Worse built car you have ever owned
Discussion
Depends on what was meant by "worse built".
My first company car was a normally asperated base model Peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel.
I covered well over 100,000 hard (car was dog slow and was hammered all day every day) business miles in just under three years.
At three years old it felt very saggy and baggy and the thin metal panels were a mass of dings. That said it was an absolute joy to drive and really showed up the MK3 Golf to be the dog of a driver's car it was.
On the subject of VWs my next company car was a MK5 Passat. It was beautifully built, well put together and was a lot more solid, fresh and shiney after 100k miles.
That said it broke down more including needing a new engine after the oil pump failed.
What was better built?
My first company car was a normally asperated base model Peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel.
I covered well over 100,000 hard (car was dog slow and was hammered all day every day) business miles in just under three years.
At three years old it felt very saggy and baggy and the thin metal panels were a mass of dings. That said it was an absolute joy to drive and really showed up the MK3 Golf to be the dog of a driver's car it was.
On the subject of VWs my next company car was a MK5 Passat. It was beautifully built, well put together and was a lot more solid, fresh and shiney after 100k miles.
That said it broke down more including needing a new engine after the oil pump failed.
What was better built?
ChasW said:
We bought a two year old Fiat Uno in 1986. It felt as though it was going to fall apart but never did!
My first car was a 1991 Uno, 10 years old by the time it came into my possession..It felt flimsy but it was exceedingly reliable.
My most unreliable car ever was a brand new 2012 Passat. Constant niggling faults with that car; nothing that ever rendered it immobile, but the perceived quality was certainly not representative of the actual quality.
Tannedbaldhead said:
Depends on what was meant by "worse built".
My first company car was a normally asperated base model Peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel.
I covered well over 100,000 hard (car was dog slow and was hammered all day every day) business miles in just under three years.
At three years old it felt very saggy and baggy and the thin metal panels were a mass of dings. That said it was an absolute joy to drive and really showed up the MK3 Golf to be the dog of a driver's car it was.
On the subject of VWs my next company car was a MK5 Passat. It was beautifully built, well put together and was a lot more solid, fresh and shiney after 100k miles.
That said it broke down more including needing a new engine after the oil pump failed.
What was better built?
Did that happen to be an '05 to '08 2.0 TDI B6 shape by any chance...?My first company car was a normally asperated base model Peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel.
I covered well over 100,000 hard (car was dog slow and was hammered all day every day) business miles in just under three years.
At three years old it felt very saggy and baggy and the thin metal panels were a mass of dings. That said it was an absolute joy to drive and really showed up the MK3 Golf to be the dog of a driver's car it was.
On the subject of VWs my next company car was a MK5 Passat. It was beautifully built, well put together and was a lot more solid, fresh and shiney after 100k miles.
That said it broke down more including needing a new engine after the oil pump failed.
What was better built?
Plate spinner said:
Vauxhall may well make good cars these days for all I know! Funny old thing prejudice...
They don't - HTH, could be reliable but every single one still feels like Plate spinner said:
Vauxhall seemed to hate building cars & dislike their customers
My family had one once and it caught fire while on the motorway, the whole lot of them are an utter waste of precious resources.Worst car was my first ever car, Zastava (Yugo) 513.
In base model white, ate clutch cables like no tomorrow, handbrake cable snapped, water pump was broken so I had to fill it every 5 minutes with water just to get it home. Lively engine when it got going. 4 months later, got a less embarrassing Mini Metro.
Second worst was a Vectra CDTI, power steering failure, wiper linkages which easily broke, cheap trim and plastics. Awful dealer network made attempts to repair it even worse. Buy cheap, buy twice
In base model white, ate clutch cables like no tomorrow, handbrake cable snapped, water pump was broken so I had to fill it every 5 minutes with water just to get it home. Lively engine when it got going. 4 months later, got a less embarrassing Mini Metro.
Second worst was a Vectra CDTI, power steering failure, wiper linkages which easily broke, cheap trim and plastics. Awful dealer network made attempts to repair it even worse. Buy cheap, buy twice
BMW 535D Touring (and I’ve had lots of italian and uk tin!)
Bought at 12 months old and immediately had to go back because of cracked wheel rims. Remains the only modern I’ve owned to physically breakdown and strand me (which it did three times).
Multiple wheel fractures, electrical problems, abstract battery failures, premature wheel bearing failure, broken electric windows and the front windscreen even de-bonded and fell out!
Was generally good to drive apart from dismal ride quality on the run flats. The latter even let me down by running flat and then falling off the rim!
s
t car only equalled by the dismal dealer service - my wife has decreed that no BMW can darken our door again..
Bought at 12 months old and immediately had to go back because of cracked wheel rims. Remains the only modern I’ve owned to physically breakdown and strand me (which it did three times).
Multiple wheel fractures, electrical problems, abstract battery failures, premature wheel bearing failure, broken electric windows and the front windscreen even de-bonded and fell out!
Was generally good to drive apart from dismal ride quality on the run flats. The latter even let me down by running flat and then falling off the rim!
s
t car only equalled by the dismal dealer service - my wife has decreed that no BMW can darken our door again..Tannedbaldhead said:
Depends on what was meant by "worse built".
My first company car was a normally asperated base model Peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel.
I covered well over 100,000 hard (car was dog slow and was hammered all day every day) business miles in just under three years.
At three years old it felt very saggy and baggy and the thin metal panels were a mass of dings. That said it was an absolute joy to drive and really showed up the MK3 Golf to be the dog of a driver's car it was.
On the subject of VWs my next company car was a MK5 Passat. It was beautifully built, well put together and was a lot more solid, fresh and shiney after 100k miles.
That said it broke down more including needing a new engine after the oil pump failed.
What was better built?
I'm not up on VW Golfs so not sure my E reg(87) one was a MK 3 but it was a pos to drive too.My first company car was a normally asperated base model Peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel.
I covered well over 100,000 hard (car was dog slow and was hammered all day every day) business miles in just under three years.
At three years old it felt very saggy and baggy and the thin metal panels were a mass of dings. That said it was an absolute joy to drive and really showed up the MK3 Golf to be the dog of a driver's car it was.
On the subject of VWs my next company car was a MK5 Passat. It was beautifully built, well put together and was a lot more solid, fresh and shiney after 100k miles.
That said it broke down more including needing a new engine after the oil pump failed.
What was better built?
Worst was a TE Holden Gemini wagon that I bought to haul parts when I was building my Clubman.
My example was a weak blue colour and a three speed auto. I think the equivalent GM product in the UK was the Cavalier. Anyway, it was the personification of cheap. Vinyl seats and ultra thin carpet. The transmission was the GM "Trimatic" fitted to everything from the 6/8 cyl sedan downwards. This gearbag ended up adding a bit of weight to the vehicle, all to be dragged around by the SOHC 1.6 litre Isuzu lump. The inertia seatbelts failed first, then the radiator developed a pinhole leak which did the most amazing job of draining it but it didn't leak when the car wasn't running. The interior trim was thin tat and then I discovered that the whole floor in the rear cargo area was full of tinworm. You could actually see the top of the fuel tank if you lifted the carpet! I had that fixed to get the car through its annual inspection and then the following year it failed again because the remaining original sheet metal was all gone. The transmission developed a fault where it wouldnt change gear, oh the joy of driving an underpowered car in only the low gear of a three speed transmission :-P Following this development I got rid of the thing.
By contrast, I owned a 1988 Subaru Leone which I purchase in 1997 so it was getting on for a decade old. Even though the car looked pretty dated the interior was in perfect condition. The paint was excellent and there was never a rattle or squeak from any of the interior fittings. The plastic components felt and looked quality. The only problem with the car was that it had over 190,000km on it when i got it and I think the slugs didn't quite seal the bores any more. The only significant repair I had to do on it in about four years of ownership was to replace the plug leads.
My example was a weak blue colour and a three speed auto. I think the equivalent GM product in the UK was the Cavalier. Anyway, it was the personification of cheap. Vinyl seats and ultra thin carpet. The transmission was the GM "Trimatic" fitted to everything from the 6/8 cyl sedan downwards. This gearbag ended up adding a bit of weight to the vehicle, all to be dragged around by the SOHC 1.6 litre Isuzu lump. The inertia seatbelts failed first, then the radiator developed a pinhole leak which did the most amazing job of draining it but it didn't leak when the car wasn't running. The interior trim was thin tat and then I discovered that the whole floor in the rear cargo area was full of tinworm. You could actually see the top of the fuel tank if you lifted the carpet! I had that fixed to get the car through its annual inspection and then the following year it failed again because the remaining original sheet metal was all gone. The transmission developed a fault where it wouldnt change gear, oh the joy of driving an underpowered car in only the low gear of a three speed transmission :-P Following this development I got rid of the thing.
By contrast, I owned a 1988 Subaru Leone which I purchase in 1997 so it was getting on for a decade old. Even though the car looked pretty dated the interior was in perfect condition. The paint was excellent and there was never a rattle or squeak from any of the interior fittings. The plastic components felt and looked quality. The only problem with the car was that it had over 190,000km on it when i got it and I think the slugs didn't quite seal the bores any more. The only significant repair I had to do on it in about four years of ownership was to replace the plug leads.
Mikehig said:
These posts remind me of the "glory days" of BL.
My father ran a BL dealership. I remember him coming home one evening spitting fur and feathers. A Triumph Stag had been delivered that morning. When it was driven off the transporter it sounded like a tank. It turned out that one bank of the V8 had no piston rings......
Chatting with a friend once, Dad was asked whether BL even had a quality control department. He replied that they most certainly did and they were doing a great job.......of making sure no car left the factory without significant faults!
That’s funny and tragic all at once.My father ran a BL dealership. I remember him coming home one evening spitting fur and feathers. A Triumph Stag had been delivered that morning. When it was driven off the transporter it sounded like a tank. It turned out that one bank of the V8 had no piston rings......
Chatting with a friend once, Dad was asked whether BL even had a quality control department. He replied that they most certainly did and they were doing a great job.......of making sure no car left the factory without significant faults!
When some people want to nationalise certain industries, I wonder if they are old enough to remember the last time we tried it.
Not something I have owned but when I used to fit towbars we had a contract for a Subaru garage that also used to sell Ssangyongs, there’s is nothing I have driven or worked on that even comes close to either of them. Anything you touched, looked at or breathed on would snap as the plastic was that cheap, every clip would shatter, even bolts that were factory fitted were threaded. These weren’t cheap cars either, most were pushing £30k
Also anything Dacia but they are cheap so it’s acceptable.
Also anything Dacia but they are cheap so it’s acceptable.
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