nearly every one I see today also has the same blue smoke problem.</p>
<p>I know most people really love them but I absolutely hated my Honda Odyssey. Unlike other Hondas I’ve owned, this always felt tinny, top-heavy, and dangerous. Getting rid of that one felt good.</p>
<p>My first car was the worst ! It was a 1972 Chevy Vega…had to put oil in it with every gas fill. It also had a rust hole in the drivers side of the body…not good when approaching puddles. The rear view mirror never stayed glued onto the windshield either.
I can’t believe I was even allowed to drive it. I doubt such a car would be able to pass any kind of inspection today</p>
<p>We also had a 1984 Pontiac J2000 that was a piece of crap from day one. My ex husband was about to buy a little Civic ( that got unbelieveable mileage ) His father talked him out of it in favor of buying an American car…dumped the junker after about a year and several major repairs. The repairs were covered by warranty, but who wants to have a brand new car in the repair shop so frequently !</p>
<p>Harriet, I thought I was the only one that didn’t like the Honda Odyssey. My transmission and oil pump (and thus, engine), both needed to be replaced. The engine went out within a month of the warranty expiring, but Honda did pick up all the charges. </p>
<p>But the Worst Vehicle Award goes to my 1984 Pontiac Fiero. It was a cute little thing that “looked” like a sports car. It was recalled for engine fires. When mine started getting hot, I called all the local Detroit dealerships to have the recall work done. They couldn’t get me in for 3 months and I was told not to drive it for that period. So for 3 months, I was begging people for rides.</p>
<p>My Best Vehicle Award goes to the two Toyota Camrys my husband has owned.</p>
<p>lje62</p>
<p>I had a '72 Vega too! Although I didn’t have the oil problem you describe, it was a piece of junk. I lived in Chicago at the time and I prayed someone would steal it, but of course, no self-respecting car thief would go near it! The good news was my (ex)husband got it in the divorce and I then bought a Chevy Nova, which, surprisingly, was a terrific car.</p>
<p>Mazda RX7. The Wankel rotary engine was ahead of its time - needed to be completely replaced - twice.</p>
<p>That car really flew, though.</p>
<p>^^^^ MY BF in grad school bought an RX7 in 1979 (I think) and I got to pick it up off the lot and drive it to him 2 1/2 hrs away. FUN!!</p>
<p>My first car was my love because it was my first car, but amongst other things, it would have this slight inconvenience-- it would die in the middle of the street! I forget what they said caused it, but it was typically when it was cold. I am amazed I survived the hassles with that car. It was a 1971 Plymouth Satellite. I called it “Bubbles” as it was a stripped down model, so I named it after a stripper. </p>
<p>I later had a 1975 Audi Fox. What a love-hate relationship I had with that car. I LOVED it, but it had what was then a new component-- fuel injection. That thing died all over the place too. AAA threatened to drop me-- said they were not a repair service!! LOL.</p>
<p>1985 Buick Century. At 2 weeks old it died in the parking lot at work when I was trying to pull into a space. Two days later, the entire wire harness burned up on the freeway. It was in the shop for 2 weeks. I wanted to sue under the lemon law but GM was a big client and I was told not to sue. At 62,000 miles (2,000 miles after the warranty expired) I had to replace the entire engine.</p>
<p>My dad’s car, a 1962 Corvair Monza, was the worst car ever. It had all the usual problems–oil and transmission fluid leaks, frequent overheating, leaky valves, etc.–but what I remember most is the rust problem.</p>
<p>The window frames of the car also leaked, so the rear floorboards eventually rusted out because water pooled there when it rained. There were HUGE holes on both sides. One day my brother and I were riding along with our dad, just sitting in the backseat and minding our own business. No seatbelts, of course. Suddenly, my dad braked hard. To avoid falling into the hole in the floorboard, I instinctively grabbed the door handle. The door flew open and I tumbled out onto the street! Fortunately, my dad wasn’t driving very fast, so I only suffered minor cuts and scrapes. That was the end of the Monza.</p>
<p>My worst car was a 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan. The engine would suddenly stall when we were driving–frequently at high speeds in heavy traffic. Scary. We were very lucky that nothing bad happened. The dealer was never able to determine the cause of the problem.</p>
<p>Another '72 Vega owner here (my first car!), but I guess my car was an exception. I drove the car for about five years, and then I passed it on to my grandmother, who drove it for years afterwards. Other than a little rust, we never had a moment’s trouble with the car.</p>