LEMON – will you ever forget it?

[jphanna]

As far as I know, there isn’t a person I know that hasn’t bought a lemon. Even a new car can be a lemon. What was yours and will you ever forgive yourself, and forget it.

Remember the XU1 Torana, well I bought the the 4 cyl ‘vauxhaul’ engine version of that car. You know the one with the short stubby nose…..enough said.

[Peuty]

I had lemon once

[GS608]

Originally Posted by Peuty

I had lemon once

thats a nice lemon, what ever happened to it?

[Kenaz]

Originally Posted by Peuty

I had lemon once

You idiot :togo:

I've had four cars, all of which have been far from lemons.
1. EA GL, 4 years of completely trouble-free motoring. Great first car!
2. VSII Berlina V6, I only drove it for 9 months before I sold it to my Mum but it's been a fantastic car to her for about 5 years.
3. EL Ghia 5.0, Copped a beating and still wanted more. Amazing car!
4. BA XR6T, so far 60,000k of reliable, quick and comfortable motoring. Couldn't ask any more of this car.

[Watto_Cobra]

Had some cars over the years, but only one lemon.

* TD 2.0L Cortina - first car built up from a wreck
* TE 2.0L Cortina
* TE 3.3L Cortina
* TE 4.1L Cortina Ghia - BEAST Wish I still had it.
* EFI 2.0L Camira - The LEMON
* XE 4.1L dual-fuel - paid $600 - few niggles - sold 3 years later for $500
* (Current) EB 4.0L dual-fuel - only probs have been with the gas conversion
* (Current) AU - perfectly reliable.

That Camira cost me so much money I didn't have at the time (on dole looking for work).

Speedo would work OK up to 70 km/h then shoot up to 180km/h (that was quick)

Horrible grabby clutch, almost digital .ie. on or off.

Fuel pump went, cost $160 at a wreckers FFS.

Engine blew. Cost me $1800, more than I paid for the car.

Head gasket blew again 3 months later, mate and I fixed it this time for $300.

Sold the P.O.S

[seduced_xr]

BA 1 mont, was the closest to a lemon we had. i will never forget it. but the things i wont forget is all the good moments we had in it not the bad ones. even tho it left us stranded 200km from anywhere when the power steering died. ( it might of been bcos old skip that landed on the bonnet 2 hours earlier)

[LethalLeigh]

The closest I've had to a lemon was my Alfa Romeo GTV6. I had it nine months and it was always a hit and miss proposition as to whether it would start which I suspect was due to moisture interfering with the ignition system. I replaced the brake booster on it but that was simply required maintainence.

The big hassle was when it bottomed out heavily on a dirt road and jump a tooth on the cam belt at which point I knew it was time to give up on it.

[jphanna]

the worst case i know of is my old mates 2001 cougar. he bought it new, his first new car ever, and the first 12 months he probably took it back to ford 40 out of the 52 weeks in that first year. he may see this thread and correct me but that left a bad taste in his mouth. that same car a pin broke in the steering column and seized the steering in the middle of town in peak hour...

[BEE55T]

Originally Posted by LethalLeigh

The closest I've had to a lemon was my Alfa Romeo GTV6. I had it nine months and it was always a hit and miss proposition as to whether it would start which I suspect was due to moisture interfering with the ignition system. I replaced the brake booster on it but that was simply required maintainence.

The big hassle was when it bottomed out heavily on a dirt road and jump a tooth on the cam belt at which point I knew it was time to give up on it.

Can't say I've had much in the way of lemons, but my dad had an Alfa 90.... the 4 door equivalent of the GTV6 (mum wouldn't let him get the 2 door, so he got the same set up in a 4 door)
You needed and electrical engineer just to look under the bonnet. It usually broke $20 parts in $600 places. The NRMA man used to check the battery and say "I'll get you a tow truck". My dads mechanic used to break down in tears every time the Alfa turned up. He said he used every trick in the book, then made up new tricks, and they still didn't work on it.

Saying that, with a 60/40 weight split (gearbox in back) a beautiful engine, and what a noise it made at full song..... when you could get it into second it was fantastic.

[BPXR6T]

Hey! I bought one of those 4cyl toranas as a first car with plans of putting a rotary in it. Was a good thing. Closest I've come to a lemon would be my old BA XR6T. It's the car that convinced me never to buy another new ford.

[jphanna]

Originally Posted by BPXR6T

Hey! I bought one of those 4cyl toranas as a first car with plans of putting a rotary in it. Was a good thing. Closest I've come to a lemon would be my old BA XR6T. It's the car that convinced me never to buy another new ford.

when that car broke down for the last time, i sold it to the RAA (road rescue)guy for $150.00.

[AUIIForte]

Originally Posted by BPXR6T

Hey! I bought one of those 4cyl toranas as a first car with plans of putting a rotary in it. Was a good thing. Closest I've come to a lemon would be my old BA XR6T. It's the car that convinced me never to buy another new ford.

Damn, what happened to it?

[Burnout]

I brought a TC 4 Cyl Cortina new, it broke down on the way home from the dealer. I'd driven it less that 30 miles.

These strange mechanical mishaps continued for the next 12 months til I replaced it.

[snappy]

Originally Posted by BPXR6T

Hey! I bought one of those 4cyl toranas as a first car with plans of putting a rotary in it. Was a good thing. Closest I've come to a lemon would be my old BA XR6T. It's the car that convinced me never to buy another new ford.

Im the same would not quite call it a lemon but my ba xr8 has convinced me never to buy a new ford again. Its cost me over 10k to keep it on the road and it has not done 60 thousand k's yet.

[vztrt]

Closest I came to a lemon was my 93 Camry (was badged as a Holden Apollo) hand me down from my folks. I got my hands on it at 80,000k's on it and by 120,000k's the tranny had to be rebuilt (cage bearing went, common problem with these cars). But from 100,000ks the car began to overheat (changed the entire cooling system trying to fix it) and by 145,000'k it almost left me stranded about 100km from melb. So then I bought my 03 BA XR6 and this car gave me 140,000km problem free motoring (except when I put it on gas).

[ZA-289]

I had an XE that in about 2 years I replaced the diff, gearbox, alternator, starter motor, head gasket, lpg converter and then I smashed a piston in half and did a bottom end!!

What a POS that was. oh and my Jet ski is a lemon too. (note to self = dont buy a jet ski)

[Daymoe]

Originally Posted by ZA-289

I had an XE that in about 2 years I replaced the diff, gearbox, alternator, starter motor, head gasket, lpg converter and then I smashed a piston in half and did a bottom end!!

What a POS that was. oh and my Jet ski is a lemon too. (note to self = dont buy a jet ski)

Dad had a lemon XE and a lemon EA.

[alter_EGOXR]

when i got my red Ps, i bought a lemon...it was a charade (had a stupid exhaust, cut springs)...gear box went after a month..needed new shocks because the previous owner cut the springs..had to sell it off to another red P plater...then i got a 89 rodeo, for around 3.5gs...first thing to go was the radiator, and then the clutch...so now i have a "real" car that looks great and drives well...i just hope that this one will never let me down for years to come..

[Torquen]

VS 6 banga auto, bought it for $4500 and spent close to 8k repairing on it, finaly got it all good and then wrote it off :(
Car was a POS though, everytime you'd fix something another thing would brake.
Holden V6 = never again.

[itchy brother]

Originally Posted by Torquen

VS 6 banga auto, bought it for $4500 and spent close to 8k repairing on it, finally got it all good and then wrote it off :(
Car was a POS though, every time you'd fix something another thing would brake.
Holden V6 = never again.

My wife has a VR V6 auto which is an ex police runabout.
With 145000 on the clock, all that's needed changing is the injectors and shocks, suspension rubbers etc.
Very happy with the performance for a 6 banger!

[Torquen]

Originally Posted by itchy brother

My wife has a VR V6 auto which is an ex police runabout.
With 145000 on the clock, all that's needed changing is the injectors and shocks, suspension rubbers etc.
Very happy with the performance for a 6 banger!

Yeh, VR = OK due to the fact it still had the half decent buick 3.8L motor. Highly refined due to the fact it had been in the previous 2 models (VN-VP) so they had everthing running just right. VS was the first Commo V6 to run the eco-tec 3.8L motor, needless to say it wasn't untill the late model VX's and early VY's that they got it running up to scratch imo.

[Gobes32]

I had a 97 VT and in 18 months I had to do the rear main seal, steering rack, water pump and new rotors on the front. Was not a lemon as such but it cost me a fortune in the short time I owned it.

[Auslandau]

I had a 1980 Range Rover ............. need I say more!

It was great fun though when it was going. Mechanical and eletrical pig ....... BUT I loved it!



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[FrogInASock]

'92 NC Fairlane V8. ABS had no end of troubles (turned out to be a warped tone wheel) leading to a pedal that felt like wood, with about the same braking ability, when it played up. Then the starter motor went. Twice. Suspension was bloody awful, soft and wallowy, Seats were very uncomfortable. It's the only car that I have been happy to see the back of!

THEN I bought another one! '97 XH ute, factory dual fuel. Bought it, was sickened by the (lack of) fuel economy. 300km to a 65 litre tank of LPG, when my 3.5 litre Magna did the SAME trip using only 22 litres of LPG. Off to the tuners! One new computer and gas tank later (10 years old, needed inspection), economy improved a lot. Shame that the doors were cracked at the hinges. Ended up trading it not because it wasn't that great, but that I needed a 4WD to go where I wanted to on holidays.

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by FrogInASock

3.5 litre Magna did 300km to 22 litres of LPG

Is that even possible?

[FrogInASock]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Is that even possible?

Well, I filled the tank immediately before I left (for both cars) then drove from Adelaide to the Yorke Penninsula, and back, same road, same conditions.

Even the gas fitters were AMAZED at the Magna's fuel economy on LPG. It still gets the same economy on a trip.

[XR6_190]

I must say, I've been lucky, the 3 cars Iv'e owned, (even the 12 year old Excel) have all been good to me, the only thing Iv'e ever had to replace was an exhaust system on the excel, the AU was (and probably still is, for whoever bought it after I had it) a good reliable car, and so far, the BF is showing itself to be a good replacement.

[Zed7fiddy]

Im also jumping on the bandwagon of ownign a BA and now ill never own a new ford!

Although the Boss at work bought a Landrover Defender (brand new black thing with A/C CD Player and TD) it had the motor replaced at 30k km and numer other thigns go wrong with it!

Needless to say he gave that to the aprt of the companyt hat thrash cars and kill them and he no has a V8 Troopy

[The Yeti]

O thought i had a lemon in my NA fairlane with blendor motor and selfleveing issues, so i went off fords for a while. I tryed ford again with an AU a few years later and it was a great car so i replaced it with a BA fairmont and what a dog the pannel fit was wofull the trim was pooly put together that was abain climate control issues iwth blendor motors, plagued this car from day one I think in the 100k I did from new if did 40,000 of them with a ford tech behind the wheel, and stupid me got a territory after that its better but far from good

[ltd]

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