Friday Fun: What was your first car?
Hey there! Ever chatted with folks about the first car they ever had? It's like opening a treasure chest of memories.
When you toss out the question, "What was your first car?" it's like you're unlocking a door to a time when gas didn't cost an arm and a leg, and life was a bit less serious. The answers you get are like mini-stories filled with the excitement of youth and the thrill of having your own set of wheels.
Each response is a snapshot of someone's history – maybe it's a hand-me-down car that's been through a lot, or it's the first car someone bought with money they worked hard for. These stories are like a patchwork quilt made up of funny car troubles, road trips with pals, and the tunes of a time that's now a bit of a throwback.
Well, I grew up with a dad who was - and still is - passionate about cars. He used to work at the Ford car plant in Genk, Belgium.
As a kid, the only thing I played with was cars: Matchbox, Majorette, SIKU, BBurago. I watched my father own more than 20 cars from different makes, from a Simca 1000 Rally, an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6, lots of Fords (Fiesta, Escort, Capri, Sierra, ...) to the Mercedes-Benz SLK he has now.
At the age of 22 - after driving a couple of years with my mother's Ford Fiesta - I got to my first second-hand car from my grandfather.
It was a 1989 Ford Fiesta 1.8D CL which I owned from 1996 until 1999.
It made my own with some tweaks and a set of original RS Turbo wheels.
At the time, I was a member of a Ford owners club and on Sundays, we drove to national and international meetings.
So, asking about that first car is like saying, "Tell me about your time-traveling adventures on wheels!" What was your first car, and what cool stories does it carry with it?
10 comments
Great topic @Dave Mathijs!
I was very lucky! I was able to buy/finance a new car as my very first car. I was fortunate enough to be able to live at home all through high school & college. During that time, I did my school work, I played video games online at night with my friends, and I worked at the local grocery store where I picked up quite a few extra shifts because I never turned down a call in for someone not being able to make their shift.
My dad co-signed the financing on the car because my credit wasn't good enough yet to do it on my own, but when I got my first job, it was not in the same city where my parents were. I wanted a car to travel back and forth and so I got a 2005 Dodge SX 2.0 (the re-branded neon).
I loved this little car, it was a manual transmission, so I learned how to drive a stick shift car because of that.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
1973 Ford LTD. Brown in color. Bought it from a neighbor. It was so old the across the chest seat belt part was optional. What a smooth ride. I didn't really care about the gas bill, cause they were wheels and they were mine! I took my boom box all stocked up with fresh batteries and seat belted it into the passenger seat so I had a tape deck & FM radio for the drive to and from college. Worked great until the master cylinder for the brakes went out. Then it was time to move up to a 1986 Ford Escort Pony.
I learned to drive with three cars - my Dad's old Mercedes (it was so old, we suspect parts of it were recycled parts of panzer tanks), my Mum's Citroen 2CV, and my driving instructor's Ford Astra.
I didn't own a car myself, for a long time after passing my test. Even when I got my first real job, I didn't buy one, my company gave me a Toyota Corolla, and then a Ford Focus. When I moved to commuting to London full time, I didn't really need them any more (the office, shops, and railway station were all less than a mile from my house, so I walked everywhere).
I did buy a car at this point, because I had friends outside walking distance, and it was before the time when supermarkets would deliver heavy or bulky products I needed (cat-litter, drinks, etc)
After I stopped finding it useful, I have not owned a car since. My wife does all the driving (she hates the way I drive, and she's a better driver than I am, so I only drive on the rare times that I need to for work, emergencies, and when she's been out partying)
So, my first, and only, car was one of these (this is not mine, but it's identical, bar the registration number and mine being a lot more "aged")
It can do 0-15mph in 60 seconds! And no synchromesh on first gear, so you have to learn how to double-declutch.
And there's another story - when I got it, I was living in a house on a Victorian terraced road. My neighbour directly opposite was well known as an expert in restoring, maintaining, and servicing 2CVs, so I had an expert to help me look after it. The best bit about that was not having an expert on hand, but that his name is "Michael Knight"...
I was so committed to getting my driver's license and my first car when I turned 18, so I worked my *** off to be able to afford this thing of beauty, Audi 80 B3. It served me well for two years, but also made me quite miserable proving it's an old and already not very reliable unit.
I still think of it as the perfect start ♥️
Ford Escort Encore 1.3L
Painfully slow, I actually got overtaken by a 50cc scooter
Car cost £1500, 1st years insurance = £2000
My first car was my parents' old car - a blue Peugeot 306! It was an automatic and I loved it 💙
It lived an ordinary life for it's first couple years. Then towards the end of its time with me, it was stolen from my driveway, then dumped around the corner from my house, and then vandalised 😅
After cleaning off the paint I kept it for another year and a half before it started costing more to maintain than the car was worth. It served me well for many years though and I still miss it sometimes!
