Gwylan
Veteran
- Location
- All at sea⛵
"what’s the worst car you’ve ever owned”
- Thread starter Jameshow
- Start date
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bonzobanana
Guru
Seat Ibiza (pre-VW), the one with Porsche engineered on it. You couldn't demist the windows it was so pathetic, the heater element was so low spec clearly designed for Spain not the UK. Everything was so cheap about it, very low grade plastic and not a very efficient car, very low mpg. Looked nice though parked up. Also had a Vauxhall Vectra with electrical issues which was a right pain. However also had a Vauxhall Cavalier before it which was fantastic and loved to bits. I've had 3 original mini's, not without a few issues here and there but still remember them fondly for the simple joy of throwing them around corners with their go kart handling and how 30mph felt like 50mph when you are so low to the ground. Those were probably the last cars that I attempted to repair myself and replace parts myself. It just seemed to get really complicated after those.
However my best car is my current car which I've had approaching 12 years from new and done nothing to it apart from basic servicing. The first fault I've had has just occurred, the light behind the fuel gauge sometimes goes off but for the last few drives it hasn't so maybe its corrected itself perhaps a bit of water ingress. However I should point out I'm a very low mileage driver and have only just passed 20,000 miles in the car, less than 2,000 miles per year. I'm still debating whether to replace the engine timing belt which is meant to be good for 100,000 miles but perhaps not 12 years of light use. It's the non turbo engine though which is much easier on the timing belt I believe. It probably only have 3 more years of use before its completely run its course I feel with very little value. I like to drive cars into the ground pretty much. It was only about £7k new because Chevrolet left the UK market so they were heavily discounting the model, it was £17k originally.
However my best car is my current car which I've had approaching 12 years from new and done nothing to it apart from basic servicing. The first fault I've had has just occurred, the light behind the fuel gauge sometimes goes off but for the last few drives it hasn't so maybe its corrected itself perhaps a bit of water ingress. However I should point out I'm a very low mileage driver and have only just passed 20,000 miles in the car, less than 2,000 miles per year. I'm still debating whether to replace the engine timing belt which is meant to be good for 100,000 miles but perhaps not 12 years of light use. It's the non turbo engine though which is much easier on the timing belt I believe. It probably only have 3 more years of use before its completely run its course I feel with very little value. I like to drive cars into the ground pretty much. It was only about £7k new because Chevrolet left the UK market so they were heavily discounting the model, it was £17k originally.
JtB
Prepare a way for the Lord
- Location
- North Hampshire
My worst car was my first car; an Allegro 1500 with square steering wheel. The hydrogas suspension was so soft and bouncy that you could turn the steering wheel and the car would continue in a straight line, you could brake and the car would not slow down, you could accelerate and the wheels would just spin. The handbrake would not usually work and I had to be adjusting the handbrake cable nearly every month. You couldn’t tell the difference between first gear and reverse which resulted a few emotional hill starts (for the cars behind). The bonnet once opened at 75mph on the outside lane of a busy M4 and wrapped itself round the windscreen and the offside engine mount once sheered due to corrosion and the engine dropped onto a steel safety plate which was also totally corroded.
Gwylan
Veteran
- Location
- All at sea⛵
Worst ever, a 1976 Triumph 1300 TC.
Company car. No one could read the manual so the timing was always wrong.
So a lot of "maybe I'll start maybe I won't."
"Is it really inconvenient then I'll break down here."
Eventually little garage round the corner run by a fellow absentee Welsh patriot fixed it.
Was a fun drive then, in a scary sort of way.
But the job was rubbish, so I left and settled for a Vauxhall Cavalier. A real reps car.
Company car. No one could read the manual so the timing was always wrong.
So a lot of "maybe I'll start maybe I won't."
"Is it really inconvenient then I'll break down here."
Eventually little garage round the corner run by a fellow absentee Welsh patriot fixed it.
Was a fun drive then, in a scary sort of way.
But the job was rubbish, so I left and settled for a Vauxhall Cavalier. A real reps car.
FrankCrank
Old layabout
My youngest brother had an Austin Allegro for his first car. It was a sort of blanched turd colour. He pranged it shortly after passing his test.
I was working as a fabricator/welder back then, and he brought to the workshop for me to straighten out a little.
Seem to remember it having a squarish steering wheel?
I was working as a fabricator/welder back then, and he brought to the workshop for me to straighten out a little.
Seem to remember it having a squarish steering wheel?
123456789
Veteran
- Location
- Quite near Saarfend innit
DS7 - good looking car, good spec but the driving experience was awful. You never really felt like the car would do what you wanted it to do. It felt vague when cornering, vague when on a straight line. It felt like it skitterred along the road rather than really gripping/holding it/feeling planted. Felt ok on the test drive but once living with it day to day it was an Awful Awful Awful drive, horrendously expensive for spares and the warranty from DS was not worth the paper it was written on. We had a 2015 Smax for the dogs/cheaper runaround but we outed the DS after a year as we much preferred the Smax.
Toshiba Boy
N+1er
- Location
- By the beach, West Zummerzet
Same, my first ever car was a second hand Austin Allegro in 1983, had it for about 6 months before I changed it. Awful thing.
FishFright
More wheels than sense
I've never had a car
Snap
mistyoptic
Vintage
- Location
- A parallel reality
Citroen BX
Faulty suspension spheres meant it could bounce you out of your seat.
Right angle clutch linkage cracked so clutch kept going out of adjustment ( fixed by an AA man who correctly diagnosed it and took the offending part away and welded it)
Both the above went undiagnosed by cr@p main dealership
Came back to it in a multi storey to find it sitting in a lake of its own hydraulic fluid
Faulty suspension spheres meant it could bounce you out of your seat.
Right angle clutch linkage cracked so clutch kept going out of adjustment ( fixed by an AA man who correctly diagnosed it and took the offending part away and welded it)
Both the above went undiagnosed by cr@p main dealership
Came back to it in a multi storey to find it sitting in a lake of its own hydraulic fluid
308 GT4 Only started when it felt like it, misfired a lot, only one headlight would pop up, not always the same one, air conditioning and heating system would only blow cold air and the list goes on, pretty car though which if I had kept would have enhanced my pension pot a little.
HarryTheDog
Guru
- Location
- Basildon Essex
Vauxhall Omega 2.5 V6. Engine blew up 2 weeks after the 6 months warranty expired whilst i was on Holiday. Paid 2K to get the engine rebuilt whilst still on the holiday and hired a car. Then 6 months later, oil in the water system. Oil cooler gasket knackered. It did various other malfunctions, steering, electrical problems with the spark etc until suddenly going down the A12 was a pop and a cloud of smoke emitted from the rear. I kept driving the further 6 mile home belching smoke. Then binned it. Lost a lot of money on that car over the 2 years I had it.
figbat
Slippery scientist
- Location
- South Oxfordshire, UK
Mark 4 Ford Escort 1.6 LX. My first ‘proper’ car that I paid 4-figures for and was seduced by the red-over-black bodywork. After the gearbox sh&t itself twice I traded it in for the infinitely better Peugeot 205 XS.
Beebo
Firm and Fruity
- Location
- Hexleybeef
You would expect a Swedish car to be ok on cold mornings.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Ford Escort MK2 - only because it was rusting to bits underneath. Bought it used at 10 years old, and whilst it looked good, was constantly in need of welding and patching up. It got nicked after I'd had it 18 months, so upgraded to a MK3 Escort Ghia 1.6 - now that was nice and fast and not rusty. Upgraded that a few years later to a Rover Metro GTa (brand new). Couldn't afford the insurance on a GTi. Great car to drive, loads of fun and quick, but it started rusting after 5 years despite being very well looked after.
