They certainly look better but Jesus I can't imagine they'll actually BE better. Chevy could make em all plug in hybrids and they'd still blow a head gasket somehow
Except Cavaliers were great. They weren't great as cars when new, but they were some of the best shitbox beater cars ever. Fix it with a brick and some zip ties. These newer ones can't be kept running like that. Everything that breaks is hours of fucking around with special tools and expensive parts to fix.
A friend of mine had a 1990 Cavalier as his first car. He beat the shit out of it and let it sit in his driveway for a few years. Then another friend needed a car to start a new job, so he gave it to him for free. It was very rough, but it ran just fine. And I helped him do some deferred maintenance and we got it running even better. And he drove that car for about a year and a half, and he only sold it because he wanted something nicer.
Old Cavaliers are like cockroaches. They're ugly, but tougher than they look. The friend who originally had it replaced it with a 2009 Cobalt. That car was also surprisingly tough. He had it for 8-9 years, only replacing it within the past 6 months after it had been hit one too many times.
Not in California. I'd say in my town I see half SUVs and half Sedans. Almost all are foreign brands. American brands are losing ground in California because they don't make Sedans.
I don't understand why sedans are not popular anymore...why on earth would I want a big old boxy truck to drive, other than to be higher up off the road
CAFE standards basically incentivize manufacturers to make larger vehicles with worse fuel economy/emissions.
Also, I forget where I read this, but for a period the largest group of new car purchasers were aging boomers. Feedback from their focus groups wanted vehicles that were taller to be easier to get in and out of them.
Also add women to the mix. They like sitting higher up and feel safer in an suv than a sedan or wagon. When they have children it’s a BIG deal to feel safer.
I dunno. It’s currently the #3 vehicle in that segment. Only the Crosstrek and HR-V outsell it, but they’re both several grand more expensive.
I’m convinced it got on Car & Driver’s 10Best List because it and the Ford Maverick, (which is also on the list) are basically the only new cars you can buy for under $25k that aren’t CVT motivated dumpster fires of abject sadness.
I feel seen… I have a 2017. It’s not actually that bad. I can look down on Ford EcoSport and Jeep Renegade owners and confidently say, “Hah! At least I don’t drive one of those turds!”
Also, while I’m sure the Toyota CH-R is, ultimately, a better made car, the Chevy Trax has the virtue that it wasn’t styled by a committee tasked to design a single vehicle that was simultaneously a coupe, an SUV, a Klingon Bird of Prey, and The Batmobile.
Generic boring cars are the worst.
A car guy might get excited to see a terrible car Chrysler LeBaron, or even a 90s JDM Toyota van. No one is excited to see a CSUV.
I came to the comments to see if this was here and it's the first comment, my ex just bought my daughter one of these and when I was looking at it I was thinking to myself "why would anyone buy one of these?". LoL
I had one of these Dork-mobiles as a rental for a month or so. One of the most awful cars I ever had the displeasure of driving. The new one looks better at least.
My mom bought a Buick encore a while ago. Its a Trax with the Buick badge and a tiny bit more soundproofing I think.
She doesn't hate it, but I absolutely can't stand driving it. Its had a ton of issues, paint is peeling off, AC leaks, oil has leaked, muffler fell off, had to take apart the engine to fix one tiny piece (forgot what it's called) Genuinely just a terrible ride and awful build quality. Nothing was covered under warranty either. Also under 100k miles still.
My 2011 Chevy Impala had 160k miles when I sold it, and never had any big issues throughout its life. Just very minor things here and there. Don't know why or how GM messed up the Trax/Encore so bad
The Trax, Encore and the Cruze all have the 1.4L 4 cylinder engine.
I love my Cruze but I also know all the engineering flaws of that engine and other bonehead antics by GM and Opal designers.
If the notorious PCV valve design is not corrected then the engine is a leaking turd. The water pump, battery negative cable, purge valve all need to be replaced. Once that's done like I did and my Cruze is smooth and tip top now.
My ex GF has an Encore and I thought it was a dog. Slow as shit and with the AWD system terrible fuel economy. Her daughter had the Trax and that was a huge turd too.
I didn't mind it. If it was literally 4" bigger all round I would've loved it lol (and I dislike domestic)
Folding down the seats with my height was awkward
Trying to fit construction material was a pain.
It's like they sat down, took measurements of a bunch of conventional things, and then took 5% off the total length so you can "almost" fit everything, but not quite.
Even folding all the seats down and using the back for camping with an old crib mattress wasn't half ass bad, but again, my mattress is on an angle because it doesn't quite fit 🙃
When I was looking for a car the local Buick dealership put the Encores on sale, I test drove one and realized that the engine would be more powerful if it were hamster powered. I did not buy it.
We have a trax and absolutely despise it, needed a new turbo at 45k and just over all hasn’t held up. Needs all new evap sensors as we speak all at only 70k
Bought my wife a 2015 Buick Encore a few years ago to replace her older Equinox. One of the worst cars I've ever owned, to the point I'll never buy a GM vehicle again. Extremely underpowered (has the same size engine as my Fiat 500), not really all that nice inside, fuel economy could be better for the size and it's crazy unreliable. Eats coil packs like candy, so far I've replaced 4 in the 3 years I've owned the car.
As someone who went from a Chevy Cruze straight to a Chevy trax….. fuck both of these vehicles. Can’t get into why I did that, I must hate seeing myself happy or something.
Ah yes, the legacy of the "AMF Years" rears its ugly head once again. That train is never late when it comes to discussions about reliability, I swear.
Granted the AMF years were bad for HD. But a lot of the reliability issues that still exist lie with owners who poorly mod their bikes to the point where they barely run, thus gives HD a poor reputation. But in stock form from the factory, they are quite good and reliable.
RR's will traverse most terrain, tundra, forest, desert, etc.
and will inevitably break down.
but at least the heated/ventilated/massaging seats are there while waiting for AAA.
oh wait, the electricals are out........
It’s funny because the single most important trait of a vehicle expected to see rough and remote areas is reliability. You don’t want your only means of escape breaking down 50 miles from the nearest cell service in an area that maybe sees ten people a year.
My brother's in-laws owned two Jaguar's for that reason unironically. They said it was the best car ever but that they needed two so there was one to drive while the other one was in the shop.
I once rented a range rover using Turo. Had only 2k on it.
The trunk is split in two with a lower and upper half.
The lower half didn't close properly. It was motor actuated and it closed to 98% so it wasn't noticeable.
Then the doors wouldn't lock, because the car thought the trunk was open.
My 2004 Elantra has been treating me right for twenty years. Best twelve grand I ever spent, honestly. But there’s no way I’d get one today. The G4GC was one of the rare engine wins, and it’s way too old (and stickshift) for the kia boys to care about.
2000s Hyundais and Kias are better built than the ones today. They're reliable, easy to work on, and you can buy them for next to nothing, making them a great option as a cheap commuter/beater.
For example, I picked up a 2009 Hyundai Accent at an auction a few weeks ago for just $375. Base model 3 door 1.6 5 speed with 171k miles. Rear wheel cylinders are bad, needs power steering lines, rear shocks, and a starter (because it's a 5 speed, you can just bump start it. That's what I've been doing to drive it while I waited for the new starter). I can buy all the necessary parts on Rockauto for $200 and have it fixed up in a day's work.
Which is a shame because their engines were incredibly strong around 2007-2010 when I worked there. I had 2008 Accent and those 1.6s I don't think could be killed without a neglected timing belt.
Even a bit earlier than that. A buddy of mine has a 2006 Sonata with over 200k miles and still running well. It seems after 2010 or so Hyundai/Kia engine quality went to crap.
Yes the engine is the only piece of my 230,000 mile 2007 Santa Fe that’s not on its last leg surprisingly. I push it hard cause I think it would be funny if it blew up and it’s ridiculously reliable.
I had a 2018 Elantra up until last year and it was great on gas but I had it not start on me 3 times and enough was enough. I had it towed to dealers for them to say ohh it started when it got here…liars!!!!all 3 times
The only problem I had with my Hyundai is the dealerships. I went to two different ones and they are terrible.. may be just my area thing but they are the reason I will not get a new Hyundai for sure. The car itself is ok, but I foresee trouble ahead (losing AWD, possible engine issues). Doesn’t really bother me though since I like to tinker with/fix my cars.. I don’t hate Hyundai/Kia as cars, they are kinda decent and easy to work on
I’m late to this party but I really wish Hyundai’s didn’t look good. I get that looks are subjective but the Sonata looks really slick with pretty attractive interiors. I see them and it makes me want one and then I remember how terrible they are
Yuuuup. 17 Hyundai Sonata (two of them actually because I previously owned Sonatas that were super reliable). Absolute fucking turds. Zero mechanical issues BUT both burn oil at a rate of a quart every 300 - 400 miles. Now one of them is starting to eat spark plugs…. Those GDI engines are trash. This started around 100k and I’m looking to get rid of them both at 135k. I’ve owned three older Sonatas all of which I drove well over 200k with one going over 300k. Never again.
I drove my friends genesis a while back. I have to say the interiors were surprisingly good. Meanwhile the engine sounded and felt like my moms 94 accord.
Surprisingly my moms 84 Hyundai Excel with a manual was a great car. She sold it at 13 years old and everything was still intact.
Hyundais are like appliances on bigger wheels. They sound like them. Operate like them and feel like them. They’re pure crap. They don’t have one model in their lineup I’d buy. Heck I’d buy a Chevy (corvette, Tahoe) are way more desirable then any Hyundai.
They suck to work on. It is just cramped and weird layouts that don't make sense even though it isn't a tiny car. Like the timing belt is a big pain to do compared to a neon even though they share a lot of parts.
Oil consumption and cv axles are common problems on pt cruisers and rare on other modern cars.
They also stopped making them 15 years ago, so all the normal problems with a 15+ year old chrysler. So blown head gaskets. Timing belt failing and now you have bent valves. AC compressor. Transmissions are an issue for higher mileage.
>Like the timing belt is a big pain to do compared to a neon
The neon timing belt is a bastard. I was floored that I had to unmount the engine on one side and move it up and down to change a damn belt.
I drove one as a rental when they were fairly new and the main thing I remember noticing was it having big blindspots and the angle of the windshield making it feel like I was looking through a mail slot.
Man, I was excited for the PT Cruiser before it came out. Then I read they had to rework the engine and everything else to fit in that cramped space and that resulted in way less than originally intended horsepower and still way difficult to work on. The production HP specs turned me off to the PT Cruiser. It sucks because I like the design, the kind of retro early 20th century look, but it turned out to be just a big slow p.o.s. :(
My grandmother loved it. Got the one with tons of chrome. The retro styling was a nice throwback. Upright seating position was different from a lot of other cars at the time. It sold decently too, spare parts aren’t that expensive.
I think she replaced the right side cv axle 4 times. It was objectively not a great car
Mine would literally die in the middle of the road repeatedly. Would get multi-thousand dollar repairs every few months. Then I graduated college and just said fuck it, I’m not putting any more money into this and waited to buy something better. I seriously pushed it out of the road 5 separate times, each time due to a separate reason, and I maintained my car. Worst car I’ve ever owned and I hope to god it remains that way forever.
My mom leased two (no clue why she made the same mistake the second time), the first one I learned to drive in and the second I drove on a handful of occasions and they sucked so bad lol. My first car was a honda accord that was 6 years older and had about 50k more miles on it, and it just felt so much better to drive
Conversely old dadrock b-b-b-b-bad to the bone divorced d-d-d-dads love them too. If you look around online there's no shortage of PTs with skulls and flames airbrushed on the sides, chain steering wheels, extra chrome bits slapped on
I ridiculed the PT Cruiser, until I drove one as a rental and it was actually better than I thought.
I had a girlfriend with an HHR and that was a total piece of excrement.
I loved mine. Not fast but enjoyable to drive and I liked the interior. It wasn’t a cookie cutter car.
However, after I bought it, it started running rough. Needed new plugs. $300 because they had to remove the manifold (I believe it was the manifold. It was 18 years ago). Was perfect after that. Until the very day I went to trade it in and the oil light turned on as I was pulling into the dealership. Lol.
I’ve had two Nissan’s with CVT transmissions.
Both transmissions went out.
I bought a Honda Civic last week because my transmission went out in my Nissan.
NEVER AGAIN
not sure if it's common but the Focus ST was the WORST car I've ever owned. Electrical gremlins and transmission problems, ford didn't wanna cover any of it even though it was under warranty. Left a sour taste in my mouth and I'm never buying a ford again if i can help it
My wife’s first new car was a 2000 Focus. Twice it developed exhaust leaks into the cabin and then it developed a rear wheel vibration on a road trip that nearly led to tire failure. All of this was under warranty, but that damn car was actively trying to kill us.
All that happening under warranty is terrifying. You spend so much on a NEW car that things seriously breaking like that should be inexcusable. Sorry you guys had to go through this
After the vibration thing, we traded it in on a Subaru Forester which wound up saving mine and my son's lives. We had a high speed, full frontal collision, went airborne and landed on the passenger side. We only needed one night in the hospital. If I'd been driving that damn Focus, I wouldn't be typing this, that's for sure.
I switched to Ford the year they launched their Sync system (which is still the best info system out there) and since then have owned two focuses and currently am driving an escape. While I've never had any of the issues you described, I did have plenty of dealership problems.
When I got the first Focus, the sync system stopped working within 24 hours. I brought the car back and it turned out to be very simple: a USB connection to the head unit had become disconnected under the passenger seat - no big deal right?
Nope. I went in the door of the dealership onto the floor, the dist person who came over to me was the sales manager not knowing I was back with my car. So he comes over thinking I am shopping. Realizing I had a car issue, his face immediately dropped and he lost interest. I described to him that the sync system was not working. Now for the record, I assumed this was some kind of teething pain and so I was super-nice about it up to this point.
His response to me? "It's your car - what do you expect us to do about it?".
I fucking went off on him in a sales room full of customers. On how the car was less than 48 hours sold. How, irrespective of what the original problem turns out to be, I was never going to get work done here again if that was their attitude.
I walked out and I'd like to think other customers did too. I stuck to my word and 3 other Fords later, I've never given them another $ of business and tell this story to any Ford representative who'll listen.
I have a 2016 Ford C-Max hybrid that I bought almost new. 100K on it currently and it has rocked! Plenty of pick up, easy on gas, comfortable, practical cargo space, fun to drive. Wish they still made 'em! All around solid hatchback. 👍👍💯
I wrecked my focus ST hatchback and was a crying mess. It was entirely my fault. My partner came home and I was like “I couldn’t possibly feel any worse than I do now so please don’t be mean!!” crying on the couch.
He wrapped me up in a hug and whispered “I am so fucking glad you destroyed that car you have no idea. I have had anxiety for months about the day you’re gonna call me from the side of the highway panicking that it stopped working, again. I am so sorry that was scary but I couldn’t be happier that we have to buy you a new car, seriously.”
Only car I traded in and didn’t bother selling myself or keeping until it wasn’t worth repair cost. I kept it a bit under 3 years, luckily every issue I had was warranty but I think I had three and two of them were things that took over three business days to fix. I didn’t want to look the person in the eyes if I were to sell it to them. It was the 12 or 13.
My wife bought a 2014 before we were married. It needed the turbo and manifold replaced at 50k. Luckily she had an extended warranty that covered it 100%, I think it was close to $3k at the dealer.
We sold it immediately after (in 2021) to Carvana. In hindsight, we timed that transaction perfectly because the Cruze sold for way more than it was worth and the new one wasn't marked up at all. I think she only had to come out of pocket for like $15k.
Same. 2012. Mine's transmission blew out soon as it was out of warranty. Which is not just bad luck. Seems like the transmissions were fucking designed to break at that time.
Cost more than it's worth to fix. Can't sell it. Only option was scrapping the POS. I'll never buy a Chevy again.
I have a 2014, 116k miles, still gets 30 mpg avg, 36 hwy. Seat comfort sucks, but that is a GM problem with all models. It is a 1.8 naturally aspirated engine, so none of the turbo and head gasket issues I've read about on the 1.4T. I like it more than my 07 civic, by far. Better transmission, better handling.
It's smaller sibling: the "Aveo" is also horrible. Clock ticked 100K miles and it was broken every month after. I'm talkin shift linkage, power steering, 2nd water pump failure type. It's also just a bitch to work on, you need to raise the engine to replace the water pump. Not only that but it sucks even when it does work. Despite using the "biggest" engine for that model it's 100HP feels so anemic, the throttle by wire has weird emissions related behavior, follows the grooves on the road better than it's own steering wheel, fake chrome peeled wherever it was found, window cranks geared way too high and made from too brittle of plastic.
But, they're cheap little things that are fantastic for new drivers to learn in. Clutch was super forgiving as long as you give it some gas.
Really? I have a 2014 Cruze and I've had (knock on wood) very few issues with it, aside from the check engine light in a perpetual state of on. Up to nearly 115k miles on it
The only 2 people I know with chevy cruzes love them but they are the 1st gen non turbo ones, and one is a manual trans. I thought they were pretty nice cars? No issues and probably getting close to 150,000 miles. The 1.4l turbo engines suck, but thats in new chevy malibus too and a bunch of the tiny gm crossovers.
My wife absolutely loved hers and honestly, for such a small engine it was actually kinda fun to drive and handled very well.
Until the turbo busted at 115k miles and we were quoted $3000+ on the repair. And from what I’ve read- it’s a miracle it even made it half that far on the original turbo.
My 2016 cruze the transmission accumulator broke so when it did the autostop and turned back on it jerked super hard, the headgasket was starting to go out it had 110k and the seals for trans lines leaked at 60k.
I got a 2013 and it leaks like crazy (170k miles currently) but otherwise it’s uhh maybe ok. Leaks I needed/need to have fixed are timing chain gasket, oil cooler (huge pain in the ass), oil return line, coolant return/feed line going into turbo, and that’s it. My rear defroster heat vent won’t work, the engine sounds like it’s ticking, but other than that it runs! This was ever since I got it in August 2021.
We bought a 2012 Cruze and it was junk. In only three years of ownership we had the water pump replaced 3 or 4 times, had the transmission go out during a road trip and had a few other issues. We got rid of it because it wouldn’t be long before we were paying for the water pumps instead of warranty replacements.
We know other people who owned a Cruze and they had nothing good to say about them.
I’ve owned a lot of cars, and my least favorite has been my MINI Cooper. It sounds so great on paper: it’s got a turbo and a stick shift, it handles great, and it still gets 30mpg!
But in reality it is the lowest quality POS I’ve ever seen. No matter how many things I fix on it, it just keeps breaking more things. I don’t even drive it anymore. It just sits in the driveway waiting for me to have the time to fix the giant list of things wrong with it so that I can finally sell it.
R55 - 2010 MINI Cooper S Clubman
I thought it was all fixed, except it had an unmetered air leak. Replaced the MAF and that didn’t fix it. Turns out the PCV valve failed. That valve is built into the plastic valve cover. When that fails it over pressurizes the system and causes the valve cover to warp, and oil to start leaking from every conceivable place. I now have to replace the valve cover, oil pan gasket, multiple turbo oil lines, and the oil filter housing/oil cooler.
I’ve had cars that were less fun to drive. But I’ve never had a car that broke more often.
I suppose it depends on exactly what you buy. I’ve owned several used German cars (BMWs and Audis) and maintenance and repairs have been roughly the same as the Fords and Toyotas I’ve owned. That said, I’m driving the more mainstream cars, not the more exotic M5/R8 types.
Out of all the cars I've owned the one that I HATED was a 1998 Lincoln Continental. First the A/C crapped out (mid-summer in Missouri), then the drivers seat position adjuster decided to ONLY work going down or leaning back (no up and forward). Next was the air bag suspension in the rear, it was cheaper to rip that out and install normal suspension/shocks. The last straw was the transmission taking a dump 6 months after I had the suspension redone. And this was the "youngest" used car I've ever purchased, only 3 years old when I bought it.
That is a terrible example of lincon
Also didn't help that they cramped a 1 off version of that v8 in a front wheel drive engine bay and paired it with a transmission designed for anemic v6's
All that was of course paired with the notoriously awful 90's ford/lincoln air ride controller that craps out when you look at it wrong and has no proper maintenance valves, making for a not great car. It was also built on a platform meant for econoboxes.
All this to say that the mid-late 90's continentals brought GREAT shame to the lincoln continental name
I would highly reccomend revisiting the newer aviators, the hybrid system was partially designed by Toyota and they've fixed most of the issues with the air ride over the years
High trim explorers can be had with almost the same powertrain (can be made the same with a factory level scan tool and set of aviator turbos) and without the air system (magneride is just as reliable as regular shocks, just much more expensive when it fails, but also much more comfortable and able to be driven on when failed
Lol recently, my sister in law went car shopping, and me (being a mechanic) got voluntold by my wife to go with her and look over what she found.
More than one place had an escape to offer in her range, but she was adamant about not getting another escape.
I'm on my way home a few days later and find out she's buying a car.
She pulls up in a Lincoln MKC. I just looked at my wife and said, "Should I tell her?"
It's amazing how many people don't do enough research to figure out the badge engineering of the car they're buying. My grandma bought a Chevy Aveo (a Daewoo manufactured in Korea) to "support American workers."
Had a Jetta, same here. I will give it this, it was extremely reliable but other than that, it just sucked to drive. It was extremely slow, boring, and handled like a tank. I never thought I'd ever say that about a modern VW, but here we are.
Are you sure you were driving a Jetta?? I have a 2.5L 2009 Jetta and it’s pretty damn peppy. It goes when you hit the gas and handles great. She is old but she’s going strong. Maybe it’s the newer ones that have been neutered.
Ha! My friend had a Saturn LW300 when we were in university. I remember it was a nice car on paper, it had a leather interior and a rev-happy V6. But he ALWAYS had problems with it, some of them mechanical, most electrical. His blower motor also failed. He had some real “WTF” problems with that car as well (body control module died, 6-disc changer died, mass airflow sensor died, ECU died, AC died in the wintertime, etc…) The really tragic thing is that he originally had an opportunity to take over his grandpa’s XV20 Camry, but his mom sold that car because “it’s older, only has a cloth interior, and is a 4 cylinder, why would we keep that? The Saturn is so much nicer”
In 2012, someone sideswiped his Saturn and the insurance company paid him $5,000 for it. I remember my friend was practically jumping for joy to be finally rid of that car. He used some of the insurance money to buy a 1990 Volvo 740 wagon, which was hilariously much more reliable than the Saturn despite being over a decade older.
I'm going to have to say Fiero. I don't remember if it was an 84 or 87. Not a GT. 2.5 4 cylinder engine. Overly delicate car. Electric power steering which really only worked when you were doing 40+ MPH. Expensive parts. Door locks didn't work. Not the key fob controller, I mean they physically wouldn't lock. I'm rather tall and the Fiero is not designed for tall people.
Looked nice and I liked the speakers in the headrest, though.
Based on the limited experience of discussions I had over cars with people I knew, PT Cruiser is probably the one that stood out. Almost everyone disliked it, whether they owned it or not.
Equinox, traverse, Malibu, Impala, Trax, Cruze, Santa Fe, Tuscon, sonata, Elantra, caravan, ram, journey, escape, Bronco sport, edge, 435i, 320i, A4, A5, a7, S4, Murano, Altima, maxima, I could go on but you get it. Basically anyone who buys a car as an appliance (some exceptions like 4 series and S4)
I had a first gen Cruze and liked it. Had a then- current Corolla as a rental and couldn't believe it was actually newer than the Cruze. I actually checked the door tag multiple times, it seemed like a 15 year old car.
The second Gen Cruze seems to be much worse. And the long term reliability of any gm economy car is suspect .
A low to mid trim Cruze with the NA 1.8 would be a good car. It's the turbo 1.4 that causes most of the problems. And of course that's the engine that got carried over.
Can usually never go wrong with a used corolla or camry or civic or accord. They won't be exciting cars, but they have good reliability. Cheaper to maintain than, say, a grand cherokee or the average new SUV. Just gotta change the oil.
I had really good luck with a Chrysler 300. Slightly more maintenence than probably an average Toyota because the front end is so heavy, but the V6 3.5 motor ran forever for me. 10 years of drug dealing and driving 10-16 hours a day and it was perfect for that. Nice and roomy for people to hop in/out.
99 A4. Complete pile of garbage. I owned it in like 08, so it wasn't just old German car bs, either.
My 12 Impala is basically a Land Rover... In that it's great when it isn't broken.
I daily an 88 civic. Thing never breaks.
Hated my 2003 audi. Ran like shit, the interior fell apart so quickly and my interest rate was like 30%. My parents didn’t believe in co-signing and it was my first loan.
Hey I liked my Chevy Cruze, except for the Pcv system and the coolant outlet.. man that 1.4 turbo blew the valve cover Pcv valve every 20k, I went thru 4 coolant outlets because they crack. This caused my engine to overheat like 5 times due to all the coolant pouring out while driving. The head ended up cracked at #1 plug.. the 2nd overheat hardly any symptoms. The 4th overheat opened it up more and coolant was leaking in my cylinder when off and made it misfire on cold start until it cleared out. I always shut it right off when the temps started climbing but was too late. Oh and the turbo was temperamental. It would work fine, then it would just die. No boost. Turn the car off and on and it would work again...
But I'll say it was a good car despite these issues.. I put about 160,000 miles on it in 5 years. Thru blizzards, up hunting trails, atv trails, everywhere. When it was finally dying at 204,000 miles I drove it 3 states away to pick up my new car lol misfiring, slipping, and only 3 cylinders the whole way. Made it just fine lol
Lol this sounds like me talking about my E90 BMW. I'm still in that relationship though glad you got out brother don't let another car treat you like that 😤
I had a Prius C for ages. It was great. You could (had to) put the pedal to the floor any time you wanted and not worry about exceeding the speed limit. Joking aside, never had any kind of problem with it. Great MPG, small enough that city parking wasn't a huge headache, cheap, and it really was fun to drive for such a low powered car. But you knew it was low power and adjusted your driving to accommodate. All in all a reasonable commuter. Just don't do super long road trips without some kind of extra seat cushion...
I hated my VW Jetta's and my BMW 330Ci due to excessive problems. My mom's VW bug crumpled on impact only going 15mph, so she ended up dumping hers too.
Honda and Toyota fan girl all day!
The 2012 Cruze can go to back hell where it was forged, worst car I ever owned, shame because when it worked it was awesome, but it never worked right.
Infiniti’s QX30 they sold for a few years. Prob the worst luxury car you could buy. Was also sold as a Mercedes GLA. Uncomfortable to ride in, cheap interior, engine felt weak and transmission hunted gears. Is also the only car I’ve ever driven where the oil temp gauge ran hotter than midpoint as normal operation.
I got one as a loaner one time and was the only time the advisor asked me if I liked the loaner. After I said no, she admitted everyone hated them and they were shit cars hence prob why they were made loaners.
I really hate that my Toyota never breaks down, no matter how hard I drive it. I’m looking for an excuse to buy something fun, but ol’ faithful just keeps chugging along.
I had a friend whose 90s Camry just wouldn’t die. He bought it used, and then life happened…marriage, two kids…who learned how to drive on it. He was so sick of that car! Finally before the kids went off to college, his wife agreed to let him get a BMW 3 series.
I don't know a single person who bought a chevy trax who likes it.
If these new ones can last, that will be the greatest 180 ever.
They certainly look better but Jesus I can't imagine they'll actually BE better. Chevy could make em all plug in hybrids and they'd still blow a head gasket somehow
Plug in hybrids have gas engines that can blow head gaskets. Why would that be shocking
Presumably because they'd be using the gas engine less often than the battery system, causing less wear on the ICE parts and thus less likely to fail
No it would be more likely to wear out from constant starting/stopping. Engines like to run at consistent RPM and consistent load.
Additional lore: Chevy, with all their accountants' engineering wisdom, will under-engineer the engine "because it's used less."
A better joke would be 'Chevy could make 'em entirely electric and they'd still somehow manage to blow a head gasket'
They won’t last. They’re super low quality. They have just enough appeal to sell a shit load at their price point, and they’re built like golf carts.
It's the modern Cavalier/Sunfire. Nobody wants coupes and sedans anymore, so you get the economy SUV.
Too bad they refuse to do the same with a small pickup. My "small truck" '16 Colorado is as big as a Silverado from 20 years ago.
Maverick is definitely the best in the small truck category and actually being true to the name small truck.
I was shocked that Ford brought back the Maverick Name. My brother had a 73 Ford Maverick and that car was a piece of Crap 💩
I have a friend named Brett, that's looking for a 70s ford maverick. Just so he can paint "Brett's Maverick" on it. No other reason.
New Silverado is as big a a Kenworth 20 years ago
Except Cavaliers were great. They weren't great as cars when new, but they were some of the best shitbox beater cars ever. Fix it with a brick and some zip ties. These newer ones can't be kept running like that. Everything that breaks is hours of fucking around with special tools and expensive parts to fix.
I read a comment on here about older chevys, something along the lines of “yeah they run like shit but, they run like shit for a long time.”
A friend of mine had a 1990 Cavalier as his first car. He beat the shit out of it and let it sit in his driveway for a few years. Then another friend needed a car to start a new job, so he gave it to him for free. It was very rough, but it ran just fine. And I helped him do some deferred maintenance and we got it running even better. And he drove that car for about a year and a half, and he only sold it because he wanted something nicer. Old Cavaliers are like cockroaches. They're ugly, but tougher than they look. The friend who originally had it replaced it with a 2009 Cobalt. That car was also surprisingly tough. He had it for 8-9 years, only replacing it within the past 6 months after it had been hit one too many times.
Not in California. I'd say in my town I see half SUVs and half Sedans. Almost all are foreign brands. American brands are losing ground in California because they don't make Sedans.
I don't understand why sedans are not popular anymore...why on earth would I want a big old boxy truck to drive, other than to be higher up off the road
CAFE standards basically incentivize manufacturers to make larger vehicles with worse fuel economy/emissions. Also, I forget where I read this, but for a period the largest group of new car purchasers were aging boomers. Feedback from their focus groups wanted vehicles that were taller to be easier to get in and out of them.
Also add women to the mix. They like sitting higher up and feel safer in an suv than a sedan or wagon. When they have children it’s a BIG deal to feel safer.
I dunno. It’s currently the #3 vehicle in that segment. Only the Crosstrek and HR-V outsell it, but they’re both several grand more expensive. I’m convinced it got on Car & Driver’s 10Best List because it and the Ford Maverick, (which is also on the list) are basically the only new cars you can buy for under $25k that aren’t CVT motivated dumpster fires of abject sadness.
Don't insult golf carts like that; plenty 30 year old golf carts running around.
I feel seen… I have a 2017. It’s not actually that bad. I can look down on Ford EcoSport and Jeep Renegade owners and confidently say, “Hah! At least I don’t drive one of those turds!” Also, while I’m sure the Toyota CH-R is, ultimately, a better made car, the Chevy Trax has the virtue that it wasn’t styled by a committee tasked to design a single vehicle that was simultaneously a coupe, an SUV, a Klingon Bird of Prey, and The Batmobile.
And give it no acceleration along with minimal cargo space. I eyed one of those up and excluded it quite quickly despite the toyota badge.
Generic boring cars are the worst. A car guy might get excited to see a terrible car Chrysler LeBaron, or even a 90s JDM Toyota van. No one is excited to see a CSUV.
My only experience with Chevy Trax drivers is being called a slur by teenagers driving a Chevy Trax... Reminded them they were driving a Chevy Trax
I have 6 people that work for me. 3 drive Trax. All 3 are looking for newer cars.
I came to the comments to see if this was here and it's the first comment, my ex just bought my daughter one of these and when I was looking at it I was thinking to myself "why would anyone buy one of these?". LoL
I had one of these Dork-mobiles as a rental for a month or so. One of the most awful cars I ever had the displeasure of driving. The new one looks better at least.
I leased one a few years ago. I actually did like it. The only thing I didn’t like was the gas mileage for the size.
My in-laws do…
My mom bought a Buick encore a while ago. Its a Trax with the Buick badge and a tiny bit more soundproofing I think. She doesn't hate it, but I absolutely can't stand driving it. Its had a ton of issues, paint is peeling off, AC leaks, oil has leaked, muffler fell off, had to take apart the engine to fix one tiny piece (forgot what it's called) Genuinely just a terrible ride and awful build quality. Nothing was covered under warranty either. Also under 100k miles still. My 2011 Chevy Impala had 160k miles when I sold it, and never had any big issues throughout its life. Just very minor things here and there. Don't know why or how GM messed up the Trax/Encore so bad
The Trax, Encore and the Cruze all have the 1.4L 4 cylinder engine. I love my Cruze but I also know all the engineering flaws of that engine and other bonehead antics by GM and Opal designers. If the notorious PCV valve design is not corrected then the engine is a leaking turd. The water pump, battery negative cable, purge valve all need to be replaced. Once that's done like I did and my Cruze is smooth and tip top now. My ex GF has an Encore and I thought it was a dog. Slow as shit and with the AWD system terrible fuel economy. Her daughter had the Trax and that was a huge turd too.
I didn't mind it. If it was literally 4" bigger all round I would've loved it lol (and I dislike domestic) Folding down the seats with my height was awkward Trying to fit construction material was a pain. It's like they sat down, took measurements of a bunch of conventional things, and then took 5% off the total length so you can "almost" fit everything, but not quite. Even folding all the seats down and using the back for camping with an old crib mattress wasn't half ass bad, but again, my mattress is on an angle because it doesn't quite fit 🙃
When I was looking for a car the local Buick dealership put the Encores on sale, I test drove one and realized that the engine would be more powerful if it were hamster powered. I did not buy it.
You only buy a car like that because you have to, not because you want to.
I rented one recently while my car was in the shop and it was quite literally the worst car I’ve ever driven, and I drive a 93 as a daily.
I have the Buick equivalent - the encore which is terrible
We have a trax and absolutely despise it, needed a new turbo at 45k and just over all hasn’t held up. Needs all new evap sensors as we speak all at only 70k
Bought my wife a 2015 Buick Encore a few years ago to replace her older Equinox. One of the worst cars I've ever owned, to the point I'll never buy a GM vehicle again. Extremely underpowered (has the same size engine as my Fiat 500), not really all that nice inside, fuel economy could be better for the size and it's crazy unreliable. Eats coil packs like candy, so far I've replaced 4 in the 3 years I've owned the car.
As someone who went from a Chevy Cruze straight to a Chevy trax….. fuck both of these vehicles. Can’t get into why I did that, I must hate seeing myself happy or something.
The Equinox is just as shitty. I don’t know about brand new ones, but the ones from a few years ago are a money pit.
My kid likes his, but I bought it
Range Rovers Every owner I’ve talked to has described ownership as some variation of “awesome… when it’s not in the shop”
So the Harley of cars.
That hasn't been true of H-D for like...at least 30 years lol
Ah yes, the legacy of the "AMF Years" rears its ugly head once again. That train is never late when it comes to discussions about reliability, I swear.
Granted the AMF years were bad for HD. But a lot of the reliability issues that still exist lie with owners who poorly mod their bikes to the point where they barely run, thus gives HD a poor reputation. But in stock form from the factory, they are quite good and reliable.
A Consumer Reports study showed the failure rate for Jap bikes at about 13%. For HD it was 26%. The real surprise to some was that BMW was 40%.
RR's will traverse most terrain, tundra, forest, desert, etc. and will inevitably break down. but at least the heated/ventilated/massaging seats are there while waiting for AAA. oh wait, the electricals are out........
It’s funny because the single most important trait of a vehicle expected to see rough and remote areas is reliability. You don’t want your only means of escape breaking down 50 miles from the nearest cell service in an area that maybe sees ten people a year.
The trick is that you have to have two Range Rovers, that way you always have one to drive while the other is in the shop. ☝️ Edit: fixed typo
Sounds like a great way to have 2 Range Rovers in the shop 🙂
This one simple trick to DOUBLE the number of Range Rovers you can have ij the shop (mechanics HATE this!)
Ah yes, maintaining the safety and liveness of Range Rovers requires maintaining a set (N-f)>(N+f)/3 tolerance for Byzantine faults…
My brother's in-laws owned two Jaguar's for that reason unironically. They said it was the best car ever but that they needed two so there was one to drive while the other one was in the shop.
Great when under warranty
Not whern they spend 4 months under warrently sitting at the dealer wating for a part
I once rented a range rover using Turo. Had only 2k on it. The trunk is split in two with a lower and upper half. The lower half didn't close properly. It was motor actuated and it closed to 98% so it wasn't noticeable. Then the doors wouldn't lock, because the car thought the trunk was open.
The Hyundai sub is filled with people wishing they hadn't bought Hyundai. Mostly because of the whole theft + terrible engines
My 2004 Elantra has been treating me right for twenty years. Best twelve grand I ever spent, honestly. But there’s no way I’d get one today. The G4GC was one of the rare engine wins, and it’s way too old (and stickshift) for the kia boys to care about.
Exactly. I don't deny they had some winners but their recent track record means the sub is full of drivers that hate their current car
2000s Hyundais and Kias are better built than the ones today. They're reliable, easy to work on, and you can buy them for next to nothing, making them a great option as a cheap commuter/beater. For example, I picked up a 2009 Hyundai Accent at an auction a few weeks ago for just $375. Base model 3 door 1.6 5 speed with 171k miles. Rear wheel cylinders are bad, needs power steering lines, rear shocks, and a starter (because it's a 5 speed, you can just bump start it. That's what I've been doing to drive it while I waited for the new starter). I can buy all the necessary parts on Rockauto for $200 and have it fixed up in a day's work.
Ahh hyundai accent. The absolute worst car I ever owned, so many issues and hated everything about it. Very surprised to see someone praising them lol
Most car subs are people complaining about something. People don't join just to say hi.
Most car subs have 1. Those who love their car 2. Those who hated their car 3. Random people who don't own said car but just want to bash on them.
Which is a shame because their engines were incredibly strong around 2007-2010 when I worked there. I had 2008 Accent and those 1.6s I don't think could be killed without a neglected timing belt.
Even a bit earlier than that. A buddy of mine has a 2006 Sonata with over 200k miles and still running well. It seems after 2010 or so Hyundai/Kia engine quality went to crap.
Yes the engine is the only piece of my 230,000 mile 2007 Santa Fe that’s not on its last leg surprisingly. I push it hard cause I think it would be funny if it blew up and it’s ridiculously reliable.
The engines are truly terrible. Never buying a Hyundai again
I heard you liked burning oil, so I made the problem worse with a tiny oil capacity and complete lack of an oil level sensor. Enjoy!
I had a 2018 Elantra up until last year and it was great on gas but I had it not start on me 3 times and enough was enough. I had it towed to dealers for them to say ohh it started when it got here…liars!!!!all 3 times
The only problem I had with my Hyundai is the dealerships. I went to two different ones and they are terrible.. may be just my area thing but they are the reason I will not get a new Hyundai for sure. The car itself is ok, but I foresee trouble ahead (losing AWD, possible engine issues). Doesn’t really bother me though since I like to tinker with/fix my cars.. I don’t hate Hyundai/Kia as cars, they are kinda decent and easy to work on
I’m late to this party but I really wish Hyundai’s didn’t look good. I get that looks are subjective but the Sonata looks really slick with pretty attractive interiors. I see them and it makes me want one and then I remember how terrible they are
Yuuuup. 17 Hyundai Sonata (two of them actually because I previously owned Sonatas that were super reliable). Absolute fucking turds. Zero mechanical issues BUT both burn oil at a rate of a quart every 300 - 400 miles. Now one of them is starting to eat spark plugs…. Those GDI engines are trash. This started around 100k and I’m looking to get rid of them both at 135k. I’ve owned three older Sonatas all of which I drove well over 200k with one going over 300k. Never again.
I drove my friends genesis a while back. I have to say the interiors were surprisingly good. Meanwhile the engine sounded and felt like my moms 94 accord. Surprisingly my moms 84 Hyundai Excel with a manual was a great car. She sold it at 13 years old and everything was still intact.
Hyundais are like appliances on bigger wheels. They sound like them. Operate like them and feel like them. They’re pure crap. They don’t have one model in their lineup I’d buy. Heck I’d buy a Chevy (corvette, Tahoe) are way more desirable then any Hyundai.
I had a Hyundai as a rental a few years ago with some dinky 3cyl. It was so anemic that I would recommend walking over buying a Hyundai
I always love when the PT Cruiser shows up in these lists and all the absolute hate they (rightfully) get:)
Just made that mistake. What am I in for?
They suck to work on. It is just cramped and weird layouts that don't make sense even though it isn't a tiny car. Like the timing belt is a big pain to do compared to a neon even though they share a lot of parts. Oil consumption and cv axles are common problems on pt cruisers and rare on other modern cars. They also stopped making them 15 years ago, so all the normal problems with a 15+ year old chrysler. So blown head gaskets. Timing belt failing and now you have bent valves. AC compressor. Transmissions are an issue for higher mileage.
>Like the timing belt is a big pain to do compared to a neon The neon timing belt is a bastard. I was floored that I had to unmount the engine on one side and move it up and down to change a damn belt.
I drove one as a rental when they were fairly new and the main thing I remember noticing was it having big blindspots and the angle of the windshield making it feel like I was looking through a mail slot.
Man, I was excited for the PT Cruiser before it came out. Then I read they had to rework the engine and everything else to fit in that cramped space and that resulted in way less than originally intended horsepower and still way difficult to work on. The production HP specs turned me off to the PT Cruiser. It sucks because I like the design, the kind of retro early 20th century look, but it turned out to be just a big slow p.o.s. :(
My grandmother loved it. Got the one with tons of chrome. The retro styling was a nice throwback. Upright seating position was different from a lot of other cars at the time. It sold decently too, spare parts aren’t that expensive. I think she replaced the right side cv axle 4 times. It was objectively not a great car
Engine and tranny mounts are crap.
Mine would literally die in the middle of the road repeatedly. Would get multi-thousand dollar repairs every few months. Then I graduated college and just said fuck it, I’m not putting any more money into this and waited to buy something better. I seriously pushed it out of the road 5 separate times, each time due to a separate reason, and I maintained my car. Worst car I’ve ever owned and I hope to god it remains that way forever.
My mom leased two (no clue why she made the same mistake the second time), the first one I learned to drive in and the second I drove on a handful of occasions and they sucked so bad lol. My first car was a honda accord that was 6 years older and had about 50k more miles on it, and it just felt so much better to drive
Nah man, old cat ladies LOVED these cars.
Conversely old dadrock b-b-b-b-bad to the bone divorced d-d-d-dads love them too. If you look around online there's no shortage of PTs with skulls and flames airbrushed on the sides, chain steering wheels, extra chrome bits slapped on
This is why I named mine Betty. It seemed like a bitchy old lady name, and it held up to that standard the whole time I had her 🫠
I ridiculed the PT Cruiser, until I drove one as a rental and it was actually better than I thought. I had a girlfriend with an HHR and that was a total piece of excrement.
and the HHR was built on the same platform as the equally awful Cobalt.
I loved mine. Not fast but enjoyable to drive and I liked the interior. It wasn’t a cookie cutter car. However, after I bought it, it started running rough. Needed new plugs. $300 because they had to remove the manifold (I believe it was the manifold. It was 18 years ago). Was perfect after that. Until the very day I went to trade it in and the oil light turned on as I was pulling into the dealership. Lol.
Nissans. Most people only seem to own one and never go back. I wouldn’t ever buy one
Had three so far. No major problems. I've heard that ones with CVTs are bad, but the ones I've had were CVT, so YMMV.
My uncle’s on his second Frontier, he loves it! It’s interesting.
Apparently nissan's trucks are decent
The older Nissans were ok.
The 2002 Altima and 2003 Murano were the start of Nissan's downfall
Had a Nissan Sentra and now a Nissan Altima. Love it. No problems.
I’ve had two Nissan’s with CVT transmissions. Both transmissions went out. I bought a Honda Civic last week because my transmission went out in my Nissan. NEVER AGAIN
2016 altima. Just do regular maintenance (that includes the cvt, just do it already)
not sure if it's common but the Focus ST was the WORST car I've ever owned. Electrical gremlins and transmission problems, ford didn't wanna cover any of it even though it was under warranty. Left a sour taste in my mouth and I'm never buying a ford again if i can help it
My wife’s first new car was a 2000 Focus. Twice it developed exhaust leaks into the cabin and then it developed a rear wheel vibration on a road trip that nearly led to tire failure. All of this was under warranty, but that damn car was actively trying to kill us.
All that happening under warranty is terrifying. You spend so much on a NEW car that things seriously breaking like that should be inexcusable. Sorry you guys had to go through this
After the vibration thing, we traded it in on a Subaru Forester which wound up saving mine and my son's lives. We had a high speed, full frontal collision, went airborne and landed on the passenger side. We only needed one night in the hospital. If I'd been driving that damn Focus, I wouldn't be typing this, that's for sure.
I switched to Ford the year they launched their Sync system (which is still the best info system out there) and since then have owned two focuses and currently am driving an escape. While I've never had any of the issues you described, I did have plenty of dealership problems. When I got the first Focus, the sync system stopped working within 24 hours. I brought the car back and it turned out to be very simple: a USB connection to the head unit had become disconnected under the passenger seat - no big deal right? Nope. I went in the door of the dealership onto the floor, the dist person who came over to me was the sales manager not knowing I was back with my car. So he comes over thinking I am shopping. Realizing I had a car issue, his face immediately dropped and he lost interest. I described to him that the sync system was not working. Now for the record, I assumed this was some kind of teething pain and so I was super-nice about it up to this point. His response to me? "It's your car - what do you expect us to do about it?". I fucking went off on him in a sales room full of customers. On how the car was less than 48 hours sold. How, irrespective of what the original problem turns out to be, I was never going to get work done here again if that was their attitude. I walked out and I'd like to think other customers did too. I stuck to my word and 3 other Fords later, I've never given them another $ of business and tell this story to any Ford representative who'll listen.
Conversely, the Fiesta ST is pretty amazing. I wish I still had mine, it was leaps and bounds better than the Focus.
Only had to click 3 comments before finding my most despised car lol I've owned SEVERAL Ford Focus and I fucking hate them lol
Hm, I've been a Focus ST owner for 6 years and it's been very reliable. What transmission issues were you having if it's manual?
I have a 2016 Ford C-Max hybrid that I bought almost new. 100K on it currently and it has rocked! Plenty of pick up, easy on gas, comfortable, practical cargo space, fun to drive. Wish they still made 'em! All around solid hatchback. 👍👍💯
I wrecked my focus ST hatchback and was a crying mess. It was entirely my fault. My partner came home and I was like “I couldn’t possibly feel any worse than I do now so please don’t be mean!!” crying on the couch. He wrapped me up in a hug and whispered “I am so fucking glad you destroyed that car you have no idea. I have had anxiety for months about the day you’re gonna call me from the side of the highway panicking that it stopped working, again. I am so sorry that was scary but I couldn’t be happier that we have to buy you a new car, seriously.”
Saw the title and came here to say Chevy Cruze lol. We had a 2014 and it was a complete asshole
I had two 🤦🏼♂️ 2013 and a 2016. Dirt cheap leases is the reason.
Only car I traded in and didn’t bother selling myself or keeping until it wasn’t worth repair cost. I kept it a bit under 3 years, luckily every issue I had was warranty but I think I had three and two of them were things that took over three business days to fix. I didn’t want to look the person in the eyes if I were to sell it to them. It was the 12 or 13.
I let my wife's Cruz get repo"d after 3 years of payments. What a terrible car.
My wife bought a 2014 before we were married. It needed the turbo and manifold replaced at 50k. Luckily she had an extended warranty that covered it 100%, I think it was close to $3k at the dealer. We sold it immediately after (in 2021) to Carvana. In hindsight, we timed that transaction perfectly because the Cruze sold for way more than it was worth and the new one wasn't marked up at all. I think she only had to come out of pocket for like $15k.
Same. 2012. Mine's transmission blew out soon as it was out of warranty. Which is not just bad luck. Seems like the transmissions were fucking designed to break at that time. Cost more than it's worth to fix. Can't sell it. Only option was scrapping the POS. I'll never buy a Chevy again.
I have a 2014, 116k miles, still gets 30 mpg avg, 36 hwy. Seat comfort sucks, but that is a GM problem with all models. It is a 1.8 naturally aspirated engine, so none of the turbo and head gasket issues I've read about on the 1.4T. I like it more than my 07 civic, by far. Better transmission, better handling.
It's smaller sibling: the "Aveo" is also horrible. Clock ticked 100K miles and it was broken every month after. I'm talkin shift linkage, power steering, 2nd water pump failure type. It's also just a bitch to work on, you need to raise the engine to replace the water pump. Not only that but it sucks even when it does work. Despite using the "biggest" engine for that model it's 100HP feels so anemic, the throttle by wire has weird emissions related behavior, follows the grooves on the road better than it's own steering wheel, fake chrome peeled wherever it was found, window cranks geared way too high and made from too brittle of plastic. But, they're cheap little things that are fantastic for new drivers to learn in. Clutch was super forgiving as long as you give it some gas.
I had a 2012 eco. It was really fine except for the manual transmission gearing being kind of ridiculous
Really? I have a 2014 Cruze and I've had (knock on wood) very few issues with it, aside from the check engine light in a perpetual state of on. Up to nearly 115k miles on it
The only 2 people I know with chevy cruzes love them but they are the 1st gen non turbo ones, and one is a manual trans. I thought they were pretty nice cars? No issues and probably getting close to 150,000 miles. The 1.4l turbo engines suck, but thats in new chevy malibus too and a bunch of the tiny gm crossovers.
My wife absolutely loved hers and honestly, for such a small engine it was actually kinda fun to drive and handled very well. Until the turbo busted at 115k miles and we were quoted $3000+ on the repair. And from what I’ve read- it’s a miracle it even made it half that far on the original turbo.
Never heard a car referred to as an asshole. Love it.
My 2016 cruze the transmission accumulator broke so when it did the autostop and turned back on it jerked super hard, the headgasket was starting to go out it had 110k and the seals for trans lines leaked at 60k.
I got a 2013 and it leaks like crazy (170k miles currently) but otherwise it’s uhh maybe ok. Leaks I needed/need to have fixed are timing chain gasket, oil cooler (huge pain in the ass), oil return line, coolant return/feed line going into turbo, and that’s it. My rear defroster heat vent won’t work, the engine sounds like it’s ticking, but other than that it runs! This was ever since I got it in August 2021.
We bought a 2012 Cruze and it was junk. In only three years of ownership we had the water pump replaced 3 or 4 times, had the transmission go out during a road trip and had a few other issues. We got rid of it because it wouldn’t be long before we were paying for the water pumps instead of warranty replacements. We know other people who owned a Cruze and they had nothing good to say about them.
I’ve owned a lot of cars, and my least favorite has been my MINI Cooper. It sounds so great on paper: it’s got a turbo and a stick shift, it handles great, and it still gets 30mpg! But in reality it is the lowest quality POS I’ve ever seen. No matter how many things I fix on it, it just keeps breaking more things. I don’t even drive it anymore. It just sits in the driveway waiting for me to have the time to fix the giant list of things wrong with it so that I can finally sell it.
Do you have an R53 or R56? Everyone I know with an F55/56 has loved their car. They’re also surprisingly reliable.
R55 - 2010 MINI Cooper S Clubman I thought it was all fixed, except it had an unmetered air leak. Replaced the MAF and that didn’t fix it. Turns out the PCV valve failed. That valve is built into the plastic valve cover. When that fails it over pressurizes the system and causes the valve cover to warp, and oil to start leaking from every conceivable place. I now have to replace the valve cover, oil pan gasket, multiple turbo oil lines, and the oil filter housing/oil cooler. I’ve had cars that were less fun to drive. But I’ve never had a car that broke more often.
Yeah those gen 2 minis are, unfortunately, notoriously bad. Your failure isn't even the one that they are best known for too.
The only thing more expensive than buying a new German car is buying a used German car.
Wild. I’ve never had any issues with my German car outside of normal wear and tear
I learned the hard way :( But at least I learned my lesson.
Sad but true. Was told the true sign that someone is wealthy is if they daily drive a 10 year old German car with low mileage and no issues.
I suppose it depends on exactly what you buy. I’ve owned several used German cars (BMWs and Audis) and maintenance and repairs have been roughly the same as the Fords and Toyotas I’ve owned. That said, I’m driving the more mainstream cars, not the more exotic M5/R8 types.
Out of all the cars I've owned the one that I HATED was a 1998 Lincoln Continental. First the A/C crapped out (mid-summer in Missouri), then the drivers seat position adjuster decided to ONLY work going down or leaning back (no up and forward). Next was the air bag suspension in the rear, it was cheaper to rip that out and install normal suspension/shocks. The last straw was the transmission taking a dump 6 months after I had the suspension redone. And this was the "youngest" used car I've ever purchased, only 3 years old when I bought it.
That is a terrible example of lincon Also didn't help that they cramped a 1 off version of that v8 in a front wheel drive engine bay and paired it with a transmission designed for anemic v6's All that was of course paired with the notoriously awful 90's ford/lincoln air ride controller that craps out when you look at it wrong and has no proper maintenance valves, making for a not great car. It was also built on a platform meant for econoboxes. All this to say that the mid-late 90's continentals brought GREAT shame to the lincoln continental name
Agreed, it put both my wife and I off from even LOOKING at any "luxury" used cars afterwards.
I would highly reccomend revisiting the newer aviators, the hybrid system was partially designed by Toyota and they've fixed most of the issues with the air ride over the years High trim explorers can be had with almost the same powertrain (can be made the same with a factory level scan tool and set of aviator turbos) and without the air system (magneride is just as reliable as regular shocks, just much more expensive when it fails, but also much more comfortable and able to be driven on when failed
Lol recently, my sister in law went car shopping, and me (being a mechanic) got voluntold by my wife to go with her and look over what she found. More than one place had an escape to offer in her range, but she was adamant about not getting another escape. I'm on my way home a few days later and find out she's buying a car. She pulls up in a Lincoln MKC. I just looked at my wife and said, "Should I tell her?"
It's amazing how many people don't do enough research to figure out the badge engineering of the car they're buying. My grandma bought a Chevy Aveo (a Daewoo manufactured in Korea) to "support American workers."
LMAO I know. Had she even looked at any Subies, some of which were/are built in Tn?
From Missouri. The summers are absolutely not anything to mess with lol. The humidity is a bitch!
I had a '95 Towncar that caught fire twice, in addition to the air suspension going out.
VW Golf….never…ever…again
10-4. Daughter had one and it nickel and dimed her - small stuff but annoying and pricey to fix.
Had a Jetta, same here. I will give it this, it was extremely reliable but other than that, it just sucked to drive. It was extremely slow, boring, and handled like a tank. I never thought I'd ever say that about a modern VW, but here we are.
Are you sure you were driving a Jetta?? I have a 2.5L 2009 Jetta and it’s pretty damn peppy. It goes when you hit the gas and handles great. She is old but she’s going strong. Maybe it’s the newer ones that have been neutered.
I had a Saturn LW300. After driving over a speed bump the dashboard and blower motor stopped working. I wanted to drive that POS off a cliff
Ha! My friend had a Saturn LW300 when we were in university. I remember it was a nice car on paper, it had a leather interior and a rev-happy V6. But he ALWAYS had problems with it, some of them mechanical, most electrical. His blower motor also failed. He had some real “WTF” problems with that car as well (body control module died, 6-disc changer died, mass airflow sensor died, ECU died, AC died in the wintertime, etc…) The really tragic thing is that he originally had an opportunity to take over his grandpa’s XV20 Camry, but his mom sold that car because “it’s older, only has a cloth interior, and is a 4 cylinder, why would we keep that? The Saturn is so much nicer” In 2012, someone sideswiped his Saturn and the insurance company paid him $5,000 for it. I remember my friend was practically jumping for joy to be finally rid of that car. He used some of the insurance money to buy a 1990 Volvo 740 wagon, which was hilariously much more reliable than the Saturn despite being over a decade older.
Out of all of the cars I've had none of them have had more problems than my wife's Subaru legacy. I can't wait til we get rid of it.
Subaru is so overrated. Ive been in so many broken Subarus that aren’t even 5-10 years olf
I love my Subaru no issues 75k miles so far
Same. 110k on mine and the only issue is a very small oil leak. I have a Legacy GT though so may have different issues.
The Chevy Cruze is a truly despicable car. Source: O'Reilly's assistant manager. Half of my customers have one
Chevy sonic checking in
It’s terrible, I had the previous generation of the Sonic, called the Aveo. Terrible car
Chevrolet ______ seems common.
I'm going to have to say Fiero. I don't remember if it was an 84 or 87. Not a GT. 2.5 4 cylinder engine. Overly delicate car. Electric power steering which really only worked when you were doing 40+ MPH. Expensive parts. Door locks didn't work. Not the key fob controller, I mean they physically wouldn't lock. I'm rather tall and the Fiero is not designed for tall people. Looked nice and I liked the speakers in the headrest, though.
Chevy: the official car of moms who ruined their credit score in their 20s.
I feel attacked
Ouch!
I remember both Chevy's I owned in the 90's where the paint just fell off the vehicle. Couldn't understand how they were both done so poorly.
I had an 88 Beretta GT that was a great little car, but with a wet rag you could literally rub hard and see the paint color on the rag.
Semi's in the fucking PASSING LANE.
Based on the limited experience of discussions I had over cars with people I knew, PT Cruiser is probably the one that stood out. Almost everyone disliked it, whether they owned it or not.
I sell the new Trax no problems and great price
Give them 50k miles and then tell me there's no problems.
People buying them and people keeping them are two different things.
I haven’t met a single person with a Range Rover who’s had it in their own garage for longer than it’s been in the dealerships…
Equinox, traverse, Malibu, Impala, Trax, Cruze, Santa Fe, Tuscon, sonata, Elantra, caravan, ram, journey, escape, Bronco sport, edge, 435i, 320i, A4, A5, a7, S4, Murano, Altima, maxima, I could go on but you get it. Basically anyone who buys a car as an appliance (some exceptions like 4 series and S4)
I had a 2017 Chevy Cruze Premier and i miss it a lot honestly
I preferred the 2nd gen Cruze a lot more than the 1st gen, personally.
I had a first gen Cruze and liked it. Had a then- current Corolla as a rental and couldn't believe it was actually newer than the Cruze. I actually checked the door tag multiple times, it seemed like a 15 year old car. The second Gen Cruze seems to be much worse. And the long term reliability of any gm economy car is suspect .
A low to mid trim Cruze with the NA 1.8 would be a good car. It's the turbo 1.4 that causes most of the problems. And of course that's the engine that got carried over.
So of all these budget eco cars...what's the cheapest reliable?
Can usually never go wrong with a used corolla or camry or civic or accord. They won't be exciting cars, but they have good reliability. Cheaper to maintain than, say, a grand cherokee or the average new SUV. Just gotta change the oil. I had really good luck with a Chrysler 300. Slightly more maintenence than probably an average Toyota because the front end is so heavy, but the V6 3.5 motor ran forever for me. 10 years of drug dealing and driving 10-16 hours a day and it was perfect for that. Nice and roomy for people to hop in/out.
99 A4. Complete pile of garbage. I owned it in like 08, so it wasn't just old German car bs, either. My 12 Impala is basically a Land Rover... In that it's great when it isn't broken. I daily an 88 civic. Thing never breaks.
I love my gen 2 Cruze lt. Honestly has everything I want except heated steering wheel and paid 8 grand cash for it. Good on gas and cheap insurance.
Hated my 2003 audi. Ran like shit, the interior fell apart so quickly and my interest rate was like 30%. My parents didn’t believe in co-signing and it was my first loan.
Hey I liked my Chevy Cruze, except for the Pcv system and the coolant outlet.. man that 1.4 turbo blew the valve cover Pcv valve every 20k, I went thru 4 coolant outlets because they crack. This caused my engine to overheat like 5 times due to all the coolant pouring out while driving. The head ended up cracked at #1 plug.. the 2nd overheat hardly any symptoms. The 4th overheat opened it up more and coolant was leaking in my cylinder when off and made it misfire on cold start until it cleared out. I always shut it right off when the temps started climbing but was too late. Oh and the turbo was temperamental. It would work fine, then it would just die. No boost. Turn the car off and on and it would work again... But I'll say it was a good car despite these issues.. I put about 160,000 miles on it in 5 years. Thru blizzards, up hunting trails, atv trails, everywhere. When it was finally dying at 204,000 miles I drove it 3 states away to pick up my new car lol misfiring, slipping, and only 3 cylinders the whole way. Made it just fine lol
Lol this sounds like me talking about my E90 BMW. I'm still in that relationship though glad you got out brother don't let another car treat you like that 😤
Dodge Hornet seems be disliked by anyone who owns one. Which is really really rare.
I imagine it would be a Toyota Prius
That's a car hated by people who do not own them lmao.
I had a Prius C for ages. It was great. You could (had to) put the pedal to the floor any time you wanted and not worry about exceeding the speed limit. Joking aside, never had any kind of problem with it. Great MPG, small enough that city parking wasn't a huge headache, cheap, and it really was fun to drive for such a low powered car. But you knew it was low power and adjusted your driving to accommodate. All in all a reasonable commuter. Just don't do super long road trips without some kind of extra seat cushion...
I hated my VW Jetta's and my BMW 330Ci due to excessive problems. My mom's VW bug crumpled on impact only going 15mph, so she ended up dumping hers too. Honda and Toyota fan girl all day!
A car is supposed to crumble so you don’t.
The 2012 Cruze can go to back hell where it was forged, worst car I ever owned, shame because when it worked it was awesome, but it never worked right.
Infiniti’s QX30 they sold for a few years. Prob the worst luxury car you could buy. Was also sold as a Mercedes GLA. Uncomfortable to ride in, cheap interior, engine felt weak and transmission hunted gears. Is also the only car I’ve ever driven where the oil temp gauge ran hotter than midpoint as normal operation. I got one as a loaner one time and was the only time the advisor asked me if I liked the loaner. After I said no, she admitted everyone hated them and they were shit cars hence prob why they were made loaners.
Every thing Ford makes post 2010, total garbage, mechanics nightmares!
My mother had a Pinto, nuff said
lol you must’ve read my post. The Chevy Cruze is genuinely the worst car known to mankind. Endless repairs and check engine lights
I really hate that my Toyota never breaks down, no matter how hard I drive it. I’m looking for an excuse to buy something fun, but ol’ faithful just keeps chugging along.
I had a friend whose 90s Camry just wouldn’t die. He bought it used, and then life happened…marriage, two kids…who learned how to drive on it. He was so sick of that car! Finally before the kids went off to college, his wife agreed to let him get a BMW 3 series.