Bad Cars

[C5 Golfer]

The "Bad XXXX" post made me think of this.

I was taken to lunch today by a manufacturers rep who drives a convertible 2002 Saab 9.3 SE. This has gotta be the worst car in which I think I have ever rode. Every crack and bump felt like the car was shaking apart let alone the jaw rattling feeling I got everytime he drove over a man hole cover. When I closed the door - firm gently I mind you - the car rattled and felt cheap throughout.

I can not think of any worst car even the Pontiac Aztek - May it RIP thank god! - has to be a better ride.

[pebu]

The Pontiac ASStek has to be the ugliest vehicle ever. I like stiffer suspensions though cause I grew up riding in trucks, so any boat that floats down the road just about makes me sick.

Right now the worst vehicle is my ride. It's a '95 88 royale. Body roll like you would not believe, and that's even after we fixed the sway bar connecting link (it was unbearable before). The armrests on the front doors are cracked, so if you're not wearing a jacket or long sleeved shirt and try to use it, it'll pinch the hell out of your arm. It's got the 3800, so it's a good engine, but the upper intake plenum is plastic and there's an exhaust port that goes through it... heat + plastic = soft plastic... Sucked a crapload of coolant into the engine. Fixed it so many times that my brother and I were able to replace the intake manifold gasket, the intake plenum gasket and the upper intake plenum in about 2 hours. It's an upgraded plenum, so that shouldn't be a problem anymore. It's got a brake fluid leak. Sometimes in order for the drivers window to go down he has to slam the door. It floats like a butterfly. 4 normal sized people and a quarter barrel in the trunk just about makes it sit on the bump stops. It's just an all around piece of crap, but unfortunately it was a sub $1000 car that gets 30 mpg, so that's what we drive.

[Derf]

My father had a 87 (or 88) Pontiac Acadian until 1996. Need I say more? The engine was so underpowered engine (it said ~80 hp, but felt like less than that), it could barely go 120 km/h, the 1992 Mazda 323 we had after that blew the doors of with theoretically the same amount. Horrible clutch and shifting, no heating (it started to heat after about one hour), the windshield was held with ducktape because of the rust. My fathe would not even give it to me after he got the other car because he was scared it would brake in half because of the frame rusting.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I'd say my old Renault with the 3-bolt wheels was about the crappiest car I've ever seen. I owned it for a year and a half, of which it ran 5 days. It was yellow and shaped like a lemon. I believe either it or another model of that same vintage (mid-70s) came with a bar in the toolkit to brace between the doors if you had to jack it up, otherwise the body would collapse.

I don't know what I was thinking when I bought that thing. Maybe it's related to this important medical news.

[Sinecure]

In my first sales job I had a company car. Reliant K car. Couldn't get out of its own way. I was so happy when they got rid of the company cars and made us buy our own. Bought an '89 Integra and drove it 225K before selling it for $1500.

I had one of those Saab convertibles. Lots of body sway. I never liked the feel of it, but it was nice to put the top down.

It seems the majority of the American cars I get as rentals are crap. And they are nearly new! My Acura MDX has 155K on it and still rides like a great, nearly new car (I notice little rattles and stuff, but no one else does).

In the 70's my father won a Pinto wagon in one of those church raffles. He bought two tickets off one of his clients and won. He sold his 60's era VW Bug when he won that. I think we had it 1.5 years and maybe 15K miles before it had to be towed to the dealer as a trade-in. If he'd kept the bug, it would probably still be running.

[chrisk]

In 1976 my dad bought a 1972(73?) hatchback Chevy Vega from my Uncle.

Powder blue, automatic, a/c, aluminum engine block. Positively the worst vehicle I have ever driven. Within days the engine had to be replaced. Had to turn off the a/c to pull away from a stop. Visibility was poor in any direction. I could go on but you get the idea.

When we finally got dad to retire that pos, he bought a HUGE Chrysler Newport from the same Uncle. It lasted six months before my brother and I had to replace rod bearings in #8.

Of course, you could put down the back seat of the Vega and prop the hatch up with the jack, gas was $0.75 a gallon and AIDS wasn't on anyone's radar...

[jdgang]

My worst ride was an 86 Pontiac T1000 ( a chevette in Pontiac clothes) that thing couldnt get out of its own way....even with rear wheel drive you had to take it to the sand pits to do donuts and even then you still needed the E-brake to get it to go around....

[Allee]

One of the bubble shaped early model ones that rusted like you wouldn't believe. I was a pretty new driver at the time and this thing was the most evil POS that I'd ever come across. Although she loved it, which is hardly surprising given that it was a replacement for her Skoda.

Why do Skodas have twin exhausts? So you can use them as wheelbarrows ...

[djlepper]

I must say FORD for me. I've had '94 Tbird, and had the transsmision die on me a month after I bought it (bought it used with only 60K on it). And later I bought '00 Explorer that lost compression in one of the cylinders after about 6 months. Ended up geting rid of it for half the price I bought it for:(

[Art]

I worked on Saabs for a short time. Crap of a car. I knew I was in trouble one day when I was doing some electrical work and the insulation crumbled off of a major wiring harness. Every wire. Needless to say, I went back to another notorious line Range Rover. Why dont the Brits make computers? They cant figure out how to make them leak oil. The Saabs were leaky, noisy and built backwards. Water leaks on the convertables? Like driving in a shower. Thank god Im done with that.

[Justin A.]

I loved my 2004 Saab 9-3Aero...it was quick, reliable, fun to drive, comfortable, well laid-out (not under the hood though...eek), and an all around good car. I liked the hidden integrated roof-rack mounts.

OTOH, I had a 1990 Saab 9000 that was a piece of garbage...it was quick, comfortable, poorly laid out, unreliable, quick, unreliable...I had it for about 6 months and drove it for about 3 of those months...always breaking down. Granted, it had been driven into the ground by the previous owner, but still...you'd think that EVERY part wouldn't need to be replaced. The check engine light never turned off...

Biggest POS I've driven though? My aunt's civic. The interior was noisy, cramped, horrifically uncomfortable, too bright (who'da thought it was possible?), slow, and handled like an oil tanker. I have no idea about the reliability though.

Just kidding, the worst is my friend's '95 'sploder (Explorer)...the thing is CONSTANTLY breaking...Once stranded us 80 miles from home after it ran flawlessly all day...something is ALWAYS wrong with it. It's ABS module has been broken forever, and the Ford "techs" can't fix it, so the ABS kicks in every time he stops :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ...such a piece...

My girlfriend drove an 89 Caprice for a little while...that thing was amazing...it just wouldn't die...I think it had something like 350K on the odometer and it was still running like a champ, minus a stripped wiper stalk, which can happen to anything.

[Gecko]

that no one has mentioned "YUGO"

[Steve Prokopiw]

I have a 96 neon that sounds like it will fall apart at any minute and has 238,000 miles I know of because the speedo works intermitently now.It used to be my wife's car but I decided it was not safe anymore and finally talked her into a new car so our kids will live long happy lives.The neon is like an old dog with hip displaysia that will not die.

[Justin A.]

The neon is like an old dog with hip displaysia that will not die.

LMAO :lol:

[Jack M]

...they told me at about 32k miles that the steering rack needed to be replaced for ~$1200. WTF??? You would think a solid hunk of metal would be indestructible. May have been a scam because the steering felt fine. Bastards. That was the only major repair in 5 years of owning it.

Otherwise, that car commanded no respect, but damn for cheap basic transpo it was fun to drive. I researched it and at the time it had the most power/torque in the class, even more than a basic Jetta. Excellent transmission (manual, of course), light responsive handling, and the thing cornered absolutely *flat*. I can see why people race them.

[Neil Gendzwill]

In 1976 my dad bought a 1972(73?) hatchback Chevy Vega from my Uncle.

Buddy of mine had an old Vega in college. The steering was so screwed up that just to make minor corrections to stay in lane, he had to rotate the wheel through 180 degrees. If all you saw was his hand motion, you'd think he was counter-steering through a wild series of drifting turns, when all he was trying to do was keep it in the lane.

My 84 1/2 Mustang SVO had over 30 work orders in the first year, about half due to real problems, the other due to the dealer screwing up. Still loved that car, though.

[skategoat]

My first car was a '72 VW 412. Rear engine (made by Porsche, no less), rear-drive wagon. The front end was so light I had to brace myself when I saw a transport truck coming in my direction on a two lane highway. After nearly being blown off the road, I had to make a quick correction or I would end up in the ditch. Same kind of drama when there was a strong crosswind.

Every time it was in the shop (which was often), it took 4 weeks to get the parts.

[Cristan]

I don't care how much you pimp this car.

Regards,

Cristan

[pebu]

That actually looks damn good! I mean, you know, for a Gremlin... It looks like it has potential for drag racing, much like my neighbors Pinto..

[xxguitarist]

That actually looks damn good! I mean, you know, for a Gremlin... It looks like it has potential for drag racing, much like my neighbors Pinto..