Faults:

Actually nothing went wrong with my Vega, got it new in 1974 and the Vega was very dependable and never gave me an ounce of problems. The car looked great like a baby Camaro, got good gas mileage as I remember, I was only 17 so I was so very lucky to have a new car.

The only one negative with the Vega was the performance; with only 75 horsepower and an automatic transmission, getting to highway speeds on a windy day was challenging, but it was a great car and I wished I still had it. Nothing but good things to say about my 74 Vega.

General Comments:

Dependable, good looks, good mpg, no mechanical issues after 50,000 miles.

Faults:

The engine got noisy at about 15,000.

The dashboard plastic broke up from the California sun, and the carpeting & upholstery pretty well disintegrated at the same time.

General Comments:

It was fun to drive. The manual transmission (3-speed) was geared rather high so it would cruise well on the highway, and the steering was pretty articulate. Brakes average. It was comfortable.

When the car self-destructed, the local Chevy dealer (now out of business) basically dogged me and stalled till I went away. I was really young & stupid. I get steamed every now and then, and write to General Motors to tell them about my experience, but they never respond.

I sold the car which had quit running after 1 1/2 years for $500, and the kid that bought it never got it running. I have never AND will never buy a GM automobile.

I then bought a 12 year old Toyota Stout pickup that ran for 10 years, and was running when I sold it. Big difference.

Faults:

Cylinder walls were worn away and it burned oil like crazy.

Water pump was replaced at 77000 miles.

Exhaust was replaced at 77000 miles.

General Comments:

This car ran great when I got it, it just used a lot of oil (as most of them seemed to do).

It was my first car and I thought that it handled pretty well, and would drive over, through, under, and across, just about any kind of terrain.

It was a station wagon, yellow with woodgrain (Like the "Family Truckster") :-)

I'd love to get another one and drop a 327 in it.

It was very comfortable to drive around the expanses of Texas, until a rod knock developed on Thanksgiving Day of 1984. I was way away from the AF Base where I was stationed and it threw a rod at about 80 MPH and destroyed the motor. Even after all of that, I have fond memories of it, and remember it as being a very fun car to drive and I could haul all of my friends around in it. When we would go camping, if the mosquitoes got too bad, my friends would ask me to drive some laps around the campsite to get rid of them. :-)

Faults:

Carb was replaced

Valve cover seal replaced

Muffler replaced

Timing belt replaced

Don't really remember what miles these parts were replaced, but it happen when my father gave me the car as my first car in 1978.

Hatchback wouldn't stay up anymore, used a length of wood to prop up.

Burned oil. Had to refill a half quart every four gas fill ups.

Heard horror stories about the Vega, but didn't really have any.

Body rot on the doors front fenders, around the headlights. Bondo-ed it to death!

General Comments:

Always started.

Never let me down or stranded except when the timing belt went.

Believe me I used and abused this car. Learned how to drive on it, used it for college, used it for work.

LIke, I said before the body rot was a problem.

Cheap bucket seats that held up pretty good. I remember the dash developed a big crack in the middle before I got rid of it.