I've had nearly 200 different cars and pick-ups...most were bought VERY used. I had a bunch of 55, 56, 57 Chevy's I bought as parts cars, along with several drivers, and the rest were what ever caught my fancy...and fit my budget.

I've bought one each new...One motorcycle (78 650 Yamaha Special) one Pick-Up (Chevy S-10 Short Box) one car (Buick) and one semi (Freightliner)

I've never really had one that I'd consider all that bad...many had problems when I bought them but I knew what I was buying at the time and was pretty good with a wrench, so there wasn't any surprises.

I've had a Pinto, a Vega, 3 GTO's, A couple Buick GS 400's, A Road Runner, a 64 Dodge Convertible, A Corvette, a 55 and a 56 Chevy Convertible...The list goes on for further than you can drive a HHR on a full tank of gas...

 

Pontiac 6000 and the PT Loser. Both were probably the worst engineered cars built. The 6000 had a life expectancy of 6 years, after that everything went for $#%?. The PT, I bought it brand new and was very happy it was wrote off after 1 1/2 years by a car thief that hit me broadside at 70mph. The PT brakes were the worst braking system I had ever put my feet in.

 

I work in Corporate Quality, Warranty, to be specific, at FCA. This is depressing. The roots of the issues go so deep...

It's better now, but I still see a lot of things that I can't speak of in public. And, FIAT only adds new depth to it.

 

Hey Blue SS - forgive my ignorance: what does FCA stand for? Fiat Chrysler? Ah yes - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (thanks Bing.com). Sure would be interesting to hear your stories! (I know, I know - this is an HHR forum)


I bought a '74 Mercedes in 1993... every single part was at least $300 (in '93 that was a lot of money). The fuel-injection set up was dying when the engine reached operating temperature. It also leaked rain-water into the passenger floor (sound familiar?). Maybe if I was a better mechanic I wouldn't consider it such a bad car.

 

2000 ford explorer (exploder). trans was gone by 60,000 miles, exhaust was rotted by 70,000. Always had wheel alignment issues. Money pit

 

Bought a 1995 Ford Windstar Van new. Replaced head gaskets twice before Ford did a recall and again after They "fixed it with a thicker head gasket. Replaced the transmission. Brake rotors warped Every 15k. It was a love/hate thing. My wife loved her van and I hated it with a passion.

 

My car from hell was a brand new 1973 Chevy Nova. I was living in Atlanta at the time. First thing that happened was the driver's side window rolled up and into my lap. Then, later, I was on my way home from a trip to Florida and the transmission went out outside of Macon (the car was only 6 months old at the time). The car sat there in the dealer's lot for 3 weeks waiting for a replacement transmission. About 2 years later it had overheating problems. My 2nd worst car was a brand new 1977 Fiat X1/9. The transmission went out on that one (lost reverse) then had constant problems with the voltage regulator that had to be replaced every 2 weeks. Oh, and when I first picked it up from the dealer in New Orleans to drive it back to Atlanta, I found the reason it was running hot was because the electric cooling fan in the front had disconnected wires!

 

Yep, I have a Police Chief as a Grandpa, and a family full of male engineers. We expect things to work, and take accountability when they don't. Obviously, some disasters are Titanic (you Vega guys for sure).

I left GM to try and make a mark for FCA. Happy to discuss Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler if you like, but FIAT is in alternate reality. They are so slow to do anything. That's all. I like my job...

 

But Blue, which was your worst car ever??

 

My worst vehicle was a 2006 Chrysler Pacifica. We bought used with 40K on it from a new car dealer. The next weekend I changed the oil as I do on all new cars because I do not trust used car salesman even at a new car dealer. When I went to put the drain plug in I found the threads on the aluminum oil pan were stripped. The dealer had the car towed back to their shop where the service manager tried to blame me. Being 60 and changing oil on my cars since I was 16 not once have I ever stripped the threads on an oil pan.

Two months later the info system shut down. It was caused by a failure of the indash Nav system that would have cost $4K had I not spent $1,600 on an extended warranty. Six months later there was a clunk putting the car in drive leading to motor mounts being replaced.

Then the audio system would not function intermittently all you would get is this loud static sound even when playing a CD, another problem with this beside losing music was the fact that hands free bluetooth phone worked through the audio system.

The motor mount clunk came back with only about 40K miles on the replacement set. We also had to do lower control arms on it at 60K miles

Those however were not our biggest issue with the car. The seat were damn uncomfortable. I hated riding any distance in the car due to lower back fatigue and it was even worse for my wife that has had back issues for years due to being rear ended on a freeway.

We traded the Pacifica for a Chrysler Town & Country to find out that those seats suck as well but at least it has been trouble free for 3 plus years and 45K miles