Talking Cars Tuesday - What Was the Worst Piece of Junk You Ever Drove?

2012 Volkswagen Tiguan with 75k miles. Paid $10k cash for it a few years ago. I spent another $5k in the next couple months to replace the tires, fix a massive leak in the sunroof, replace a defective "speed sensor" which was causing my dash to go blank, fix the alternator and recode the keyless ignition. The following winter I hit a deer and totaled it. I've never been so happy to get rid of a car in my life.

1986 Poo Brown Buick Regal with Poo Brown Upholstery. It also didn't go in reverse. Would need pull through park spots, or when I parked at my apartment, luckily my spot was at the end of a gentle slope. So, I'd pull into the far spot, put it in neutral and roll into my spot. Great times.

'95 Ford Contour.  Aside from the mechanical problems it had, it was just not a good car.  Ugly design, not fun to drive.  It was a hand me down from my dad when my older brother totled my '94 Ford Probe (worst car name ever? Discuss) that was a blast to drive but horrible name. 

My brother's 1984 Toyota Tercel hatchback. He got it at 16 and when he was 17 and I was 13 he let me drive it to learn how to drive a manual. 

0-60 in 4 weeks, rusted out, bad clutch, bad brakes, tires forever out of balance, no AC, water leaked in through windows, etc. 

He traded it in for a Toyota truck that was mechanically more sound but just as beat up and you could see the road through the bed.

This is unfair to a car that was some very tired iron, but the worst piece of junk I drove was a 1976 Chevy Nova. Paid $400 for it in 1991. Sold it for $200 in 1993. My wife called it "Flintstonemobile" since the floorboards were rusted out. She hated it because her feet got wet when it rained. But I put 20,000 on for it a net cost of $200, so I have no hard feelings.

After reading other responses, I realize the car I hated the most was a 1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II. It had great power in its power band, but it had problem after problem the dealer could never fix. It frustrated me every time I drove it. Plus I was really too tall to fit in the tiny thing. I had a stiff neck every time I climbed out of it. Bought it new, traded it in after two years at heavy loss. 

1995 Plymouth Neon.

Hands down was the worst car ever.  Always leaked oil, air conditioner was always broke and could never get fixed properly.  I remember putting newspaper picture clippings of MSU players Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, and Charlie Bell under the car so that oil would drip on their faces.

Ford tempo

1984 Dodge Aries K car. My first car.

my senior year at Michigan, 1997/1998, my parents were able to get me a 1985 Honda accord so I could finally have a car to drive to north campus. The e-brake would stick so the previous owner bungee corded the handle down. I think they got it for around $1400. It was an absolute piece of shit, but it worked, and I was thrilled. Of course all my housemates were children of doctors so their cars were a bit nicer, but I was still damn happy.

I am inclined to say one of the following:

Triumph TR7.  It was concurrently both a blast to drive (when it worked) and the junkiest assembly of a fun to drive car.

I also had a Honda CRX Si that was a blast and a great car until the frame completely broke (from rust) and left me stranded out of state.

But from a pure "junk" point of view, my dad had a really old Ford pickup we used to haul wood that was completely rusted out and a complete eyesore, but it functioned and was reliable.

I've been pretty lucky, no incredibly bad vehicles despite having multiple Chrysler products and a Ford Tempo in there over the years.  I didn't like the Tempo's 3 speed automatic very much and by the end of its life (past 100k miles) it was good for about 15 miles a trip before you'd start to worry about a breakdown, but that was enough to get to work.

I had two Accords, a 1998 and a 2001, which were the same body style, same trim, everything except color.  The '98, built in Ohio, was notably better quality than the '01 that was built in Japan.

Not sure how or when it's going to happen but I'm looking forward to a future EV.

When I went to the Frozen Four in Denver in 2008, I ended up renting a Hyundai Accent hatchback. Just an awful automobile in good or bad weather.

In HS, a Used VW 411 with auto. Its only saving grace was that I could hide bottles of Jack Daniels under the rear seat cushion. 

I had a 1988 Dodge Shadow. It wasn't a bad car for the first 70,000 miles; unfortunately I drove it for 120,000.  We had all kinds of problems with it until we replaced it with our first Honda Accord. Which was a great car.

For a while when we had the Shadow our second car was a 1985 Ford Escort. It handled poorly, the inside was practically bare metal, no A/C and it felt like the transmission was going to drop out every time I shifted. Aside from a broken timing belt around 50,000 miles, though, it was surprisingly reliable. We eventually replaced it with a 1995 Saturn. Which was a great car.

First place: a 1976 (I'm guessing the year) Fiat 131. Ordered it new, took delivery, drove it home thinking my glasses needed to be adjusted. The windshield had a "warp" in it so that cars directly in from of my line of shrank vertically to narrow lines. Not good.

Took it back to the dealer, mechanic was taller than me (not a challenge, honestly) so he couldn't see the issue. Argued, got the short dealership owner to sit in it, problem recognized - mechanic is *pissed*.

New windshield arrives from Italy yay! Pick car up, problem solved, love the car. Few days later, on way from consulting gig to class. Starts raining, wipers on and ... water streaming up and across headliner then down onto my lap. Phuck, says I. They never put a seal around the top of the windshield. Back to dealer. Mechanic remembers me. Problem fixed. (wait).

Few weeks later, driving down road, look in rear view mirror, see nothing but trunk lid blocking view. Yeah, says I. I have a "personnel" issue. Back to dealer. Problem fixed. Ownership apologizes, mechanic eats sandwich. Car traded in a few weeks later on a Toyota Celica.

Fiat = Fix It Again Tony

Runner Up: very well used 1968 Opel Kadette with 100K + miles. Odo, speedo not working so it's a guesstimate anyway. Radio antenna is, yes, a coat hanger. Starts with a flat-head screwdriver in key slot. If battery won't crank, roll it downhill and pop clutch to start. Only way to shut it off is popping clutch and stalling it out. Struggles to make it up the hill from class back to apartment. Eventually junked the car when it just stopped cranking regardless of battery level.

I absolutely loved that car. 

1964 Rambler American, three speed manual with an automatic hydraulic clutch.  Instead of a clutch pedal, there was a hydraulic servo that would activate the clutch when I let up on the gas.  Problem was that the fluid (engine oil) inside the servo would leak past the rubber piston inside the servo and after a while, the clutch would not activate.  I would have to open the hood and push the servo piston rod with a broom stick to get it back into postion where the servo would actuate the clutch.  Problem was that I would never know when the servo would work or not.  The American Motors dealer service dept changed out several servos and could not fix the problem.  I poured some Hastings Seal Stop Leak in the engine and it seemed to fix the problem. I sold the car shortly after.

My worst was a 1986 Volkswagon Scirocco.  I bought it new while on leave and drove it from Pittsburgh to Monterey, CA to start my language course at the Presidio there. That trip was fantastic and I loved the drive up scenic route 1. That car handled well.

First problem was the transmission died in 1988.  I got it fixed as I had a year to pay on it still.

After that I got a job in the UK and parked the VW behind my parent's barn.  There it sat for 6 years with me driving a couple of times when I could visit the US on vacation. 

Moved back to the US from the UK and started driving it again.  Every month there was a new $300+ (1995 monies) repair.  This problem, that problem, but never the same problem.  I said to my mechanic who was undoubtedly saving up to buy a mansion on my dime that I hated that car and would never buy another VW.  He replied, well they make some good ones now. My answer was they should have thought about that when they designed this piece of shit.

I gave it to charity (probably the Vietnam Veterans) the last time it died and they towed it away for me.

I've had good luck with Fords since then.

My personal worst may have also been one of my favorites which I just traded in yesterday for an F150 FX4 which I love so far. But it was a 2013 Infiniti QX56. Hands down the best interior I've ever had in a vehicle, the leather was nice and the seats were very comfortable. But I've had nothing but trouble with the suspension, I've put 3 sets of tires on it in 2 years of ownership ($450 a tire!), replaced front wheel bearings and brakes, the rear suspension was a joke and the engine is heading toward a timing chain replacement. Not to mention replacing a starter requires tearing the top of the engine off to access. The vehicle was nothing but a money pit and yet for all that I loved it as it had lots of features and was comfortable to drive. Just had to worry about breaking down all the time. All that said, this F150 isn't far behind the QX on interior.

A maize colored 4-door Chevy Citation hatchback. 4-speed manual. My first car out of high school. A real chick magnet.

Fun to read through the list.

About 15 years ago, my wife was teaching a Liberian refugee how to drive in our Toyota Camry wagon. Driving maybe 5 - 10 MPH in a Wheaton park. Unfortunately, when my wife said "slow down" as they turned a corner, the refugee hit the accelerator, jumped the curb, and plowed into a huge oak tree. Air bags deployed, and the car was totaled.

Someone had pity on us, and gave me a car to get around in until we bought a replacement. It was around a '90 Chevy Chevette, white, 4 cylinder, and very plain. That car was just awful. I mean, it got me to and from work, but it was a total adventure pulling out on to a busy road. It had almost no power and no acceleration, and would stall out if you hit the gas too hard.

I never thought I would have a worse car than my first car, but that Chevette was worse. I started out with a '72 electric blue Mercury Comet GT rust bucket. Ugly as all get out but it did have character. While at UofM, I just left the keys in the ignition all the time when parked by my house. No one in their right mind would steal it, and no one ever did.

I purchased a GM Astro van new for the family.  Not a lemon, but expensive to keep on the road.  After 4-5 years, I purchased another because after 4-5 years of making the same car surely GM would have fixed all of the issues.  I am a logic person who worked in the auto biz for a few years and that is how things work.  Wrong, I experienced the same problems and dumped the second one after three years.  I got killed $$$ selling both times.  I went from buying GM only to buying honda only.                

1973? AMC Hornet.  I had it for a couple of years and finally drove it to the junk yard when I was done with it!  

The thing I remember most about it was that it didn't want to start if it was warm. If you stopped somewhere for just a minute, you had to wait at least 20 minutes if you shut the car off.  That or a quick blast of starter fluid in the carb.  

Funniest thing about that car was even after I took it to the junk yard I kept it insured. My wife and I went down to 1 car and were getting a multi car discount by insuring that piece of junk!

1976 Pinto. Completely rusted out. No brakes because the cylinder leaked. I literally would put a pan under the oil pan because it leaked so much oil, and I would put the leaked oil back when I would get ready to drive it. 

We took a driving tour of some backroad places in Mexico.  They supplied older Jeeps as the cars.  The Jeep I drove was a real POS.  They shouldn't have let me drive it off the lot.  Finding second gear was not easy, it had some kind of a gas flow problem with the fuel system because if you stopped for a short period of time, it was nearly impossible to get the Jeep to restart, whenever you hit the brakes it pulled hard right which did offset the overall issue with the car pulling left while not using the brakes.  Touristas beware!

I had never driven a Jeep before, so I thought this was going to be a fun new experience.  NOT.

A 1975 Gran LaMans we called Larry, with a hole in the floor board that would freak people out in the backseat.  

1978 Mustang II

First car was a bare bones 1988 dodge Omni hand me down.  The stick shift literally broke off in my hand while driving down Washtenaw, drove it to the shop stuck in 3rd.  Between me and my dad we drove it for 14 years,  though relatively low mileage.   So many issues with it though.

My first car was a Vega.  Thankfully I survived.  

When I was in my late 20's, I wanted an Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce in the worst way. This is at the very end of their production, in the late 80's. I had hang up's about it being too fancy, in spite of the fact that it was the same price as a Volkswagen Cabriolet, which I bought instead. That thing was like a slow tuna tin. It was rickety, and there was a leak in the floor so that when I parked next to a curb and there was snow or a lot of rain, the floor of the car would flood. Of course I ended up trading it in the next year for the low end model Alfa Romeo, the one that Dustin Hoffman drove in "The Graduate." It was a convertible with a vinyl top, vinyl interior and no door locks, which I didn't even realize until much later when people kept rifling through my glove box in the middle of the night. I'd come out of my apartment in the morning and the passenger door would be wide open and the glove box open. Sounds crappy but that car was fantastic, door locks or no door locks. 

The moral of the story is: buy the one you really want the first time around.