1983 Firebird SE V6, 5 speed, WS6 performance suspension and disc brakes. Our first new car. It went back 14 times to the dealer for a variety of problems; radio, paint defects, vibrating mirrors, transmission leaks, engine oil leaks, failed belts and the coupe des gras… the engine blew 8 days before the 2 year powertrain warranty was to expire. It took 5 weeks to get a new short block to repair it. 2 weeks after every rear main seal repair AND the engine change, it was leaking again. The tranny leaked red fluid and was unfixable. After 2 years of this, the car was shaking at each bump like jello. I worked for GM at the time and traded it in on a Mercury Merkur. It wasn’t without problems but it was far better than the TurdBird.
1973 Lincoln Continental. No tilt or telescope. Same heater core problems as most Fords. Change hoses? Heater core breaks. It had a starter that was like a GM one with built in switch solenoid. The plastic part would fry from the heat of the exhaust manifold and quit. I had to make an exhaust shield to restart the car after refueling.
The EGR adapter under the carb was aluminum and broke from the heat. Somebody fixed it with fiberglass resin or epoxy which failed. The replacement part was cast iron. The car was no good in snow. Ackerman steering was lousy on the highway. No tilt or dive in town is good FOR TOWN.
It didn’t like starting in cold weather. The headlight doors would creep open after one day parked. It had a fixable trunk leak which was a good thing. Front tires didn’t last long. After I sold it I saw it being towed three times. Gas gauge failed.
@missileman
Just the first three would put you at the head of the “crap car list.” My old 55 Desoto looks good in comparison. ;=)
Only have had two new vehicles in my 40+ years of driving. Worst vehicle was an early model Ford Escort, but I bought it used and it was hiding that it was on its last legs. Funny, a favorite vehicle was a Ford Pinto.
My parents had a 1982 Cutlass Ciera when I was a kid. The purchased it “new” from the dealer with like 9000 miles on the odometer and got a discount. They made the mistake of never test driving the car before signing the papers. They now feel that the dealer made sure everyone test drove a different car and not this one for good reason. Either way, the problems started the second they drove it off the lot. The transmission torque converter locked up at low RPMs and would stall the engine. The dealer is on a busy 4 lane road with lots of businesses and is always full of traffic. They made a left turn across traffic and the engine died.
This continued and the dealer tried all kinds of workarounds like bumping up the idle RPM to try and solve this. Well, the problem was that the transmission was just basically junk and the dealer was aware of this. My parents would later find an odd cut out section of floor on the front passenger side that had been patched. We later found out that the dealer would loan cars to the local public school district for a semester or two of drivers ed class and then get them back and sell them. If you think buying a used rental car is bad, this is worse. The hole on the passenger side was for an auxiliary brake for the instructor to use when needed.
You pretty much had to keep the car floored when pulling out into traffic to keep it from stalling. This caused another issue. Sometimes the transmission would decide to slip for a bit before locking up. Basically, the engine would freewheel and the RPMs would shoot up in the second or two where it was slipping, then it would lock up and do nice burnouts as it took off. The problem was this would happen cutting across traffic on busy roads so the natural instinct was to keep it floored and this all but guaranteed a burnout every time. Of course this was hard on the transmission and everything else so the slipping and lockup situation just got worse with time and the car almost became undriveable by the time they traded it in on something else.
This car and their treatment by the dealer soured my parents on GM products for many years and they moved into imports and never looked at any American brand first after this. It is too bad as I don’t think this model was a bad car. I just this car was a lemon from being used as a drivers ed vehicle. They went trough several trouble-free Honda Accords and various Mazdas after this time and did actually spring for another GM which was also trouble free for them.
A 1994 Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon.
Volvo might have a reputation for having a safe car but if mine was any indication, it was safe because you couldn’t have an accident with it parked in the shop, waiting for parts when something broke AGAIN!
@Masterskrain Correct! I teach classes in Reliability and Integrity. Students often tell me integrity is the most important. That might be true for the roof and basement of your house. I tell them that if you park your car in the driveway and take the wheels off, you have very high integrity, but 0% reliability and availability.
Yes, Volvos are sturdy cars in a static way; good bodies, good seats, strong door knobs, etc. It’s when you start driving them that you start your money pit journey.
+1 to both Masterskrain and Docnick!
As I tell friends & neighbors…I owned a Volvo…ONCE!
(Translation=Never again!)
@Docnick…Volvo and BMW as well, build some of the finest vehicles on the planet in terms of comfort, fit and finish. As soon as they get that pesky “point A to point B” reliability problem worked out…I may actually buy one.
@missileman I agree; sitting in a BMW 7 series makes you feel important. When we lived in Malaysia the US ambassador could not use a Cadillac since they were not sold there and opted for a 7 Series long wheelbase BMW. Uncle Sam paid for the upkeep. And the ambassador gets new wheels every two years!
A doctor friend here has a 7 Series BMW and has trouble explaining some of the problems his car encounters, which are absent from a Toyota or Honda selling for 1/4 the price.
German and English luxury cars are usually corporate or government vehicles and a team of mechanics keep these babies running. One of the most hilarious conk-outs was the Jaguar owned by the wife of the Finance Minister of Malaysia. There was a reception at a 5 Star hotel, and her Jag conked out under the marquis at the front door, making all other guests afterwards get out of their limos in the rain to get into the hotel. A tow truck (“breakdown lorry”) had to be called to tow it away.
That’ll make them think twice about buying British luxury cars
heh heh heh
“That’ll make them think twice about buying British luxury cars.”
Or, in the case of Jaguar, that’ll make them think twice about buying Indian luxury cars.
;-))
After the Volvo 144 my parents pretty much swore off Volvo’s, A buddy traded in his Focus Wagon so the wife could have a larger 3 row SUV (Volvo X90) which after seeing what the upkeep costs went back to Fords and stayed there.
1972 Chevy Vega, followed by any one of several Chrysler products I owned. Almost forgot 1979 Ford Ltd,I think, rust holes in body big enough to put your fist in and ceiling liner that fell,again still paying but out of warranty,. I no longer buy any American cars, they got enough of my money for inferior products for this lifetime.
The minivan that I liked the best of the four minivans that I have owned (Ford Aerostar, Ford Windstar, Chevrolet Uplander, Toyota Sienna) was the 1990 Ford Aerostar and ironically, it was the most troublesome. I bought it used with less than 20,000 miles and foturntely had more than a year left of the factory warranty. In the first 3 months, it had to have the head gaskets replaced and the transmission rebuilt, all on warranty. Six months later, it was giving trouble again and the Ford dealer’s service department pulled the heads and found a hairline crack in one of the cylinder heads. The cylinder wall was scored, so the entire engine was replaced on warranty. When it went off warranty, the air conditioning system gave problems. I had to have the compressor replaced three times.
However, the van had a lot of room (it was the extended version), had very comfortable seats (it was the Eddie Bauer model) and it was the best minivan I have owned for hauling passengers with their musical instruments. I had a set of 4 tympani donated to the chamber orchestra I manage. I stripped out the seats and drove 30 miles to the group that made the offer and was able to get the whole set of tympani in the Aerostar.
I liked the fact that it was on a full frame and had rear wheel drive which was better for towing trailers. I know that Consumer Reports criticized the Aerostar for being too “truck like”, but that is the quality I liked most about the Aerostar.
The Aerostar was the most troublesome vehicle I owned, but if Ford still made the Aerostar, I would have one.
@Triedaq
I can relate to that. Teachers often find the most troublesome of their students the ones they remember most. Then our memory gets bad and we mix up why we do remember them, mistakingly thinking, we actually liked them. Good cars, like good students you sometimes take for granted and quickly forget. The pain in the butt, you never forget.
Like all educators, we go by the motto; " hit me with a board. No, not that one. The one with the nail in it. "
I almost bought a Jag once, many years ago. But I was under no illusions about its reliability. Jags were highly reliable back then… one could rely on them to break down regularly and expensively.
Have mentioned this before but it seems a good time. A sailing buddy who has his own work shop took his wife’s uncle’s engine fire damaged Jag sedan and installed an old Chevy pushrod six with a two speed power glide. Definitely more reliable but definitely not a head turner.
My BIL is a die hard Ford fan. I don’t think he’s ever owned anything but a Ford in 50 years. Last year he proudly bought a used Jag that he got a deal on because the lady couldn’t get much in trade for it. I haven’t heard how its going but he’s retired so has a lot of time for repairs.
a deal on a used Jag . . . often spells trouble