Your first car

[katie1341]

What was your first car? When did you get it? How much did it cost? How long did you have it?

Mine was a Chevy Monza- basically a revamped Vega- got it brand new in 1978. It cost a little over $4,000, and had a cassette deck instead of an 8-track. I had it for 6 years.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Mine was a 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass S. I got it for $800 in 1982 and drove it for 3.5 years. It got 10 mpg on a good day.

[hlanelee]

1971 Ford Courier pickup. Dad bought it as part of his dragline company. When he needed something hauled and his crew were busy, I went and got it. The rest of the time the truck was all mine.

[Johnny L.A.]

My first car was a 1966 MGB. My mom ordered it new. She drove it until about 1972, when she got a Toyota Celica.

I got it after high school. It didn't run. For some reason my parents had taken it to Tijuana for reupholstery. By the time I got it the red vinyl that replaced the original red leather was faded to pink in some places. The Old English White paint (sort of an ivory colour) was oxidised to chalkiness. The 'isinglass' (i.e., plastic windows) were cloudy brown.

We sent the car to have the engine rebuilt, and we ordered a new hood (that's a convertible top on British cars) from Moss Motors. And I was on the road! I drove the hell out of that car. Dad backed it out of the driveway and the door caught on a tree. Folded it into the left-front fender. So off to the body shop. Now since I was a kid, I didn't really appreciate originality. I had the car painted orange like the new (-er -- MGBs stopped being made in 1980) cars, and had the carpet and upholstery changed to black. I drove it until I got a Porsche in 1984, and still drove it occasionally after that. Like an idiot, I sold it a couple of years later.

The MGB Saga is a thread about my current MGB. In a nutshell, I bought a hulk in November 2002. I took it to a body guy in April 2003. The body guy was lazy and didn't finish it until last Summer. Now it's in the hands of a hobbyist who works on it when he gets around to it. I'm really hoping (hoping against hope!) that I'll actually get it this year. It will be a duplicate of the car mom bought, which was my first car -- Old English White with a red leather interior. Only it will have overdrive.

[Cunctator]

A Datsun 180B which I bought for the (then) princely sum of $1800 in 1983 so that I could get to uni more easily. I sold it in 1986 after I graduated. I've never bothered buying another car.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by katie1341

How much did it cost?

I don't know how much it cost new. $2,500, maybe? It didn't cost me anything. It was a hand-me-down.

And since mileage has been mentioned, mid-20s. (I'm hoping the overdrive will help on the 'new' one.)

[35340]

My folks always preferred to keep cars in their own name, so I don't think I really 'owned' a car until I was living out of their house in my mid-twenties.

The first one that was "mine" to drive, though, was a 1970's-era Dodge Aspen. It had been sitting a bit and not driven much in recent years (I 'quired it in the 1990's). First task was to fill it with gas and put air in the tires. All four tires were 20psi or less.

Drove it until I went to college driving a retired army pickup truck from the 1980's that could be started without trivial accessories such as ignition keys.

[AuntiePam]

1955 Ford, bought it with my own money from my first job in 1963 when I was 18 -- $350 in installments of $30 a month. It was so pretty -- two tone, a very pale green (almost white) over aqua.

It used more oil than gas, and broke down on me once, about 15 miles out of town in the middle of nowhere. The guy who stopped to help was the previous owner. He told me it needed head gaskets. Fixed that (on borrowed money), then got pregnant, quit my job, went broke, and the finance company took the car back. They had to tow it. I only had it a few months and it was a lot of trouble, but I loved that car.

[Syntropy]

A '72 camaro when I was 17. Got it for $1200 and fixed it up. Loved. That. Car. I had it for 7 years, til I got pregnant and we decided to get something "safer and more family friendly." *sigh*....

[Rushgeekgirl]

I had a '69 Dart for almost ten years, from '86-'95 or roundabouts. I have no idea what we paid but it probably wasn't much more than a few hundred.

It was the BEST car, and I wish I'd kept it. It never gave me any trouble, but my little girl always acted like it was so embarrassing to be seen in it. I sold it for four hundred dollars (it really was in excellent shape too), then put down several grand on a car that always gave me hell.

I have seen the car recently on the road (it's not hard to miss) recently and I want it back!

[Kalhoun]

A '63 Pontiac Catalina. It was black. I think I paid $100 or $150 for it.

[Ludy]

a 1984 Dodge Rampage. It only cost a couple hundred bucks and lasted a year or so. Man I loved that Cruck.

Where I graduated the big thing about prom was to arrive in the most original way. A few years ago they actually started to orgainize a parade out of it. Well my little Cruck was on it's last legs and so my friends and I painted it with the grad theme (it was jungle) and piled in. We barely made it there but it was a blast. And in a scrapyard somewhere is my leafy truck, probably growing weeds of its own.

[squeekster]

A 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air 2 door hardtop. I paid $800 for it from a private party in 1965.

I sure wish I still had that car.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by squeekster

I sure wish I still had that car.

I felt the same way about the MGB. That's why I'm creating a duplicate.

[ltfire]

A 1959 Plymouth Savoy with push button drive on the dashboard. I remember installing a fake floor shift on the 'hump'.
Cost $ 600.00, and I still have the bill of sale from a dealer in Norfolk, VA, ( I was stationed there..USN).

[engineer_comp_geek]

1978 olds delta 88. All my friends made fun of it, but whenever we wanted to go somewhere I had the only car big enough to hold everyone. I paid a couple hundred bucks for it, and it got me through college. I sold it after I graduated.

[Ashes, Ashes]

The first car I bought myself? That would be the '95 mazda miata I just replaced two weeks ago. Great car with not a single problem I didn't cause (because I believed those bastards at Pep Boys when they said my hoses were fine). I got it with all the bells and whistles, so it cost about 30 thousand. I still can't believe I'm selling it for just $650, but it's toast to anyone not willing to do some serious tinkering.

Before that was my dad's '85 nissan pick-up, but I really just took over the insurance. Also a fabulous truck that died only a few years ago, victim of a collision with a mack truck.

The first car that was mine to drive was a Ford Maverick. It had tons of room to haul my friends around, but guzzled gas, so it was switched for a Mazda GLC that we drove until everything not made of metal had just crumbled away. It wasn't worth an overhaul so it was driven over the rainbow bridge, never to be seen again.

[racer72]

1962 Pontiac Catalina convertible. The car was super nice except for a couple of problems. There was an electrical short somewhere that would cause the battery to die after only a few hours. And the carburator was junk. It leaked gas so I could drive the car more than 10 miles or so before I had to stop and sop up the gas off the intake manifold. I paid $35 for it and sold it 6 months later for $50 to my best friend. The engine caught fire a few weeks after I sold it due to the gas leak. My friends mother wanted me to give the money back but I had already spent it on another car, I bought a 66 Rambler for $75. Saw another 62 Catalina convertible at an auction a few years ago, it was in about the same condition as the one I had, it sold for $12,000.

[LouisB]

1950 Plymouth; $150.00 IIRC

[The Flying Dutchman]

Originally Posted by katie1341

What was your first car? When did you get it? How much did it cost? How long did you have it?

Mine was a Chevy Monza- basically a revamped Vega- got it brand new in 1978. It cost a little over $4,000, and had a cassette deck instead of an 8-track. I had it for 6 years.

1963 Karmen Ghia purchaed in 1969 at Suburban Motors on Lake Street in St Catharines Ontaro for $800. Four years later I bought another vehicle as a back up for cold winter driving and was talked into lending it to my brother who didn't bother to check the oil. Last I heard it was abandoned on his girl friend's farm which her father sold (the farm) several years later. If I ever get that way again I'll look it up. A lot of memorable early sexual social history in that vehicle.

[Lionne]

A 1991 Plymouth Acclaim, bought in 2000. Paid 3800 cash for it...it was a great first car.
It lasted until someone played bumper cars with me in 2003, and I got a nice new Toyota.

[Jman]

My first car was a '75 Cutlass Supreme. It was given to me by my Grandfather when I turned 16. I drove it for 3 months before it died, and my parents then let me drive their '92 Civic for the next several years (my dad had just gotten a company car, so the Civic became 'mine'.) That car eventually became mine in title in college, so it was the first car I actually owned.

The first car I purchased new with my own money is a 2001 Nissan Sentra SE, which I'm still driving.

[Improv Geek]

Just got my first car this year, bought it from my roommate. It's a 1996 white Nissan Maxima.

[Tamryne]

I bought my first car on Januay 2nd of this year. Its a black 2002 Mazda Protege5. Including tt&l it was around 12k.

I named it Lonan

[Werd]

In 1987 my Dad bought it for $35 from a co-worker friend of his. I spent one winter and spring restoring it. I drove it from his house to my Mom's when it was "finished" and the next day the mechanic we took it to for a tune-up said he wouldn't tune it up because it was unsafe to drive (the suspension was so badly rusted out that the car would literrally drop were his words I think) and it wasn't worth the $99 cost. It broke my heart and pissed my Mom off so she went out and bought me an 84 VW Rabbit GTI which cost $1500 and lasted about 2 months before I burned the clutch out. Needless to say, unless someone gives me a VW I will drive American. It's not VW's fault, it's just a general feeling of mine that it won't work out.

[Happy Lendervedder]

First car that was mine (mom's hand-me-down): '85 blue Ford Escort. I had it maybe for 3 years.

First car that I got new, picked everything out myself: '95 blue Ford Probe. I had it for two years (lease).

[StGermain]

My first car was a 1968 Volkswagon Beetle convertible. Not red, as the one pictured, but bright yellow with a black rag top. I got it in 1985 for $1000. The engine died in Washington state while I was visiting my brother. The Rockies weren't good for it. I left it there and told my brother I'd send the money for a new engine (Only a few hundred dollars in 1988). His own car died, so he traded my car and his for another vehicle. It was a great car, but like most VWs, the heat only kicked in 5 miles before you got to your destination. And because I'm short, it was very difficult to see over the top in the rear view mirror when the top was down.

StG

[SandyHook]

A 1966 Mustang. Bought it used in 1966. it had probably been wrecked or had been repoed. Paid $1,800 for it. It was one cool ride.

[Marlitharn]

'74 Dodge Dart 4 door, pukegreen with a white hardtop. It was given to me by my grandfather when I turned 16, it had over 100k miles on it, the radio was AM only, and I could fit 9 people and a Doberman in it. Which was fun until my passengers discovered I'd been feeding the Doberman chili. When I started college I got a red '84 Dodge Colt 5 speed hatchback that I nicknamed P.G. Rollerskate. Now I've got a '90 Pontiac, but there's still a fond place in my heart for that hideous Dart that was my first.

[sleestak]

Ah, I get to tell my sob story.

In my family when you graduated from High School you got the oldest car. Overall a pretty good deal.

But, in my case, this cased great heartache*. You see, the oldest car in the family was a 1962 Corvette. A white 1962 Corvette. A white 1962 Corvette convertable. A beautiful white 1962 ragtop Corvette that my Dad sold a couple months before I graduated.

So I got the 1979 Pontiac station wagon instead.

To make things ever more painful, the guy who bought the 'vette brought it back right about the time that I graduated (and would have gotten the car) totally restored. New paint job, the works. It was beautiful and, alas, not mine.

Slee

*Ok, so I am exagerating. But it did kinda suck.

[mrald]

1995 honda accord that I wrecked within 24 hours. I used the insurance money to get a 1994 ford escort. It was ugly but wonderful, like 30 mpg!! Butt Ugly and pink.

[Whifton_Polekitty]

The first, and so far only, car I've owned was a orange 1977 Chevy Camaro. I bougth it very used in 1994 or so. It had a rust hole the size of your head in the left rear quarter panel, the transmission was shot, the cooling system was a mockery of all that is good and right in the world, the interior reeked of rot and brake fluid, the doors sagged, and I paid $500 for it.

I always get a little misty eyed now when I see orange '77 Camaros, though. It was a pain in the ass but I learned a lot about cars and life in general from that beast.

[Coldfire]

The first car I bought was a 1989 Peugeot 205. Much like this one, actually, only blue/grey metallic. Fantastic little car. Its 1.4 engine only cranked out 75 BHP, but it weighed next to nothing, so it was quick at the lights.

I bought it in 1997, for Hfl. 6,500. That would roughly be $3,000 I think. It already had 175,000 kilometers on the clock, quite impressive for such a small engine. But it took me to 220,000 without a single problem. I drove it for about 2 years.

The mileage was pretty good, even with my heavy right foot. It got 14 kilometers to the liter, so, errr..... *clickclickclick*... 33 MPG.

I saw it about 2 years after I sold it. It looked a little worse for wear, but still ran great by the sound of it. A quick check at the online Dutch motoring registery tells me it's still on the road today! I wonder with how many clicks on it.

My sister still has a similar car, and I love to drive it now and then. Fun cars.

[Walkabout]

The first car I owned was a '72 Olds Cutlass that had been shared between me and my sisters while we were in college. By 1982 I was the last one using it, so my parents transferred the ownership to me.

The first car I actually bought was a 1984 Honda Civic hatchback that I got new when I graduated.

[dwc1970]

My first car was a 1988 navy blue Toyota Corolla, purchased in September 1994. It cost me $3800. I was 24 at the time and still living with my parents but due to move out soon (hence the reason for buying the car). I drove it for 6½ years, taking the mileage from 63,000 to 121,000 in that time. It ran well until the last few months, when gas mileage dropped drastically and the engine was overheating after driving it for just a few miles. A repair estimate of $2300 in April of 2001 with a two-page list of recommended repairs from the mechanic convinced me that it was time to trade it in. I now drive a 1995 teal Nissan Sentra which has just over 100,000 miles on it.

[Booker57]

1976 Plymouth "Feather" Duster. Took it home from the local dealer in May of '77.
Paid around US$3,300. On the avg. 20-24mpg. Owned it till Jan. of 1980. Tree. High speed slide. Oh the clear title and the check from the insurance came on the same day.

Damn I miss that car. How many people have the VIN memorised?

[lieu]

1966 Chevrolet Impala, small block 327 cid w/ "double humper" high compression heads, Rochester quadrajet and a 2 speed TurboHydramatic transmission. Cars were wonderfully simple back then and a real pleasure to work on either to fix, tune, learn from or make modifications to.

[Dorjän]

'96 Mazda Protege. Leased it new to drive to Minnesota during the winter for an internship. I ended up buying it and still have it, 140,000 miles and climbing.

[Rocketeer]

I'm surprised at how many Darts and Dusters there are here. Good ol' reliable Mopar stuff.

My own first was, of course, a Duster. 1972, 318 V8, cool floor shifter for its three-speed manual transmission. Finally sold it at 176,000 miles. Only problem with it was that the seals around the windshield wiper shafts leaked and you got drips on your feet in the rain.

My dad bought it new when I was about sixteen, and I bought it from him about halfway through college. I remember there was a long family discussion about whether the car ought to have a practical bench seat (Dad's position) or sporty buckets (my position). Dad won when he pointed out that if it had a bench, one's girlfriend could snuggle right up close. My resistance to the bench seat evaporated.

In deference to my sporting sensibilities, he did get the floor shifter ($30 option).

[Rocketeer]

Originally Posted by Rocketeer

I'm surprised at how many Darts and Dusters there are here. Good ol' reliable Mopar stuff.

My own first was, of course, a Duster. 1972, 318 V8, cool floor shifter for its three-speed manual transmission. Finally sold it at 176,000 miles. Only problem with it was that the seals around the windshield wiper shafts leaked and you got drips on your feet in the rain.

My dad bought it new when I was about sixteen, and I bought it from him about halfway through college. I remember there was a long family discussion about whether the car ought to have a practical bench seat (Dad's position) or sporty buckets (my position). Dad won when he pointed out that if it had a bench, one's girlfriend could snuggle right up close. My resistance to the bench seat evaporated.

In deference to my sporting sensibilities, he did get the floor shifter ($30 option).

I replaced it with a 1985 Dodge Omni. 2.2 liter four, five-speed, no other options. 100 horsepower in a 2200-pound car = miniature rocket sled. Reasonable mileage, too; high twenties. Drove it to the moon: 235000 miles.

[dwc1970]

My first car was a 1988 navy blue Toyota Corolla, purchased in September 1994. It cost me $3800. I was 24 at the time and still living with my parents but due to move out soon (hence the reason for buying the car). I drove it for 6½ years, taking the mileage from 63,000 to 121,000 in that time. It ran well until the last few months, when gas mileage dropped drastically and the engine was overheating after driving it for just a few miles. A repair estimate of $2300 in April of 2001 with a two-page list of recommended repairs from the mechanic convinced me that it was time to trade it in.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by dwc1970

It ran well until the last few months, when gas mileage dropped drastically and the engine was overheating after driving it for just a few miles.

Warped head?

[bouv]

A 1986¹/₂ Nissan pick-up (I was told they made two models that year, this was the second one, so "unofficially" it was a 1986¹/₂ (I have no idea if that's true, just what I was told.)

It was nice, because it was a stick shift. I think everyone should have a stick shift as their first car so they can learn to drive one (well, actually, I think EVERY car should be stick shift, but that's a rant for later.)

It was silver and brown. Brown, because the back half (the bed of the truck) was removed and replaced with a wooden bed made of of pressure treated wood. For those that are confused, this is a common thing to do where I grew up, because people drove trucks until they died, and what's the point in getting rid of a truck if all that's wrong is a rusty bed that won't pass inspection? Well, rip the thing off and build a bed yourself!

I didn't build the bed, it came that way from the guy we bought it from. Paid $600 for it in 1999 (personally I think that was too much, but my dad got it and then told me the price and I had to pay him back. Ever heard of haggling, dad?) It was the summer before my senior year of HS. My friends laughed at me, because I was driving a "redneck" truck (of course, they all had 1980's civics, corollas, and whatnot that were in no better condition) but when something needed hauling form point A to point B, who did they ask? Plus, having only one extra seat, I was never the one they asked to drive when we went to the movies, bowling, etc...

The worst part was that 1) it had no weight in the back, and 2) had rear wheel drive (no 4 wheel) and no snow tires. We put large sand bags back there, but I still got stuck in the occaisional dirt driveway in thw winter and had to be pushed or towed out by my brothers 1985 Jeep Cherokee. That car was actually meant to be mine (it also belonged to my sister before he had it, and my dad had it before then.) But my brother managed to convince my parents to let him keep it for college. I feel shafted that out of my parent's three kids, I was the only one who had to pay for their first car.

[NailBunny]

1982 bruise-coloured Chevette, bought for me by my mom for about $600.00 I think (the little old lady who owned it before me never bought it, so it was in "good" condition). It would go 40 miles an hour before it began shaking like it was going to come apart. Man, the times I had in that car. Let's see, there was the hole in the floor...the time we crammed eight people into it...all the phone numbers I let people scratch into the strange crumbly plastic surface of the doors...the rotten smell of the orange juice I'd spilled and let sit for many months...and then, of course, its final trip, when my ex-boyfriend was driving it and the steering just suddenly gave out and the wheel could spin around in his hands. I think we got $20 for it at a local wrecking yard.

I'll never forget you, Speed Racer! *sniff*

[Tupug Anachi]

1965 Mustang convertible like this but with a white top and interior and an automatic transmission in 1968. I think it cost about $2,000 and my car payments were $39/mo. Boy was I hot!

[Doctor Jackson]

A 1972 Olds Cutlass SS, bronze body with a white hard top. I paid $200 for it and drove it for all of 4 weeks before I was rear-ended and the car was totaled. I did get about $1000 from the other driver's insurance company, but I'd have rather had the car.

[velvetjones]

My first car was a converted mail jeep. No seats inside except the driver's seat which was on the right side of the car. My then boyfriend bought it for me for $1600. When we broke up his mother (we were just out of high school) insisted that he ask me for the money or the car. He ended up coming over and asking me for half the money. I gave him $800. Ended up trading it in for a chevy van. This was 1979 so Chevy vans were very cool.

[Edward The Head]

I had a 1986 Ford Mustang LX Hatchback V6. It was the last of the V6s until the mid 90s. I had that thing from 1990 til around 1996 or so when I got rid of it. It had been in an accident and the right side was damaged. I had it towed when I couldn't get it to start any more. The alternator on that thing was a piece of crap, I think I replaced it 10 times, but I got real good at doing it and could do it in about 30 mintues or less. Still it was a fun car to drive.

[Godfrey Daniels]

1949 Plymouth 2 door, flathead six, three speed on the column (of course). Paint totally oxidized, radio broken, interior somewhat worn, but worth every penny of the $50. I gave my Dad for it. It had this HUGE back seat, see...

[Ol'Gaffer]

Originally Posted by Ashes, Ashes

<snip>
...so it was switched for a Mazda GLC that we drove until everything not made of metal had just crumbled away. It wasn't worth an overhaul so it was driven over the rainbow bridge, never to be seen again.

Cool! My first was a '79 GLC that I bought in the summer of 1987 for $800. It was christened "The Land Speeder" and I drove it until 1991 or so when even the plastic parts were crumbling apart. Lots of memorable experiences in that car...I believe it is still down in the junkyard at Donaldson's Wrecking in Orange Cove, Ca (I used to be able to see it from the road when I drove past).