"what’s the worst car you’ve ever owned”

[presta]

My Accord had aircon and a sunroof, but I don't think it was standard fitment. I never opened it, there was no need, but it was glass so it made the interior much brighter.

 

[Mike_P]

Dad had a Renault 12 supplied by work with one of those miniature dashboard mounted gear sticks. It had a dislike to rain and would cut out. Remember it doing so at the top of a lump in the landscape railway bridge and almost coasting the rest of the way to relatives in the village beyond.

 

[cyberknight]

Every car i have ever owned that had a sunroof eventually leaked.
you can see why they are no longer a popular addition. In fact i don’t think i have owned one for over 15 years.
Do cars still have sunroofs?

Dunno , we have had our current car 6 years and it's 10 years old now.

 

[OldShep]

The Renault 4 were/are very basic cars. Very popular in rural Spain. My dad had two. First one bought new in 1974, sold on in 1988, we would see it still around until the late 90s. Replaced by another Renault 4, bought new, which survived my dad. My brother keeps it going. I has now about 140000km on the clock, and never needed any major repairs. Renault 4s now have cult status, my brother has been offered serious money for it, but he won't sell it.

Mine would be late 60’s. Drive shafts used to go, gear change was pot luck, and the carburettor had a mind of its own. Worst of all it introduced me to metric sizes and my toolbox was full of Whitworth, BSF and AF.

 

[tyred]

Every car i have ever owned that had a sunroof eventually leaked.
you can see why they are no longer a popular addition. In fact i don’t think i have owned one for over 15 years.
Do cars still have sunroofs?

I never saw the point of a sun roof. They leak, water gets to where it shouldn't and causes rust. They also usually rob headroom from the interior. Not sure what the actual benefits are when you can just open windows if you want fresh air.

 

[C R]

Mine would be late 60’s. Drive shafts used to go, gear change was pot luck, and the carburettor had a mind of its own. Worst of all it introduced me to metric sizes and my toolbox was full of Whitworth, BSF and AF.

Our 1974 one had a very hard life being a farmers car, but the only serious repair it needed was because someone crashed into it. They were popular because they just kept going. They were not cool at the time, though.

One thing I'll say, driving the Renault 4 now feels very precarious compared to modern cars.

 

[Mike_P]

I never saw the point of a sun roof. They leak, water gets to where it shouldn't and causes rust. They also usually rob headroom from the interior. Not sure what the actual benefits are when you can just open windows if you want fresh air.

Can be counterproductive as well, on a hot day if not opened add to the heat in the car and if opened as a pop up increase fuel consumption through added drag.

 

[Profpointy]

I never saw the point of a sun roof. They leak, water gets to where it shouldn't and causes rust. They also usually rob headroom from the interior. Not sure what the actual benefits are when you can just open windows if you want fresh air.

They always rather appealed to
me, but when I had a loaner company car with one I discovered they weren't much cop as if it was open it was just incredibly noisy. I'd previously owned a proper soft top (Triumph Vitesse) and driven a couple more and they didn't suffer the excessive noise problem at all.

I also considered buying the hooligan model Fiat Uno turbo, but didn't even bother with a test drive as the sun roof mechanism used up so much headroom I couldn't even sit in the thing unless I had the seat cranked right back.I'm 6 foot which isn't excessively tall

 

[Gunk]

Back in the 80’s 90’s and early 2000’s Sunroofs seemed to be an essential option. I bought a new Golf GTI back in 2005 and a sunroof and metallic paint were the only option boxes I ticked. Unfortunately the regular sliding glass/steel sunroof have been replaced by the panoramic sunroof which after experiencing one in a Mini years ago I would never have one again, it was an absolute world of pain.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Every car i have ever owned that had a sunroof eventually leaked.
you can see why they are no longer a popular addition. In fact i don’t think i have owned one for over 15 years.
Do cars still have sunroofs?

I had a Vauxhall Corsa with a sun roof. It didn't leak. The car didn't have aircon so it made long journeys on hot days a bit more bearable but was really noisy at motorway speeds.

Nothing went wrong with my Corsa, it was a great little car. The radio died, but that's about it.

 

[numbnuts]

I have never owned a really bad car, maybe I've just been lucky

 

[Dogtrousers]

I have never owned a really bad car, maybe I've just been lucky

I've owned three. A Corsa, which was great. A Merc A class which was OK but had a few, generally minor, problems plus it corroded to death underneath. I had to get rid of it because of ULEZ (and corrosion). Now I have a Hyundai i10 which has been great so far.

None of the radios have worked properly.

 

[Profpointy]

Not really an answer to the question, but I have been rather surprised and disappointed by how horrible to drive a lot of cars are. This has nothing to do with age / era of car, nor the prestige level.

Some of the really nice-to-drive cars included a pal's mum's 1100 Simca, my own 68 Cortina, (terrible roadholding but nice and predictable in a slidey sort of way), a colleague's P6 V8 Rover, Peugeot 205 (with 250,000 miles on it!), Transits of many eras, my current 20+ year old Saab 95 and the earlier 900, Vauxhal Astra (van and saloon), Ford Mondeo etc

Horrible or at least disappointing to drive: Fwd Ford Escort, Talbot Horizon, Daf, Renault Megane and Laguna, (late 90s) BMW 3 series (ultimate driving machine my arse - it was horrid), Saab 93. Many of these were brand new at the time when I was test driving potential company cars

 

[Dogtrousers]

Horrible to drive? Every car I've ever driven.

I've never enjoyed driving.

 

[Mike_P]

The air con fan packed in on my Corsa one winter inconveniently just as Vauxhall cancelled their local franchise so it took ages to get a replacement. Got an alledged car heater from Maplin which just managed to keep the windcreen defrosted long enough to do the commute