My most disappointing car
- Thread starter scootr
- Start date
I0 plate honda civic, after coming from long term ownership of an Accord I thought i was getting an equivalent motor albeit a bit more compact.. not the case, build quality just seemed so much cheaper and not a patch on the 6 year older Accord 
Still, made amends 18 months later with a nice e350 merc 
Still, made amends 18 months later with a nice e350 merc But that CJ5 is ment to be driven off road. You don't need a lot of power there. Control over gears and torque is more important.
My worst car: citroen C5 phI 2.0hdi. (bought from new in 2002)
Lots and lots of things broke (granted, I did 270k miles in that car).
For my work I need a large estate car that can haul heavy things. So citroen's hydropneumatic suspension is great for that. I do 90% motorway miles so that is pretty kind to a car. Very roomy, comfortable, lots of luxury (in 2002 already automatic headlights, rainsensor for wipers and such things)
But:
heat gasket @125k miles
clutch @125k miles
Instrument binnacle replaced and always problems (meters start going left to right, lights start blinking)
Hydraulic line from front to rear rusted.... twice! (which is a real pain and expensive repair to fix)
Seatcushings wore/broke fast and were expensive! (foam and fabric glued together, but more expensive than seperate foam and seperate fabric on a 5 series!)
Rear brake calipers rust and sets te calipers out of line: extreme squeaking on brakes. It's a galvanic corrosion problem.
Rear tyre wear was immense
Headlight bulbs always fail very fast (a voltage stability problem). Swapping them out requires bumper removal
And I probably forget halve.
Maintenance costs per mile were very high on this car (considering the class it falls in: a regular 2.0 diesel c or d class). It would have been a good car if it didn't break all the time.
Later I bought the facelift version new in 2006 or 7
thinking that most problems would be solved (still needed that suspension to haul heavy parts from time to time)
Turbo broke at 30k miles (warranty though)
instrument binnacle (again, but warranty)
particle filter @ 80k miles
Those bloody seatcushens again!
REar tyres still wear like crazy
Rust on rear door (known problem, no warranty given)
And one or 2 suspension arms in one of the citroens. Don't remember which one. Also considerable expensive parts.
Luckily a tree fell on it at 140k miles.
the diesel engine was ok though.
Now I drive a volvo XC70 (also equipped with self levelling suspension but a different system to Citroen).
now at 160k miles only a 20quid pressure sensor had to be replaced besides regular maintenance (oil tyres brakes). And a new windscreen (but insurance solves that).
No excessive tyre wear, seatcushens still look almost like new, still the first set of xenons, great 5 cyl diesel etc etc.
Nothing breaks on this car. It'll probably outlive me if by then there are still petrol stations.
I always say: reliability in a car is totally unimportant. Until something breaks that is. :lol:
My worst car: citroen C5 phI 2.0hdi. (bought from new in 2002)
Lots and lots of things broke (granted, I did 270k miles in that car).
For my work I need a large estate car that can haul heavy things. So citroen's hydropneumatic suspension is great for that. I do 90% motorway miles so that is pretty kind to a car. Very roomy, comfortable, lots of luxury (in 2002 already automatic headlights, rainsensor for wipers and such things)
But:
heat gasket @125k miles
clutch @125k miles
Instrument binnacle replaced and always problems (meters start going left to right, lights start blinking)
Hydraulic line from front to rear rusted.... twice! (which is a real pain and expensive repair to fix)
Seatcushings wore/broke fast and were expensive! (foam and fabric glued together, but more expensive than seperate foam and seperate fabric on a 5 series!)
Rear brake calipers rust and sets te calipers out of line: extreme squeaking on brakes. It's a galvanic corrosion problem.
Rear tyre wear was immense
Headlight bulbs always fail very fast (a voltage stability problem). Swapping them out requires bumper removal
And I probably forget halve.
Maintenance costs per mile were very high on this car (considering the class it falls in: a regular 2.0 diesel c or d class). It would have been a good car if it didn't break all the time.
Later I bought the facelift version new in 2006 or 7
thinking that most problems would be solved (still needed that suspension to haul heavy parts from time to time)Turbo broke at 30k miles (warranty though)
instrument binnacle (again, but warranty)
particle filter @ 80k miles
Those bloody seatcushens again!
REar tyres still wear like crazy
Rust on rear door (known problem, no warranty given)
And one or 2 suspension arms in one of the citroens. Don't remember which one. Also considerable expensive parts.
Luckily a tree fell on it at 140k miles.
the diesel engine was ok though.
Now I drive a volvo XC70 (also equipped with self levelling suspension but a different system to Citroen).
now at 160k miles only a 20quid pressure sensor had to be replaced besides regular maintenance (oil tyres brakes). And a new windscreen (but insurance solves that).
No excessive tyre wear, seatcushens still look almost like new, still the first set of xenons, great 5 cyl diesel etc etc.
Nothing breaks on this car. It'll probably outlive me if by then there are still petrol stations.
I always say: reliability in a car is totally unimportant. Until something breaks that is. :lol:
Can’t think of a worst car but as far as motorbikes go then the FJR1300 I had was poor, boring, random electrical faults due to Earth faults in the loom, lacking power and had an annoying vibration at normal cruising speeds - exactly what you need on a touring bike!
I remember I placed an order for a MK3 Toyota MR2 without looking at one or arranging a test drive as non were available at the time. I'd already owned a MK1 for 4 years and loved that car, wished I still had it.
Took delivery of the MK3 and it was to me rubbish, handled ok, but everything else was a complete letdown and not a patch on the MK1, only had it a while and soon got rid
Tim.
Took delivery of the MK3 and it was to me rubbish, handled ok, but everything else was a complete letdown and not a patch on the MK1, only had it a while and soon got rid
Tim.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Sadly the most disappointing car I've ever had was my 30i e89. Completely soulless. It didn't give me any excitement at all unfortunately
Selling my 2.2 e85 for the e89 was one of my biggest car mistakes.
These things happen, and others live their car so that's great, but for me it was a terrible move and a very boring car
Selling my 2.2 e85 for the e89 was one of my biggest car mistakes.
These things happen, and others live their car so that's great, but for me it was a terrible move and a very boring car
A
Anonymous
Guest
greg81 said:
That's an interesting observation..what was it that was so 'souless'?
A
Anonymous
Guest
Pbondar said:
Can't quite put my finger on why I never clicked with it, but that probably explains it really. Something just wasn't there for me.
The e85 was more raw. Maybe for me the e89 was too comfortable. I found it a bit soft I put that partly down from going from the 2.2 to the 3l... With the 2.2 I was always pushing it hard to get the power out and it was more fun. The 89 you just had it on tap.
Nothing against the car. It was very well built and looked decent but we just never gelled like I've done with all my other cars
Houses for courses, innit
Kinda hate to say it my 2.0 E89 was up there as the most disappointing, the anticipation on collection day was probably the greatest of any new car collection day.
Fast forward a few days and I just couldn't live with that engine, maybe it was just a bad example, the awful cold start whine together with the top end tapping which sounded like oil starvation was the nail in the coffin. The car always felt too heavy for the engine somehow. Still loved the look of the car which made it a bitter sweet ownership.
Tim.
Fast forward a few days and I just couldn't live with that engine, maybe it was just a bad example, the awful cold start whine together with the top end tapping which sounded like oil starvation was the nail in the coffin. The car always felt too heavy for the engine somehow. Still loved the look of the car which made it a bitter sweet ownership.
Tim.
