The Ultimate "cars you were ashamed to own" thread.

jkarolyi · 12:15 PM

There's a funny thread in the main Porsche forum about the lowly Chevette:

Ok any 70's era GM (Chevette) guys on here?

and it got me to remembering the not-so-great cars I've owned. I actually bought a 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Diesel V6 from my little old man neighbor. It had only 40,000 miles and was $300, so why not? I gave it to a down-and-out friend of mine. He drove it for two years without a hitch!

My dad bought a new 1980 Ford Mustang Ghia edition with a V8 that put out a whopping 115hp! Dark years for American iron...he's embarassed whenever I bring up that car.

Your turn to admit to cars you were ashamed to own.

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

1981 Plymouth Turismo TC-3. Just about everything had to be repaired/replaced on that car during the 2-ish years I owned it. (Clutch, H2O Pump, steering rack, alternator, steering column assmby, radio, turn signals, door locks, rear hatch release...etc.)

1973 VW Fastback. Color: red/rust two-tone. Thing wouldn't start in the rain. Seatback would drop when you hit a sharp bump. My friend poked a hole in the front fender with his finder is was so full of rust.

-Z.

Moneyguy1 · 01-09-2005, 12:22 PM

1976 Dodge Aspen wagon. Opened the rear hatch and it fell off..no bolts in the hinges. Paint was bad; dealer repainted front end; cracked and crazed shortly thereafter. Car would stall on LH turns (always carred spare jockey shorts). Cured with a Rochester Carb replacement. Rustbucket after two years, recall on fenders rusting through on the top. More electrical failures than I can recall, but the basic engine was bullet proof. Car fell apart and the engine was still running strong. Low tide for Chrysler.

ronin · 01-09-2005, 12:31 PM

jrdavid68 · 01-09-2005, 12:48 PM

'84 Chevette as a matter of fact. Purchased as a college car and was 100% reliable the entire time plus it got almost 30 miles to the gallon.

Overpaid Slacker · 01-09-2005, 12:51 PM

1985 Renault Encore. And it wouldn't hot-start. What a POS.

JP

lendaddy · 01-09-2005, 12:59 PM

My highschool/college years were filled with crapmobiles. Hmm where do I start.

'71 Bug w/autostick
'78 MGB (poured a couple college funds into that POS)
'74 Fiat 124 Sport (really neat car, but was addicted to rusting)
'80 Dodge 13 pass window van (yes I drove this in HS)
'88 Ford Festiva you couldn't kill that thing!
'68 Chevy 1 ton stake racker (again yes I drove this in HS)

I'm sure I'm forgeting a few of these forgetables

Big Ed · 01-09-2005, 01:02 PM

Moneyguy beat me to the punch, mine was a '77 vintage Volare wagon. Bought to use one college summer when I was a painter, my buddy and I would take turns sleeping on the mattress in the back while the other drove. Had an authentic $hit happens bumper sticker on it, and a million or so empty cans/bottles/styrofoam coffee cups on the floor and in back.

Kraco or some equally crappy stereo with speaker wires running down the length of the inside. One SWEET ride. Went through 7 or 8 starter solenodis in one summer, never bothered to find out what was going on.

That old slant 6, you couldn't kill it. Ran like crap straight from the factory but would never die.

tabs · 01-09-2005, 01:07 PM

1962 Corvair.....loved to spin out in LH turns on wet pavement....when going 5 mph...

dafischer · 01-09-2005, 01:21 PM

1980 Chevy Citation X11. What a POS. I never thought that I'd be happy when someone stole my car, and it didn't come back.

Jeff Higgins · 01-09-2005, 01:33 PM

'78 Dodge Omni and '84 Mercury Lynx station wagon. Both expired under warrenty the first couple of times. Timing belt and interference engines in both. The Omni was traded in on the Lynx; I drove it around the back side of the dealer's lot so the salesman wouldn't notice that its automatic no longer shifted and sounded like a rock tumbler.

Lendaddy, a '71 Bug?? Crapmobile?? I hope you just had a bad one. Yes, the auto-stick sucks. I've been driving Bugs all my life and started my oldest son driving in my beloved '71 Super Beetle. I'll pass on my current Bug, a '70 standard, to my second son in a couple of years when he starts. After that, I'll be looking for another one for myself. I just love the littler fellers. I'm thinking early oval, or even maybe earlier split. They're fun, and what ultimately led me into the Porsche fold.

asphaltgambler · 01-09-2005, 01:39 PM

I've had too many too count!! -Here's my beater list from the last 25 yrs:

'63 Ply Valaint, 4 door, grey primer, a few dents, 6 w/3spd
'71 Dodge dart, 2 door, lots of dents, 175K, 6cyl/auto
'63 Chevy Biscayne, 4 door, rusted badly, 6cyl, 2spd auto
'75 Chevy truck, one side of the bed caved in from a fallen tree
'81 Toy Corolla, subframe rusted to the point pf failing, 180K
'85 Nissan, John-Deere green, 4 door, 200K
'81 BMW 320I, powder-blue & rusted, cardboard left rear window, 230K
'82 Dodge Omni, 4 door, never idled on it's own, 160K

Dantilla · 01-09-2005, 01:54 PM

My worst was the Ford Tortise (Taurus) that came with my wife when we got married. Quickly sold it and got her a 5.0 Mustang convertable.

She hasn't been the same driver since.

Drago · Drago's Garage

'78 Ford Country Squire Station Wagon...the last of the BIG wagons from Detroit...pale yellow with the faux wood paneling down the side...wire wheel knock-offs. It had a cell phone...really, it did. A rotary dial phone mounted to the tunnel!

Two tranny's and one blown engine later it finally died.

Ever gotten air in a '78 Ford Country Squire? I have...

Eagle Keeper · Eagle Keeper's Garage

1980 AMC Sprit, metalic brown with a brown vinyl interior! It was the best on 100 deg summer days!! It had a 4 speed trans and every time you shifted it would back fire!! My bro and I would go look for people to scare with it for fun! Yes I know thats pathetic , I am going for an award!!

campbellcj · 01-09-2005, 02:16 PM

My first car was a 1972 Chevy Vega...booger green outside and inside.

dtw · 01-09-2005, 02:39 PM

1987 VW Jetta that was headed to the graveyard. I got it for free and needed a cheap ride while in grad school. Taught myself how to wrench on that car and started out with easy stuff like struts and eventually did a top end on it. Redid the interior and replaced all the mangled body parts - it was in decent shape when I got out of school and bought a brand new car on graduation day! I actually hated to sell it, but I got $1,500 for it.

Rob Channell · 01-09-2005, 02:47 PM

197? 914. Although I like these cars and want another one one day, I was embarrassed about this one. 1st, it was more rust than car. Every time I parked it someplace there would be tiny piles of rust powder form under it. 2nd, I paid $1500 for it (waaaay too much for its condition). I was young and even less smart than I am now.

Moses · 01-09-2005, 03:03 PM

'65 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup. No paint. Three colors primer.

'63 Mercedes 190D (diesel) Bought for $500. Maybe the slowest car ever produced. Had some kind of exotic paint fungus. Interior smelled like wet dog, even in summer.

'76 Toyota Corolla with the "no interior" option. Seriously. No carpet. No radio. No nothing. Melted the visor barbecueing in passenger seat (college/beer).

Many more, but these were the lowlights.

VaSteve · 01-09-2005, 03:09 PM

1986 Ford Escort Pony - WTF was I thinking?? It was a shiny black 2 door. Who needs 5th gear? Who needs A/C? Who needs rear speakers? Apparently I didn't because I bought it anyway. The nice thing about that car? It really only let me down twice: once about 2 miles from home under warranty with a bum timing belt, the second on campus when some $5 part broke requiring a $25 tow - one block!! I don't think they even hooked up the chains.