There’s no polite way of saying this, so we’ll just come right out and say it: You people have owned some really crappy cars.

We say this as kindred spirits who have driven our share of heaps, cars that we picked up for a few hundred bucks and kept running with duct tape, zip ties and no small amount of wishful thinking. We expected to see some dreck when we asked readers to share their agonizing automotive atrocities, but the depths of the detritus surprised us. A Skoda? A Vega? And not one, but two Chrysler Sebrings?

The horror.

Of course, every lousy car comes with a good story, and you provided some gems. And so without further ado, we offer the 10 worst automotive atrocities owned by you, the readers of Wired.com, as voted upon by the readers of Wired.com. The photos are not of the actual cars because so few of you uploaded pics of your heaps, and those who did upload pics made them too small for us to use.

Above:

Vespa 550 MP

Well, at some point in life, any young man needs a pickup truck. At that time, I got a wonderful Vespa 550 MP. Manufactured in Italy in 1968, the three-wheeler featured a one-cylinder two-stroke engine. The incredible power of over 9 (nine!) horsepower was enough to get the truck up to 37 mph -– theoretically and when going downhill.

Inside, it had a narrow bench for two people and a regular scooter handlebar equipped with two twist grips for throttle and shifting the four gears. There was also a reversing gearbox being functional for all four gears, so if you would have been courageous enough, you could have enjoyed the full 37 mph in fourth gear backward. I wasn’t, however. Two or three years after I bought this gem from an organic farm, I sold it to a collector –Jens Arne Maennig

Photo: elephantsonbicycles/flickr





Chrysler Sebring

I bought a new Sebring in 1997. When I got rid of it 2003, I literally prayed. In the interim, the ball joints failed twice (once with a friend driving), a tire blew off the car while driving (I watched it in my rearview), the intake plenum cracked … –James

Photo: jcarwil/flickr



Skoda S100

Back in 1984, my dad bought a new car — a Skoda S100 in that very special blue color. Two years later I got my driver’s license and I could then drive this amazing car: 40-something horsepower, 850 kilograms (+/- 1700 lbs., not a great weight to power ratio) and proudly made behind the good old Iron Curtain in (what was then) Czechoslovakia. But it took me where I needed to go, it had powerful grip on snow and it was fun to drive just to see people’s faces. –Christophe

Photo: sludgegulper/flickr

Ford Aerostar

I traded in my Ford Crown Victoria for a new car. I really wanted a pickup, but I got a used minivan instead. I thought, “OK, this will work kinda like a pickup but no camper shell to buy.” The driver’s window always stuck, sometimes up, sometimes down. The fix? Buy a can of silicone lubricant. The radiator hose blew. That was $300. Then it came time for the first tune-up. Six bucks for six spark plugs and $180 to install them.

Then a headlight went out. I thought, “No problem. I’ve replaced headlights before.” Nope — you need a $70 “dealer only” device to remove the headlight housing. Then it started shifting badly. “No problem. It’s under warranty,” I thought. I took it to the shop, and they said, “Oh, that rear end is bad, too.” They replaced it. It still wasn’t shifting. Turns out the transmission was bad, too … –enyawface

(Editor’s note: This story went on, and on, and on, so we’ve just stopped the sad tale of woe here. Suffice it to say, this guy might well have owned the worst car ever built.)

Photo:Steve and Sara/Flickr

Chevrolet Celebrity

I owned a poo-brown 1985 Chevy Celebrity. After replacing the steering and giving up on the air conditioning, it developed transmission problems. The car would go for 30 minutes, then overheat and stall out. I would have to give it an hour to cool. I lived in Orlando, Florida, so I would arrive at my destination a hot, sweaty mess. I didn’t feel much like a celebrity in this car. –Timmy

Image: General Motors

Chevrolet Vega

This was my second car, and even though it didn’t explode when hit like its contemporary the Pinto, it had to be the worst car ever built. It had an aluminum (engine) block which cracked after it was driven for a while. Every time I filled up with gas I would have to add one or two quarts of oil. Whenever I visited my grandparents my grandfather would always slide a piece of cardboard under it to catch the dripping oil. One day I was shifting into second gear and the shifter just came off into my hand. American engineering at its finest. –Anonymous

Image: General Motors

Nash Rambler

I only owned a Nash Rambler with a push-button automatic transmission for one hour. If you shut off the car in any gear except park or neutral you could not start the car by pressing the button from drive to park position. I did this the first time I drove this piece of junk. I was stranded on a dirt road, I opened the hood, pulled up the emergency brake, stepped on the gas pedal, took a long screwdriver and used it to cross the terminals on the starter.

The car started and took off down the road shrieking with smoke pouring from the wheels. I just stood there, mouth wide open and screwdriver in hand. After about 600 yards the car climbed an embankment, went into the woods and knocked down many small trees. Suddenly a tow truck appeared; the driver was having lunch, looked out his window saw everything. I gave him the registration and walked away. –Anthony L.

Image: Nash advertisement

Kia Rio

Last year, my wife said that either she goes, or three of our “junkers” go. I got rid of a Mercedes 240 D, a first-generation Mazda RX-7 and a Mercedes 190 E 2.5. They were all in pristine condition. She got a nice, cute little new car — a 2009 Kia Rio. Seventy miles a day she drives, and with all the required maintenance done, the Rio has blown the head gasket and had the transmission fail twice. –Dave M

Photo: Kia

Chrysler Sebring convertible

I owned a 1996 Chrysler Sebring convertible. It was horrible. Chrysler made it with a four- and a six-cylinder. I had the four and it was a complete dog. The exhaust manifold cracked, I replaced the power steering line and I replaced the fuel pump.

It wouldn’t start at random times, the door panels wouldn’t stay on even when glued with Gorilla Glue, I went through three batteries in the 2,000 miles I had it. There was flaking paint over the entire car, the convertible top was broken, it had a smashed taillight and it got 15 to 18 mpg.

Here’s the kicker: When this car was in the shop (8 of the 15 months I had it), I had to drive a 1997 Plymouth Voyager minivan, baby blue. I’m not sure which car made me look like more of a tool. –Ben

(Editor’s note: Yes, we know the Sebring appears on this list twice. But c’mon. That story is priceless. Besides: The list was selected by the readers.)

Photo: TexasDarkHorse/Flickr

Ford Fairmont

A 1978 Ford Fairmont was my first car, and it was horrible. The heating core leaked, so you had to refill your car with fluid at least once a day. If you wanted to warm the car or defrost the windshield, forget it. Steam came out of the vents. The steering column was crumbling where the turn signal stalk was.

The engine was a four-cylinder job. It was so underpowered that if you wanted to speed up to 60 it would take almost 48 seconds if you were lucky. The only thing that seemed to work was the windows because they were hand-cranked. –Anonymous

Photo: S. Parker/Flickr