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