What was your first car and what did you wish it had been?
Discussion
My first car was a 1995 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 LS like this. At the time, I wanted something a bit nicer than the 1.0 Fiestas/Metros/Novas that everyone else had and I guess it was. I was lucky that in addition to the money I had saved, my grandma had also left me some money. However, it wasn't really faster having only 60bhp and being heavier and it understeered like a pig in the wet!
My best friend had a 1973 Cal-look Beetle which was pretty cool, apart from he never got around to passing his driving test, so his mum had to drive him around in it and the engine caught fire and wrecked the car before he got a chance to drive it! Someone else in my year at college had a red Renault 5 GT Turbo, which was quite nice but he was an idiot, so I didn't want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that I liked his car!
In retrospect, I wish I had bought something older and a bit more interesting like this:
Not too big or too fast or too slow and I still think they look pretty sharp!
or this:
obviously with some GTi power under the bonnet!
My best friend had a 1973 Cal-look Beetle which was pretty cool, apart from he never got around to passing his driving test, so his mum had to drive him around in it and the engine caught fire and wrecked the car before he got a chance to drive it! Someone else in my year at college had a red Renault 5 GT Turbo, which was quite nice but he was an idiot, so I didn't want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that I liked his car!
In retrospect, I wish I had bought something older and a bit more interesting like this:
Not too big or too fast or too slow and I still think they look pretty sharp!
or this:
obviously with some GTi power under the bonnet!
)a FIAT Uno 45 ( not even a 'Fire' version )
It was battered, scarred, the steering wheel had to be replaced because I couldn't fit my legs under the standard item. The rear seats smelt of piss so they were replaced.
But the thinking was, it cost me £2.04 which was the price of a pint of the vendors preferred drink. They no longer wanted the car. It was taxed and MOT'd.
Did 18,000 absolutely trouble free miles in that wonderful little car before getting £1000 p/x for it against a Fiesta XR2i 1800 16v
I wish my first car had been that uno. (It was NEVER seen dirty either)
It was battered, scarred, the steering wheel had to be replaced because I couldn't fit my legs under the standard item. The rear seats smelt of piss so they were replaced.
But the thinking was, it cost me £2.04 which was the price of a pint of the vendors preferred drink. They no longer wanted the car. It was taxed and MOT'd.
Did 18,000 absolutely trouble free miles in that wonderful little car before getting £1000 p/x for it against a Fiesta XR2i 1800 16v
I wish my first car had been that uno. (It was NEVER seen dirty either)
Mine was a 1983 1.3DX Nissan Sunny saloon. It was miles ahead of my mates 950 Fiesta that was 4 speed, 4 star only and quite small. I had 5 gears, U/L was cheaper (about 65p/L back then!) and much roomier.
But it went through head gaskets quick for some reason, and had manual points which left me stranded. I knew nothing about cars back then and when someone at college offered me what I paid for it, I jumped at the chance. It was a very bad start to driving as I just couldn't trust it.
I bought that car from my mum. She'd not had it long but I liked the boxy shape and the fact it was a step up from most people's first cars.
By rights, my first car should have been a clean Mk1 Astra 1300S she'd had before. It had been a faithful steed for her for 2-3 years. She liked it so much she broke her rule and had it serviced (she'd always just bought cheap and run into the ground). I don't know what the garage did, but she said something about the oil light being on, but the level was fine. It managed two return trips from Fareham to Portsmouth before finally detonating on the M275 on the 3rd attempt. If only she'd stuck to her guns, or used another garage, I might have had a good, trustworthy, and what is now a very rare and sought after, car for my first exploits behind the wheel.
But it went through head gaskets quick for some reason, and had manual points which left me stranded. I knew nothing about cars back then and when someone at college offered me what I paid for it, I jumped at the chance. It was a very bad start to driving as I just couldn't trust it.
I bought that car from my mum. She'd not had it long but I liked the boxy shape and the fact it was a step up from most people's first cars.
By rights, my first car should have been a clean Mk1 Astra 1300S she'd had before. It had been a faithful steed for her for 2-3 years. She liked it so much she broke her rule and had it serviced (she'd always just bought cheap and run into the ground). I don't know what the garage did, but she said something about the oil light being on, but the level was fine. It managed two return trips from Fareham to Portsmouth before finally detonating on the M275 on the 3rd attempt. If only she'd stuck to her guns, or used another garage, I might have had a good, trustworthy, and what is now a very rare and sought after, car for my first exploits behind the wheel.
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