Tell us about the most pathetic car you have owned (RX7, spark plugs)

[geminidb]

My worst car was a 1988 Pontiac Trans Am. I loved the looks but it was a nightmare. I had just put a new a/c compressor, tires, shocks and had the entire checked and was told she was running like a charm. 1 week later the engine froze up at a red light. I lost over $2500.00 hard earned dollars on this junkpile. Consumer reports rated the service record much worse than average. Very Very true. Pontiac is equated to junk in terms of quality. Toyotas and hondas rule in these repects as shown by the numbers of autos sold every year. Although pontiac styling is very attractive I would warn everyone the quality is not on par with the afore mentioned. Do not take it from me but look at the reviews on the only unbiased magazine out there- Consumer Reports. It is too bad GM can't build a good product. My family has owned several -8- GM cars, all junk. Some can say what they want but I will not ever go back to them. The way they are going they will not be around much longer either according to my mechanic. Too Bad.

[sonarrat]

I bought a badly abused '76 Mercedes 300D with 160,000 miles on it. It has yet to fail on me *knock on wood*, but so far it has been about as trustworthy as a modern Mercedes. The first day I had it, I had leaking fuel return lines replaced and found out it had a leaking differential and a bunch of worn-out suspension components (no surprise). I took it to another mechanic to get a second opinion, because I figured this was a dealer and they just want to screw me. Well, the second mechanic affirmed everything the dealer said and more - the car was running on half throttle because someone rigged the linkage. Why? To hide the fact that the car had a slipping transmission, because it would force it to upshift hard (less destructive than slipping). A week later, after deciding to keep the car, I put new tires on it and took it back to him for a valve adjustment. He found out in the process that the camshafts were damaged from an episode of oil starvation - at some point, they will start make noise and give out. And 1500 miles after I changed the oil, it's pitch black again. I'm going to just drive it until it dies and then junk it, because so far, at least it has started every time and run like a champ at 80 mph.

[Tim-mac]

Originally Posted by Fleet

I don't buy pathetic cars.
I've only owned Cadillacs and one Mopar.

Come on Fleet everyone has owned at least on pile of dookey. Anyways my was a 78 Ford Mustang II. A Mustang with a Pinto engine in it. i had to get off of the freeway on my way home because there was a slight grade. I take a service road that ran along the freeway because it would only go 25 mph....no joke!

[sterlinggirl]

My worst one was a 66 Bug.

Not much faster than a lawn mower, and even slower up hills, but that gave me plenty of time to scrape the inside of the windshield when it was cold out. It had a few problems with the transaxle and some electrical issues, but at least it was easy to push start.

[Stripes17]

My DW made me buy a 79 Corolla from a relative. What a POS. Granted, the thing ran ok, but it was funny looking, had zero amenities, and I felt like I was driving in a sardine can. I couldn't wait to get rid of the thing. Replaced it with a Chevy Monza hatchback. Still small, but a much better car for my needs.

[elgusano]

Had a Park Avenue ('85, if I remember correctly) that was a good car, but every part was outrageously expensive when I had to fix it. The starter and alternator had to be replaced within 2 weeks of replacing the starter and alternator on my Corolla, but cost 12 times as much, and the process of replacing them had some hinky maneuvers to get the job done.

The only real piece of junk that we have owned was a Dodge, though. We had to pay the junk yard $110 to take it. That was the cheapest one we could find; most wanted more.

Our Town Car only had 89k miles on it when it broke permanently.

We currently own a GMC Safari that is literally falling apart, and it only has 147k miles on it. We've had to replace the transmission, the doors haven't worked properly in a long time, switches quit working, interior panels falling off. (But, from what we understand, the engine will probably run a while longer.) We have tried to sell it, but can't even get $1000 for it, so we are stuck with it until it dies.

Nothing but Toyota, Honda, or Mazda for me from here on out.

[factoryrat]

Bought a new '74 Pinto wagon. It resided in the junkyard at 40,000 miles. The fenders rusted so bad they billowed in and out and it looked like a big gooney bird trying to take off when you hit about 35. Traded it in on an '81 Colt & the dealer offered us $125 sight unseen. We drove it to the dealer, 15 miles away, at it's top speed of 20 MPH. It died permenately at the dealers front door. He was so pissed.
Had an 87 Olds Tornado that we had to replace EVERYTHING on - engine, trans, etc. We spent so much money on this car we finally just gave it away.

[Rogarven]

Had a '75 Volvo that was a big disappointment. After 2 years, I was ready to drive it off the cliff. Fan belt broke, fuel injection was extremely sensitive and would clog and the car would just stop. Left us stranded by the road several times. It was very unreliable and very expensive to fix. The cheapest car was a '71 Vega which I had in college. Bad. It blew a head gasket in 3-4 years. Was a mess. Not great gas milage either. My parents bought it as they were loyal GM people. They made a mistake by buying a '79 Olds 98 Diesel. What a disaster. While it could get good mileage, it broke down and left them stranded in rural AZ. Filters clog, terrible.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by Tim-mac

Come on Fleet everyone has owned at least on pile of dookey. Anyways my was a 78 Ford Mustang II. A Mustang with a Pinto engine in it. i had to get off of the freeway on my way home because there was a slight grade. I take a service road that ran along the freeway because it would only go 25 mph....no joke!

Not when you don't buy cars like Mustang IIs and Pintos!

[Merc63]

Originally Posted by Fleet

Not when you don't buy cars like Mustang IIs and Pintos!

My second car was a '72 Pinto that became my first race car in '79. 2 liter 4 speed car that was pretty quick, and ran like a top for the entire time I owned it with nothing more than a tuen up and oil changes. I don't think the problem is in the cars people buy, but the way people treat them. My worst cars were all mistreated by previous owners.

My own Pinto shown here in '83 with my sister driving it as we prepped for an autocross: