Any gearhead would be lying if they hadn’t considered a classic car at one time or another. It can be a wise investment with the right choice. But pick any of these Italian classic cars, and you’re sure to regret it.

Are Italian classics really that bad? Yes! In the ’70s and ’80s, Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo got themselves bad reputations for build quality. Rust blighted more than one Lancia, leading to an expensive and embarrassing buy-back scheme. Likewise, in 1995 with dwindling sales of badly produced cars, Alfa Romeo quit the US market.

Yet, It’s not just mainstream carmakers that have given gearheads reason to be unhappy. Italy, famed for some of the best supercars, has seen the big-three roll out their fair share of letdowns.

By all means buy a classic, even an Italian exotic. Just not one of these, or you’ll regret it.

10 Lancia Beta Coupe

In days gone past, Lancia produced some of the finest cars that money could buy. In 1973, that included the prettier Lancia Beta Coupe, a 2+2 coupe wearing a shortened body. Under the hood, engines grew from the base 1.3-liter to a supercharged 2-liter unit kicking out 135 hp.

Yet, gearheads taken in by the svelte coupe body were in for a shock. Built to budget levels, the Beta, like so many Lancia cars, suffered from rust. New cars left the factory already showing telltale signs of corrosion. So bad was the problem, Lancia bought back most of the affected cars in Europe.

9 Alfa Romeo…