Worst Car Ever Driven or Owned?

[Egg]

Many of us have unfortunately owned or driven one. A lemon.

Car so horrible, you may have considered giving it away than selling it.

Whether dangerous to drive, or just a horrible car outright.

Worst car you have owned or driven. What's yours?

Click to read more...

 

[Rodgerwilco]

My first car was a Ford Taurus that was gifted to me by my grandfather. (He is pretty well off and gave all his grandkids their first car).

He was notorious for buying random cars off the side of the road without inspecting them entirely. It was not very well maintained to begin with, and being my first car, I really didn't know how to maintain a car either. Constant issues with the suspension, in particular. Seemed like every other month a major part was breaking, or needing replaced wayyy before the mileage guidelines.

My Dodge Stratus after that was a major headache too, I'll never drive either of those two vehicles again.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I once bought a Dodge Dakota that was 10 years old at the time for a fairly reasonable price (forgot how much). It was good in the winter because of the ground clearance and 4WD but other than that it was a total piece of shit.

Quite a contrast from a then 17-year old Subaru Forester I purchased for like $2300 or so and not only was it a complete f***ing rock, I sold it 3 years later for almost as much as I paid for it. Loved that car.

 

[TaLoN]

1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

Got the car used in 1996 with 80,000 miles on it. Paid $8k for it, seemed like a good deal at the time, looked and drove clean, was a little lower than blue book value at the time... for the first 4 months, I was quickly falling in love with the car... then everything started to change.

First, the coil housing fried.
Next, the head gasket blew.
Then the O2 sensor died.
Then the timing chain jumped
Then the crankshaft sensor died... the f***ing crankshaft sensor!

That all came over a period of 9 months time, the last 2 coming while on a road trip out of state. After the first, I had to take a f***ing greyhound bus home. Drove back with a friend to pick it up after it was fixed a week later, only to have the last straw happen on the drive home. Drove 2 hours back when the crankshaft sensor went out. Had to leave it with another shop in the middle of nowhere again. That was it...I had it...

A week later, drove down again to pick it up with a friend, got it the rest of the way back home after a 5hr drive, drove straight to a car dealer instead of home, looked at the cars on their lot, test drove a 1994 Ford Probe GT with a stick (had never driven a manual transmission car, so the test drive was hilarious), fell in love with the power of that car and traded in the POS Cutlass for a $2k loss for what I originally paid (never mind the $6k in repairs).

Went from one of the worst car purchases I ever made to one of the best. That Probe? I spent less in total service/ repair dollars over the next 7 years than I paid in 9 months for the Cutlass Supreme.

 

[HansonBro]

I've never had as many problems in a vehicle than in my 01 BMW 318i. Thing was nice when it worked, but 2 major engine rebuilds was enough for me

 

[TD Charlie]

Would have to be a 1990 Lincoln Continental.

Cool idea in theory for a 16 year old to drive a nice mid size lux sedan. It rode like a dream while it lasted. Purchased in 2000 with about 90k miles on it. Just a 3.8l v6, same as in the v6 Mustang I believe. Sucked gas as if it were double the size. Also had that air ride suspension on all 4 wheels I believe. I blew so much money replacing the bags on it multiple times. The compressor for the suspension exploded while driving one time and the car pancaked to about an inch off the ground. The battery, alternator, and starter all failed together at about 1am in downtown Boston. We pushed it across the street to a gas station and tried jumping it. Called my father for assistance cuz it wasn't starting, he tries again with his truck and cables to jump it, and the damn battery literally exploded to bits. Someone could've been killed. Shortly after, the trans started slipping to the point I couldn't make it up a small incline. It would literally come to a stop and roll backwards.

I donated to kars 4 kids or one of those charities, and ended up buying a 1990 Cadillac - which even though she died on me while I was in college, is still one of my favorite cars 20 years later.

 

[Winger98]

Don't know the year (mid-00s) but it is easily a hyundai tiburon. Hated it. Hated it. Hated it. Felt like a coffin.

 

[McRpro]

1992 Ford F150. Piece of garbage that started my hatred of Ford. Fix or repair daily wasn't far off.

 

[coupe89]

Dodge Neon followed Subaru Impreza

 

[beedee]

2001 Ford Ranger Edge

 

[Egg]

Dodge Neon

Yes. Had a 2005. Piece of junk. Put so much money into it annually.

It seemed like each year, was another major component that would fail.

Alternator, spark plugs, air conditioner, and so on.

I take extreme care of any car I drive, so usually will last in pristine condition.

This one was so disappointing, I just wanted to throw it in the garbage.

 

[Egg]

I drove a friend's Pontiac Trans Am I believe in 2001.

Steering was horrible, and I think its more due to poor maintenance, but the steering wheel would jam halfway as you're performing a right turn.

Force freed it, but it would then activate the horn until the wheels would get straightened again.

Most embarrassing car to drive. You could imagine the confrontations when waiting for pedestrians making a right turn.

Still remember one.

Long horn at an elderly woman crossing. I shrugged my shoulders as to say "sorry", but she didn't see me. Just painstakingly tried to go faster in her walker, clearly unable to.

Stops past the midway point of the intersection, takes her hands off, and flips me two middle fingers.

I burst out laughing, which didn't help, as she genuinely felt I was doing it on purpose.

She must have thought I was the biggest d-bag ever placed on earth.

You know your car is junk, when your friend tells you they will take the bus, vs borrowing it again.

 

[ShelbyZ]

For me, it's easily the Jeep Patriot.

My wife had one when we met. The first thing you notice is the horribly cheap plastic interior and oddly small windows. Then when you drive it, the engine note combined with the CVT (which makes it sound like a traditional automatic trans slipping while it slowly accelerates) is practically torture. For a 4 cylinder it struggled to average 20MPG. It also went through wheel bearings and front end parts like they were air filters. The last straw for me was after I replaced all 4 wheel bearings but had at least one bad speed sensor. Easy enough, I'll just hook up my ABS code scanner to find the culprit. Did that and found the ODB2 port wasn't working. I ended up having to tear up a bunch of the interior around the driver floor and remove the driver fender to trace the wire that provided power to the port. Eventually found that they had used some fabric-like tape to hold a huge wiring harness together under the fender. The tape soaks up salty water in the winter which eventually worked into a cut in the wire where the harness was held together with a zip tie and hung on the frame rail.

The only real positive was that it was pretty easy to work on and super easy to sell.

I fixed it up and put it on Facebook Marketplace and I couldn't believe how many people just had to have it...

It got temporarily replaced by a Ford Escape that was 6 years older. Despite having it's own foibles (especially corrosion and oil leaks), it was a much better vehicle than the Patriot. Visibility was better, the interior felt roomier and the V6 was more powerful and much nicer to drive while getting pretty much the same MPG's.

Next on the list would be a 2008ish Chrysler Sebring that I got as a loaner from a Chrysler dealer back in 2009. Same awful engine/CVT combo as the Patriot but with an ever cheaper looking and feeling interior. I couldn't wait to give it back.

 

[TD Charlie]

For me, it's easily the Jeep Patriot.

My wife had one when we met. The first thing you notice is the horribly cheap plastic interior and oddly small windows. Then when you drive it, the engine note combined with the CVT (which makes it sound like a traditional automatic trans slipping while it slowly accelerates) is practically torture. For a 4 cylinder it struggled to average 20MPG. It also went through wheel bearings and front end parts like they were air filters. The last straw for me was after I replaced all 4 wheel bearings but had at least one bad speed sensor. Easy enough, I'll just hook up my ABS code scanner to find the culprit. Did that and found the ODB2 port wasn't working. I ended up having to tear up a bunch of the interior around the driver floor and remove the driver fender to trace the wire that provided power to the port. Eventually found that they had used some fabric-like tape to hold a huge wiring harness together under the fender. The tape soaks up salty water in the winter which eventually worked into a cut in the wire where the harness was held together with a zip tie and hung on the frame rail.

The only real positive was that it was pretty easy to work on and super easy to sell.

I fixed it up and put it on Facebook Marketplace and I couldn't believe how many people just had to have it...

It got temporarily replaced by a Ford Escape that was 6 years older. Despite having it's own foibles (especially corrosion and oil leaks), it was a much better vehicle than the Patriot. Visibility was better, the interior felt roomier and the V6 was more powerful and much nicer to drive while getting pretty much the same MPG's.

Next on the list would be a 2008ish Chrysler Sebring that I got as a loaner from a Chrysler dealer back in 2009. Same awful engine/CVT combo as the Patriot but with an ever cheaper looking and feeling interior. I couldn't wait to give it back.

This has been a Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler pitfall forever. I'm cool with 4 bangers in a small suv, but it's gotta do something well. Whether it's fuel economy, top end power, jump off the line, SOMETHING.

They all eat through wheel bearings too. Somehow I avoided that with my Dodge Journey. Sold it at 165k with all the original steering and suspension still on it

 

[TheGreenTBer]

For me, it's easily the Jeep Patriot.

My wife had one when we met. The first thing you notice is the horribly cheap plastic interior and oddly small windows. Then when you drive it, the engine note combined with the CVT (which makes it sound like a traditional automatic trans slipping while it slowly accelerates) is practically torture. For a 4 cylinder it struggled to average 20MPG. It also went through wheel bearings and front end parts like they were air filters. The last straw for me was after I replaced all 4 wheel bearings but had at least one bad speed sensor. Easy enough, I'll just hook up my ABS code scanner to find the culprit. Did that and found the ODB2 port wasn't working. I ended up having to tear up a bunch of the interior around the driver floor and remove the driver fender to trace the wire that provided power to the port. Eventually found that they had used some fabric-like tape to hold a huge wiring harness together under the fender. The tape soaks up salty water in the winter which eventually worked into a cut in the wire where the harness was held together with a zip tie and hung on the frame rail.

The only real positive was that it was pretty easy to work on and super easy to sell.

I fixed it up and put it on Facebook Marketplace and I couldn't believe how many people just had to have it...

It got temporarily replaced by a Ford Escape that was 6 years older. Despite having it's own foibles (especially corrosion and oil leaks), it was a much better vehicle than the Patriot. Visibility was better, the interior felt roomier and the V6 was more powerful and much nicer to drive while getting pretty much the same MPG's.

Next on the list would be a 2008ish Chrysler Sebring that I got as a loaner from a Chrysler dealer back in 2009. Same awful engine/CVT combo as the Patriot but with an ever cheaper looking and feeling interior. I couldn't wait to give it back.

I absolutely despise CVT transmissions. Hate hate hate.

Never have driven a Jeep Patriot but I had to comment because CVT's blow.

 

[ShelbyZ]

I absolutely despise CVT transmissions. Hate hate hate.

Never have driven a Jeep Patriot but I had to comment because CVT's blow.

I actually had to change the front axles on the Patriot, which allowed it to leak out some CVT fluid. In order to top it off, I had to buy some goofy 6 foot long dipstick that measures the fluid level according to a chart based on the trans temp, which required a scan tool to read (luckily a bluetooth OBD adapter and some $5 CVT data phone app meant for Nissan's worked). Not to mention the required fluid for a CVT was also expensive. I had never really driven the thing more than maybe 15MPH and avoided it like the plague when my wife and I needed to go somewhere together, so the test drive after doing that work was the first I really drove it (or at least a CVT since I had driven that Sebring over 10 years before). The whole just kind of sitting at 5000 RPM's while the car was kind of accelerating made me think I screwed something up and it needed more fluid or something like that. Tossed the keys to my wife and she was like, "this is normal". I couldn't believe it and had to watch Youtube videos of people driving them to really be certain.

Luckily FCA/Stellantis/whatever replaced the CVT with that amazing 9-speed auto. /s

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I actually had to change the front axles on the Patriot, which allowed it to leak out some CVT fluid. In order to top it off, I had to buy some goofy 6 foot long dipstick that measures the fluid level according to a chart based on the trans temp, which required a scan tool to read (luckily a bluetooth OBD adapter and some $5 CVT data phone app meant for Nissan's worked). Not to mention the required fluid for a CVT was also expensive. I had never really driven the thing more than maybe 15MPH and avoided it like the plague when my wife and I needed to go somewhere together, so the test drive after doing that work was the first I really drove it (or at least a CVT since I had driven that Sebring over 10 years before). The whole just kind of sitting at 5000 RPM's while the car was kind of accelerating made me think I screwed something up and it needed more fluid or something like that. Tossed the keys to my wife and she was like, "this is normal". I couldn't believe it and had to watch Youtube videos of people driving them to really be certain.

Luckily FCA/Stellantis/whatever replaced the CVT with that amazing 9-speed auto. /s

My wife's car is a CVT. Mine is a 6-speed manual. Every time I drive her car I feel dead inside.

 

[TheAngryHank]

2000 Boxster..total POS

 

[rynryn]

The first Audi Allroad. Absolutely loved that car, i've never been in anything that can go as fast in deep snow in my life, super comfortable, and reasonably fast for something so heavy. However i was new to Audi, and opted out of an extended warranty. This car is a historic money-pit. I think i spent close to $27000 in repairs over like 8 years because i loved it so much and figured, "surely this will be the last big repair". So worst car i owned, but i still liked it much much more than my Subaru Impreza.

 

[HansonBro]

Why has nobody started a "best/favorite car ever owned" thread yet???

Hold on....

 

[coupe89]

I would say those 90s Nissan 1/4 tons.

 

[cupcrazyman]

My friends GMC Tracker auto with manual steering early 90's.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I would say those 90s Nissan 1/4 tons.

The LP in your avatar is gorgeous.

 

[JMCx4]

I drove my sister's late 1970's Mercury Capri once out of desperation. The car was unlovingly known in our family as "The Crap-pi." From the day it was driven off the lot, it leaked around the windshield whenever it rained or was washed (a condition that a full windshield replacement did not resolve). It had numerous unsuccessful fuel injection system repairs. It was underpowered (2.3-l, 4-cyl), uncomfortable, and generally un-everything else for a simple suburban vehicle. It was even an ugly mustardy yellow color to make it MORE undesirable. I think she eventually traded it in for a snow disk with a steering rope - better handling in winter.

 

[coupe89]

The LP in your avatar is gorgeous.

Thank you very much it was my divorce present to myself.