When we look to buy a car, we look at reliability. The better the reliability, the longer the car will last, and the better the value for money.

Regrettably, not all cars on the market boast high reliability scores. Some have a reputation for frequent breakdowns, which can be a significant inconvenience and financial burden.

This list contains some of the worst offenders, the ones that break down at the slightest hint of a problem. You should avoid all of these vehicles.

Jeep Wrangler

The Jeep Wrangler is an exciting vehicle. It’s a competent SUV that can perform wonders off-road. Many reviews praise the Wrangler for its off-road performance, yet it lets itself down with some pretty shoddy reliability scores.

Reliability is already hit-and-miss with Jeep, and the Wrangler proves this. A look at CarComplaints for the 2012 Wrangler reveals the SUV ranks pretty poorly compared to other SUVs, and Consumer Reports gives the 2012 Wrangler a poor score of just 2/5 for reliability. Other Wrangler models also suffer, plus cosmetic issues such as paint peeling are well known across the board.

2023 Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai has begun to make a name for itself in the last few years, especially regarding EVs. However, the company is still facing some issues, as the 2023 Elantra shows us.

Users have complained on Consumer Reports that the 2023 Elantra offers a particularly harsh and stiff ride compared to similar vehicles. The forward collision avoidance system also causes trouble, regularly malfunctioning, thanks to various electric issues. Regular maintenance on the Elantra appears recommended, as it can often throw up some unusual problems.

Ford Pinto

Now for a classic car that had some fatal problems. Ford launched the Pinto in the mid-1970s, and things started well. Consumers responded favorably to the vehicle, and Ford sold many Pintos.

However, things took a turn for the worse. Several accidents saw Pintos catching fire, sometimes with fatal results. An issue with the fuel tank design caused the hatchback to catch fire in rear-end collisions. The infamous “Pinto memo” from the NHTSA proved that Ford’s executives knew about the problem but did nothing about it. As such, the Pinto’s safety and reliability record took a massive nose-dive.

1974-1984 Lancia Beta

Lancia has often had a shaky relationship with reliability, but the Lancia Betas of the 1970s and 1980s were some of the worst offenders. That was because of rust, the scourge of so many classic cars.

Earlier versions of the Beta were particularly bad, and the issue became rampant in Lancia’s biggest export market, the United Kingdom. Lancia was then forced to buy back hundreds of Beta’s, scrap them, and replace them at no cost to the owner. Lancia sales in the UK dropped dramatically, and they pulled out of the right-hand drive market in 1984.

2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

A look at Consumer Reports reveals that the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is among the worst-rated cars in reliability scores. It scores just 1/5 on the website, and owners say that one of the biggest problems is a squishy brake pedal that makes braking an uncomfortable experience.

Another problem with the Pacifica Hybrid is the faulty wiring harness inside the transmission. The minivan has also had one recall due to an electrical short that could cause the engine to shut down, highlighting how problematic the electrical systems can be.

2006-2013 Nissan Note

Japanese manufacturer Nissan is usually famed for its robust reliability. However, the Nissan Note of 2006-2013 is one of their rare mistakes. What makes things worse is that the issues arise within the braking and suspension systems, two areas of a car that you wouldn’t want to fail at all.

These problems, unfortunately, detract from what a reasonable little car is. The Nissan Note has a roomy cabin for its size, and its small size makes it easy to drive and maneuver in small spaces. The back of the Note is particularly impressive, with ample headroom, although the engine can become quite noisy as the speeds increase.

Peugeot 1007

What started as an excellent idea from Peugeot became the stuff of nightmares for the company. Peugeot did a lot of marketing on the power sliding doors of the 1007 that they said would make parking more accessible and get into and out of the car in tight spots.

However, sales figures reveal that the 1007 was one of Peugeot’s most significant commercial failures. The company allegedly lost €15,380 per vehicle produced. The doors proved problematic due to the electronics, and their weight and motors made the 1007 heavy and slow. So, it was a great idea by Peugoet, but it was poorly executed.

Maserati Biturbo

Maseratis can sometimes have a questionable reliability record, and the Biturbo of the 1980s is no different. The Italian manufacturer designed the Biturbo to rival the BMW 3 Series, but the twin-turbocharged V6 engines under the hood would have all sorts of problems.

Due to the turbo lag, unpredictable power delivery could create a wild and unnerving driving experience. This kick-started its unreliable reputation, and Time magazine reported that “everything that could leak, burn, snap, or rupture did.” Even though it is a classic Maserati, it is best avoided. Plenty of other Maseratis on the used car market are devoid of the problems the Biturbo had.

Pontiac Fiero

The Pontiac Fiero is a frustrating sports car. Pontiac almost got it right during its four-year production run, but reliability and safety issues saw annual sales steadily fall, and production ceased after those four years in 1988.

Safety was a concern with the Fiero throughout its existence, and these issues escalated dramatically by the summer of 1987. Fires in Fieros had been widely reported, and by that year, there were 20 reported fires per month for 1984 Fieros. They were catching fire at the rate of one for every 508 sold. Yet Pontiac knew about the problems, as Fieros had caught fire during testing in 1983. Pontiac would eventually trace the causes of the fires down to defective connecting rods.

Chevrolet Chevette

There are probably hundreds of articles on the internet that detail just how bad the Chevrolet Chevette was. The Chevrolet Chevette was a no-frills, four-door aimed at buyers on a budget who just wanted a no-nonsense and sensible daily driver.

Well, the Chevette was certainly no-nonsense and sensible. However, it took a little while for the reliability issues to surface. Firstly, the Chevette was slow, and a 0-60 mph time of 19.6 seconds felt like an eternity to many drivers. Soon, the mechanical issues would surface, such as its crude rear-wheel drive, the multiple engine issues, and the poor construction quality. At a time when American automotive manufacturers were struggling against the flood of small and cheap cars from Japan, the Chevette was a badly-timed step backward.

Rover CityRover

Regarding British motoring mistakes, the Rover CityRover is one of the biggest. This small city car was a rebadged Tata Indica, tweaked to allow sales in Europe and the UK. Yet the CityRover was so bad that when Top Gear asked to test one, Rover refused to lend them one, so presenter James May had to go undercover and test drive one with a hidden camera at a dealer.

May said it was the worst car he had ever driven on the program. Many described handling as “vague,” the small city car was also slow and suffered from poor quality. Reliability wasn’t its strong suit either, and it was already five years old by the time it hit the UK market, so the Rover was instantly outdated compared to its rivals.

2003-2007 Saturn Ion

Few cars have attracted as much ridicule and hate as the 2003-2007 Saturn Ion. Yet this sedan followed on from the critically acclaimed Saturn S series, so how did Saturn get it so wrong?

The sedan sat on the GM Delta platform, but issues arose quickly, such as the poor quality, poor car handling, and the average design. Many considered the Ion to be where the downfall of Saturn began. Safety became a significant problem with the Ion, so the model underwent 12 recalls. One of which was for a faulty ignition switch that caused 13 deaths in GM Delta platform vehicles.

Chevrolet Citation

A quick look at the Citation’s sales figures paints a promising picture. In 1980, Chevrolet sold 811,000 units in the car’s debut year, yet sales dropped by around 90 percent four years later.

Quality issues and horrible reliability problems were the reason behind this. Bits of trim would fall off in the cabin into owners’ hands, and transmissions were also known to make horrible groaning and seizing noises. The Citation slaughtered GM’s reputation in the 1980s, and the company tried to cover it up by providing car magazines with modified cars to review to avoid the problems that plagued the production cars on sale.