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FIAT's are very nice cars compared to my fleet of Renault R-10's, which I acquired when I bought a friend's auto repair shop. He used them as loaners and parts runners ... figured nobody would ever want to steal one and you couldn't trash them out any worse than the manufacturer did the day they were built. Gutless, minimal brakes (my bicycles have brake pads almost as big), vague shifters, too-small clutches, inadequate cooling systems, minimal heaters (although water cooled, they rivaled an air-cooled VW bug for heater output), ineffective wipers, and lots of cheap cheap plastic parts for all the essentials like door locks, window regulators, electrical switches, etc. We also had a 4CV which had all of 28 HP, just enough to take it to the bone-yard where it brought $35 ... and had $150 worth of Michelin X radials on it. The cute part of the 4CV was the elegantly elaborate radiator fill cap above the rear engine lid on the outside of the car, while the gas tank fill required opening the lid .... we had one customer have gasoline put into the radiator by an attendant before they figured out that wasn't the right place when it only took a few ounces of gas and the tank was on empty ... the car went directly to the boneyard rather than have such a mistake made again with adverse consequences.
Next best were the Peugeot 504Diesels/505TurboDiesel. When they ran well, they got high 30's to low 40's for mpg, and adequate HP to run in the Colorado mountains at 55-70 mph. A very refined ride, quiet, smooth and comfortable, good handling, effortless to drive cars. But stuff on them kept breaking ... kinda' like english cars and their "lot rot". Only, with the French cars it was stuff that kept them from being usable ... like central locking switches/locks that would lock and then not release; you couldn't even use the key and the outside door handle to get out of the driver's door. I had to climb into the back seat and out the back doors more than once to get out of a car. Or a diesel shut down unit that wouldn't shut down, or maybe wouldn't allow the car to be started. Or heaters that just decided not to heat one day in a snowstorm, but would work fine on another day. Or transmission back cases that had welded together shifter linkages and leaking seals on the input shaft, losing so much trans lube that you had to add it every few days ... or buy a complete new trans back case to get the seal. Another wonderful car that simply wasn't a theft target ... I got about 300,000 miles total out of a handful of them by being able to work on them all the time. The only offset was that I could buy them with almost no mileage on the odo for little more than their scrap value ... even the tires were worth more than the $350-500 I paid for them (some of those were cars that had retailed a few years earlier for mid-high teens ....). What really helped my purchases was that so few people knew how to tune these cars up, and they'd be gutless runners under the "best of care" by the idiots. Folks would figure that the cars couldn't run properly, and I'd be able to buy them for the very low prices ... dealers would not take these cars in trade except as scrap, so my $500 offers were the best money they could get in a lot of deals; of course, I'd tune them up properly and they'd run like sweethearts ... the motors were probably the strongest mechanical aspect of these cars, well built and stout .... but not strong enough to offset all the other shortcomings of these cars.
1981 Ford Fairmont, 2.3L 4-cylinder. A rattling rust bucket that couldn't get out of its own way. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I tried to out-accelerate a full-sized school bus -- and couldn't. I was ecstatic the day that car refused to start for good. Absolutely the cheapest, flimsiest, most crappily-built car I've ever owned -- and perhaps ever been in.
I had 2 really crap cars, an Oldsmobile Starfire late 70's model and a Chevrolet Corsica. The Starfire was purchased used and stalled out constantly. The Corsica was purchased new and was the biggest dissapointment. Engine blew at 30,000 and had numerous other isues. Got rid of it soon after that.
There was NO tire blowout, Crew. I was driving about 50 mph and it was snowing in eastern Colorado. Everyone else passing me up, but I did not want to go any faster. I now know Ford Explorers are notorious for rollovers, has nothing to do with good driving skills, which I have. Excellent driving record, get very low insurance premiums. Have never been in a wreck or accident before that. It was a no fault case, and was remunerated by my insurance company and received medical benefits as well for doctor visits, xrays, PT, etc.
Glad to hear you came out "whole" again from the crash. And glad your insurance comapany treated you well!
I bought a 83 GMC 3/4 ton PU new off the lot, i began having regrets as i pulled into my driveway and the front brakes grabbed and made a load clunck, i called the dealer and was told to bring it right back, it wouldn't start, well after that was fixed the truck began overheating, dealer said it was fine, the transmission wouldn't shift, they fixed that a dozen times, finally the top radiator hose exploded, I tried to burn the engine up but it wouldn't, the gas tank switch wouldn't switch tanks, all the gauges quit working, the paint and trim fell off, the warranty ran out and I dumped it.
2 years of nothing but trouble, later there was a recall for 90% of the problems I had, the water passages on the heads and the block did not match, one or the other was manufactured in mexico.
My first car was a 1991 Buick Skylark..was it a decent car to get around it. It was terribly slow and not that good on gas either, it was a 2.3 4 cylinder with only a 3 speed automatic. The brakes were terrible on it, had the lines replaced twice and rotors too but it took so long to stop. Paint peeled on it so had it repainted, catallyic converter blew and the exhaust had to be replaced. I bought a used Nissan Altima after that and it has been a good car, just basic maintanence.
The American cars we've owned were just terrible. My parents had a 1988 dodge minivan..the thing was always in the shop half the time, the interior fell apart and the electronics and a/c died early and paint peeled (garaged kept). Then was a 1994 Buick LeSabre...was pretty good..it always mostly ran..altenator died 3 times on it, the paint peeled, the dash board started to crack and peel, the exterior lamps developed cracks and eventually water got inside, the climate control stopped working and the windshield would crack every year for some reason.
My parents finally stopped buying american, and I will never own an American car again.
My parents finally stopped buying american, and I will never own an American car again.
Too bad your parents didn't own a Lincoln Town Car or Mercury Grand Marquis. They are very reliable and many on the road have well over 200,000 miles with no internal engine or transmission work.
(I own a '95 Town Car.)
Drover, have thought about that as well, "was I going too fast?". Just thought an SUV would handle better, and ALL the other SUVs on the road zooming ahead without any problems! I think I may have caught a patch of ice somewhere which sent me spinning out of control and out into that field. The sheriff asked me alot questions and put in his report, "no fault", as did my insurance company.
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