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It has been a boring week laid up in bed with a broken toe so I need some entertainment. People's stories about the crap cars they owned back when they were young, stupid and broke are always interesting, so tell me, what was the worst car you ever owned?
For me, my first thought was a car that wasn't technically mine, it belonged to a guy I shared a house with in Forrest in Canberra back in the mid 90s. He designated it as the "house car". Anyone who lived in this share-house could use it any time they wanted as long as they filled it with fuel before returning it. It had dents on every single panel including a concave roof, it had no keys so you started it with a pocket knife that was kept on the floor under the driver's seat, the windows didn't wind up fully and to open the boot you had to kick the left hand side of the rear number plate a couple of times. But actually this car wasn't bad. Considering the state of the thing it was a marvel that it actually ran, and the fact that it remained registered was a testament to what can be achieved by sending an 18 year old goth girl in a revealing outfit to the inspection station.
My real worst car ever was a HG Holden station wagon I owned for about 6 months in 1989. I needed a car bad, this was all I could find in a hurry. It had a 3-on-the-tree gearbox that was so loose you could only tell what gear you were in by letting the clutch out and taking a chance. You couldn't park it on too steep a hill because the handbrake couldn't hold it but you needed a bit of a hill in case it needed a roll-start. The car was base model, bog stock and white but for some reason the previous owner had painted some huge martini glasses down one side and a bunch of Christmas trees down the other. It was like driving a very embarrassing looking boat, except not as fast. I owned it for a few months then moved to Canberra where my parents were living, my Mother took one look at it and said "I am buying you a car". I wish I had a picture of that car, it was quite a sight.
For me, my first thought was a car that wasn't technically mine, it belonged to a guy I shared a house with in Forrest in Canberra back in the mid 90s. He designated it as the "house car". Anyone who lived in this share-house could use it any time they wanted as long as they filled it with fuel before returning it. It had dents on every single panel including a concave roof, it had no keys so you started it with a pocket knife that was kept on the floor under the driver's seat, the windows didn't wind up fully and to open the boot you had to kick the left hand side of the rear number plate a couple of times. But actually this car wasn't bad. Considering the state of the thing it was a marvel that it actually ran, and the fact that it remained registered was a testament to what can be achieved by sending an 18 year old goth girl in a revealing outfit to the inspection station.
My real worst car ever was a HG Holden station wagon I owned for about 6 months in 1989. I needed a car bad, this was all I could find in a hurry. It had a 3-on-the-tree gearbox that was so loose you could only tell what gear you were in by letting the clutch out and taking a chance. You couldn't park it on too steep a hill because the handbrake couldn't hold it but you needed a bit of a hill in case it needed a roll-start. The car was base model, bog stock and white but for some reason the previous owner had painted some huge martini glasses down one side and a bunch of Christmas trees down the other. It was like driving a very embarrassing looking boat, except not as fast. I owned it for a few months then moved to Canberra where my parents were living, my Mother took one look at it and said "I am buying you a car". I wish I had a picture of that car, it was quite a sight.
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