what was the worst car you've ever owned/driven?

Question

By worst I mean worst design and/or dynamics. I do NOT mean poor reliability and headaches.

91-95 Acura Legend. Virtually nothing was properly executed on this car. Worst steering, brakes, tranny, seats, stereo, you name it.

Answer 1

Worst car I ever drove has to be a customers Corvette. It had had NO maintenace done on it. The seat springs were all shot (as the customer was all of 400lbs) and he had put books underneath the seat for support. The shocks and struts were all blown giving a floaty feeling going down the road, that is when it was busy blowing smoke out the back and stalling. Oil leaking from every gasket on the motor and bad u-joints on the driveshaft and rear axles. Every surface was covered with a sticky film and cracked. Seat covers were torn and there was an undescribable odor permeating the interior. The front a arm bushings were bad, the two rearmost bolts holding the body to the frame had rusted off and only one of the sterio speakers worked...AND HE WAS PROUD OF HIS "VETTE"!!!

Answer 2

Out of all the cars I've driven

1 1972 BMW 2002 *
2 1975 Audi 100ls
3 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX
4 1973 Volvo 164
5 1984 BMW 633CSi
6 1983 BMW 528e
7 1988 BMW 528e
8 1985 Toyota MR2
9 1992 Suabru Loyale*
10 1978 BMW 320i
11 2001 BMW 330i
12 1984 BMW 318i
13 1974 BMW 2002*
14 1968 Jeep Wagoneer*
15 2004 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
16 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE*
17 1990 Mitsubishi Montero
18 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Broughm
19 1975 International Scout II
20 1984 Honda Accord
21 1977 Ford Courrier
22 1974 Mazda Pickup
23 2001 Subaru Outback
24 1999 Ford Expedition
25 1995 Nissan Sentra GXE
26 1999 Mazda 626
27 1993 Honda Accord
28 1995 Dodge Caravan
29 1994 Pontiac Grand Am
30 199- Chevrolet Caprice
31 1998 Honda Prelude
32 2003 Toyota Prius
33 1979 Chevrolet Camaro
34 1986 Chevrolet Nova
35 1996 Chevrolet Astro
36 198/9- Chevrolet Astro
37 1999 Ford Windstar
38 1995 Ford Windstar
39 2001 Chrysler Town and Country
40 1994 Ford Countour
41 1987 Toyota Pickup
42 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer
43 2006 BMW 325xi
44 2006 BMW 530i
45 2006 BMW Z4
46 1980 Subaru Brat
47 2003 Ford Ranger
48 1994 GMC 3500
49 2003 Ford F-550
50 2003 Chevrolet 1500
51 1978 Subaru Brat
52 Mercedes-Benz 300D

I'd say the the 530i was the worst, since it represents almost everything BMW should not be.

Answer 3

1987 Chrysler LeBaron (my first car). It was just a hunk of junk! The jets for the windshield wiper fluid always froze down in the winter, so I frequently could not see. I'd have to either turn off on a quiet side street or wait for a long traffic light, run out and rub snow on my windshield, and then turn my windshield wipers on high to clean it off. The defrost did not work at all. It was a hatchback and eventually the hydraulics stopped working; to keep my hatchback open, I had to use a 2X4. The thing burned oil faster than it burned gas; I had to check the oil at least once a week. I had to keep 20/50 oil (racing weight oil) in it any other weight would burn off very quickly. It went through sparkplugs on an almost monthly basis. The power steering had some sort of weird issue, so any time I made a turn, it would shriek like crazy. If I had to stop quickly, the rearview mirror would fly off (and it hit me in the head a few times). I specifically remember replacing the radiator, the thermostat, the master cylinder, and other various parts. But hey, what do you expect from a Chrysler product?

Answer 4

Almost the worst were all the 1st and 2nd generation Chrysler Minivans I've driven. It's like driving a shopping cart. On ice, the lack of handling is downright terrifying.

Washboarded ice would be a challenge for braking in any car, but a complete and utter loss of all steering control in that circumstance is inexcusable. I mean I was braking in almost a straight line, and I was unable to steer enough to stay in my lane.

I'll never fathom why the Caravan was so popular, when the Astro and Aero/Windstar were so much better, dynamically. (they all sucked in reliability, though)

The 1994 Plymouth Sundance I drove was actually exactly as bad as the minivans. I consider it worse, though, because it doesn't have the excuse of being a damn van. A subcompact car should not handle like that.

Answer 5

Hmm that's a toss up between my 99 Taurus and Sable or my wife's 2000 Sonata, or our Optima.
The Taurus/Sable- couldn't use ashtray with center console folded out, some genius at Ford decided to use old GM gas gauges you know the type that went up and down on turns and hills. Also that damn auto lock feature when you put the car in gear was a pain also.
the Sonata/Optima- that damn center armrest is too far back to be of any use ie can't rest arm on it while driving. The airbag sensor on the passenger seat of the Optima has a hard time registering my wife and no she's not a tiny woman.
Have to agree on the Aerostar, my mother had an 87, that thing was a pain to do stupid stuff like check the oil on.
Oh yeah early-mid 80's GM's what's with the a/c line over the oil filler hole. Oh and to the person who said the 78 Olds Cutlass, I bought one back in 98, and I loved that car, miss it still.

Answer 6

1st generation Dodge Neon. Talk about the worst turning radius of any small car. My full size pickup could turn tighter.

Also, I don't like the new Saturn that has the gauges over in the center of the car. Takes me at least another second to realize that the speedo and everything is over there instead of right in front of me. Just more time that I am not looking at the road. VERY stupid General Motors, and very dangerous.

Oh, and what was it exactly you didn't like about the Mustang II, or the Pinto for that matter? Did you ever own one?

Answer 7

I drove a Pontiac Vibe once. No matter what I did, I couldn't get into a comfortable position. When I drove it at night, the glare from the instrument panel hurt my eyes. The only way to fix that was to turn the dash lights down to the point where I could barely read the guages. I also didn't like the locations of the controls.

Answer 8

My old honda civic91. It' ran and was a great car, it's just didn't have a radio, or ac, or heat in the right months. For example I had heat in the summer and ac in the winter. When the car got hot and I turned it off i had to let it cool down before I could start it again, so running here and there was affected so I had to everything in one shot or not at all. Great gas mileage. Toyota echo that car just wasn't right for me at the, the brake and acceleration peddle were located in a wierd level and the seats where high........

Answer 9

A hyuandai Accent, as a rental. Drove it for a day, and the check engine light came on. Need I say More?

Answer 10

the car that was actually worse than my Hyundai Excell was a Ford Focus