Car brand that burned you so bad on reliability you'd never buy again?

I think the worst cars I encountered were Chevy Chevette and the Citation in the early 80's. Both were purchased new but did not survive to even 60,000 miles. The finish on the Citation even disintegrated, turning from a silver color to a dull gray within a few years. I failed to see how these car could have gotten out the door.

BMW's, at least the ones my sister drove did not age well. Her 10 year old 3-series was expensive to maintain but kept getting more expensive. She got rid of it when it cost her $9k one year and got a Tesla (it was about 9 years old), not sure what the long term track record of Tesla.

Paul
 
2002 VW Jetta TDI auto was the worst POS imaginable

Plymouth and Dodge not being far behind (I still own an old Ram 2wd pickup)
 
My first GM cars from the 70's and 80's were absolutely atrocious from a reliability and dependability perspective. l switched to Japanese nameplates afterwards.
 
Jeep and Mercedes; we had an early ML320 and it was easily the wort car we have had, with a series of Grand Cherokees and a Wrangler (1998-2008) close. That said, companies change and I'd never say never, but after my experience with both the local MB dealer and MB USA, that will be a hard decision if I ever go the way of the 3 pointed star again.
 
Most of my cars were in Europe. I am not going to talk about Zastava (Yugo) except it has some nostalgic memories, but were absolute POS.
Of major companies, worst by far were Opel (GM). I had Opel Ascona C, that was first Opel model that had QC from GM. It was so terrible that rear spring once detached from body due to rust. Engine was for that model year (1988) pure gem, 2.0 8V OHC. Opel still had great engines (not diesels though), but rest was just horrific.
As someone said "never say never again," I got Opel Vectra B which supposed to play in the same league as Passat B5 on European market, except VW left behind Opel in dust with that model. It was cheaply built, so appliance looking that it was horrific. Gearing in that 2.0 16V engine that has roots in Cosworth was so bad that maximum speed of 215km/h could be achieved in like 20 miles as 5th gear was super long. Generally it was OK reliability wise, but everything else was just cheap, outdated etc.
Had Alfa Romeo, Lancia, never had issues, unlike many others. They were real deal to drive, although Lancia due to transverse 5cyl diesel was bit heavy in front.
Had numerous BMW's, never had major issues, except X5 35d that had 1st gen. SCR, but that is not confined to BMW as it is problem across industry. Had numerous VW's, including infamous PD 1.9 and only once had to change flywheel. Had Peugeot's, Renaults, and except they drive bit too soft for me, they were OK. Peugeot 2.2hdi GT was real diesel rocket.

Another POS is Toyota Land Cruiser. Got LC Prado that is sold here as GX470, with 3.0 D-4D engine 4cyl diesel engine. Engine is great for such vehicle performance wise. Reliability wise, I could run factory of EGR valves. However, that is nothing compared to POS suspension and brakes. Constantly replacing control arms, rotors that can make top 10k km before vibrating. Solved issue with brakes by using EBC rotors, but suspension is ongoing saga. I got a car to access some mountain parts that have dirt roads which turn into mud etc. from September to May. Sometimes I am afraid I will stay stranded due to suspension issues. Usually after brief excursion of asphalt, something needs to be changed. Absolute bottomless money pit. Since I am driving it like 3-4000k km a year when I visit family, it is not worth of selling it and buying something else.
 
Originally Posted by Rmay635703
2002 VW Jetta TDI auto was the worst POS imaginable



I wonder if ours were made the same day, mine too was the worst motorized thing I have ever owned.

Didn't sour me as I know that period of TDI was lacking, but I agree with your statement as mine was an 02 as well.
 
Originally Posted by doitmyself
....Yes, guys, even our sacred Toyota has skeletons in their closet. ....


Toyota nor Honda have been NEVER be "sacred" to me. Many terrible issues same as or worse than any other car

which are all just dumb luck if you get a good one.

I've have had maybe 3 or 4 keepers out of 70 cars over 50 years.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by MCompact



And the multiple hearsay reports are motivated by envy and the sour grapes philosophy.


Hilarious stereoptypicality !

Do you also not use proper signaling?

But, why offer the unwashed .... anything ?
 
BMW for me. My first brand new car after graduating college and getting a real job was a cherry red 1997 318i coupe. While it never left me stranded, it was ALWAYS in the dealers shop. Then when I went to sell it a year or so later, I found out they don't hold their value for squat. I've never owned another one.

Others on my list are Honda V6 engines (bad, oil burning) and anything Toyota (Don't like how they drive. If the color tan was a car, it would be a Toyota).
 
My E36/5- definitely. It first needed tires at 27k, wiper blades at 46k, front pads at 57k, and new serpentine belts at 62k. And it was only seeing 5-10 track days per year. To top it off, the battery only lasted 10 years/100k miles. A real lemon. Resale is so bad I've just held on to it for 25 years.
15.gif
 
Originally Posted by MCompact
My E36/5- definitely. It first needed tires at 27k, wiper blades at 46k, front pads at 57k, and new serpentine belts at 62k. And it was only seeing 5-10 track days per year. To top it off, the battery only lasted 10 years/100k miles. A real lemon. Resale is so bad I've just held on to it for 25 years.
15.gif




lol.gif


Those dang wiper blades will get ya.
 
Speaking of vehicles looking good on the back of a tow truck, here's my day yesterday after work. Drove in just fine. Would crank, but not start when I tried to leave. Definitely a fuel delivery issue. Darn thing, I had so much planned around the house yesterday afternoon when I got home.. it was so nice out.

I've done a lot to this truck, but it certainly won't keep me from getting another.

4C22125F-12C0-4F0C-A63F-78BEFA80ADD7.jpeg
 
Last edited:
For just being overall garage queen but not leaving me stranded - Chrysler (both Daimler era and Fiat Chrysler era). In Daimler defense my '99 Neon was engineered and designed prior to the merger.

For leaving me stranded and spending a significant amount of time on the back of a tow truck or in the shop - Mercedes-Benz (after the Chrysler era).
 
Ford for me has been the worst. I had a 2000 Ford Explorer that, at one point, spent 17 straight days in the shop for an odd noise. They eventually called in a field engineer who determined that the frame had been incorrectly welded at the factory and was just "free floating" and would bang against the body every time I hit a bump. They welded it back up and refinished it and that resolved that. Then a few months later the left front brake caliper seized. It was replaced under warranty, then the replacement seized again 1,000 miles later. They replaced that under warranty, then 1,000 miles later the right front brake started having issues. I finally gave up on the truck and traded it for a loaded 2002 Focus hatchback.

The Focus was a nightmare. The doors would "shudder" and rattle in the door frame while driving. The dealer kept the car for 3 days and finally said this was normal body flex from a unibody car and there was nothing they could do. I ended up putting strips of roadkill sound deadening material along the tops of the doors and that solved the issue. Then, in freezing temperatures, the check engine light would come on and the engine would try to stall. A great feature when driving in the snow in stop and go traffic. That problem would go away as soon as the temperatures went above freezing. Kept that car for 17,000 miles and couldn't take it anymore.

My parents, on the other hand, have had amazing luck with Ford products. My Dad has a 2010 Escape with 120,000 miles on it. He got his first check engine light last week [he bought the Escape new 10 years ago.] I scanned it, turned out to be a purge solenoid. Bought an OEM Motorcraft replacement online for $17 and replaced it for him in about 30 minutes (the location of this on the 3.0L V6 is kind of a small pain.) All is now good.
 
Back
Top