Best and Worst

[Iceman]

On the Tech page a member wrote a statement concerning the best and most reliable car...I was curious, out of all of the cars you have owned what have been the 3 best/reliable cars...and what have been the 3 worst cars. Also a short explanation as to why they were the best or the worst.

[abkaiser]

...An interesting parallel to this is that Cartalk just finished up their 10 Worst Cars of the Millenium list. It's pretty funny, and worth taking a look at:

http://cartalk.cars.com/About/Worst-Cars/results1.html

...And as for me, I love Saturns, but I can't really list 6, 3, or even 2 yet. I'm on my very first car (and by default it's my favorite - 99SC2m).

Andy

[prof]

Let me see... The best long term is a 1991 Nissna Maxima with 130,000plus and still going. Secomnd place my wofe's new LW2 which we love and hope will last as long.
The worst-easy, 1976 Dodge Aspen wagon. By the time Chrysler got through with the recalls on that #$@## car, they just about rebuilt it.

[John10]

Iceman- Saturns are as reliable as anything I've ever owned (especially when price is considered). As for the worst, I would have to say any small or medium sized American car made in the mid-1970's. In those days they retrofitted polution control devices on existing engines and totally ruined reliability while reducing performance. In addition most cars of those times suffered serious rusting problems after 5 to 6 years of use. People today driving any contemporary make have no idea how bad some of the 1970's vintage cars actually were.

[Justin23508]

The absolute worst cars ever built were British cars of the 80's. They were actually worse than GM cars of the 80's! I had a 1986 Austin Montego while stationed in Germany and everything went wrong with that car! The dash lights went out, the gauges all said whatever they wanted to, the car leaked oil, water and "mayonayse" everywhere it went and was the only car that I had that would launch smokescreens at unsuspecting victims (inlcuing me, while driving it) at the drop of a hat. As for American cars, I also had a 1986 Cavalier in high school that was a huge pile of crap. The clutch was one of those ones that is on the floor at all times. It used to pop out of gear going around turns and the transmission used to make gnashing sounds all the time, even when I was in gear. My parents let it get towed away while I was in Germany... good riddance!

The best? Well I also had two other great cars in Germany, (the Montego lasted about two months tops) a BMW and a Ford Sierra (sold here as a Merkur XR4ti) both of which were great great cars. Of course, my 94 SL1 has been a good buddy to me despite a patch of Y2K glitches that have hit me this year.

[Dr. Bob]

Here's what I have owned or put lots of miles on:

1966 Chevrolet Biscayne AT 4DR 250 ci I6
1951 Dodge Coronet semi-automatic/ fluid drive 4DR 230 ci I6
1971 Opel Manta - 4 spd manual, I4
1976 Dodge Charger 2Dr AT 318 ci V8
1977 Plymouth Volare 2DR AT 225 cd I6
1980 Citation 4DR AT 2.0L I4
1979 Citation 2DR AT 2.5L V6
1986 Celebrity SW AT 2.5L I4
1984 Celebrity SW AT 2.8L V6
1988 Celebrity SW AT 2.8L V6
1984 Dodge Ram 50 4x4
1987 Toyota Pickup
1995 Saturn SL2
1996 Saturn SL1
1994 Saturn SL1

Worst:
Tie - The Celebrity Wagons - everyone of them had to have steering rack replaced and radiators replaced before 100,000 miles. Cruise and wipers broke on all three before 75,000 miles. Windshields were awful.

Dishonorable Mention:
Charger - never ran right from day we got it - ate ballast resistors like candy. Severe ping caused by a grease monkey masquerading as a technician who put a ball bearing into a vacuum hose. Even broke a tortion bar in a small pothole. Prima facie evidence of why Chrysler should have been allowed to go under.

Dishonorable Mention:
Ram 50 4x4 - a total POS. Severe body cancer - when we sold it, the cab was so weak, it would sag when driving - didn't dare open the doors for fear they'd fall off. Proof indeed that no matter how bad a vehicle is, some idiot will actually buy it.

Best:
1951 Dodge - this was an amazing car. Big old heavy battleship, yet ran reliably and cheaply - it got 20+ MPG. No rust at all. Gauges, a tube radio and back seat half a dozen could cram into, flat floor. A 68 Chevy rear-ended me once - his was towed away - everything pushed in right up to the engine. Mine got a little dent in the back bumper.

Honorable Mention:
The Saturns - nothing wildly fancy, but do their job every day and at minimal hassle, headache and expense.

Oddball:
The Opel - this one would have been best except that it had a nasty habit of getting crunched, usually in hit/runs and parking lots. Before 60,000 miles, every fender, bumper and door had been hit at least once. At 60,000 miles, I had the body completely rebuilt/repainted and had new tires put on all around - looked maaavelous. However, 3 months later vandals thought it looked too good and kicked the doors in, slashed the tires and ripped off the antennae. Mechanically it was fine except it had a passion for seizing water pumps - usually during the 480 mile trips between home and college.

[Dr. Bob]

Oh shoot - forgot the 88 Cavalier 4DR 2.0L I4 AT. I managed to put 204,000 miles on this piece of crap - it was an ex-rental car. I have a lot of stories about this car, I could write a book. One of the oddest stories happened when my oldest son was mowing our farmyard and hit a stone. The stone flew about 150 feet going in the left rear window, right out the right rear window, then bounced off the machine shed door. About a half and hour later, my youngest son asked me where I had taken the car. I told him nowhere, he then took me out to the car. Looked like a drive-by shooting!

[film52]

BEST


’93 Saturn SL1 169K only went down twice, manual tranny @148K alt @162K

’74 Volkswagen Super Beetle 60K, sold the car to buy a van, never had a problem with the car.

’68 Ford LTD convertible, don’t remember how many miles, never had a problem with the car, sold it went I went to work for Uncle Sam (U.S. Army) I wish I still had this car.


WORST


’76 Triumph TR6 Fast handled great, when it ran. Car had too many problems to list, sold it to buy the Beetle

’80 Dodge 2+2 could not keep a clutch cable in the car, and of course the cable would always break in the worst places. Had to crank the radio up to full volume to drown out the rattles and wind noise.


’79 Volkswagen Rabbit Died on an exit ramp, motor seized at about 35 MPH. Long before it sized it sounded like a diesel.

[L-man]

Lets not forget the YUGO,ah yes the Yugo tin foil thin sheet metal and an engine briggs and stratton would scoff at.

[Armadillo]

Iceman...great topic! Enjoying everybody's posts.
Andy...great site! I laughed, I cried (from laughing so hard).

Best...
Saturns '91 SL, '97 SC1, '00 LS1. So far, they've all done what I expect of them. Reliable, economical, good handling, fun, few repairs, safe. Overall better than other cars I've owned.

Worst...
'85? (trying to forget this car) Ford Tempo. "The Tank". Required multi-page documentation of repair history which I sent to Ford since the dealer was a large part of the problem. Got a "thank you for your comments, we'll file it." (File 13?) Their response made me feel so much better. Right.
Chevy Cavalier. Daughter's car which my ex-(homicide detective)husband bought from "little old lady who drove it to church" (just proves people still fall for that). Repaired on a weekly to monthly basis, stalled in traffic, overheated, wouldn't start, guzzled oil (she bought oil by the carton and carried it in her trunk), towed numerous times, left her stranded. Donated to Salvation Army. She now has our '91 Saturn SL.
VW bus. Fun to drive at 35mph in city in warm weather. On expressway, crosswind gusts would blow it across lanes of traffic with no warning, no heat/numb feet in winter. Had to bundle kids in quilts. Duct taped cardboard across most of front intake grill (very stylish) to eke out enough heat to avoid reduced vision from own breath. Windshield defroster was a roll of paper towels and if you didn't get it quick, it froze on the inside of the glass. Zilch acceleration. Defensive driving a must for survival.

Love/Hate cars...
Triumph Spitfire. Hot in summer; cold, drafty in winter. Consistent for "snow = no go". Spring and fall ego trip on wheels.
'81 Suburu hatchback. Reliable. Good in snow. Good gas mileage. Later, repair bill shock. By the time we sold it in '90, had strut rust failure, "no-rust aluminum" exhaust system rusted through and fell off, intermittent electrical problems with lights, front passenger seat would flip back at unexpected moments (kids thought this would make a great "date car"), driver's side door lock mechanism broke in locked position, requiring exit through passenger door. Passenger door followed by not allowing exit from inside and unable to lock from outside. This required exit through window. Driver's door repaired by access through exterior rust hole in door. Kids were disappointed it never made "Wreck of the Month" in school paper, but there was heavy competition.
Geo Metro. Reasonably reliable, cheap peapopper transportation. Great gas mileage. Less thrilling: "Is this the day my husband will be returned to me smooshed into something the size of a sardine can?"
Ford Escort. "The Invisible Car". Home Appliance Almond. Needed cheap car fast and got great price on dealer ad (pull you in with amazingly low price, only to find the ad refers to ONE CAR, take it or leave it). No options and tinny, but better than Tempo. So non-descript I accidentally (long story) drove for that entire year on an expired tag and no cop ever noticed. Later passed to younger daughter for school transportation. Installed sound with heavy-duty speakers as incentive to be seen in it.
Ford Mustang. Bought used, cheap, go to work car. Bile green. Fun in rain as ragtop leaked and floorboards were rusted out, so got wet from every direction. Exceptional rust-through, but what a great engine!

Younger daughter just called. Saw 2001 blue SC2. Nose and hands pressed against car window, window streaked with drool; fiance turned around to take her to the lot. Uh oh. <img src="http://www.saturnfans.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/Images/Happy.gif" border="0" align="middle">

[Mike99sc2a]

Worst: 1976 Rustang: v-6,auto,my 1st car. The dash was crumbling apart, the body was rusting out, something in the steering column was broken, and it broke the crank shaft in two parts!
1979 Jeep cj-7,304, 3spd: I had to use a long screwdriver to start it (it had been vandalized so everything was smashed)...it dripped gasoline when the tank was full, you had to hold it in 3rd gear, should I go on?
It did rule topless,doorless, and with the windshield down!

Best: Saturn! My wife's 1997 sl1a, it's edging into 86k after a jarring wreck in 1996, we've had to replace the alternator, tires, battery, and sunroof motor.

Honorable mentions: my old 1996sl2m, her old 88 Cavalier (I actually traded in my very beautiful 633csi to get it back)...and then my new car: the Black Beauty: 1999sc2a.

[Jeff]

Best car of all time: 1990 Buick LeSabre. Had 103,000 miles when I wrecked it, and the only thing it ever needed fixed was the alternator, once. The ironic thing about this was that it was my parents car and I wrecked it driving to test drive my first (and only) car, my '92 SC.

[Iceman]

Best: 1) 1971 Chev Camaro, 140000+ mi, only routine mx and reasonalbe milage for an early70s car 17-19mpg. Probably rates high on my list since it was the first car I bought new $2350 I think.
2) 1996 Saturn SL2, 74000 mi and still going strong with routine mx, also another plus is that it still looks new with the ploy panels. 30mpg in town. Nothing fancy but gets the job done.
3) 1980 Mazda RX7, 114000+ mi, routine mx, reasonable gas milage for a rotary 15-17mpg. Looked great, until I had to move it to the upper Midwest. I was afraid my seat would rust out and the car would run over me on the highway.

Worst: 1) 1975 Audi Fox, 55000mi, with out a doubt the biggest piece of junk ever, couldn't pass a repair shop without taking 500 plus, the dealers were a real pleasure to work with: when I complained about the quality..the guy said that it wasn't just any chevy or ford..couldn't agree more. (I think the Honda guys have taken their place in arrogance levels) Always wanted a Porsch until I had the Audi.

2) 1995 Chrys LHS, 62000mi, great confort, except it has had 3 transmissions, broke timing chain. To Chrys credit, they have repaired all, even being out of warrenty.

3) 1987 Ford Taurs, when was the last time you needed a flywheel in a modern car, additionally 3 sets of brakes in 42000mi, maybe a little excessive.

[------SC 2------]

The worst car would have to be just one a 1981 Datsun 280z turbo. Not unless you like a car that smokes I didn't.

[BobL]

Best: 1964 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe - 327-300 with 2 speed Powerslush automatic.

Ran great and actually got wonderful gas mileage. Never let me down. Not a performer at all but impressed everyone since it looked super cool.

Worst: 1984 Chevette - bought new. So tinny and cheap it didn't even have a glovebox door. Everything leaked, antifreeze, slushomatic. Seats popped a spring. Paint came right off, brakes (non-power disk) sucked so bad that dealer told me I had brake trouble when I traded it. Told 'em (a chevy dealer at that) that these were non-power disks and needed to be mashed through the floor to stop.

Windshield was falling out when delivered. Later replaced when scratched by defective wipers.

Ad nauseum . . .

After that, I was stupid enough to trust Chevy again with a 1987 Nova. What a Putz!

[dmtsl2]

Worst:

No. 1: Wife's 1971 Plymouth Cricket. A real P.O.S. in every sense of the word. Electrical system and battery went up on first day. Disintegrating dashboard, etc...you name it.

No. 2: 1984 Camaro. Paint flaked off in sheets. Repainted by dealer - same thing. Besides that, in first year the rear end went up, transmission went up...Another classic P.O.S. Again, my wife's.

No. 3: 1984 Renault Encore (doesn't rhyme with "my fault" although it was. A "Car of the Year" too. In another life, it would've been a Yugo. What was I thinking?

Best (so far):

No. 1: Wife's 1972 Nova (you can see how long she kept the Cricket).

No. 2: 1997 Saturn (knock on wood - NO problems yet).

No. 3. Toss-up between 1992 Corolla (serviced by non-Toyota dealer mechanic). Toyota dealer's service was horrible. Tied with, believe it or not, 1993 Mercury Tracer wagon. No problems. Took a licking and kept on ticking.

[Dr. Bob]

I didn't own one, but I think click n clack missed the 1971 Vega in their 10 worst. Aluminum engine would overheat and warp, totalling the engine. Bodies rusted out in two years. To think I almost bought one, but went with an Opel Manta.

BTW - I have actually seen one running recently - somebody put a 4-wheel drive offroad chassis under an old Vega wagon shell. Cool beans.

[SpeedPlayer 97sl2]

Don't have 3 cars for best and worst. So here goes:

BEST:

1) 1993 BMW 325i -- had some electrical problems, but overall pretty reliable. A blast to drive! Rides like a tank.

2) 1997 Saturn SL2 -- buzzes and squeeks on cold days, but solid on hot days. The tossability of the car makes it fun to drive.

3) 1989 Buick Century Limited -- dunno what got into me to buy this car. Dashboard was ugly, and for crying out loud..it's a Buick. Wasn't the best driving car in the world, but the 3.3L V6 had lots of torque, and I'll be damned -- the car NEVER had a single problem in all 50K miles I had it. Sold it for my Saturn, and by golly -- it's more reliable than my Saturn.

WORST:

1) 1976 Chevy Malibu -- the ultimate P.O.S. It was a land yacht. Car doesn't start? -- poke under the hood, wiggle something around, and voila! The car starts!

HONORABLE MENTION:

1) 1976 VW Super Beetle -- it was yellow, and it kept on going and going and going. Those Beetles had chronic problems with the hose clamps going out causing engine fires. Just so happenned to me one day back in the early 80's while driving on the freeway. I was driving along, minding my own business. Then a car pulls up to my side, honks its horn, and passenger screams, "Your car is on fire!". I'm like "huh, what?" I look in my rearview mirror and see smoke coming out the back. Fortunately, the other guy had a fire extinguisher in his car. Firefighters arrived shortly. Now that I think back to it, it was pretty funny. Rebuilt the engine.
Ran like a tank.

2) 1986 Mazda 626 LX -- super-reliable, super-anemic. 2.0L 4-cyl had no go, and was the main reason why I sold it. Punch the gas..."hey folks, the speedo ain't moving!" The interior had lots of fun gizmos though. Kickin' stereo with equalizer, and the ventilation controls were bad-ass. Loved the sunroof.

Acevedo 97sl2

[Randman]

Best
90 Volkswagen Jetta my first new car.Traded it in on my LS2.Went through 3 water pumps about the only thing worth noting.

Worst
72 Pontiac LeMans Carb rebuilt twice before i got a new one.Timing chain,lifters, transmission,RUST etc.

[Armadillo]

Iceman reminded me of my one Audi experience. Early 70's, loaner, new car. On expressway bridge doing around 70, hood flew up when latch broke. Hood blocking forward view on Detroit bridge in rush-hour traffic made for interesting driving experience. Crawled to dealer (65 miles away) with hood threatening repeat performance at minimum expressway speed of 45. Suggested to dealer to add duct tape and bailing wire as standard equipment.

[anotherHokie]

BEST
1) 1990 Audi 100: looks and drives like new with 200,000k
its been hit twice. A 1998 Accord needed a new front end and fender, Audi was litterally unscratched. A 89 BMW 325 totaled itself on my back bumper, which was scratched and pushed down about 1 inch on one side. That car is a tank. It needed a new fuel pump b/c the old one became noisy. Also needed fuel injector repair after I got some bad gas.

2) 1986 Camaro: Piece of crap drove awful but in 115,000 miles only needed an O2 sensor and water pump (both cost 20 bucks for me to fix)

WORST
1)1989 VW Cabriolet: Actually my sister's car I drove for a year when she was out of the country. She bought the car from a certain VW dealer in Faifax VA as a demo only later to find out that it had been wrecked. So steering and suspension were permanently out of alignment. Didn't usually matter because the car rarely started anyway and when it did run it topped out at 75 mph, 65 mph with the a/c on.

2)2000 Saturn LW2: Hate to say it but it has had more repairs in three months than my Audi and Camaro ever had. I sure hope things get better

[Iceman]

Hokie, What sort of repairs are you talking about on the Saturn? That's what I like about Audi's it is either Love or Hate, absolutly nothing in the middle.

[green93SL2]

#1 car was an '88 chevy sprint with 88000 miles on it. Traded for a cutlass ciera 3.8-v6 engine (sprint was 3 cyl) too small. Had it for about a month without problems. Cutlas- only replaced alternator, battery, oxygen sensor and fuel pump. Had it for about two years and about 55k miles.
I recently got rid of my 87 ford taurus wagon. Had it for two years and 5 months. I put about 45k miles on it. Rebuilt tranny after 7 months. Replaced rock & pinion, axles, control arms, tranny mounts and bushings after 1 yr and 3 months. Replaced map sensor, computer and tps sensor. all this repairs came within 1 1/2 years after that it has been running good.
Now I have my 93SL2. In less than a month that I bought it (4/12/00)$3500/91k (did I pay too much?) replaced the radiator tank (got hit by car)I need to replace the oil pressure switch (sending unit) and check for antifreeze cause it runs out and there are no leaks. Hopefully after this is taken care of, i can finally have a dependable car. Wife and I love it.


Out the Cutlass, Sprint and Ford, the ford was the one in which I spent a lot of money but it is also the one that I did not want to get rid of. As soon as I got the Saturn I did not care any more

[Mike99SC2]

worst car-'80 Chevy Monza--had 3 engines in 6 months--bad bores-and pinholes in cooling passages. 78 Malibu V6-main bearings went out at 6000 miles--sounded like a diesel when rebuilt. '81 Citation 4 cyl-cam lobes wore out at 10,000 miles. replaced steering rack at 12,000 miles. 76 Chevette--everything wore out at 50K--rings,tranny,rear axle,starter motor,etc. Best car--95 Infiniti G20--never used warranty, 94,96 Saturn SC2--replace top motor mount on 94 and water pump on 96--nothing else, 99 SC2--split weld on rear exhaust-nothing else yet. 98 Acura CL--never used warranty. For the money the Saturns are probably the best in terms of reliability--the other cars SHOULD be that reliable.

[Iceman]

Forgot my love/hate car, 66 Green MGB with knockoff spinners..loved it because it was my first car. Wondered what the quarter sized holes were for in the floor pan..found out soon enough when I left the toneau cover off during a rain storm. Hated it because something was always going wrong with the electrics, you always messed up your knuckles when you had to work on the engine. The best was when the themostat blew while on spring break...fortunately it was right in front of a MG dealer.

[100KSW2]

Worst: My 1986 Dodge Aries (bought new). I replaced the front brakes 13 times in 50K miles (also replaced front rotors 3 times) then replaced the calipers (after the warranty expired) and drove another 27K on those lucky 13th set of pads. The steering rack was replaced THREE times, front strut failed at 10K, and between 60K and 77K (the last year I owned it) it cost $3K to keep it running, then got $1400 in trade.

Best: My current 1993 Saturn SW2. About 93,490 pretty trouble free miles, so far.

It has been a pleasure to drive, own, and service.