[Ziploc]

What is the WORST car you've ever owned--and Why?

Reading about the "lemons" that have been mentioned in other threads made me more curious about people's worst experiences with cars. :16: In contrast, we all should feel that much better about owning a PILOT!!!

 

[Alexandra242628]

A 1995 Chevy Camaro. Piece of junk. I purchased it brand new when I was just out of college...everytime I would drive through a puddle the entire electrical system would shut down! That would include the power steering and power brakes. Ugh! I can't believe I didn't crash into a tree and die. I promptly traded it in for an Infiniti and have since purchase two others. No more American cars for me.

 

[Sage]

Embarassingly...

...a Toyota Starlet. Think it was a 1980. And yes... I bought it new. (face turning redder now...) Kept it for 8 months. Too small and UGLY! Every time I got outta that car I wanted to be disguised like this guy... :1: It did run pretty good though and at the time the price was right. :4:

 

[PILOTinginCO]

1998 Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition

I know that there are thousands and thousands of Expeditions on the road and people haven't had any problems with theirs - mine on the other hand a GIGANTIC PIECE OF S**T!

here's the list of problems:

4 new engines in 4 years.
2 new dashboards
2 A/C system replacements
5 repairs to passenger/front seat belts
3 repairs to drivers side lumbar adjuster
countless repairs on the the electronic load-leveling suspension
countless "re-torquing" of the front suspension - kept coming lose
2 replacements of the cruise control system
4 replacements on front windshield wiper/turn signal control
3 replacements of rear wiper systems - kept burning out

The only things I didn't have a problem with was the 4-wheel drive system, the transmission and the stereo system.

When I approached Ford about replacing the vehicle they laughed it off. I threatened a lawsuit - they said "if you think you have a case go for it!"

The short story is, I found a lawyer and I'm now driving a new Honda PILOT thanks in large part of Ford Motor Company money $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


So, all I can say to Ford is this: I was a loyal Ford guy for 16-years (6 new/2 used vehicles in that time) and when I had a problem - they gave me the finger. Now those bastards won't get another dime of my money and I will bad mouth them any chance I get!


PILOTinginCO
Sagebrush Pearl-EX
Parker, CO

 

[PSUPilot]

I bought a 1996 Nissan 200SX SE-R new and it was a headache from the beginning. It was constantly in for service, the check engine light would come on at least once a week. It turned out that the wrong EGR valve for the exhaust system was put on at the factory and every time I took it in for service the service tech put the same part (although new) on to fix it. I did take them to court under the lemon law and they paid me quite well for spending an excess of 25 days in their service departments.

Besides the lemon portion of the car I felt the build quality was so inferior to Honda that I regretted the purchase every time I drove it.

Luckly it was totalled and I used the insurance to buy my Integra, which has been a great car.

 

[Ziploc]

Re: 1998 Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition

I know that there are thousands and thousands of Expeditions on the road and people haven't had any problems with theirs - mine on the other hand a GIGANTIC PIECE OF S**T!

When I approached Ford about replacing the vehicle they laughed it off. I threatened a lawsuit - they said "if you think you have a case go for it!"

The short story is, I found a lawyer and I'm now driving a new Honda PILOT thanks in large part of Ford Motor Company money $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


So, all I can say to Ford is this: I was a loyal Ford guy for 16-years (6 new/2 used vehicles in that time) and when I had a problem - they gave me the finger. Now those bastards won't get another dime of my money and I will bad mouth them any chance I get!


PILOTinginCO
Sagebrush Pearl-EX
Parker, CO

Question: What do you get when you combine a lemon, a turkey, and a bomb???
Answer: PILOTing's Ford Expedition

A bad experience, to be sure....but methinks your settlement with Ford helped to ease your pain.

 

[RipRocK]

Re: 1998 Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition

//snip
The short story is, I found a lawyer and I'm now driving a new Honda PILOT thanks in large part of Ford Motor Company money $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So, all I can say to Ford is this: I was a loyal Ford guy for 16-years (6 new/2 used vehicles in that time) and when I had a problem - they gave me the finger. Now those bastards won't get another dime of my money and I will bad mouth them any chance I get!

That's awesome! I love it when a hard working ordinary joe takes on the big corporations after he's been screwed over and wins.

 

[kemosabe]

Re: Re: 1998 Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition

That's awesome! I love it when a hard working ordinary joe takes on the big corporations after he's been screwed over and wins.

PILOTinginCO hired the law firm of Ben Dover & C. Howett Hertz, Attorneys-At-Law to represent him....

 

[HiFlyer]

Re: Re: Re: 1998 Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition

PILOTinginCO hired the law firm of Ben Dover & C. Howett Hertz, Attorneys-At-Law to represent him....

LOL!
kemosabe, you are too funny.

 

[Bigrob]

Kemosabe strikes again! I'm going to have to hire that firm to represent me in my civil action against you as I will be suing for replacement of pants and punitive damages for emotional distress brought on by large yellow stain induced by uncontrollable laughter.

As far as worst car, it would have to be a toss-up between the first two cars I owned, a VW Rabbit and a Toyota Tercel. Both purchased used. All I could afford at the time, the Rabbit was very unreliable, the Tercel was just absolutely no fun at all. I've also owned a Camry, two Acura Legends, an Infiniti Q45, and a 2nd Gen Honda Odyssey. Yes, there's a trend there.

 

[colorider]

not too bad....

I can't say I've ever had a REALLY bad vehicle. Probably the closest I have ever come was a 1991 Chevy AWD Astro. It was pretty much an "okay" car until shortly after it went out of warranty - at which time the power steering/brakes "booster" went south while I was driving up I-25 in the middle of Denver - during rush hour. Not a pretty picture!!! It cost me just over $1K to have it repaired. Shortly before I traded it off, the CV joints went too.

I also owned one of the infamous MoPar's that had the problem with a leaky head gasket. At one time, the problem was so widespread that the gaskets were on national back-order. Chrysler has never acknowledged this as a "problem".

YMMV

 

[kemosabe]

Kemosabe strikes again! I'm going to have to hire that firm to represent me in my civil action against you as I will be suing for replacement of pants and punitive damages for emotional distress brought on by large yellow stain induced by uncontrollable laughter.

[ S N I P P E D ]

:19: :19: :19:

kemosabe, on the other hand, decides to go with the law firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe..... (an oldie, but a goodie)

 

[gziegler]

My worst experience was dumped for my new Pilot.
A 2001 Ford Escape XLT :3:
List of issues in first year:
Rear main transaxle seal blown.
Rear shocks replaced (leaked)
New latch on rear hatch (rattled)
New inside door panels on two doors (rattled)
Replaced overflow tank and hose for radiator (leaked)
Replaced Master Brake Cylinder, Vacuum Booster, Tank and lines on Brake system after brakes went to the floor with my wife and son in the car at 12,000 miles.
Power door locks failed.
Etc, Etc... After eight trips to the dealer the first year, we traded it in for our Pilot. So far, 5,000 trouble free miles.

This was my third American made vehicle and the only luck I had was with my wifes Chrysler Concorde. Most of our trouble free vehicles have been foreign.

I'm sure Kemosabe will find a few jokes in this one somewhere...:2:

 

[kemosabe]

My worst experience was dumped for my new Pilot.

[ S N I P P E D ]
I'm sure Kemosabe will find a few jokes in this one somewhere...:2:

MY worst experience was being dumped by a new Pilot....

P.S. Yes, I was really in the Air Force at one time....!!! :4:

 

[Ziploc]

My worst experience was dumped for my new Pilot.
A 2001 Ford Escape XLT :3:
List of issues in first year:
Rear main transaxle seal blown.
Rear shocks replaced (leaked)
New latch on rear hatch (rattled)
New inside door panels on two doors (rattled)
Replaced overflow tank and hose for radiator (leaked)
Replaced Master Brake Cylinder, Vacuum Booster, Tank and lines on Brake system after brakes went to the floor with my wife and son in the car at 12,000 miles.
Power door locks failed.
Etc, Etc... After eight trips to the dealer the first year, we traded it in for our Pilot. So far, 5,000 trouble free miles.

This was my third American made vehicle and the only luck I had was with my wifes Chrysler Concorde. Most of our trouble free vehicles have been foreign.

I'm sure Kemosabe will find a few jokes in this one somewhere...:2:

I don't have Kemosabe's wit or photo resources, but here's a real joke:

I was actually seriously considering purchasing a 2001 Ford Escape XLT (or Mazda Tribute). Thank God, Consumer Report's evaluation of that vehicle brought me to my senses. :1pat:

 

[dcchew]

1973 Chevrolet Vega....

Need I say more? 1st and last American build car I've ever owned.

Since then, '76 BMW 2002 (a true classic), 1982 Toyota Supra (an okay car for the period), 1990 Honda Civic LX (a true workhorse, went and did everything in it. Gave it to charity at 256,000 miles, still was running great, needed room for the Pilot).

Now, it's the 1991 Legend (wife's former car, now mine, 195,000 miles and still runs great) and the Pilot. Oh yeah, bought a 1974 BMW 2002, think of it as a mid-life toy for me. Strictly a warm weather weekend car.

 

[Jerry]

1974 Vega.

Transmission gave way at 45,000 miles. Compression gone at 35,000 miles. Last American car for me also. Replaced it with a 1978 Accord. Glad I got $100 trade in at the time.

 

[mrvincent]

Here are the cars I have owned:

1968 - Used Purple Pontiac LeMans 96k miles
Great big boat of a car. No major problems. Sold it!

1975 - Used Orange Honda CVCC 90k miles
I should have kept it. Sold it to buy next car.

1977 - New Brown VW Scirocco 98k miles
The worst car I have owned. Three water pumps, two alternators, points kept pitting and car would break down. Master cyclinder, brake shoes etc etc....still managed to keep it for eleven years.

1989 - New Silverwood Ford Ranger XLT 130k miles
Another dog which I still use to this day. The engine seems ok, but everything else was replaced, including the drive shaft, which broke down on the way to vegas. Oil leaks from everywhere.

BTW, the wife drives the Pilot.

 

[catbert]

I've had two lemons

1993 Saturn SL2. The best car I'd ever had until it rolled over 50,000 miles. Then a fuel pump went out. Towed it in. New fuel pump (at my expense since the warranty was gone). Drove a month, fuel pump went bad. Towed it in and fixed. A week later, another fuel pump. Repeat this scenario until I've put on 18 new fuel pumps. The also ended up putting in all new hoses, a new gas tank, found out the vehicle wasn't grounded properly and hence, all 93 SL2's weren't grounded properly. Finally, after having a loaner (that Saturn paid for) six months, they figured out the problem. Some little switch was causing the fuel pump to go bad. Same thing happened to my girlfriend's Saturn at around 50k. Even though it was "fixed", I sold that baby as soon as I got it in my hands, before it could tear up again! (I was young, and didn't know a thing about lemon laws...)

Second one was a Chrysler Sebring Convertible, first year of production, which was what I traded my Saturn for. My window wouldn't roll all the way up. They put new motors on it, but it still would only come about an inch from closing. One day in the biggest rain storm I can remember, the arm rest where the window control was got so water logged, that the electrical system went crazy. The window went down all by itself...completely down...and I couldn't get it to roll up at all. I wheeled into my Chrysler dealership and told them about it. They couldn't get the window up either. Water was standing in it. They had to replace the carpet, amplifier, electrical system. I told them I was getting an attorney. They said that if I enacted lemon laws on them, then by law they had one final chance to fix the car, and they would bring in someone from Detroit if they had to so they wouldn't have to lose a lemon law case. Pi**ed me off BIG TIME!! So in the end, they got the window all the way up and I traded the car that day before it could tear up again.

Boy did I feel jinxed for a long time after these two cars.

 

[HiFlyer]

1989 Pontiac LeMans

My first car, bought used with 11000 miles, arranged the down payment and TTL by working a night job in a motel. Problems with fuel pump and the injection system. Most of the times the car would die on the highway while driving, it would only start again after three or four cranks. One time in evening rush hour I was stopped at a traffic light, when the fuel pump/injection system malfunctioned and the car started to accelerate by itself. I had to fight the car with the brake pedal, when the light turned green I pulled off the street into a parking lot. I started to pray, thought the darn thing was possesed. I couldn't keep up with the frequent problems with my school work and my job, so I traded the piece of sh&t for a 1987 Chevy Celebrity with 50,000 miles. Five years later, I junked it after I added 140,000 miles.