My first car was a 78 Chevette...why!

1987 Mercury Tracer because it was just so horrendously embarrassing to be seen in.

1989 Volvo 780
2001 Volvo C70 Coupe

Damn you Volvo and your odd ball sexy coupes

My 2nd car was a 1980 RX-7. Unfortunately, the car was far too much fun, and started my addiction to the rotary engine. Since that car, I've owned a 79 RX-7, an 86 RX-7, and still own an 84 RX-7, 93 RX-7, and 04 RX-8.

1986 Audi Quattro wagon. I loved the car but should have known better. I bought it to keep a friend from buying it for himself. What a basket case. The only redeeming thing was running across it at the junkyard several months later. Apparently the next owner thought as much of it as I did!

Early '60s 105e Anglia. Having it towed was more expensive than the car. Probably was an ok vehicle. I just hadn't planned any part of how to do the restoration.

@Sivart_R1: I wouldn't say that's dumb at all. How many engine rebuilds have you done through the years? ;)

First I OBJECT TO THE PHOTO!!! as the owner of a 62 Ranchero and the future owner of a 61 sedan delivery, the 61 falcon is an awesome little car!

okay now on to the question
my 74 Toyota Corona, the only car I owned that a mechanic refused to work on (somoethingabout old toyota disease?)

Fist car I ever purchased with my own money: 1988 Ford Escort LX in Hartland Vermont.
Had a fist sized rust hole in the driver door, and the heat crapped out on me in the middle of winter just before the block got cracked from overheating. Finally ended up accumulating snow in the yard when I got my Del Sol.

2004 Saturn Ion. I blame the salespersons for offering entirely too much on the trade in of my oil-leaking, no-AWD-having, reverse-gear-pulverizing Subaru Legacy. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I had taken the realistic trade value ($1,500 less than I took) on the Subaru and bought the 1997 Civic instead...

I traded a stock 69 FJ40 for an 79 Olds Cutlass that was lowered, that was my automotive low point...

1990 VW Fox, definition of ugly!

1966 Volvo P1800S. oh, did I mention it was a project?
I probably bought it just cause the dash was SO f-ing cool...
only drove it once, and it caught fire from a dry front bearing that I swear I had checked out hours earlier...

P.S. twin SU carburetors are the work of the devil

1967 Impala SS396 fastback. "Restored". 4 factory options (think they were rear speaker, rear antenna, stratobuckets and M-21). Built from the factory to go straight and not stop. Drove from St. Louis to Sioux City IA to get it. Got arrested on the way for an outstanding ticket (expired plates....$25....but $400 bail). After looking over the car, handed over the check and made it 137 miles toward home before the knocking started... Took me another few weeks to discover all the Bondo. And a full engine rebuild before going 350 more miles and....more knocking. Warped block, it turned out. That was just the beginning of the relationship.

73 Pinto Wagon. But it was so over the top dumb that it was actually awesome.

Favorite car I ever bought: '79 MGB
Dumbest car I ever bought: '79 MGB

I bought it as my daily transportation AND didn't know much about fixing cars at the time.

BMW 318i

Both front ball joints replaced three times in 120,000 miles.

1st gear shift fork bent at 70,000 miles requiring transmission rebuild

Transmission and engine mounts failed at 80,000 miles.

Rear control arms failed at 90,000 miles.

Airbag light constantly on after 70,000 miles.

Dealers are horrible, and independent shops (especially The Werk Shop - horrible service and the guy is completely dishonest) are even worse.

I'm sure there will be worse stories, but I've never had problems even close to this bad with my high mileage Japanese cars.

@abgwin: In PCH I always vote for anything with the twin SU's.

When I was 17, I bought an '82 S-10 long bed with the 2.8L V6 and an auto. I "got a deal on it" because it was the coldest day of the year and the truck wouldn't start (just a choke probem), plus it had just been in a fender bender. The scary part was that the guy had to go pay off a loan against the truck before he could give me the title.

I have only owned five vehicles in my 12 years as a licensed driver. I stand by all of them—even the hand-me-down K-car wagon.

1980 Chevette. OK, it was free and for my then girlfriend (now wife). We gave it to the priest who performed our wedding. I'm sure that I am going to hell for that.

I can't honestly say I've ever made a good decision when buying cars. The closest I've ever come to smart was when I bought one of the first MKV GTI's available. Fun to drive, quick reliable and good gas mileage with a warranty. But within 8 months, I had sold it to buy a 1984 911. I can't bring myself to buy a nice reliable Japanese car, even if it's just a daily driver. It's really weird.

@Atlien: The Fox is one of those cars that makes you feel tired when you look at it, such is its uglosity.

Went to buy a TDI Jetta Wagon. Mrs. said it was little old lady car, bought Beetle Turbo S. Guys at work were unbearable, sold it at huge loss 45 days later. Bought V70R because TDI's had sold out - statewide.

My bimmer blew a headgasket and I needed transport for the next day. My dad's buddy owned a crappy used car dealership and I figured I'd get an okay deal out of it, so I went.

I was looking at a 1992 Geo Metro 5spd, 3 cylinder and a 1986 Fiero 5spd, V6. The Metro was $500, the Fiero was $700. I went with the cheaper route and regretted it ever since.

The Metro has a giant gash down the side, the AC & heater didn't blow, it burned oil and the passenger side window fell down a week after I bought it and was taped up for the remaining year that I drove it. It died when I drove through puddles and when a truck drove by on the freeway I had to clinch my bum not to release everything in my bowels.

Looking back at it now, that car was awesome fun.

94' Mercury Sable Station Wagon. It had been stolen twice before and the dudes had destroyed the electronic guizmos while hot-wiring it. The wipers wouldn't turn off, the gears kept changing unexpectedly, & once it sprayed washer fluid while I was lowering the windows.

Not me, but my mom: Her first car was a 1963 Envoy Epic (i.e. a Vauxhall Viva sold in North America). I heard so many horror stories about that car's problems growing up that I get shivers whenever I hear/read about GM Britain.

That'd be my current "project car," my '79 528i. I "project" to have it sold/towed away by the end of the week.

1997 Honda del Sol Si.

College car. '78 Fiat 131. Paid $400. Spent about $550 towing it to the shop - $25 at a time. Spent more than that getting it fixed - $50 at a time.

It got hit and got $1000 in insurance money. I figure I got the better deal.

Volvo 480, handled great and was fun to drive. First front-wheel drived Volvo ever made, the first year it was manufactured.
STUPID!

Doors hanged, rotten intetiour, fungus, rust evrywhere except the plastic hood, no electrics worked and only one of the pop-up headlights, cracked windshield, No suspension (lowered by rust). Not a single piece worked on the car except the french engine that stalled in highway speeds. When I sold it was in running condition for two days. It was overheated, the dashboard indicator for that did not work either...not my problem thou.

Triumph Acclaim.

Designed with early 80s Japanese budget style, built with early 80s Leyland quality control.

Look, it was a swap deal involving my brother-in-law and a cat's cradle of reciprocated debts and duties that we really don't need to discuss here.

Bag of wank that it was.

The first car I purchased was a 70s Ford Cortina (for the Brits reading, think The Sweeney or Life On Mars) from a scrap yard. I loved the coke bottle curves and the foot pump operated windshield washers.

Unfortunately I was a poor student at the time and couldn't afford to repair it. My great plan of repairing it myself resulted in a broken finger and it only being on the road for one day (I did manage to out-drag a 205 GTi though) before I sold it.

Our current family car, a Chrysler Town and Country, could be considered a dumb purchase...

1975 NOOOVVVAAAMMMOOOSSSHHHUUUUNNNnnnn!!!1!!!!!111!!
No va indeed!

@FLB: only 2 so far, but have a 3rd waiting (for the 93) and possibly a 4th (for the 84) coming up soon after.

To be fair though, the 2 rebuilds done so far have been needed from the day I bought each of the cars...guess that's why they were so cheap. ;)

@POLAR_HAS_PAPERBITS_ON_HIS_ARSE:
Identical to mine...

1970 SAAB 96. Bought it in 1972, it lasted a month or two, I managed to unload it for more than I paid for it, so at least that was good. The car, however, was not. Have owned 3 Volvos in the interceding years, but now, being older, wiser and cheaper, buy nothing but Toyotas. No more Swedes. No Euro-cars. No American cars. Forty plus years of experience have taught me that.

My father's '57 Ford was the end of the Ford tradition in my family. Crap is as crap does...

1982 FIAT Strada 65L 3 door (abarth style shell...)in flat blue: It was like my old broom, it had 3 new heads and 4 new handles... I replaced EVERYTHING except the bodyshell (not including sills, wings and floor) and the engine assembly. The loom, seats, trim, panels, gearbox, lights etc etc were junk yard items. Built by robots, driven by morons. But the early ones looked cool (to me, at least).

First car: 1970 Maverick
Second car: 1977 Chevette
Third car: 1981 Escort
It's hard to pick a winner.

Can't believe you put a Falcon up there. I bought a '64 Comet, and it was NOT a dumb purchase. Wait a minute, yes it was.

Many of you know that I am prone to going on long and wholly unsolicited soliloquies about my 1986 Jaguar XJ-S. The fact that I love this car to death, do not regret buying it, and yet still am willing to admit and talk about my British car addiction (the first step of the twelve) should not - and likely does not - lead you to notice anything other than than the extreme stupidity of 1) that purchase and 2) yours truly.

Dumbest from a practical POV is also the smartest from a Jalopnik-rating POV: Caterham Superlight R.

I think its a tie between the 84 Firebird, 2.8v6 and the 91 Chev Blazer (S-10) - both big piles of crap.
Although the Firebird was fun to drive - 5spd. Until it wouldn't switch gears anymore....and rusted out.....and the t-tops leaked....and it smoked.....but it was better than the Blazer. POS.

Porsche 944 Turbo.

That needed a little work.
$$$$$$$ and a few $$K

86 Dodge Omni GLH basket case. Sat in my garage with the engine in the trunk for about 2 years. Eventually bought a good running GLH and transferred all of the good bits from the basket case onto the good car.

The "good" car eventually blew the engine (boost + bad fuel pump = bad) and it became a lawn ornament that I didn't have the time or motivation to work on. Sold it to a Shelby Dodge fanatic in L.A.

MG 1000 Sedan!

A Californian college kid, I somehow found myself working in the Chicago area at a huge industrial pipe coating plant for the summer. My trusty Fiat 600 had driven out no problem, but was starting to make funny noises that made me very uncomfortable. I struggled into a used foreign car dealer in Downers Grove, and (skilled car buyer that I was) told the guy I wanted to trade the Fiat and $400 for something that would get me back home.

I've got two great cars for you, he said, pick one:
A 1956 MB 190SL, looking a little rusty and very ratty or a ten year newer 1966 MG 1100 sedan - you know, the one that looked like a Mini's big brother.

Of course, I stupdily picked the MG, which didn't even make it a day before needing a valve job in Columbia Missouri, the first of monthly major issues. It died a permanent death in Woodville CA within a year, the only car I actually just abandoned.

After driving endless junkers I decided to get a reliable, gently used car to last me through to the end of school. I got a 2001 ford focus, with 150,000 km on the car, off-lease. Six months later the car developed a severe oil leak due to a connecting rod snapping and punching a hole through the oil pan.

I've had 3 used fords so far, and not a single one has lasted me a year. Yet for some insane reason I disregarded that fact and fell in love with the handling on the focus. It was a very dumb and expensive mistake.

Okay there are some people here regretting Volvo coupes. I feel bad for the P1800S, but Volvo 2-doors have a draw to certain females. Personally they were all worth it, heck probably I owe my wife to Volvo more than anything that was my responsibility.

Stolid, sporty, quirky, and dependable - good qualities for car and woman.

My current 206. First week I had it, Exhaust needed replacing. The second week, Cylinder head gasket failed and needed changing. Third week a fuel injector packs up and needs replacing. Merely hours after getting the car back, the fuel line fails, dumping me on the side of the A19. After kicking the snot out of the car in revenge (There is now a huge dent in the front left wing, and one of the black plastic side rubbing things was kicked off) and swearing that I'd never drive the car again, we managed to replace the broken fuel line clip with a proper one that will stay on. The car has been fine ever since, except for when the stereo decided to lock itself, when I don't have the code, and the fact that the car likes to wander around the road where ever it feels like. I am currently planning on replacing it with a Mk. MX-5.