What's the worst car you've ever owned?

Darandio · 22 Feb 2017

gg1 said:
Was it one of the 1994-98 Scorpios by any chance? I owned a 1995 model for about a year and your experience sounds not dissimilar to mine. It was unreliable (especially the dodgy electrics) and drank fuel but it was easily the most comfortable car I've ever driven with decent performance too.

Aha, the one that looked like a Guppy Fish!

A friend of my dad got a 1995 2.5d Ghia which was only a couple of years old so was fairly reliable in the time I knew he had it. At the time, it did seem very luxurious to me, even the passenger side door mirror tilted downwards when you put it in reverse so you could see what was in the vicinity of the rear wheel.

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richw · 22 Feb 2017

Darandio said:
Aha, the one that looked like a Guppy Fish!

A friend of my dad got a 1995 2.5d Ghia which was only a couple of years old so was fairly reliable in the time I knew he had it. At the time, it did seem very luxurious to me, even the passenger side door mirror tilted downwards when you put it in reverse so you could see what was in the vicinity of the rear wheel.

I had an 1996 escort Ghia that the mirror did that, and the heated front windscreen was fabulous. Amazing 20 years on that other manufacturers haven't used such things

Dai Corner · 22 Feb 2017

I'm another Renault victim. My Megan Coupe had a dodgy throttle which the dealer fixed under warranty. It then developed a leak in the heater matrix which led to puddles in the passenger footwell as well as no heat of course. Terrible rust and to cap it all the head gasket had to be replaced.

i traded it in for a Ford Focus - fortunately the dealer didnt even look inside - which is still going strong at the age of 15, albeit with only just over 50,000 miles on the clock. The only repair it's needed over and above it's annual service is a replacement speed sensor.

Ash Bridge · 22 Feb 2017

richw said:
I had an 1996 escort Ghia that the mirror did that, and the heated front windscreen was fabulous. Amazing 20 years on that other manufacturers haven't used such things

The first Ford I had with the Quickclear heated windscreen was my 1987 Sierra 2.0i Ghia, I think it was that and the Granada Scorpio which were the first models to have this excellent feature, I believe the patent expired a couple of years ago so it should start to be offered on other marques eventually, infact Vauxhall/Opel may be doing so on their higher spec models already?

EM2 · 22 Feb 2017

It is already available on Fiat models, my new Panda has it.

richw · 22 Feb 2017

Ash Bridge said:
The first Ford I had with the Quickclear heated windscreen was my 1987 Sierra 2.0i Ghia, I think it was that and the Granada Scorpio which were the first models to have this excellent feature, I believe the patent expired a couple of years ago so it should start to be offered on other marques eventually, infact Vauxhall/Opel may be doing so on their higher spec models already?

I have a high spec 18 month old Vauxhall and it's got what I call a turbo blower on the windscreen. Like wise our BMW 118d also has turbo fan

ATW Alex 101 · 22 Feb 2017

ATW Alex 101 said:
The two cars I've ever owned have both been top notch, so can't complain about it really. The first a 1998 Kia Sportage GLX and the second a 2006 Vauxhall Astra Estate. I still have the Kia tucked away in the garage .

I remember many years back my mum purchased an M-Reg Peugeot 405, which at the time I guess were a very common med-size saloon. But my word, this car was terrible. None of the dials with the exception of the speedo seemed to work, radio didn't even work and had a habit of just cutting out.

To add to that...

Actually my mums current car. A 1.6 2010 Vauxhall Zafira. Probably the worst car ever. Very basic, flimsy and vastly, vastly underpowered. It quite frequently has little but rather annoying niggles, such as the automatic locks malfunctioning, electric windows not working etc. Not to mention misfire in the cold. :L

Tetchytyke · 22 Feb 2017

The first car I had after passing my test, a Peugeot 205 Automatic.

1600 engine, and it went like poo off a hot shovel, but that was about the only thing going for it. It wasn't that old and was relatively low mileage, but still the electrics were shot- the radio didn't work, the electric window switches didn't work, the automatic choke didn't work. That and it felt like the auto gearbox changed gears using the power of Semtex.

But it did only cost £500 and it was very very fast, and was fun to throw down country lanes, so maybe I should stick it in the good cheap car thread too.

As for the worst car I've ever driven, it either has to be the Peugeot 307 pool car we had at work- handled like a blancmange, and was about as quick as one- or the Mitsubishi Mirage hire car I had in Ireland last year. Leaving it in the car park at Dublin Airport I hoped they turned it into baked bean tins.

Ash Bridge · 22 Feb 2017

EM2 said:
It is already available on Fiat models, my new Panda has it.

Is that now fitted to the Panda as standard, or a factory fitted option?

richw said:
I have a high spec 18 month old Vauxhall and it's got what I call a turbo blower on the windscreen. Like wise our BMW 118d also has turbo fan

Ah I see, so not quite the same thing as the electrically heated screen then.

Strathclyder · 22 Feb 2017

I don't drive (not yet, anyway), but I don't really seem to recall this family owning a outright bad car over the past 17+ years.

The first one, a 6th-gen Ford Escort I have only fleeting memories of, let alone if was a reliable example of the breed or not.

The 2nd one was a pivotal part of my childhood, however. It was a 1st-gen 1.6 (I think) Vauxhall Zafira Comfort. I'm well aware that Vauxhall is a brand few are fond of, but it covered thousands of miles (must have been at least 100,000 by the end), taking us on several dozen holidays across the country. I'll admit it was a tad under-powered (particularly when fully loaded), but as a all-round family car, it was all we could have asked for. However, it eventually succumbed to engine faults & general wear & tear in 2012. We couldn't justify getting it fixed, given the car's age/mileage and our unstable financial situation at the time. It was stored in a lock-up after developing said fault, if memory serves me right.

The third and current family car is a midnight blue 2004 Mitsubishi Shogun Field. Smooth, powerful, comfy leather seats and relatively roomy. What more need we, as a family, ask of it?

Johnuk123 · 22 Feb 2017

My garage owning brother in law has always said if you want to keep him happy go Renault or Fiat, and to a lesser extent Citroen.
He said to me if every car was Japanese he would be out of work.
I have had various Toyota/Honda and a Lexus and I have to agree that Japanese cars even when built in other countries are far superior to most European models.

EM2 · 22 Feb 2017

Ash Bridge said:
Is that now fitted to the Panda as standard, or a factory fitted option?

It's optional.

D365 · 22 Feb 2017

With a brief skim through this thread, could it be agreed that Vauxhall, Renault and FIAT are the more colourful manufacturers at the present time?

EssexGonzo · 22 Feb 2017

richw said:
I once was stupid enough to buy a cityrover. No further comment required on that!

And you dare to show your face....I think you win so far.

I'm a another double Renault victim.

Back in the late 80's I had a Renault 18 diesel. Terrible. Leaks everywhere. There was even rust on the rust. And it smoked like a power station. But I only paid a couple of hundred quid for it and it lasted me a year. Bangernomics.

And then in 2001....a shiny new Renault Espace 2.2 diesel as a company car. Fantastic to drive, like driving an armchair, took the family all over Europe. When it wasn't in the garage. I had it 28 months and of those, it had 24 visits to the dealer. Including a week in a French repair shop as well as 5 days at a Geneva dealer. Renault eventually funded my company's lease termination and I vowed never again to choose French, even with someone else's money.

EssexGonzo · 22 Feb 2017

D365 said:
With a brief skim through this thread, could it be agreed that Vauxhall, Renault and FIAT are the more colourful manufacturers at the present time?

Depends on which era you're talking about.

Whilst I'm no Renault fan (see above!) they're nowadays owned by Nissan. They share engines and I doubt Nissan would put dodgy mechanicals inside.

They are, however still built in France and I'd trust a Sunderland-built Nissan more than a French-built Renault even if they are essentially the same platform.

61653 HTAFC · 22 Feb 2017

D365 said:
With a brief skim through this thread, could it be agreed that Vauxhall, Renault and FIAT are the more colourful manufacturers at the present time?

I've owned a Renault and mentioned it in the "Best cheap car" thread. My entry in this one was a Suzuki. I've only ever owned those two though. I'm planning to resume driving this year, subject to getting the go-ahead from my doctor.

D365 · 22 Feb 2017

Sadly I am not a fan of the non-sportscar Nissans, especially the Micra...

Are PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) any better in terms of image?

MonsooN · 22 Feb 2017

I didn't own it, but between May 2011 and February 2012, I had a Vauxhall Astra Club as a company car. It wasn't unreliable or anything , it was just really cheap, plasticy and tinny. The drive was awful and it had absolutely no extras on it whatsoever. I upgraded to an Astra SXI in February 2012, and although they looked much the same from the outside, they couldn't have been more different, both to drive and to sit in.

I now have a Vauxhall Insignia SRI, which is lovely!

507021 · 22 Feb 2017

J-2739 said:
Renault has never been known for reliabilty to be honest.

I'd be careful buying French built cars, especcialy second hand ones (although Peugeot are quite ok).

I have to disagree I'm afraid, members of my family and myself have owned a large amount of French cars and not one of them ever gave us any trouble whatsoever. In particular, my family's had seven cars from Renault and they've never been any trouble at all.

My Dad has owned five Renaults (two used, three from new) and has just ordered his sixth, my Mum had a 53-reg Citroen C3 from new and only sold it last year because she didn't need a car that size any more and I've owned two Renaults so far, a P-reg Clio (my third car) and my current 03-reg Laguna. I'd more than happily buy another when the time comes to replace the Laguna, with Renault the only manufacturer under consideration. To be fair though, I do like Mazda and Skoda as well, but they're a bit out of my price range.

My worst car has to be my first, a Volvo 940 estate which was cold, smelly and the boot didn't open, so I just decided to keep the rear seats folded down and put stuff in the boot that way instead. It was written off after short while after it was crashed into whilst parked.

D365 · 22 Feb 2017

507021 said:
I'd more than happily buy another when the time comes to replace the Laguna, with Renault the only manufacturer under consideration.

What would you say draws you to Renault more than any other manufacturer?

richw · 22 Feb 2017

D365 said:
With a brief skim through this thread, could it be agreed that Vauxhall, Renault and FIAT are the more colourful manufacturers at the present time?

I've had a collection of nearly new Vauxhalls as a friend works for a dealer. Mine have all been fine, I particularly like my current one, but it's a high spec.

The low specs were/are some of the cheapest new cars available, and the interiors on those cars are cheap and plasticky. These were the big sellers.
The high spec models are fantastic cars and great value for money.

Darandio · 22 Feb 2017

EssexGonzo said:
Depends on which era you're talking about.

Whilst I'm no Renault fan (see above!) they're nowadays owned by Nissan. They share engines and I doubt Nissan would put dodgy mechanicals inside.

They are, however still built in France and I'd trust a Sunderland-built Nissan more than a French-built Renault even if they are essentially the same platform.

I wouldn't say that Nissan own Renault, it's more of an alliance, but a very complicated one at that.

For instance, Renault has a 40+% voting stake in Nissan, Nissan only has a 15% or so non-voting stake in Renault. But the Nissan CEO is also the CEO of Renault.

It's all a bit confusing.

plarailfan · 22 Feb 2017

A few funny recollections here https://www.flickr.com/photos/41294071@N02/8300308511/in/photolist-dDtfxr-PGSJGh

sk688 · 22 Feb 2017

We had a 2013 BMW 320d ED

Awful, and far inferior to the 2011 320d that it replaced

Unreliable , noisy, And the satnav/infotainment screen broke after 8 months . Quite disappointed overall, especially as the car it had replaced was so good.

Got rid of it in 2015, and now we have a Lexus Is300h, which is very good, in fact we are thinking of getting an IS and an RC, when we next replace in a few months time

Just out of interest , does anybody here have an Lexus Rc300h, or know if it is any good or not.?

dgl · 22 Feb 2017

My step-mum has had a few bit's of turd, primariy down to the lack of automatic options cheap on the motability scheme,
The Peugeot 206 had a few problems including a serious power steering fluid leak that when she drove it to the garage they wish she hadn't and they had collected it,
the zafira had a few problems but can't remember what they were,
the 3008 had a dodgy electronic parking brake in the last year of ownership and the stop/start and trip computer never really worked properly (it can't do 999Mpg whatever it claims),
the current Juke is ugly AF and the handbrake is iffy,

AND.. the worst of all a Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio need I say any more (even driving it carefully the average mpg was 23 US MPG!)

The only car I know of that she had had that didn't have any problems was the KIA C'EED 3, a thoroughly decent car.

D365 · 22 Feb 2017

dgl said:
(it can't do 999Mpg whatever it claims)

I doubt that even a Volkswagen would try to claim that

dgl · 22 Feb 2017

D365 said:
I doubt that even a Volkswagen would try to claim that

It used to be funny to watch the mpg readout on the infotainment screen randomly change wondering why 999MPG was even an option

fowler9 · 22 Feb 2017

dgl said:
My step-mum has had a few bit's of turd, primariy down to the lack of automatic options cheap on the motability scheme,
The Peugeot 206 had a few problems including a serious power steering fluid leak that when she drove it to the garage they wish she hadn't and they had collected it,
the zafira had a few problems but can't remember what they were,
the 3008 had a dodgy electronic parking brake in the last year of ownership and the stop/start and trip computer never really worked properly (it can't do 999Mpg whatever it claims),
the current Juke is ugly AF and the handbrake is iffy,

AND.. the worst of all a Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio need I say any more (even driving it carefully the average mpg was 23 US MPG!)

The only car I know of that she had had that didn't have any problems was the KIA C'EED 3, a thoroughly decent car.

Slightly off topic but the Juke and the PT are both hideously. The Juke must be good at something though as it seems to sell pretty well.

Paule23 · 22 Feb 2017

Morris Ital, absolutely shocking motor. And I had 2 of them!

Butts · 22 Feb 2017

Paule23 said:
Morris Ital, absolutely shocking motor. And I had 2 of them!

Was the first one not still called a Marina ?

I had a Triumph Dolomite 1850 ....famed for the aluminium heads which used to blow fairly frequently

What's the worst car you've ever owned?

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