I bought a new 850cc Mini in 1963 and it was particularly reliable, serviced every 1000 miles. Lost count of number of shocks replaced. Probably in excess of 20. Frequent tyre replacement and valve grinds. It was raced, rallied and constantly thrashed.
At 70,000 miles it suddenly dropped a lot of oil pressure and got rattly in the bottom end. Pulled the motor out, found the bigend bolts had stretched and were only finger tight. But by this stage I had a "plan". I shortened the mains, fitted an 1100 crank and rods with .040 over pistons. Replaced the clutch and diff cross-pin and spider gears.
Sold that car at 95,000 miles, original gearbox and CV's. Which I reckon for a Mini is pretty good.
tony9,
Nov 21, 5:38pm
Did that, in my Imp. Much better after I flipped the transaxle so that it was mid-engined. No back seat, no matter.
cagivachick1,
Nov 21, 5:56pm
chev c10, 6.2 deisel, total dog
hawat,
Nov 21, 5:57pm
HAW HAW FDLMAO and the comments just keep getting better. Love this thread. Track from Sgt Peppers springs to mind. 'got to admit its getting better a little better every time'
johnn,
Nov 21, 6:00pm
Ford Futura wagon, was a 1997, I bought it at 30K, steering box came loose, electrics were crap, door locks worked by themselves (when no one was near the car) & failed caused flat batteries etc, rust, disc brake rotors wore out at 80K, was constantly in at Ford Wellington where a grumpy lady called Barbara dealt with customers & we didn't get on, sold it before warranty ran out. Never again I promised would I buy another ford. Work gave me a 2008 Focus wagon (was new when I got it), leaks through the firewall, smelly carpet etc, been quoted 10+ hours to pull out the dash $1000++, rust around the tailgate, I like Toyota for hassle free motoring.
kecal,
Nov 21, 6:55pm
brought first car, it was a humber 80, cant remember year etc. i had to coast it down the hill i lived on and hope like shit it wouldn't conk out at traffic lights. change into neutral as i hit the lights , right foot giving it gas and left foot working the foot brake. pass two sets of lights and another main inter section and drop the piece of shit of at the garage . had a gutsfull and sold it as fast as I could. from then on in only brought something that needs servicing every 6 months . tried fixing the radiator once on a datsun 180 b kept leaking water ,so that was the final straw everything goes to a garage now. some people aren't meant to tamper with cars and I guess iam one. I never had the knowledge or temperament to tinkle with cars but my 2 boys can drop a motor or change a gear box no problems, go figure 40 yrs on i still send my cars in every 6months to be serviced.
nzmax,
Nov 21, 8:35pm
I was the 3rd owner of a 1965 Prince Gloria in the late 80's which I purchased at around 130,000miles and according to the owner (his brother purchased it new) had never had any work done to it, burnt a little oil, but only an occasional puff of smoke. Hadnt been on the road for about 5years, and was sitting up on blocks on the guys front lawn when I got it. Had to recondition motor at around 150,000miles as it started running on 4 cylinders, turned out to be a knackered head gasket. Had a couple of very small rust spots, the dark blue paint still polished up ok and still had a bit of shine and depth to it. Definitely wouldn't call it immaculate, but more good original condition. Was my everyday car for 6 years and proved to be quite reliable and comfortable although a little gutless. Had no issues selling it either. Almost the complete opposite experience to your own.
westwyn,
Nov 21, 10:08pm
1964-ish Triumph Herald 1200 that I bought for my sister at a time of budgetary constraint. on the way home from buying it in Mt Roskill the left rear wheel actually fell off- as in,at 50mph or so, departed the hapless Herald, flung back at the car behind (which was driving close up my bum) and went under the front bumper, damaged the engine mounts, exhaust, diff mounts and God knows what. Uninsured- of course we were at that point- paid out around $1500 to fix the car behind. The entire exhaust system lasted a little longer, maybe week, before also parting company while on the road. Battery went flat- and kept going flat- current drain somewhere. Engine ran ok for a few more weeks before running rough and starting to smoke. Leaked like the Labour Party caucus. Boot well turned out to be rusted out. Suspension bushes shagged. Diff soon started to clunk. Lost synchro between 2nd and 3rd. And I really forget what else, although I know there was lots more, because from that point I managed to mentally block any further images or thoughts of that horrible, horrible car that I so quickly and carelessly bought at the age of 16. My family status as a "car expert" never recovered.
whqqsh,
Nov 22, 3:58am
I too don't think Ive had any really lemony cars, even ones that get absolutely slated on here or in the general public, the main issues Ive had is poor workmanship when paying someone else to do work on them Thats the only time Ive had multiple failures or dissatisfaction.
oakie,
Nov 22, 4:29am
rsr72. I reckon your BMW E92 should have read 248,000 kms not 48K. Front suspension bushes 58K c'mon? been wizzed for sure.
elenor,
Nov 22, 5:11am
fiat tipo, brought it took it home,took it down the ngaio gorge road and the road behind was full of smoke ,carried on driving back to the dealer
hawat,
Nov 22, 5:52am
One of the pleasurable memories of driving my Hillman Imp was up and down the Ngaio Gorge Road. The rearward bias meant it would eat those tight twisty turns - when it was going. I imagine a 911 feels the same way handling wise.
tamarillo,
Nov 22, 6:05am
That makes more sense than putting a ford 1500 out back! I just can't imagine the little g15 with a lump of ford hung out behind, must of been evil.
poohbear100,
Nov 22, 7:40am
Looking at a hillman imp at the moment with i think a GSR 1800 bike engine in it. Spins the wheels in all gears haha. Of course its not road legal but could be with a bit of work ;)
poohbear100,
Nov 22, 7:45am
Our biggest lemon was a 1986 nissan langley, what a nasty piece of crap that was. It use to drop the control module all the time in the most awkward of places like uphill traffic lights, drivethrus, major intersections at peak times ( never when it was quiet! ). Hated that car with avengence
beachy,
Nov 22, 12:14pm
My lemons were Alpine avenger - always had some type of fault a piece of $&@# Volkswagen Passat - oil leaks, electrical issues, trans problems A mini - rust loved it and mechanical repairs Hyundai h100 van - doors fell of after 3 years use - complete rubbish
mileyfan73,
Nov 22, 12:18pm
Had a couple of old Commodores,one after the other,a VH and then a VK.Both spent more time in the driveway with ignition problems than on the road.Absolute junk.Even the mechanics couldn't find out what was wrong.Bought a widetrack Bluebird after that,ended up being one of the best cars I've ever had.
rsr72,
Nov 22, 12:24pm
- A BMW serviced and supplied NZ -new car. These are almost typical inbuilt faults in E90/92 Series, and just plain shoddy parts. The $1,000 electric water pump is massively complicated and depends on electric components for reliability, not the pump part.
Front suspensions are a 3 Series weak point in 6cyl E46/90/92 as my theory is BMW have never got on top of the increasing weight and loads on the fronts and have never designed enough strength there. E90's have liquid-filled bushes which leak. An E46 330i had frt. bushes and arms replaced at 90,000 kms.
rob_rooster,
Nov 23, 1:57pm
BMW's are great to drive when they are going well, but sadly that is hardly ever and I owned 4 of them over the years (slow leaner!), but never again lol!
beetle1234,
Nov 23, 3:15pm
It wasn,t a lemon,it was a waterlemon. A 1967 mini 850 big block,push start on the floor,changing gear was slike stirring porridge with a big stick,NOW you had to wear gumboot,s to drive this in the rain,the floor would fill up,not jok,n, It had more hole,s than a sif, went out to Kumara for a WOF, Hewlett would put a wof on a casket,lol. But it went bloody well,never sufferd the dreaded mini wet weather issue,It was leaking more inside than out. I think rust never sleeps an that what killed it.Dad bought mum a 61 v8 impala after that. The dog thort that was the ducksgutz,a bigg backseat
hawat,
Nov 23, 7:30pm
Geeze 4 of them! I wonder if that is representative of the wider populace? We have had our e39 for 10 years and apart from normal stuff it has been great. Our niece who has an e46 318 (purchased on my recommendation) has had 5 good years out of the car. Neither were new but low k's used.
db.price,
Nov 23, 7:57pm
2002 Nissan Primera wagon. Sirprisingly did not have any issues with the transmission which was one of their more common issues.
Constant engine issues and had to replace the head gasket onmy a few months after getting it (thank God I had a warranty). Then thanks to the garage that did that they left off the earth wire on the engine which fried the drive computer. Engine didn't stop though but the injectors continued to pour fuel onto the engine without stopping basically filling the engine with fuel. Damn lucky it didn't catch fire.
Then just before I sold it there were sensor issues causing the car to go into limp mode. Luckily all the work (around $8000 worth ) done under warranty.
tigger8,
Nov 23, 8:07pm
can't the wife is in the room
ignition328,
Nov 23, 9:04pm
1988 VT250F motorbike. I went through about 6 motors before I decided enough was enough. I broke several rods, seized and snapped a camshaft, broke rockers, ran bigend bearings, broke timing chains and bent valves among other things. Every other ride it broke, landed up buying a suzuki GN250 out of shear want of getting somewhere before moving up to a better suzuki. Motorbike mechanic friend told me they "were not that good" but wasn't prepared for exactly how bad it really was. Never ever ever ever again,
rob_rooster,
Sep 20, 12:01pm
Not just me, most people I know have had problems with their beemer's and a local garage owner told me BMW's keep his business afloat with all their faults lol. And a BMW parts wrecker told me they are rubbish and he would prefer Volvo's to Beemers!
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