What was the WORST car you have owned

[Larsky]

It was a 1985 Chrysler Laser:

It was a truly horrible automobile. It was supposed to be Chrylser's answer to the Camaro and, well, it just wasn't. The reclining mechanism on the driver's seat broke and I couldn't afford a new one, so I used an empty cooler to hold it upright so I could drive it. I replaced the shift cable in it twice. I ended up selling it for $450 to a guy in San Diego, just to get it out of my driveway.

This remains the only brand new car I've ever owned...

I had the '85 Daytona turbo Z. In addition to my drivers seat rail bolts pulling through and the shifter cable sockets wearing out, the POS went through front hubs almost yearly.

 

[Cellblock2429]

U guess Ford didn't learn anything in the 4 years between my 1977 Mustang and yours.

Mine looked smaller. Worst 4 cylinder engine ever! I think it should have said Briggs & Stratton on the side of the block. Terrible car.

/----/ "U guess Ford didn't learn anything in the 4 years between my 1977 Mustang and yours."
Oh, they knew what they were doing. They let the bean counters design the cars, knowing full well by slapping the Mustang name on it, people who didn't know any better would buy them. A neighbor bragged about his 4 cyl "sports car."

 

[iamwhatiseem]

It was a 1985 Chrysler Laser:

It was a truly horrible automobile. It was supposed to be Chrylser's answer to the Camaro and, well, it just wasn't. The reclining mechanism on the driver's seat broke and I couldn't afford a new one, so I used an empty cooler to hold it upright so I could drive it. I replaced the shift cable in it twice. I ended up selling it for $450 to a guy in San Diego, just to get it out of my driveway.

This remains the only brand new car I've ever owned...

Oh yeah... the 1980s Dodge cars. Unbelievable pieces of shit. Everybody who bought one should have been able to sue the company for delivering such a poor quality product. By the 90s almost all of them were off the streets. You were damn lucky if it lasted long enough to pay for it.

 

[norwegen]

Suzuki Swift ('95 or '96?).

Someone bumped me from behind, knocking back the driver's seat. I couldn't get it back upright.

 

[bluzman61]

Chevy Citation 1980 something, I got it for real cheap. It took FOREVER for the engine to warm up before I could drive it. It had a driver's door that wouldn't stay shut when making left turns. I SOMEHOW owned the car for about 4 years.

 

[Cellblock2429]

Chevy Citation 1980 something, I got it for real cheap. It took FOREVER for the engine to warm up before I could drive it. It had a driver's door that wouldn't stay shut when making left turns. I SOMEHOW owned the car for about 4 years.

/----/ And folks in the big three wonder why the Germans and Japanese kicked their butts with affordable (OK not so much German) and reliable cars.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Chevy Citation 1980 something, I got it for real cheap. It took FOREVER for the engine to warm up before I could drive it. It had a driver's door that wouldn't stay shut when making left turns. I SOMEHOW owned the car for about 4 years.

Yes!!.... I listed that as my worst car also. And for me it was the passenger door that wouldn't stay shut. Which was worse! I would have to pull over and shut it when it flew open randomly.
And yes... it never wanted to warm up in winter... but at the same time it would suddenly overheat 5 minutes after you finally got it to warm up. At least in the top 5 of the worst quality car Chevrolet made, And they mad a LOT of lemons.

 

[Erinwltr]

It was a 1985 Chrysler Laser:

It was a truly horrible automobile. It was supposed to be Chrylser's answer to the Camaro and, well, it just wasn't. The reclining mechanism on the driver's seat broke and I couldn't afford a new one, so I used an empty cooler to hold it upright so I could drive it. I replaced the shift cable in it twice. I ended up selling it for $450 to a guy in San Diego, just to get it out of my driveway.

This remains the only brand new car I've ever owned...

Did you have the K platform Laser or the Diamondstar Laser?

 

[Canon Shooter]

Did you have the K platform Laser or the Diamondstar Laser?

Well, it was an '85. The Diamondstar ones apparently weren't built until 1989.

Honestly, I was unaware of the distinction until you asked the question. I had to look it up.

I can't imagine the Diamondstar ones being bigger pieces of shit than the one I had, though...

 

[maybelooking]

I didn't own it....but my sister did.

Pontiac Fiero. Man what a turd that was.

 

[Dadoalex]

79 Lincoln Towncar.

13 years old when I bought it but ALL big fords from that era (75-91) suffered from electrical problems that could never quite be fixed.
When the car lost power on 95 in Fort Lauderdale I got out and left it.

 

[miketx]

87 lincoln mk6

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

Another disappointing car I owned was a 1982 Silver Trans Am...a fake "muscle" car.
Sure it had a V8 and looked sporty, but it was heavy and drove like your Grandma's Buick. It ran good, I had zero mechanical issues with it, but it was basically a sedan pretending to be a sports car.
My next car mentioned in the "Best Car" thread, was the Mustang GT that left this thing in it's dust.

View attachment 279038

I had the same year, damn near same color Chevrolet equivalent Camaro Berlinetta. That malaise period of early f-bodies was so underwhelming, like that 305 under the hood, but I still love them, nonetheless. And that was supposed to be the fast one! They put v6s and even the Iron Duke i4 in them! 0-60 in..... sometime.

 

[Larsky]

I had the same year, damn near same color Chevrolet equivalent Camaro Berlinetta. That malaise period of early f-bodies was so underwhelming, like that 305 under the hood, but I still love them, nonetheless. And that was supposed to be the fast one! They put v6s and even the Iron Duke i4 in them! 0-60 in..... sometime.

The 305 cam lobes would flatten and exhaust would pop through the crappy Rochester.

Easy money.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

1999 black Mercury Cougar hatchback

Oooof. My condolences. A friend bought one new back in the day based on name recognition and looks. Instant regret.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

The 305 cam lobes would flatten and exhaust would pop through the crappy Rochester.

Easy money.

Yep. Mechanics built empires on them.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I didn't own it....but my sister did.

Pontiac Fiero. Man what a turd that was.

Haha... I had a good buddy that bought one of these bombs. He thought it was cool for about a month.
Slowly he grew to hate it... I think he kept it for maaaybe 6 months before selling it. I should mention it was used when he bought it.

 

[Mr Natural]

I had one of these back in the day. It was pretty bad .

Fast though.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

I have owned a lot of cars in my lifetime, without a doubt the worst ever was a 1980 Chevy Citation.
I lost my ass on this car. I drove it for about 6 months with nothing but trouble. Overheat, would stall constantly when the temps would dip much below freezing.
I am embarrassed to this day to even say I owned one.

Looked similar to this one... ugly to boot.

View attachment 278999

2016 Honda Accord

What a cheap, plastick-y pile of shit that car was.

The CVT transmission was almost dangerously undriveable. You could never be sure if the car would go or not, when you pushed the gas pedal. So you had to mash it just to pull away from a red light. The computer would then decide, from the infinite possibilities, what gear ratio it would use. To "save you from yourself" and to try to maintain the overblown, false MPG rating . It was like luck of the draw.

If you had the audacity to touch any part of the dimestore interior, you likely left a permanent scuff mark.

The car was also large and hard to see out of. Which are acceptable downsides, when deciding to buy a large vehicle or truck. But in a supposed smallish family sedan, these were unacceptable.

The low profile tires and cheap build made every pebble and bump in the road travel up your spine to your cranium.

They managed to put both style and cheapness of build over substance. Quite an accomplishment.

I leased it for my daily driver and went $2000 more out of pocket just to trade it in after 18 months.

And, to the CVT transmissions: NEVER AGAIN.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I had one of these back in the day. It was pretty bad .

Fast though.


View attachment 615160

They won the first half of every race.
Before breaking down and coming in last.