Whilst any car can be modified, personalised and adjusted to turn it into your own, some models can be trickier than others to perfect.
The most popular cars for customisation are better described as platforms for creativity. The original Ford Mustang, Porsche 911, Subaru Impreza and the Toyota Supra are more famous for what tuners and designers have made from it than the original model.
However, whilst experts with enough knowledge, skill and creativity will be able to modify almost any car, there are certainly some models that are more awkward, unrewarding and difficult to do so.
Chrysler PT Cruiser
One of the most divisive and controversial designs for a volume-produced car ever made, people either love the PT Cruiser and its unique 2000s take on cars from the Golden Age of Detroit (specifically the similarly controversial Chrysler Airflow) or despise it for the same reasons.
Whilst they have become an ironic icon in a similar fashion to the Pontiac Aztek, the PT Cruiser has struggled in the world of aftermarket customisation, with reports that it was difficult to work with in part due to its retro-styled design and numerous fundamental faults according to sources like Consumer Reports.
There is a chance that all of its flaws will become adored characteristics, particularly as it developed a reputation as a quirky first car due to how quickly their prices dropped, but they tend to be taken warts and all rather than become a project to fix.
DeLorean DMC-12
Since its launch, the Tesla Cybertruck has become somewhat infamous for how difficult it is to modify due to its stainless steel body, but the entirely predictable troubles were found in the much earlier DeLorean DMC-12.
Unlike the PT Cruiser and many other difficult cars to modify, the DMC-12 is an extremely popular car to own and modify, ironically because it was the undesirable, quirky time machine car from Back to the Future.
This does not hide the fact that it is not terribly reliable, the steel bodywork is difficult to work with and customise without wrapping and the reliability of the original components is not to be taken for granted.
BMW Mini Cooper
The original classic Mini is one of the most beloved and influential cars of the 20th century, and there are countless incredible modifications to the classic supermini formula that you can apply to your car.
Almost anything you could want to do to your Mini Cooper is possible through modification and a vast aftermarket that has developed over half a century.
However, by contrast, the revived Mini Cooper made by BMW has been plagued by reliability issues which make it a much more arduous vehicle to modify than it should be, particularly in contrast to the car from which it takes its name and lineage.
One consolation is that, much like the classic Mini, there are a lot of aftermarket parts, and most of the complex issues are known about. The recommendation from experts is to choose either the first generation or one new enough to still be under warranty to avoid any nasty surprises.
Suzuki Swift SF
Also known as the Geo Metro and Suzuki Cultus, the Suzuki Swift is a relatively popular supermini car, and since 2004 has become a relatively acceptable platform for modification.
However, its first two generations from 1983 until 2001 were a perfect storm of having fundamental flaws that needed modification to fix whilst being so unreliable and prone to major failures that the most important fixes were impractical, if not impossible.
The biggest issue was the engine, which was both underpowered and notoriously unreliable. This hampered the aftermarket for the car, particularly in the United States, not helped by a rather infamous joke in The Simpsons.
Toyota MR2
Toyota has a reputation for making some of the best and easiest cars to modify. The Supra and Celica are exceptionally popular for customisation, rivalling cars such as the Porsche 911 for the sheer availability of aftermarket components.
The biggest exception to this, however, is the Toyota MR2. Being a mid-engined sports car, it was always going to be more difficult to find a reliable model that could be easily altered.
However, the biggest issue is the waterline, known to MR2 owners as the “hose from hell”, a turbocharger water line that is infamous for bursting and extremely difficult to fix.
What makes this amongst the most difficult customisation platforms is the surprise that a manufacturer typically praised for reliability and making cars that are easy to work with made an unreliable, complex machine.
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