These Are The Worst Car Choices Your Parents Ever Made

I'm sure almost all of us have seen our parents make a head-scratching decision when it comes to buying or selling a car, especially if you're like me and know a hell of a lot more about the minute details of cars that your folks do. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it take a drink. In any case, I'm sure many of you folks have parents with car histories littered with trash, and that idea is what brought me to the question I asked you all last week.

I wanted to know what the worst car choice your parents ever made was. Rather unsurprisingly, a hell of a lot of you pointed at vehicles made by former iterations of the Chrysler corporation. As much of a Mopar evangelist as I am, even I can admit it did put out some stinkers, especially in the 1970, '80s and '90s. Still, a few of you even pointed out good cars that were gone before you could enjoy them and picking good cars that were just wrong for them. I liked what I saw from you folks this weekend, I really did.

That's enough from me, though. How about you all head on down below and check out the worst car chpoices ever made by the parents of your fellow Jalops? If your car is on the list, I've got some bad news. It means that you are both chopped and unc.

My dad truly believed the PT Cruiser was the pinnacle of retro cool and despite all the hate this car gets online, I still have a soft spot for its design and how it represents the 2000s in general. Unfortunately he grew to despise it quite quickly as the repair bills kept stacking up; reliability was an absolute nightmare on this thing and he sold it faster than any other car he ever owned.

Submitted by: SCar

A stripped down 2-door Chevy Chevette. The only options were an automatic and radio. The automatic made an anemic car even worse. Plus it broke down so often that we called it the Shovette.

Submitted by: Jerome Whittle

1977 Plymouth Volare wagon. My parents bought it new and it dropped two transmissions within a few months. I distinctly remember my father turning up the radio on the trade-in test drive to cover up the clunking sounds from second bad transmission. The Ford dealer took it in as a trade on a new Fairmont wagon. 30 years later, a cousin was still driving that Fairmont. It definitely was a survivor. The Volare was likely in a crusher before Reagan was elected.

Submitted by: Scooby Brioli

After my mom died, my dad decided he was going to move to Wyoming and pretend he was a cowboy. In preparation, he bought this giant lifted Ford pickup with giant tires. There was nothing wrong with the pickup. The problem was that my dad was not a tall man and the bottoms of the pickup's doors were above my dad's elbows. He had to install a little ladder so he could climb into the thing.

Submitted by: Rollerrobb

Nissan Stanza Wagon with "power assist". My mom told my dad for almost 6 months that everything about this vehicle was hot trash based solely on her intuition. My dad being the shadetree mechanic he was, didnt listen and bought anyways. Once we got it, he mysteriously decided to be our generations' designated driver. We used to have to drive uphill on a steep incline to school, and he would regale us everyday for years driving slowly, little tidbits and odd information. One time he wasn't able to take us to school and that is when my mom found out that the vehicle couldnt go up the hill faster than 15mph when loaded with us kids and that turning without the gas pedal was futile for a tiny woman.

He was never allowed to choose a vehicle again over the next 40 years

Submitted by: Robb

My pops bought a Plymouth Breeze to commute out of state for work. Bonus points if you even remember this car. It was basically a Dodge Stratus with the little bit of coolness it had stripped away.

Submitted by: Marcus C

I remember going car shopping with my Dad in the early 1970's. He had his mind set on a car which I can't remember. Before deciding, we went to an Audi dealer and I remember the salesman convincing my Dad to buy a 1974 Audi Fox. I later learned to drive on it and it was fun to drive, but I recall it having numerous mechanical issues and the dealership was not really within a convenient distance from our house.

Submitted by: Goaway

Selling their 1972 Cutlass Supreme convertible in 1988, a year before I could have started driving it.

Submitted by: JustSomeGuyYouKnow

1978 Chrysler LeBaron. Powder blue with the padded vinyl roof. The LeBaron was an "upscale" version of the ubiquitous Dodge Diplomat sedans that would often be seen as police cars and taxis for much of the 1980s. While the LeBaron was supposed to be some sort of near luxury car, ours was poverty spec inside with no AC and an AM only radio with single speaker. It did feature swaths of powder blue velour however to keep everyone a bit sweaty all summer long. Added to this interior was a constant nervous tension that came from the litany of mechanical failures the car endured. Almost anything mechanical seemed to be able to fail at any time, and usually right when the car was needed most. The car had the early electronic ignition that maybe could have used some more research and development time, thanks Chrysler. It lasted almost seven years, with the final year being nothing but a conga line of ignition gremlins and failing in mechanicals. No one mourned its passing, and its legacy was to become an almost mythological creature used in stories to tell my children how good they have it now, because back in my day..............

Submitted by: J-Wins

My dad, excited by motor trend and consumer reports hype about the brave new world of American compact cars, purchased a brand new 1979.5 Chevy Citation notchback coupe. The car was hilariously bad. I believe among other things they neglected to attach the torque mount to the engine so upon hard acceleration it made a horrific grinding noise... from new. Oh and the time the back window shattered and sprayed the back of my head with glass shards coming out of the car wash. To his credit he replaced the pig with a 1982 Honda Prelude.

Submitted by: David Stein

A 1962 Renault Dauphine, bought in 1964 as a second car for my mom and junked in 1966 because the chassis had completely rusted out. The floorboards were completely gone. Replaced by a 64 Austin Mini/Morris 850 clubman with real wood trim. We weren't real rich. Dad was a salesman and had a company car, a 64 BelAir. We never could tell if it was an Austin or Morris. The hood said Austin, the rear cargo doors said Morris 850. Surprisingly, it was fairly reliable though mom never mastered driving a stick. But I digress.

Submitted by: Michel G