What was your biggest POS car ever?

[Tim Hancock]

Effing POS Audi A6 twin turbo.... NEVER AGAIN will I buy a used high mileage AUDI.

[GH85Carrera]

I guess to be accurate, my very first car was a 1960 VW bug with 36 factory HP. After 100,000 miles it was likely closer to 20 HP. Zero to 60 was only possible if there was no headwind on dead flat roads. A fully loaded 18 wheel semi was too fast to pull in front of from a dead stop at a red light.

It had no gas gauge, that was optional for 1960 so I made a dip stick with a wood dowel and a 1/4 tank increments on it. Get out, open the trunk, and the gas cap, dunk the stick and see where is the gas level is. The heater and defroster were pitiful, and the AC was roll the windows down.

I put a set of 4 tires on it, mounted and balanced out the door for just under 30 bucks. Not per tire, $30 total for 4 tires. They were recaps, but in a car that could only do 60 downhill or downwind so it was safe.

I paid $600 for it and sold it 18 months later for $650.

Seatbelts did not exist, but I could fix it with a screw driver, bailing wire vice grips. It was a crappy car, but it got me to my first job and to high school. The rich kids with cool cars did not talk much to me.

[sammyg2]

LOL my first car was a 65 bug, paid $50 for it. Had a milk crate for a seat until I got a paycheck to buy a seat.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Effing POS Audi A6 twin turbo.... NEVER AGAIN will I buy a used high mileage AUDI.

LOL... how about a FREE one ? A buddy used to buy Audis (but he had a self-imposed limit of no more than $500)... he then proceeded to drive them into oblivion... at least 4 that I remember...

He had "Audi stories"

Hoopties don't count... nor do "first cars" for many when counting POS cars

I was 33 when I made my POS car purchase mistake.

[JavaBrewer]

We leased a 3rd generation VW Jetta when my wife graduated college and got a "real" job. It was the first version, 1993, and they were offering a $199/month lease with $500 down. Giant mistake - gutless, horrible fuel economy, warped rotors every 10k miles, interior items cracked, split, or fell off all on their own. We got out of the lease early - best day ever.

[Gus Berges]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

That surprises me, in general those vehicles get very good reviews for reliability. Post the top three.

1- Coolant pipes (expensive repair)
2- Air suspension (failed airbag on two corners)
3- Transmission (sensor under shifter fell out, could not get vehicle into gear)

My head unit failed too. The plastic knobs from the head unit melted/sticky. The seatbacks unglued themselves from the front seats.

The list goes on and on, but it's been long gone.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by KC911

LOL... how about a FREE one ? A buddy used to buy Audis (but he had a self-imposed limit of no more than $500)... he then proceeded to drive them into oblivion... at least 4 that I remember...

He had "Audi stories"

Hoopties don't count... nor do "first cars" for many when counting POS cars

I was 33 when I made my POS car purchase mistake.

Not even a free one... NEVER AGAIN!

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I guess to be accurate, my very first car was a 1960 VW bug with 36 factory HP.

My first car as well. No gas gauge, the flipper valve near your right foot when you ran out of gas (I never did).

I paid $150 dollars for it from a friend of my father's...he had taken a job in DC and that was the price of airfare from LAX to DC.

It was, and remains, the anti-POS: It was great. I can't imagine driving it in LA now, but in the day, 1972/3, it got me off the ranch and into trouble.

It never broke once.

Slow? The only way to get to 65mph was to Thelma and Louise the thing.

The Gregorian Calendar specifically mentions the "1960 VW Equinox" when all 36HP is aligned.

True story.

[GH85Carrera]

I remember finding a LONG long stretch or road where I could do a full 0-60 run. It took 72 seconds, and it had a tail wind that day.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I guess to be accurate, my very first car was a 1960 VW bug with 36 factory HP.

That was my first car too and I also paid $600 for it in 1968. The only problem I ever had with it was when the fulcrum pin in the fuel pump fell out. It just fell out. I put it back in and drove it for another year or two.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

That was my first car too and I also paid $600 for it in 1968. The only problem I ever had with it was when the fulcrum pin in the fuel pump fell out. It just fell out. I put it back in and drove it for another year or two.

At the time in the 70's, we had three VW Bugs, one for each kid. All dark blue or whatever color it was. It looked like Eagles Nest at the ranch.

I learned how to work on really special POS (my Dad, extraordinarily educated, smartest guy I have ever met, loved British and European cars) helping my Dad on his Jags, Lotus, Double Bubble Coup, etc.

The VW's, and I bet we all owned this book, were a joy to work on. I rebuild a clapped out 68 Van with this book, parked next to my Bug, in the dirt, in my spare time.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Geronimo '74

Jeep Compass.
It’s been gone a long time and I still hate that car.
Utter piece of crap.

I've driven a couple of those, and that was the impression that I got.

Originally Posted by Roswell

1st generation Dodge Durango.

Utter piece of crap.

I thought they looked great when they came out, but I've heard from a few folks that they were horrible.

Originally Posted by SpyderMike

I bough tmy Mom's Chevy Citation from my brother for $1. It wasn't worht it. WHat a **** car.

The worst I bought was a Pontiac Fiero. I got into lemon mediation with GM and they lost.

I had an '81 Citation X-11 with the 2.8 V6 and manual trans. It actually wasn't that bad. I also had an Olds Omega (same chassis, but 4dr sedan with 2.5L 4cyl). That car would barely get out of it's own way. I hated the Omega.

Originally Posted by red-beard

Saturn SC2. They had a money back guarantee and I exercised it. Salesman looked like I shot his puppy.

I had a 110 mile daily commute. I had been driving a Honda Prelude. The SC2 was very rough on the interstates, loud road noise and all around poor handling.

I didn't get a chance to figure out more issues. I ended up buying a Honda Accord and that was a great car for 7 years and 230,000 miles

I've driven one or two Saturns and was suprised how bad they were. They looked like an economy car, maybe even a sporty-ish economy car, but drove like a truck. I was surprised at how bad they seemed.

I think my worst car was a car that I only barely remember which was a 90 or 91 Mercury Topaz. I can't even remember why it was so bad other than that I've always thought it was horrible. Second place would have been that 80s Olds Omega 4d with the 2.5L. I've had a lot of cars, and a bunch of them were $400 - $1000. Almost all of them have been pretty good, especially considering what they were. The two above were cars that I didn't choose, but were chosen for me. I'm going to say that's why they were so bad. I feel like I've never chosen badly.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Gus Berges

1- Coolant pipes (expensive repair)
2- Air suspension (failed airbag on two corners)
3- Transmission (sensor under shifter fell out, could not get vehicle into gear)

My head unit failed too. The plastic knobs from the head unit melted/sticky. The seatbacks unglued themselves from the front seats.

The list goes on and on, but it's been long gone.

Rubberized items turning sticky is a known issue with pretty much anything that's rubberized. It happens to everything like that eventually unless it's actually certain kinds of rubber. Heat seems to speed it up, but even items that sit inside in AC never seeing the sun or high heat eventually have the issue.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

At the time in the 70's, we had three VW Bugs, one for each kid. All dark blue or whatever color it was. It looked like Eagles Nest at the ranch.

I learned how to work on really special POS (my Dad, extraordinarily educated, smartest guy I have ever met, loved British and European cars) helping my Dad on his Jags, Lotus, Double Bubble Coup, etc.

The VW's, and I bet we all owned this book, were a joy to work on. I rebuild a clapped out 68 Van with this book, parked next to my Bug, in the dirt, in my spare time.

I kind of wish I'd had a bug when I was a kid, although I really loved my first car ('65 chevy impala 2dr 350, 4 on the floor).

I'd like to have a bug now, but it's too darn hot in Houston and I'm too old and like my comfort for something like that.

My parents had a '73 VW convertible that they bought in DC and then shipped to Spain and then back to the US. It was adorable and fun to drive and much more comfy in Spain due to the low humidity (despite being hot).

[Eric Hahl]

2001 BMW 330i...all kinds of electrical gremlins. Headlights going out every 3 months, crankshaft position sensors multiple times on both intake and exhaust sides, sometimes within months. Arrgghh!

[Brian 162]

I got a 1977 Dodge Aspen R/T, it had a 318 2 barrel 4 speed overdrive. I was 18, it was the first new car that I bought. It was the biggest POS I've ever had. The body rotted out after 2 years. The worst part was I sold a Dodge Demon with a 340 4 barrel to buy said POS

[jmcookiii]

Easy for me. A 1973 MG B. Bought new, and Requied new rotors at 6,009 miles, Window washer quit working ((they all do that), used oil. I could go on. An engineering disaster.☹️

[Baz]

Maybe my first Vega ( I had two) - although once I got the engine repaired it was OK, really.

[LWJ]

A Toyota, believe it! It was a first Gen Sequoia. Absolute garbage. I write this as a complete believer in Toyota, and currently own a LandCruiser and have owned another previously.

[A930Rocket]

A Yugo. But I only bought it at the auction, to flip it and made a few bucks.