So far, a 2010 Malibu I like how it looks but as a non-mechanic working on it SUCKSSS. No rear jacking point because of the exhaust so lifting the entirety is a pain, changing the damn fuel filter is awful again because of the exhaust, 6 speed transmissions have the vss inside the transmission instead so its a hassle to change vs being mounted outside the passenger side like on the 4 speed, the tiniest space to change the serpentine belt, pinch welds (I know its the norm but I hate it), programming an extra fob requires a scanner that can do so ($400+ on amazon), it has the shortest battery cables which are crimped so changing the connectors (due to corrosion) will require either putting new cable or moving the battery orientation and somehow locking down the battery after you cut the wires, some have faulty door lock actuators (guess who got lucky and got the faulty ones), no transmission dip stick so good luck getting the right level using that damn screw it has on the transmission, flimy trunk board and spare tire doesn’t sit leveled (DIYed my solution) and lastly in my experience THE DAMN HEADLIGHTS. You’d think it would be easy to change the headlights, but noooo its a massive pain. Besides that I like the flex fuel variant, gets good mileage. Replaceable parts and liquids are easy to get and affordable, has a good community online plus I think it’s pretty so I’m going to keep using it (currently fighting a mysterious problem and I’m just seeing what sticks in terms of a solution)
Hyundai sonata 2017
The door hinges do not hold the doors open. If the car is on a slight incline or a very slight wind the doors will slam shut. Better not have an arm or leg in the way.
The rear view mirror is set so low in the window that it blocks view of front right of the window.
The seats are hard as rocks. You can literally feel a metal bar that goes left to right through the seat. It’s right under your butt.
I’ll never buy another Hyundai again. Zero chance.
1990s Plymouth Caravan
I had a little Mazda B2200 truck for a while. The gauges didn’t work so I had no idea how much gas I had, how hot it was, or how fast I was going. And it leaked everything, gas included. Thing only actually got me to where I was going half the time.
Gave it to a friend and he fixed it up
I e only ever had Japanese cars, and they’ve all been great. A Nissan, a Toyota, and a Subaru.
I had an '82 Ford Escort. Those things were notorious for lunching the motor if the timing belt ever broke (which they did every 45,000 miles like clockwork) while you were traveling down the road. The valves would stop in whatever position they were in at that instant, and then the momentum of the car would keep the pistons moving up and down, bashing the piston tops in to whichever valves were unlucky enough to still be open, ruining pretty-much everything. At the same time I owned that car, my best friend owned an '82 Chevy Cavalier. We were constantly one-upping each other over who owned the biggest turd…
To be fair, that’s the expected outcome for any interference engine that loses the timing belt, which is almost all modern engines as far as I know. 45k is a really short lifespan for a timing belt though :/
actually now that I think back it was the water pump that regularly went out at 45k, and it was run by the timing belt. The noise coming from the water pump is what usually alerted me and I was able to replace it and the belt at the same time, which spared me from ever losing the motor. I drove that thing til it had over 160k on it, which was a lot for one of those…
I had a 2006 Ford Taurus that would’ve been stronger if it was built with Legos. Water pump fell off one day - like… just… fell off. The brackets weren’t broken or misshapen or anything like that, it just fell. None of the bolts were loose or unthreaded or anything. I know that doesn’t make sense. I KNOW. It makes even less sense that it happened twice.
There was also some kind of electrical issue that I could never isolate, but it was causing fuses to blow out every couple months, and would burn out the starter about once a year. I had to replace that starter so many times that I stopped needing to refer to my Chilton book for the steps. Sometimes the power steering would just stop working and then start working again with no warning.
lol. Wow.
Worst I’ve owned was a Saturn. Worst I’ve driven was a Chevy Malibu.
A 2011 GMC Terrain. It burned oil like none other. The power steering would occasionally just not work upon starting the car, requiring me to turn it off and on again a several times. Sometimes, I’d stop at a red light, the engine would die, and when I’d restart it it’d go into limp mode. And traction control and AWD would occasionally just give out, which can be dangerous where I live due to ice and snow.
The thing was a hazard and GMC and all associated brands can fuck right off.
I had a passat for 3 days when the engine almost exploded going over a bridge from engine sludge. I loved my Ranger and hate to speak ill of it, but it was a ford. I kept a full wrench set and spare parts under the jump seats. Most parts I’ve ever changed on a car and some repeatedly. Ultimately gave in to its unfixable head warp.
2002 ford explorer. You don’t see many 20 year old cars on the road at all, but that thing was already a rare sight by 2012 when I ignorantly bought mine.
After owning that pile of scrap for 2 or 3 years, when the 2nd transmission gave way and the front left suspension just sorta collapsed in on itself, I was left surprised that any of those cars survived beyond 2003.
I don’t buy new cars. I buy them 5-10 years old, and for a bit before, try to keep an eye on how many I see of them on the road. Not very scientific, but it gives you an idea of their longevity.
An Audi TT.
FUCK Audi. Never again. Nothing but problems with that heap of shit, and repairs cost more than I paid for the car.
I had a Pontiac Fiero. It really was terrible in every way but I love that piece of shit. It has been the only car I have owned that appreciated in value. I sold it for almost double what I paid less than a year after I bought it.
my 2011 toyota camry.
it’s also the best car I’ve ever owned, probably because it’s the only car I’ve ever owned.
Ironically, a Toyota. Specifically, my 1994 4Runner (that’s from back when they were still the same as the famous indestructible Hilux, BTW). I’ve owned it since just before the pandemic and still haven’t managed to get it to run right yet. It’s been parked for months because I can’t find any mechanic willing to touch it.
The lesson here is that when people say the 3VZE is the one bad engine Toyota made, believe them. The most common advice I’ve read for fixing it is “rip it out and swap in a 5VZE,” which I’m seriously considering.