What was your first car and why did you choose it
Discussion
Vauxhall Corsa B in 2008. Terrible car in an even worse shade of green but it was 8 years old with 13,000 genuine miles on the clock and a very good price. Owned by an elderly lady then by a learner too terrified to drive. Still had original (very perished) tyres!
Me being the fool, crashed it with about 30k on the clock but still managed to sell it for £800 as spares or repair so didn't lose too much.
Me being the fool, crashed it with about 30k on the clock but still managed to sell it for £800 as spares or repair so didn't lose too much.
Edited by Sam1990 on Thursday 23 October 09:44
My 1.7 litre S reg Puma.
Cost 300 quid, bought off a garage in Cumbria. One previous registered keeper, the garage itself - it was the owner's daughter's car, I believe.
No advisories on its previous MOT and other than a dead battery, some flaked paint on the bonnet, active ABS/TC warning lights (has to be one of the sensors) and the usual scabby rear arches, it was in fine fettle.
It's now SORN having died on a roundabout - needs a new battery and will need the sensor issue sorting to get through its MOT, and I just can't afford it at the moment. I'm gonna see how much work is needed for the MOT then decide whether to keep it or scrap it and get something else. I fancy smoking about in a Rover 75 for the winter...
Cost 300 quid, bought off a garage in Cumbria. One previous registered keeper, the garage itself - it was the owner's daughter's car, I believe.
No advisories on its previous MOT and other than a dead battery, some flaked paint on the bonnet, active ABS/TC warning lights (has to be one of the sensors) and the usual scabby rear arches, it was in fine fettle.
It's now SORN having died on a roundabout - needs a new battery and will need the sensor issue sorting to get through its MOT, and I just can't afford it at the moment. I'm gonna see how much work is needed for the MOT then decide whether to keep it or scrap it and get something else. I fancy smoking about in a Rover 75 for the winter...
First vehicle I had the pleasure of driving after passing was my mum's mk1 clio 1.4 auto. it was a pudding but the seats were ace and it did 50mph in first (of 3) gear 
First vehicle I owned myself was a Suzuki SV650S. Insurance was £300 the day after passing my test at 19, compared to cars which were still a grand for superminis with sewing machine engines.
First actual car was a Mk2 VW Jetta bought off a friend. I wanted something old, fun and wanted to get involved with a decent community, which VWs were at the time. This was just before it all went stretch, dubstep and graffiti baseball caps.
First vehicle I owned myself was a Suzuki SV650S. Insurance was £300 the day after passing my test at 19, compared to cars which were still a grand for superminis with sewing machine engines.
First actual car was a Mk2 VW Jetta bought off a friend. I wanted something old, fun and wanted to get involved with a decent community, which VWs were at the time. This was just before it all went stretch, dubstep and graffiti baseball caps.
First car at 17 yo was a Mini - cheap to buy, fix and insure on limited savings and part time job incomes so I could build up 1 year NCB - this meant at age of 18 with a proper job income I could buy, insure and run a 330bhp Mustang V8 ( this was in the early 80s when insurance was cheaper ) which was what I really wanted instead of a Mini
Peugeot 309 GTI, wanted a 205 GTI but the insurance was about 3x the price. Kept the car for 2 years. Loved the tight seats and the steering weight. Most people could not believe I got insured on a 1.9 so it was quicker than the local VTRs, Escort GTIs and Corsas about. A mate ended up shunting into the back of the car and it was written off. There was a dispute with the insurance as my mate was now an exmate. I fixed it after the car had to sit for 3 months while I waited for the payout and sold it on to a local guy who had always been after the car. He wrote it off for good within 6 months.
A 2008 Ford Ka, one of the last Mk1's. A month after I collected it, it snowed heavily, to the extent that my normal 10 mile drive home from work took 6 1/2 hours. It didn't miss a beat then and for the next two years all it needed was wipers and two tyres above normal servicing and fuel.
I would have one back if I needed a car to get me A-B.
I would have one back if I needed a car to get me A-B.
1967 Triumph Herald, bought when I was 17 in 1988.
Why: easy to work on, very easy to modify - I uprated it from 49bhp to 120bhp over 12 months, gave it better brakes (Capri 2.8 vented discs, bigger calipers.....), uprated suspension etc. Fun to drive after all the mods, and I learned a lot about handling a very tail happy car. Was great practice for my later rear-engined flat-6 toys.
Why: easy to work on, very easy to modify - I uprated it from 49bhp to 120bhp over 12 months, gave it better brakes (Capri 2.8 vented discs, bigger calipers.....), uprated suspension etc. Fun to drive after all the mods, and I learned a lot about handling a very tail happy car. Was great practice for my later rear-engined flat-6 toys.
Mk3 Cortina
Wasn't the car I was supposed to get, as I was in the process of buying a Mexico replica when the owner wrote it off, making me choose what was available at the time.
Had the Cortina on the road 18months, then I inherited £500, so I bought a ropey Mk2 Escort and stuck the 2.0 Cortina engine into that, the same weekend.
Wasn't the car I was supposed to get, as I was in the process of buying a Mexico replica when the owner wrote it off, making me choose what was available at the time.
Had the Cortina on the road 18months, then I inherited £500, so I bought a ropey Mk2 Escort and stuck the 2.0 Cortina engine into that, the same weekend.
What: E39 528i
Why: Because I am an idiot.
Extended why: I had a company van at the time, Which I was using as a daily, and had never owned my own car. It looked great, and was 800 quid, and on the passenger ride (no insurance for a test drive at the time), the noise it produced had me hooked. I went out for a packet of smokes, noticed in the window it was for sale, and the bloke was in it. Had paid for it by the time I came back home, to a confused OH.
It did cost more 3 times what I paid for it a year to insure, but I justified that with man maths.
Only just got rid of it this weekend after a few years of ownership. Part ex'ed to a trader for scrap value (it was knackered in the end). I was, and remain,genuinely heartbroken
I don't want to sound like a total tart, But I think I loved that car a bit.
I now have a 2.0 focus, technically my second car, which I am trying to like.
Why: Because I am an idiot.
Extended why: I had a company van at the time, Which I was using as a daily, and had never owned my own car. It looked great, and was 800 quid, and on the passenger ride (no insurance for a test drive at the time), the noise it produced had me hooked. I went out for a packet of smokes, noticed in the window it was for sale, and the bloke was in it. Had paid for it by the time I came back home, to a confused OH.
It did cost more 3 times what I paid for it a year to insure, but I justified that with man maths.
Only just got rid of it this weekend after a few years of ownership. Part ex'ed to a trader for scrap value (it was knackered in the end). I was, and remain,genuinely heartbroken
I don't want to sound like a total tart, But I think I loved that car a bit.I now have a 2.0 focus, technically my second car, which I am trying to like.
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