What are the best and worst cars you have ever owned and reasons why (if applicable)
10Worst-1989 Hyundai Sonata-first year it came out. A/C broke driving it out of the showroom the day I bought it. Everything broke under warranty including the front seat. Never so glad to trade in a car-was convinced Hyundai was never going to make it in the US. BTW-bought a 2011 Hyundai Sonata for my wife to drive.
Best-2008 Cadillac CTS-loved everything about that car-the power (V6), the styling and the fact that I had officially become a Florida old fart as I was driving a Cadillac.
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Most fun: Pontiac Sunfire Convertible. Drove it til the wheels fell off…
Best Car: 2003 Pontiac VIBE. (essentially the same as the Toyota Matrix). Lot’s of little features, like being pre-set up for installing a towing receiver by just having to bolt on the hitch frame in the pre-installed holes. Has a quarter million + miles on it. Still driving it.
Worst: 2008 Honda Fit. Loved it for the styling, but ours was a POC. Wife blew out a sparkplug while driving on the interstate, part of which evidently got into the cylinder (the sparkplug, not the interstate). Has been a mechanic’s dream since it has been in the shop way more than any of the 20+ other cars we have had…
@chienfou My wife drove a 2008 Vibe until last year when she hit the neighbor’s bull that had decided to take a stroll on our dark, foggy country road. (The bull got up and walked away; the insurance company totaled the car.) Great car, zero problems and definitely in my top 3.
BTW, the damage to the Vibe was cosmetic - dented fender and hood, some broken plastic trim - the airbag didn’t even deploy. We bought it back from the insurance company for peanuts, did some minor repairs, and my daughter drove it to Michigan (from Oregon) to do her internship.
The bull ultimately didn’t fair as well - the neighbor butchered him. But he didn’t send us any steaks!
Worst car was my Chevy Citation. The car was seriously possessed. The engine would shut off for no apparent reason while I was driving. One time I was heading upstate on vacation and it stopped on the entrance ramp to a parkway during rush hour. I became a traffic report. The highway patrol called a tow truck that dropped me off at a car rental place, so I was able to go on vacation. However, the service station where my car was towed was incredibly dishonest and I had to dispute their charges on my credit card. In spite of my last 6 cars being Subarus, my favorite car was my aqua-colored Acura Integra. It was nice to look at (custom pin-striping) and fun to drive. However, it sucked driving in snow being front wheel drive and low to the ground. It was my first car with a sunroof. I liked to open the sunroof when it snowed, which usually freaked out my passengers.
Favorite: 1992 Plymouth Duster. Manual windows that kept falling out of the tracks. Broken AC when my folks bought it for me. BUT, had a 5-speed manual connected to a 3.0 liter V6. Such a fun car to drive!
Best: 2001 Toyota Corolla that I obtained through marriage. So, double-plus bonus points
Worst: 2002 Chrysler Sebring. Something kept breaking/wearing out. At least every year! Brake caliper, multiple suspension components (don’t remember which exactly), multiple wheel bearings. And to top it off, when the battery died, I had to replace it myself. Because the battery was located behind the mud-guard in front of the driver-side front wheel. In the wheel-well! Such a dumb car!
My favorite car was my first one: 1969 Mustang Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet, bought used in the 70’s (during the gas crisis) when I was in high school. It originally was a weird military olive green metallic color and had a few dents and scratches, but I fell in with a bunch of gear heads who liked working on our cars, we fixed it up and gave it a black lacquer paint job and it eventually turned out similar to this:
I had a lot of fun with that car - I think it got me laid a few times.
@macromeh Hey, I found and scanned an old photo of my actual Mustang after all the hard work:
Best: My current Ride. 2018 Mazda 3 GT Trim. Fast and comfortable. Decent mileage, and nimble on the road.
Worst: I’ve owned a lot of crappy cars in my life, but the worst is probably the one I bought new. A 1980 Renault Le Car. Among other issues, the main one that AMC could never fix anything on it, it had no power at all, had an electric fan that would regularly drain the battery, and you had to pull the distributor to change the oil filter. For years after, every time I saw one for sale, the ad would inevitable say “Low Miles.” That’s because the damn thing never ran.
2nd Worst: A Chevy Vega. I needed something cheap and immediately available, and it was both. If someone put together a vehicle using aluminum cans and a rusty engine from a salvage yard, it would be a Vega. It’s not the worst because everyone knew Vegas were crappy but ridiculously cheap.
Worst: A Dodge Caravan. The engine kept shutting itself off in the middle of the Beltway around Washington D.C. or on I-95 in Virginia. Twice the dealership repair people looked at it and did tests, then shrugged. The third time I demanded they find the problem or I would park the van sideways in their driveway and abandon it there. After about 40 minutes on that whatcamacallit (I call it a “vehicle treadmill”) the engine cut out. Faulty computer in the engine. They replaced it, but I was always waiting for the new computer to fail since it came from the same source as the first one.
Best: The one I have now - a Subaru Crosstrek. It’s actually fun to drive, if I had anywhere I could go in a pandemic.
Best: my current 2012 Camaro. I bought it barely used, and it was exactly what I would have ordered from the factory. I really appreciate whoever ate the initial depreciation for me!
6.2L V8, 6 speed manual, and yet somehow it gets slightly better mileage than my 3.0L Toyota Pickup. The heads-up display is a wonderful gadget, every car should have one. It’s a gas to drive, and still puts a smile on my face. With a set of Pirelli Scorpions it does just fine in the winter as well.
My uncle had the '69 Indy 500 Pace Car when I was a kid, so that probably warped me for life.
Worst: An 80’s Buick Skylark. It was cheap, and I just needed something to get me through winters until I could get back on the motorcycle. It was brown. It had velour seats. It had manual crank windows. It was a old man car when I was 20-something.
It developed a “rear” main seal oil leak, and was thereafter known as the Skyleak or the Buick Valdez. Check the gas, and fill her up with oil. The transverse V6 meant pulling the whole engine/transaxle lump to get to the seal, which was beyond the tools I had, and would have cost more than the car was worth to have someone do it.
You’d think front wheel drive would make a good winter car, but the brake balance was off, and it would lock the rears way before the front. So the rear would try to pass the front if things were slick.
No tears were shed when it departed.
I replaced it with a Toyota Pickup (pre-Tacoma) which I still have. (But it needs a head gasket job.)
Just because I think this crowd will appreciate it.
@blaineg
Best: My 2001 Saturn SC2. After a little over 230K miles it’s still going strong and everything still works. (Knock on woo… plastic. Yeah, it’s a plastic car.) I keep thinking I should trade it, but I can’t find anything that I want to replace it with.
Worst: Definitely the '75 Chevy Monte Carlo. Nothing ever worked right consistently. It drank huge amounts of gas and left me stranded many times. I think it must have been a water car, it was always terrible.
Most fun? '73 Dodge Tradesman van. The only optional equipment was the passenger seat. After I paneled and carpeted it and put in a Pioneer stereo with the speakers in the back doors, it came out nice. Added a couple of bean bag chairs (way before seat belt laws) and, well, I think you can picture it…
@2many2no I liked the swoopy fenders on those Monte Carlos.
Best: 1991 Dodge Stealth. It flew down the highway.
Worst: 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. My current POS that I’ll be trading in just as soon as I can limp it into a dealership. I’ll never… ever buy a Jeep again. It has been a constant money pit. The new Bronco has me intrigued, but I’d never buy a car the first year it’s released.
Favorite and Best: 1994 Mazda Miata in Arrest-Me Red. 2nd owner, no hard top and I totalled it in 2010.
2nd Best: 2007 Ford Ranger XLT (current) - bought to replace the Miata; was looking for a Toyota pickup with no joy, but this truck has been terrific.
Honorable Mention: 1963 Plymouth sedan, white over OD Green (ex-army staff car!). it ran, paid 50 bucks for it. My dad pushed the front bumper back in against a tree, and I had to rework the lights. I covered up the Army stencils on the front doors with “Sailors Have More Fun” stickers form the recruiter. Dropped the driveshaft and u-joint the first time I got it up to 55 MPH going to the county seat to pick up my license plate. My Dad’s friend towed it to his shop and repaired it, charging me around $65 total. My first car!
Worst: Any GM car I’ve owned, especially my wife’s Cutlass.
Best: 2013 BMW M5. Speed and luxury. Everything about this car is well built and meant to go fast and be comfortable doing it.
Worst: 1990 Ford Tempo. Crap upon crap. When the crappy power steering hose burst the engine caught on fire.
Most fun: 1990 Honda CRX. Track prepped with sticky tires. Too much fun, not enough gasoline.
You’ve come to the right place, @Felton10. I’ve owned upwards of 50 cars, and – by and large – most of them have been better than average. But…
Best: By far, my 2004 Porsche Cayenne Turbo. I’ve very often thought that if I could only have one car it would be this one. It’s heavy, so it goes down the highway like a freight train. 1,000 miles in a day isn’t tiring. It holds a TON of stuff, so trips to Ikea are no problem. It’s been pretty reliable. I did need to do about $4,000 in refurbishment work a few years ago (mainly the transmission was shifting funny after a mere 180,000 miles). And the twin turbo makes the thing stand up and ROAR when one feels the need for speed. (My mechanic says, “Nothing this big should be this quick.”)
Worst: This was a tough one, but I’m nominating my 1974 Mustang II. I bought it (used) when I was in the Navy and needed basic transportation. It was mostly reliable, but the build quality was “Domestic auto manufacturer in the mid-70’s” (and I’ll leave it at that). But mostly it garners the coveted “worst” title for being as ugly as unrepentant sin. Worse than the styling, mine was a pukey frog-shit green. I don’t know what I was thinking.
@TrophyHusband That sounds like the perfect color for a Mustang II !
Someone entered a ratty one in the burnout contest at the previous year’s car show, and blew a fuel line on his first attempt. He didn’t start a fire, but they had to spend some time cleaning up the mess.
Worst: 1992 Mercury Topaz. No power, would constantly overheat for no apparent reason, window regulators would constantly fail, the button to open the gas door failed so I would have to pop the trunk to manually pull a cable to fill up, etc.
Best: 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The interior was plasticky crap, it rattled like crazy, there was basically no sound deadening so you would have to yell to talk to a passenger, it leaked in the rain, TC/ESC/ABS failed in my first week of ownership (which I never fixed…). None of this mattered because that car was so much fun. Every trip in that car was an experience, even if it was something as mundane as a grocery run. I miss that car…
Honorable mention: 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Z51. It is objectively better than the 2003 in pretty much every way; more power, the interior is actually really nice, it doesn’t leak, it is remarkably quiet on the inside, but it just doesn’t quite have the same magic that the 2003 had.
Best/Most Reliable: 2001 VW Jetta wagon; bought new (0.9% interest from Volkswagen!). Only had 2.0l engine, but was lightweight & would rev easily with 5-spd manual. Handling was much more sporty than expected, and drivetrain was bulletproof. After 14 years (and closing in on 180,000 miles) in the Texas weather, the interior plastics and upholstery (incl headliner) were shot and our teenagers were cramped whenever in the back seat. We donated to a local homeless shelter with an auto-repair program; we’ve been told that the inside has been ‘patched up’ and the car is still used for shopping & taking kids to school when the weather is bad.
Worst: 1974 Ford Capri; bought used in 1980? 81? Heavy & underpowered; always pulled strongly to the right. Heater & fan co-conspired to make sure occupants stayed cold in winter and hot in summer.
1972 Fiat 124 sedan; bought used in 1988? 89? Engine & handling were nice, but interior was cheap when new and body was like a tin can. Worst of all, the clutch gave out 3 times in 2 years.
Favorite: 1985 Pontiac Fiero 2M6 SE (not GT); bought new. Loved that car. Heavy for its size, but it could scoot.
/image 1985 Fiero 2M6
@compunaut Ohhhhh the memories!
In 1997 Mother’s Day rolled around. My Mother’s Day that year would have been more aptly named Mother’s He11.
A friend had a car for sale and I was tired of walking.
She was a 1986 bright red Fiero SE, 5 speed, all original (including the bucket seats with the dual speakers in the headrests) with 77,000 original miles. All I ever had to do was clean and repair the throttle body, do the modification on the fuel lines across the engine so I wasn’t driving a future bonfire, and about a month later I had to replace the alternator and starter. (My mechanic laughed at me when I asked if he would install the parts. He had large hands and couldn’t even get to the starter, LoL!)
She was the first car I bought for myself by myself.
I’ve been looking for another affordable one for years
Thank you for bringing back the memory.
@sarahsandroid I never had a bit of trouble with the 2.8l V6. In fact, the only trouble I ever had was finding room for a cart full of groceries
@compunaut I had to respond, hell just look at my user name. My first and second car were fiero’s, an 84 SE 4cyl and a 86 SE V6. Love them so much still have my 86 SE and I have a moded 85 GT with a 3800 Series III motor in it. Puts a smile on my face no matter what happened that day when I get behind the wheel of either of them.
@fierodude I had to respond back. Please tell me: Where do you live, and who did the 3800 engine swap? I spent hours last night watching YouTube videos of Fiero’s with engine mods.
@compunaut Currently I live in Oklahoma, bought the car with the swap done. Lots of info on how to do the swap can be found at pennocks fiero forum located here: fiero.nl My brother did his himself, and used the resources within that forum. From start to finish, it took him about a year. If you don’t want to tackle the project yourself, I am thinking of selling the 85 GT, will be cheap, so if you are interested shoot me a whisper
@fierodude “Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor, not an auto mechanic”.
Not a doctor OR auto mechanic. Just an engineer who’s a specialist in plumbing for fighter jets. A hobbyist handyman/woodworker who collects related tools but doesn’t have time for related projects.
A few years ago, I did a bunch of research on an engine swap (incl 3800) for a small, grossly underpowered Class B campervan. Almost pulled the trigger on a couple of donor cars. In a (rare) flash of self-awareness, realized there was no way I could make it happen by myself. Value is poor if paying somebody else; better RVs available for the higher price. Plus, it turns out that camper is terrible in cold weather (not ideal for primary purpose of ski-bum base).
$2000. It does NOT have the super charger. Engine and trans have less than 25xxx miles. I bought it cheap, so will sell cheap. Reason for selling is I have 7 cars. I am in the process of buying my brothers fiero, but wife says I have to sell a few “extra” cars first. Already sold the MGB, and I really don’t need 3 fiero’s. Nor do I have any sentimental attachment to this car, so that is the reason to sell.
Oh and I under stand the comment on collecting related tools and not having the time to work with them. Bought this car to take it to the finish line, then almost all the parts to make it mine, a few specialty tools, and I have not had a lick of time to do a thing to it in the last two years. And lastly I am also an engineer, just playing with rocks, nowhere as cool as what you get to play with I am sure. Small world huh.
Best: current car 2014 VW Beetle TDI (diesel). Still love it.
Worst: college vehicle VW ‘78 Rabbit. I think that thing got towed so often I knew the tow truck drivers and it leaked so bad there was often 3 or 4” of rain in the backseat foot wells. Until it got colder and it froze of course.
Strangest: 1992 Geo Metro. Got great mileage but felt like it was going to fall apart at any minute, and we bought it brand new. And going over grated bridges with those small wheels. Sliding all over the place.
Best: Saturns SL and SC series. So good they discontinued them! Datsun ( now Nissan) B210, 200K miles, it died when a tree fell on it…Toyota Matrix AWD, great vehicle…Mazda CX5, 2016, great vehicle zero issues.
Worst: Hate to say but 2008 Toyota RAV 4, at 80,000 miles went to hell, U joints non replaceable except for complete driveshaft or cut and weld on new ends, ABS brake issues, rear differential 4WD Coupling bearing assy $2000 repair, but Toyota finally reimbursed “dealer only” repairs with receipts after many complaints…
Volvo XC40, 2020. Disappointed…Not the same quality they are known for. Too many software issues, auto brake/collision avoidance,( engages when no one there at 55mph even after update), lane avoidance, ( no one there), slow phone app, brake rotors. Wife can’t wait to unload this…
2008 Scion tC ( touring coupe)… Best car…no mechanical issues, runs great still looks brand new. Bought it when I turned 40, first new car ever, just gave it to my 24 year old and bought a used 3rd generation 2016 Toyota Tacoma ( sport trd). The Scion is quick, sporty, and versatile. Seats in back fold completely down so we camped in it before we set out for the 45-mile canoe trip down the green River. It runs quiet…and is just the perfect car for my son to make his!
Best Car… 2001 Nissan Frontier - put almost 300K on it in 13 years survived 3 wrecks… no major failures only issues I ever had was I replaced the radiator at 200K and the AC died at 225K and only got rid of it in 2013 because at 280K the transmission was finally giving out and the cost of repairing it was more than the truck was worth
Worst car ever 97 Kia Spectra Hatchback… There was a bar underneath the passenger dash that if kicked would knock out the AC… If I hit a bump or a pothole the hatch would fly open… Occasionally I would turn on the lights and the dash lights would turn off… but fixable if I smacked the dashboard above the steering wheel… even though it had 4 cylinders… there were hills I could not make it up if I did not have enough speed… If it rained and I ran through a puddle the passenger side would flood in the floorboard and all of the issues were there from the moment I bought it new in 97… but the dealership nor any mechanic could 100% fix any issue… Will never buy Kia again
Best is a bit of a crap shoot. The one I enjoyed the most was a 1990 Saab 900, wasn’t even turbo and it had so much power and I loved it. Alas, my relationship of many years went belly up a few months later and eventually, I couldn’t afford the service on it. No contracts back then and Saab dealer costs for service were outrageous.
Overall best - Toyota Prius V. Great Mileage, lots of room, eco friendly. Good repair, etc. and ran like a Toyota.
Worst: Subaru Crosstrek. wouldn’t have qualified as a lemon but had less power than my old dodge colt and both dealers I dealt with sucked badly. And it just was really not a comfortable ride or driving experience.
Worst - Saab I forget the model. Reason? That shit caught on fire while I was driving. Fffffffuck that.
Best - 2001(?) Saturn SC2 with the third door (also known as a suicide door) If I hadn’t wrecked it, it would probably still be running.
Worst - 1994 Hyundai elantra. Had it for 18 months and it was in the shop for nearly 7 months. I got full retail back due to the lemon law.
Best - a tie between 1996 mustang GT and my current ride 2013 Ford edge. Love both equally for different reasons.
I loved my 1st car. ‘77 LTD. Definitely made for lovin’ in the back seat and was great for travel. My cutlass supreme was comfortable. I’ve loved my 3 sonatas. My Hyundai accent stick shift was fun! As was my ultima stick shift. Absolutely hated the POS spirit my in-laws sold us. Drove like a truck. Damned dummy lights kept coming on. HATED it! Didn’t appreciate the outlander sport stick shift because it had a pussy engine in it in the 1st place.
Best: 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE. +150K miles and not a lick of trouble. Hyundai covered replacing the engine under warranty at 105K even though it was over 100K. Dealer said something about a recall, but I’ll take a free new crate engine at 100K.
Worst: 2009 Honda Fit. A/C sucks, loud road noise, sponge-foam seat covering sucks, only redeeming feature is the cargo space.
No love for “Fix It Again, Tony”?
@mike808 A '72 Fiat 124 sedan (‘saloon’) made my Worst list - repeated clutch problems.
Worst : 2007 Cadillac DTS Luxury II. Head gasket at 87,000 miles. Cost 4200 dollars. Moon roof leaked like crazy, computer always wonky, and hood release broke. You could not open the trunk with a key, so I rigged up a manual release to use from the back seat.
Honorable mention : 1971 Vega, and a 19?? Chevette better known as a shovette.
Best : The 1956 Cadillac I owned in the late 70’s. Also my 91 Caprice was a good car.