what love / hate cars have you had?

[RustyNuts]

We've had several but the two i'll mention are the honda civic and renault safrane.

 

the honda has been solid engine and box wise. everything else is fubar but it never fails to start and despite having a unhealthy creaking / groaning sound whenever you hit the brakes, it's been pretty sound mechanically. For its reward its off to the banger racing gang who will no doubt take great pleasure in smashing it to bits. A shame really as its been extremely reliable despite having literally no maintenance for years.

 

The safrane has been nothing but a pain in the arse for many years now. Once upon a time it was more reliable than the honda, almost nothing wrong and was a pleasure to drive. Unfortunately things changed when i got stiffed by a wanker garage owner and its been a pain in the arse since. Unreliable engine, ecu, gearbox, alarm, then due to sitting there the rust crept up on it, more badness happened, leaks sprung up... but yet i just can't bring myself to let go of it. Despite knowing i'd be better off quitting and cutting my losses, i keep plodding along fixing bits and bobs slowly getting it back to roadworth condition... and after 5 years i'm still not there FFS... but it's getting close and despite absolutely hating this car on many occassions, it still brings a stupidly smug smile to my face every time i have to shuffle it around.

 

 

So.. what love / hate cars have you had and have you ever had one that should have gone to the metal bin but it miraculously survived that fate by the skin of its teeth?

[Parky]

My Chevette. Loved the handling and the fact parts were cheap and easy to find. Hated the fact I had to spend my spare time and money buying and fitting the bloody parts to resolve many many ftp's....

[srad34]

Mk6 Ford Transit, loved it when it ran, hated it when the fuel pump was fubarred....

 

We had an Audi TT, I just hated that, pile of shit.....

[Jazoli]

Not really love/hate as such, I have spent too much money on my Focus to sell it in the next 12 months, which pisses me off as i want an Alfa GT, its a good car and there's nothing wrong with it and it drives really well, but its a bit dull, its not fast enough and I want a leather interior, and a touch of class, I can't even palm it onto the wife as she loves her (my) Puma and will not be parted with it so I'm sort of stuck with it, I know if I sold it and bought an Alfa it would give its next owner 10 years of faithful service, where the Alfa would explode and rape me, grrrrrrrr................

[Junkman]

I had many cars I loved, and many that I didn't love quite as much, but so far only one I really passionately hate the fucking guts of, to a degree, that I'm tempted to do some sabotage to it,

so I can finally justify to weigh that hateful piece of shit in.

[warren t claim]

If I get to the stage where I utterly loath a car rather than scrap it I donate it to my local fire brigade so it can suffer before it goes to the crusher. So far a B reg Volvo 340 1.4 and V reg Pug 305 estate have met their fate this way.

[mercrocker]

Generally speaking most of my cars have been subject of a love/hate relationship but I recall them all quite fondly.  Except, that is, for the Mk3 Grandad.   I would have forgiven its one big, expensive and inconvenient FTP if it hadn't been such a dull, loathsome, horrible grey-seated bastard.   From its lifeless steering via its stunted ugly fat little wheel to its Maplins switchgear to its scabby arches and constant oil fuming it really represented exactly 0 degrees progress from the £30 Mk 4 Cortina that it replaced.

 

There was nothing intrinsically wrong with it other than its dire dullness and was probably ten times the motor car my fucked 1.6L had been. 

 

However, to me it was a dozen times worse than the Corty because it had absolutely no sense of character or "old Ford-ness" about it.   Apart from the oil  burning, that is.   

 

Depressed the shit out of me that bloody car did.   I still shudder when I see one.

[xtriple]

I had a Merc 450se of 116 flavour (one of many) and it was a proper love/hate job. I loved it 'cos it was a Mercedes and looked great, I hated it for the fact it was the biggest pile of dog turd on the planet and I had bought it in the dark and not really checked fuck all.

 

The windscreen leaked like it wasn't there, the steering box had more play than a PlayStation it leaked fuel from utterly fucked pipes, it was rusty as fuck underneath and mainly because it was actually a 350!

 

To make matters worse, I couldn't give the bastard away.

 

There have been many others....

[MarvinsMom]

i think that every car i have owned has been subject to me going from been madly in love with it, and then i've hated it with every fibre of my soul.

 

alot depends on how things are going, if the car is running well then i'm probably going to look on it favourably.

 

if the ungrateful twat is playing up, then i'm going to be loathing it. currently the one which is pissing me off is the mini. mainly cos it is broken and the bodywork needs some attention. at other times the Jaguar has been a pain in the arse, usual;ly only resolved by it emptying my bloody purse (or bank account....)

 

but as i've been told that something needs to leave the fleet this year, cos i've got too many and no time etc. so currently the mini will be going up for sale at some point this year. which will no doubt piss me off even more! but back up and running and a nice day out on the moors, then i'll be back in love with it.

 

as the mini is worth something, and the jag is a flippin' dear mare to keep, then these 2 are in the selling line. the metro, while at times testing my patients, it costs next to mow't to keep, so i think that one is a keeper.

 

for now....

[eddyramrod]

Well... where should I start?!  I've had so many I honestly don't know the answer.

[chaseracer]

A certain well-known Mercedes-Benz 300E...

[richardmorris]

Citroen c5.

 

Very capable and didn't leak or rust. But left me stuck at the side of the road ( unforgivable ) more than any other car I've owned. Despite it being the newest.

[MarvinsMom]

had a nissan micra k12, that was horrid. in every way. ok i guess for pottering around town, but shit on the motorway down to Nottingham,....

 

uncomfortable, noisy, not all that economical, and with all those renner bit fitted it felt like it was only a matter of time before something gave up, and that would be the end of that!

 

so horrid i sold it and got a rover 75.

 

to my colleagues at work that is the sign of a serious mental illness, made even worse cos i really like the rover.

 

so that car was just hate, and more hate!

[Asimo]

This Avantime.

 

I love the giant coupe idea, the look of the thing, the proper French weirdness, the hot-dip galvanised, aluminium and plastic rustproofness, the glass roof, the size, presence.

 

But I hated the poor ride and the dull engine, the wheezy little Renault twitch the window glass had to do to open the door, the lack of space inside (considering how huge it was) and the crappy digital speedo. And that flaky modern Renaultness. 

 

Wish they had been made by Lexus.

[Urko]

My ZT-T has had a lot of hate recently, due it's continual fubars and ftps after I bought " a good one" ha! and lavished care and cash on the bastard. I loved it at first though because it was infinitely better than the hateful ALDI A3 it replaced. Actually, even in my garage with the engine out and the MOT expired today, it's still better than that Audi.

[MarvinsMom]

walking is better than a friggin' Aldi......

[eddyramrod]

I'm going to nominate my mk1 Granada.  Which one?  Both!

This 3.0GL was only nine years old.  I'd wanted one from the moment I saw them on The Sweeney and even now I think they're quite handsome.  But there's no such thing as a comfy seating position for me, heaters and brakes are rubbish, and this one ate head gaskets for fun.  I scrapped it in the end.

So 25 years later...

I thought I'd give a manual version a chance.  Being a GXL from the first year of production was attractive, and being in Cyprus the useless heater wouldn't be an issue.

Except that didn't solve the brakes, or the seating position, and there is NO FUCKING WAY ON EARTH these things should ever have been offered with a manual box.  It was without possibility of challenge, the most actively hostile clutch and gearbox I have ever encountered, and here speaks someone who has owned not only a fucked rear-engined Skoda, but also a fucked Maxi.

And I couldn't give the fucker away, either in Cyprus or back here once I'd shipped it.

No more Granadas for me.

[UltraWomble]

Couple.

Micra K11 -

Loved the economy, reliability and the fact I could park it anywhere

Hated the rust, cramped interior, lack of 6th gear ( 3500 RPM at 70mph was jarring) the fact it never ever fucking broke down thus preventing me from buying something else.

 

Picasso

Loved economy, room, 

Hated every other single thing ever about it from the gear selection, looks, turning circle, rust, ticking injector that eventually stopped the thing accelerating properly to the seats.

[eddyramrod]

This Avantime.

21200019.JPG

 

Wish they had been made by Lotus.

EFA

[MarvinsMom]

shame, as something that good looking as a mark 1 granny SHOULD be ace to own and drive

[Pete-M]

Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4 Yakuza Happy Death Express.

 

Everything I like in a car: V engine, twin turbo, 300 bhp, leather, climate, great stereo, cruise, auto with manual type mode. Went like the clappers, rode well (out of town), sounded great, handled brilliantly, gripped spectacularly, even looked cool.

 

Unfortunately it was seriously thirsty and bugger all fun. It would get a serious move on even on little twisty roads but it was no fun at all. If your idea of fun driving is to go very very fast with an electronic guardian there to tidy up your excesses then it's a brilliant thing. If you like a car that plays along and can be persuaded to go as fast but with more interaction and adjustability buy an Impreza. I did.

[xtriple]

I had a MK1 Granny in 3.0 Ghia flavour and it was fupping ACE! Can't remember the brakes being duff but then, being a driving God, I rarely use them

[Pete-M]

Actually, I loved my Scorpio Ultima 24V.

 

Imagine a better handling but just as checkable Granny.

[SiC]

Civic mk8 - spaceship.

Pros: literally never goes wrong. Looks awesome outside. Has amazing dash. Diesel has loads of umfph - especially considering its a standard engine. Economical both in fuel and running costs. Loads of toys standard. 127k miles (4yrs/45k ownership) and everything works - only a clutch in that time.

Cons: uninspiring drive. Hard over bumps. More rattles than a tin full of ball bearings. Cheap feeling plastic interior.

 

Boringly reliable. Like our Samsung washing machine but cooler looking. Kinda of car you forget about. Will I get rid of it? Nah, its a perfect car to have as a reliable backup to keep the o/h happy while I buy crap!

 

Astra mk4 G (silver)

Pros: cheap to fix. No one parks next to you - especially shiney new stuff.

Cons: ugly, old fashioned even at the time it was released. Awful seats. Dull, dull, dull interior and exterior. Everyone assumes you live in the worst part of the city. No idea why, but other drivers like to bully you - cut you up, stop you merging lanes, pull out in front at last minute, etc. Maybe because it's really small by modern standards?

Genuinely walk up to the wrong cars in the cars park, as it looks the same as every other Astra mk4. It's a Vauxhall.

Anyone want to buy it?!

 

 

 

....... I really need some interesting chod in my life right now!

[Christine]

Those Mitsubishi's do look the dogs bollox don't they ? Event the normal Galants look mean as mustard .  Now you've put me off them....

[Formula Autos]

I thought I'd treat myself to a decent modern a couple of years ago. Looking around various dealers, on eBay and Autotrader I just kept finding the usual anonymous Euroboxes that fit my criteria. I got close to buying a Focus estate, but just couldn't quite bring myself to buy it. Doing 14K or more a year in work mileage means I pretty much have to have something diesel and economical, and it had to be pretty big to take four adults and a load of suitcases. The Focus estate should have been ideal, but something stopped me at the last minute.

 

Then I saw it at a local Ford dealers - the answer; a black Jag X-type estate dizzler. Well I've always wanted a Jag......

 

It was a beauty (as far as these things go) - good nick, full service history, top spec (with one of the poshest interiors of any car I've seen - quilted tobacco coloured leather seats, carbon fibre dash, etc), powerful engine that was still economical enough for me, and the Brucie bonus of a waft-o-matic gearbox.

 

A private buyer was found for my current Mondeo, and I walked in with cash on the hip and got a good deal. I'd already decided I wanted it after the test drive, but had played it cool. I got it for far less than I would have paid at a Jag dealership, but it seemed to be the same standard as their approved used ones, but with a better spec than any I could find at a Jag garage.

 

I thought I'd got a right result.

 

It took 48 hours to FTP. The turbo went.

 

Still, bought at a garage, so they fixed it for nowt, and I got a courtesy car and all that. No real harm done. Just a blip.

 

Then the rust started. Oh, the rust!

 

The first visible sign was the tailgate, which started erupting under the paint above the number plate. Then I checked it over and found the boot floor was unpainted internally. Solid underneath (which I'd checked before buying, up on a lift at the dealers), but so bad internally that the spare wheel was rusted to the floor.

 

Both things were sorted under warranty by a Jag dealer (as it was under 6 years old), but this took the shine off it.

 

From then on, I stopped enjoying the car. Not a sensible viewpoint, as all these problems cost me nothing to fix. I just fell out of love with it. It was a car that was both practical for my needs, and the sort of thing that I'd always promised myself I'd buy some day, but I never really warmed to it. I absolutely loved the idea of it, but the reality was just a bit meh - not just the rust and reliability issues, but driving it every day. The novelty wore off very quickly. I actually had pangs of guilt whenever I saw my old daily driver go past (I sold it to a guy locally, and see it at least once a week, giving sterling service), and wished I'd never sold a povvo spec Mondeo to get it.

 

On paper it was everything I wanted and needed in a car, but I just never warmed to that Jag. I normally keep my moderns four years at least, but this one lasted less than 18 months before I got rid, and bought another Mondeo.

 

Which I'm warming to much more.

[Lukas]

I will not tell my Volvo S80 story again. I will not tell my Volvo S80 story again. I will not... 

[saucedoctor]

This one. 1994 R8 214 SEi. Loved how it looked, and when it wasn't fucked it went like a rocket. Lovely paint job and rims, terrific interior, very chuckable, but it was a dog.

[saucedoctor]

Had to buy this as reliable transport. More love than hate. Loved how simple and dependable it was, and how easy it was to get bits to upgrade it. Hated how it rusted. My mate had a red one, also an 87 car, and his rusted even worse than mine.

 

Started as a Pop, ended up with a 3i interior, engine and 'box. I had RS 7 spoke alloys on it as well, but can't find a pic with them fitted. You can just see our former neighbours' mark 3 in the background. It got hit up the arse, and I wanted to buy it for parts (it was a 1.6GL) but the insurance company wouldn't play ball.

[taxi paul]

I had a Hyundai i800 people carrier and a Mazda tribute 4x4. The Hyundai was great at moving people but utterly boring and uncomfortable to drive. I drive the Mazda more than the Hyundai . So I had the good idea of getting rid of both and buying a 4x4 seven seater. I got a Chevrolet Captiva, or poor mans xc90. I thought it was great had all the stuff I wanted and was really comfy to drive. Then it sort if wobbled. The dpf played up and then the throttle body needed replacing. I ended up paying around £800 of a £2000 bill to rectify all of this, the rest paid by my £50.00 a month warranty. To top it all the main dealer then tells me it had an oil leak. The bill could be a couple of thousand due to the way they are built. So it got part exed against a newer Mazda 5. I suppose my best one , kept longest. Was my ford tourneo 9 seater. Had I four years took it from 50,000 miles up to 160,00 and apart from new accelerator pedal and routine service bits brake shoes etc it was great. Sadly the injectors and turbo started making grumbly noises so that's when it got part exed for the Hyundai i800.