My first wife had a Plymouth Cricket - the English built one, when I first met her. That was a really badly built car. She traded that in for an AMC Gremlin. That wasn't much better. The other really bad car we owned was a Chevy Citation. Nice design, but not too well built.

Other than that - I had a 1988 Chevy pickup I wasn't too fond of...


A guy that worked for me traded in his 12 year old Volvo to buy a brand new Yugo. That was the biggest P.O.J. ever built.

 

1995 Jeep Wrangler Rio Grande Edition (4 cyl, 5 speed).
Bought it new before I went to college. Loved having a Jeep, wanted one my whole life. Had hardtop, soft-top, bikini top, etc. It was great having a 4WD with a ragtop.

Went through 3 transmissions in 86,000 miles. I didn't even have it lifted and it didn't have big tires. Chrysler knew about the trans problem (AX-15s, I think) and the faulty oil slinger that could not fully lubricate 5th and Reverse, but never did anything about it.

I've seen a few of the new 4 door Wranglers around and I like them. I could never own another Jeep though. Had it been reliable, Jeep would have had a customer for life.

 

I was doing a search for something else and found this thread.
Without a doubt the worst car i ever owned (and i have owned over 80) was a 1994 Ford Probe.
I bought this automotive abomination when it came in on trade at the DC dealer where my brother worked. It was traded in by it's original owner (this was in 2000). It was bright red and looked great. It was the 4 cyl automatic (secretary special), so i figured it wouldn't have been pounded on too much.
Well, 2 weeks after i bought it, it developed a nasty valve tap. I had gotten a 3 month 3,000 mile powertrain warranty with it, so i took it to my brother (he is the service manager). He sent it down to the Ford dealer, and they ended up putting a NEW ENGINE in the damn thing (a Jasper reman). Warranty covered it. A week after i got it back with the new engine, the tranny started slipping...back to the dealer, and they installed a reman tranny. The brakes were pulsing also, so they put new pads and rotors on it...not covered and the damn rotors were over $200!!! After i got it back, it would not idle...as soon as you shifted it out of gear, into neutral or park, it would stall. Back to the dealer that put in the tranny, and they said the tranny install had nothing to do with the problem, and suggested i take it back to the dealer who did the engine.
Well, i took it back to the dealer who did the engine, and they claimed it was some air something or other in the FI system...told me it would be almost $500 bucks to replace it, or they could try cleaning it for $100, because sometimes that worked. I opted for the cleaning and that seemed to fix it. 10 days later the exhaust started leaking, so back to the dealer. They told me it was the front pipe, and parts and labor would be $400 bucks! I took it to Midas and paid them $225 for the same job.
5 days later i was driving home and the thing quit running. No warning, just quit running. I called AAA and had it towed. $225 later it was running again...fuel pump relay ($125), plus various fuses and labor etc.
The next day that thing was on Ebay.

 

Having owned over seventy cars, the worst is easy. My wife wanted a Vega so I bought her a 1975. 20,000 miles a blown head gasket...no big deal, into the garage for pulldown, removed head and to my disgust the pistons run in an aluminum bore...no iron liners...nothing...auto transmission beginning to slip...Put it back together and sold it...Replaced with 1977 VW type 1 beetle...the last of them here...Superb car except for rust...seven years and gone...Then came Scirocco and Audi 100 and 200...no rust and superior comfort/ handling. My best car is a Sunbeam Mk1 Tiger...Paid $4,000 now valued at $35,000...No longer fun to drive though...

Gary

 

Ahhh yes, the Vega. I owned 3 of them. I actually liked the ones i had, for different reasons. My first Vega was a 1973 Notchback. I bought it off of a coworker for $80 bucks. I carried a gallon jug of oil in the trunk. It used 1 quart of oil per tank of gas. But it ran and ran. I drove it a few years and sold it for $100 bucks.
My second was a 1974 GT 4 speed. Picked it up in 1978 for $450. My wife and i drove it to the Pocono's for our honeymoon in Oct 1978. I loved that car, it ran great and was a ball to drive. I sold it to a co worker in 1980. I warned him to be careful of 2 things. Check the oil and coolant weekly and do not overheat the engine. He gave the car to his wife to use. He replaced the engine 3 times in 18 months...
My third was a 1976 with the 'dura-built' engine (they finally sleeved the block). Never gave me a ny trouble.

 

Definitely the 1974 Vega. Sold a '72 corvette and went back to school and bought the Vega from my sister for $400. Kept it for 3 months and had my mother trade it in when she bought a' 78 Caprice. I kept her '71 Caprice for a year. I got sick every time I had to drive the Vega. Unlike the Crossfire I really look forward to driving it every day.

 

I've heard about the complaints of owners of Mercedes ML320. I haven't owned one but just got interested in that issue coz every article I read says negative things about that model. But there's this new version, a 2007 ML320 CDI that has, I think, enhanced Mercedes ML320 parts.
Says on a review:

http://www.activelifestylevehicle.co...y_id=186&cat=3

That its fuel efficient and some other advantages with it. Just hopeful that the faulty parts on the previous version has been improved.

 

A Ford Fiesta 1.1 sport !

As if you can call a 1.1 a sport... It had more tricked up spoilers and extras than was really required !

They probably slowed it down...

Never again will I own a car with the word sport on it !

 

I was a 2005 off the showroom floor yellow mustang. Two gas tanks, two radios, six sets of black stripes, a broken heater core. It was also fun in the winter when the drop down windows would not let the door shut. Gladly it`s now gone the way of my 2005 black srt xf!

Melspank
Cols, Ohio.

 

Without a Doubt a 1969 Fiat, 850 Spider!! It would not start in Hot weather, or cold weather! windows fell down, doors fell off and I bought it brand new!!!
I was so glad when it was wrecked and took a hit by the insurance company gladly. I swore never to buy a foreign car again for years afterwards. I ended up with a 1963 Chevy II nova and drove the wheels off it for 5 years without a hitch.

 

Wow, My 1st car was a 1968 Ford Mustang Fast Back with a 302 like basically completely restored. It didn't have AC but I was a kid and didn't care. The windows and the girls humping the side of the car was enough to cool me down...

 

My worst car was one that my ex wife and I purchased when my son was born. She wanted this thing. It eventually came to be known as "The Poopy Van". It was a '93 Dodge Caravan. We bought it in '96. Here is a short list of the problems that we encountered:

• A propensity to randomly shut off at the worst possible times.
• A radio that sometimes would come on. Sometimes not.
• Rear window wiper that never worked.
• A key that broke off in the ignition... thereby allowing keyless starting.
• Another key that broke off in the passenger side door... thereby allowing keyless entry.
• A power window that rolled down just fine during the ONE snowstorm that year... but then refused to roll back up.
• A sudden and amazing radiator leak which caused...
• A sudden and amazing oil leak which caused...
• A tow truck to come take it away for good.

Yes, we speak fondly of The Poopy Van to this day.

 

Makes me think of the ad on TV where they are pulling the car out of the water and they change the ad from reading "Slight water damage" to read " New Upholstery".

 

I guess I should have kept the thing...at that point most of the car had been rebuilt!!

 

I inherited a '77 Chevy Nova from my grandfather.

The car was well cared for yet self destructed from about 60K.

(1) windshield cracked (while parked).
(2) inside door handles pulled off.
(3) seats split.
(4) doors sagged (hinges were welded not bolted to frame and door).
(5) radiator leaked.
(6) water pump failed.
(7) fuel pump failed and caused massive oil leak during long trip in winter.
(8) oil drain-back holes clogged in cylinder head.
(9) rear leaf springs warped during another long trip making car "crab" sideways.
(10) massive paint failure on roof, hood and trunk.

This car was a total piece of junk, mucky throttle response, rough ride and spooky bad handling in wet/bad weather. No wonder so many people bought imports for the first time in the late seventies !

Slim

 

1984 Volvo 740.
Air conditioning quit, in the summer, in Arizona.
Had to replace 2 transmission solenoids within a year.
Wiring kept disintegrating causing electrical issues. Don't know where it was or who owned it before, but you could touch certain wires and the insulation would fall off.
AC fan was noisy. Competed with the radio.
No power, it was gutless.
Finally died and I traded it for a Eagle Vision (fun car).

1984 Nissan Pickup.
Phantom electrical issues. I could drive down the freeway at night and lose my dash panel, or my headlights, or both for no reason. Kind of exciting at times.
No power, essentially a beater truck.
Died in a sandwich wreck on the freeway. Got to say this for it, it was pretty tough and I survived. Ended up buying above Volvo (by mistake)


I've had:
79 Chrysler LeBaron (good solid car, easy to work on). Died due to high miles (bought piece of junk Nissan above).

85 Eagle Vision: Great car. Sometimes wish it hadn't died due to high miles. But now I have the Crossfire.

00 Plymouth Breeze: It was reliable, but I really didn't like it. Drove it into its grave.

01 Dodge Dakota: Great truck. Required very little repair and was extermely reliable. Was getting up in miles (144k, had 25 when I bought it 4 years ago), and decided to get the XF.

I've had a fair number of vehicles, most of them Chrysler products. Can't complain about them. Since I drive a lot, most of them die due to high mileage. It's not inconceivable for me to put 100k on a vehicle in 3-4 years.

 

1974 Chevy Vega Kammback (sp?)...green...quart of oi with every fill-up.

 

Based on just reliability, my worst car is the Crossfire. Since I bought it a year and a half ago it has had the following problems:

Cruise control did not work when bought.
Headlight condensation.
Loose battery cable on battery terminal (caused random electronic glitches).
Could not pump gas into tank.
ESP/BAS sensor failed.
Supercharger clutch failed.
Supercharger clutch pulley broke off shaft.
Headlights crazed.
Could not pump gas into tank Part II (replacement tank had same problem as original tank).
Cup holder refused to stay stowed in console.

There may be an extra problem or two that I'm forgetting but these are the main ones. Fortunately my dealer has been fairly competent and quite easy to work with in getting everything fixed. In spite of the above problems the Crossfire is still the best car I've ever had and I have no regrets in getting it (well, I do regret buying when I did since the price dropped considerably a few months after).

The next nominee for worst car is my '91 Spirit R/T, bought as a leftover model in '92. This car has had more timing belts at 167K some miles (sometimes the odometer quits so I don't know the exact mileage) then sets of tires. Couple that with severe paint peeling and engine problems and you have a serious contender here. BUT - I expected mechanical problems so this is not really an issue with me.

Looks like the winner is my '74 Fiat 127 or 128 (I forget which) that I bought in '78. Did it have transmission problems? No. Was it a wretched little thing to drive? Well yes, but what econobox wasn't in the '70s? Was it falling apart? No. Its sole claim to worst ever was catching on fire while I was in it.

 

yeah put me down for the crossfire also, but even with all the problems it's still cool, but the real issue is with the horrific service from chrysler dealerships. they could have more customers if they where trained better and didn't have the crappy attitudes some of the managers are known for.

 

I've been fortunate in having good service from my dealer, Rancho Chrysler in San Diego. They only screwed up once in not recognizing that my replacement gas tank was faulty. I can't even really blame them on that because you normally expect a replacement part, especially one as offbeat as a gas tank, to work. My dealer has also gone beyond what was expected several times and did me a tremendous favor when I first bought the car - they did some expensive repainting of the hood when they were not obligated to do so.

If you're anywhere near San Diego then I recommend you give Rancho an opportunity to work on your car. At least they can't be any worse then the other dealers you've dealt with.