Thread: Non-Landy most-hated cars

Mitsubishi L300 "Express"

Twas the van my parents bought when they knew I was on the way, when even the scrappies didnt want it I was offered it, when I got a licence.

Odo read 9x,xxxkm but it only had 5 digits.... had been round the clock 5 times 4 - 5 engine replacements, 1 or 2 gearboxes.... still dont know why they persisted with it.

It was so reliable that I used to keep my push bike in the back, just in case!

4 on the tree, Took a block or 2 to reach 60km/h, could get to 100..... eventually and drank somewhere near 20l per hundred.

I will brook no argument on this. It was a Lada Niva. In fact, there were two Ladas, the Niva and a Samara. OK, I will brook an argument. The Samara was worse. It is hard to imagine anything worse than that car. They were foist upon me and my then spouse through some bizarre sponsorship deal with the auto parts recycler that I was working for at the time. IMO those cars should have bypassed the rego and stuff to put them on the road and gone straight through to the wreckers. Peter Brock or no Peter Brock. ( If you don't know, Peter Brock and his company took on the PD for Lada Cars back then. He should have stuck to Polarisers ).

I hated my first 75 series and first V8,both were complete POS. Pat

1955 Mk. 1 Ford Zephyr. What a piece of junk. Rust in every panel including boot lid, bonnet, and roof. I was on my back under the dash one day probing the mysteries of vacuum wipers when I dropped a Phillips screwdriver which stabbed straight through the floor. Didn't go as hard as an FJ and used more fuel. Fragile gearbox. No Mk. 2's in wrecking yards had a trans in them. All had been bought as an upgrade to the crap Mk1 box. The front end needed constant attention. Steering box brackets used to crack and snap, Idler arms wore out on a regular basis and inner control arm bushes went hard and cracked. Wheel balance was super critical. Tyres on the front wore out super quick. OEM Rear axles could be snapped like a carrot. Dufor axles lasted.

All is not lost, John, you'll be pleased to know.....

lada.JPG

Mitsubishi Magna, as a company car I had a small fleet of them in the late 80’s but they were downright dangerous. All automatics and would loose all drive with no warning. Needed to be loaded on a flatbed. Great when you are driving between a couple of semis. Apparently Mitsubishi developed a special atf to attempt to fix the problem. We ultimately terminated our lease and they got replaced with fords.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

All is not lost, John, you'll be pleased to know.....

lada.JPG

I think the red one, fourth from the left, could have been mine. Hard to be sure, because the door fell off on mine. I am quite serious. The door fell off. When I gave the car back to Lada, the wipers were going. They had been for three days. No, it wasn't raining. Now I come to think about it, the Niva was a jewell compared to that Samara.

Thanks, Vlad, I needed the distraction.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

1955 Mk. 1 Ford Zephyr. What a piece of junk. Rust in every panel including boot lid, bonnet, and roof. I was on my back under the dash one day probing the mysteries of vacuum wipers when I dropped a Phillips screwdriver which stabbed straight through the floor. Didn't go as hard as an FJ and used more fuel. Fragile gearbox. No Mk. 2's in wrecking yards had a trans in them. All had been bought as an upgrade to the crap Mk1 box. The front end needed constant attention. Steering box brackets used to crack and snap, Idler arms wore out on a regular basis and inner control arm bushes went hard and cracked. Wheel balance was super critical. Tyres on the front wore out super quick. OEM Rear axles could be snapped like a carrot. Dufor axles lasted.

Nothing mysterious about vacuum wipers. Accelerate and take your life in your hands, decelerate so you can see what it is you are about to hit. Learn to balance that and you're fine.