FUN-What was your worst car & why?

A 1931, Model A Ford and slightly less bad, the 1929, Model A Ford:

• loud all the time
• hot in the summer
• cold in the winter
• dash was the gas tank
• very strong, impaling steering wheel
• 55 mph maximum speed before radiator over heated
• vacuum operated wipers, variable speed the wrong way
• no turn indicators
• single brake light
• mechanical brakes . . . stopping distances left a lot to be desired
• steering slop until it engaged and took a lot of strength
• three forward gears of which only two were practical in city driving
• starting was always a challenge
• lights so other cars won't hit you
• suspension more of an amusement park ride
• leaky roof (wooden frame covered by tarred cloth)
• no seat belts, spring seats
• wretched mileage

Bob Wilson

 

1999 Cadillac Catera. In the repair shop 42 times in 4 yrs. GM felt this was normal. I said OK, no more GM cars for me ever. Needed new brakes every 20,000 miles, needed premium. Door hinges failed. Radio didn't keep station presets after turning the car off. What a total POS.

 

I loved my Vegas... I put V8s in em... the last one was a 215cid aluminum V8 w/5sp T-5, ford 9"rear... Mine didn't have much rust at all... compared to the Pinto anyways

As for the OP question... the Pinto.
The engine didn't handle the heat here well and I replaced head gaskets several times due solely to that we put in a 4 core radiator and an electric fan to help, but that motor ran hot... the pack&pinion was one unit and not rebuildable... the rear end would hop easily on any turn... body lean with capacity was comical if not obviously dangerous... and then there were the brakes, err lack of good ones I mean... and although I never experienced the known factory issues with the design, I have seen the results of those that had.

That being said... I would use Pinto body for an ET car...

 

1975 Chevy Monza - V8. It was a cool looking car at the time, mileage sucked though. My problem was I was young and suckered into buying it used when unknown and undisclosed to me it had a cracked sub-frame under the front end. Back in those days, the dealer wouldn't own up to the problem no matter what I did. I even tried to have the crack welded but it was shot. I traded it for 1976 Ford Pinto, left over new in spring 1977. I know what you're thinking, but that Pinto was one of the best cars I've owned - not one single problem, and decent gas mileage to boot. It didn't have a/c though which was a bummer. There are a couple of others but the Monza tops the list. Cars are SO much more reliable today!

 

In forty plus years, I've had a bunch of cars. One has to be the worst of them all. To be fair, not a bad one, but some were great.

 

I have been driven in and helped fix friends with worse cars, but my worst car is my DeLorean. Still have it, but it is not a good car! Lucas electronics for one...

• The front and rear tires are different sizes and widths which is annoying.
• No power steering
• No power braking
• The bottom of the car is higher up than the bottom of the Prius, but the top of the car is almost even with the bottom of the Prius' side view mirrors. You have to sit reclined, and there is seriously a cutout/dent in the roof lining for your head. So you can move your head laterally 1-2 inches before you hit the top of your head against the roof once out of the cutout!
• The battery is inside the passenger compartment behind the passenger seat. It is not a venting battery, and directly below the fuse box and main relays and electrical systems. Needless to say over 30 years the sulfate gasses from the battery have corroded and oxidized the terminals on the fuses and wires above.
• When you turn the heater onto full blast, the electrical system overheats and start to smoke
• The gas tank is under the hood and only the first couple hundred has "gas flaps". So to put gas in, I have to open the entire hood and unscrew the cap. All the things inside there can now blow away on windy Colorado days
• The gas tank is right by the intake vents... So over time the gas fumes vent, get sucked into the vents, into the car, and then spray the windshield through the defrost vents (even if you don't use it) so it gets smeared and oily and you can't see anything with a light source. I keep a towel in the hood just to wipe it down when it gets bad and I try to wipe it down before driving it any time!
• The gas tank is partially used for cooling the radiator... So the lower your petrol level, the hotter the engine runs!
• Radiator is in the front, engine is in the rear... Yeah, the coolant really runs all the way from the back to the front and then to the back again.
• The oil bolt is at a 90 degree angle and the oil pan is about 2 inches from the transmission. The bolt is about 3/4in long. So if you can get any sort of tool in that wedge opening and start to unscrew it, you can only use the tool a couple of turns before the screw comes out enough to wedge your socket wrench between the oil pan and transmission!
• You are in a stainless steel trap with windows that do not open except for tiny slits on each side (toll booth windows). Sometimes on hot days it is best to drive with the door up to get some airflow!

The list goes on, but despite all of that it is one of the best cars I have ever owned or driven too. I especially like little kid's reactions to it. Last week at Whole Foods a little kid ran up so excited to see The Back to the Future car. His dad came over we talked a bit and then the kid got his picture in the car with the door open. Or when the kids put their face and forehead against the glass of the car next to me on the highway with their mouth wide open and stare the whole way. Great attention grabber that makes people's day, or at least few minutes.

 

1971 Toyota Corolla 1600, in the first 300 miles had the engine replaced, and it went downhill after that. It happened to be lemon Yellow, the perfect colour, dumped it within one year. Didn't buy another Toyota until 1989.

 

I rented a 1981 Chevy Citation, it failed to start the first 5 Fridays I had it. (each time for a different reason)

Eventually I abandoned it is a restaurant parking lot and told the rental company where it was.

Not entirely co-incidentally, I have never owned any GM vehicle since.

Chevrolet Citation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Didn't we have this thread...a number of times before?

Icarus

 

I am skeptical that there has been a new thread in several years.

 

Sure, they had problems, but was it better or worse than the horse it replaced?

 

Better... a whole lot better...

 

My model A truck was a work horse! We used it daily until ~1970!

Icarus

 

Yes two months ago and there were some good examples including my post #66
The worst car you ever owned? | PriusChat