Best and worst car you ever had...

[ASC1951]

Never saw the point of running something grotty like an escort or astra when you could have this sort of car for the same running costs or less.

Nothing grotty about an Escort or an Astra, lad. Cars are just fridges with wheels, and both those models sold in their millions because they provided exactly what the average motorist needed.

 

[Archie_tect]

Best car ever had: VW Beetle 1200.
Worst car ever had: VW Beetle 1200....

Love/Hate!

 

[colly]

My worst car was probably an Austin Allegro. 1100 cc's of noisy, fuel guzzling ,gutless, poorly made, K rap.

It was a company car and when I collected it from Manchester it struggled so much just getting over the Pennines back to Leeds I really thought there was something wrong with it. Sadly, it was just how it was.

My best 'car' was in fact a van. A Nissan Primastar.

Better by far than any car I have ever owned. Electric stuff all over it..........windows, mirrors, seats, locks, power steering, reversing sensors, CD multi thingy, etc etc Really comfortable seats, even after 300 miles and went like sh1t off a stick. All that and it could carry over well over a ton and still did 40 mpg.

 

[Moodyman]

Only ever had one car - used Toyota Corolla. Bought it when it was 6 years old and had it for 11 years now.

Likes: It runs and runs and runs and nothing rattles. Oh...and it's cheap to maintain - plenty of parts gotten from scrapyards.

Dislike: Un-exciting to drive, but roads are that busy that this doesn't bother me much. Won't attract the girls but I'm beyond all that anyway.

Would I buy another? Yes, but only if I can't keep current one on the road.

 

[asterix]

My worst car was a Mk2 Cavalier - broke down north of Edinburgh one sunday evg and I had to sleep in it before coing to Halfords to get a new hose for the cooling system (I knew the car well enough to have a complete tool kit aboard at all times).
The next worst was a Renault Scenic, it was the 2nd scenic we had , the first was ok.
After that a Ford Escort Mk2
Then a Renault 4 (my first car that was given to me. It quickly got through 2 drive shafts, the sunshine roof leaked and when I tried to jack it up the jack just went through the sills. The ignition lock was bust and it was started by touching 2 wires together. I always carried proof of ownership. But because it was my first car, it can't be the worst)
After that a Renault 5 which I kept too long and also broke when having bought my first house I put too much rubble in the boot.
I quite enjoyed my first VW camper altho' it was really worn out, very rusty and struggled up any hill
The second one was better and we went all over Ireland in it. Wonderful.
The mk2 Golf gti was ok but not as good as the one before - a Mk1 campaign model which I guess is the favourite.
Current motors are a 2005 Civic and a Toyota van. The van is 14 years old.

 

[fossyant]

Best. mmmm several for different reasons - Nissan Primera SVE, just cos it was so well equipped, only really appreciating that in hindsigt.

Still got mine. I'd say it was my best car. Petrol 1.8 SVE SALOON - despite the disadvantage of a traditional boot, it has been a great car. Despite the very complex electronics, I've been able to sot simple fixes. It's been dead reliable, swallowed huge amounts of holiday kit, and 4 bikes on the roof. Not terribly economical (aero is massively affected by bikes on roof), but bloody quick for a normally aspirated 1.8 - easily red line it.

Bought the Primera in 2002, the car was just 10 months old (only been on the market 8 months - pre-release car) and saved a fortune.

Our second best has been my wife's Yaris - bought in new, just 6 months after they came out - it's 12 years old and still looks new - certainly confuses the mums at school - er your car is new - erm no, it's 12 years old !!! - But you all know what I'm like with my bikes.


Worse car, erm has to be a Rover Metro 1.4 GTa - only because folk liked to crash into it, and despite my fastidious cleaning, it started rusting after 4 years.... PX'ed it. It was fast as hell for a 21 year old though... just slightly slower than the bonkers GTi - it would easily out run Golf GTi's. But it was built like a go-kart. You don't crash them.

Worse reliability - company cars. First company car was a Vauxhall Vectra 2.5 V6 SRI - generally great - loved the engine - oh heck what a noise, but suffered a few engine faults, and body work was a bit rust prone.

Next was a brand new Alfa 147 Selespeed - got this as they were launched on the UK - top spec, paddle gear shifts - sex on wheels - 2.0 150 BHP. Electrical problems were a mare despite all the bits being Bosch - it was how the Italians put it together. Handled like on rails though - you couldn't make it skid - it was the only reason I stayed in the job I had -I got the car I wanted.... (PS the VECTRA and Alfa were in the point in my life that I didn't ride to work due to the distance) - I got sensible again after that.

My car now just has to swallow our stuff, and carry the bikes. The Yaris is brill for fuel efficiency, mine does the holiday stuff, so lack of fuel efficiency isn't a big problem, although it hates doing short drives now..fuel clog up etc ...

I'll keep our cars running a long time - I'd rather spend £6k on a bike ! Wife might be not too happy though.

 

[Dragonwight]

Worst car an Alfa 75 i bought it as a fill in car. Second time i drove it i had this loud banging got to work to find both back wheels coming off the wheel nuts were the wrong ones, the engine was great but use to sway from side to side great for going round corners all the engine mounts were shot. And the roof lining fell on me when i was driving requiring an emergency stop as i couldnt see. :-)

Best car Mazda Mx3 after 16 years it has never failed to start and has enough grunt from a V6 engine but with a huge boot and still looks good.

 

[skudupnorth]

SKODA's !!!!! Every one i owned and ran were just brilliant,reliable and practical and so easy to repair if you required to do any work on them.Two went to the Czech Republic over eight times without a hint of problems.
My list of Czech quaility go's like this 120L Estelle,numerous Rapid coupe's,a 1977 "120L" was one of my favorite due to it having all Rapid coupe running gear,engine & gearbox,slammed on Spax shocks and making noise from a works exhaust made by the actual motosport guy from the Skoda rally team.After the rear engine joy i went to the modern era and had many Favorit hatchback and Estates,the last being a bright green last year of production estate which i also dropped on Spax springs....it looked brilliant !
I drive a VW Touran which does the job the Skoda's could not do......carry a family of six ! It's good,but i think VW's are a tad overated on reliability especially when it blew a turbo last year and cost a shed load to sort out,i'm waiting for the next "joy" these cars are known for,ABS pump failure !!! So that's my bad car due to it costing me more to repair than a drive full of old Skuds !

 

[Night Train]

SKODA's !!!!! Every one i owned and ran were just brilliant,reliable and practical and so easy to repair if you required to do any work on them.

Ditto, 120, 130 Rapid, Felica, Fabia, Octavia, great cars.

However, I have been trying to respond to this thread but despite having owned over 20 cars and driven many more I am struggling to find a best and worst.

Many have been best for some reasons and many have been worst of other reasons.

How would I judge between my Land Rovers? They were all great, and a pain to live with. The AEC Matador was fantastic and had wet rot in the timbers.
The Morris Marina van was horrible but never let me down.

I suppose I could say the Skoda Octavia is the best as it fits the most needs.

The Harley Davidson Night Train (though not a car but weighs almost as much and has more engine then most) was the worst due to the crap build quality, zero customer service and the monkey's a*seholes that run the company.

 

[twowheelsgood]

Nothing grotty about an Escort or an Astra, lad. Cars are just fridges with wheels, and both those models sold in their millions because they provided exactly what the average motorist needed.

As someone who briefly owned an Escort (mk III), I fully maintain the right to call it a grotty, horrible car. Rubbish to drive, rust prone, the CVH engine fully deserving of nickname "course, vibratory and harsh", the trim self destructed which oddly actually improved the comfort of the awful seats, the roof lining looked like a recycled band-aid and peeled off like one too, it leaked water through the window seals. Rubbish as a car, rubbish as a consumer durable.

I cannot be right that a second hand (then) 120,000 mile "executive car" was cheaper to buy and run than a similar vintage Dagenham dustbin with one third that mileage (I ran my 100 partly as a university student, it was that cheap). These things were utterly, utterly rubbish, which is why they only sold in any numbers in the UK. Don't get me started on the abomination that was the Orion - an escort minus it's one useful feature for those who couldn't bear to be parted with their Cortina.

VW/Audi truly changed the game quality-wise in the mid-80s, which is why you still see old Golfs and no escorts or maestros despite the latter as you say selling in their millions.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

All things considered the best car I ever owned was an old Y plated Audi 80.

The worst a 1000cc Mini Metro.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Best: Nissan Micra 1.0 16v 1995. I bought this car in 2002 with 50K on it as a second car for £2050. I still have it now with 130K miles on it, the only failure I have had except wear and tear items is the fuel pump, although it has needed welded the last couple of MOT's. I have also had a Primera P10 2.0 eGT as main car for many years, never any trouble whatsover and it went and handled really well. Shame they are now Renault's underneath as I would not touch one with a bargepole. I also had a great Honda too for many years, although I understand that the they are also nowhere near as good as they used to be.

Worst: Mk 1 VW Scirocco. I had 2 of these in the 80's, I think I was attracted to the good looks. But they always overheated and rusted really, really badly. I ended up sleeping in the last one I had when it broke down. Put me off VW's for ages. I moved onto the fwd Vauxhall's of the late 80's and early 90's which were way better cars (just IMHO). Then I discovered Nissan and Honda and never looked back. What I would buy now god knows, as I now have a Ford Focus. It's a good car to drive but is rusting prematurely despite being supposedly galvanised.

 

[ACS]

Best: Renault Laguna 2L sport 8 valve. Sad to see it go. Just worked.

Worst: Lancia Beta. Got it while living/working in Germany, had it a year got a new job on the coast of South Wales and it started to rust before my very eyes. Year later went to the garage to collect the rust bucket post MOT and was advised in the strongest possible terms not to drive it as it was a death trap.

 

[blockend]

Ditto, 120, 130 Rapid, Felica, Fabia, Octavia, great cars.

I had an Estelle. It cost £300, the sunroof leaked, the 'alloy' wheels were made of cheese (removing one meant cutting a new bolt thread) and a previous owner had warped the head turning the oil to a glutinous sludge. What was surprising is it kept going. I hold it in greater affection that the Rovers, Nissans and Vauxhalls I've owned over the years and new Skodas are very well built, if not cheap any more.

 

[Hilldodger]

Best - my 2.0S Capri (hope to have it back on the road soon ) and the Skoda Favorit estate I bought for £150 after a dozy cow rammed into the back of my Capri

Worst were my 1984 XJ6 Jag that was back at the dealers more often than I had it and a 70's Lotus that did more miles on an AA truck than being driven.