Car ownership can be a mixed bag. One day it's about the wind in your hair, singing an off-pitch rendition of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, while the next can be wasted sitting in an oily mechanic's waiting room looking at the 2005 Babes And Bolt-Ons calendar, wondering if alternators really do cost $300.

(Photo by on Flickr)

The question I pose to my car-loving (and perhaps auto-curious) audience is:

I ask because I'd like to compile a list of real-world experiences with cars that may or may not be considered unreliable, like a very unscientific experiment. Please include the year, make and model of the car, a picture if possible, and make sure it's one you (or someone in your household) owned, not something you heard from a friend, owned by a grandparent that you saw twice a year, or read on the internet. We do have standards, y'know.

I'll start it off by mentioning my mother's 2000 Kia Sportage, which she bought brand new. Although the engine was sound, the car frequently had suspension issues due to a horrid design that went through bushings like Kobayashi goes through hot dogs, and it almost rolled over twice on off-ramps at regular speed. The horn stopped working, the radio would randomly go to full volume, it would overheat with no visible coolant leaks, while having full coolant levels and new temp sensors. The heater core exploded thereafter, sending thick coolant fumes through the vents. It eventually died on the side of the road and I had it junked for $300.

is the founder of and writes about on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest , a , and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.

There's a difference between being cheap and treasuring value per dollar spent. One is knowing…

You can also follow him on and . He won't mind.