There is plenty of information about cars that keep their overall value well. However where there is a high there is also a low, with so many makes and models out there it’s hard to know which ones are nothing but trouble. While it is safe to say that every year cars become more and more reliable, there will always be some that just don’t cut the mustard. Here we discuss several vehicles that should not be bought new or used at any cost.
The Heartbeat of America
It seems the Chevrolet brand has quite a few on the worst of lists, if they are the heartbeat of America perhaps America should be concerned with the health of her heart. 
The S-10 Pickup and the Blazer are both repeat offenders as bad investments due to overwhelmingly extensive and continuous mechanical problems.
It’s not just the trucks that Chevy seems to have a problem with, the Uplander Minivan was rated by Forbes magazine to be 123% worse than the average car’s score as far as reliability goes.
Even the full sized pickups have gotten a bad rap. Cars.com rated both the full sized Silverado and the mid-sized Colorado at the bottom of the heap with regards to their residual value.
Have you driven a Ford lately?
Ford built the first pickup truck way back when, you would think that they had perfected the art of lasting power within the market. This may be true for some models, but unfortunately not all of them. Again Cars.com rates the pickups poorly, both the F-150 and the Ranger were rated low for their overall residual value.
In fact Forbes magazine named the Ranger as the American car with the fewest satisfied owners. Shocking considering the roots of this little truck.
The Taurus showed up on multiple worst of lists as did the Freestar van. Even the Crown Victoria, a favorite of cab companies and police organizations alike showed up 1st and 2nd respectively on Consumer Reports ‘Worst of’ list.
Grab life by the horns
This author owns a Dodge 1500 herself and was hoping not to see it on any of these lists, unfortunately however it did show up. MSNBC rated both the Ram 1500 and the Durango SUV poorly when it comes to residual value.
The Dakota mid sized pickup seemed to escape unscathed. However it was the minivans that seemed to fare the worst for Dodge with MSNBC, although the Sprinter Van had the highest value of all of the worst.
The Caravan had no such luck with Consumer reports who ranked it fifth of the worst ten and said that they only sold due to the overwhelming numbers of them. In fact Consumer Reports ranked the Grand Caravan among the worst from 1998-2005.
There are many different ‘Worst Of’ lists to go through and each one deserves a look if you are purchasing a new or used vehicle. This data here is not definitive, only a cross section of the many lists researched, to be used purely as a guide to the worst of the worst.