I used to have a Nissan truck that I lost the key to, so I had to break the steering column and start it with a screwdriver one time. I drove with the ignition hanging below the steering wheel and a screwdriver in the glove compartment for 2 years. I got pulled over once and the cop saw it and laughed at me. He told me to get it fixed because the next cop might not be so nice. He couldn't stop laughing. Oh yeah, it also had a hole in the passenger floor board. My passenger had to watch where he/she put her feet, otherwise he/she might fall through. It was cool because if my brakes ever went out, my passenger could just stop the car with his feet....depending on what kind of shoes he was wearing.
87 chevy cargo van conversion. Paint was coming off all over (crappy GMC paint job) so it was a blue/gray nastyness all over. Power steering died so the thing was a b**** to turn when stopped. At stop lights in the rain the water pooled towards the front rim of the roof. Then when you accelerated the water rushed to the back and into the car due to rust-inspired holes above the AC unit. Consequently, it smelled permanently of mold.
1974 Vega Station Wagon - it had an aluminum block engine that wouldn't stand up to the wear and tear of the piston rings. It smoked like a mosquito truck, it burned a quart of oil a month. I had to drive it for 4 years in college until I could afford to buy another car. I was embarrased every day I drove it.
Datsun B-210 Hatchback. I can't remember the exact year. The floor board rusted out on it. The alternator also almost crapped out on me driving home from a Rick Springfield concert (shut up) on a first date. The car barely made it home.
1984 Honda Accord. light blue/bondo. 250,000 miles. No driver's side door lock. Could turn it on w/o a key. Oil dipstick wouldn't stay in place so it leaked oil all over the engine, which seems to cause a bit of smoke. Windshield wiper flew off once while I was driving and the arm made a gouge in the windshield on driver side.
It's a toss up. 1973 Mercury Marquis Brouham. That thing was smashed on all sides and all 4 corners - I was the one driving it when all the damage was done. It smoked and leaked oil so bad that I would add a quart of the cheapest oil available with each fill-up. I figured that I added oil so often that I didn't need to change the oil - and didn't for the last 3+ years. 1976 Chevy Chevette. Olive green with 2 BIG brown racing stripes down the center. That car was anything but racing. It was THE car that made me hate people who stopped on an entrance ramp of the freeway. I'd have to wait for a 1/4 mile of open space before even beginning to think about "popping the clutch" for my run at it. The air went out in it and Houston without air is murder - as some of you may know. I'd have to say though the Mercury was nice inside and had options (and air) so probably the Chevette was worse.
A crapped out 1972 Delta 88 that I drove around when I was around 19 in 1989 or so. Rain water would leak into the trunk and I could hear gallons of water sloshing around when I drove. I also kept a severed dog head in the trunk for a while too. The ceiling was covered in graffiti. And of course the gas mileage was just a joke too. I would love a convertible one in good condition though.
1976 Chevy Silverado - mine was all blue and I drove it in the 90's. I had the same "floor window" ima had on the passenger side and the bed of the truck also had 4 or 5 rust holes in it. The vinyl seats hit boiling temperature after about 5 minutes in the sun. It was a retired Iowa farm truck that I drove around Houston for three years. I used to take it to Galveston all the time until it threw a rod on 45 in La Marque. It shot right through the hood and caught the engine on fire. We put a rebuilt engine in it, but it was never the same.
'79 Buick LeSabre. Damn thing was huge and got like 8 mpg on a good day. The head liner was all coming down too, so you had this cloth resting on your head anytime you were in the car, in any seat. It had matching dents on each side from different accidents. One fun thing about it was that if I jerked the wheel back and forth real fast, the whole body would rock back and forth on the shocks. We called this "hydraulics." It was particularly fun to do driving down the main street in my town with Hispanic oompa music blaring. We got a lot of strange looks.
1992 Neon Blue Geo Tracker with Hot Pink lettering. Man I thought I was such a badass driving that around throughout high school. Looking back on it, not so much. Mine wasn't quite this G'ed out, but you get the idea:
It was 1996 and I drove the family's OLD Mercedes 280SE. Whenever you would make a hard turn water from the AC would drip onto my foot. Before I get the moan and groans about having a Mercedes at age 16. When I got it it was 17 years old. Had roll down windows. No leather. The back was starting to develop dry rot. It had no speakers in the back seats.
I've never had a car that has been a bad car. I had a 1988 Toyota Camry that was in 3 wrecks and still ran strong until around 130k miles when it finally started giving me problems. I got rid of the Camry and got a 1997 Nissan Maxima that had one major problem out of warranty (a dead starter at around 120k miles) and only 2 major problems overall (the dead starter and an odometer/speedometer that died at around 100k miles). Rock solid and reliable car. I got bored with it (lol) and got a 2004 Acura TL. The Acura TL is the one I drive now and it's got about 63k miles on it. Hardly a burp from it - again, rock-solid reliability. I plan on keeping this for another 60-70k miles, too, if it allows me to.
It was a 1976 Impala station wagon, silver and rust. Red seats with the back seat facing backwards. Sweet ride.
99 jetta Had to to take into the shop more than 10 times during the first 3 years. Here are some of the things I had to get fixed. sunroof airbag oxygen sensor mass air flow sensor power windows on 4 seperate occasions brake light sensor main coolant pump instrument cluster engine replaced at 55k AC compressor alternator battery twice thermostat serpentine belt electric side mirrors rear view mirror grease leaking out of doors bumper falling off after barely scraping a curb. I bought it for my wife, but now I am driving it. I can't bring myself to buy another car because I only use it to drive to the airport.
1995 Chevy 1500 Silverado.... Many of my friends and family would swear their lives on Chevy trucks....saying that they're the only trucks worth a single penny, and would turn their noses up at anyone getting anything other than a stinking Chevy. My experience: 30,000-50,000 miles.....no problems. Great!! 50,000-60,000.......A/C went out 60,000-65,000......Altenator 65,000-70,000......Trans, had to replace whole thing 70,000-80,000.....Dash completely fried, had to replace entire thing, locks and windows stopped working. Water pump replaced. 80,000-85,000......windshield wipers stopped working, had to replace, Chevy did a recall 1 year later, 90,000- replaced the entire break system (master cyl, lines, etc..)after it broke, Altenator again. 95,000- started to have problems with fuel injection, tranny acting up again, Sold it shortly after 95,000 miles. Est repair: 7,000-8,000 Go Chevy!!! I just bought a brand new Dodge Quad Cab Hemi 4X4 3 weeks ago, 2000 miles and not a single problem!!!!whooooooohoooooooooo
