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Everyone who has owned a car knows how reliable it is to break down. How stubborn it is in its own special way.
The good thing is that with time comes nostalgia, and nostalgia can fix memories that have been bugging us for a very long time, allowing us to laugh at wedding disasters, beach fails, and even all the annoying car issues we've been through.
For the newest "Hashtags" segment on The Tonight Show, its host Jimmy Fallon asked his viewers to share their worst car stories, and it was just like always: people responded to the prompt on Twitter, the showrunners picked the funniest entries and they got a feature on live television. And, just like every time, they were hilariously entertaining, too.
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#1
JessG 4 years ago
First comment I read from anywhere this morning and I'm already laughing, thanks :)
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Full of Giggles 4 years ago
I had a 2006 Cavalier that did the same thing. The first time it happened, I was in a curve of a Starbucks drive-thru. My car was positioned so that the steering wheel was turned to the left 45 degrees causing my horn to blare for a good 90 seconds at the 4 cars ahead of me. The manager asked me not to return to their store.
Phunny Philosopher 4 years ago
This post presents too much awesome to respond to in one small comment.
Kelly Von Tee 4 years ago
Like, how did she figure that out?!! That's some next level MacGyver stuff right there.
According to experts, taking care of your car starts with three rudimentary things you should be doing every other fill-up to ensure it stays in tip-top shape.
First, clean the windshield. A dirty, bug-splattered windshield is a safety hazard (it obscures your view of the road), so give it a regular cleaning. Using the spongy part of the gas station squeegee, soak the whole windshield with the cleaning fluid. Then pull the squeegee tightly from the middle of the windshield to the sides, finishing off the remaining streaks by pulling it top to bottom. If your headlights are dirty, give them a squeegeeing too.
Next, check tire pressure. Maintaining this department will keep you safe and even save you a little money. Improperly inflated tires — and this means both over-inflated and under-inflated — don't handle or stop as well as tires with the correct pressure, and they are more likely to suffer a blowout. Plus, tires with the correct pressure last longer and increase your fuel efficiency, even if very slightly.
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#2
Just a Marine Veteran 4 years ago
My high school girlfriend had a really crappy car that got stolen. It was so bad that they decided to leave it around the corner about 100 yards away
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saturnslipper 4 years ago
That was the most Hilarious description of a car I've ever seen!! Well Done🤣
Lastly, check the oil level and top off as needed. Motor oil is your car's blood and is essential to its performance. It lubricates all the moving parts in your engine so they don't grind and tear themselves into a disaster. It also transfers heat away from the combustion cycle and traps and holds all the nasty byproducts of combustion, sending it to the oil filter. If your engine doesn't have enough oil, your car is at great risk.
To ensure your car always has enough oil, you simply need to keep regularly checking it. Your owner's manual might recommend that you do this at every gas fill-up but every other is usually sufficient.
Checking your car's oil level is very easy. All you need is a clean paper towel, adequate light, and a few minutes. But before you start, make sure your car is on level ground so you get an accurate reading. Then, locate your engine's dipstick (it typically has an image of an oil can or just says "OIL"). Pull out the dipstick. No laughing. Wipe it clean with a paper towel (gas stations sometimes have them available near the pumps). Put the dipstick back, making sure it goes all the way in. Pull the dipstick out again, (don't turn it upside down to look at it—this makes the oil run upward and ruins your reading). It will have two marks at the bottom. The oil level can be read by looking where the oily part ends and the dry part begins: if the oil line is between the two marks, you’re good to go. If it’s below the bottom mark, you need to add some more oil. But never add more than a quart at once without driving and taking a new reading of the oil level. Too much oil isn't good for the engine too.
All you need to do now is follow the maintenance schedule suggested in your vehicle's owner's manual, keep the car clean and it won't break down. Much.
#3
Laura Waddell 4 years ago
My first car was a 1974 Pinto Blowabout (Runabout). Every time it rained, the carpeting would get soaked. My mom used to yell at me to close my windows when it rained. The front windows were closed & the back windows in that model were just a stationary pane of glass. It remained a mystery for a couple of years until one day during an infrequent trip to the car wash, I picked up the rear driver's side floor mat to vacuum & discovered a hole about 5" in diameter. Apparently the floorboard had rusted through. Mystery of the soaking wet carpets was solved. Kind of a letdown tho, lol.
Daniel Callaway 4 years ago (edited)
I had a 75 Datsun Pickup like that. Should have been against the law to sell those things in the USA!!! I also had a 72 Pinto Wagon which had no rust and was one of my favorite vehicles.
#4
Philly Bob Squires 4 years ago
Unlike my Dodge Stratus who's alarm would go off randomly in the middle of the night. Armed or unarmed. It was parked in the back so I never heard it but my neighbors sure did.
Andrew Vince 4 years ago
That happened to me as well. The alarm got wet and would wail at random until I disconnected it.
#5
Raine Soo 4 years ago
Growing up, my dad had a flashy red Cadillac Eldorado. The thing was huge and built like a tank. As I got a little older, I was embarrassed to get a ride from him because I likened it to the pimpmobile. All that was missing was the fuzzy dice. Plenty of guys thought that the car was great, though.
Melissa Powell 4 years ago
Back when I was a teenager, long time ago, in the days of drive in theaters. Had a friend with a convertible. Believe it was a Lincoln, not sure. Drive in had $1 a car days. We got 11 people in the convertible and went to the theater.
#6
Bobert Robertson 4 years ago
When life hands you lemons, make a lemonade slushy with the vent ice
Richard Barlow 4 years ago
My dad was a traveling salesman in the South and was one of the first to add-on an AC for his car. There were plastic horns coming out of the rear deck that fired high velocity chunks of ice at all passengers.
#7
Michelle Brandt 4 years ago
Oh man, if I had been that conceited I never would've married my husband. He drove a Ford Festiva hatchback in high school that didn't have a backseat, smelled funny(read :old) and you could pull the keys out of the ignition while the car was running.
Barbel 4 years ago
As a European I've never seen this car before and I think it's absolutely gorgeous!
Susan 4 years ago
My sister had one it was a lemon! I've always wondered if there's still one left that's still functioning.
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catslave6 4 years ago (edited)
I had one of these. I feel your pain. I drove the 'piece of s**t' for 15 years. All the tow companies in town knew me well. Didn't even have to use my name just: the piece of s**t is at (address), please deliver to the mechanic (they knew him too!). They gave me $100 on a 'trade in' for the new car, but only because it had a new battery. It would die at 65 mph and not restart until I stuck a stick in the gas tank (vapor lock). It ate carburetors,/alternators? one per annum for 15 years. The grill fell off. I put it back on with twist ties. It ate batteries. Refused to start for no known reason. I wanted to shoot through the block with a very large gun. I wanted to watch the crusher smash that f**ker. Worst car ever!
Noelle (she/her) 4 years ago
It's a nice car and why should you even care about someone's car?
#8
Night Owl 4 years ago (edited)
That's a good question. The sudden change in air pressure could've been a factor
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#9
Marcellus the Third 4 years ago
Indeed, and easy to fix if you'd want to.
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Bonnie Edwards 4 years ago
My best friend did this deliberately. Men have no respect for a woman driving a SS Club Sport. She moved one of the front window washer jets so that it would go over the car, and about 2m behind. Got tailgaiters every time. Also, the local police have a habit of tailgating people to get them to speed, and then pull you over for speeding. It's happened to several people I know.
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
No-one forces you to speed. Especially if you are being tailgated. If you're doing considerably under the speed limit then people can get annoyed, there's never any excuse for tailgating though.
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Andrew Betts 4 years ago
I would love to have a car like that. I have so many tailgaters on me with their bights on.
Daniel Callaway 4 years ago
I adjusted my squirters on the front windshield to do that. I had to watch for rain and adjust them back.
#10
Linus Nilsson 4 years ago
And here I live in Sweden were cars would be illegal to drive long before reaching this state
Bobert Robertson 4 years ago
People in the USA put motors and license plates on couches
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Kirk Mckeever 3 years ago
NOTE** there are over 100 MILLION cars in the USA......smaller Countries can do all sorts of things because...they're small....US---not so much....
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
Tragic. The '66 Chevy was a pretty truck. And really easy to work on if you have the time/interest. They were made to last forever, if properly maintained.
#11
Linus Nilsson 4 years ago
This reminds me of Top Gear. "You know, my father had one of these, and the doors never fell of. It was one of its key features"
Daniel Callaway 4 years ago
Chevys seem to do that. ?Run perfect until you really need them then something critical malfunctions. Fords give you a warning before they crap out.
#12
Thalia Lovering 4 years ago
Actually, no. He risked her life when he ignored her.
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M O'Connell 4 years ago
Bump-steer! I haven't heard about this phenomenon in years. It comes from an improperly-set pitman arm causing the steering linkage to turn one way when the suspension is compressed and the other way when it is extended.
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
I would never let my kid drive a car I hadn't tested. Until she becomes an adult, at least.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
I wouldn't even if they were an adult! You don't become a mechanic when you hit 18/21!
Load More Replies... Barbara Vandewalle 4 years ago
In the 1950's my dad had car from the late 1940s. Occasionally it would do a complete 180 degree turn while driving down the road. I was with him the last time. He took it to a dealership before it killed us.
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
LOL! No-one from North Bellport SAYS they're from NORTH Bellport, unless they're telling you how bad they had it. (Same zip code as Bellport, a tiny, artsy village on the south shore of Long Island.)
#13
Dan Buczynski 4 years ago
You're a boss. I got driven to a party once in a hearse and I felt like a super badass the whole night.
Hugh Cookson 4 years ago
That is BRILLIANT !! I had a friend who converted a Volvo hearse into a camper wagon many years ago and painted it in rainbow colours (actually invited us over to his place, got us all drunk and issued us with spray paint, enamel paint and brushes ... bloody good party even though many of us took weeks to remove ingrained paint from places that paint shouldn't have been..... ). As an aside, apart from that, the only other time I had dealings with a hearse was in Worthing (UK), when my Bond Bug 3 wheeler (I'll post a pic, but best you Google it) wouldn't start and I got a jump start from a nice man with a coffin in the back of his car ..... Once got a jump start on the side of the M20 on New Years Day from a nice man in a Model T Ford as well - happy days ! bug-60181c...ae7b13.jpg 
#14
Raine Soo 4 years ago (edited)
That is terrifying! The poor tree, but I'm glad to hear that you're alright.
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
Yes I'm sure they appreciate your sentiments being expressed on a completely different website to where they posted it. They probably will never see this.
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Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
It isn't. Maybe it was depressed that it was the ugly stepchild and set itself on fire? (I could understand that...)
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Moo Moo Futch 4 years ago
Probably a run of cars that were recalled due to a fault and this one missed the list. Happens a fair bit if people aren't notified, don't read emails from their dealer or read the news and do the research. BMW had a lot of issues with a Mini Cooper fuel tank back in 2001 and did a huge recall and Clio's hoods were coming loose and blocking the windshield for drivers causing near fatal crashes. These are two incidents of cars having issues which weren't something that could have been located on a standard annual Service and MOT.
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#16
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
Worked in the kitchen of a country club when I was 19. One day, some member's mid-60s Porsche burst into flames in the parking lot. Beautiful car, but the kitchen staff enjoyed the show.
*sigh*, The Yellow Teletubby 4 years ago
that could have been a hit, someone could have been trying to kill them lmao
#17
No you didn't 4 years ago (edited)
Apparently you should have held the beams midway between high and regular 🤷♀️
Neale Coleman 4 years ago
Well played! (Acknowledging the reference to another car issue posted here)
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Steve Wilson 4 years ago
My mom once owned a Pontiac that wouldn’t start if anybody was sitting in the front passenger seat. So if you went anywhere with her you had to wait for her to start the car before you got in.
MRSS 4 years ago
Actually not uncommon with the Ford Tempo and the sister version of it, The Mercury Topaz. I work in parts for Ford and while these vehicles had their unique issues, their owners absolutely loved them. Still have one that comes in now and again and let me tell you for a Tempo that is 28yrs old (car is actually a 1993) is looks brand freaking new. Parts are not simple to find but whatever it needs the Customer spares zero expense.
Mary Tonningsen 4 years ago
I had a '62 Ford Falcon that would honk whenever I used blinkers. In all fairness, it could be I shorted it out myself by using a screwdriver as the blinker stick since the original one wouldn't stay screwed in anymore. I loved that car!! My dad bought it for me and my sister to share back in 1971 and I drove it for years. 4 doors, moon hubcaps, bench seats front and back, and my first car with a push-button AM radio! A great party car - I could take all my girlfriends to go cruise on Friday nights downtown, even after the backseat caught on fire. (long story). :)
Mary Tonningsen 4 years ago
BTW - the car cost my dad only $75, so we definitely got our money's worth out of it!
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Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
Those are the inconspicuous cars that drug mules like... Did you check all the hidden panels?
DC 4 years ago
In germany, they also sell cars that were used in criminal activities. A guy bought a Mercedes in 2003, a W124, which still was loaded. There's a pair of enclosures around the lower wishbone in these, to improve aerodynamics, which was still filled with cocaine. When the buyer found it, he told the police and they came by to collect the coke and have another look into the spots they might have known, for they're like invented for that purpose.
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Jo Johannsen 4 years ago
How many of the other bidders were in dark glasses and trench coats, with earpieces?
David 4 years ago
Well luckily if you drove on the highways around DC, the traffic rarely went over 20mph
Pinda Indo 4 years ago
I dont get it from Every morning, till end. Van somebody please explain
#19
LOttawa 4 years ago (edited)
Cities in QC, except for the greater Montreal area, don't have metros (except for the grocery stores lol). I'm thinking this is more of a saying for that area (I've lived in QC all my life and never heard of that).
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Beeologist 4 years ago
I'm in Montréal. I've known the BMW joke forever, before I started driving. In Montréal, most of the people are bilingual, so we have jokes in both languages.. Don't know where the joke comes from, but it's ubiquitous. As for the difficult driving in Montréal, some central residential neighborhoods are adopting complex patterns of one ways to discourage through traffic, but other than that, it's not worse than any place I've been to.. Boston to me is really hard to get oriented, if you miss the street you needed to turn at and make 3 right turns, hoping to backtrack to where you were, you can very well end up 2 kilometers away, in a completely different direction.. 😵
#20
Marcellus the Third 4 years ago
Not that strange really. I've had a car drive (at say 5MPH) over my foot and it doesn't hurt; the suspension and tires spread the weight. The flatter the object the lesser the impact.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
Yes, she said so in the post. "It drove over the phone and it didn't break". Car is fine 😉 😄
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Aldhissla VargTimmen 4 years ago (edited)
I was gonna comment the phone must have been a nokia but apparently it isn't :O We once rode accidentily over a nokia phone with our tractor and it wasn"t broken...
Bonnie Edwards 4 years ago
That's awesome. I always wanted a car I would be able to push myself if I ever broke down.
#21
Raine Soo 4 years ago
Well, that car certainly lived up to its namesake. The irony did not escape me. LOL
R. Lynx 4 years ago
Fiero actually means proud in Italian.....a ton of owners had that same thing happen to their four cylinder model though.
Load More Replies... MRSS 4 years ago
Aaahhhh the Fiero. Seen so many older men trying to be young and get younger women with that car. Classic.
Deana Kouyoumdjian 4 years ago
I'm picturing some guy pulling up in a Fiero (in 2021) like it's a Ferrari. Chick magnet.
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Yagi-chan 4 years ago (edited)
Thank you for mentioning this. I grew up with a hoarder womanizer caretaker and he had three of these Fieros in the 90’s. He kept buying them used and stored them in the driveway. When something broke, he’d pay a mechanic to switch out a part from the broke down models sitting in front of our poorly maintained house. His other cars were Ford Bronco II models. Same situation with multiples. Five cars in the driveway really makes two working vehicles. It would be so easy to spend that money to buy one working and reliable car. If you’re a parent and have the ability to put your kids in a safe car, that should be your priority.
Robyn Miller 4 years ago
Pretty common for those cars actually LOL. My aunt had one back in 1983, and even though I was only 3 years old at that point I still remember her cursing it and threatening to park it on the train tracks and claim it stalled. Years later my sister still loved them for some unknown reason, and yes she has made questionable life choices. But she was kind enough to insist on buying me a car when I was 15. What was it? A red Fiero of course. $500. It broke down about 5 times on the way home, we had to stop and buy parts for roadside repairs and add gallons of coolant just to get home. When we got it to the mechanic they said it would be $1500 just to get it to pass inspection. We managed to sell it for $550 to a bigger idiot.
Kelly Nelson 4 years ago
My dad just sold his '86 Fiero in October. I learned to drive stick on it 25 years ago. It was fun to drive
AzKhaleesi 4 years ago
I loved the fiero lol and the Sunfire. I used to call it a baby Firebird
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
Fieros, although sexy as hell, were death traps. The designers gave up a lot of safety factors in order to achieve that attractiveness. That is why they faded into history relatively quickly.
#22
Melissa Powell 4 years ago
My son at 16 bought a VW bug. I know nothing about cars but know you do not keep driving when the car needs oil. He did. Cost of new engine about $800. Me I paid for it and I was pissed.
#23
#24
Rose the Cook 4 years ago
Who installed it without sealing it? I would have gone back and told them to do it properly or else you could have just bought a tube of sealant and done it yourself, it isn't hard.
2WheelTravlr 4 years ago (edited)
Car windshields aren't sealed with caulk, that stuff isn't designed to withstand 70mph on the freeway. The seal the OP is talking about is a special seal is installed before the new glass is put in. If it's not done carefully some sections can get pinched and not allow a perfect seal, this is what lets water in. It can also happen with older cars that are parked outdoors in dry climates - the seal shrinks and when it does rain, it pours inside the car!
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Dorothy Parker 4 years ago
Probably a replacement. Our car new Isuzu was stolen and stripped of almost everything. The insurance decided to replace. The autoshop replaced the windshield with a Corvair window and thick globs of sealer. Do over!
Mary Hiers 4 years ago
OMG, blast from the past! It seems like everyone in my high school drove one of those! Is it a Datsun B210?
#25
Wonderful 4 years ago
Oh wow Mine turned off when you hit the brake. And if you hit a pothole that was big enough all the lights would turn off and stay off til you stopped and turned it off and back on again after 30 seconds. 87 Acura integra with super dark tinting that made it so dark inside all the time.
#26
Dark Pigeon 4 years ago
Friend of mine had that on a Dutch free-way. They had to ducktape/tie/anvil it shut to come back home. Never been driven again, as such jokes are not allowed on cars in the Netherlands.
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okpkpkp 4 years ago
I had a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible top with no reverse. The car weighed 3 tons or so it felt when I had to push it. (I just looked it up. Almost 2 tons, lol) Fortunately for me, gasoline was only $0.32 cents a gallon so I could drive around to look for that perfect parking spot.
Nikki Angulo 4 years ago
One day I was parking and found a spot I could pull through, my friend told me it was a “mom spot” because ever mom used to have a truck that wouldn’t go in reverse, so she always had to find a pull through spot. When they backed out of the drive, they had to put it in neutral and give it a push.
#28
Richard Barlow 4 years ago
Sorry, but a Datsun 200sx couldn't drive any faster than the traffic on I-285, except during rush hours.
Amelia Bedelia 4 years ago
Fit right in with all the voluntary race car drivers on 285. That place is a death trap.
Daniel Callaway 4 years ago
I had a 68 Camaro that did that due to a broken motor mount. During a right turn when I pressed on the gas the engine would torque upwards and lockup the Mechanical linkage for the Accelerator to WFO!!!!
Sheila Stamey 4 years ago
Lol..I had a Fiat that did this.. absolutely terrified me at first,but I learned to deal. Then I got a Mercedes that my husband bent the steering in such a manner that turning left only went about 1/8 of the way!!
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
Jeez... Even Datsuns were better looking cars than the generic boxes they churn out now.
#29
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Not that hard. The cassette recorder got more or less power depending on the speed. So it either was the battery or the alternator at fault.
Paige Garberding 4 years ago
I thought it was the radio and then I thought, why, that's a Twilight Zone episode, right there.
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Dawn Thomas-Cameron 4 years ago
It's a "feature" in newer vehicles. You can, thankfully, turn it off.
saturnslipper 4 years ago
🤣Hahahaha! That's the weirdest, funniest car issue I've ever heard of!!
Midge biscuit 4 years ago (edited)
So it fluctuated between Barry White and Alvin and the Chipmunks? It sounds exciting, you never know what's coming next!
Chris Wade 4 years ago (edited)
Fun fact, modern cars have a feature where the stereo turns the volume up to compensate for wind and other noises as you're going faster.
#30
backatya 4 years ago
How old is your cat? When was it born? What's it's favorite color? lol
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#31
R. Lynx 4 years ago
AMC???cute???? This company had a thing. They would have one person design the front of the car, and another design the rear of the car. They were the only car company during the pony wars (=horsepower=muscle cars, pre gas crunch in the 70's) in the late 1960's and early '70's to have a two seat coupe in the AMX. Like this style? Check out the AMC gremlin.
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#32
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
Oh you do? Because America is the only place people live of course. Is it not conceivable to you that they don't live in America and aren't covered by that law? If you go to the post on Twitter where this was originally posted then you'll see they live in Canada and she said they don't have the lemon law there. These posts are from Twitter, they did not post them directly on this website. Bored Panda mostly uses other people's content and they will probably never know their post ended up here.
Load More Replies... MRSS 4 years ago
Not sure why you didn't lemon law it. Sounds like you had a open and shut case. And FYI, Dealer can't ban you. They may take their time looking at it but sounds like you took the bait so they could get you off their back.
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
I'm not sure why you posted that here when they posted this on Twitter and will probably never know it got ripped off from there for content.
Load More Replies... Moo Moo Futch 4 years ago
I heard so many people say that the Evoque was a huge steaming pile of s**t. I believe a fellow here in the UK also got banned from a Land Rover lot for parking his Evoque outside a Land Rover dealership with a notice on it saying it was the worst car he ever bought and then went on to list what was wrong with it hoping to stop others from making the error he had.
Michelle Rutherford 4 years ago
That was true! He had so many problems with it, her parked it outside the dealership with graffiti on it, telling passers by what a shite car it was.
Load More Replies... AzKhaleesi 4 years ago
I knew I hated these things. But I guess that's what you get when they were bought out by Ford in 2006 and Tata motors in 2008 which produces the cheapest cars. As a great comedian once said, Polish a turd, it's still a turd.
Kirk Mckeever 3 years ago
Astoundingly, Land Rovers are at the very bottom of any and all "UNreliable" lists.....and among the most expensive!!
#33
#34
MRSS 4 years ago
Well Ford can't make a door latch to save it's life. Started from day one and still can't perfect it. There are so many recalls for door latches on such a wide range in years, makes, and model's. It will absolutely blow your freaking mind how many door latch recall parts I have in my parts room. And supplements recalls (revised parts or updated inspections) for latches and rods and plates. Mind blowing!!!!
Blake Ingram 4 years ago
Its literally insane how that across several models from the late 90s to early 2000s that the drivers door stopped unlocking with the key fob. Chevy locks lock, but they rattle like hell.
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*sigh*, The Yellow Teletubby 4 years ago
christ these cars are so ugly, I'm sad that I still have to see them on the roads, I'm sorry T_T
#35
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
You just described my first BRAND NEW car off the lot. The $4995 Hyundai Excel. The big selling feature was that the rear window defroster was included in the base package. Ran mine through 170K miles then sold it to my mechanic.
Tiffany 4 years ago
I had the exact same car. Lived in Southern California. It was miserable in that car on the vinyl seats. Ughhh.
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Brandon Kute 4 years ago
Im in Texas and drove a '88 suzuki samurai for over 10 yrs. A/c and power steering, whats that? Lol
#36
Hugh Cookson 4 years ago
Back in the day when car companies weren't run by accountants - good looking motor, if a tad thirsty for anywhere else but the US ....
#37
Paige Garberding 4 years ago
So you had your foot up at your dashboard while you were driving... no words.
#38
tuzdayschild 4 years ago
Calm down, she didn't say she never got it fixed. It may have happened once that made her aware. Then again on the way to the mechanic for all we know.
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#39
Tiger Pearl 4 years ago
And someone’s dad from another post put an engine in it for her... and the cycle repeated itself!
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
In the Netherlands the police can trace any Dutch registered car back to its current owner. Leaving your car to rot and the roadside isn't a good idea over here.
Christina B 4 years ago
i don't think that is what she meant...she never said she left it on the roadside or to rot - she just didn't bother fixing it or selling it - aka walking away from it
Load More Replies... Eric Lafleur 3 years ago
Had the same problem but with a 1984 chevrolet chevette. Could replace a broken timing belt in less than one hour, on the side of the highvay. I carried a spare belt and assiated tools and also a spare starter. The starter was a btch to replace tho...
#40
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
Okay. I'm all for a car having some little quirks, but that's f'ing dangerous. And easily fixed. Continuing to drive it - risking one's own lives and other people's lives - is criminally stupid.
#41
Paige Garberding 4 years ago
That would have been my best birthday ever! My dad didn't want me to drive in a moving truck rodeo because only men competed. I did it anyway and came out #11 beating over a hundred professional truck drivers, all male, including my dad. I was 19 and had never even driven a van let alone a 12-wheeler. Some things are just innate.
#42
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
Ahhhh.... The Vega.... Aluminum block... That way there wasn't too much weight to move the thing. If it had been a stainless steel block, she'd have been lucky to pass 30MPH.
R. Lynx 4 years ago
Those engines sometimes literally melted. The one to get was that which had the Buick/Olds all aluminum v-8 in it. Not many made. That engine rocked.
Load More Replies... M Kate McCulloch 4 years ago
there was one car with the cast iron block and an aluminum head... can't remember but there were a lot of cracked heads and head gaskets had to be replaced regularly...
Daniel Callaway 4 years ago
My Step Dad had one and the engine blew with 17K miles (not 170K miles). So he had a Chevy 350 CI Engine installed. About 325 HP. What a Beast!!! The torque from the Engine was so great it twisted the frame and every time he made a left turn the passenger door would fly open!!!
SlothyK8 4 years ago
I wish I'd gotten on this tag fest. My first car was a 1970 Volvo 140. It was older than I was. The foam in the seats had rotten away in the middle, so we built platforms out of 2x4's under the front seats. They looked normal...until you sat on them. The defroster didn't work, it took forever to start when it was under 50 degrees outside, its top speed on the highway was maybe 55 if you were going downhill, and it dieseled (aka engine run on) LOUDLY when you parked and shut it off. I had it for a year and then sold my soul for a new car.
#43
KittyMommy 4 years ago
How was he to know what that sound was? Not that bad, but my kid had her muffler fall off and didn't know what was wrong until she got to school. Part of having an older car and learning how to deal with it
Load More Replies... #44
Bill 4 years ago (edited)
Worn seals on the rotary engine's impellers. I hope she still has it. $$$$
Polly Culberson 4 years ago
My little Fiat convertible couldn't start when it was 32 degrees out. I owned it for 2 years and drove it for just 18 months. Parked it in my family's yard and field mice nested in the engine.
TheFakeSteveRogers 4 years ago
WOW! You got the ULTIMATE 90's Japanese Poster Car! The Mazda RX-7 FD3S!
KalaniNeeland 4 years ago (edited)
A lot of people cannot afford this. Places around here charge at least $100 to even look; more to actually fix stuff. If that's your food budget for the month, fixing a hot car is a low priority.
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#45
#46
Capermom 4 years ago
That's pretty scary. Once, my wipers broke on the highway during winter, and I had big trucks in front of me, throwing sleet onto my windshield. Longest drive of my life...
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
Been there!! When you can't even see far enough to find the EXIT and the tiniest modicum of safety. Those are the times when you know for certain that "Jesus has the wheel".
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Bonnie Edwards 4 years ago
Actually, if the windscreen has enough water on it, the screen can actually appear clear. I played with when I worked as a courier. It's only workable in daylight, though.
Nikki Angulo 4 years ago
Apparently my brother drove a car with only one working wiper for years, still not sure how he did the 7-hour long highway drives two or three times a year to visit our parents (and two of those would have been in the winter; December and March)
#47
Brandi VanSteenwyk 4 years ago
Push starting a manual transmission when the battery is dead.... So many experiences that the new generations will never have.
Paige Garberding 4 years ago
They will never experience popping clutches or double clutching. Trying to start from a stop on steep hills without burning out the clutch. Driving a car instead of it driving them! Character building! Poor things.
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Dl B 4 years ago
Chevy Vega, a car made entirely out of rust. It would rust before it left the showroom.
M Kate McCulloch 4 years ago
with a choke to start it it probably flooded every time you went on an uphill incline.
R. Lynx 4 years ago
I think they tried to make it look like a miniature Camaro. I always liked the look of the wagon version. They were a nightmare car otherwise unless you had the v-8 version.
#48
Ann Abdelzaher 4 years ago
LOL reminds me of the Nissan Pulsar my hubby had when we met. no AC and when he took it to San Fran while on an Internship we weren't sure we were going to make it up some of those hills.
Luther von Wolfen 4 years ago
The 80s was when car makers stopped trying to make them look good.
#49
Mary Tonningsen 4 years ago
My sister had an orange Datsun station wagon that was soo very ugly that her elementary school-aged kids were embarrassed to be seen in it. They asked her to drop them off at the corner instead of in front of the school! LOL!
#50
Crescent Dragonwagon 4 years ago
My first car was a 4 door green Peugeot 204 that had been in some kind of horrible accident which left just an open space below the trunk. No big problem... I just hung a "Space for Rent" sign in it and received lots of smiles. I loved that little car.
#53
Melissa Powell 4 years ago
I can drive a car with a manual transmission. Many many family members cannot. I wanted a manual transmission when I wanted a RAV4. Got the RAV4 but automatic. Almost impossible to find a manual transmission anymore. Cannot pay big bucks.
Aileen Grist 4 years ago
My first mini - which was a 1966 model - I had to get the hydrolastic suspension pumped up regularly and had to have a tetnus shot after cutting myself on the rust on the window frame. My dad drilled holes iin the floor as it was solid but everywhere else leaked.
#56
Aileen Grist 4 years ago
Mine was the opposite way around. Full key for the door and half key for the ignition - no-one could use a spare key to start it.
#59
Christina B 4 years ago
why not just roll down the driver side window instead of taking the top down?
#61
MiniMaus 4 years ago
OMG memories. I rented from them once. I didn't think it would be so bad...but.... the driver's door didn't open so you crawled into the car from the passenger side. #facepalm. I don't know how they got away with it.
Melissa Powell 4 years ago
They still get away with it. My son got rear ended. Had to rent a car. Went to a company similar to rent a wreck. The car he rented was so slow at accelerating that he returned it the next day. They had nothing else. Charged him $500 for a week.
Load More Replies... Downunderdude 4 years ago
I rented a car from Rent a Wreck in Australia. It had a hole in the firewall and a leaking exhaust manifold. Can you see where this is going? CO/exhaust fumes were so bad it stung our eyes. We had to buy some masking tape to cover the hole. That thing was literally a death trap. Tore strips off the company - they just shrugged. I reported them to the DMV - would love to know what (if anything) happened.
#62
Aileen Grist 4 years ago
I used to carry a hammer - when I switched my mini on sometimes it would just click and it meant that the starter motor was jammed, so I would hit it with the hammer. If the weather was really bad it would sometimes start if you slammed both doors at the same time.
#63
Philly Bob Squires 4 years ago
I had the same car... engine the size of a loaf of bread, go about 65 miles to the gallon, leaked like a sieve, the glow plugs never worked and you could never cold start it. Some days I'd have a neighbor push me down the street so I could pop start it. It was a mud brown with tan interior, no A/C. I put 268K on it before the floors rusted out on it.
Dan Buczynski 4 years ago
I had an '81 petrol-power Rabbit, and a friend had the same exact model with a diesel engine. We swapped one day on the way to a vw event and I could not BELIEVE how underpowered and not fun the diesel was. They've come a long way.
#66
2WheelTravlr 4 years ago
Wait...you couldn't see so you...kept driving? The accident was deemed your fault because it was your fault. You're very lucky you didn't hit oncoming traffic.
#68
Gin. No tonic 4 years ago
I think you were using your phone while driving. That's even worse than what the car might have done.
#70
Jo Johannsen 4 years ago
My first car after my divorce was a 78 Toyota Corolla. I had almost no money, so had to pick the cheapest car on the lot - which was stickshift. After all the papers were signed, the salesman took me out on the residential streets behind the dealership and taught me how to drive it. After about 30 minutes, I headed home across downtown Little Rock during rush hour. Only stalled it once - in a left turn lane at THE busiest intersection in the city - through two light changes - on a slight rise. Had that car for 17+ years, 56K miles.
Aileen Grist 4 years ago
My first car after my divorce was a fiat 127. It was 15 years old. The previous owner had painted the bonnet - a replacement - with red gloss paint which had the marks from the fan underneath on it. It did wonderful miles to the gallon, but needed water ever 30 or so miles. It took us all around England on our honeymoon. I learnt to park it backwards on steep hills with it in first or it would slip its handbrake. Loved that car.
CrunChewy McSandybutt 4 years ago
I learned on a manual transmission. Lots of grinding gears at first, but now I drive like a pro.
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What do you think ?
Caffeine72 4 years ago
I had an '81 Toyota Corolla fastback in high school. It had a really sticky choke and would randomly stall out at red lights. I kept a screwdriver and can of choke cleaner in the passenger seat and could jump out, pop the hood, open the carburetor, spray and pop the choke, close everything up, and get back moving in a minute or less. Also, if you turned the radio on it would make a horrible buzzing sound and then kill the electrics.
Tamera Gardner 4 years ago
My sister used to have to crawl into her mint green Gremlin from the back hatch.
Kimzi ZiCeta 4 years ago
When I moved to South Florida where it liked to rain at some point almost daily, I had a 1980-something brown Corolla that had a leaky sunroof inly when I made a left turn. I had to cover my car seat with a garbage bag and change out beach towels every couple of days and every time I turned left, I had to lean up on the steering wheel as far as I could to try to avoid getting a stream of water down my back. Always wondered how my position appeared to fellow drivers.
Ann Abdelzaher 4 years ago
I think my worst car was just cursed. When my Taraus Sedan seemed to be on it's last legs I traded it in on a Green Taurus wagon. the wagon was about 4 years newer but not new by any means. When I bought it the dealer said there was a power steering leak but to bring it back the next week and they would fix it. well the leak was AWFUL. During the week I had it before they fixed it I went through 3 bottles of power steering fluid. But that is not why it was cursed... 3 months after I got it I am sitting waiting to turn into work.. not a very busy area but the traffic wass faairly steady when work let out. Sitting waiting to turn left with turn signal on when I get slammed from behind... Mind you this is a huge dark green station wagon (called Hulk) and this little 87 VW Jetta slams into the back of me. Just dented my bumper... 6 months later car is hit parked in a hotel parking lot... 6 months after that I was rear-ended while waiting at a traffic light...that time they totalled it.
Tobias the Tiger 4 years ago
Not my story, but my 8th grade history teacher's: His old car was an ugly shade of yellow, the radio would occasionally switch to Spanish, sometimes the front seat randomly went down, three of the doors would freeze shut in winter, and it always smelled terrible. I don't think this is a complete list.
Caffeine72 4 years ago
I had an '81 Toyota Corolla fastback in high school. It had a really sticky choke and would randomly stall out at red lights. I kept a screwdriver and can of choke cleaner in the passenger seat and could jump out, pop the hood, open the carburetor, spray and pop the choke, close everything up, and get back moving in a minute or less. Also, if you turned the radio on it would make a horrible buzzing sound and then kill the electrics.
Tamera Gardner 4 years ago
My sister used to have to crawl into her mint green Gremlin from the back hatch.
Kimzi ZiCeta 4 years ago
When I moved to South Florida where it liked to rain at some point almost daily, I had a 1980-something brown Corolla that had a leaky sunroof inly when I made a left turn. I had to cover my car seat with a garbage bag and change out beach towels every couple of days and every time I turned left, I had to lean up on the steering wheel as far as I could to try to avoid getting a stream of water down my back. Always wondered how my position appeared to fellow drivers.
Ann Abdelzaher 4 years ago
I think my worst car was just cursed. When my Taraus Sedan seemed to be on it's last legs I traded it in on a Green Taurus wagon. the wagon was about 4 years newer but not new by any means. When I bought it the dealer said there was a power steering leak but to bring it back the next week and they would fix it. well the leak was AWFUL. During the week I had it before they fixed it I went through 3 bottles of power steering fluid. But that is not why it was cursed... 3 months after I got it I am sitting waiting to turn into work.. not a very busy area but the traffic wass faairly steady when work let out. Sitting waiting to turn left with turn signal on when I get slammed from behind... Mind you this is a huge dark green station wagon (called Hulk) and this little 87 VW Jetta slams into the back of me. Just dented my bumper... 6 months later car is hit parked in a hotel parking lot... 6 months after that I was rear-ended while waiting at a traffic light...that time they totalled it.
Tobias the Tiger 4 years ago
Not my story, but my 8th grade history teacher's: His old car was an ugly shade of yellow, the radio would occasionally switch to Spanish, sometimes the front seat randomly went down, three of the doors would freeze shut in winter, and it always smelled terrible. I don't think this is a complete list.
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