The worst vehicle I've ever owned was also the only one I ever ordered new. I had a 1986 S-10 that I had bought and was very happy with. Just a basic truck with air, that was all I needed. A large car with bad brakes slammed into me and pushed me a 1/2 block. Insurance fixed it but it was just never the same after that.
Since it had been such a reliable truck, I ordered an '88 S-10. I remembered my head hitting the back of the cab when the first one got wrecked so I ordered an extended cab. I should have known it would be trouble when my truck came in and there were lots of options I didn't order. I took the truck anyway as my back up car was giving me trouble.
In the first year, I made 14 trips to the dealer. The power steering pump exploded, the rear brake adjusters were on the wrong side and would deadjust, the windshield would spit in the rain with water coming under it, the bed nearly fell off, driving down the road, the passenger side window fell into the door and the suspension had a creak every time I went over a bump. I mean a LOUD creak, loud enough that co-workers would look up as I came into the parking lot at work.
After the warranty expired, I had taken out an extended warranty and I was losing coolant and I couldnt find any leaks. My oil was also getting dirty awfully quick. I took it to the dealer and they fixed it. When I went to pay the $50 deductable, I found out about GM's silent recalls. If you have the dealer fix it, they fix it for free. If you take it to an outside shop, you pay. The intake was leaking and the silent recall covered it. Just like the Ford 4.6 intakes that would crack going down the road.
I chased rattles all the time I had that truck. I finally tracked the wosrt one down to the vehicle jack between the jump seats in back. When I took the cover off, I noticed a piece of paper sticking up. When I loosened the jack, I pulled the paper out and it had a string with two metal washers. On the paper it said "congratulations, you found one". I have never had another GM car since then. A couple of well used trucks but no cars and nothing new.
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"On the paper it said "congratulations, you found one". "
That is easily the most obnoxious thing I have heard in awhile. There were stories about disgruntled line workers doing things like that, but until now I had never heard about someone actually finding one of these "gremlins."
yeah. I wonder what the hell they were disgruntled for back then? I mean, things were pretty good then compared to now. They weren't closing auto plants.Originally Posted by Eric
Yes.
I bet there is a lot of rueful reminiscing going on. There's no question the unions became arrogant - and in some cases at least, the workers complacent and sometimes even shiftless.
Imagine a time when a union assembly line worker could afford a wife and two kids, a decent single family house, a new car every few years and look forward to a comfortable retirement after 20 or 30 years.
All of it gone, probably forever.
I looked for some others the rest of the time I owned that truck.
When I ran a salvage yard, we got a wrecked Lincoln in that was a one owner car. I knew the owner and when the insurance paid it off, he bought it back to pull the engine and transmission. I got the body. The left side was creamed. I guy came in and bought the right rear quarter panel. We sectioned the whole quarter so he would have good metal to trim down to get a good weld replacement. As we pulled the section away, an empty whiskey bottle fell out. When I mentioned it to the original owner, he said he had heard a rattle since new but after a while, the dealer couldn't find it and he got used to it and didn't notice it anymore. It could only have gotten there when the metal was welded together.
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Well, you just topped your earlier post!
That one beats the mini-bar I found behind the back seat of the '64 Corvair I used to own - because that wasn't "factory equipment"!
I could do better than that if I thought back. Half of my tools came from the trunks of junked vehicles. Lots of clothes end up there, I never did figure out why. One thing that pops to mind was the case of K-Y Jelly. Not a tube, a case of 24 tubes. I ended up using it to put bushings into older cars. Smear some jelly on the rubber part and put some water on the metal and it will usually pop right in. Sort of like it was designed for in the first place. Get your fingers wet though and parts would fly.
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Text if you want to meet him.
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