The most unreliable car you've owned?

[Spunjedd]

Did it owe protection money to the mob?

Nah it ****ed off the local drug dealer by muscling in on his patch :-D

Matt

[matt_theforce]

Major Unreliability/faults

'87 Astra 1.3 Merit, seized engine

'93 Rover 214sli. x2 gearboxes/ x3 clutches / x2 exhausts / disc's & pad change monthly then the headgasket went. Used this as an excuse to get a 1.8vvc fitted (inc gearbox) / also fitted 220gti brakes (vented instead of solid front disks)

Did approx 45k in the 1 1/2 years I owned this car then it decided to continually break down with an un-known electrical fault

'06 Peugeot 407 Sport SW, in the 2 months I owned it, the following faults appeared. Aircon compressor fault, Leaking Aircon pipes/ OSF ball joint clunking (only replaced at the MOT when I bought it), Gearbox fault of somekind (crunching/jerking whilst driving), Driveshaft leaking oil.

'03 Skoda Octavia vRS, Aircon Compressor failure, various sensor failures (all fixed under 12month warranty with car)

'56 Skoda Octavia pd140, Turbo failing at 55k (replaced under warranty vw dealer), Dampers failed MOT (excessive oil leaks)

Minor Unreliability/faults

'88 Peugeot 309 gti, various little electrical gremlins (window switches/starter motor), heater controls kept cracking

Most reliable/least faults

'84 Vauxhall Nova 1l saloon, nothing failed (apart from what I broke)

'98 Citroen Saxo 1.1x, seized rear brakes (owned for 4+years hence reliable)

'99 Citroen Sxara 1.9tdi Exclusive, radiator fans squeked when turning off the engine

'04 Skoda Octavia pd130, clutch (agressive remap), egr

'06 Fabia vRS, radio ariel replaced

all cars registered post to '93 were bought at approx 3 years old and kept for approx 12-18 months

[loskie]

First car in 1988 was a mk1 golf cl(CNC443Y). i didn't keep it long and as a daft young lad wanted something sporty (Nova SR, 205XS etc etc) but not quite hot hatch.

I made the mistake of buying a B reg(85) 1.3 Polo Coupe S from the then Peugeot Garage in Ayr. Was a Lion approved used car but gave me nothing but trouble. Handled badly, poor brakes, 4 speed 'box and appaling at starting when warm which was a constant problem. Had it for about 18months then sold it to my very soon ex GF and had a succesion of company cars.

Best car had to be a 1.8 Golf CL 1992(J) purchased at BCA Edinburgh for £3.5k kept for 5 years and 150000m and sold for £600.

[jonny boy]

In answer to the topic, Renault Megane 2005

[Bobbybiscuit]

My 1999 Rover 75 2.5litre has cost me £800 in 6 months - only paid £1300 for it - getting it fixed and will sell it. Now have 2004 1.9tdi Elegance 130 BHP - wow thats sits but have starting problems.

[Liam-6]

97' Peugeot 306 GTi-6.

Purchased it with a tapping head, Sent it off to have the head re-worked, new valves, cambelt etc. 10k~ later it crapped itself again taking out 15 out of 16 valves. Bought the car for £2000, spent £1600 in head rebuilds, £1800 on the suspension, GRP N mounts etc etc and sold it for £1850 to buy my octavia.

Yes i lost alot of money but it was a love - hate relationship. Rough and ready you could say.

The Ex-bird hated it with a passion and couldn't work out why i spent loads of money on it, that was until she bought her cooper S then understood why lol.

So, the most unreliable car i've owned? Yes. Although it handled like a go kart and ALL the electrics worked, 2.0 16v, 6 speed box with 167bhp on tap. Loved it to pieces.

Edited 5 June, 2012 by Liam-6

[Matt Bodycombe]

Most troublesome car I have had was my first car a 1999 FIAT Uno 45 FIRE. It was bultt like a coke can and suffered from various electrical problems but the mechanicals were absolutely bombproof.

Only car to leave me by the side of the road sad to say is my current one the Mk1 Furby VRS: first with a bad radiator leak fixed uder warranty and second when the turbo went pop just out of warranty (thankfully mostly covered save labour by Skoda goodwill)

Most reliable car I have ever had was the Peugeot 106 1,1 XL (1996) I had after the Fiat. Did not put a foot wrong in 50K which goes against the grain for a french car sos it seems and it was great fun with kart like handling and a willing engine.

Edited 5 June, 2012 by Matt Bodycombe

[OCScene]

Unreliable has to be the MKII Octy that I have just got rid of. Ongoing gearbox prob, central locking faulty twice, washer pump replaced and on my third Bolero unit. All done under warrenty but not good on a car less than 2 years old

Most reliable

Ford Focus 2.0 Zetec..............has a minor fault from new with a seat belt pretensioner but other than that it gave 40,000 miles without anything other than a routine service.

Current car is 3 weeks old and has spent 9 days of those back at the Peugeot dealer..............all seems sorted now so lets hope it was just a teething problem!!

[Matt Bodycombe]

Sorry just to add it was a 1990 Uno... Typo

Peugeot seem to be going through a rough patch at the mo but mine was absolutely bomb proof. The new 208 has been getting great reviews especially for the 1.2 saying it it is as fun handling wise as the 90s cars. Put off by dire stories or reliability though: same with Renault.

[The Zee]

Jensen Interceptor convertible - in 1973. The carbs would flood continuously, the "donuts" on the diff lasted about six months before being wrecked, the electrics running under the soft top corroded regularly (relays) normally leaving the car with the hood down on a wet day. But I loved it!

[Skoda-Man]

The worst one must be that FSO Polonez that we had in the late 80`s. It already broke down while driving a new car from the dealer to home. Distance less than 10 km`s......we kept it about a year, and that service place was needed quite often.

[rwbaldwin]

The worst one must be that FSO Polonez that we had in the late 80`s. It already broke down while driving a new car from the dealer to home. Distance less than 10 km`s......we kept it about a year, and that service place was needed quite often.

I forgot about the Polski-Fiat. A schoolmate had one when I was in the sixth-form. It was ridiculously cheap and ridiculously heavy because it was made from pig iron. I know the latter because we were always push-starting it and if you pushed too hard it would dent.

[The Zee]

Forgot about another one. Triumph Dolomite 1850 Auto, Leak into footwell from new, never sorted out by dealer. Auto box failure 3 times, always when a long way from home, leaking sunroof. BTW, just remembered I solved the footwell leak by drilling a hole in the floor to let the water out, the carpets didn't dry but at least they were not floating about anymore. Happy days!

[Gaz]

Paradoxically a FIAT 132 on both counts. First one was supercharged and didn't miss a beat over the three years I caned it to death. Fifth and last one I had tried to kill me three times. Headlights failure at 70mph in the dark, complete brake failure, throttle jam flat out, cam belt failure, fuel tank leaks (they were in the boot and seam-welded in the vertical), countless seat adjuster breakages, gearbox failure and I could always go outside and watch the new rust arriving if I got bored.

Bought a Bluebird as a stop-gap and kept it for 9 years and 200k miles. Got rid of it coz of an irrational fear it was going to outlive me.

Had a 325i as a courtesy car in 1988. Two years old and the auto box lasted 32 miles before packing up, but I don't suppose that counts.

Gaz

[MickA]

The worst cars I've owned have to be Renault. I've had an 18 and a 21 many years ago. Engines and gear boxes really good it's was just everything else bolted around them that failed. Problems with steering racks, clutch pedals, windows various trim panels,always something failed or broken. Most parts very expensive at the time. I've had a couple of Skodas, Estelle and later a Felicia which were ok but the Estelle's head gasket failed and I parted with it, lost loads of money on it. Others have been fine including a Lada, built like a tank and drove like one.

The most reliable and liked cars I've owned has got to be the Nissan Primera. I've owned four one after the other as they had been so good to me, not giving me any problems whatsoever over the four, save one which only needed a little paint correction.

I would most likely still be driving them today had they not changed the body shape so dramatically with a dash like the Starship Enterprise. I went onto Vauxhalls, Omega's had two of them and currently have a Signum which will be part ex for a newish or new Skoda soon. Also drive an MX 5 another great Jap car can't see me wanting to part with that one for a while, unless it's for another one of the same.

Mick

[Insanity-74]

Sorry to say the Fabia vRS is the most unreliable car I have owned....in the 2 years I have owned it it has had the cooling system completely replaced, 2 turbos, head gasket, cam shaft, injectors, 2 cam belts, 4 expansion tanks half the intercooler pipework replaced, steering rack......I am just waiting for the next thing to go wrong.

My highly modified Celica has never let me down, covered 230,000 miles and still runs like a dream.

[mdk1]

Most unreliable car a Xreg Nissan Primera 2.0 S Auto. cost Nissan £3500 to get through it's 1st MOT, Always get a "new car" mot'd a month before it's 1st due.

Most reliable,

Nissan Almera 1.6 slx 4door, had for 6 years and nothing went wrong.

Renault Clio 1.9 RLd 93K and know problems, last time i saw it it had done 287,000m.

Shock horror, 2 Land Rover Discovery 2's. no problems!!

As for the Skoda's

1st Fabia 1.9 Elegance no problems.

2nd Fabia 2.oi Elegance. New starter motor and heating elements in both front seats.

Felica 1.3 lx bought for £400 and sold after 2 years for £200, no problems

mk1 Octavia 1.9 Ambiente, No problems so far.

Both mk2's have had DMF replaced under warrenty.

[BrownBarge]

Rover 214i 8v headgasket blew, i pulled the head off, new gasket, full headset etc.. While test driving after fitting new head.. Clutch cable snapped. Grrr

[Irvtheswerv]

2004 Mini Cooper S bought from new. An utter and complete pile of sh*ite. Lost count of the number of times it broke down in the 13 months that I owned it, got rid of it when it broke down 7 times in the last 5 weeks. I will never buy another BMW/Mini, it was virtually impossible to get it booked in owing to the number of other broken down minis already booked in at dealers. It was just a pile of overpriced cheap tat.

When it was actually working I was mullered in a straight line by a remapped Fabia VRS so I immediately bought one of those!

[Optimist]

Worst car I EVER owned for reliability was a 2.5 litre petrol Mitsubishi Shogun about 20 years ago - my God was it thirsty and didn't like hills at all!!!!! Stupidly tried to tow my caravan through France with it.....about 11 mpg......... I must have been mad!

Was so relieved to get rid of it.......................

[JezF1000]

Alfa 164, spent loads on it, still wasn't right, have tried Alfa's twice and never again.

[prolfe]

Laguna II

Pile of 5h1te

More time in garage than in mine.

Glad it was a company car and not my own.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[broomy72]

Cars i have owned in order since passing my test, on 4th January 1990 with a brief rundown of how good/bad they where;

XHA 890S Chrysler Avenger 1.3LS, owned by my dad then me for 10 yrs, only had batterys,exhausts and 1 clutch in 169000 miles, brilliant car

B144 AWL Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GLS, abused mercilessly for 5 yrs 45k miles (i was 18 when brought) had 1 clutch (pilot error wheelspining all the time) great car

E572 LWK Austin Montego 1.6L Estate Ex Police Great Car owned by dad first then me 7 yrs in total, rust got it in the end

H584 DHA Rover 214Si Fabulous Car i loved it so much i owned two more 200 series's

K987 GAC Ford Sierra 1.8 Azure, Total Pile of Shiiiiiiiiiiite cost £3250 in repairs in 11 months, morale being do not trust a so called freind when buying a car

K684 HNH Rover 216 GSi 3rd best car i have ever owned no faults in 2 yrs

N883 PKV Rover 218SD, No Power, No Brakes, Chocolate Camshaft, but economical which i was greatful for as i was doing mega miles at the time

R701 DVT Pug 406 1.8LX another very good car no issues in four yrs (between me n dad)

N??? OUJ Daewoo Nexia 1.5 GLXi, banger buy to get me out of a hole was ok ish

T929 JVF Daewoo Leganza 2.0 CDXi , 2nd Best Car so Far, smooth, comfy and suprisingly fast no issues in 2 yrs

then came two banger's due to a house move, one good one really bad

bad one first

R something i have erased the reg no from my memory, Renault Megane 1.4RN, total pile of scrap

then surprisingly good

M697 GAE Ford Escort 1.8 TD L best £250 i ever spent did the job, lasted 3 yrs after i sold it with a friend

then came the best so far

HJ03 RNN Ford Focus 1.6 LX Auto, no issues at all in 5 yrs

HJ07 HLH Ford Focus C-Max 2.0 Zetec Auto, great car only owned it 6 months,no issues apart from fuel consumption, but money saving forced me to buy

**54 *** Skoda Fabia 1.2 HTP Classic, only had it a week but so far perfect

Edited 23 July, 2012 by broomy72

[deeaa]

Almost all my cars have been quite old or driven over 200K when I've bought them so it's difficult to say really. But of course in our family there's been or our close friends have had more recent cars.

My most unreliable car was a 1989 Chevy Van, but that is understandable since it was a.) old and b.) driven who knows how much. I've seen those with over 700K on the odometer.

The next most unreliable car was a VW Vento 1996, and close behind a Ford Escort 1984. The most reliable ones I've had were french...had two Peugeots and a Citroen, all driven around ~400K and never let me down as a surprise. Of course they had some wear parts exchanged etc. but they never failed on the road like all my other cars have.

Combining all our and friend's cars and stories my mechanic friends tell, there's a couple of things I consider myself when buying a car...here's a few notions in general...can't even begin to list them all:

- Seems that most all VAG cars have like a built-in 200K longevity. Even a top-of-the-line A6 Allroad suffered from that syndrome. Before that no problems, past that, you end up replacing every other part soon enough. I have no info whether that includes Skodas but for safety I'll be exchanging mine for a newer one before that comes along.

- Quite recent Fords, Mazdas and a little older (2000 > 2007 or so) Mercedes are VERY prone to rust. Just a few year old Mazdas and Fords in particular have had loads of doors replaced for warranty already (this from a guy who works in the Ford/Mazda dealership making these repairs.)

- Stay clear of VAG's DSG transmissions and certain engines that drink oil like it was gas.

- Most reliable cars seem to be BMW's and also cheap to maintain at least here. Skodas are pretty much the cheapest to do maintenance on and have a very very reliable car rep too - loads of taxis are Skodas.

[g_tee]

1. Inlet Manifold cracked on a Mk1 Octavia. £600 fix, no help from Skoda (Though poor garage didnt help much either) - this was in 2006

2. Broke a wheel bearing on a Seat Ibiza FR (My fault) - replaced under warranty, though it took Seat a MONTH to source a new one! - this was 2007

3. Last year I bought a Fabia vRS that drank oil like a fish. Wife told me to replace it - car was traded in for my current car.

In the 163K I've done over the past 9 years - these thankfully are the only faults I've had