BEST and Worst Cars You've Ever Owned

[Porsche Chick]

I'll start:

Best is my 2009 Boxster, obviously. Second to that, a 1990 Celica. Fit my price range at the time, had a lot of torque, fun to drive. Oddly roomy, I was able to wedge quite a few pieces of furniture inside it and drive them home, including a large rocking chair. I got way too many tickets in that car, though.

Worst was a 2000 Mercedes ML310, bought used. Sluggish, no actual interior room, steering felt muffled. In retrospect, I think the engine was underpowered for the weight. At about 40K miles, the ML started getting weird; burning plastic smells, mushy brakes. The dealer could never find a problem. Then one day the brakes just weren't there at all, pushed down with my foot, and nothing happened. Managed to slow the car by nudging the curb and limp into a parking lot. Luckily, not driving fast at the time. The dealer couldn't find the problem! They guessed it might be the sensor that tells the brakes to pull up (sorry, guys, I don't know what that's called) and that would be a $4,000 repair. But it drove fine for them. Long story short, we made the dealer buy the car back. I wonder if he just stuck it back on the lot and let some other sucker drive it away.

My favorite line in the ML's owner's manual: Don't operate cellular phones inside the vehicle, results may be unpredictable. What . . . ?

What were your bests and worsts?

[Johnny Danger]

After all of these years, it's still my favorite. I relish the thought of driving it !

[sweeper]

The best... 1995 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. (220k "not easy" miles) Don't get me wrong the Porsche has been an excellent car that doesn't leak, sputter or give me any problems- but it is just a weekend toy.

The worst.... Don't laugh. 1998 Cadillac Catera, it was the extended warranty companies worst nightmare- the Bose sound system was incredible other than that it was junk.

[Porsche Chick]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

After all of these years, it's still my favorite. I relish the thought of driving it !

Hmmmm . . . looks pretty slow. All the other cars would definitely ketchup with you.

[1olddude]

I wan't to go cruising in the "Danger Dog" mobile!

[dghii]

Worst...1982 Alfa Spider purchased in 1983 with 10K miles. Beautiful car purchased right out of college after 3 Fiats (2 X 1/9's and a 124 Spider). I thought I was stepping up but the car about broke me. Head gasket, bent valves, dry rotted top, oil leaks, non-working speedo, distributor slipped 180 degrees (car dies on freeway).

All in two years.

Guess what I have now? An 1984 Alfa Spider and yes, I am an Idiot.

Best car:
Hard to say...My current Boxster S certainly a candidate, but I really haven't had any other car that was a POS or boring. It kind of competes with my 99 BMW M roadster that was a very cool car.

Even my 93 Explorer purchased in 2001 with 107K miles was a rock and served every task asked of it without incident.

[Topless]

Hmmmm, well I have owned a s@#% load of cars in my lifetime. 60 maybe???

Most fun- Boxster no contest. I still can't believe how much fun these are to drive.

Best dog hauler/grocery getter? - Lexus RX330 Build quality is unbelievable and it's a leather couch on wheels.

Best Workhorse- 89 Toyota 4Runner. We did things with that truck that no one should ever do and it always came through. Never broke down, never overheated in 260k miles.

Worst car ever- 86 Ford Aerostar. I had a young family and needed a minivan. Parts started falling off before we even left the dealers lot. It stranded us 1/2 dozen times, leaked oil, burned oil, overheated, LCD dash went blank, couldn't tow a canoe. Limped it into the Toyota dealership after 3 years and they gave me far more than it was worth in trade for the 4Runner. Somebody probably lost their job that day.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by Porsche Chick

Hmmmm . . . looks pretty slow. All the other cars would definitely ketchup with you.

Not once I get my "buns in gear" !

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by 1olddude

I wan't to go cruising in the "Danger Dog" mobile!

Thanks for being so frank. I find that most people don't give a bean.

[oc-boxster]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

After all of these years, it's still my favorite. I relish the thought of driving it !

That's cool I bet it's so fast nobody could ketchup with you

[oc-boxster]

Ha didn't notice someone beat me to it!

[dbear61]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

After all of these years, it's still my favorite. I relish the thought of driving it !

I considered getting one, but I didn't think it's cornering ability would cut the mustard. If it could, however, it would be French's yellow.

[thstone]

1971 Triumph TR-6. Both the best and the worst.

Good - Classic British sports car. Good power and handling.

Bad - POS. Spent every weekend fixing it so I could get to work during the week.

[particlewave]

Most fun: the Box

Prettiest: Cherry Red 1985 Camaro with an '80 big block Corvette V8 454. Was a beast!

Most reliable: 1998 Dodge Neon...yep, that's right owned it for 13 years now and almost 200k miles later, just broke down on me a few weeks ago for the first time(fuel pump). Been well maintained and...just...keeps...going!

Worst: Geo Metro...enough said, lol!!!

[WhipE350]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

After all of these years, it's still my favorite. I relish the thought of driving it !

You got it all Johnny, secret agent, kewl yellow Boxster, and a big wiener!

[dbear61]

I could be all over on this topic, because "Best" and "Worst" are subjective and depend on what attributes you most value in a car.

For combination of acceleration, handling and grins, it's my recently purchased 01 Boxster S followed by a 1990 Eclipse GSX. But the GSX tore up the harsh 90's Winter weather and averaged 27 MPG whereas the Boxster is spending this mild winter in the garage and averages 22 MPG. On a single year of ownership and being able to afford alternate winter transportation, I'm choosing the Boxster. But I still miss the Eclipse. And IMO nothing Mitsu produced after that first gen is worth my consideration.

For reliability and "practicality" the best were my 1993 Accord Coupe and 1999 Acura CL
(which is my current winter DD). Over more than 10 years for each, maintenance was minimal, and MPG averaged 30.

Maybe "worst" is easier for me to choose. My dad gave me his 72 Mercury Colony Park wagon in 78 when he fell for Lee Iacocca's Reliant. The car had a 460 cid engine, seated 9 and could tow anything, but it averaged 14 MPG and within a month, tore the crap out of the timing chain. I limped it at 15 mph to the local High School auto shop for my dad to claim the charity donation, and 3 years later they still were working to get it running.

DBear

[WhipE350]

I donno, I've owned a lot of cars and some were real pieces of sh|t. I had one of those down sized luxury Fords that must have been in an accident cause when I put on the blinker the car accelerated with each blink, scary as crap at stop lights. One of my favorites but the worst car ever was a late 80s Audi 5000. I paid $9600 for it when the price dropped through the floor because of the acceleration issues. I bought an extended service plan and it covered $6800 in repairs in the 6 months I owned it. I ended up selling it for $8400 with the extended service plan to some sorry soul who's wife HAD to have one.
I've got a lot of favorites, my Boxsters are wonderful, my E350 was a dream, but my 88 mustang GT I bought new was a young mans dream. It was fast and had lots of torque. Drove it for 62,000 miles and I don't remember it breaking down once.

[BYprodriver]

[QUOTE=particlewave;323318]Most fun: the Box

Prettiest: Cherry Red 1985 Camaro with an '80 big block Corvette V8 454. Was a beast!


1980's Corvette with a 454 ? Guess again...

[BYprodriver]

I have never regretted buying any of my cars so for worst I will have to go with cheapest. $500 1967 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 428 c.i. 376 H.P. this is 1 of the best engines Pontiac ever made & I bought it to put the engine in my Firebird, the body was just a convenient way to drive the engine 100 miles to my house. This car turned out to be fun to drive since it was faster than most new cars when I owned it in the mid 80's. It had a huge speaker grille in the middle of the rear seats, the speaker was missing so when I burned rubber the smoke would come thru the grille & choke everyone in the back seat. It had the optional 8-lug wheels with integral aluminum brake drums, & all the drums were worn way beyond minimum thickness to varying degrees, so when I had to brake hard each wheel would lockup at different times. I liked the car since the huge trunk was great for hauling engine parts but my wife wouldn't be caught dead in it, so I sold it for $700.

Oh yeah, best car: 2000 Boxster S + 3.6

[particlewave]

[QUOTE=BYprodriver;323326]

Originally Posted by particlewave

Most fun: the Box

Prettiest: Cherry Red 1985 Camaro with an '80 big block Corvette V8 454. Was a beast!


1980's Corvette with a 454 ? Guess again...

You're right...that should have said '70, not '80.
LS5 454, 390 bhp, iirc...