Owned a 2002 Lincoln LS V8 Sport Model. Biggest pile of trash I've ever driven.

- Windows
You'd be cruising down the highway and one of your windows would just collapse because it would either fall off the track of break the track because the glass was too heavy

- Alternator
Only lasted 24,000 miles

- Brakes
Severely too small, couldn't get the car to stop from 70mph without truck distance.

- Transmission
By 35,000 miles the transmission gave signs of slipping

- Overheating
There was an overheating issue with the car that the dealership could not explain. I had to pull off the highway, turn the car off, let it cool and restart.


It was a good looking car, and handled pretty nicely, but lacked power, build quality, and reliability. I believe the Black on Black with 17" factory chromes and tight steering and suspension sold me. Since then, I have thoroughly tested vehicles. I got rid of the car at 36,000 when the warranty expired.

 

1974 Pinto wagon. We had two of these in the company fleet when the boss decided he wanted to abandon the big Ranch Wagons and go green that year. Incredibly ugly green, their only redeeming quality was the 4-spd that made them slightly interesting. Slow, but interesting. We had one of these in our Houston office, and as regional manager, I got to maintain the fleet and assign cars. Nobody wanted the Pinto so we kept it as a spare while most of us drove our own personal cars if there wasn't another choice.



This car was related to Christine because it had an appetite for blood. Its ignition would mysteriously fail at critical times, shutting down the engine when you needed it most - usually in the path of an 18-wheeler out on the interstate. Two employees threatened to quit if forced to drive it. To keep the peace, I took it for about a week, at which point it came after me. After a couple of attempts with that ignition trick (that the dealer could never duplicate) it seized a right front brake caliper putting itself and me into a telephone pole at 40 mph. Miraculously I survived but the P-one-NT-Zero was totaled.

We replaced it with a beautiful 1976 Dodge Aspen wagon that seduced everyone into driving it - but while benign, it spent more time in the shop than in the motor pool for a whole series of maladies that could never be satisfactorily repaired. It was the reason we went to permanently assigned cars, much to the chagrin of our resident bean-counter. The solution was to force him into the remaining Pinto, and although his job description didn't warrant a company car, after a spate of self-congratulatory giggles, he learned that Pintos fed on human flesh after his took a coupla swings at him, he stopped kissing up to the boss and we all got assigned cars shortly thereafter.

 

F.O.R.D: Fix Or Repair Daily

 

F.O.R.D: Fix It Again Tony.

 

LOL Thats Fiat.

Why the hating on ford? totally wrong in today's day and age.

Say what you want but there is a guy I work with driving a 1989 Ford Taurus. Has 300k (more than that actually) miles on it. He bought it for $200, put tires and brakes on it, and it gets him from A-B.

Its all in how you maintain it...well...almost.

 

Dale Gribble: I know what's wrong with it. It's a Ford. You know what they say Ford stands for, don't ya? 'Fix it again, Tony'.

Hank Hill: You're thinking of a Fiat, Dale.

Dale: Fix... it... again... huh.

-------

Joking aside, I have nothing against Ford. They're easily my favorite American car brand.

 

Ah, I had forgotten that episode LOL.

Thanks for spelling it out, guess I ruined the joke. EPIC fail.

[/threadjack]

On topic, I am suprised at the amount of imports listed in this thread.

 

Found On the Road Dead

F'ed On a Rainy Day

lots more out there in different languages.

 

1995 Dodge Intrepid

I was really proud of this purchase. It was the first time that I used the internet to research prices and negotiated with 2 dealers. It was in the shop before I paid the first note. 3 transmission repairs in 18 months but I couldn't get relief under the Texas Lemon Law. I got rid of it after 18 months and 30K miles at a significant loss.

My 1999 GS300 was the most reliable with over 140K miles and only 1 unscheduled service visit.

My 2007 GS350 has been in the shop several times in the last 4 years with multiple recalls and repairs and it even left me stranded on the side of the road in Alabama during Thanksgiving holiday a couple of years ago. I have such a good relationship with my dealer's service department that it would be hard for me to change brands at this point.

 

So far my 08 is250 has been the worst...
It's at 54k and so far engine work on 3 separate occasions...1st was the "top-end cleaning" for carbon buildup, 2nd was for the cam gear TSB and now again to replace the pistons as a revision to the carbon buildup issues these engines have been having.
-The rear bumper replaced after 5k when the paint started to change color
-Passenger window motor went out
-Driver door lock actuator went out forcing me to climb over passenger side to manually unlock the car each time
-Paint on wheels randomly chipping off in areas but wheel replacement was refused
-Both front headlights replaced when they started leaking water burning out the HID and making the AFS go crazy
Factor all that in with the usual brake pads every 20k and tires every 17-20k(expected) and this car has had very few trouble-free miles.

At least the dealers really know how to take care of you when you're there though.

 

My dad's receptionist had one of those cars. He fixed it for her every so often. The thing was a turd and I absolutely hated it. It broke down and my dad loaned her my Cressida, which made me even more pissed. She apparently liked Hyundai enough to buy a 2003 Elantra after it finally died.

Since I've been born, my immediate family has had all Toyotas, with 3 exceptions. A 2004 Accord, 2005 Silverado, and a 2006 BMW. I can't say that any of been "unreliable" in terms of break downs, but there is certainly a difference in quality between certain ones and other's we've had. The Silverado has needed two intermediate steering shafts replaced, which is a huge issue with GM vehicles, and has various rattles, squeaks, and had certain components fail like the power mirrors and the A/C one time acted weird and was working when it wanted to. It has 49,000 miles on it and was bought new. The BMW has also had some random electrical glitches, like the radio not working or the power folding mirrors going hay wire. Bought new and has 85,000 miles. The Accord had no problems, it was totalled 2 years after we bought it.

That said, our '98 Avalon has been a reliable car, but build quality could've been better. It's black and had the clear coat start peeling when it was only 3 years old, and the paint is lacquer-checking all over, and it's not like we neglected it.

 

89 325i and 91 525i 5spd. B.M.W.....Big Massive Waste

 

So one exception makes the rule?

Go to a junkyard and look at the taurus to camry ratio and check back with us. Not to mention their current Mustand 6 speed manual problems and Fiesta/Focus tranny problems they refuse to acknowledge. or the 1 Million F150 recall for gas tanks that hit the deck when you hit a bump.

My worst car was a 1996 Neon. EVERYTHING was broken. Tranny, windows, engine, gas tank, shocks are a few of the things that gave out one after the other. Junk it and got $150 for it. $150 more than it is was worth.

 

Hard to say what was the absolute worst. I owned a string of new Chrysler/GM American designed/built cars in the late-70s/early-80s that were pretty much all garbage in build quality/reliability. The 1980 Chevy Citation I owned, with a wide-ratio overdrive 4-speed manual, was arguably the most unreliable drive-train.

 

I had a 2003 G35 that I bought in June of 2002. The car was the earliest of the early production cars and had soooooo many teething problems. Alignment was always an issue, CD broke 6 times ( and they lost all of my imported $30 CD when fixing), interior rattle, seat motor broke, the window motor on passenger side broke twice, and the famous G35 brakes that would stop 2 feet longer than a 2003 911 turbo but wore out every 15k miles. There was a class action law suit in CA about the brakes. This G35 is what drove me into the arms of the Lexus brand. Although my Lexus cars have still had issues they are far less and the service is far better