Worst vehicles you've driven and owned

My father-in-law's 1970 Ford F250 with a gargantuan camper of his on design and construction installed. This camper was overbuilt and very heavy. The weight coupled with a front end designed around Twin I-Beam suspension, not one of Ford's better ideas, made for one miserable trip driving the wretched, wallowing, road-walking thing back from an East Texas extended family camping trip when I was young and dating Mrs. noelekal. The 390 cubic inch V8 (6.2 L) drank up an entire tank of gasoline traveling the 150 miles between Lake o' the Pines and Dallas! And we weren't back to her parents' home yet! Had an hour longer to go.

The pickup was only a couple years old at the time.

It was the same color as this one found in Google Images and the camper was every bit as large, but probably heavier.


Worst vehicle we ever owned was a 1976 Plymouth Volare we bought in early marriage. Was under-powered with its slant-6 cylinder engine, but was pretty economical, handled pretty well, and had cold air. The Volare was endurable because we also had a giant '69 Chrysler 300 convertible with 375 horsepower 440 V8 and all the creature comforts.

Here’s my entry (not my photo):



1985 Dodge Daytona. Chrysler K-car derivative. Very fast for its time, but so unreliable. Early turbocharged version. My first new car and my last Chrysler product ever.

Everyone told me that the turbo would break. In fact, almost every system in the car had some sort of issue...except the turbo. Went through 4 air conditioning compressors in 4 years. Had to call AAA for a tow to dealership because the fuel line split and was spitting fuel all over the place. Timing belt (rubber, of course) snapped in the middle of I-95.

The manual transmission literally self-destructed at 65K miles. At that point, I just sold it to the mechanic for $500, as I didn’t want to spend $2,000 to fix a car worth $2,000 after the repair.

Haven’t owned an American car since.

It was that bad.
gatorcpa

PS - To the guy with the bad Saab...I owned 4 Saab convertibles, never any major issues except they tended to suck up standing water in even a small flood. Only happened once. Then again, I turned them in at the end of each lease. The Daytona taught me that lesson. Never get too attached to a car.

That Dacia 1310 looks suspiciously like the 1975 Renault R 12. I had one of those too, white just like the one in the photo below. Used it for my commuter car to the first bank in which I was employed. Was decent and couldn't be killed. I took solace in the fact that I also had the '69 Chrysler convertible mentioned above to take the future Mrs. noelekal out on dates. Weeks after we married in 1978 she killed it. It took to crying "wolf" with an idiot "hot engine" light that fibbed. One day though the light didn't fib. It came Mrs. noelekal's turn to drive a car load of carpoolers to where they all worked, 30 miles distance and the light came on and wasn't crying wolf. The engine badly overheated, warping the aluminum head and blowing the head gasket. The plucky Renault was dead.



She'd killed off her 1974 Chevrolet Nova SS a week or so before on her drive into Fort Worth, Texas to her job by flipping it on a curve at 70 mph on rain slick pavement. So, we were down to the '69 Chrysler. Great car it was, but didn't sip gas.

This is the Chrysler. We kept it 30 years. In later years it was featured in a collectible car book put out by Publications International.

The second time I met my now father in law, my then fiancée and I flew to LA to spend a couple days with him. He was visiting from Korea for business and was heading directly to a tee time from the airport. The airline had lost his golf clubs, so he was already pissed.

We took the shuttle to pick up the rental car, and the whole way there he is telling me how he reserved a Cadillac. We check in etc, head out to the luxury car section... there are no Cadillacs and he’s not having it. We go back inside and they find one for him.

I’m driving us to his tee time and trying to make small talk when the transmission completely sh*ts the bed. I’m basically stuck in 3rd gear with the car heaving like an expiring mule at every stoplight and then puking it’s dying breath when I start driving it again. No help that we’re in L freaking A where stoplights are as plentiful as taco stands and broken dreams.

I finally putter off the main drag, and just my luck, the road leading up to the golf course is a giant ass hill. I’m sweating through the seat of my pants at this point figuring he’s thinking, “Great, this clown who can barely get me to my tee time in this top of the line automobile is going to be marrying my daughter.”

The car farts and belches it’s way up the hill to the club house, and I spend the next 3 hours on the phone and taxing to another rental car location to resolve the situation while my future father in law makes his way around a nice relaxing 18 holes.

I’ve owned some real POS automobiles in my life and once had a bolt on a brake caliber I hadn’t tightened properly rattle it’s way out while driving 60 mph down a 2 lane highway in the middle of a Rocky Mountain winter, but that flipping Cadillac wins the prize for worst car I’ve ever driven.

If you made it this far an enjoyed my tale, maybe someday I’ll tell everyone about the time I had to help my father in law and his brother break into the bed and breakfast where I was getting married the next day because they went to Denny’s to get steaks at 2 am.

Worst car ever was this Hire car in EL Paso, the steering wheel was on the wrong fυcking side of the car. ( my exact thoughts sorry ) I had been flying for over 42 hours and was fried and I had forgotten this little technicality and I had to drive to Las Cruses. ( First time driving on the wrong side of the road also )

Driven. 1979 Chrysler New-Yorker.

My work tool when I was the chauffeur for the Mexican ambassador. Handled like 10 king size mattresses stacked onto a shopping cart. Accelerated like a drunk elephant. Guzzled gas like...a drunk elephant. Styling? Probably penned by a, you guessed it, a drunk elephant!


Owned. 1976 Volkswagen Brown Rabbit.


A total disaster. Too many issues to list here. When it ran, it handled quite well and was surprisingly peppy.

Of all the beasts mentioned here, this one sorta doesn’t fit. Then again I’ve never owned one. Doesn’t every .25% er need one of these at their country estate? I thinks it’s a law or something. Surprised FCA isn’t building these again....

Driven?
Opel Agila wins hands-down. Got it as a "loaner" when I had one of my cars in for body repairs.

Not only did it look hideous, it also had handling and performance to match!
Needless to say I will not use that workshop ever again!

Owned?
I have owned quite a few "shady cars" over the years. Including Alfa Romeos, Lancias and Fiats to name a scary few. But I loved those, and they really did not give me any major issues.
I owned/drove a Mercedes W123 around 1988-90 while I was studying. I know, that was supposed to be a rock solid car, but our local climate ensured that the metal was rapidly converted into oxides. The Stromberg carburetor was drinking gasoline like a sailor on a binge, and it all topped up when the electrical systems (and the car) caught fire due to a malfunctioning ignition lock. It was yellow like the one below!
Suitable for a Lemon.😬

There were very few cars that I owned that I actively disliked. One in particular, though, was my '71 Audi 100LS. My mom bought it for me the summer of my Freshman year. It was $125.00, which even then was a ridiculous pittance for a car. At the time (late 70s) a lot of people weren't sure what it was and more than one pretty girl thought it was a Mercedes. I didn't disabuse them of this notion...



The worst I've driven were a Kia Sophia rental, but the Fiat Panda takes the cake. I rented it for a week in Scotland. What a terrible, under powered, recalcitrant, carbureted car. Just looking at its humorless, dour face fills me with dread. Yes, it was that bad.