Ever been really disappointed with a car?

[sporty-shite]

reading Sir Tainly's thread on one car for life got me to thinking. I couldn't stick with one car, because I've really hyped cars up in my own mind in the past, then bought one and felt really let down.

 

So.... What "burst your bubble?" When was "the shite not right?"

 

For me, it was this

 

 

Always fancied an Alfa Spider, although I'll admit, I didn't buy the best example. However, what a slow, wobbly, leaky let down it was. Didn't help that Mrs Sporty hated it, or that I had it on the road during a particularly wet summer. Eventually sold it at about break even to the local MP for Saddleworth!!! Apparently he didn't buy it on expenses

[Rusty Pelican]

Always wanted a Hunter , found what i thought was the next best thing , A 1975 Humber Septre MK3 , same car really just a bit more glitsy and poorer build quality , UTTER UTTER SHITE , had it 3 weeks , I blew the rear diff up trying a sweeney take off , it filled with water and cut out all the time and it was bright blue and i mean BRIGHT , no more Hunters or dirivatives for me

[Mr Lobster]

One that springs to mind is a new Saab 9-5. Thought it would be nice. It wasn't. Mentioned that enough on here though...

[Guest]

Mondeo's. Soul less boring uninteresting to drive crap.

[Richard]

I had a Citroen C4 and... wait, that wasn't me.

[Spiny Norman]

I once had a Volvo 260. Big V6 tank, loved it. Bought a 2.0 litre 240 a few months back. Heavy, slow & just as thirsty as the big V6. Sold it after about six weeks.

[whitevanman]

everything I have tried or owned thats post 1993......great for a bit before you realise how shite they really are, eg- first years release of Vectras, got one as a hire car.....slow, uneconomical etc, etc.. second week I bought an old Subaru L series..............quicker, more economical and made me £200 a week for the next month...lasted for a year before I sold it for the same price I had paid for it I have found post 93 cars to be sufferable to use, expensive when they go wrong....hence my pre 93 only purchasing syndrome

[Guest Tony Hayers]

everything I have tried or owned thats post 1993......great for a bit before you realise how shite they really are, eg- first years release of Vectras, got one as a hire car.....slow, uneconomical etc, etc.. second week I bought an old Subaru L series..............quicker, more economical and made me £200 a week for the next month...lasted for a year before I sold it for the same price I had paid for it I have found post 93 cars to be sufferable to use, expensive when they go wrong....hence my pre 93 only purchasing syndrome

Hmmm, I see a pattern appearing here Sierra - MondeoNova - CorsaOrion - Escort SaloonCarlton - Omega (ok, the Omega was launched in '94)309 - 306190 - C Class21 - Laguna (crap, end of)

[wuvvum]

Always wanted a Hunter , found what i thought was the next best thing , A 1975 Humber Septre MK3 , same car really just a bit more glitsy and poorer build quality , UTTER UTTER SHITE , had it 3 weeks , I blew the rear diff up trying a sweeney take off , it filled with water and cut out all the time and it was bright blue and i mean BRIGHT , no more Hunters or dirivatives for me

See the Hunter was actually one car that was a lot better than I was expecting. Comfortable, plenty quick enough (my first one would sit at the ton), acceptable handling, reliable, not the most exciting classic but thoroughly competent. I paid £50 for my first one (a one-owner Topaz on a P plate) and £62 for the second (a slightly rough 1969 Deluxe) and liked both of them.Disappointing cars for me: Rover 420 GSi Turbo (not nearly as quick as I'd expected from 200bhp in a small car) and my current Mazda 626 (thoroughly competent but soooooo dull). I'm sure there's been others but I can't remember any off the top of my head.

[UglyAmerican]

My current Honda Civic. It's economical, reliable transport. Need I say more about how it disappoints me?

[michiel]

I'm dissapointed with the fact that I don't seem to like driving biggish saloon cars...

[VWPowered]

i always seem to be disappionted with cars whilst i still own them then regret it once they have been sold

[Cavcraft]

Focus Ghia: Been mentioned on here before but was so disappointing I couldn't wait to get shut.Mk2 Astra 1.3L: Low miles, elderly original owner looked great. Only it wasn't. It turend out to be a right old dog that bits fell off daily. Obviously I didn't expect a Rolls Royce but it was bloody terrible and I hated it.Various Carltons: never really got on with them and found them quite unreliable.Mk2 Mondeos: I almost cannot begin to describe how utterly hateful I find these. Nasty, nasty rubbish.Mk2 Fiestas: every sodding one I had was bought out of desperation and was rotten to the core.Volvo 940 turbo (petrol). Nice enough in a Volvo way but was pitifully slow, supped fuel like there was no tomorrow and was extremely difficult to thrash. For some reason 95% of the time when I clogged it naff all happened except it just used more fuel. The other 5% of time it would suddenly decide it was some sort of sports car and go like a scalded cat. usually when you didn't expect it to.BMW 318i auto: really wanted to like it but it was doing 18mpg at very best, must have had some sort of fuel problem.

[Akron]

My mk3 Astra, one owner from new one of the last on an R plate I really wanted to love it but couldn't. It as so soulless and boring I hated everything about it. Mrs Akron's mk2 Orion with the all blue interior was so much more fun.

[Guest]

To be honest, I can't think of much. Most cars turn out to be a pleasant surprise for me.

 

 

Though I must admit, the second generation Hyundai Accent was quite a disappointment. I like the first generation ones, especially with the "angry catfish" facelift. But the second one just seemed a lesser car in most departments, the interior felt really cheap and nasty compared to the first generation. I would still have one though, it'd have to be a 4-door saloon though. Preferably an auto, then I could pretend to be an American who isn't doing very well in life.

 

That's about it though, I've driven a reasonable amount of stuff in this thread and quite liked it - not on a shite basis, but just as a general car. The MK3 Astra is a nice all-rounder, Focus is a great car (if overpriced), MK2 Mondeo is comfortable and drives fine, 306s are nice and sturdy-feeling. What's the problem eh?

[dollywobbler]

Austin Maestro 1.3L. I've always been strangely drawn to these unloved hatchbacks but while the torquey engine was a boon, I found it utterly bland to drive. It didn't really like corners, the steering was very peculiar in its weighting and I got absolutely no enjoyment out of it at all.Well, apart from only paying £125 for it with MoT. Think I got most of that back via Ebay at least.

[retro80sboy]

always wanted an XR3i and bought one a few years ago with my heart ruling my head.it was a total lemon and drove like shite, luckily I only lost 20 quid on it when I sold it but the disapointment was the worst part as I only kept it a month.I am though off to see about maybe buying another one this week though as its a ghost that needs exorcising. Im expecting this one to live up to expectations and ill take it for a good test drive to see if it does.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

 

Yes, they're crap. Nice engine (well, the original 1750/2000 carbed one) but the rest of it wasn't great. The back axle always felt like it wasn't very well connected, squirming around like a Cortina 3/4/5 with shagged voids. I drove two 'good' ones and disliked both. I have a feeling a really well modded MGB Roadster would be better............

[Rod/b]

I once had an 1994 Orion that I absolutely HATED within about an hour of buying. Don't really know why I expected better but it was absolutely shit. The 1.6 Zetec lump was gutless and it handled like a bucket of sick.Then the first time i used the quickclear windscreen it worked perfectly, except for a strip 6 inches wide directly above the steering wheel. Great.I abused that car like no other. I hated it that much. I once took the back seats out and put as many bathroom tiles and laminate in the back as I could fit. I drove it home from B&Q dragging it's arse like a dog with worms and it still wouldn't die. I sold it after replacing the rear wheel bearings twice in under a year ( I assume they were manufactured by Dairylea). Some Aussie backpacker wanted it to tour Europe in for a year. I never heard back from him so I assume he made it to the ferry...

[Alpineandy]

25 years ago I was running a rustbucket Renault R10 1100 which I abused senseless. My mother had a Mk2 Escort 1300 - 4 door. As a motorsport fan I always though the escorts would be good even though I wasn't keep on fords due to my brothers 1600 mk 3 cortina (a hatefull car, but I'd kind of expected it to be). When the R10 needed some work and I needed a car my mother begrudgingly let me use the escort. Well, the engine sounded like a bag of rusty nails, it was uncomfortable, and compared to the R10 the handling was poor (it may have slide controlably but is started sliding sooooo easily). The R10 went through corners 50% faster without sliding, although it was much more difficult when it did eventually slide.

[Gompo]

Nothing I've owned yet thankfully, however I did go for a testdrive in £20ks worth of Caterham 7 and didnt really think it was that special - maybe one of those 'never meet your heroes' type things.Also testdrove an E30 318IS. Was quite looking forward to it as so many people go on about how great they are.. but it just seemed a bit slow/boring. I'm sure if I owned it I could get into fun with it, but for that type of car it felt too slow.

[Guest]

I had a Citroen C4 and... wait, that wasn't me.

I don't possibly know who you could be talking about......Bloody hell, that C4.I still have it. It now drives as well as car with a dying track rod end can. It doesn't jiggle about at speed any more, thanks to a properly balanced set of wheels and a new tyre which doesn't have a massive bleb on the inner edge. Props to CIH for highlighting the fault as the tyre rather than the wheel, refusing any cash for helping me and admitting the balancing machine at his local place of employment wasn't brilliant.Most of my disappointment came from the dealer's utter disinterest in helping me get the problems sorted out rather than the car itself. It seems my endless letters did have some effect - the dealer in question has since had a massive turnover of staff.Although going through the number of discs it's had, and having to pay for the majority of it did not endear the car to me much. Touch wood, there's been no brake issues for 8 months now.It took forever and a day for the new car tightness to wear off as. For ages I hated the gearchange. Cable shifts were never a great idea in execution, especially when PSA had a brilliant rod actuated gearbox in the BE \ ME 3. Until it had 45 k on the clock, the gearshift would baulk like a petulant child on short trips. I remember having to force it in first with both hands more than once. It's now loosened up nicely regardless of the ambient temperature.The wipers are still the stupidest design I've ever seen, but the marks left on the top of the screen are nothing a bit of jeweller's rouge can't sort out. Other than a bit of plastic A pillar trim, a bottom ball joint and a track rod end, it's finally become a decent car after 3 and half years and 58 K. I put a lot of mileage on my cars, and I suspect it's over the sulky period now. I can but hope.In a lot of ways it reminds me of my dad's H plate Mk 3 Cavalier. It had so many faults upon delivery and in the first 6 months of its life he well and truly thought he'd got a lemon. Once we were out of the woods so to speak, it never went wrong again and could not be killed. It passed every MOT without an advisory and finally carked at 313 k in the hands of a friend he'd sold it to. Even then, it wasn't the car's fault. It was rear ended by a Range Rover Classic, so hard that somehow the front of the CSK ended up on top of the Cavalier's tailgate, giving Steve horrendous whiplash. However, he managed to open the door and climb out with the aid of a paramedic.When the recovery people came, the car dragged itself on to the back of a low loader with its rear end completely destroyed.Hey, I managed to make an Autoshite post about my C4 without slagging it off or swearing once!Am I redeemed?

[Timewaster]

Hey, I managed to make an Autoshite post about my C4 without slagging it off or swearing once!

 

Am I redeemed?

_________________

pogweasel wrote:

Then simply reclaim your full refund, go and buy a 306 D-turbo (which is obv the best car of evar) and spend the rest on drugs and hookers.

 

Mr_Bo11ox wrote:

wow, impressive fucking service that one! Cheers WAT

I spotted a swear!

 

Anyway - 1988 Golf GTI 16v. Stupidly bought as an orphan trade in from the back of car lot.

Thought a set of new alloys, decent t-cut and polish and some new discs and pads would transform it.

I was wrong! Gearbox had been bodged, clutch gave up, cut the insides off the rear tyres in 2000 miles, switches broke, trims fell off to reveal crusty arches and it wasn't that nice to drive

 

Guy I sold it to (at a massive loss) drove it for a week before the engine let go, but he claimed it was his fault for thrashing it.

 

Dunno what he thought I had been doing with it.

[Rusty Pelican]

Forgot to mention my Uno 60s , bought for £180 as an emergency , engine was great when it ran , the rest was , well shite TBH , changing gear was like sturring a bowl of glue with a straw , gearlever position bore no resemblance to what gear i was trying to get , tailgate rotted away , leaked like sieve and kept dying for no apparent reason , took the missus to Longleat in it , conked out twice on the way there , but on the way back all hell broke loose , im sat on the junction with the A303 from Warminster waiting for the traffic to clear , tiny gap , wheelspan out in front of someone in desperation only for it to die on me , got to the services 100 yards up the road on the starter where i called the RAC , started instantly then he drove it up and down the road behind the services and didnt come back for ages , eventually he appeared stating " Fuck knows whats wrong with that , il tow you home , went from Yeovil to Lyme regis once , 5 BLOODY HOURS for a 50 mile trip , I did the Basil Faulty stunt with the twig and the 1100 only i used a fuck off log and beat it to death , scrapped off for a tenner .

[Pillock]

Not actually my car, but....My mum won an Escort Cabrio. Mk5 on a K-reg, a local Ford dealer competition. As you can imagine, it was a time of great excitement for 14-year-old me, and I eagerly awaited the day she had to go and fetch it from the dealer.And then she took me for a drive in it. Oh.The interior was flimsy and cheap looking. The roof was manual, as were the windows. It was a 'Dash' special edition, so it was blessed with a 1.4 SPi engine that was unrefined and gutless.The seats were just straight out of an L model, the stereo rubbish, wheeltrims instead of alloys and it was a garish blue over silver.OK, so it was a free car, and she went on to flog it for about 8 large which was handy, but I'd got myself so worked up that I was krushed when I realised it was shite.

[Rod/b]

My sister had one of those boggo Cabriolets. Very shit indeed.

[ChinaTom]

Audi A8. Looking forward to a good waft - ended up with arse-grapes and a migraine. Look so nice from the outside - lots of toys to play with - luxury without drawing attention. Dumped it in Regensburg where I swapped it for an Octavia diesel to come back in.

[Milford Cubicle]

Incredible that they're still making such uncomfortable cars, especially at the A8 level. I suffered a ride in a newish A6 recently and was glad to slip back in to the armchair-like comfort of my 405.

[trigger]

THIS

 

 

I traded in my nice bargain buy 2000 Audi A4 1.8 SE in for this as i was after a nice diesel but with in a few days i really wish i hadn't.

I spend a lot of money buying it and then had to put up with it's noisy, slow crappy TDCi engine which kept cutting out and stalling every time i put the air con on or tried to pull out of a junction, The main sealer i bought it from didn't want to know.

Then the splash shield fell off and jammed on top of the steering rods making a racked when steering and the garage also lost the locking nut so i done more miles driving to and from Bury St. Edmunds to Ipswich then anywhere else, And it started to go rusty on the boot (It was only 3.5 years old at the time) and then Ford charged me £185 for a oil change.

 

So i sold it.

[VWPowered]

Ever been really disappointed with a car?

umm yes most of them