worst vehicle you have ever owned

Okay, I have one for y'all. Not my vehicle but a high school friend's.

~1970's dung brown (original color was pink. We think.) VW Beetle

We were driving one day, going a good 50-60mph when a bird crashed into the windshield... And stuck there. The memory of impact, explosion of feathers and bird bits, trying not to crash while screeching to a halt, and a mangled bird carcass with it's beak stuck through the windshield has not left after 15 years.

Well, as my friend drove that dung Beetle to the windshield repair shop, he had his arm hanging out his window. ANOTHER bird flew into his hand, almost splitting it in two.

About a month later, the dung Beetle caught fire and burned... And burned...

 

Ford F250 with the 6.0 diesel in it. Several overheating issues and two head gaskets in the first 100,000.

 

Let me guess, transmission failure..

 

I have to say I've never owned a complete hunk of shit vehicle. I've been lucky. Car with the most issues that I have owned hasn't even had many problems, 2005 Mazda 3 Hatch, went through headlights at the rate of one every few months, had some alignment issues which ate tires and cost quite a bit to solve.

 

Worst Used Purchase: 1994 Ford Tauras. Bought it used with 190K for $900. In the 6 days I owned it a front tire blew shredding the fender and then motor went two days later. I got less than 1000 miles out of it.

Worst New Purchase: 2003 Chevrolet S-10. 4cyl, auto, 2wd, extended cab. 13,000 miles, towed 7 times, all 7 times left me stranded, had all sort of electrical gremlins. Traded it in for a new Colorado and had no issues with that truck. I actually liked it, crew cab, 5 cylinder, loaded. Pulled a 24' box trailer loaded with atv's all the time and never had a problem. Towed my sisters 1996 Rodeo on a car trailer too.

Best Used Purchase: 1997 Acura 2.2CL. Had 146k on it when I bought it for $2400. Sold it with 293K for $1500. Nothing ever went wrong, just did routine maintanence.

 

Hmmm.....nothing has been a total nightmare. Oh wait....#2 LOL

I had a 1980 Plymouth Horizon that my Dad bought from a junkyard in 1988 ?? He gave it to me when I was getting ready to head off to college. I learned a shit-ton of automotive repairing from that thing. One cheap-ass set of sockets and a couple wrenches at my college dorm fixed a lot of things. It took a beating.....and got me to/from college for many years. I remember.....at the end of its life with me, it only ran on 3 cylinders. LOL
You can't expect much from a vehicle that came from a junkyard.

My husband and I had a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We towed with it for a few years and then sold it to my mother-in-law. We had that thing in our family for 5 years. Everything from brakes (over & over again), door locks, window locks, A/C unit, Climate control blend door, shocks, throttle positions sensors, radiator, Heater core....OMG...that's off the top of my head. LOL Never again.....would I buy a jeep as a daily driver. I would feel better about buying a wrangler again as a trail/fun rig!

 

1968 English Ford Cortina GT. Lucas, Prince of Darkness...ugh

 

Ohhhh.....Renault! Your engineering team stole the drawing of my 3 year old or any youth trying to draw a car for the first time. You look familiar and friendly.

Long story with this peach. My uncle started his own collection service for banks and repossessed this car. He sold it to me for underarm et value and I'm sure he laughed all the way to the bank. Later I would find out my uncle is kind of an ass.

So for starters the car had to get a tune up and keep the engine going. Once this was done the problems started.in this order
1. Rebuilt transmission
2.new engine
3.new transmission
4.electrical issues
5. Front passenger wheel fell of at the axle
6. Went to dump

Didn't post my story first because I wanted 1st hand stories. This is actually my dad's story that I witnessed and got me interested in finding a reliable vehicle. I couldn't believe the money he dumped into the Renault and it always let us down

 

I had a 1986 GMC Jimmy. Pretty much just like this one...

Except it "looked" in better shape.

But I was and still am convinced it hated me. 1st let me start off with what engine it had. It had the 2.8 liter v6. Which was a giant peice of shit in its own right. But in the Jimmy, it was a dog. The Jimmy was still pretty heavy. Not much plastic on it. So going up hills sucked. Anyways 3 times it broke down on me. And it was always at the worst possible time. Not that breaking down happens at a good time. But you'll soon see why it was always the worst for me!

I have to set up the first time a little. I was 18yo. Still "lived" at home. By that I mean I basically just slept there. My girlfriend at the time lived I guess about 15-20 mins away. She was 20yo and had her own apartment. But to get there, it was a nice long hill. If I had to guess maybe a little over a mile with a decent grade.

So that day all my buddies and I played some football. After that called up my girlfriend and she said to come over. So I go over. Before I know it, it's 2am. I leave to head home, get down to the the bottom of that long hill and boom, something goes in the engine. Threw a rod. So I get it parked in a decent spot out of the way. Now this is the time before cellphones where a big thing. I think I might of had a pager. LOL. Anyway. No payphone in sight, no quarters in my pocket. Sooooooo. Time to walk. I was way closer to my girlfriends so I decided to walk back there. Still sore from football, I head up the hill. I'm pissed at my peice of shit vehicle by the time I make it to the top. Get to my girlfriends apartment and ring the doorbell. Now some more back story... she had a PFA (protection from abuse) out on her drug dealer ex boyfriend. One who threatened her and me on the daily. But I was 18yo and "invisible" so IDGAF. She was scared out of her mind though. Anyways that's another story. So, I ring the doorbell... no answer. Now it probably took me maybe 15 - 20 mins to hike it up that hill. So it wasn't long after I just left. She lived on the 2nd floor of a house converted to apartments. So I ring it again and back up off the front porch in hopes that she'll look out. Because I know exactly what she's thinking "it's her ex" . One more ring of the doorbell and nothing. So there's a gas station with a payphone about a block away. So I run down to there and remember no quarters for the phone. My girlfriends phone didn't accept collect calls. So what I had to do was call my parents collect and then get connected to my girlfriends phone while it being charged to my parents phone. Confusing I know, but it should of worked. What happened was my mom answered, accepted the charges. Then I put in my girlfriends phone number and it's ringing! She picks up, and WTF?! The call just drops. Didn't get one word out. So now I just know she's freaking out. So I run back down. Try the doorbell again. I turn around and here comes the cops. Now I knew exactly what they were here for so I took out my ID to prove I wasn't her ex. They have her come down and verify who I was. She was like OMG I was scared! She didn't hear me pull back in or a car door. Then the whole phone call. She thought for sure it was the ex there to get her. LOL. So that was the 1st time...

2nd time. Flash forward a few months. Broken up with that girlfriend. Engine fixed. I had a couple days off of work. Me and my dad built a cabin/cottage what ever you want to call it up north of me it's about 100 miles north of Pittsburgh. So I decided to head up there for a nice couple quite days by myself to just relax. About half way up I hit Mercer County. Suddenly my cab fills up with smoke! I say oh fuck I'm on fire! Immediately pull over on the side of the highway and get out. Hmmmm. No flames. Look underneath. Shit, looks like a shit ton of oil under it. Now it's cold out. Think it was late fall. So I pop the hood and sit hoping help would somehow show up. After about an hour. Nothing. Cars just blowing past. No one stops or anything. Still this is before alot of people had cellphones. I sure didn't. So I said F this. If the thing still starts and moves I'm going to try to make it to the next exit. I'm not going to sit there forever. So it starts up and moves. It ran fine but it wouldn't go faster than maybe 30mph. Didn't matter to me, I just wanted to make it somewhere with a payphone. Now if you remember in my first story that I didn't have quarters for the phone. Ever since then I've kept quarters in my vehicles. Still to this day. My Taco's coin tray has quarters in it. Even though I have a cell phone and hardly any payphones exist. So I make it to the next exit. The mercer exit. Make it to a gas station with a phone. Call my parents and my mom reminds me I have AAA and I can call them for a tow and a ride home. Completely forgot I had it. So I call, they say no problem. The truck is out towing someone out of a ditch.(area was currently getting hit with a small ice storm) They should be there within the hour. Sweet! I thought. Hour and a half goes by. Gas station attendent was kind enough to let me hang out inside. Since it was cold. Sooooooo I call AAA back and they say "oh right, you need a jump because of a dead battery" Uh Wut? I said no I need a tow back to Pittsburgh. They said "oh right" we'll be there soon. So maybe another 20 mins. Finally the flat bed shows up. 2 guys who look like they've been living in the woods. Say "we can't tow you back to Pittsburgh now, the ice storm is heading that way. So We're going to drop you off at a motel for the night and in the morning we'll take you back." So they drop me off at the Mercer motel. $20 a night. I didn't trust sleeping on the bed. It looked sketchy. So I ended up sleeping in the duct taped pleather recliner that was in the room. Flipping around on the TV, it was the 1st time I ever seen South Park. So that was a plus. Morning I get my wake up call. And they told me the garage is right down the street and to just come on down. Well the ice storm hit over night again and so my walk down the street was super enjoyable. I get towed home. Turned out the transmission overheated. Blew out the fluid onto the exhaust and that's what made it smoke. And thats what i saw under it on the side of the highway . Transmission was shot. Had it rebuilt. Good as new!

3rd time not so eventful. Get into it to go to work. Start it up, start driving down the street, boom something breaks in the engine. I drive back and park it. Take mom's car to work. Turned out the CRANK SHAFT BROKE! 1st and only time I've heard of that happening.

Sold it to the guy who rebuilt my transmission. He rebuilt the engine and his wife was driving it problem free for years after.

It just hated me. F that thing!

 

Worst vehicle? Hmm... in my case that would likely be the 1979 Chevy Monza that I drove when I was in college.



That car was purchased as a repo from a bank and quickly turned into a freaken money pit...

 

If you're still following this thread, do you mind me asking what the issue was with your Ram? Were you one of the owners affected by the bad software update on the 8 speed? I do an 1800 mile round trip to camp and home as many as 5 times a year. My Tacoma does the trip no sweat, box and cab stuffed full, and sometimes pulling a rented U Haul, or dirt bike on a hitch mount. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have the cab space of a full size crew cab, especially with two large dogs in the cab, the nicer ride and quieter cabin, as well as not having to stop at every gas pump I see. Thought the Ram Pentastar might just fit the bill. Other than putting the boat in the water and the occasional U Haul, I don't do much trailering. Don't know if it's worth owning a full size for the 30 percent of the time it would be nice to have versus the 70 percent I don't need it. I'd probably be keeping the Tacoma regardless.

 

So much badness.

Worst - Infiniti G20 - nice to drive but something was always broken.

 

'88 Mercury Topaz -- If you looked at a pothole on the other side of the rood for too long, you would break or bend a tie rod or tie rod end.
That car had something like 8 tie rod related repairs in 3 years.

 

I had a 07 Ram 1500ST, six cylinder, six speed, paid 15k brand new, drove it four years, got 7k trade in the new taco...mechanical issues were minimal, brakes, tires, oil changes, front wheel bearings, just terrible in the snow, but with the big fuel tank and 21 mpg, when a long way on a tank of gas. Big comfortable single cab. 17" chrome wheels were stock and could take a much larger tire without mods. Once I bought, it never went back to the dealer, for anything aside from accessories from the parts department. Biggest problem was that it was terrible on the ice even with studded snow tires on all four corners.

 

1998 Toyota Tacoma my current drive and the worst so far.

 

ford ranger, I think it was a 95. Dead and gone before 100k.

Handled like a turd too

 

My first car..78 Firebird..(The Firechicken) rear main seal leaked...carried a gallon of oil in my trunk and when the oil light came on i would pull over and pour another gallon in...sometimes at night the lights would all just go out, every light on the car...out..try that on a dark curve...had a 305 V8...wouldnt even spin a tire unless the road was wet and you turned really sharp...electronic module under the rotor went out twice...left me stranded with a dead car...that car made me walk alot

 

2004 dodge neon sxt, first and worse car, but really great memories I had in that car if you know what I mean by that.

 

I'm a auto tech by trade. We see a lot of late model jeeps in the shop and German cars. I hate to say it but i would never buy a american made vehicle, they just don't last or hold their value like a toyota or honda. Now i do have a 65 caddy and a 68 chevelle but that was back when America was on top of the auto industry.

 

1976 Mercury Bobcat station wagon. It was a $50 high school graduation present so expectations were not very high.

Next would be my 99 Jeep TJ. Was good up to 100,000 miles then it started to rust, trans went once and had it rebuilt and was starting to go again. Oil pan was rusting and rear main was leaking.