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debm55

(48,523 posts)
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 11:56 AM Jun 30

Did you ever buy a lemon of a car. You had one thing go wrong and very soon another did. Or they would say that they

could find nothing wrong with it. I have an Impreza Subaru. The battery is constantly dying. I am surprised because we bought it new. It can be a new or used car.

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Did you ever buy a lemon of a car. You had one thing go wrong and very soon another did. Or they would say that they (Original Post) debm55 Jun 30 OP
Well my first car was a Ford Pinto. Tadpole Raisin Jun 30 #1
I do. Thank you Tadpole Raisin. debm55 Jun 30 #2
I'm surprised about your Impreza Deb as I would never expect that from this car Tadpole Raisin Jun 30 #9
I know. We have had the car for 5 years. We have had 5 batteries. We did get a letter that there a someone wrong with debm55 Jun 30 #12
I Had One ProfessorGAC Jun 30 #19
Yes CountAllVotes Jun 30 #3
Thank you CountAllVotes. debm55 Jun 30 #13
Dodge Caravan Wicked Blue Jun 30 #4
Wow, that is brutal. Wicked Blue. I remember those. debm55 Jul 1 #22
Same here. Chrysler and Dodge vans were famous for lousy transmissions. Diamond_Dog Jul 1 #27
Yep ILikePie92 Jun 30 #5
Then ILikePie92 Jun 30 #8
OUCH!!! Good for you finding the deception! nt Tadpole Raisin Jun 30 #10
Only 10%? CountAllVotes Jun 30 #11
Thank you very much ILikePie92, I will show Rich this post. debm55 Jul 1 #24
Oh my . Rich charges it enough to get to the dealership. They replace the battery. Same problem debm55 Jul 1 #23
1970s AMC Pacer. Chipper Chat Jun 30 #6
I, too, had a Pacer LogDog75 Jun 30 #15
Thank you very much. Chipper Chat. debm55 Jul 1 #25
I bought a Ford Escort station wagon back in the 90s. Haggard Celine Jun 30 #7
Thank you very much, Haggard Celine. debm55 Jul 1 #26
The only brand new car I ever bought Freddie Jun 30 #14
Thank you very much , Freddie. Rich buys new cars because. honestly he can't fix them We would expect this from a used debm55 Jul 1 #28
My husband is the opposite Freddie Jul 1 #36
Thank you very much Freddie. You are very lucky that you have Mr, Freddie. debm55 Jul 1 #38
Used car but it was a bit of a lemon LogDog75 Jun 30 #16
Thank you very much LogDog75, for sharing with us. Glad you got rid and the couple of the lemon. debm55 Jul 1 #29
Bought a new Horizon in the 80's some_of_us_are_sane Jun 30 #17
Wow what a post. Thank you for sharing with us, some_of_us_are_sane. That is terrible what happened to you. Love the debm55 Jul 1 #30
I warned the dealership NOT to remove that plastic lemon some_of_us_are_sane Jul 1 #39
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHA That is great. debm55 Jul 1 #40
1989 Ford Escort Mad_Dem_X Jun 30 #18
Thank you very much Mad_Dem_X; I am thinking the same.way. debm55 Jul 1 #32
... Oeditpus Rex Jun 30 #20
HAHAHAHA. That's funny and true. Thank you very much Oeditpus Rex. debm55 Jul 1 #21
Chevy station wagon in the 1970s. mwmisses4289 Jul 1 #31
Oh my. Thank you mwmisses. The thing, Rich was a Ford person. Then about 30 years ago, we switched to Subaru for their debm55 Jul 1 #34
1972 Chevy Vega Beatlelvr Jul 1 #33
Thank you very much Beatlelvr. RIP 1972 Chevy Vega. debm55 Jul 1 #35
Had the same car Nittersing Jul 1 #37
That was great idea.Nittersing. debm55 Jul 1 #41

Tadpole Raisin

(1,889 posts)
9. I'm surprised about your Impreza Deb as I would never expect that from this car
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 12:29 PM
Jun 30

although I also never seriously researched it. Old car batteries used to last 5 years. You’re lucky now if they last 3.

Still even highly rated car makers can birth a lemon. My first thought was that the dealership might be less than honorable in addressing the issue especially if it started early and they wanted to skirt the lemon law requirements (if F47 hasn’t blown up that consumer protection too).

Hope you get it resolved.

debm55

(48,523 posts)
12. I know. We have had the car for 5 years. We have had 5 batteries. We did get a letter that there a someone wrong with
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 12:56 PM
Jun 30

the battery from Sabaru.. To be honest I don't drive it as much as I did when I was teaching. so I take it for a ride everyday and at night but a battery charger on.Thank you Tadpole Raisin for your suggestions.

ProfessorGAC

(73,651 posts)
19. I Had One
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 06:34 PM
Jun 30

I had very good luck with it. Drove it for 5 years (college & a couple years after), sold it to my cousin, she drove it 5 more years.
But, in those days, practically any model could serve up a lemon.

CountAllVotes

(21,895 posts)
3. Yes
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 12:08 PM
Jun 30

I sure did! It was one thing after the other.

I have an attorney that hasn't done a thing and I was advised to "get what you can for it".

So, I did just that on May 2 and I no longer have a car.

I'm out thousands of dollars on this rotten deal.

Seems the car I had was in TWO head-on collisions and it was a nightmare!

GONE.

That's all I can say.

Best of luck deb.

& recommend.

ILikePie92

(189 posts)
5. Yep
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 12:17 PM
Jun 30

I've had a MEGA-LEMON since 2014. Bought a 2014 FIAT 500L Trekking 4door. Sounds like an identical situation to what you're going through. I'd ask the dealer to check/replace the battery but they'd say there's nothing wrong with it. I even took a volt meter to the shop and showed them it wasn't charging right. Same result. So I decided to just let the dealer keep paying the cost of having the POS towed in every time the battery died. Had it towed to their shop at their expense 3 times before they replaced the battery. They decided to replace it and WOW no more issue.

ILikePie92

(189 posts)
8. Then
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 12:21 PM
Jun 30

Through research, I discovered that all of the 2014 FIATS like mine were actually 2013 models which sat on the ships for a YEAR in harbor, before FIAT decided to unload them and send them to dealerships. Apparently this time on the ships caused the batteries to become faulty. However, the dealers weren't allowed to replace the batteries per FIAT.
This was just the start of many, many issues I fought the dealer and eventually FIAT through the Lemon Law. I ended up getting about 10% of my cost of the car back from my Lemon Law lawsuit.

Good luck to you

CountAllVotes

(21,895 posts)
11. Only 10%?
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 12:35 PM
Jun 30

My god, that really sucks!

I feel for you, believe me.

This whole car thing makes me sick.

Two weeks after I got rid of that car (a Honda Civic Sport 2019) that was supposed to last me for the rest of my life, I was dx'd with macular degeneration and cataracts. I already have optical neuritis from multiple sclerosis.

I wonder with every day that passes how much longer will I be able to see?

So, no new car for me it seems.

This whole thing sucks so bad!



debm55

(48,523 posts)
23. Oh my . Rich charges it enough to get to the dealership. They replace the battery. Same problem
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 08:46 AM
Jul 1

LogDog75

(642 posts)
15. I, too, had a Pacer
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 01:52 PM
Jun 30

Actually, I liked the car. I called it my "Moon-mobile." It had a wide wheel base which helped make the ride smooth. I did have some problems with it. Just after the warranty expired, the gas indicator wouldn't function so I didn't know how much it would cost. Fortunately, one of the guys in my shop though it was the circuit and suggest I order a replacement and install it myself. I bought one and all I had to do was unscrew the instrument panel, take off the printed (on a plastic sheet about two feet long) circuit panel, attache the new panel and reattach the instrument panels.

The two other problems i had with it was the "electrical box" went out on it but fortunately it was under warranty. The dealer towed the car to their lot and replaced the "electrical box" at no charge. The third problem was it had column shifting and sometimes it would get stuck. I would have to open the hood and manually force the gears to move.

Other than those problems, it was a good car.

Haggard Celine

(17,309 posts)
7. I bought a Ford Escort station wagon back in the 90s.
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 12:20 PM
Jun 30

It was used. I like station wagons, and this one was pristine, but it stayed in the shop. I usually have good luck with Fords, but I guess there's always an exception.

Freddie

(9,914 posts)
14. The only brand new car I ever bought
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 01:02 PM
Jun 30

Was young and dumb. 1981 Chevette. Didn’t have it 4 months when the starter went. Then I was in a fender bender and it never got fixed right. Figured why make a car payment for something in the shop half the time. Never bought a brand new car again.

debm55

(48,523 posts)
28. Thank you very much , Freddie. Rich buys new cars because. honestly he can't fix them We would expect this from a used
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 08:57 AM
Jul 1

car but not a brand new one.

Freddie

(9,914 posts)
36. My husband is the opposite
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 09:36 AM
Jul 1

Worked many years in the auto parts industry (retired now) and gets parts at cost, and he’s a pretty good shade-tree mechanic. Both our cars are 14. But both our kids always buy brand-new, although they do keep them a long time.

LogDog75

(642 posts)
16. Used car but it was a bit of a lemon
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 02:02 PM
Jun 30

I was stationed in Germany in the mid-80s and needed a car. There was a used '82 Volvo GL240 for sell at a local insurance agency just outside of the base. I was interested in it and I talked to one of our German civilian employees who was trained as a mechanic. He checked out the car for me and said he'd buy it if he could afford it, which he couldn't. I bought it and it ran great, until I took it to England, where I was transferred, two years later. Sometimes, in the mornings, the car wouldn't start. Not even the clicking noise when the battery is low. I had a new battery in it so I knew that wasn't the problem. I had the local Volvo dealer tow it to their lot, When they tried to start it it fired up immediately and they could find nothing wrong with it. This happened about three times more and finally, they found they couldn't start it. After about three days of testing it they said they couldn't figure out what was wrong with the car. The even called the Volvo engineers in Sweden and it stumped them. I was getting ready to transfer back to the States and our office secretary and her husband (military) wanted to buy it. I told them about the problems I had with it and they said they were aware of that but wanted it anyway. I reduced the price for them and they bought it. I found out later that after a year, they got rid of the car because it had too many problems.

debm55

(48,523 posts)
29. Thank you very much LogDog75, for sharing with us. Glad you got rid and the couple of the lemon.
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 09:00 AM
Jul 1

some_of_us_are_sane

(1,614 posts)
17. Bought a new Horizon in the 80's
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 02:51 PM
Jun 30

The damn car would stall out. No warning, happened almost from the get go. Kept burning out fuses and I kept a pack of them in my glove compartment. I had it back to the dealership regularly and they could find nothing wrong with it. I put a plastic LEMON from RealLemon on the tip of the outside antenna.

Had to be towed one night to my apartment building and I was looking at the tow bill and tripped over a speed bump in the parking lot and broke my humerus.

Finally even the OWNER of the car dealership took it to drive for a week and the same stall-out happened to him. They tore that car APART to find what the cause was. One day driving the loaner they gave me, I saw the owner driving that little lemon Horizon and there was the LEMON on the antenna. LOL!!!

Finally the cause was found. An EXTRA metal FUEL FLAP was floating around in the gas tank and everytime it made contact with some sort of wire, it stalled out and burned a fuse! It was so rare it was written up in their dealer manual.

debm55

(48,523 posts)
30. Wow what a post. Thank you for sharing with us, some_of_us_are_sane. That is terrible what happened to you. Love the
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 09:05 AM
Jul 1

idea of the plastic lemon. You do have a great sense of humor for all that you went through. thank you my friend.

some_of_us_are_sane

(1,614 posts)
39. I warned the dealership NOT to remove that plastic lemon
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 11:42 AM
Jul 1

until the problem was solved. ROFLMAO!! Made my heart happy the see the owner of the dealership with the lemon announcing to the world what a LOSER that car was.

Mad_Dem_X

(9,979 posts)
18. 1989 Ford Escort
Mon Jun 30, 2025, 03:23 PM
Jun 30

My first *new* car. I had problems with it practically from the beginning. It was a piece of junk; I couldn't wait to get rid of it.

mwmisses4289

(1,564 posts)
31. Chevy station wagon in the 1970s.
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 09:07 AM
Jul 1

Dad bought it for a cross country trip from one state to another where he was being stationed. Engine died six months after moving to our new state. Our family haven't bought any Chevys since.

debm55

(48,523 posts)
34. Oh my. Thank you mwmisses. The thing, Rich was a Ford person. Then about 30 years ago, we switched to Subaru for their
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 09:14 AM
Jul 1

safety as we had a baby then. I would still buy one. Right now we have two Subarus. One is a lemon and the other isn't

Beatlelvr

(748 posts)
33. 1972 Chevy Vega
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 09:10 AM
Jul 1

My first car. Gave me grief for a year, couldn't afford a major fix. It was parked on the street one day and we heard a loud crash from our apartment. Someone had rearended it really bad. So luckily it was put out of its misery and we bought a Toyota Corolla which was a dream.

Nittersing

(7,404 posts)
37. Had the same car
Tue Jul 1, 2025, 10:22 AM
Jul 1

Drove it from NJ to CO.

It started smoking not long after that. After getting three tickets I was ordered to court. The fire fighter I was dating suggested I donate it. I showed up to court with a letter from the fire department saying the car had since been destroyed in an auto extrication class. Judge chuckled and dismissed the case.

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