As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I’ve bought several new cars that were clear, unqualified disasters -these cars were so bad they still give me Stephen King-level nightmares. I always thought the advertising tagline for my 1981 Buick Skylark should have been “Let It Light Your Fire” – because that’s what it almost did to me – literally.
But let’s delve into what I consider to be my worst new car experience. I know you must think it would be hard to top a car that almost incinerated you, but yes, I have another horrific tale of auto woe…
In 1986 I was leaving a military assignment in Korea and headed to another one in Hawaii. As I outlined in my Crown post, I had shipped my 1978 MS-85 Crown to Korea, and it had served me well. I would have taken it with me to Hawaii but to federalize it would have cost an arm and a leg. So I needed a new car.
You may be familiar with the Exchange retail system on US military bases – the BX or PX. The Exchange operated (and still operates) a new car buying service, similar to credit unions, insurance companies, and retailers like Costco. I decided to give it a shot as the prices were very reasonable and if I ordered early enough, the car would be waiting for me when I arrived.
1980 European Escort XR3
So, what to buy. Well, way back in 1980, I had seen pictures of the then new European Ford Escort – wow, nice looking, and very sporty. Ford was then touting it as its “World Car”, so I assumed our North American model would be exactly the same. As we know, that wasn’t quite correct – the NA Escort came out looking frumpy, even in its performance GT trim.
MotorWeek 1986 Ford Line Review – Escort starts at 4:45 mark
But along came 1986 and Ford gave the Escort a significant makeover; new aerodynamic body and fender skirts, an asymmetrical grille, High Output 1.9 liter EFI engine. I thought it looked like a smaller version of the Merkur XR4Ti which everyone knew was European born and bred. A positive review on MotorWeek sealed the deal, and I put down my money.
1986 Escort GT (internet photo)
The car arrived in Hawaii a few weeks after me. It looked great – refrigerator white with a light gray interior. I got quite a few compliments and questions – what is it? Is it European? How much did you pay? It drove fairly well – the 5 spd manual was a little vague, but it shifted OK. The 1.9 HO SOHC four ran smoothly with the EFI, though it sounded more “chuffy” than sporty. The 195/60 HR 15 tires and sport suspension resulted in pretty decent handling. I was happy and satisfied – for the first six months…
Then one day while going down a steep hill, the engine died. I coasted to a stop, tried to get it to start, but no luck. I had to tow it to the Ford dealer who diagnosed a bad ECM module. They replaced it under warranty.
A few months later I was sitting in traffic and the temperature gauge started rising…and rising. I parked in a lot and checked under the hood – no leaks. So another tow to the dealer who replaced the solenoid controlling the fan – under warranty.
A few months later the brakes started acting up – pushing on the brake pedal resulted in a “stepped” stop – the pedal would go down and firm up, then suddenly loosen and go down farther. It never went completely to the floor but made stopping very jerky and unsafe. I didn’t see any leaking brake fluid so took it to the dealer. They found a defective master cylinder and replaced it – under warranty.
And a few months after that, the A/C suddenly stopped blowing cold – just warm air. Another trip to the dealer – and here things got interesting. The Service Manager, who I had become quite familiar with at this point, looked at me with his best poker face and asked;
“Have you ever opened up the A/C system?”
Uh, what do you mean by “opening up?”
“Well, did you take off any of the A/C hoses under the hood, mess with the condenser, or go inside the evaporator?”
“No, that’s way above my mechanical ability….why do you ask?”
“Well, we found some debris in the system”…
“What kind of debris?”
“Well, it looks like the remains of a napkin”…
“A napkin? You mean a wipe your face napkin?”
“Yea”…
So evidently at the Wayne Assembly Plant where my Escort was put together, someone on the line installing the A/C system must have been eating a Twinkie. Or maybe it was at the plant that manufactured the A/C components. Or maybe the napkin story was all BS and it was really some A/C interior insulation or lining that came loose that they didn’t want to admit to, given how many other times the car had been in the service bay for warranty work. Irrespective, after the explanation, I wasn’t a very happy camper. It only got worse when the SM said the cost to fix it would be $800, as they had to replace the condenser and evaporator core, and that it wasn’t covered under the powertrain warranty.
Not having A/C in Hawaii is really not an option. It doesn’t get extremely hot and humid, but the air is very clear so the sun really heats up a car interior. I wasn’t going to fold on this one so I talked to the dealership General Manager – he said the same thing, sorry, but no warranty coverage. Their story was I was being untruthful and must have taken the car to a local mechanic who introduced “the napkin” into the A/C. I then took it up the next step to the District complaints office. They sided with the dealer. I finally went to the warranty dispute board in Dearborn – they said no warranty claim, but were willing to submit to arbitration. The arbitrators said 50/50 – which I went with.
That car, and the whole nightmare with the A/C, so infuriated me that I was a loyal Toyota customer for the next thirteen years.
And the Escort? I sold it after the A/C was fixed to another GI. I saw him about a month later – he told me he was going down the H1 Freeway when part of the wiring harness burned up – it was in the shop. I left quickly before he could take a swing at me…
So, while I sincerely hope you don’t, do you have a new car horror story?
My first, and only, new car was my 1988 Monte Carlo SS. The check engine light came on when I first drove it home. The 200R4 trans self destructed in a couple of months. The first two of four warranty replacement trans blew seals and spewed out all their fluid. I couldn’t run the AC without overheating. The AC had to be charged every year. My new car left me walking 3 times, twice in the middle of nowhere. Every major system failed in the first couple of years. GM refused to buy it back. They finally convinced me that they didn’t give a damn about me or the POS they sold me. It was ruining my life. I finally got an aftermarket trans, and was able to drive it for a while. I got tired of fixing the damn thing, and got my 94 Thunderbird SC with 5 speed. I still have it.
My 1st new car was also an ‘88 Monte Carlo SS! I had it for 12 years and it treated me way better than yours did, JV. However, I noticed when I started it at the dealer the starter didn’t sound right. Drove it home and went to show it off and the starter just spun. I was only 22 but so mad I insisted the dealer come tow it away that night. I started it 5 times when I picked it up at the dealer the next day, after the very loose starter mounting bolts were tightened. It also needed the carb repaired for very excessive fuel consumption and had very poor body panel alignment. It was still cool as all get out, though.
Ah yes, the Escort. My first new car nightmare also. I bought the 1983 version, with the 1.6 carbureted engine and 4 speed manual. Great looking small car for the day, and I was impressed with how roomy the little thing was. But driving it was terrible. The 1.6 was gutless, and the wide gear spacing of the overdrive 4 speed meant you were never in the little motors’ power band. The worst part was that when it was cold, it bucked like a mule until warmed up, and on damp or rainy days it never got better.
Two months into my ownership, drove it from the Midwest to the east coast (in October). It didn’t like the weather there, and had to have it towed to the local dealer after scaring me and my new bride with a cherry red catalytic converter while trying to keep it running for a day of sightseeing. Couldn’t wait to get rid of it, and it was several years before I bought another Ford.
A/C is an expensive repair! Replacing the A/C system on my VW Eurovan was what got me alienated from the shop I used in town for a couple of years before deciding to do all my maintenance myself. The shop tried three compressors, and there was still crazy belt whine. On the last compressor, the shop owner told me that his tech didn’t charge the system because the pressure was spiking too high and he was afraid of blowing the unit.
After a heated exchange of words, I took the van home, read up on forums and eventually discovered that the radiator fan relays were shot, and the fan needed them to work for the A/C to work. With those replaced, I was able to get a different shop to charge the unit.
But the whole experience cost too much money, and was part of my decision to move on from the van and to turn my own wrenches in the future.
I have less lofty expectations for my current van, an old VW Westy. It’s got problems, sure, but my attitude has changed, and I tackle the issues as time allows. It helps, of course, that it’s not my daily driver.
My new car disaster was a ’94 Mazda 626, a product of Mazda and Ford. I called it the ‘Fazda’ which was the only name it had that did not involve profanity. Purchased new, I knew it had some Ford parts, but after a short time I discovered it was a Ford with a Mazda engine. To be fair the engine never missed a beat in the five years I owned the Fazda. Everything else missed a lot of beats. The first thing to die was the automatic transmission at 6k miles. Then the steering rack followed by various front suspension parts that popped and groaned when turning. I had a meeting with the dealership general manager and factory rep where I yelled so loudly that they gave me a five year extended warranty for free. I mean this car constantly had something wrong with it! I was on a first name basis with the service writer and the guy who drove the customer shuttle knew where I worked and where I lived. Near the end of the five years I had a stack of service receipts over half an inch thick and I traded it in on a 2001 Lexus ES300 one week before the extended warranty expired. In nineteen years the Lexus has needed one brake light bulb and an O2 sensor. This was my never ever, ever gonna buy another Mazda or Ford experience. Do I sound bitter? That’s because I am.
Wow, I am happy to say that I cannot come even close.
My first new car was a 1985 VW GTI. I loved driving it, but was bothered by way too many little things over two years. It was in multiple times for fuel injection issues that caused an uneven idle, and for a never-solved water leak that would soak the rear carpet after a decent rain. Adding to it were things not the car’s fault, like the thief who smashed the drivers window trying to steal the (factory) radio. He failed to get the radio, but not before destroying the dash.
I got to the end of my 2 year warranty and decided that I would let the next guy take his chances. I bought a 20 year old 66 Fury III that spent far less time in the shop.
Right after Sept 11, 2001, I was being transferred to Denver Colorado so I traded my 1993 Honda Prelude with 300k miles for a Ford Escape SUV. Buy American and all that. It was the worst mistake of my car buying life. At 1,000, the steering rack failed. It failed again at 10,000 miles, again at 25,000 and finally at 37,000. It had a 36,000 mile warranty. Ford covered all the prior repairs, but they wanted me to pay this one. I refused. I took it all the way up to arbitration as well. They agreed to pay 80%. I rejected that and demands they pay it all. I took it down to the dealer late at night and drove it up the ramp leading to the front door of the showroom. It was the doors where they put the cars into the showroom. I pinned the doors shut with the car. Now, they had to turn the wheels to the right to get off the pad. Guess what? It wouldn’t turn right. I went down there in the morning with a friend and we hid around the corner. They had to get a tow truck and drag it sideways off that ramp. Between the steering rack repairs, other failures included tie rods, ball joints sway bars, every suspension piece, something twice (I forget what), brakes that would freeze in cold damp weather. And finally an engine and transmission that did not seem to want to work together. The transmission sounded like it was full of marbles. I never took this vehicle off road. It was never abused. It had 7 miles on it when I bought it. I kept all the warranty slips. I paid $25K for the vehicle and I had $19K in warranty repairs after. 3 years.. They finally paid for the final steering rack but said “not again”. I said, “Don’t Worry, I won’t be back. I drove down the street and traded it in on a Honda that day. They paid off my loan and I had no equity to roll forward. Break even. I never looked back.
“I took it down to the dealer late at night and drove it up the ramp leading to the front door of the showroom. It was the doors where they put the cars into the showroom. I pinned the doors shut with the car.”
It’s not yet 7 a.m. and this made my day.
My new car nightmare was my 1990 Honda Civic Hatchback. I traded my 84 2000 Sunbird on this piece of crap. The cassette stopped working within weeks and the dealer wouldn’t replace the unit they kept trying to fit it. Six trips to the dealer and still wouldn’t fix, I just replaced it with a cheap one from K-Mart. The car started rusting within 6 months and of course, they made every excuse that it was my fault. After a few spring rainstorms I took the car back as the defroster wouldn’t clear the windshield even with the windows open, I was told since I didn’t have AC that’s why this happens. Well he wasn’t happy with I said out loud I never had any problems with my Pontiac and it didn’t have AC and the biggest mistake I made was trading my Pontiac on your piece of crap. with all I got rid of it. The biggest pain was the seatback wouldn’t go back in the set position, it would go back to factory setting. I kept it a year and a half my worst purchase I every amde and the only car I had alot of issues within the 1st year.
I too had an A/C problem with my new 1986 Ford Ranger. But before I experienced it, I did have the opportunity to take a quick spin in a new Escort GT as well as 5.0 Mustang GT, both 5 speeds, and really liked both. So anyway, I had spent a long time looking for Rangers in a spec, color and trim I liked at a price I could afford. I finally settled on a blue SuperCab, with the STX trim package at a price that seemed right, after many hours wandering the lot at the final dealership with a patient salesman. It was around 9PM and near the end of August, so I figured I’d get a good price – close to closing time, end of the month, ‘87’s due in soon. I think I got home around 11PM happy with the deal and loving the truck. I was even happier driving it to work the next morning.
After work – and it gets hot in San José in August – I got in the shiny Ranger, fired it up, and reached to turn on the A/C. But there was no A/C. I let out a long slow expletive and checked the sticker, which I’d folded up and put in the glove box. No. Air. Conditioning. STX trim, sure. Limited slip 4.10 rear axle, sure. Rear jump seats AND rollup cargo cover, sure. But I drove that truck for nine pretty trouble free years using 2/60 ventilation. Ford picked up a repaint when the hood started peeling horribly, but I can’t blame them for the lack of A/C.
That’s a funny story (for us, not so much for you at the time!) my nightmare is to accidentally buy a FWD vehicle when I want an AWD one. It’s hard to screw this up out here as everything is stocked in the AWD version (just like almost every car in San Jose has A/C) but every once in a while something like a FWD Highlander or whatever is tucked among the dozens of AWD ones on a lot and the price seems so much better at first glance. It’s not like they drive obviously different on dry pavement…
This was my worst new car story. This was also the worst car I ever owned. It only had to be towed once but man . . . the endless series of things that broke on it. Horrible car that gave me nightmares for years. I still get PTSD tremors when I see the picture of the engine. I’m still terrified of German cars. I bought a Grand National to replace it which was a million times better.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-2001-cadillac-catera-opel-omega-how-can-any-of-these-still-exist/
Vega. Need I say more?
No bad new car story from me. Have yet to run into that problem. The 68 Cougar was always trouble free from the beginning. The four company cars between 1972-76, while not mine, had no problems and one was an Audi Fox! I have then bought an 80 Civic, and 86 Mazda 626, and my current 04 Focus. All fine. I do feel for Evil Ron. He should have bought a 92 626 as the fifth generation was the one to stay away from.
I have a few ‘shopping for a new car’ horror stories. Fortunately,they all ended before I bought a new car!
2002 VW GTI
44 hours MTBF.
VW bought it back
@ Jim Brophy, for those of us who remember the ’80’s, the Escort was a really hip car then, especially in GT form. The Escort topped the best seller list year, after year, after year in the ’80’s so your enthusiasm was not misplaced. There wasn’t a lot less that hit the Escort’s handy combination of price, sporty looks, and utility. The Cavalier Z 24 was significantly more expensive, the Fiero less useful, the Omnirizon dowdier, the GTI and Japanese competition were all more expensive and didn’t have the flash of the Escort. The Grand Am was considerably more expensive and lacked the hot-hatchback look. The exterior and interior changes elevated the Escort from Airport special or a car Bill Dauterive (King of the Hill) would drive to a lustworthy car for young people.
@ Evil Ron, I remember that generation of 626. It wholeheartedly embraced the jellybean/melted soap look. This was the first generation of 626 to achieve real sales success in the United States. I knew several people who owned them. It was also the last generation of 626 to achieve real sales success in the United States because EVERY LAST ONE had the transmission fail very early. Everyone that I knew that had one had had the transmission replaced. I think it was a Ford transmission and could have been the Taurus transmission. Oddly, the Probe/MX-6 which shared the platform didn’t seem to have as many transmission problems.
69 Mercury Cougar….first new car after college graduation. Delivered with a lug nut in passenger side rear brake drum which made a horrible noise when wheel reacted to a bump in the road. HVAC blower resistor failed after warranty ended, both passenger and driver windows came out of tracks, front suspension bushings developed terrible noise issue…all within two years. Last Ford for me.
I’ve had two; I think most of you can fill in the blanks! Nevertheless…
1975 VW Rabbit: Never buy the first year of all-new model. No-starts due to carb problems, clutch failed at 13K miles (and I learned to drive on a stick shift 67 Chevy Bel Air), catalytic converter internally self-destructed (sounded like a can of marbles), a blizzard blew snow into the engine compartment and caused the exposed timing belt to slip a cog or two on attempted startup, sunvisor broke off (plastic bracket), radio tuning knob failed, engine used too much oil…all in 3 years and under 40K miles.
1990 Mercury Sable: wiper switch failed twice (no intermittent speeds available), warped front rotors, transmission needed replacement ($$$$), A/C components failed at different times ($$$$), tie rod ends failed prematurely, ditto water pump and alternators (plural), headlight switch partially melted (no taillights or parking lamps)…I had it 10 years and 135K miles, but in retrospect, I should have gotten rid of it at 65K miles. Had the Vulcan 3.0 V6, so no head gasket problems!
I had a 1988.5 GT (remember when Ford did the half year thing?). It was really fun to drive when everything was working. Comfortable, reasonably quick for its class, handled well, and was fairly roomy inside. I remember cleaning up on a VW GTI stoplight after stoplight; apparently the GTI driver just would not learn. But reliability certainly left something to be desired. The starter shorted so hard at about 40,000 miles that it took out the battery. At about 80,000 miles I had to replace the cam because a lobe went flat. And there were plenty of lesser issues as well.
On the other hand, a friend a had an ’86 that he put 200,000 miles on and did nothing other than routine maintenance and wear items.
My ‘81 Corolla Hardtop, ‘88 Nissan King Cab, ‘01 Trooper and ‘13 Outback have all given 150k mile service before needing anything expensive; the only asterisks would be the last 2 needed transmission replacements at 60k and 75k respectively, and were covered (including loaner) by the manufacturers.
Our ‘98 Volvo S70 and ‘10 Ford Edge were different stories, the Volvo needing constant attention and ultimately needed a complete ABS system, AC system, and ECM brain around 50k, and the Edge a new cooling system every 30k miles. That’s the one where the engine comes out to replace the water pump. Ford covered the first one but the two subsequent ones cost big money. Obviously we fled back to Japan Inc and remain satisfied.
Not my car but the car of a director I was working for at the time. He was issued with one of the first Rover 820 saloons in I guess late 1986. It created a bit of a stir and a good first impression.
3-4 days later he arrived at work not looking very happy. It had been raining heavily, and the lights, wipers and many other electrical features had stopped working, leaving him limping along a dual carriageway with just the hazard flashers.
I almost made the mistake of buying a North American market Fiesta after driving the German version at a preview event. When the production cars arrived from Mexico, riding on Korean tires, the feel was not at all the same. At least I was shopping manual transmission cars, so I would have avoided the dual-clutch transmission nightmare if I did buy. Ended up with the Honda Fit which has had zero problems.
What led to my interest in the new Fiesta was the fact that I did buy a German built Mk I version in 1980 as my first new car. While it did have a few issues under warranty, nothing I considered major for the time and it never left me stranded.
I bought a brand new 1974 Fiat 124 Coupe from my friend who was a salesman at one of two local Fiat dealerships. It was a Saturday and i helped them lock up before I left. On the way home, the volt meter fell to zero. I called another friend who ran the other Fiat dealership and he said the “big orange wire had fallen off the under dash fuse box”.
He was correct.
The car ran great with a replacement distributor from an earlier model and altered cam timing. Two warranty repairs in two years, a clock and a front wheel bearing. I sold it to a kid hwo blew it up in two weeks.
I’ve been lucky with our two new cars, but one used car was troublesome. We bought a 2 year old 1995 Ford Escort (the Mazda 323 based one) and it developed a cursed automatic transaxle. After slipping and shift issues I fell for the transmission shop’s spiel and let them rebuild it, then I made them rebuild it again at their expense, twice. That settled things for a few years. Then the transmission failed again and we went to a dealer, who also fixed it once on our dime and twice on theirs, finally we did what I should have done in the first place and had a local shop put in a used transaxle which was trouble free for the rest of its life. Lesson learned, and fortunately we haven’t run into this level of aggro again.
Two duds for me: I got swept up into the MINI arrival in 2002 and had a good year, so I ordered a MINI Cooper, optioned to my dreams. Finally arrived and it was a BLAST till… the first week the seats squeaked, then the sunroof started whining when open, then the rear suspension had clunks.. we kept it 12 months and had 13 warranty [attempts] at fixing before I dumped it for a 325it (wagon) which was brilliant, and we kept for 17 years.
Living in San Francisco, the allure of parking a smart was hard to resist. We didn’t need the BMW anymore (please hold, story changes) and the sneaky way of getting a new French car appealed. Plus, heated seats! I won’t buy a car without them. I picked it up for the initial drive before signing the papers, drove about a mile and it stopped. Dealer was baffled but not *REALLY*. He didn’t seem too surprised. Anyway, got it started, they tweaked something while I finished what little I was financing and got it back. Drove it home, parked where only motorcycles usually park, thrilled. Went out an hour later to take my s.o. in it and it dies again. Long story shorter… took it back, they kept it for 17 days trying to fix and I finally just said, “things seem citrusy” to which they agreed (because if you lemon-law a car, it’s forever titled that way, I think). They offered to get me a new one asap, which was very Mercedes of them. Great. Then we find out a grandkid is coming, which won’t fit. We still had the BMW and kept it, fortunately. Got the new smart, sold it in a few weeks. No looking back.
That’s what you get for buying a Fix Or Repair Daily. And for reading Motor Trend.