neilwillis Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 At 6'6, I have to pick my cars carefully. I once drove a Fiat 126, that had no starter motor, so you had to push it (not difficult considering how small it was) then leap in, put it in gear, and lift the clutch. It always started though. It finally met it's demise on a trip up to Corby from central London. The exhaust manifold bolts used to loosen after a while, and on this occasion, the cylinder head melted. I found a scrap yard, and swapped the head over for the return trip. Guess what happened on the way back? It was tiny, and if I hadn't been given the thing, I'd never have dreamt of owning one! Quote
flanker7 Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 When I was 18 I bought a TR7, that was 18 years ago, I loved it and so did the girls, but what a pile of ****e mechnically. Heads warping and generally blowing up engines and getting ripped of for repairs, how naive I was then. I still smile at the adventures in that Jolly 7!!!!! Quote
Nick M Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 My mum's Nissan Micra - the really early ones (about a C or D plate). Hateful little ****box of a 1.0 engine , a steering system consisting of elastic bands and a book on telepathy topped off with a steering wheel from a Route-master bus, crappy seats. The only good thing about it was the gearchange. Had to drive around various places looking at secondhand cars and at the end of that day I was *soooo* close to torching the f***** thing !!! Nasty, nasty little car Quote
zoso Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 The trip to newcastle with 5 people in a fiat punto. wouldn't do it again thats for sure.... 3rd gear at 60 is not a pleasant sound, well not in a 1.2 60bhp fiat. Quote
Fat Albert Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 Almost anything made by Vauxhall, ever Quote
neilwillis Posted February 26, 2004 Author Posted February 26, 2004 Almost anything made by Vauxhall, ever Controversial, but I do like your style Quote
jeff oakley Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 My brother was the worst at picking cars, after passing his test he asked my advice as a mechanic and I told him "to get a Ford". So he buys a 4 door marina with a million miles on the clock which broke down regularly.So he went to change so asked advice, "buy a ford" so he buys a Citroen GS which broke down regularly and expensively. So we go through the ritual of advice and he buys a Lancia Beta which breaks down and rusts faster than anything ever made. There then follows metros rovers and finally a discovery which was the only decent car he ever had, which was stolen off his drive. He moved to France where he bought a Ford but there are no ford garages for around 200 km from where he lives, so it was never serviced and broke down regularly. Latest is a Citroen van which has not broken down but is pig ugly noisey and smelly, a little like the French Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 November 1980, a 2200cc Leyland Princess HLS Auto. Never, ever, in the whole of my stewardship (Co. car) of it did it pass a day without a fault occurring. It was even delivered with a broken sidelight and the fuel pump failed en route to the poor sap who bought it off my company in February 1983. It used a gallon of oil in a return trip from London to Manchester at a grand total mileage of a mere 70K. Awful, awful, awful, etc... It was brown - PERFECT Quote
S8ight Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 stuffed for a car to use for work, so mate of mine says 'ere, have this hilman imp'. had mot but no tax and it went. although it did have a cherry bomb exhaust (christ it was loud). used it for a few days and one of the brake flexis popped on the way to work. as a quick fix to get me home blanked the pipe to the rear off. still braked ok. way home from work next day front flexi died so same fix when i got home. drove very slowly to work the next day !! driving down the road to work and had to jump on the brakes, guess what ? the car locks up its one working brake and spins !! get some flexis and heads home after work to get it all working again. on the way home....puncture. leaves the car at the side of the road, got a lift home to get a jack and headed back to get the car. needless to say plod was looking the car over when we got back to it. that was the last i saw of it Quote
Lins Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 I get quite a lot of hire cars from work - most recently I had an Astra Coupe Turbo Convertable - completly unsuitable as it was during the snow / ice about a month back. The worst car I've ever driven tho was a Hyundai Matrix - in Post Box Red - bl**** terrible thing - instruments were in the middle of the dash rather than in front of the driver. You had to thrash the crap out of it to get it to 80 on the motorway ! Lins Quote
scruffythefirst Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 Almost anything made by Vauxhall, ever Controversial, but I do like your style Oi, the cavalier was a good car, admitedly a bit boring but absolutely brilliant. The vectra i drove was worse than the new micra my dad bought, and that was absolutely rubbish - tinny rollerskate hairdryer springs to mind. Metro's are also rubbish, although the example i drove migh have been a little compromised due to the owner who kept falling off the road in it, hence most things were a little bent (It felt like it had square wheels) and the gearchange was like a cricket bat in a bucket of porridge. My little C reg 1 l polo was great, except it wasn't but i was young(er) and niave. Quote
mb893 Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 A Dax Cobra.... Bought from a certain 'specialist' car dealer in Essex. On the drive home I came off the M25 onto the slip road thingy for the M23 (very nice long fast bend) and thought I was going to die! I nearly left it on the hard shoulder and walked home - gawd knows what was wrong with the suspension! Then it started to make very loud shreaking noises from the back end before we even got to the coast, then the termostat broke, then the immobiliser broke, then the pretty chrome vent things in the side fell off (blue tack melts you know) the the pretend spin off hubs... well, span off, then then then... I gave the bl**** thing back and all this inside of five days! Never again will I buy from a 'specialist' second hand car dealer from Essex Quote
the bear Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 If you promise not to tell anyone - looks furtivley side to side. I once drove a LADA RIVA with real fur Tiger print seat covers. It was'nt mine it was a ill workmates who I drove home in it with someone else following me. I knew he was ill but I did'nt realise just how sick the b'stard was!!!! Innappropriate = Bedford CF 250 (1978) POS with 12 inch Mountney wheel and no PAS. If it was'nt for many years self abuse I would not have had enough strength in me wrists to turn the damn thing. Parking was a thing of beauty, hell of a spectator sport if you had enough time to watch. Quote
steve_m Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 1985 Escort 1.6 bought from a car auction in Washington, Tyne & Wear. I was moving back South and had just handed back my company car and had no idea what I'd be doing or where I'd be working, so bought the first car that came through the auction with tax and mot. It was running so rich it can't have done more than 15mpg, even on the motorway, it needed a pint of oil every time I went out in it, it was so rusty that on bends, the headlights would move in opposite directions. Had it for about two months, mostly deciding if I ought to scrap it or sell it - eventually sold it via the local paper to a chap who paid me exactly what I had paid for it two months earlier. Quote
jonlewis Posted February 26, 2004 Posted February 26, 2004 I bet most of you dont know what a renault 16 looked like Quote
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