The whole exhaust system was poorly designed. Part of the piping that connects to the catalytic converter is always getting holes in it that creates exhaust leaks, forcing my dad to weld the holes shut.
My parents bought the car brand new in 1981. They gave the car to me when I turned 16 so I would have something to drive.
The car gets very good gas mileage (25+ mpg city) even as old as it is. Although it is burning a lot more oil than it has in the past. It also has been leaking a bit of oil for quite some time.
The car is still running on the original engine and transmission and still has the original clutch with 215,800 miles on it. This is after numerous people, including myself, have learned to drive a stick on with car.
Like I mentioned above, there has not been a lot go wrong with this car. Just the typical things that wear out that we have had replace like the radiator, heater core (which I do not recommend doing), air pump, water pump, catalytic converter and muffler.
Overall it has been a great car, I guess that's why they called it a GLC (Great Little Car). Although not the best-looking car out there, it has provided reliable transportation for my family and myself. I wish it had more power, but what can you expect from a 1.5-liter back in 1981? I'd say the $7,000 investment my parents made when they bought the car was a worthwhile one.
This year will probably be the last year I have the car though, I'm looking for something a lot newer so I won't have to worry about replacing the clutch on this car! It's definitely served me well!
I had one from 1990 to 2000. It averaged 33 mpg overall before the speed limit went to 70. I ended up putting over 300000 miles on it, only replacing the water pump (before I got it) at 85000, one ball joint, shocks, distributor at 140000. AC stopped working (leaked). Exhaust system was terrible--couldn't afford to fix it for inspection so I donated it to the salvation army. It was only using a quart of oil every 2000 miles at the time. Never even left drops on the driveway, but it was a rust bucket. Still had the original clutch, starter, radiator and I ran it hard, driving 75 to 80mph (floored) and changing the oil only every 7 to 8k after it hit 200000. Couldn't kill the thing. I even boiled all of the coolant out (dirty oil filter) and had to fill it with pond water and drive home without the air filter.
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