The worst lemon you have ever owned.

[Dandy Dave]

Everyone likes to think about the Big Fish that got away :eek:, but this thread is about the car that just was lemon of a ride for one reason or another. ....:mad:.... And you are just plain happy that it is now gone forever.

I sold, or gave away to the junkman, a pile of junkers that I don't miss at all. One in this catagory was a 1980's Chevy Celebrity that had the computer junk on the carburetor. What a lemon. A friend of mine took that one to the Smash up Derby. It's life was ended rather quickly, and was dead long before the heap ended.

Another was a 1975 VW Rabbit that was so rusted out that the frame was ready to break in half. I gave this one to some friends of mine who used a dealer plate to drive it to the salvage yard. The motor ran OK but that thing did have a tempermental carburetor. In the winter you had to keep pumping the gas peddle when it was cold and the front struts would freeze solid.

Still yet another was a 1997 Dodge full size Van. I swear, At 100,000 miles every little switch and sensor failed in it. And the rearend had a nasty wine. I was glad to see that one head out on down the highway.

There were more, but those were my worst three.

[Restorer32]

1981 Chrysler K-car, what a piece of crap that was. Chrysler deserved to go bankrupt after those things. First runnerup would be my first car, a 1960 Corvair 4 door automatic. That thing would leave me sit just for spite, I swear. It left me sit at least 20 times with various ailments. Once the steering wheel locked up at 30 mph or so, only luck prevented an accident. I know I replaced the fuel pump at least 3 times. I still have nightmares about that thing. Left high school one day sick, the thing broke down a mile from home during a pouring rain in December. Had to walk, ended up with pneumonia.

[Guest ken bogren]

Ohhhhhhh YES!

My brand new 1972 Datsun pickup truck didn't even make it from the dealership to my house, 20 miles or so, before the wiring melted down making the truck dead as a doornail.

That took a couple of weeks to fix as they had to wait for the parts to come. They did giive me a new car as a driver, and had to come over and jump start it several times while they were working on the truck or waiting for parts.

When I finally got the truck back the heater quit working, December in MN, and they suggested I light a can of sterno on the passenger side floor when I called to set up another service date.

I traded the truck off after only 5 weeks. They were cheap trucks so the dollar loss wasn't that bad.

[keiser31]

I cannot think of a single car/truck that I have owned that I could consider a lemon. Sure, I have had many cars break down many times, but usually they were just worn from hard use. I have never owned a brand new car, so I cannot say which were actually lemons from the get go.

[Big Beat]

Worst:

1982 Olds Delta 88. Trunk springs went out, hitting me on the head with the lid on the very first day. Brakes failed on the very second day, getting me into an accident. After the body work was done, the engine died. Then the transmission. Replaced engine once, tranny twice. Power windows shorted out wide open in a major thunderstorm. The horn broke and beeped on every little bump, driving all other drivers crazy. The dashboard just disintegrated - nasty cracks, small chunks breaking off, foam stuffing falling out. The headliner fell off. For an encore, the driveshaft came loose at 60 mph and nearly killed me. I pushed the car to the side of the road, walked to a phone and called the nearest junkyard. They thought I was nuts, junking a great looking late model car just because of the drive shaft, but I knew better. I was practically cheering when they discontinued Oldsmobile 20 years later.

Runner Up:

1974 Mazda RX-4 wagon. Got suckered into it because Japanese cars were supposed to be reliable and economical. This one was neither. Didn't even know there was such a thing as a rotary engine, thought I was buying a regular 4-banger and the dealer didn't enlighten me... I found out all about Mr. Wankel's glorious invention after it died two months later, and not one mechanic knew how to repair a rotary engine. Ended up doing the rebuild myself, on the street in the middle of winter, because I desperately needed a car and had no money for another. This thing drank more gas than any V8 Caddy and every little part had to be special-ordered from Japan at horrendous expense. The floor rusted out. The upholstery was plastic, with foam that kept pouring out of the headrests like sand. Leaf springs fell apart. Then I got hit by another car and good luck finding a replacement door for an RX-4, so I drove it with the door locked on a chain and no glass for months until I found one. Sold it as soon as I had money for another car. It went to some crazy rotary enthusiast who street-raced them. He thought it was great, I was just glad to be rid of it.

Edited August 27, 2009 by Big Beat (see edit history)

[Guest Robin Coleman]

1982 Olds Toronado. Within the first year the paint fell off, the trans was replaced (that was what I was told more in a second) it would quit in the middle of an intersection and would not start till it cooled down.....On and on. Found out later the Toronado and the Caddy equivalent were the highest maintenence vehicles with the worst service record in GM's fleet. About the trans...All the dealer did was replace the trans case..The mechanic left out a snap ring and 3,000 miles later the trans quit again at 12,635 miles...GM refused to do anything about it. Last GM product I owned or ever will own. Anybody can make a lemon, but their customer service was horrible.

[Dave@Moon]

Ohhhhhhh YES!

My brand new 1972 Datsun pickup truck didn't even make it from the dealership to my house, 20 miles or so, before the wiring melted down making the truck dead as a doornail.

That took a couple of weeks to fix as they had to wait for the parts to come. They did giive me a new car as a driver, and had to come over and jump start it several times while they were working on the truck or waiting for parts.

That's funny. The first car I ever paid for was a 1971 Datsun 510 wagon (in 1979), which was mechanically almost identical to the pickup. This rusted heap, a former CA car that wasn't prepared for Pittsburgh salt, ran perfectly for 2 years (25K miles) until the engine literally fell out in the street after hitting a pothole while owned by my grandfather. I never so much as put a light bulb in it. I know it had well over 100K miles on it when I bought it too.

My biggest lemon was one of my antiques (sort of). In 1993 I bought a 1970 Plymouth Duster that looked to be in almost perfect condition. It was a Slant 6 car with a 340 Duster-like stripe and all the goodies (rally wheels, AM/FM,vinyl roof/etc.). It was often mistaken for a 340 Duster.

The first thing I did was put a Slant 6 Club decal in the window, putting my hand straight through the badly dryrotted but shined up back seat upholstery. Year One kit ordered. The first time I drove it any distance around town it cracked it's exhaust manifold. Computer search (in 1993) found one left in dealer stock, by then a very rare item with 27 left nationwide. Test driveing the car for the new manifold the brakes went out going down a steep hill. Could have been terrible, instead it was just a new master cylinder.

That's just the big stuff. I later figured that I put about 800 miles on that car at over $2/mile not counting purchase price or gas/tires/oil/insurance, just maintenance. I sold it at a $400.00 profit, but was really more like a grand in the hole overall when I was done with it.

[Guest 1926pack]

Gotta be a toss up between a 61 Corvair and a 70 something Pinto. The Corvair tried to kill me in more ways then I can count. The Pinto was just an all around miserable piece of crap.

[CarlLaFong]

That's funny. The first car I ever paid for was a 1971 Datsun 510 wagon (in 1979), which was mechanically almost identical to the pickup. This rusted heap, a former CA car that wasn't prepared for Pittsburgh salt, ran perfectly for 2 years (25K miles) until the engine literally fell out in the street after hitting a pothole while owned by my grandfather. I never so much as put a light bulb in it. I know it had well over 100K miles on it when I bought it too.

I had a 72 Datsun P/U also. Hands down, one of the best vehicles that I ever owned. Never a problem, never let me down. Sold it to my brother and his kid ran it off of a cliff

[msmazcol]

The two that had the blue ovals in the grill. Last two I will ever own as long as I may live so help me God.

Sorry fans

[nickelroadster]

Iv'e never really had anything that I could call a lemon. Iv'e also only bought one new vehicle. There seems to be several types of cars here that people are calling lemons. New cars, like the datsun, seem to be a real lemon. In other words, a basically good design that a lot of people had real good luck with but that there are individual instances of cars that just weren't built right. Other cars like the K-car and the Celebrity were just shakey designs that a whole lot of people had a whole lot of problems with. GM full size cars from the eighties had their share of lemons but its also quite common to find very high mileage cars that have caused no trouble to people. It's probably a little unfair to call several year old cars that people have paid very little for lemons. These kind of cars are usually a gamble of sorts where you pays your money and you takes your chances.

I wonder how many of these cars kept on being lemons after being sold and how many had their defects worked out and then gave quite good service. The only car that I have had that has been mentioned is a 1960 Corvair that I paid 275 dollars for. It never caused me a lick of trouble besides leaking a lot of oil. You just had to keep tightening things up every now and then. I also had a 1958 Chevy for my first car that leaked oil at the rate of a quart every thirty miles or so. It wasn't really a lemon, it was just a wore out piece of junk. I bought Champlin motor oil by the case from Kmart for 17 cents a quart. There was one very large grease spot on the street in front of the house though.

[Guest THEHKP7M13]

...One in this catagory was a 1980's Chevy Celebrity that had the computer junk on the carburetor. What a lemon. A friend of mine took that one to the Smash up Derby. It's life was ended rather quickly, and was dead long before the heap ended...There were more, but those were my worst three.

My mom had an '82 Buick Century (the celebrity with a buick grill) with probably that very same carburated 3.0 V6. It was used and never ran right. It only had about 60,000 miles on it. She hated that car, because of the above mentioned driveablity/cold start running issues. She use to rev the p*ss out of so to speak for a good 5 minutes or so on every cold (and most warm weather)morning warm ups. Say what you will about those cars being junk, it took 3 years for it to delevop a rod knock from all that abuse.

1981 Chrysler K-car, what a piece of crap that was. Chrysler deserved to go bankrupt after those things.

You should be able to look up junk in the dictionary and see one of those.

[Guest THEHKP7M13]

I forgot these:

Any GM FWD with a 3100 or 3400 series engine. Yes, if taken care of will last a long time. No matter what they will eat lower intake manifold gaskets and early ones a lot of injectors. I feasted on those pieces of crap when I turned a wrench.

[Guest windjamer]

Has to be 1958 Ford convertable. *******######**##***###***###%%%%###$$$%%%^^^&&**((())) Thats what I think of that @@##$$%%^^&&^^%%$ piece of @@###$:mad::mad::mad:

[jaxops]

I never really had a "lemon" even though I owned an 83 AMC Concord Station Wagon. We kept good care of the car and it lasted for over 100k miles. It did however have a plastic valve cover that leaked, leaked, leaked. Alright, so it was a "lemon!" I always remember that when the Ford dealers tell me that their plastic valve covers won't warp or leak. Heh heh heh, talk about lemons!

My mother must have been either cursed or it was a coincidence that GM and Ford put less and less paint on her cars, because EVERY car she owned had the paint fall off of it:

• 1974 Ford Maverick (lasted 5 years, junked before it rusted into the driveway)
  
• 1980 Ford Granada (lasted about 2 years and it was all primer)
  
• 1985 Oldsmobile (lasted about 4 years before there was no paint left...Mom was getting stubborn about keeping it)
  
• 1986 Oldsmobile (lasted about 3 years, and voila! no paint left!)
  
• 2000 Dodge Aspen (lasted 1 year and no paint! Then Audubon Twnship trash service contractors speared it with the forks on their truck and claimed it wasn't them despite all of the dull white paint on the forks)...she still has it with the 2 holes in the door and fender.
  

[Dandy Dave]

Funny you would say some are cursed, and some are not. A friend of mine had a Lincoln, Early eightys model, and it would leave him stranded sometimes, and always at the most inopportune time. He replaced sensors, and other stuff on the car and finally gave up and put it out by the road with a For Sale sign in it. Along came his local preacher who made a deal with him for it. Years later the preacher was still driving the car and always remarked how it had provided very good, and reliable transportation. Must be something in the holy water. Dandy Dave!

[rocketraider]

Two. 1st was a 1978 Toyota Celica bought brand new. It always lost coolant and dealer could never find the leak. The paint on it wasn't that great either, it dulled severely after about a year and a half, and I kept it polished and waxed. Between the car and the dealer, I had my fill of Toyota and traded it at 2 yrs old.

2nd was a 1997 Oldsmobile Bravada that for what I paid for it and what it cost me per mile to drive it, was the biggest POS I have ever owned. It had ALL of the S10 Blazer's faults and issues plus the all-wheel drive- which incidentally was one of the few things that didn't give me problems. The whole front end had to be rebuilt a piece at a time, it ate rear brake rotors and A/C compressors, it had all the Dexcool-related cooling system issues. When the front axle started popping, I said enough.

You cannot GIVE me another S10 based vehicle.

[keiser31]

I hear that the only good thing on an S-10 was the 5-speed transmission. It fits in late twenties Dodge Brothers cars and helps them to be more roadable.

[West Peterson]

I believe there are a lot of Model As out there with that set-up as well.

[Guest Skyking]

In 1978 I bought a 1 year old AMC Matador Barcellona coupe. That car left me stranded more times than I could shake a stick at. Every weekend I was fixing something on that car. I called it my "AMC weekender". The only reason I kept it as long as I did (1987) it was the most comfortable car I've ever had. Deep plush valour interior. I saw one at Macungie last year just like it............... I traded it for a 1983 Delta 88 Royale. That Olds was one of many of the most reliable cars I've owned.

Edited August 28, 2009 by Skyking (see edit history)

[Big Beat]

Chrysler K-car, what a piece of crap that was. Chrysler deserved to go bankrupt after those things.

Delta 88 Royale. That Olds was one of many of the most reliable cars I've owned.

It's interesting to note how the same car can be great for someone and awful for someone else. I knew a lot of people who swore by their Delta 88's in those days, but mine was just horrible (see above). I also heard lots of jeers for the K-car. Well, I had replaced my POS Olds with a '86 Plymouth Reliant. It lasted me for five years without a single repair and was just overall a great little car.

[West Peterson]

Perhaps each entry should include one more piece of pertinent information: Did you buy the car new or used? Some of you have.

[TexRiv_63]

I guess I've been lucky, never had a car new or used that could be totally called a lemon. There have been a few "sour bits" of some cars:

• 1973 Opel Manta (new) : brakes that needed new pads every 15,000 miles and a perpetually warped carburetor casting.
  
• 1964 Ford 390 (used): perpetually leaking main seals and intake gaskets (after many replacements).
  
• 1988 Buick Electra (new): on the "replace the alternator every year" plan.
  
• 1970 Plymouth Cuda (used): always finding mystery phillips screws from the interior on the floor with a new squeak or rattle.
  

Overall not bad considering how many cars I've owned.

[Big Beat]

In my case, all cars were bought used.

Another thing I've noticed is that the lemons we tend to mention are all models from the past 30-40 years. Were there no lemons before that, or is this just indicative of our average age group? Any experience with 1930's and 1940's and early 1950's lemons from the days when they were just older used cars and repairing/maintaining them was still routine business and not yet "restoration"?

Edited August 28, 2009 by Big Beat (see edit history)

[keiser31]

In my case, all cars were bought used.

Another thing I've noticed is that the lemons we tend to mention are all models from the past 30-40 years. Were there no lemons before that, or is this just indicative of our average age group? Any experience with 1930's and 1940's and early 1950's lemons from the days when they were just older used cars and repairing them wasn't yet considered restoration?

There were probably lemons back then....we're all just too young to remember those lemons.

[nickelroadster]

I'm not sure that everyones definition of a lemon is the same. What is a lemon to one is just a normal car to another. I once had a Triumph TR4 that I spent an awful lot of time working on. I finally seem to have gotten it fixed pretty well but after a couple of months I just got bored and sold it. I'd call it a hobby not a lemon.

Iv'e known people who had cars that didn't necessarily have a great deal wrong with them but always seemed to have trouble at the most inopertune time where they would be stranded. Maybe some of these cars have it in for some of these people.

Actually a lot of the time I rather welcome a certain amount of trouble with cars. I always enjoy a good roadside restoration on a tour and always like to help out others who are having trouble. If you don't have to do any mechanic work on a tour, then you have only had hallf of the fun.

It woul still be interesting to find out different folk's definition of what a lemon is. Do tell.

[keiser31]

In my opinion a lemon is a car that falls apart from the dealership. As soon as you buy it, stuff breaks, falls off or just goes bad prematurely. A used car is usually a lemon because of the previous owner's abuse or lack of maintenance. A lemon from the factory is usually due to poor quality or design from the beginning. I know we used to blame it on the car being assembled on a Monday (the workers were tired or hung over from the weekend) or on a Friday (the workers just wanted to get out of the factory for the weekend and just threw things on the chassis without concern of quality of assembly). Who really knows what causes a car to be a lemon from the beginning?

[Guest Skyking]

Actually, where did the word "lemon", used in poor cars originate from? I like lemons.........the fruit.

[bhclark]

Growing up, my parents had a '77? Pontiac Lemans. That car was so bad my dad switched to Toyotas (1978-1982 Celicas) and didn't buy another new car until my mom's '92 Acura Integra (which she still drives with only 30,000 miles on it.) He specially ordered that one "built in Japan".

He then drove a very nice '75 Lincoln Continental Mark V until the rear body mounts rusted through.

[2doorcoupeman]

I saw a lightly used 1996 Z34 Monte Carlo,black(very pretty),on a dealership lot.Had to have it.In the glove compartment it came with a very nice stack of dealership repairs.Hmmm,fixed or lemon?Bought it.Mistake.I added some more paperwork the next 3 years using it only 40,000 miles.In my job that is about 1 years traveling.Fortunately had also a very dependable little GMC truck that got the most miles put on it.Traded "the black mistake" in on a new 2002 Dakota which I still have.Excellent purchase.

[Guest Dave Mills]

Worst: 1977 Plymouth Volare Station Wagon "Super Six". This car was equipped with 225 slant six...a Chrysler workhorse. In my case, the car would shut off unexpectedly while going uphill on left hand turns. but not all the time and never when I took it to the dealer. I finally got rid of the car in the fall of 1978 when I hit a Tri-axle loaded with coal.

Runnerup: 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais Brougham. The car was built with missing/leaking seals in the engine, transmission, and rear-end. I fought with GM every step of the way to get it fixed. I finally gave up and traded it in 1983 for an AMC Eagle wagon, which surprisingly turned out to be one of the best cars I ever owned. No significant repairs in 5 years of ownership.

[Dick380185]

Two. 1st was a 1978 Toyota Celica bought brand new. It always lost coolant and dealer could never find the leak. The paint on it wasn't that great either, it dulled severely after about a year and a half, and I kept it polished and waxed. Between the car and the dealer, I had my fill of Toyota and traded it at 2 yrs old.

2nd was a 1997 Oldsmobile Bravada that for what I paid for it and what it cost me per mile to drive it, was the biggest POS I have ever owned. It had ALL of the S10 Blazer's faults and issues plus the all-wheel drive- which incidentally was one of the few things that didn't give me problems. The whole front end had to be rebuilt a piece at a time, it ate rear brake rotors and A/C compressors, it had all the Dexcool-related cooling system issues. When the front axle started popping, I said enough.

You cannot GIVE me another S10 based vehicle.

I've had 4 S-10 pickups and loved all 4 of them...an '84, a '93, a '96 and an '04). I was heartsick when I went to the PGH Auto Show (2004?) and discovered there would be no more S-10's made. Refused to buy a Colorado. My first 3 were used vehics, while my '04 (re-badged '03) was my only new one. The '04 did have a slew of problems, but the warranty covered them all for the first 36,000. Traded it this summer for a Toyota Tundra....Love it!

[earl e rizer]

81 Dodge Mirada. Bought used. Lovely looking car that would not run for a full week without a problem. Sold it to a mechanic buddy who spent a lot of time under the hood.

86 Firebird, bought new. Computer fried, left me stranded when it was 3 weeks old. It went downhill after that.

02 Audi Quattro A4. A nightmare car, bought used after being warned that they were trouble. If you have an Audi, get rid of it before it's out of warranty! Steering rack, fuel pump, electrical issues, relays, transmission, on and on.

I had lots of 50's and 60's junkers in my youth but never had any real lemons. Got my best service out of cheap 60's Fords.

[Guest dgiorgi]

The one and only car I ever had that was truely a LEMON was a 1987 SS monte Carlo. I had the heads on and off the car a dozen times only to find the block had stress cracks in the valve galley. Change the engine to a 350, used that electronic carb, which was nothing but problems, replaced it with a carter 4 bbl. ran good for a while then every single part on this car would break. door handles, radio, glove box door, you name it and it broke at some point. The car was dieseased and even started to effect the new 350 I put in. I was so happy to see it drive away 3 years later. I sure can name a lot of great ones I had and wish I still did. The BEST ones were 67 Corvette 327/350HP, 35 Chevy pickup and 34 IHC., of course all the early 30's Mopars ran great as well. But the 67 and 35 ran like swiss watches.

[Guest dgiorgi]

I hear that the only good thing on an S-10 was the 5-speed transmission. It fits in late twenties Dodge Brothers cars and helps them to be more roadable.

hI , CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS SET UP. I've seen them in Model "A's'' used as an overdrive. As much as I hate to change the originality of my 32 Ply PB, I thought of adapting this trans to make the car more user friendly under various road conditions.

Any and all help appreciated...I am considering using a GEAR VENDORS unit just to save the original 3 speed . Any suggestions ALWAYS appreciated and respected?

[keiser31]

I will try to get some more information on this setup for you.

[Guest Richard D]

Worst, 1984 Fiero. In less than 18 months it had caught fire twice, had the engine replaced twice, transaxle once, engine computer five times, A/C compressor five times, dashboard once(cracked in half) fuel pump twice. GM finally bought the car back, I received credit for another GM product.

RUNNER UP First new car I had, a high school graduation gift. 1971 Plymouth Cricket The engine threw a rod out the side of the engine, two weeks old. If I made a panic stop the engine mounts were so soft that the fan would strike the radiator, was told that the A/C would have to be removed to put a smaller fan on the car. Talked them into removing the engine driven fan and installing an electric fan, very rare in 1971. Transmission linkage would come apart, gas pedal plastic mounts would breal once a week and more that I forgot.

[Guest Don_Birdsong]

The worst lemon I had was a 99 Volkswagen Beetle that I bought for my wife.Ironically it was bright yellow and looked like a big lemon.It was a low mileage used car. Problems started almost as soon as we drove it off the lot.It had a automatic transmission that wouldn't shift,various electrical problems like lights not working and couldn't keep a battery in it or brakes on it. The biggest problem though was the dealer's incompetent service department. Every time it was brought in for service they always found something else wrong unrelated to the problem it was brought in for but didn't fix the original problem.Usually they screwed up that repair too. Once I brought it in for the transmission problem and they said the AC compressor was bad. The AC was working fine when it was dropped off.The brake light came on 5 miles away from the dealer after that repair. The last straw was when the service manager told me he was insulted that I thought his mechanics lacked any skill to fix the numerous problems with this car. I drove it off the VW lot and straight to a Chevrolet dealer and traded it for a Cavalier. The Cavalier has almost 100000 miles and no problems at all. That's my first & last experience with a foreign car.

[Dandy Dave]

The worst lemon I had was a 99 Volkswagen Beetle that I bought for my wife.Ironically it was bright yellow and looked like a big lemon.It was a low mileage used car. Problems started almost as soon as we drove it off the lot.It had a automatic transmission that wouldn't shift,various electrical problems like lights not working and couldn't keep a battery in it or brakes on it. The biggest problem though was the dealer's incompetent service department. Every time it was brought in for service they always found something else wrong unrelated to the problem it was brought in for but didn't fix the original problem.Usually they screwed up that repair too. Once I brought it in for the transmission problem and they said the AC compressor was bad. The AC was working fine when it was dropped off.The brake light came on 5 miles away from the dealer after that repair. The last straw was when the service manager told me he was insulted that I thought his mechanics lacked any skill to fix the numerous problems with this car. I drove it off the VW lot and straight to a Chevrolet dealer and traded it for a Cavalier. The Cavalier has almost 100000 miles and no problems at all. That's my first & last experience with a foreign car.

Hitler said he would come back....and wreak havic for 1000 years. Maybe he was reincarnated as that yellow beatle. :eek: Dandy Dave!

[John348]

The second worse lemon I owned new was replaced by the worst lemon. I had an 1988 LTD Ford Crown Victoria wagon. I traded it in when the oil pan was rotting out, to the point that I was afraid to change the oil because the pan looked as if were about to tear in half with pressure on the drain plug. I sold that in 1993 for a Buick Roadmaster Wagon (great looking car!!! but....) It needed a transmission every 35,000 miles at 120,000 miles I had enough. Now I see these cars have a following, but I think it was a BIG POS