The worst car I ever owned
Discussion
This is an easy one for me. Without doubt the worst car that I ever owned was a 1972 1275 MG Midget!!
I bought this car in 1978. It was a 1972 model and I definately had the rose coloured glasses (not beer glasses) on when I viewed it. It looked great through those glasses, even the harvest gold colour looked great. Those glasses obscured the nasty baby-poo colour and the blue smoke that emitted from the exhaust and the all the other hundreds of faults that were evident. That was the last car ever that I viewed whilst wearing those glasses! I spent more on that car in two years than any other car I have ever owned. I did (and still do) all my own maintenance but it still cost me dear. You think of any part on that car and I had to replace it.
BUT, I did have some fun in that car, and it didn't seem to matter too much that the hood always leaked around the windows - but then I was young and I had a sports car!!!
What about your experiences?
I bought this car in 1978. It was a 1972 model and I definately had the rose coloured glasses (not beer glasses) on when I viewed it. It looked great through those glasses, even the harvest gold colour looked great. Those glasses obscured the nasty baby-poo colour and the blue smoke that emitted from the exhaust and the all the other hundreds of faults that were evident. That was the last car ever that I viewed whilst wearing those glasses! I spent more on that car in two years than any other car I have ever owned. I did (and still do) all my own maintenance but it still cost me dear. You think of any part on that car and I had to replace it.
BUT, I did have some fun in that car, and it didn't seem to matter too much that the hood always leaked around the windows - but then I was young and I had a sports car!!!
What about your experiences?
Jeez. Where do I start?
BMW CSiL. Always wanted one. Looked ok. After 6 weeks of welding, rebuilt bottom end of the engine, etc etc. Terrible car. Not that special to drive, sold it for £15K. Yes, I know it would be worth £40K now... do I wish I kept it? No Way!
Range Rover TD. One of the first. Cost me £12K back in 1990 or so. Nothing but trouble. Like a 2 stroke bike. No power below 2500rpm, then hit the limiter at 4000.... sold it 9 months later for £10K. Glad to be shot.
Triumph T160 trident (motorbike for those who don't know). Bought it when it was about a year old. 2 days and the back wheel collapsed. Then rebuilt the top end, twice. Always playing around with it. Real love/hate thing.
That will do for the mo. Too depressing....
BMW CSiL. Always wanted one. Looked ok. After 6 weeks of welding, rebuilt bottom end of the engine, etc etc. Terrible car. Not that special to drive, sold it for £15K. Yes, I know it would be worth £40K now... do I wish I kept it? No Way!
Range Rover TD. One of the first. Cost me £12K back in 1990 or so. Nothing but trouble. Like a 2 stroke bike. No power below 2500rpm, then hit the limiter at 4000.... sold it 9 months later for £10K. Glad to be shot.
Triumph T160 trident (motorbike for those who don't know). Bought it when it was about a year old. 2 days and the back wheel collapsed. Then rebuilt the top end, twice. Always playing around with it. Real love/hate thing.
That will do for the mo. Too depressing....
ClassicMotorNut said:
Humph. MG Midgets are the best cars ever. 
the voice of someone that doesn't have pay for the running or do any of the service, maintenance and repair works themselves or pay others to do themby far the worst and most expensive car I've ever owned was the model that got me interested in 'classics' (servery overpriced old cars) but I couldn't afford one at the time
later I did get one though, a Triumph GT6 Mk3, it was very poor to what I expected, it didn't helped that I got ripped-off buying it 'restored' from someone I thought was a friend and then got ripped-off by a marque (and racing) local specialist supposedly sorting it
even when I found the excellent John Yarnell of JY Classics there were eventually too many things to sort to get it to the reliable useable and fun standard I wanted so I gave up and lost a small (not so small to us) fortune on it
they do look good though
nta16 said:
the voice of someone that doesn't have pay for the running or do any of the service, maintenance and repair works themselves or pay others to do them
The use of a smiley and informal 'humph' suggests that my comment is not be completely serious and should not be taken literally.
t pieCorrado VR6. If only everything in life was as reliable as a VW. yeah right. Broke down 3 times in 12 months, and this was a car that was 3 years old and only had 40 000 on the clock. Final straw was a head gasket failure. I only lost about 1500 quid on it in a year or so,which took some of the sting out of it.
Lovely engine though.
Lovely engine though.
ClassicMotorNut said:
The use of a smiley and informal 'humph' suggests that my comment is not be completely serious and should not be taken literally.
and same for the lack of with mineor are you contributing to the costs and work on your dad's Midget !?! (two exclamations and one question marks, plus a smilie for luck for UKIP boy)
- look up Harry Enfield's 'Tory boy' if you're too young to know the reference
Logic says my '77 1.3 Morris Marina should be a contender here, but weirdly, it isn't. I bought it BECAUSE it was a bright orange low spec Marina, and knowing what to expect, so it was just a laugh. The fact that it hopped like a Kangaroo on speed everytime you put it in Reverse was odd, but I ended up keeping it for 2 years! Low powered RWD was a laugh in the snow, it broke down once (a roadside fix so insignificant I forget what it was) I replaced the clutch, the brake master cylinder and the steering rack. None of which really improved it, but not a single nut seized.
Old duffers would come and speak to you all the time, I picked up my son from the hospital in it, a bus ran into the back of it, and only scrapped the bumper. Lots of laughs for £250, what classic motoring should be about - Variety
I swapped it for 5 driving lessons for my wife, and was genuinely sad to do so. I only did it 'cause my Mum offered me her 4 year old Rover 25 for free. It was overpriced, and was probably the worst car I've owned simply through it's mediocrity.
Then I drove a Nissan Note one day - made the Marina feel like a Caterham!
Old duffers would come and speak to you all the time, I picked up my son from the hospital in it, a bus ran into the back of it, and only scrapped the bumper. Lots of laughs for £250, what classic motoring should be about - Variety
I swapped it for 5 driving lessons for my wife, and was genuinely sad to do so. I only did it 'cause my Mum offered me her 4 year old Rover 25 for free. It was overpriced, and was probably the worst car I've owned simply through it's mediocrity.
Then I drove a Nissan Note one day - made the Marina feel like a Caterham!
Suzuki SC 100 whizz kid. Cult car now but really rather rubbish then. Engine went out of tune every week or so- carburettor problems I think; seats had absolutely no support at all and engine would cut out on spirited cornering. Impossible in sidewinds.Swapped it for a secondhand Alfasud Ti- one of the best cars I ever owned with phenomenal brakes and grip.
Runner up- another cult car- Citroen AX GT- still not sure why i bought the horrid little thing. Airfix kit build quality, seats designed for a dwarf, randomly sticking on brakes, gritty gearchange, chronically undergeared, thrashy engine and a joke car all round . Great ride and grip however.
Runner up- another cult car- Citroen AX GT- still not sure why i bought the horrid little thing. Airfix kit build quality, seats designed for a dwarf, randomly sticking on brakes, gritty gearchange, chronically undergeared, thrashy engine and a joke car all round . Great ride and grip however.
ALL of my company cars during the 1970's were poo. Marina "coupé" 1275cc with no brake servo, (2 of those), a Triumph Toledo, a 'orrible Maxi 1500 all come to mind. We weren't allowed even to choose the colour. British Leyland was synonymous with trouble in those days. I then started my own business and bought a Golf and have only had German cars since, with the exception of a Honda Accord which while dull was 100% reliable.
MGB Roadster
Again heart over head.
Sills rotten as pears. Every wash removed more of the bodywork as it literally crumbled in front of your eyes.
No power and bloody uncomfortable on those old springs.
Saved when the head gasket blew and my old man found some cowboy backstreet garage in deepest Lewisham to fit a 'restored' engine (Ha Ha !).
That used to overheat every 60 miles and break down in a cloud of steam.
Knew most of the AA men around High Wycombe on a personal basis.
Sold it for 1200GBP - a right pup !
Again heart over head.
Sills rotten as pears. Every wash removed more of the bodywork as it literally crumbled in front of your eyes.
No power and bloody uncomfortable on those old springs.
Saved when the head gasket blew and my old man found some cowboy backstreet garage in deepest Lewisham to fit a 'restored' engine (Ha Ha !).
That used to overheat every 60 miles and break down in a cloud of steam.
Knew most of the AA men around High Wycombe on a personal basis.
Sold it for 1200GBP - a right pup !
Mk II Ford Orion, amusingly bad.
Seals all leaked so that if I broke hard a wall of water would come rushing forward and soak my feet. Also created a nice furry carpet of white mould over most surfaces with a corresponding damp aroma.
Different panels seemed to fade to different levels in the sunlight giving it a patchwork appearance.
Dull 1.6 uninspiring to drive, but as a daily hack that received very little maintenance (if any) it frustratingly refused to die.
Seals all leaked so that if I broke hard a wall of water would come rushing forward and soak my feet. Also created a nice furry carpet of white mould over most surfaces with a corresponding damp aroma.
Different panels seemed to fade to different levels in the sunlight giving it a patchwork appearance.
Dull 1.6 uninspiring to drive, but as a daily hack that received very little maintenance (if any) it frustratingly refused to die.
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