Your First Car

[Patch]

So, what was your first car, and how did you get it?

Mine was a Jeep. CJ 5 or,  something like that. It was a Salmon color, soft top, Bob tail . Since the color could be confused by others as being "pink", you can imagine the remarks I received. 

Although not my first choice, it was a good choice, as living near Seaside, Oregon, I had hundreds of miles of logging roads, and ocean beaches to cruise around on. It came in handy during hunting season, and I could get to some of the better trout fishing waters. Also, since it had winch, I could make a few extra bucks getting folks unstuck on the beaches. 

One draw back was it was not much of a girl magnet. Good thing was there we're more girls, than guys with cars in the area, so it kind worked out. 

How I purchased it is a story in itself. I wanted a car, with a big ass engine in it. Something that would pass up everything on the road except for police radios. Something like a "BOSS 429" Mustang. Maybe something with a 426 Himi in it.  It was not to be. 

My Dad was working in Portland, some 70 miles away. He would spend week nights there, come home to the beach on weekends. Some guy delivered the Jeep to the beach house for my Dad to "check out before buying". Long story short. Before my Dad could check it out, myself and three of my friends took it up in the mountains for a ride. I rolled it three times down a hill, off a logging road. Fortunately, except for a few bruises, we all escaped serious injury. The four of us tipped it upright, and I drove it home, and put it in the garage.. 

When my Dad returned home, and saw what he was going to "check out", he informed me, it was now my vehicle, and I would be making the payments on it, to him. My first car. 

 

[saevel25]

1996 Mercury Sable, V6, Green

[HJJ003]

2003 Ford F-150, Used, Black.

Ah the feeling of having a vehicle for the first time. 

[Valleygolfer]

1976 Chevy impala. Inherited the pos from my grandfather. Front shocks were shot and bounced down the road like a hydraulic car. 

[Hardspoon]

Used 1989 Nissan 300ZX, two-seater, manual transmission.  It was stupid-fast for a first car, especially for a Type-A personality with a deficient sense of self-preservation.  I got it up to 115mph (!) the first weekend I had my license, and generally drove like an asshole.  I totaled it exactly one month later...interestingly, in an accident that was not at all my fault.

The Z is still kind of a nice-looking car, actually:

I went to college soon after...moved to a major city where owning a car was a liability...rode motorcycles as my sole form of transportation for a few years...got a hand-me-down vehicle at one point...

...so I didn't purchase my second car for another 20 years!

 

 

Edited June 9, 2018 by Hardspoon

[Piz]

A 1968 VW Beetle.  Improvements over the 1967 model included high-backed seats, a 12 volt ignition system, and greater horsepower.  It remains the toughest, most reliable, and iconic vehicle I've ever owned and I took it places that, in later years, a Rabbit wouldn't go.  The purchase price was $600.

[Vinsk]

1979 Firebird, Black. Pretty much a pos but got me around.

[iacas]

1997 (?) Pontiac Sunfire, with a moon roof. I got it my fifth year of school, when I moved into a slightly on/off campus housing, and then drove it for a while in Florida before I got my Aztek. 😉

It was black. Drove well. Did a 720° spin-out through the depressed grass median one night in the rain coming home from a strip club with a buddy. Car was a foot from the railing on the far side of the road facing the direction we were originally heading.

[MrGolfguy67]

1977 Datsun 280Z

[Buckeyebowman]

1 hour ago, Hardspoon said:

Used 1989 Nissan 300ZX, two-seater, manual transmission.  It was stupid-fast for a first car, especially for a Type-A personality with a deficient sense of self-preservation.  I got it up to 115mph (!) the first weekend I had my license, and generally drove like an asshole.  I totaled it exactly one month later...interestingly, in an accident that was not at all my fault.

The Z is still kind of a nice-looking car, actually:

I went to college soon after...moved to a major city where owning a car was a liability...rode motorcycles as my sole form of transportation for a few years...got a hand-me-down vehicle at one point...

...so I didn't purchase my second car for another 20 years!

 

 

Wow! My younger bro bought a used Nissan 240Z in racing orange! What a beast! I remember when he popped the hood to show me the engine. There was this great big engine, and acres of space around it to work on it!

That car was just stupid fast! He let me take it out on the freeway, and it was downright scary! Much faster than his Pontiac Firebird with the Tri-Power carburetor system!

[dennyjones]

My first car was a black 1977 Chevy Camero 2 door 350.   An ex-friend wrecked it for me on a return trip from the ski lodge and it was never the same.  I traded it for a Datsun 280z.  When I got married my sport car days disappeared.  

[JonMA1]

1964 Chevy Impala with a 327 "turbo-fire" V-8. Power windows and seats.

It was already a rust bucket when I bought it. It was originally a Minnesota car before the previous owner drove it down to Florida. The floorboards in the back seat finally rusted through. One day, my girl friend at the time was driving it with her dog in the back. When she pulled away from a stop sign, she thought it odd to see a dog that looked exactly like hers running alongside the car...it was her dog.

Paid $125 for it in 1980. Sold it for $200 about 6 or 7 years later.

[Patch]

4 hours ago, Piz said:

A 1968 VW Beetle.  Improvements over the 1967 model included high-backed seats, a 12 volt ignition system, and greater horsepower.  It remains the toughest, most reliable, and iconic vehicle I've ever owned and I took it places that, in later years, a Rabbit wouldn't go.  The purchase price was $600.

I drove a 1958 VW Bug for a while. It was a 6 volt model, with a smallish rear window.  It was my brother's, and was a loner at times going to school. He had chopped it up to make an off road race buggy out of it. 

Edited June 9, 2018 by Patch

[gregsandiego]

1965 Mustang.
When I moved to SoCal from Detroit (1977) I was amazed to see these things still on the streets. I purchased a used one for $1200. I sold it for a profit to fund college a few years later.

I still remember the license # and saw it on the street maybe 10 years ago.

[gregsandiego]

16 hours ago, Patch said:

So, what was your first car, and how did you get it?

Mine was a Jeep. CJ 5 or,  something like that. It was a Salmon color, soft top, Bob tail . Since the color could be confused by others as being "pink", you can imagine the remarks I received. 

Although not my first choice, it was a good choice, as living near Seaside, Oregon, I had hundreds of miles of logging roads, and ocean beaches to cruise around on. It came in handy during hunting season, and I could get to some of the better trout fishing waters. Also, since it had winch, I could make a few extra bucks getting folks unstuck on the beaches. 

One draw back was it was not much of a girl magnet. Good thing was there we're more girls, than guys with cars in the area, so it kind worked out. 

How I purchased it is a story in itself. I wanted a car, with a big ass engine in it. Something that would pass up everything on the road except for police radios. Something like a "BOSS 429" Mustang. Maybe something with a 426 Himi in it.  It was not to be. 

My Dad was working in Portland, some 70 miles away. He would spend week nights there, come home to the beach on weekends. Some guy delivered the Jeep to the beach house for my Dad to "check out before buying". Long story short. Before my Dad could check it out, myself and three of my friends took it up in the mountains for a ride. I rolled it three times down a hill, off a logging road. Fortunately, except for a few bruises, we all escaped serious injury. The four of us tipped it upright, and I drove it home, and put it in the garage.. 

When my Dad returned home, and saw what he was going to "check out", he informed me, it was now my vehicle, and I would be making the payments on it, to him. My first car. 

 

Good topic.
I think some of us would like our 1st car back - youthful nostalgia. What happened to this jeep ? Would you want it back if you could?

 

15 hours ago, Piz said:

A 1968 VW Beetle.  Improvements over the 1967 model included high-backed seats, a 12 volt ignition system, and greater horsepower.  It remains the toughest, most reliable, and iconic vehicle I've ever owned and I took it places that, in later years, a Rabbit wouldn't go.  The purchase price was $600.

I learned to drive a clutch on one of those. 

[Warren Zevon]

A 1986 Ford Escort hatchback.  Pony edition, lol.  Got zero play from the ladies with that one.  

[jsgolfer]

My first car was a 1984 Chyrsler Laser.

[Casualgolfer]

1994 Ford lightning