Do you still remember your first car?

[Count Duckula]

I met the love of my life today. It was an accident. My father and I almost passed by the dealership after two unsuccessful runs at our favorite car haunts.

I've spent the past four years without one. I've seen classmates at school expect and recieve cars on their 16th birthdays. I've seen the gamut of vehicles at Hollins, from Chevy Novas to BMW convertibles. My former next-door-neighbor owned a Lexus, which got totaled about two weeks into the school year, and Mommy and Daddy Warbucks consoled Baby Warbucks with "don't worry dear, we'll get you a new one." I was thinking, "I can probably fix that one up--give the wrecked one to me!"

But I was patient. I waited.

But this...oh man. Kinda like visiting an animal shelter and having a paw reach out to you, saying take me home...you're my perfect owner...take me home...



It's a 1999 Chevy Cavalier, 4-cylinder, automatic, looks exactly like the picture except it's a darker blue, more of an azure. 38K miles, AC, power steering, AM/FM stereo, CD player, cruise control, and hundreds of little gadgets everywhere.

Base price (before tags, insurance, etc.): $8K. Two years ago, my sister got a manual 1998 Chevy Metro for around the same price. Doesn't even have a tape deck. And she has to turn off the air-conditioning if she climbs a hill. Oh, is she going to be jealous.

I handled him a bit gingerly, but I think he understood. All the way home from Auto Row, I was giggling to myself. It's mine, all mine!

Anyone else remember their first car?

[Munkay]

Since I got my license (I am the tender age of 18 now) I've been through 3 cars.

1985 - 5.25 BMW
1986 - 3.25i BMW
1990 - 5.30 BMW

The most recent is the only one I didn't pay for myself. I must admit I am obsessed with the car, and due to my father being very good friends with a BMW mechanic and dealer.. as well as some dumb luck, we got the 1990 5.30 (fully loaded) for astoundingly cheap money.

I'll be the first to admit that my parents helped me out a lot with the financial portion. But it wasn't a free ride. I did my two years of bagging endless groceries, endless hours each week to pay for my half. :P

[whyBish]

24 and still no first car... I do remember my first train though (but not my first bike)... and luckily I still have my first legs ;)

[--Pete]

Hi,

Mine was a SIMCA Aronde '54 station wagon. Cost me $15, half for the car and the other half to get it towed home. But, no problem, I had almost a year before I could get a license anyway :D

Rebuilt nearly every part of that car. Chopped and channeled. Rolled and tucked and primed and sanded. And a year later got my license in it.

Now that car was *mine*!

--Pete

[DeeBye]

My first car was a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit.

I really miss that little bastard. It was a blast to drive around. 4-speed manual, 2-door, sunroof, wooden shiftknob and wooden steering wheel. It was GREAT!

When I bought it (for $800CAN) it had about 200,000 Kilometers on it. When I sold it (for $500, years later), it had nearly 400,000 Kilometers on it. AFAIK, it is STILL running to this very day.

My fondest memory of that little Rabbit was the fact that it was a manual, and I didn't know how to drive one at the time of purchase. I knew the theory, but not the practice of it (see Pete's previous .sig). I learned on my own while driving it home for the first time.

Clutch, little bit 'o gas, let out clutch. SCREECH!! Oops, too much gas! Chug-chug. Ooops, too little gas!

It took me three days to find reverse gear. I had to push the gear shifter in, towards to floorboard, and then up and to the left to select reverse. How screwy is that? I'm amazed I found it in only three days.

This is a timely thread, as I just yesterday signed the ownership for a new (used) car. My grandfather, aged 91, decided he didn't need to drive anymore. He offered to sell me his car. I accepted, gladly. I am now the proud new owner of a 1987 Toyota Camry with ONLY 100,000 Kilometers (~60,000 miles) on it. He almost LITERALLY drove it once a week to church and back. Not a spot of rust, and not a speck of dirt inside. It is mint. You can almost even detect the "New Car Smell" in it :)


-DeeBye

edit: here are some pics of a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit

http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/239.html

Mine looked the same, but had two doors and was a deep forest green.

[tufchic]

hello......... well it the late 70s my first car was a plymouth fury iii. that baby could move it buns..... (it was an 8 cylinder) but what a tank it was. a family of five could easily live in there! :P still socially acceptable to drive a gas guzzler then. but that changed later and now i suppose it's ok to drive the big tanks again. only now we call them ford explorers. hee hee :lol:

[DeeBye]

Mine was a SIMCA Aronde '54 station wagon.

Do you happen to still be in possession of that car? If so, I would REALLY like to see some pics :)


-DeeBye

[Griselda]

My first car was a 1984 Mazda RX-7. It looked something like this one (a 1985, but who's counting?): http://ebay1.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_6...4824064/i-1.JPG

My grandmother had bought it new. She was dating, and I guess she wanted something flashy to impress her dates. It was a complete impulse buy, and she didn't test drive it. When she picked it up, she realized that she wasn't strong enough to control the stick shift. The steering was not exactly easy either. So, she kept it in her garage, and only drove it when we came to visit, or when her date would drive. :P

She gave it to my parents, who gave it to me a little while after I got my license. When I got it, it was 8 years old, and had 49,000 miles on it. I also learned how to drive a stick shift by driving the car around. But, "if you can drive it, you can have it" is darn good incentive to figure out how to shift!

Since then, I've had a few cars in the 1984-88 range, plus a couple of older ones. But, that's got to be by far the nicest car I've ever owned. It's also spoiled me as far as steering goes- I've never been happy with the handling of my other cars. With the RX-7, I felt like I could place it where I wanted it in the lane. In other cars, I feel like I am steering by approximation. The only downside to the RX-7? Just try to find someone who can work on a rotary engine when you break down at the start of a holiday weekend on the interstate outside of Jackson, Mississippi! I had to tow the car out of there, ugh!

I hadn't thought about that car in quite some time, thanks. I hope you enjoy your first car every bit as much as I enjoyed mine. :)

-Griselda

[--Pete]

Hi,

I bought that car in the late fall of '60 just before or after my 15th birthday. Drove it for a couple of years, and in January '63 went off the road and wrapped it around a tree in a mountain goat rally. Replaced it with a Renault Dauphine that I flipped street racing. Also had a '61 Beetle that was my "street" machine and went a quarter of a million miles on three engines and two transmissions.

I have (had?) a tendency to drive cars hard and they tend to break. I don't have a picture of any of the cars I've owned.

--Pete

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

'78 Mercury Monarch.

Had the V8 with NO POWER, whatsoever. Green exterior, green interior, white landau roof, 4 door. Had to be the single ugliest car on the face of the planet to my eyes at the time. But! It got my butt from point A to point B. 14 miles/gallon, mind ye... but point A to point B.

[WarBlade]

MAZDA 323 (Familiar Claire)
2-door hatchback, bought in '97.

I got it for a get-to-work vehicle with the other major factors being:
- Must be big enough for me and my bass rig (I'd need a station wagon now though)
- Must be economical

It still goes fine. I still have it. The engine's pretty good and the guts of it have been problem free. It does get a little too much weather though and my coastal location means trips to the panel beater to sort out some framework corrosion for 2 of the last 3 warrants of fitness. :(

[Smoketest]

Yes. It was a '66 Chevy Caprice 4-door that used oil faster than gas thanks to a bad seal. I commuted between cities in it, carpooling, through my term at ITT Tech. My friends always gave me a hard time when I'd put the pedal to the metal and let that weak .283 V8 unwind. lol. It was a faded light blue color and most everything was stock except the radio. Despite it's condition, I could still navigate traffic in it. My job at Burger King paid for the gas (and my pizza habit) and a 50-gallon drum of oil in my dad's shop kept the crankcase from seizing up. Ahh, the good ol' days. :lol:

Nowadays I drive around in a '91 Cavalier 4-door that I got from my sister. Still runs fine as long as I check the oil and kick the tires once in awhile.

[LavCat]

My first car was a 1970 Plymouth Satellite, purple with white vinyl roof. Brakes, transmission, and electrical system didn't work...and we bought it new. I have not had a vehicle since 1991. My second was a Diesel Jeep but I neglected to put oil in it. Better luck with yours!

[Kasreyn]

Congrats, Ducks. ^_^

As you might expect, I'm REALLY happy to hear about this ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ !!!

Get on AIM today and tell me all about it! I'll be on, I promise.

-Kasreyn

[Wiccan]

Same model as my gremlin, not the same color
Sorry for the big picture, but i had to find a picture of one and i just love how they look!

[Kasreyn]

Every time I learn something new about you, I am amazed.

Is there anything you HAVEN'T done in your life? ^_^

-Kasreyn

[Mirajj]

My first was a 1984 Mercury Sable. It served our family well, being bought first by my mother, then sold to me. After 14 years of service I repay the car by wrapping ti around a tree in nasty, icy weather. It was the only car that I've owned, though my (soon to be ex) wife had a Tempo, and we bought a 1999 Saturn L2 together (that she now has sole possession of).

My bike and feet serve me well enough.

[Pu uhonua]

My first car was an '82 Ford Fairmont. My oldest brother had bought it new, and I bought it from him for about $1000 sometime between '88 and '90. The best thing about that car was the sound system. My brother had put in a serious sound system.

In one of my college jobs, a bunch of us had to shovel hot charcoal into a big BFI garbage bin and we used to park my car next the bin and listen to everything from rap (my friends favorite) to Beatles (my favorite). I think it made the big metal drums of charcoal a seem bit lighter.

[Kharohz]

My first car was a car that was handed down to me from my mom (I actually paid 1k for this..... piece of crap).

A mercury topaz '89, a car that the steering wheel leaked mysterious black goo, that got all over my hands ><.

I later sold it to a dealership around april 1st for around 350 bucks, good riddance. I replaced it with a Toyota Corolla 2003. Hope the dealership enjoyed a good april fools present that day. (actually the topaz was made on april 1st, oh the irony)

April fools to myself, welcome to the wonderful world of car payments.

[Tal]

My first car was a 1981 Chevy Camaro that had been brush painted a sickly eggplant color.

I put in a 350 V-8 Police Intercept engine, Five speed Borg-Warner Transmission, a bullet-proof rear-end (after I spectacularly blew the stock one all over the dragstrip), dual exhaust all the way back, installed a rollcage, fiberglass front-end with a high rise induction hood. I then painted it corvette blue.

Then almost 10 years ago I was driving to work when I got hit by a drunk newspaper delivery guy who never hit his brakes. The force of the impact ripped the hood off my car as well as pushing the camaro through a guard rail, where it (and me inside) rolled ass over head down the slope. The police told me that if I hadn't had the rollcage installed and raceharness on the driverseat I wouldn't have walked away from that accident. I would have been in the morgue. Luckily I was only slightly hurt, got a decent insurance payment and was able to buy the 1994 Civic Hatchback I'm driving to this day. :)

'Grats on your new car. :)