Worst or most problematic car you've owned?

[rszappa1]

1973 Dodge Colt..... 1980 Chrysler Cordoba.... the worst by far 1999 Ford Contour and last a 2004 PT Cruiser..... Since switching to Honda no issues at all....

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: jjcom
I had an 01 Monte Carlo SS. It was a blast to drive, it was owned by an older couple, always serviced on time. It was in excellent condition, and I actually got quite a few compliments because of how nice it looked. Well...it was nice for about 2 months? Maybe?

I considered getting rid of my 96 Grand Prix when I bought this car, but in the end, I couldn't get rid of a perfectly functioning, nice looking car, that as a second car was dirt cheap to insure. So I kept it, best choice I could have made. The Monte Carlo's rack and pinion went bad, it would leave puddles all the time. I had to refill the PS every 500 miles. So I replaced the rack and pinion and tie rod ends, then discovered both front wheel bearings were bad. So it got pretty much a new front end, but wait! The fuel pump decided to start screaming, so a new pump went in.
It was good for a month...then the AC compressor started screaming bloody murder. It came apart internally, so new compressor, orifice tube, and rev/dryer.
Now the climate control head decided it didn't need to work anymore, so I got one from a junk yard for that.
Then my brakes started acting up randomly. It would randomly not stop straight, first thing I did was check all slides. Caliper and pads all moved freely and had plenty of grease. Then I noticed the right front wheel had a lot more brake dust then the rest...so I was at first thinking the caliper was bad. Then the ABS randomly engaged. Now the brakes would consistently not stop straight sometimes haha. Meaning if it acted up once, it would keep it up. Then I had the odd idea maybe the ABS module/pump had failed. So I cycled the key while it acted up one day...and the brakes would act perfect again.

At this point, I was getting a little sick of repairing this car. I had put more miles on my old car then this one because it was broke so much.

So I'm getting ready to repair the brake issue...but wait, it decides its not done being broke. I back out of my parking space, which involved a slight bump, and my left front stayed down. I'm thinking it broke a spring, great. Nope, the strut locked up, while down. Next morning all was well again...what? Never seen that before.

So now I'm pricing out a new ABS module/pump, front struts and mounts (the mounts got noisy when turning...), when it decides now is a good time to start throwing BCM problems at me. Locks get a mind of their own, trunk randomly pops by itself, alarm just goes off on it's on.

I'm getting sick of this...but wait, there's more! The upper intake starts leaking coolant, then the lower intake does the same. Now I'm looking at struts, mounts, ABS work, tearing the motor apart, and BCM replacement. This is getting a little insane...throw in a transmission that is randomly shifting hard/soft...and I decide enough is enough. I'm a good mechanic, and I could fix everything...however, it's just not worth it at this point. So I polish it up and go car shopping. The body and everything was in such good shape that I still got over 3k in trade for it, so I was perfectly happy with that.

I picked up an 07 Grand Prix for a steal, that was in perfect shape. No regrets. I miss the Monte for the "fun factor" of a sporty two door...but then I remember, my 96 Grand Prix is a sporty two door with no money pit problems. I always love this...my 96 almost burns no oil, it loses about 1/2 quart in 6k OCI. The Monte used a quart every 2000...The 96 had twice the miles!


With the exception of the leaky steering rack and the fuel pump, all of those issues could be due to damage caused by driving around with corroded battery terminals. The fuel pump problem may well have been the result of using poor quality fuel. So really, the Monte may just have had a bum rack and poor upkeep.

 

[Rick in PA]

M G B
'nuff said

 

[jjcom]

I went over the electrical system on the car all over, no corrosion anywhere. I replaced the battery when I bought the car just to be safe, and checked alternator output, which was always at 14.2. The old battery had been in there for 6 years and didn't show any signs of having been recently cleaned, but at the same time, had no signs of any corrosion.

The maintenance records for the car were also great, oil change every 3k miles, all services done on time, etc. It really looked like it was someones baby before I bought it.

I don't mean for this to sound like an argument, I just wanted to give more information on the situation. I also hold no ill toward Monte Carlos/W bodies...they're normally great cars, I own two W body cars and have worked on countless others. Just got a bum car.

 

[Neely97]

1981 Datsun 510 , bought it new, never could solve the hard to start after sitting outside all night , the dealer never could resolve the issue.

97 Ford 7.3, oil leaks, fuel system leaks.

2004 Yukon , wiring harness issues, it was a used car and I soon found out why someone sold it.

Best vehicle I ever owned was a 76 F-100 with a 300 six and 3 on the tree.

 

[armos]

I believe the lion's share of car problems usually stem from a single root cause. This then leads to a domino effect of other failures. This happens most easily with older used cars where the buyer doesn't realize what's happening, and/or doesn't have the money to properly fix it.
Car problems have a way of multiplying like that, I've seen it happen on several cars where everything could be traced back to 1 root cause. I think it can even happen with new cars, where if the dealer fails to identify the real issue, the car can end up branded a "lemon".

Recent example, I know somebody who bought a 3.8 V6 Thunderbird, which turned out to have a bad radiator fan. But it was owned by an idiot who did everything but fix the fan and apparently let it overheat repeatedly.
Previous owner apparently thought it would be a good idea to install a radiator from a V8 car. That radiator is designed for a pressurized overflow tank. The V6 doesn't have that, so it was blowing coolant out all the time.
By the time we got to it and realized the problems, it had blown head gaskets, crispy wiring, it needed an engine rebuild, a *correct* radiator, and ... a new fan. Electricals are still problematic, thanks to all the heat they endured.
For want of a fan, the previous owner basically ruined the car. But I can't blame Ford for it, I've seen MN12 TBirds be great reliable cars, it just depends who owns them.
There's a point of inflection in a car's life where little things start to go wrong, and if those little things don't get fixed correctly, the car will go bad quickly.

I think overheating probably kills more cars than anything else. It's a very common issue on middle-aged cars and it can cause serious damage. The people who buy older cars sometimes are young and inexperienced, and either don't know how to diagnose the problem, don't take it seriously, or just don't have any money. In any case, they develop serious widespread damage and when they're finally forced to bring it to a mechanic, the bill is too high and it goes to a junkyard.

 

[JDD]

1995 VW Jetta. Bought it new. Was in the shop at the dealers off and on for about 4 months total out of the first 24 months of ownership. Then the warranty was up. That was the warranty time in those days for VWs. I even had problems with the loaner '95 Jetta they gave me to drive. I haven't owned a VW since-----

 

[Darren270]

Worst: 1994 Oldsmobile Achieva.

Bought used at a dealership while stationed in Texas in 1998. 52,000 on the odometer. Currently at 172,000.

Things I've had to fix or still broken:

-Entire ignition system replaced twice. (This car loves to melt spark plug boots.)

-Leaking head gasket. (Luckily caught this one early.)

-Passenger side top strut mount plate broke twice.

-Motor mount broke.

-Replaced three alternators.

-Driver side power window brackets broke. (Still broken)

-Automatic locks are possessed. (Supposed to lock doors after car reaches 20mph. Locks itself constantly. Get out and shut the door? Car locks all doors. Even if the key is still in the ignition.)

-Horn. (Still not fixed. Had to pull fuse. Hit the slightest bump and the horn would go off indefinitely. Only way to get it to stop was to repeatedly pound on it with your fist. Got many a dirty look and a few middle fingers from other drivers thinking I was honking at them. LOL)

-Entire center section of steering wheel (horn/airbag) fell into my lap while driving one day.

-Radiator replaced.

-Heater core replaced.

-Starter replaced. Twice.

-Inside trunk release latch cable broken.

-Inside gas door release latch cable broken.

-Temperature gauge inoperable. Needle pegged all the way to the right.

-Oil pressure gauge constantly fluctuates.

- And the newest problem: transmission constantly slips and clunks into gear. Sometimes wont go into gear after being stopped at the light. Engine will rev and then sometimes it will clunk into first or I have to shut off the car and restart it to get it in gear.

I still own this car, but I think it might be time to put her down.

 

[[email protected]]

Not the worst car by any means, but definitely the highest maintenance: 2002 GMC Envoy.

If I uploaded my excel sheet that I started when I bought it in 2004 up until I sold it 9-13-12, it would blow the server up. In the 99,000 miles that I put on that truck, it cost over $10,000 in maintenance. That does NOT include oil changes (synthetic, no doubt and purolator or delco oil filters!).

However, I loved the truck just hated the reliability. Every 2 weeks it seemed, it was something else. And things that should never go bad - a wire harness in the liftgate broke. The load leveling compressor went bad 3x. Numerous front axle seals. Lower control arms, upper control arms (replaced at under 100k miles to boot). Trans cooler lines were run right NEXT to the catalytic converter (great design there) so when they rotted it sprayed trans fluid onto the 1000 degree cat con and started a small fire.

Anyways.... I still loved the truck even though it constantly tried to kill me and/or give me a stroke and was bummed when they discontinued them. However, that was one costly truck to own!