Buying a sports car at least once in life has to be a goal of most car enthusiasts, if not all. But for most of us, we will probably have one or two chances to buy one. So getting a reliable and dependable sports car becomes a necessity rather than an added bonus. For those of us that are on a strict budget, we often turn towards the used cars market to satisfy our thirst for speed for cheap. But many cars in the market are really bad investments. Some of them require lots of maintenance and are cheap for the same exact reason. Getting fixated on an affordable used sports car and blindly buying it before knowing everything about it is less often, but it happens.
The 100,000-mile mark is like an unofficial milestone used as a reference for a car’s dependability. If a car cannot even last 100,000 miles without requiring major repairs, then it's unreliable. We’d usually want a dependable car that would last us longer than 200,000 miles. But these are not. There may be engine issues, rust problems, or different parts that would make the car spend more time in a repair shop than on the road. Make sure to steer clear of these cars if you’d like to avoid that.
10 2016-2020 Fiat Abarth 124 Spider
According to WhatCar's report, 33% of 124 Spiders ran into issues. They were majorly electrical bugs. If they didn’t get you, perhaps bodywork and engine problems will. 46% of these cars got repaired within a week, but 36% took longer. That 36% indicated a severe fault in them.
There is some consolation though: 91% of repairs were at least carried out for free. The rest that cost consumers didn’t cross the $300 mark. The car is very fun to drive, and the repairs are cheap, but they are aplenty.
9 2010 Saturn Sky
The 2010 Saturn Sky grabbed a lot of attention when it came out. Saturn was in a financial crisis when they unexpectedly launched this sports car. Rather than becoming their savior, the car brought their impending doom even faster.
The 2.4-liter four-cylinder Ecotec engine used in the Sky was prone to multiple issues. Another nail in Saturn’s coffin was the faulty sensor for the passenger airbag suppression system. When people learned about that, they were not confident at pushing the sports car to its limits at all.
8 2003-2012 Mazda RX-8
Mazda developed the RX-8 to pick up the baton from the formidable and successful RX-7. But filling the shoes of the iconic sports car was too much for the RX-8 to handle. The Wankel rotary engine used for the RX-8 was one of the least reliable engines of all time!
When the engine worked, it lacked the power anyway. What’s even worse, is that the engine would bring down the transmission with it whenever any type of failure occurred. So be ready to endure sluggish performance and expensive repair bills if you fancy yourself an RX-8.
7 2016 Mercedes C-Class Coupé
Used 2016 C-Class can sell for as low as $16,000! But that’s for a reason. Mercedes has a reputation as a leading automobile manufacturer in the world. The same company that made the S-Class, the AMG-GTR, and the SL300, has made the sorry excuse for a car that is the 2016 C-Class. From the outside, it looks charming as they come, but when you start driving, that grin will disappear.
You want to go see the Santa Monica Pier? Cool, here’s the route to the Mongolian border in Asia. Apart from a broken GPS, the C-Class also suffered from malfunctioning steering wheel controls, display screen, and collision avoidance system. It got recalled quite a few times by the NHTSA.
6 2005-2010 Alfa Romeo Brera
Alfa Romeo makes cars that appeal the most to enthusiasts. They are very oriented towards perfecting the driving experience. Sometimes, it means that the quality of parts gets compromised. The Brera's service manual itself states that you’ll need to change the timing chains every 100,000 miles.
Now that’s a clear sign that this car won’t last you very long. Even before driving that long, a loud rattle will probably pierce your ears, and then a rapid stall will temporarily stop your heart. Suddenly, the chains are broken and you’ll need to empty your pockets for an entire engine rebuild.
5 Pontiac Solstice
Just like the aforementioned Saturn, Pontiac was going through a tough time when they came up with the Solstice aka the American Miata. The looks of this car sparked lots of debates, you’ll either love it or hate it. It came with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine.
The Solstice’s faulty ignition was the biggest culprit here. If the car went through a crash, the engine would suddenly cut power, so the airbags wouldn’t deploy. The rear axle pinion seal leaked tends to leak, and the extended life coolant was susceptible to contamination too. No wonder it had many recalls.
4 2013 Dodge Challenger
The 2013 Challenger was a serious muscle car that meant business. The 305 hp V6 engine specs were very appealing to the people. The retro styling with a modern touch bodes well too. But the quick-shifting transmission mated to the powerful V6 would quickly disrupt the moment for you if you buy the car.
The smooth transmission has a tendency to run out of lubrication. Moreover, the unwelcome noises heard while steering at low speeds would concern drivers even further.
3 2018-Present Volkswagen Polo Petrol
Buyers that settle for used small affordable cars are less likely to be able to cover costly repairs. So the fact that 47% of petrol-powered Polos have issues is worrisome at the very least. The engine’s electrics were most commonly faulty, next in line would be air conditioning, gearbox, or clutch failures.
Some cases even reported complete engine failures too! About 9 out of 10 repairs thankfully managed to be under warranty. But some poor guys had to pay more than $1000 in repairs, ouch!
2 2017-Present Ford Fiesta Petrol
The Fiesta drives so great that WhatCar gave it the Best Small Car Of The Year award last year. But that’s not the only time Fiesta came on top. The petrol version also topped the least reliable small car of the year. Overall, the Fiesta petrol was the 5th least reliable car of the last 5 years in all segments.
34% of owners reported engine and suspension problems with their Fiestas. Out of them, only a third got fixed within one day while 40% of them had to wait for more than a week to get them repaired. Ford covered most repairs, but some had to pay more than 100 bucks.
1 2006-2013 BMW 3 Series Coupe/Convertible
WhatCar reports that 42% of all BMW 3 Series have suffered from issues. There are over 10 different types of faults found in these cars. Engine, brakes, steering, a/c, engine electrics, non-engine electrics, bodywork, gearbox, clutch, suspension. These are all faulty in one of these cars or the other.
Used 3 series might be cheap now, but living with it can be quite costly. Many people had to pay more than $650 to get their BMWs fixed. Some of them were even handed $2,000 bills! Check your future 3 series very carefully before buying it.