Talking Cars Tuesday - What Was the Worst Piece of Junk You Ever Drove?
Mates,
Normally our friend Jeepin Ben is here to carry the banner in great fashion, but so far he's MIA. It occurred that we might want to talk cars. On Tuesday. And Ben's been missing. So, let's have a talk.
Simple question:
What was the worst piece of junk you ever drove, regardless of whether you owned, borrowed it or stole it?
XM
(42-27. 11/27/21. Over ohio. Spread the word.)
Pontiac 6000, 1986. was inoperable more days than it was operable.
Pontiac Sunbird 1991 or 1992. Brand new. That POS had so many issues in the year and half before I traded it in for a Toyota (while the Sunbird was in the shop for the 5th or 6th different reason).
It would be 10 years before I'd trust another GM product (an Alero that was bulletproof for 6 years, you just never know).
1986 Pontiac Phoenix Hatchback and a 1991 Pontiac Sunbird. Luckily, neither was teal.
Probably my wife's 1999 Lincoln Navigator. Bought it new and didn't keep it long. The thing sounded like a diesel and it wasn't.
'88 Ford Escort wagon. If you could get it up to 70mph, the thing would shake like it was going to fall apart. Many replaced starters and a variety of other parts I couldn't afford at the time.
'87 (or '88, can't remember) Ford Escort here. Hatchback was broken so I held it down with a bungee strap. Driver's side seat broke and the only one I could find at the junkyard to replace it was a passenger seat, so the seatbelt hooked up from the opposite direction. The heater would send out some weird smell, I think it was antifreeze. One day at the gas station, the alternator caught on fire. Damn I miss that car.
Second was a 1994 Saturn. It started out nice but didn't age well. I was just about to get rid of it at 120,000 miles because the transmission was starting to go and it was having engine problems. But then some dumb ass stole it when I was living in Champaign, IL. The cops found it two days later with the engine removed. Joke's on them I guess. I actually made out pretty well with the insurance company.
Weird.
Were you really trying to get a better settlement or was the agent just that attractive?
You've seen Flo, right? Would you be able to resist that?
Had an '83 Escort stick. Wasn't horrible, but wasn't great, either. If I drove it at 55 I could get more than 40 mpg, but I risked being rearended. Also, if I removed the plastic interior panels inside the hatch, I could carry several sheets of plywood, so that was useful.
Eventually I lent it to a friend whose car died and he desperately needed it to get to work. I forgot to ask for him to give it back.
Mine was a 1997 (that was a good year by the way) Honda Accord. I had just moved to Florida in 2004 and bought it because my previous old beater didn't have air conditioning. The thing died on the way home. Took it back, got it 'repaired'. It would run for awhile and then sometimes just die and not start for a few minutes.
I know Hondas have great reliability so I don't now if this one had water damage causing the electrical issues or what was going on. I only kept it about a month before trading it in at a dealership and buying a 2002 Saturn which was boring as hell but most importantly it was reliable and got me from A to B every time I needed it to.
Early-mid-90s stripper Fiat Panda while on my honeymoon in Tahiti in 2003. Wanted to rent a car to drive around the island of Moorea for the day. All the cars were pretty expensive, so asked if there was anything cheaper. They said there was one, but it was manual everything - windows, locks, transmission, steering. No radio or AC. Also half the cost. We took it.
Sloppiest transmission I've ever used. So difficult to steer. Doors felt like they were made of plastic and aluminum foil. Shook like crazy. Loud and slow.
We had a ball.
You drove an early-mid-90s "stripper" while on your honeymoon? Did your wife know?
Maybe they were one in the same HAAAAY-OOOOOOH
Hey, we just found PJ Fleck's MGoBlog account....
Looking at these two? I'm kinda thinking they both got exactly what they wanted ... Yep!
I think those two are very well matched and should be appreciated by all.
Wait....what two are we discussing?
As a former wide receiver, Fleck allegedly places a lot of emphasis on practice with the JUGS Machine. Not sure what made me think of that.
Driving a stripper would certainly explain the sloppy transmission. Especially in second.
You do know what Fiat stands for...Fix it again, Tony.
You reminded me of my Fiat Panda story. We were stationed in Italy and four of us sailors flew to Vicenza, rented a car and drove back to Naples making stops along the way.
well, we’re near the end of the trip and we’re on the Autostrada between Rome and Naples, which is a wonderful stretch… about 5 or 6 lanes wide on each side and straight as piss.
i had that Panda to the floor and was barely breaking 100kmh. I had to stay in the right two lanes because it was too dangerous to move over. Cars were flying past us like we were standing still.
Nice. Honestly wouldn't have trusted that car to go over 60 kmh. Good thing we never had a need to do so!
Worst was also my favorite. 1978 Sierra Granda pickup. V8 350 tank. 8mpg. Zero AC while I had it in FL. The horn would go off when you Turned left 20% if the time (never figure that one out or got it fixed) But to this day, loved it.
I drove a VW "bug" when I was in high school in 1978. The floor boards were rusting out and wheel bearings had to be replaced frequently. I painted it Michigan blue and loved it... right up to the time that the engine started on fire two blocks away from my house.
That's a very Viking way to go...
2002 Buick Rendezvous. First model year car, so everything was wrong with it and broke early. It was pretending to an suv but it was a four cylinder with FWD only. I drove it until the front wheel flew off, literally, at 70mph.
2005 GMC Canyon. Bought it new, changed headlight, taillight, and turn signal bulbs in under a year. Where do they manage to find such shitty parts? The rubber gasket on the bed light wore out and leaked water into the cab whenever it rained. Needed major engine repair before 5 years old. The fuse for the automatic windows blew... Again, where do they find such shitty parts?
You triggered my memory, as I posted below. My 2005 Chevy Colorado was such a POS. Same issues as you.
Man I had a 2005 Colorado that I absolutely loved!! The brakes were a pain in the ass to change but other than that it was a great truck!
My buddy's 1989 Ford Tempo. Not the exact car but same model & color shown below for posterity.
That fookin' thing could barely accelerate, topped out (at the time I drove it) at about 35-40MPH and wobbled like it was about to break apart at any moment. We were going to turn it into a convertible before my friend's dad stopped us (probably a very good idea)
1980 Chevette
I think that's all I really need to say about that. Especially in Michigan winters.
I drove one of those. A friend of my dad's lent it to us. As bad as it was it was way better than no car at all.
We had a 1979 lemon yellow Chevette (hand me down, so not complaining) when we first got married. Michigan's generous use of salt on the roads lead to the floorboard falling completely out on the expressway one day. Could see the road underneath. Got someone to weld a piece of sheet metal to the underbody and kept it several more years. Good times.
this you?
He's Brady Hoke?
/s
I'm seeing a lot of GM in the thread thus far.
They used to have 50% market share. It would have been pretty hard to miss having one of your first "beater" cars being a GM if you grew up in the 80s or 90s.
I'll never own a GM. I'm iffy on Ford. We had an Explorer that had constant electrical issues, went through 2 alternators in 5 years, probably 4 batteries. Windows rolled down when they wanted to. And the rear window on the trunk shattered in my face closing the hatch, which turned out to be a recall I got fixed for free. My wife had an Edge and was a great car. My daughter drives it now.
I've owned three Ram trucks and all have been absolute warhorses. They tend to have a bad rep but not sure why. I put 150k miles on every one with no more maintenance than oil changes, tires, tune up at manufactures recommended mileage, battery every 4-5 years, and brake pads as needed. Rotors tend to need to be changed at ~130k miles.
When I was growing up, you could argue Ford or Chevy trucks all day, but everyone agreed those who owned Dodge trucks didn't have good enough credit to get one of the others.
Obviously RAM/Dodge make good trucks now, but it's hard to beat a lifetime of stories about Dodge trucks and their transmissions.
I've had bad experiences with GM, Ford, Honda, Volvo and the now defunct AMC. I've also had good experiences with most of those. Own enough cars and you'll have issues at some point.
My first three cars were under $500. A 1988 Honda Accord, a 1992 Honda Accord, and a 1996 Honda Accord. All three were pieces of crap from a cosmetic standpoint, but they were all warhorses for me through HS and College. I'll never forget having to shift the '88 Accord into neutral at stoplights and rev the engine so it didn't stall. The confused looks I got were priceless.
1975-6 AMC Pacer owned by a buddy. What a piece of junk!
My sister had a 75 Pacer X and loved it. One of the ugliest cars ever, however...
My parents had an AMC Gremlin. It was fine until it started accelerating without giving it the gas. Smokey brakes.
Had a ‘71 Chevy Nova straight 6 with 2-speed auto transmission, rusted floor pan, Bondo everywhere, bad paint job, 4 different bias ply tires, had to rebuild the carburetor and exhaust, fuel gage broken, suspension sucked, the driver door handle was janky so only I knew how to push the button correctly. Had to jam the gearshift into P or it could slip out, which it did one day while parked in my driveway and it rolled backwards and onto the lawn across the street
True story. I used to drive a '73 Ford Grand Torino back in the early 90s, just about the time of our conflict with Saddam and the Iraqis. It was green with some brown/rust coloration, the bumper was held on with straps, and it had a tape deck but it got me and my buddies to and from bowling just fine. Ended up having it stolen one day, but the cops found it abandoned soon after and I eventually got it back. Unfortunately it smelled like a vagrant used it for a toilet from then on, and one day some crazy guy smashed the windshield in over by the In-N-Out in North Hollywood. I ended up selling it to some guys I met at beach party in Malibu for next to nothing, but it was time to move on. Next thing I know they made a movie out of it where the guy goes back in time to the 1800s after some kids mess up his lawn or something, staring a mister Clint Eastwood.
I have had 2 pieces of crap
1st was a 2005? Chevy Colorado. I bought it used from a dealership back in probably 2008? The thing consistently had issues. I remember going through a carwash and the seal around the windshield came off, leaking water into the truck. Brakes went bad, and you have to take the whole front end off to replace them. Engine issues, ticky tacky issues...one after another. It turned me off to Chevy vehicles for a long time.
2nd was a daily driver between trucks. A jeep grand cherokee that had 180k+ miles on it. Leaked oil like crazy, would shut off at stop lights, revved itself up & down....I bought it for like 1500 just to drive to a dirty plant....I got the OK from 2 mechanics before buying it, but that thing was not treated well in its past life. I ended up getting in a wreck and I am lucky nobody was hurt.
In 2019 I sold my truck with 30k miles on it to a family member. Gave him a great deal, and I dont regret the sale at all. The plan was to drive a clunker for a year and I ended up doing that for 2 years due to vehicle availability.
I ended up buying a brand new chevy 1500 trail boss, with a turbo engine. I bought it out of necessity due to one of my clunkers above being involved in a wreck. It was legitimately the only truck available locally.
I weirdly love it. Its not what I wanted, but I needed a truck (my wife drives the family vehicle). Its great on gas, and it still tows what I need.
1979 Toyota carola. Only had 11k miles The thing would stall and bog down after it got warmed up. Could only get up to 45 mph too.
My first and worst car was a 1979 Renault Le Car. Kind of fun to drive because it was a stick and weighed about 10 lbs so had some pickup despite its tiny engine. That said everything was constantly rusting out, breaking, failing etc. One day the brakes failed but, again, because it weighed so little it also had no momentum and slowed down quickly when took my foot off the gas and pulled off the road.
My wife had an Accord in the 1990s, which had a reliable engine, but a bunch of other annoying things that went wrong. It wouldn't defog which meant driving with condensation involved pulling over every few miles to manually wipe off the window. The dealership could not fix depsite many efforts.
I had a Renault Medallion that was the same way. Muffler fell off when I was driving. Thrilled when I totaled it on I-696 outside St. Clair Shores.
My parents drove a Renault 8 in 1967. We drove to Florida from Pittsburgh for vacation that summer. It got 40.5 mpg on the highway going there.