What Was Dad's Worst Car?

A 1988 GMC Safari. We owned for about 10 years and bought it new. In that time, IIRC, the engine was replaced about two times and the transmission three. Paint also started to peel pretty early and had a lot of dents along the sides. We did manage to sell it for $500 in the end. I hated the thing, but at least it refused to die and always ran. Second place was the 1986 Hyundai Pony that he traded in for the Safari. I don't remember much of it, but I do remember how crappy the interior was.
 
Parents have been driving all kinds of different VW's all their life (and an old peoples Merc B-Class now) with exactly one exception:


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..in bright faded red, they hated it.
 
I unfortunately owned a 1988 Chevrolet Beretta. I was only 18 year old when I purchased the car. Where can I begin. A OHV 4 cylinder engine that only produced a 120 HP, 3 speed automatic, and the worst interior ever made for a car. I just can't believe how much money I spent maintaining that car. Not missed in any which way or form.
 
In my lifetime, it's a tough contest between a couple of plow trucks we ran briefly - 80s F-150 that had two fuel tanks, except one had rusted through. We traded this for a 1988 K5 Blazer painted lime green. Less rust, but rather than suspension, it had cinder blocks. This is not an exaggeration. The owner had actually welded cinder blocks where the shocks and springs were supposed to be.

I have also heard stories of my dad's second car, 60s Fiat Spyder, never ran for more than 3 weeks at a time and only owned it for 6 months.
 
My father didn't really have anything truly awful for long. He complains alot about his first car, a rubber bumper MG Midget, but the worst car he had was a VW Beetle tha he abandoned in a gas station lost after 2 months of ownership.

Since I've been around it's been a string of ranger pickups and then GM fullsize SUVs. Most of them had flaws with the exception of a late nineties 2wd ranger that had apparently been built for the Brazilian market but for some reason it was rejected and sold in the US. That truck did it all and never skipped a beat. Had extremely heavy duty rear suspension, we once loaded it with well over a ton of rock and it sagged less than 3 inches.
 
My Dad bought an 78/9 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with the 350 Diesel engine. The dealership and GM converted it to a gas engine with less than 30,000 miles and 2 years on it. After that it was fine. He also had a LeCar.
 
My dad hasn't really had any terrible cars.

The worst would probably be a Ford Mavrick (his first car) that he bought for $300, put a sterio in it, drove it for a year or so then sold it and bought a 1968 Camaro Z/28.

The other candidate would probably be his 1981 Impalla. He says that it was reliable, and a good car, he just didn't like it because it was a bit of a boat to drive.
 
My dad had 2 Lada's, and I think that pretty much says a lot, the 2nd worst car he ever owned was the 2105 (Riva) but the most god-awful one was this Lada (VAZ) 1500/2103, which was basically a Fiat 125, but worse:
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He enjoyed the 2103 for just one week because one day, in a countryside, some drunk motor biker was driving on the wrong side of the road when my dad, who was doing about 90 km/h, made his turn on the gravel, eventually making 2 wheels on the asphalt and the other 2 on the gravel, it ended up doing "barrel roll" approximately 4 or 5 times.
 
There was a Dodge truck before my time which was so awful that my parents will not buy Dodge products. That's a 25 year grudge, which says a lot.
 
My father had only one terrible car and that was a Pinto. If I remember correct his ownership history consisted of Cutlass, Chevelle, Chevelle, Chevelle, Corvette, T-Bucket, Pinto, Ranger, Silverado, Silverado, Chevelle.
 
I hesitate for 2 cars... both are Chrysler cars... My father bought a brand new Dodge Omni 1987. The car never had to be repaired under warranty. But during the 2,5 years my father kept it, the car was not starting correctly when... it was cold, it was hot, it was raining, it was sunny... and after 2,5 years, rust started to do a pretty well job. Bought ? 6995 $ CDN in november 1986 and sold for 500 $ in june 1989.

The other Chrysler product was a 1998 Plymouth Neon. Kermit green. It was pretty and had a good style. But the gearbox have been changed 2 times during the 3 year lease. Head gasket 2 times, power windows, and a bad repair by the dealer after an accident nearly blow the engine. The suspension was very hard and uncomfortable.

His best car ever was a 1989 Ford Tempo. White, manual, no other options than air conditioning. The only repair (with the exception of regular maintenance) in 9 years (between the Omni and the Neon) was the alternator. I learnt to drive with this car, so it has a good feeling in my head.
 
Oh, I almost forgot the shitty Olds they had before I came along. That car hated my mom; anytime my dad closed her door the glove box would fall open and bash her knees.
 
From what i can remember, the worst car my father had was a Volvo 264. That car was nothing but an unending heap of troubles.
 
t3h r0x0rs said:
A 1988 GMC Safari. We owned for about 10 years and bought it new. In that time, IIRC, the engine was replaced about two times and the transmission three. Paint also started to peel pretty early and had a lot of dents along the sides. We did manage to sell it for $500 in the end. I hated the thing, but at least it refused to die and always ran. Second place was the 1986 Hyundai Pony that he traded in for the Safari. I don't remember much of it, but I do remember how crappy the interior was.
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Ha, your dad owned a Hyundai badged Morris Marina. :p
 
My dad has always been pretty good with cars. He owned a few Chevelles back in the day, including a 1973 Malibu which was pretty much the slow suffering death of the Chevelle.

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Dark green with a tan vinyl top. Mom called it "the green hornet". But I thought it was still pretty cool, it had a 350ci V8 anyway.

But I guess it could be a tie with his current toy truck, an OJ edition Ford Bronco.

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Actual picture of it, but he ruined both bumpers on the same trail that crunched my Toyotas fender. Still a cool truck though, has the 5.8L V8 option.
 
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With much uglier wheels.
 
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