tell us the worst car you ever owned
- Thread starter mr wilks
- Start date
UK
Old thread but hey
Reliant Robin, the car served a purpose, only had a motorcycle licence at the time, the car wasn't that bad but the heater was so poor I drove in a sleeping bag during winter.
On a funny note, I used to be able to drift it in wet weather around junctions, much to the amusement of pedestrians lol
Reliant Robin, the car served a purpose, only had a motorcycle licence at the time, the car wasn't that bad but the heater was so poor I drove in a sleeping bag during winter.
On a funny note, I used to be able to drift it in wet weather around junctions, much to the amusement of pedestrians lol
My first car was a 1967 MK2 Cortina 1500 I bought in 1976. Poverty spec with vinyl seats and rubber mats on the floor and 19K miles recorded - but obviously on its' 2nd time around!
It rusted for fun, and I had a few scrapes, so I quickly learnt how to use Isopon filler, rattle cans and underseal. When I bought it the front tyres were radials matched with 6-ply van cross-plies on the rear - my first roundabout was interesting.
It only had a dynamo so I couldn't use the headlights, heater, wipers and after-market heater element on the rear window at the same time or it would cut out. For much the same reason the battery never held much charge so whenever possible I would park on a slope. The gearbox broke leaving me with just 1st, 2nd and reverse, so a "reconditioned" one was acquired from an advert in Exchange and Mart. Luckily my mate's dad did a bit of spannering so the gearbox got replaced on his drive with the car on ramps and axle stands, and lasted long enough for me to sell the car.
It really was a POS, although it had a 1600E wooden dash and I added GT badges I got in a breakers yard. But it was my first car so I still have some fond memories of PJJ 1E.
I've had a few disappointing cars since then but that really was the worst - although being the cheapest I've ever had maybe that's no surprise.
It makes me realise how far things have come every time I drive my 2005 330i that has done 130K miles and feels like it could easily do the same again!
It rusted for fun, and I had a few scrapes, so I quickly learnt how to use Isopon filler, rattle cans and underseal. When I bought it the front tyres were radials matched with 6-ply van cross-plies on the rear - my first roundabout was interesting.
It only had a dynamo so I couldn't use the headlights, heater, wipers and after-market heater element on the rear window at the same time or it would cut out. For much the same reason the battery never held much charge so whenever possible I would park on a slope. The gearbox broke leaving me with just 1st, 2nd and reverse, so a "reconditioned" one was acquired from an advert in Exchange and Mart. Luckily my mate's dad did a bit of spannering so the gearbox got replaced on his drive with the car on ramps and axle stands, and lasted long enough for me to sell the car.
It really was a POS, although it had a 1600E wooden dash and I added GT badges I got in a breakers yard. But it was my first car so I still have some fond memories of PJJ 1E.
I've had a few disappointing cars since then but that really was the worst - although being the cheapest I've ever had maybe that's no surprise.
It makes me realise how far things have come every time I drive my 2005 330i that has done 130K miles and feels like it could easily do the same again!
Scotland 🏴
My dad wasn't really a car person, being an area car driver in the police he had everything from mk2 jags, rover p6s and the rover sd1's. But when it came to his own car he didn't give a toss, so the worst car he had which I actually drove.... FSO Polonez in Eastern Block grey!
This sounds bad but, Mk4 golf V6 4motion!
Had issues with coil pack, central door locking never worked right, electric window issues, snapped springs, front driveshaft and hub took each others splines off leaving me a 3WD and it wasn’t quick at all, also really soft with naff handling.
That said it was great in the snow in Scotland when I lived there and was fun to drift on the way home after a night shift.
Had issues with coil pack, central door locking never worked right, electric window issues, snapped springs, front driveshaft and hub took each others splines off leaving me a 3WD and it wasn’t quick at all, also really soft with naff handling.
That said it was great in the snow in Scotland when I lived there and was fun to drift on the way home after a night shift.
Has to be a 1991 Suzuki Vitara short wheelbase carburettor model lol, only had it 6 weeks, what was I thinking and traded it in for a MK1 MR2 T- bar, wished I still had that car.
Worst car I've ever driven was a garage courtesy car which at the time in 1993 I'd never heard of which was a Zastava Yugo. It was a death trap
The pedals were so close together I ended up crashing it through the works car park barrier as I caught the accelerator instead of the brake. Wouldn't mind one now for old times sake
Austin Maxi comes close, spent a few days in one in the early 80s, dreadful thing.
Used to enjoy being picked up from primary school in the early 70s by my dad, it was either a Jag MK2 an XJ6 or a Dolomite Sprint a nippy car for the time, these were all Advanced Police Driving training cars as he was in the Police Motor Training School. Happy days.
Tim.
Worst car I've ever driven was a garage courtesy car which at the time in 1993 I'd never heard of which was a Zastava Yugo. It was a death trap
The pedals were so close together I ended up crashing it through the works car park barrier as I caught the accelerator instead of the brake. Wouldn't mind one now for old times sake Austin Maxi comes close, spent a few days in one in the early 80s, dreadful thing.
Used to enjoy being picked up from primary school in the early 70s by my dad, it was either a Jag MK2 an XJ6 or a Dolomite Sprint a nippy car for the time, these were all Advanced Police Driving training cars as he was in the Police Motor Training School. Happy days.
Tim.
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I had some utter crap boxes as a student, but they were cheap and my expectations were few.
My worst car, measured by unreliability and repair costs was an almost new Mk I 225 TT coupe. Over the five years I owned it, it left me stranded three times and the total warranty claims exceeded the purchase price of the vehicle.
The failings ranged from the ridiculous (the clutch pedal mechanism failed, leaving the pedal on the floor with the clutch engaged), to unusual (the gear selector fork for third gear snapped leaving it stuck in third gear) to the completely unacceptable (the timing belt failed wrecking the engine 20k miles and several years before the schedule belt change).
Dynamically, it was rubbish with handing typical for FWD-biased 4WD cars, failing into understeer at the limit of grip. There was little feedback from the steering and the brakes were hopeless, overheating with any enthusiastic driving. It always had a least one warning light and accompanying chimes (side light bulbs several times each year, washer fluid, false brake pad wear warnings) and the warnings meant that a large part of the display was replaced with an annoying yellow, pixelated graphic
The positives were that it was fast in a straight line and very happy to cruise at over 100mph for hours at a time, and the interior was a rather nice place to be when waiting for the recovery truck to arrive.
My worst car, measured by unreliability and repair costs was an almost new Mk I 225 TT coupe. Over the five years I owned it, it left me stranded three times and the total warranty claims exceeded the purchase price of the vehicle.
The failings ranged from the ridiculous (the clutch pedal mechanism failed, leaving the pedal on the floor with the clutch engaged), to unusual (the gear selector fork for third gear snapped leaving it stuck in third gear) to the completely unacceptable (the timing belt failed wrecking the engine 20k miles and several years before the schedule belt change).
Dynamically, it was rubbish with handing typical for FWD-biased 4WD cars, failing into understeer at the limit of grip. There was little feedback from the steering and the brakes were hopeless, overheating with any enthusiastic driving. It always had a least one warning light and accompanying chimes (side light bulbs several times each year, washer fluid, false brake pad wear warnings) and the warnings meant that a large part of the display was replaced with an annoying yellow, pixelated graphic
The positives were that it was fast in a straight line and very happy to cruise at over 100mph for hours at a time, and the interior was a rather nice place to be when waiting for the recovery truck to arrive.
My first car, Morris Marina followed by an Austin Allegro ahhhh, the horror!
At the summit of the picturesque fens
Mine was actually a van!
When I was 18 I was given an apprenticeship. As I had a driving licence, the boss thought it was a good idea to buy an old van for me to tootle around in and would be useful for delivering stuff to sites.
So he bought a 1978 knackered ex-post office Bedford HA110 van (vauxhall viva based). It only had one seat, as the passenger side housed a spare wheel, with a big hole underneath.
It had drum brakes all around which basically didn't work. The only way to slow it down going downhill was to slam it into 2nd gear and yank the hand brake. The heater fan didn't work but the matrix did. So you needed to do around 45 mph before any warm air would be forced into the cabin. It's top speed was around 75mph downhill with a following wind. Headlights were candles which were useless.
But I loved it! It was so knackered and worth about £50, I could do what I liked with it. I would take my mates to the pub; one sitting on the spare wheel and two in the rear. I learned how to do doughnuts in snowy car parks in that thing. It was fondly called the 'Bufty Van' as the reg was BUF 673T. Happy days.
When I was 18 I was given an apprenticeship. As I had a driving licence, the boss thought it was a good idea to buy an old van for me to tootle around in and would be useful for delivering stuff to sites.
So he bought a 1978 knackered ex-post office Bedford HA110 van (vauxhall viva based). It only had one seat, as the passenger side housed a spare wheel, with a big hole underneath.
It had drum brakes all around which basically didn't work. The only way to slow it down going downhill was to slam it into 2nd gear and yank the hand brake. The heater fan didn't work but the matrix did. So you needed to do around 45 mph before any warm air would be forced into the cabin. It's top speed was around 75mph downhill with a following wind. Headlights were candles which were useless.
But I loved it! It was so knackered and worth about £50, I could do what I liked with it. I would take my mates to the pub; one sitting on the spare wheel and two in the rear. I learned how to do doughnuts in snowy car parks in that thing. It was fondly called the 'Bufty Van' as the reg was BUF 673T. Happy days.
Worst car for me was a 1981 MK3 Escort XR3 which if it was a good one probably would have been a decent car. Bought from my father, he had been rear ended in it which also pushed the front end into the car in front. Insurance company decided to repair. He also had the engine reconditioned. When he decided to sell, naturally being young and stupid I wanted it. Turned out (obviously) to be nothing but trouble, rusty bodywork and a rubbish smokey engine rebuild. Lesson learned and eventually traded in for a 3 litre Capri.
That brings up an image in my mind which is beyond hilarious. I had an XR3i (which was a brilliant car BTW) so I know how tight they are for interior space!
I thought when I wrote rear ended it wasn't the wisest choice of words!That brings up an image in my mind which is beyond hilarious. I had an XR3i (which was a brilliant car BTW) so I know how tight they are for interior space!
It's a toss up between my current 2026 Audi A6 Avant E-Tron and my 2006 Aston Vantage V8
Both had faults galore. More time in the garage than on the road.
My 1990 Renault 5 was a better car!
Best car, probably the 2015 50th anniversary 911 Carrera S. Followed by the BMW I4 M50, and the Evo powered RX8
I don't even have a photo of the Audi, so had to get a shot off the doorbell
Both had faults galore. More time in the garage than on the road.
My 1990 Renault 5 was a better car!
Best car, probably the 2015 50th anniversary 911 Carrera S. Followed by the BMW I4 M50, and the Evo powered RX8
I don't even have a photo of the Audi, so had to get a shot off the doorbell
Renault Laguna 1.8 normally aspirated diesel. In my defence, I needed a car same day after a head gasket failure on an aged Audi 80. And this was all the local garage had on the forecourt, so it came home with me. A few days later I was driving out of Cambridge, when I found myself in the wrong lane at the lights on the approach to the Milton Road A14 roundabout. Not a problem, as next to me in the correct lane was a Smart. So I nailed it off the line as soon as the lights flickered amber, and about 64 metres up the road, slotted in behind the Smart.