What was the MOST UNRELIABLE auto you ever owned!
06-21-11, 03:50 PM
#46
Lexus Champion
Yeah mine has the air suspension. They added oil to it the last time they replaced it. In Miami I dont know any other places that can professionally do the job.
06-21-11, 06:20 PM
#50
Lexus Champion
06-21-11, 06:26 PM
#51
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hyundai Scoupe Turbo. A complete and utter P.O.S and while I applaud their improvement today I don't give a damn if they sell a car in gold that tickles your nuts for $20,000 with a V-8 and 20s I will NEVER buy another one of their products again....
1. Had a turbo that actually didn't turbo anything. Slow.
2. Build quality of the worst car imaginable
3. A/C worked when it wanted to
4. Rode terrible
5. Loud as hell
6. Car would just shut off when it wanted to. Quite embarrassing when you are young trying to cruise with friends.
7. More but too much to name
To make matters worse the Hyundai dealers were HORRIBLE. I mean HORRIBLE, they treated you like crap and never got the job right. The dealerships smelled like horse **** and the lobby was always full of people b/c the cars were always breaking down.
I literally spent an entire summer at their dealerships seemingly every weekend for issues.
Worst purchase EVER.
1. Had a turbo that actually didn't turbo anything. Slow.
2. Build quality of the worst car imaginable
3. A/C worked when it wanted to
4. Rode terrible
5. Loud as hell
6. Car would just shut off when it wanted to. Quite embarrassing when you are young trying to cruise with friends.
7. More but too much to name
To make matters worse the Hyundai dealers were HORRIBLE. I mean HORRIBLE, they treated you like crap and never got the job right. The dealerships smelled like horse **** and the lobby was always full of people b/c the cars were always breaking down.
I literally spent an entire summer at their dealerships seemingly every weekend for issues.
Worst purchase EVER.
06-21-11, 07:16 PM
#52
Dysfunctional Veteran
Hyundai Scoupe Turbo. A complete and utter P.O.S and while I applaud their improvement today I don't give a damn if they sell a car in gold that tickles your nuts for $20,000 with a V-8 and 20s I will NEVER buy another one of their products again....
1. Had a turbo that actually didn't turbo anything. Slow.
2. Build quality of the worst car imaginable
3. A/C worked when it wanted to
4. Rode terrible
5. Loud as hell
6. Car would just shut off when it wanted to. Quite embarrassing when you are young trying to cruise with friends.
7. More but too much to name
To make matters worse the Hyundai dealers were HORRIBLE. I mean HORRIBLE, they treated you like crap and never got the job right. The dealerships smelled like horse **** and the lobby was always full of people b/c the cars were always breaking down.
I literally spent an entire summer at their dealerships seemingly every weekend for issues.
Worst purchase EVER.
1. Had a turbo that actually didn't turbo anything. Slow.
2. Build quality of the worst car imaginable
3. A/C worked when it wanted to
4. Rode terrible
5. Loud as hell
6. Car would just shut off when it wanted to. Quite embarrassing when you are young trying to cruise with friends.
7. More but too much to name
To make matters worse the Hyundai dealers were HORRIBLE. I mean HORRIBLE, they treated you like crap and never got the job right. The dealerships smelled like horse **** and the lobby was always full of people b/c the cars were always breaking down.
I literally spent an entire summer at their dealerships seemingly every weekend for issues.
Worst purchase EVER.
Pix of said car so I know what to avoid? LOL!
EDIT: Nvm: google FTW!
Looks kinda like a toyota Paseo, yes?
Which by stark contrast was a hugely reliable car. I still see them everywhere. I cant say I have seen one of those hyundai's in person...ever.
Last edited by ArmyofOne; 06-21-11 at 07:19 PM.
06-21-11, 07:26 PM
#53
2004 Audi A4, had probably 60-80k on it, I cant remember. Lets just say when I traded it in after about 4 months of ownership in 2009, it spewed oil all over the parking spot at the dealer where I traded it at. But before I traded it, I had the timing belt and all that service work done to it, like maybe a few weeks before I traded it. P.O.S.!
06-21-11, 08:31 PM
#54
Lexus Champion
My father had a 1976 Plymouth Volare station wagon with the legendary 318 V8. It had a tendency to stall during left-hand turns into an intersection. The body also seemed to be crooked and you could actually see the whole body flex when you put it into gear.
It was huge inside, though. One winter, with relatives visiting from overseas, we fit 10 in that car. That was before the cops worried about matching bums with the number of seat belts. It also attracted singing from teenaged boys. (How many can remember the song Plymouth used for its Volare TV commercials back in 1976: "Volare, come see... Plymouth Volare, all a new car should be..."?)
In 1980/1981, we tried to sell it privately (in addition to stalling, a Chrysler V8 drank too much in the oil-crisis of the late-1970s/early-1980s) so we put an ad in the local paper. The boy on the other end heard "Ferrari Station Wagon" instead of "Volare Station Wagon" (needless to say, we got a few curious callers). We finally traded it in for a 1981 Honda Civic Wagon (the one with the manual choke). In damp/wet weather, the Civic would "hop", probably a vapour lock in the fuel system. Other than that problem, the Civic was trouble free, finally rusting out 10 years later.
As a second car during the time we had the Civic, we owned a 1984 (1st-generation) Camry. Talk about luxury! My father was not happy with the brakes on that car though (weak), but otherwise, it was nice. It was replaced in 1994 by a Mazda 626 Cronos, given to my brother upon law school graduation 2 years later. My father returned to Toyota and has been driving Toyotas ever since, with no problems.
I myself have only driven Toyotas with no real problems. My 1988 (Gen 4, American-built) Camry had rattles. My 2006 (Gen 6, again American-built) Camry had its sun visors replaced 3 times (under warranty) because they refused to stay in position when down (it was either fully up or fully down, with no intermediate position). But none of my Toyotas has ever left me stranded and would always start first thing every morning.
It was huge inside, though. One winter, with relatives visiting from overseas, we fit 10 in that car. That was before the cops worried about matching bums with the number of seat belts. It also attracted singing from teenaged boys. (How many can remember the song Plymouth used for its Volare TV commercials back in 1976: "Volare, come see... Plymouth Volare, all a new car should be..."?)
In 1980/1981, we tried to sell it privately (in addition to stalling, a Chrysler V8 drank too much in the oil-crisis of the late-1970s/early-1980s) so we put an ad in the local paper. The boy on the other end heard "Ferrari Station Wagon" instead of "Volare Station Wagon" (needless to say, we got a few curious callers). We finally traded it in for a 1981 Honda Civic Wagon (the one with the manual choke). In damp/wet weather, the Civic would "hop", probably a vapour lock in the fuel system. Other than that problem, the Civic was trouble free, finally rusting out 10 years later.
As a second car during the time we had the Civic, we owned a 1984 (1st-generation) Camry. Talk about luxury! My father was not happy with the brakes on that car though (weak), but otherwise, it was nice. It was replaced in 1994 by a Mazda 626 Cronos, given to my brother upon law school graduation 2 years later. My father returned to Toyota and has been driving Toyotas ever since, with no problems.
I myself have only driven Toyotas with no real problems. My 1988 (Gen 4, American-built) Camry had rattles. My 2006 (Gen 6, again American-built) Camry had its sun visors replaced 3 times (under warranty) because they refused to stay in position when down (it was either fully up or fully down, with no intermediate position). But none of my Toyotas has ever left me stranded and would always start first thing every morning.
06-22-11, 09:23 AM
#56
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Stuttgart
Posts: 1,651
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I wouldn't really call those cars "unreliable". Certain brands like Lamborghini, Ferrari or Citroens have produced cars that were mechanically fairly sound but required regular and specialist maintenance. Thus, they can be described as "high maintenance cars". How often one does maintenance on a car isn't an indicator of quality or reliability. Rather, it's demonstrates the different and far more complex designs that went into these cars that as a result require more frequent check-ups than a normal car.
Many people buying these cars might not pay attention to that fact or simply believe that "basic maintenance" is enough to keep them running.
The best example would be the Citroen SM Coupe. Although it packed a lot of futuristic technology for a 1970s car, it was well-engineered and fairly reliable.
What gave the car a bad reputation was the fact that it required specialist care - from both Citroen and Maserati mechanics (it had a Maserati V6 engine). Back in 1970s Europe, you were lucky to even find both these specialists in a major city. And often, the Citroen dealerships had competent mechanics who could maintain Citroen technology, but were utterly clueless on how to maintain the Maserati engine upfront. The timing chains of the Maserati V6 for instance needed regular check-ups. Ignoring this often resulted in severe engine problems.
Most owners of these exotics tended to ignore this - and that resulted in the poor reputation of many of these cars.
I'm sure a car like the Lexus LF-A is a similar case. It needs specialist care, not the typical DIY home owner care.
06-22-11, 12:30 PM
#57
Lexus Fanatic
The Scoupe could be a spry little machine if prepared and driven correctly. A modified Scoupe won the 1992 Pikes' Peak Hill Climb......a dangerous and demanding course. But, as you note, reliability.....................
06-22-11, 03:07 PM
#60
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Mo
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I had a '93 chevy blazer that cracked it's intake somehow. The windows were always off track. It was a beast off road though. My brother had a dodge stratus that needed the engine rebuilt twice before it hit 60k. I had a 2001 dodge pickup that went through several u-joints before I traded it for a Ford at 40k miles. My most reliable car was a 2007 Mazda 6 that I traded at 70k with the original brakes still holding strong.