Nate
Mechanics are the unsung heroes of the automotive world. They spend their days fixing all kinds of cars, from beat-up old clunkers to shiny new sports cars so they have a good idea of which are the worst cars to buy.
As a result, they’ve seen it all – the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. They know which cars are prone to problems, which ones are built to last, and which ones are a nightmare to work on.
So if you want to know which cars to avoid like the plague, just ask a mechanic. Or refer to this AskReddit thread filled with auto mechanics spilling the tea on the worst cars to buy.
1. PT Cruisers
My dad is a mechanic and constantly calls PT Cruisers “PT Losers.”
If you want to fix just about anything you have to take the entire engine out.
2. Redesigned Cars In The First Year
Never buy a car the first year they redesign or remodel it. Always run into issues that they fix the 2nd year or third year they release it.
3. Nissan Tsuru
Not a mechanic and not in the US, currently living in Mexico. Graveyards in Mexico are filled with people dead from car crashes in The Nissan Tsuru. A complete piece of shit with wheels that has 0 stars in Safety. Parts are cheap and gas mileage is good but they’re coffins with wheels. Just this year Nissan Mexico is going to cease its production, three years after the Latin NCAP made the security tests and scored zero in everything.
Even with all these facts, it is the most bought (and stolen) car in Mexico.
4. Gen 1 Porsche Cayenne
Gen 1 Porsche cayenne. They’re getting cheap enough for most people to afford but the cost of maintenance is ridiculous
5. Land Rover
When i was looking to buy a used car i found a land rover for 2k. My father who was a mechanic said to me “yeah itd look great….on the back of a tow truck”
6. Yugo
Yugo. Although it’s push to start, just make sure to keep your back straight when pushing as to not injure yourself.
— JustNen
7. Any Cadillac With A Northstar V8 Engine
Franchise garage technician/state vehicle inspector here.
Any Cadillac with the Northstar V8. It has a feature that shuts cylinders off at low load to save fuel – but makes a lot of noise when active – for mpg [miles per gallon] gains that aren’t really impressive today (something like 20/25 city/highway).
It’s also notorious for leaking oil. It’s been engineered to be able to run for up to 50 miles with no oil, because designing an oil-less engine is easier than fixing all the leaks in a Northstar. I’ve never seen one not leaking out of somewhere.
8. Volkswagen Passat
My brother works in auto body repair and told me he’d [destroy] me if I ever bought a Volkswagen. In particular, the Passat.
They were engineered to be easy to assemble, but not to fix. All the parts that were most likely to fail required taking apart half the engine to get at, he said.
9. Hyundai Sonatas And Elantras
I work at a body shop and can say almost every single Hyundai Sonata or Elantra I’ve seen (brand new especially) typically totals out from even the most minor collisions.
These cars don’t hold their value one tiny bit.
10. GMs With 3300, 3400, And 3900 V6 Engines
Actual mechanic here.
Buy nothing from General Motors with the 3300, 3400, or 3900 V6 engines in them. They are unreliable trash and come from the “high value” platform. That means cheap, and not for you – cheap for General Motors.
Poorly made parts all the way through and really awful engineering. The 3800 V6, on the other hand, is an amazing motor with only a few minor problems.
11. Renaults
My stepdad is a mechanic and always swore against Renaults due to them always having electrical issues. I didn’t listen and bought myself a Renault Megane.
Nine months down the line, the electric windows stopped working. Should have listened!
12. Mazda RX-8s
Son of a Mazda mechanic. If you live in the North, or anywhere it gets remotely cold, do not buy an RX-8.
It won’t work three to four months out of the year, and will need constant, expensive care in the other months.
— u/ldg25
13. Any GM, Chrysler, Or Nissan
Been a shade tree mechanic in the US for more than 40 years…
Nissan quality has fallen since their merger with Renault more than a decade ago. Worst auto transmissions in the industry now, made by JATCO.
Chrysler has never really recovered in quality since their K-car/minivan rebirth days of the 1980s. There is a reason they’ve faced bankruptcies and had subsequent mergers with Daimler and Fiat.
GM has shifted design and manufacturing overseas, mainly to Korea, for its passenger cars (which is an actual improvement from the crap they have been selling for decades). But the quality simply doesn’t compare to Toyota or Honda. The same goes for Hyundai and Kia – mediocre quality at best.
Ford probably ranks third in quality, behind Toyota and Honda.
As cars have become more complicated to meet EPA and safety standards, reliability has dropped. There are miles of wiring, harness connectors, multiple computer control units, and countless sensors. It’s almost impossible to make a car with high reliability and affordability at the same time, but the quality control at Toyota and Honda seems to outpace all others.
14. Land Rovers
I know most people reading this aren’t in the market for one, but Land Rovers are hot garbage.
Expect [bad] electrical issues that have your mechanic chasing his tail for the life of the vehicle.
15. Out-Of-Warranty BMWs
My mechanic tells me never to touch an out-of-warranty BMW are the worst cars to buy.
He owns two and says the electronic gremlins have driven him insane, and are virtually unfixable by a non-dealer mechanic. They require circuit board replacements, proprietary software readers, etc.
16. Brands Aren’t As Important As Transmission/Engine Combinations
American automotive engineer here, a mechanic before that.
Brands and models mean nothing. You need to go after or avoid specific engine or transmission combos. A same make and model year of vehicle could have a 4-cylinder engine with great reliability, but a horrible 6-cylinder.
An example of this would be any 3.0L V6 in Toyota Trucks and SUVs from 1988-1995. They are gutless, inefficient, and eat head-gaskets, whereas the 4-cylinders from that era are bulletproof.
There are some really bad ones. Any full-size Ford Superduty 6.0L Diesel has only four head bolts per cylinder like a gasoline engine, [so] the head gaskets blow anytime something small fails. GM full-size diesels use the Japanese-engineered 6.6L Isuzu Duramax, which still commands high value.
Google is your friend. Find the engine and transmission model numbers and do your research before buying.
17. Ford Focus (2012-2016)
2012-2016 Ford Focuses are the worst cars to buy.
The clutches go CONSTANTLY, to the point where they made it a service bulletin. And it continues to happen after the warranty is up.
18. Jeeps
Jeeps. Remember, JEEP stands for “Just Emptied Every Pocket.”
Those things will run, but you will have so many minor issues, you’ll want to get out of it so quickly,
19. Audis
I work at a shop that specializes in European cars, with an emphasis on German vehicles. You could not pay me enough money to drive an Audi.
The amount of catastrophic failure I have seen on cars with less than 100,000 kilometers on them is insanity. Especially the 2.0L Turbos.
20. Older Land Rover Discoveries And Defenders
Older Land Rover Discoveries and Defenders are the worst cars to buy.
They rot like a ripe pear in the sun, and leak like a sieve. Parts are expensive and near constant maintenance is required.
21. Ford Tempos And Contours
Ford Tempo or the Ford Contour.
Notorious for transmission failures.
22. Ford Fiestas And Focuses (Automatic Transmission)
This latest generation of Ford Fiestas and Focii with automatic transmissions. They really screwed up with their dual-clutch system and refuse to recall it or update it.
The manual transmissions are fine, and otherwise, they’re great economy cars overall with very little required maintenance. But the automatic transmissions are a dice roll.
— u/rahtin
23. It Depends On Care
Mechanic here. To be fair and honest, there isn’t a single brand or model to pinpoint. It’s all about how you take care of it.
I’ve seen $200,000 cars that I wouldn’t piss on to put out a fire, and I’ve seen $2,000 vehicles that are apocalypse-proof. Some of my friends and co-workers that spend so much money on repairing their cars, or buying new ones just to neglect them, get to the same “oh, it’s a piece of sh*t” mentality.
Meanwhile, my derelict (in appearance) 18-year-old truck (I’ve been the owner for the last eight) soldiers on with just basic service, and a few fixes and upgrades here and there.
24. Any Car With A V12 Engine Or Hydraulic Suspension
Mercedes Master technician here. Any V12 engine vehicle.
Also, vehicles with hydraulic suspension. In both cases, parts are way too pricey.
25. Fiat 124 Spiders (1966-1985)
Older Fiat 124 Spiders are the worst cars to buy.
They used low-grade steel for the chassis; almost all of them have rusted through unless they were kept in bone-dry conditions at all times. It’s a shame, too.
The engines on those are fantastic. In good condition, they’re definitely a collector’s item.