What was your very first car?

So a little bit off, but what was everyone’s very first car? How much did it cost you or how long did you have to save? Do you still have it? If not how many cars have you had since your first car?
Why so many questions you ask, because everyone has a different story and it helps us to know and understand each other better. My Grandpa always said you could tell a lot about a person by what they drive now compared to when they first started driving.

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a $1200 chevy small pick up truck when i was 16. I paid half, parents paid other half. I drove it until timing chain broke and then I drove a $500 datsun car (i called it the rat mobile). It was hideous and horrible but got me from point a to b and was all I could afford. My next car after graduation and on first full time job was a brand new dodge car, that I let my friend drive and he rolled it down a bank and I had to make payments on it for a year after that to cover the gap (Grrrr…) During that time I rode a $400 suzuki motorcycle to get around. Then I worked a deal with a friend for a cherry red z28 with dual holleys on a cross over intake, posi-track, trading off the bike and some cash. That car was a ticket machine but also a lady magnet :wink: . I learned a lot about working on cars with that vehicle. Traded it for a jeep after the tickets became too much and then was involved in a near fatal accident (not my fault) that led me to give up driving for a few years and ride a mountain bike. I didnt want to drive after the accident. Eventually I ended up going through a few more pickups, trading every few years, always buying used, always 5 years or older (sweet spot of value of a vehicle).
Now I drive a F-250 Super Duty Lariat 4x4 and a 99 Jeep Wrangler(my toy car). Im older, more mature and will never give up my heated leather seats :slight_smile:

And im intentionally vague on vehicle types because this is also a security question on many websites :sunglasses:

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Early 60’s Ford Falcon Wagon (it was the mid-eighties when I got it). My grandfather gave it to me. No college kid is going to turn down a free car!

It caught fire once. :fearful: Luckily I was parked and trying to start it and not flying down a highway. But I was trying to leave a babysitting job, so I went back inside the house and was trying to get the dad’s attention without terrifying the kids, who I think were 3 and 5 at that time. He really wasn’t paying any attention to me because he’d just come home from work, his kids wanted dinner, and he was distracted. I think I had to finally straight up tell him in front of the kids because he just kept brushing me off. Ah, memories! :laughing:

I’ve only personally owned 3 cars since then. The next one was an old-at-the-time Mitsubishi Arrow, gifted to me by a college boyfriend when he finally bought himself a new car. His father was a mechanic so this one had been well maintained and didn’t catch fire. Ate alternators though.

Both the cars I’ve bought myself were Saturns. One driven for 10 years and I’ve been driving the second one for 13. My commute is by train so I don’t put a lot of miles on cars. But my dad always said that if you are going to buy a new car (rather than used), it only makes financial sense if you drive it until that’s literally impossible. :blue_car:

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1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Classic 5.0 V8
I bought this in 2002 for $500 with 80k miles on it; one year after I came to US (as graduate student). It served me very well for another year before trading in for a better car. I drove it for another 30k miles and traded in for $500 :slight_smile:
Many of my friends used to call it “The Ship”. It has everything auto (but no CD player). Mileage was around 15-18 mpg.
5 liter and 8 cylinder engine.

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Mazda Protege. A nice, simple car for a college student :slight_smile:

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My very first car was a 1986 Saab 900S, I paid 100 bucks for it. I was at my I ncles job looking at this car and his boss came over and said he’d sell it to me for 100 bucks. I reached in my pocket and pulled out my money and handed him a Bill, he was like damn I didn’t expect you to have the money on you like that. He shook his said and said alright let’s go do the paperwork then. It took 3 months after that before I got to drive it because the transmission had seized and my uncle rebuilt the transmission for me and got it road ready. All in all it cost me just under 500 bucks total from the cost of parts and what I paid for it to make it road ready.
This is the list of cars I have owned

  1. '86 Saab 900s
  2. 1986 Nissan Datsun Stanza
  3. 1983 Saab 900
  4. 1993 Saab 900S
  5. 2002 Chevy Cavalier
  6. 2005 Kia Rio
  7. 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse
  8. 1998 Ford Explorer
  9. 1998 Saab 900S
  10. 2002 Saab 9-5, still own this today
  11. 2005 Saab 9-5 own this still today
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I never use cars for any security questions for this reason

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Mine was a 1983 Chevette that had been my father’s car and I had to share with my older brother. 2-door hatchback, 4-speed manual, AM radio. I went away to college and it became my brother’s car by default.

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Honda Civic Hatchback 95 was in love with that car :blush:

Whow!
For us poor little Europeans it would be unaffordable (gasoline)

AHOY CAPTAIN! :joy:

When I was about 12, I started mowing lawns around our neighborhood thinking that i had to save for my first car. I had saved 3500 bucks feom mowing lawns and to my surprise, my parents bought me a 2002 Chevy cavalier. I drove that about 5 months then decided to sell it for more than what my parents paid for it. With the money I had saved and the money from the car, I bought a 2005 Honda Civic. I drove that about 5 years then I sold it. With the money I had, I went with our family friend, who owns a used car dealership, to an auction. I bought a 2008 Scion tC for 6200. It was in excellent condition and low miles too. I put a lot of money into the motor on that car. I was running 10 sec 1/4 miles. Anyways, I was rear ended and then got a 2014 Honda Civic si. Then 2 years ago my grandparents got ill and I had to sell everything I had and move to Mexico to help my grandparents out. I lived there for about 1 1/2 half working on the family ranch tending to the animals while my grandparents made a recovery. When I came back to Cali, my parents gave me a 2012 Toyota Yaris and that’s the car I still have. Lol

I got my first car 9 years ago last month, a 2006 1.2l petrol Renault Clio with a whopping 75hp !
I had it for 6 years and covered 110,000 miles in it and it only had one, very minor, brake down!
I spent more than planned on it, mostly as my dad put money towards it, as he wanted me to get something reliable as I was moving away from everyone I knew at the time.

I’m now on my second car, a ford focus 1.6 ecoboost. Much more power, and didn’t cost me much more than what I paid for the clio! :smile_cat:

1995 Ford Taurus. It was a beast

I.dont own a car, and never have. I’ve never driven, and now due.to health reasons, am not allowed to.

Many years ago, I did dream.of a car, that if I won the lottery, I’d buy and get done up… Maybe even get chip foose to do it up.

A rover p series. Prob won’t mean much to most, even those from UK. It was a lovely car.

Now, I’d just get a taxi when needed (not that I can afford too often, so I get the community bus for disabled people) or further apart, it’s a bus or train.

https://goo.gl/images/RGwSST

Honda Acord 2002, still running fine after 5 years. Got it free from my relative.

Never had a car!

  1. 1987 Mercury Cougar XR7, purchased new in 1987 (sold)
  2. 1989 Ford Mustang LX Coupe 5.0 liter V8, purchased new in 1989 (sold)
  3. 1990 For Mustang GT 5.0 liter V8, factory ordered in 1990 (totalled)
  4. 1994 Ford Mustang GT, 5.0 liter V8, factory ordered in 1994 (my current daily driver to this day)
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My dad had just retired at the time and aside from work he was/still is a home body. So I was given our 1997 Mercury Villager, which is 2 years younger than me. I also vividly remember being in the dealership and my parents asked me what color I wanted, I said/thought green but we ended up with blue. I think we had like 175k miles on it at the very end. Suspensions were jacked, lock didn’t work on the sliding door, and no heat but considering it was my first car it was an absolute dream. I miss driving it simply because I didn’t care about dings.

Fast forward to 2016, my mom decided to borrow it because she was getting work done on her car. Ended up catching up smoke on her way back from work. Immediately after she told me to research on cars to pick one out. I didn’t care what I got, all I knew was that I wanted a sedan as I hated large cars. Asked her if I could ask my uncle as he was sorta considering giving it to another family member (Not really as that family member is pretty bad at driving). She said no. Looked up a few cars on CarMax, showed her, and she said no to used cars. Ended up finding the cheapest option with AWD and good reliability so now I have a 2016 Subaru Legacy 2.5i.

I know most people would just be happy to get a brand new car, and I’m entirely grateful for, but I wish I got my uncle’s car or at least a used one and still regret not putting my foot down when my mom said no to a used car. I love Converse because they’re reliable, cheap, and I can beat them up. Those characteristics are the same as what I want in a car.

2000 Pontiac Sunfire
2001 Kia Sportage
2002 Chevy Trailblazer
2010 Chevy Equinox
2012 Chevy Malibu
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee