Best and Worst Car you have owned - Personal experience only.

[didds]

My experience is that cars have got a LOT more reliable.

This. Entirely.

There was a time (80s? 90s?) where a ten year old car was getting close to its end. Today a ten year old car is pretty much "as good as new" - though TBH Ive only ever owned a brabnd new car once, in Germany, end of the 80s/start 90s and that was some tiny Citroen diesel. Certainly any vehicle we buy here Chez didds (including the kids) is invariably at least twenty years old, often older than 15, and with the minimal effort they just run and run and run.
The Peugeot 106 must be almost indestructible! We tend to drive our vehicles into the ground rather than sell and buy etc

So for me amost all cars have been "good" - I'm really struggling to thik of a "bad" one TBH.

Maybe I/we have been lucky - or have lower thresholds than others

didds

[AF62]

On the negative side, I have run three of the new Minis and have had trouble with them all,

My experience was the opposite - bought one brand new about a year after they launched and run it for five years with no faults at all. And at the end sold it back to the dealer (not a trade in) for 50% of the original purchase price, which I thought was pretty good.

The Suzuki swift was great, until you needed to change the exhaust.

I had one of those as well; a GT which weighed nothing and had a reasonably powerful engine, so shot away from the lights. However I remember hanging around for hours in a tyre & exhaust place whilst they tried to work out how to fit the new exhaust after they had cut the old one off with a gas axe. The issue was the exhaust threaded through the suspension system and whichever way they tried it wouldn't fit.

I have fond memories of a Ford Ka...The only downside was having to change at least one headlight bulb every winter.

And one of those - it was an absolute swine trying to fit a headlight bulb due to there being no space. I seem to recall the recommended solution was to take out the wheel arch liner and fit it through there.

What was fun about the Ka was on occation winding it up to 100 mph (its absolute maximum) and seeing the look of shock from those you were passing on the motorway. Yes, naughty I know.

The classic Mini's were my all time favourite.

My first car. Run for several years until it failed its MOT; it failed on everything literally! The rust was incredible - I had to have to subframes welded for every MOT, but by the end there wasn't even a floor in the passenger footwell. I also remember the locks being so pathetic you could open it with a bent spoon.

Amongst the run of the mill Fords I owned which were 'OK' but uninspiring, one odd car I owned was a Citroen BX. The hydropneumatic was hilarious, to experience; sitting in the car and experience it rise up to normal height after sitting almost on the ground.

But funniest of all was taking it for an MOT and it failing on the handbrake - only for me to ask the tester if they had checked the rear wheels and the penny to drop.

The worst car I owned was a FIAT Brava - Fix It Again Tomorrow was never more appropriate - everything went wrong on it.

The best car. Probably the current one, a VW Golf. It isn't particularly exiting, but handles well, cruises nicely on the motorway, and just works.

[Watis]

I have fond memories of a Ford Ka...The only downside was having to change at least one headlight bulb every winter.

And one of those - it was an absolute swine trying to fit a headlight bulb due to there being no space. I seem to recall the recommended solution was to take out the wheel arch liner and fit it through there.

The first time I had to change one, it took 20 minutes! But I developed a technique of feeding them into the headlamp, holding the contacts between my fingertips.

Watis

[AF62]

I have fond memories of a Ford Ka...The only downside was having to change at least one headlight bulb every winter.

And one of those - it was an absolute swine trying to fit a headlight bulb due to there being no space. I seem to recall the recommended solution was to take out the wheel arch liner and fit it through there.

The first time I had to change one, it took 20 minutes! But I developed a technique of feeding them into the headlamp, holding the contacts between my fingertips.

Did that mean you missed out the cursing and swearing which was definitely part of my technique. They always failed on the coldest, darkest, days when the last thing you wanted to be doing was skinning your knuckles trying to fit one.

I also seem to recall that it was one of the few 'standard' cars that you couldn't pay Halfords to fit the bulb for you.

[staffordian]

And one of those - it was an absolute swine trying to fit a headlight bulb due to there being no space. I seem to recall the recommended solution was to take out the wheel arch liner and fit it through there.

The first time I had to change one, it took 20 minutes! But I developed a technique of feeding them into the headlamp, holding the contacts between my fingertips.

Did that mean you missed out the cursing and swearing which was definitely part of my technique. They always failed on the coldest, darkest, days when the last thing you wanted to be doing was skinning your knuckles trying to fit one.

I also seem to recall that it was one of the few 'standard' cars that you couldn't pay Halfords to fit the bulb for you.

My son had one and we (well I!) had to swap a bulb one winter's evening. I agree about the cursing...

When the next one went, he took it to our local Halfords and they (eventually) did it. Maybe they didn't get the memo!

[Breelander]

Replacing the headlamp bulb on a 2010 VW Polo is (relatively) easy. First remove the headlamp unit, it's held in by three Torx screws...

[ten0rman]

Worst car I have ever had the misfortune to own was an 07 plate 1.8tdci Focus. Bought at 2 years old, with 27K on the clock, by the time we chucked in the towel some 4 years and 60K miles later it had had - 8 or more new tyres, a new engine, a new clutch, a new fuel filter, and the headlights realigned a number of times before they were right. And probably other stuff that I can't remember. (They do say that one forgets bad things!) Also, half the heated front window had failed.

Best car I have ever had is the current Toyota Avensis 1.8 petrol estate. 93K miles from new and nothing other than normal wear and tear. Tyre life is around 30K per set. Economy is ok at 38.5mpg. Admittedly it took the best part of 30K to start running properly, and it's a bit underpowered for towing a caravan, and it does have a few silly things such as the ability to electrically lock the windows in what ever position one wants - except that the rear windows are manually operated. But otherwise we are totally satisfied with it.

The real irony is that when I bought the Ford, it was a toss up between going Japanese or Ford. I chose Ford because I thought the Japanese spares might be more expensive. Ha bloomin ha. Now ok, I probably had a bad one, but I hope you will understand that I'll never have another Ford as long as I live.

Cheers,

ten0rman

[redsturgeon]

Worst car I have ever had the misfortune to own was an 07 plate 1.8tdci Focus. Bought at 2 years old, with 27K on the clock, by the time we chucked in the towel some 4 years and 60K miles later it had had - 8 or more new tyres, a new engine, a new clutch, a new fuel filter, and the headlights realigned a number of times before they were right. And probably other stuff that I can't remember. (They do say that one forgets bad things!) Also, half the heated front window had failed.

Best car I have ever had is the current Toyota Avensis 1.8 petrol estate. 93K miles from new and nothing other than normal wear and tear. Tyre life is around 30K per set. Economy is ok at 38.5mpg. Admittedly it took the best part of 30K to start running properly, and it's a bit underpowered for towing a caravan, and it does have a few silly things such as the ability to electrically lock the windows in what ever position one wants - except that the rear windows are manually operated. But otherwise we are totally satisfied with it.

The real irony is that when I bought the Ford, it was a toss up between going Japanese or Ford. I chose Ford because I thought the Japanese spares might be more expensive. Ha bloomin ha. Now ok, I probably had a bad one, but I hope you will understand that I'll never have another Ford as long as I live.

Cheers,

ten0rman

Interesting the Ford Focus of about that era was one of the more reliable cars you could buy! From your list of faults, it sounds like yours was involved in an accident and the body was misaligned.

Here's what Honest John said about them.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/focus-2004/

John

[ten0rman]

John,

Now that's an idea, an accident I mean, that no-one else has suggested. Especially as all the servicing information/record/handbooks etc was missing. I must admit that I didn't bother too much about that because a 2 year old diesel at 27K should have been good for a large amount of miles, especially as the previous car, a Peugeot 405 diesel was bought with 37K and ran to 130K + before having a cylinder head failure.

Food for thought there.

Thanks John,

ten0rman

[Lanark]

Best car: a MK1 MX 5 theres just nothing like open top driving through the countryside.

Worst car: a MK1 MX 5 - so impractical, a nightmare on the motorway or in heavy traffic, sports cars seem to be invisible to people driving SUVs and mine drank petrol, although the way I drove it may have had something to do with getting 23 mpg

I would buy another open top sports car one day, but only as a second car.

[MaraMan]

I second the votes for the MX-5 I loved and hated my Mk3, but it was a second car and lovely to drive on a bright day. I've not really had any problems with any of my cars, which have also included 4 BMW's, 1 Merc E Class, 2 Fiats, 1 Audi, 1 Daihatsu, 1 VW, 1 Mitsubishi, 1 Kia, with the exception of my company Citroen ZX Volcane which broke down twice in two years (I had it from new), including once when I was taking my Mother to A&E late one night with a broken wrist grrrr! I think I have must have been fortunate by all the tales of woe here.
Worst car was my first car, a 1971 Morris Marina Coupe 1.3. The by-pass hose kept on failing, the petrol gauge didn't work and neither did the fan. An ugly unreliable dog that had one redeeming quality, it was very cheap. I must also admit that my Mitsubishi Carisma was such an utterly boring non-descript car that I couldn't wait to move it on, but it was well built and reliable.

[Wuffle]

' Especially as all the servicing information/record/handbooks etc was missing.'

Once you have made the leap to 'it might have been crashed', how much further is it to the point where they might have clocked it by 100,000 miles when they were putting it back together?
Cars less than 3 years old are ripe for this kind of thing as no MOT history.

W.

[DiviLuvva]

Here's what a friend said when I quoted this thread. He's a car enthusiast and done a fair bit of rallying in his a bit over 60 years:

"Don't know where to start!!!

Most disappointing: Mk3 Golf Gti, dull, slow, unreliable
Most breakdowns: Land Rover Discovery V8 (and thirstiest), or maybe ropey 1967 MGB
Most tediously reliable: various VW Polos
Rustiest: AlfaSud
Most awkward to work on: joint award for AlfaSud and Mini
Most pointless: BMW MINI convertible
Most fun at sensible speeds: AlfaSud, especially with uprated suspension
Most accessible performance beyond the limit of grip: uprated Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts
Most inaccessible performance: BMW E30 M3 - just too good to be interesting at licencing saving speed
'Best car': BMW 550i Msport Touring: does everything from builder's van to beating TVRs on sprints"

[Pheidippides]

I think that "best" is very difficult as equipment and reliability have improved so much in the 35 years I've been driving. That said...

Worst: Peugeot 309 Style - A completely gutless POC, it was a cream "nearly white", had what seemed like a 25cc engine and rattled and coughed its way for the two years that I had it

Best: Eunos Roadster. This was a Japanese imported Mazda MX-5. It had a tweaked engine, dropped chassis and a competition clutch (which took a LOT of getting used to). It stuck to the road like glue, accelerated like nothing I've ever driven and the dropped suspension gave a real sensation of speed. It did have drawbacks with a leaky roof and dodgy electrics. It was actually killed by speedbumps that it graunched over, until one tore the cat off and that was its death-knell

Regards

Pheid

[Clariman]

This is an exercise in memory ... what cars have we had? As you can see, we've never been ones for flash cars - preferring good value, comfort and reliability. Having said that, I like going for a high trim level to get some toys and leather seats.

Best cars - I have just collected my second Seat Ateca and I really like it. As Tea432 said in an earlier post, it is very quiet - and I like its driving position while still being a medium sized vehicle. The Volvo S60 with its D5 engine was really nippy, very economical, the most comfortable car I have ever owned and was very reliable. Honda Accords were all very comfortable and reliable. I loved the engineering in the retractable cup-holder on the Audi A4 - that was class - can't remember what it was like to drive . Honda Jazz was an immensely practical car, very reliable which could turn into a van with the back seats down. That delivered Master C to and from Uni with all his stuff and furniture on many occasions. My overall winner for reliability is Honda - for the Accord and the Jazz.

Worst cars - Austin Metro and Citroen Xantia. Actually I quite liked the Xantia's weirdness but my family hated it and it wasn't the most reliable. I've probably missed some out.

Early Cars - 80s & 90s
Mini City - own car (used)
Austin Metro x2 - own car (1 used, 1 new)
Ford Fiesta - own car (new)
Austin Maestro - company car
Citroen Xantia - company car
Vauxhall Belmont - company car
Peugeot 405 x2 - company cars

Since 2000-ish
Audi A4 - company car
Volvo S60 - company car
Honda Jazz x3 - own car (new)
New Mini x 2 - own car (1 used, 1 new)
Honda Accord x3 - own car (2 x used, 1 x new)
Seat Ateca x2 - own car (new)

[tsr2]

Worst car is easy. A 1600L Sierra I bought for £600 as a stop gap. It struggled in wet weather, memorably grinding to a halt 3 times between Malvern and Worcester. The handling was "interesting". I never actually ran out of grip, but in the wet it felt like it didn't want to turn and passing lorries on a motorway, it felt it jumped sideways 6 inches. I think it was overpriced at £600 and hadn't been much cared for by previous owners. I don't recall what tyres it had on it. I suspect it was fitted with ditch finders.

Best has to be one of my last 3 cars. My 1995 Civic SR had enough power to be fun without being scary and handled beautifully. The steering was nicely weighed and gave good feedback from the road surface. My 2003 Octavia vRS didn't have the same feel, but it had more gadgets and was a bit of a rocket ship. My current Grand C-Max is under powered, at least relative to it's predecessors, but it does what I need it to do, the tech is great and the handling is really sharp. None of those 3 cars have had major reliability issues.

I guess if I had to pick a favourite it would be the Civic.

[Sobraon]

The worst was either a 1300 Morris (ADO16, baby nappy-body colour) which, when it ran, had to have a 15-min rest every two hours (almost like the idea of a tea-break was baked into its DNA).

Alternatively, it was a mark 4 Cortina which was absolutely gutless and had to be reversed up the slight incline to my house when it was icy. Just before I sent it to the scrappy it decided to ‘hand me’ its steering wheel as I was doing 60 outside the Police HQ. I managed to pull the handbrake lever through the floor as I was doing an emergency stop at the same time as trying to get the wheel back on the splines!

Much more pleasant was the black Fiat Uno Turbo (I had two consecutively) and did over 100k miles in both. I recall the boost was about 1.8 on the 1300 engines which meant it could easily spin its wheels in 3rd - lovely car(s). Only problem I ever had with then was a leaky turbo oil feed on the second which I changed on the drive.

Brilliant though the Fiats were (you don't hear that often!) it’s a toss-up with the present BMW 535D which is a technical tour de force and beautiful car. But I have to have the ‘limiter’ on ... every ... single ... time... I drive it. It does not like being driven slowly (i.e. UK speed limits) and the suspension and steering really don’t settle until you are at licence risking speed. I’m taking it to Germany in the near future and one of the benefits will be to drive at 79mph without risking my licence (71mph I hear with authority on the ‘smart’ section of the M1 near Sheffield).

Ho hum, well perhaps I had better go back to the Morris which I think only got above 70 for me once on the approach to the Severn Bridge with a tail wind ( it had a ‘rest’ on the Welsh side).

[stooz]

Thinking back my worst were all British.
I've had over 50 vehicles now. I've tried the lot.

Worst, metro.
Just awful.
But for breakdowns, a TVR. But I loved it despite that.

[redsturgeon]

Thinking back my worst were all British.
I've had over 50 vehicles now. I've tried the lot.

Worst, metro.
Just awful.
But for breakdowns, a TVR. But I loved it despite that.

50 stooz!

How long do you keep a car? About 6 months?

John

[tjh290633]

That made me count up how many we had had, which came to 24 plus 6 company cars, but one of the company cars became mine for a while, so the total is 29.

Some of the time we had 3 cars, including the company car. It makes the chronology strange, because the first time I got a company car we sold what was then the wife's car and kept mine.

Make        Model             
Morris      Van SZPO          
Vokswagen   1200 DL           
Vokswagen   1200 DL           
Vauxhall    Victor FB         
Vauxhall    Cresta PBDX       
Ford        Corsair 2000E     
Ford        Escort 1100DL     
Ford        Consul 2000L      
Datsun      Cherry 100A Estate*
Austin      Mini Mayfair      
Lancia      Y10 Fire          
Suzuki      Wagon R+ GL       
Suzuki      Splash 1.2 GLS    

Second string         
Austin      Seven (Mini)      
Morris      Mini              
Hillman     Imp*               
Vauxhall    Viva 1256 Estate  (Compay car bought when policy changed)
Renault     14TL              
Fiat        X1/9              
Toyota      MR2GT             
Peugeot     406 GLX 2.1TD     
Peugeot     407 SV HDi136     
Suzuki      SX4 SZ3           
Suzuki      SX4 S-Cross SZ4   

Company Cars         
Vauxhall    Viva 1256 Estate  
Vauxhall    Cavalier GLS      
Vauxhall    Belmont GLSi      
Lancia      Dedra 1.8 ie      
Rover       620i              
Rover       620i

It's funny how, in the early days I would keep them until the tyres needed replacing, but doing 5 years or 120k miles in company cars cured me of that. The cross-over point between "his and hers" is marked by the asterix*. Often the choice of car was determined by the location of a convenient dealer. I still have fond memories of my old GPO Telephone Van, which had a terminal velocity of 59mph.

TJH