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Original poster

The worst car you've ever owned?

191 replies

MsMiaWallace · 26/02/2022 16:20

Going on from a previous thread what is the worst car you have ever owned & what are your reasons?

So I know to stay clear lol!

Mine was my first car a Fiat Tipo.
I loved it as it was my 1st car but that thing would not start!! Petrol gauge was broke too. It was a right shed!

OP posts:
Pythian · 26/02/2022 20:25

An Austin Metro that only had four gears and a manual choke. I could jerk the steering wheel from side to side and the thing wouldn't move from its course, and its top speed was about 45mph. The front bumper was held on with staples and would fall off if you went over any potholes, but that wasn't a design fault, it was because I pranged it while trying to park - the aforementioned steering let me down very badly.

The worst car we had as a family when I was young was a Nissan Bluebird. It was a horrible thing that seemed to weigh about five tonnes and didn't like to start between the months of September and March. My dad always refused to buy French cars (sensibly, judging by this thread) and was fooled into getting the Bluebird by the general Japanese reputation for reliability.

Gardeningcreature · 26/02/2022 20:25

Fiat Uno.

vickyc90 · 26/02/2022 20:25

My first car was Ford Ka it cost a fortune in repairs but I loved it as it was pink. Replaced it with a streetka that wasn't much better.

Highlight was both door locks going so we have to break into the roof!

kirinm · 26/02/2022 20:27

Austin metro. It was a horrible brown colour.

IsItTooHotInHere · 26/02/2022 20:33

Peugeot 206, was always breaking down and the parts used to cost a lot. I've had a Ford for about 11 years now, and it's had a new clutch, that's about it.

pricelessdice · 26/02/2022 20:34

Nissan Qashqai.

The panel that opens the boot dropped off in my hand, turns out that's a very common fault and I saw several qashqai's with taped on boot trim just like mine until I forked out to fix it because Nissan wouldn't.

Wipers worked fine, unless it rained. Gave up in torrential rain on the M4 on the way to Cardigan once with me the only adult driving and 2 little kids in the back of the car. Had to pull onto the hard shoulder and get out and manually start them again.

By the time we were at Newport I was leaning out of the car window stopped at a roundabout to restart them. Every time I took it to a garage to get checked out they said they worked fine because it wasn't raining at the time.

Then it started making a ticking noise indicative of £££ worth of repairs needed, this was after replacing the clutch. It was only 4 years old.

Friend had one also, same happened to her.

We've both had Honda CRVs for four years now. Zero problems.

Newnormal99 · 26/02/2022 20:37

Renault scenic. Luckily I got a free extended warranty when I bought it. I made sure I traded it in before than ran out!

leiaskye · 26/02/2022 20:37

Mini Cooper.

It had water inside the electrics which meant it behaved very strangely, on occasion it did all of these things :

The engine wouldn’t turn off.
The lights would stay on even after the ignition was off
On locking the car, all the windows wound themselves down
The horn would sound on its own

I took it back to the garage, and after much arguing, they gave us most of our money back.I now know we were entitled to more, but I was young & naive.

I didn’t put me off minis though, I have one now & LOVE it.

SockFluffInTheBath · 26/02/2022 20:38

VW Jetta. Coils went after 2 weeks, mil light came on so I pulled over. I didn’t have the vw assist number on me so called the dealership to be told ‘we’re about to close for the day, can’t help sorry’. Got that sorted. Heater packed up and they could get to the bottom of it. Then the brakes went…

Will never buy another VW or use that large chain of dealers again.

WithASpider · 26/02/2022 20:42

Nissan Almera Tino. Bloody awful car. Had a water leak that turned the passenger footwell into a pond. Mechanic couldn't find a cause, even ran a hosepipe over the car - still no sign of a leak. Air con fixed on cold in midwinter, that was fun. When the cam belt failed I scrapped it.

DH is now not allowed to buy cars.

CheesecakeAddict · 26/02/2022 20:43

My mitsubishi colt.
There was a hole in the driver's side floor that was covered by a mat and it kept breaking down for no apparent reason. No garage could find anything wrong with it.

gingerhairthatshetiedinaplait · 26/02/2022 20:47

Citroen AX that had various leaks meaning your feet could be underwater. My uncle drilled a hole in the floor in the end. A tyre that deflated even though no holes. It was shocking.
Oh and overheated unless you had the heating on. In summer

mjf981 · 26/02/2022 20:55

Goodness. Note to self: never ever buy a Renault.

rc22 · 26/02/2022 21:00

My current Dacia Sandero. Dull to look at and dull to drive although, touching wood, for what I paid for it, can't fault it for reliability.

QueenFool · 26/02/2022 21:01

My first car was a Ford fiesta (it had a manual choke, just showing my age).
It broke down every time it rained, which was quite often.

LadyLolaRuben · 26/02/2022 21:06

Range Rover Evogue coupe. Pile of shite

NandoLorris · 26/02/2022 21:12

Another Fiat Punto here! Longest stretch in the garage was a fortnight, used to joke with the mechanics I needed a loyalty card it was in there so much. On one particularly painful visit I told them they could gold plate it and stuff £50 notes in every hole in it and I still wouldn't want it back. Would never touch a Fiat again.

Oddly, I have a soft spot for Renaults... yes they break but it's expected! Fiats are another level.

Sad to read a PP's post about the Guilia being a nightmare, hoped they'd be better by now crosses off shopping list

MysticCT · 26/02/2022 21:19

Vauxhall Astra in Cosmic grey.
We didn't realise it came with a cloaking device. It seems to turn on at roundabouts. Nearly every time we go out in it and are about to exit the roundabout, other cars try to pull out in front of us, as if they haven't seen us. We are getting a red car next time.

TenoringBehind · 26/02/2022 21:19

Subaru Legacy. Bought from new and had endless problems with it. Clutch failed dramatically after about a year and we had a nightmare of a time persuading the dealer to fix it under warranty. Central locking failed twice. We traded it in after 3 years.

thenightsky · 26/02/2022 21:20

Oh God. I forgot this.

Rover 214 it was cursed!

Mine was the convertible version. I don't know where to start with that car. The wing used to fall off if I washed it too vigorously.

TenoringBehind · 26/02/2022 21:20

Also had a Renault Clio that went up in flames but it was very old.

LauriePartridge4Eva · 26/02/2022 21:23

A Renault that caught fire in the MOT lane....so much smoke all I needed was a catsuit!

A Peugeot 305 that blew up on the motorway and the police saying if our children had been with us in their car seats, they'd be dead.😞

French cars can eat shit.

CormoranStrike · 26/02/2022 21:41

A Fiat x19 - constant issues.

I’ve had other Fiats since which have been fine, this one was awful

Cute to look at though.

FrenchyQ · 26/02/2022 21:48

A metro, it was the time between when metro were owned by Austin and before rover took over. So it seemed to be a Mish mash of parts
The clutch went the first month I had it, it took the garage 3 days to prise it off. It broke down on numerous occasions, had 2 punctures.
Weirdly it was broken into 3 times within a year.
I got pregnant just after I got it, so only kept it for a year as it wasn't big enough for a pram.

CheesyChipsOnWembleyWay · 26/02/2022 21:49

I loved my scenic but only because it had random storage cubby holes everywhere. Blew up 2 mins after we had part ex-d it at a dealer. So glad we were driving off by that point. Had a Megane before that, again lovely but would find puddles of water everywhere.

Punto lasted forever.
Also had an old Volvo that was built like a tank but so reliable and easy to fix the minor stuff

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