Spinoff: What was your first car?

[nikkiARNGwife]

(and because I'm bored)

My parents bought a 1989 Buick Skylark right before I got my license..it was a family car but it was bought with the idea that I would drive it too.

It looked like this except it was a dark blue...

I drove it in highschool when I needed a car and then my first year of college they handed it over to me while I was at school.

Then my younger sister got her license and needed a vehicle so she got that one and they bought me a 1990 Pontiac Sunbird - well they signed for it but I had to make the payments. It looked just like this...it was totally bare bones..didn't even have a tape player in it back then and was standard transmission..but it was mine and I thought it was the coolest car ever It also overheated anytime I came to a stop at a redlight and I'd have to turn the heater on full blast to keep it from going dead...even in August in MS :blink:

THEN the first car I ever bought and paid for all on my on was a 1996 Chevy Cavalier...

I loved that little car. We sold it after I got married and for years I wish I'd kept it

 

[Keely~B]

My first car as an '84 Datsun Sentra. (like this )

I bought it when I was 16. My mom and grandma gave me $400 toward the down payment but I made all the payments, paid for upkeep and insured it myself. I loved that car and I was really proud that I worked for it. It was the best little car, I drove it for years and years, until a hit & run driver killed it.

 

[SmallMoments]

a 1980 dodge challenger. similar to this, but red & a year older. i got it when i got my license and drove it until i went off to college. we weren't allowed to have cars on campus at college as freshmen.

then my sophomore year of college, i got a 1989 honda accord lxi. like this one, but i had a sunroof. and i thought i was so incredibly cool it wasn't even funny. and it was the first car i made payments on.

after college i left the country & taught in ecuador, so i had to sell my beloved accord. when i returned to the states i leased a 1999 honda civic. like this.

the lease was up just before we got married. since we were wedding-minded, we went out and basically bought the first thing we found that we could afford new. (not sure WHY we wanted new, but whatever.) it was an okay car, but i wouldn't have bought it if we had a do-over. like this, but ours was two-door.

joel took that car over when we had luke b/c it was a two-door & near impossible to get luke out of the back seat. we got this beaute. ha!

we had just paid it off when i got in an accident and totalled it. oops. so, again, in a rush to get a second car we bought the quickest thing we could afford. again, wouldn't get it again if i had a do-over.

joel took the cruiser over in dec of 2010 so i could get this. which i currently drive and i love. her name is ellie.

mmmm kay. so i'm REALLY bored and not only gave you my first car, but my entire history of cars. oh and if you care, joel was t-boned in january & it totalled the cruiser (yay!). he now drives this. and it's a lot of fun.

 

[mariewilcox]

Oh boy - LOL. My very first car was a 1976 Grand Lemans station wagon :w00t: My parents bought a new smaller car that was good on gas since prices went up so much in 1979 during the oil crisis (rationing, etc.) I can still remember the day that they sat my best friend and I down and told us they were giving me the station wagon. It was a tank and we named it Marmaduke. I think my parents figured if we got in an accident we would be fairly safe.

It looked just like this, except red with the woody side :blink:

The first car that I actually bought myself was a few years after I graduated from high school and was a 1983 Datsun 280 ZX:

 

[maryinaz]

While I was in high school, we shared cars in our family. My dad worked for a company who manufactured batteries (they were used in many space flights like the Apollos) and we owned an electric golf cart that I had to drive to school sometimes too. So embarrassing!

I'm going to seriously date myself here...when I got out of college and proclaimed that I was moving to Arizona, my dad bought me a USED 1979 Toyota Corona. I paid him back and 3 years later traded it in for a brand new 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS.

You can see a pic of the Corolla and all the cars I've run out of gas in here on my blog : http://myboysdonteatpasta.blogspot.com/2012/03/running-out-of-gasand-other-stories.html

 

[MamaBee]

I had a 87 Ford Escort 2 door hatchback that was my parents, but was able to drive while in high school... Mom had gotten it for the mail route. Like this - but in dark blue

Then in college time - like when I was a Junior, I had a 89 Phymoth K car... oh, how I HATED that car... and it hated me too! Like this... but in a light blueish/gray color. My grandpa bought it... then handed down to my mom to use on the mail route...

Then when I graduated from college... I bought the 97 Monty Carlo in dark green from my mom, who was using it for her mail route... seeing a trend? haha I LOVED this car... and cried when I had traded it in...

Then my current car 06 Lexus 330ES... which was the car I picked out myself and purchased brand new!!! It was my second choice though... I had waited 5 months for a Chrysler 500 on order and finally decided to move on...

 

[taracotta7]

The first car that I actually bought myself was right after I graduated from high school and was a 1983 Datsun 280 ZX:

OMG! That was my first car. I had to wait a year after I got my licence. My first year I drove my parent's station wagon and buick century when needed. I wasn't allowed to drive to school my first year of driving. My dad was worried to death over it. I finally found that Datson 280 (mine was black) and talked my dad into paying half of it for me. I think I paid a total of $900 for that car in 1993! LOL It was a piece of crap but I was so proud of it. LOL

 

[ZaCola3]

My first car was a 1981 Mercury Zephyr just like this but two toned red with a orange pinstripe. We went and got the loan the day before my 16th birthday-I opened a checking account the same day.My parents co-signed the loan and I paid it back $89.43 a month for 12 months.

 

[tanyiadeskins]

ROFL, my very first car was ...Geo Metro bought by dad (huge POS)

then a Hyundai Elantra, first new purchased car

then shared a couple cars with dh

finally got my own again, had Mitsubishi galant (LOVED this car)

then a Ford Explorer Sport Trac (WHICH SUCKED and my dd totaled)

and now have a Nissan Murano which I ADORE!

 

[NeverendingJen]

My dad got a work truck a few weeks before I turned 16, so my mom took over his car and let me drive the 'family car'. I drove it until my brother wrecked it a month after he got his license when I was 19, lol

The first car I ever bought on my own was a 1988 BMW 325i right after we moved to italy. No power steering, etc. but it was all mine, and the first car I ever owned. Like this, but in black

and now I drive a 2009 ford focus in silver. I had several years in there without a car when DH and I just shared one, lol

 

[kim21673]

My first car was a 1986 Plymouth Horizon.

The first car I bought after I graduated from college and got my first teaching job was a 1997 Chevy Cavalier. I special ordered it so when I got it it only had a couple miles on it!!

 

[Libby Pritchett]

Mine was a white 1987 Pontiac Grand Am like this one:

 

[LJSDesigns]

My first car was a 1979 Mercury Bobcat:

Like this but in bright yellow with brown and orange racing stripes. My father used to call it my little puddle jumper and got me a vanity plate for it that said, "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch." I still have that plate on my car. lol This car was definitely a POS, but at the time I absolutely loved it.

 

[pewtertm]

Dec 1988---My first car was a 1985 Ford Tempo...it had all the bells and whistles, but the person that owned it before my parents bought it for me apparently didn't do routine maintenance. I had no input in it...they went to a dealer and brought it home and said, here. OK...I hated to drive, but it did get me off of the school bus. It had some really crappy driving moments during the year-and-a-half I drove it. It was totally out when some teenager decided to leave the Subway parking lot without looking for oncoming traffic. Hence my first wreck.

Summer 1990---So when that car got totally, I got a 1990 Plymouth Sundance...LOVED that car. We got it from Enterprise and it had low mileage and had been well taken care of. It drove well, was only a year old, and was very comfy for a 20 yr old. And then a year-and-a-half later, mom and I went to New Orleans for my 21st birthday and she totally the car as soon as we got to town. Major wreck...we went spinning around the feeder round before coming to crashing stop on the side of the overpass.

Feb 1992--After the wreck, I wound up getting a 1991 Toyota Corolla. Like this one, except it was champagne colored. Towards the end DH was having to do a lot of repairs on it...it had a LOT of miles on it and had definitely been put through the paces.

Nov 2007--We traded in my Corolla for a 2005 Dodge Ram. I didn't think I'd be comfortable driving a big truck...but I love it! Just wish it had better gas mileage.

 

[YepBrook]

Ha! Nikki... my dad bought a Buick Skylark (not sure what year the model was) when I was just a kid, 1987 or so. It was his BABY. White wall tires. Navy blue exterior paint with blue interior.

My first car was my dad's hand-me-down manual 1995 Ford Ranger truck, kind of like the one below. I learned how to drive stick in a truck (YEEE-HAW!) and I'm really thankful for it!

My first "real" car for me, from my parents when I was 18 or 19 (can't remember!), was a 1996 black Ford Probe! I felt so hawt in that car!!!! :wub: .... and then I totaled it in 2002 right before I got married.

 

[mrsski07]

My dad gave me his commuting car...which was a 1988 Chevy Nova:

Like that, but white. With sheet metal on the bottom half because the year was 2001 and the car was quite rusty. About 6 months later I sold it (yes, it actually sold!) and bought a Chevy Metro that didn't have power steering and was cherry red....my (future, at the time) brother-in-law affectionately named it "the skittle".

 

[Tracyfish]

The first car my parents bought me at age 15 was a 1988 Toyota Tercel. It was silver and they had pink and purple pinstripes put on it to "jazz it up".

 

[kendallt]

Haha, Nikki! I had a Chevy Cavalier that looked just like that! Same color and all.

 

[Sherri Tierney]

My first car was a 74 Dodge Colt. I didn't have it long and never drove it but I still consider it my first car because it was bought for me. It needed repair and my uncle wanted to work on it and get it running before my 16th birthday. He ended up putting a butt load of money in to it doing all sorts of custom modifications and my grandma told him to keep it because she wasn't paying for all of that. He was thrilled as that was his plan because he wanted to use it for his company car. :cursing:

It looked like this... color and all....

My husband's first car was a Chevy Sprint (can't remember what year). He had it when we moved in together so it became mine too. It looked like this but was blue. It was small but got amazing gas mileage. Sure, gas was cheaper then but in March of '95 we drove from Kansas to Arizona on $22 in gas!

The first vehicle we bought together was a brand new '95 GMC Sonoma. It looked just like this, only red... bed cover and all. That truck was a huge mistake. It had a short in the wiring harness and we had it in the shop all the time. The after-market AC also was screwy and never worked right. The dealer put it in but they refused to cover it under warranty because it wasn't straight from the manufacture. Hello, idiots, YOU put it in!

Before we got married we sold the truck and traded the Sprint in on a '91 Chevy Lumina for me. I LOVED that car. It was seriously my baby. I had an accident in it when I was 10 weeks pregnant with my daughter (heard her heartbeat that day for the first time! :wub and that was the last of that car.

We picked up an old F150 for cheap for DH since he missed having a truck (and we did find times we needed a truck) It looked like this one, minus the bars on the bed and add a bunch of dents, dings and rust!

DH bought a 280 ZX off of a friend. We didn't need a 3rd vehicle but he liked it and wanted it so he got it. LOL I HATED that piece of junk. It had this funky smell in it that never quite went away and I hated that it was so low to the ground. It made me carsick to ride in it. He sold it to my uncle. I was glad to see it go. Stealing the picture because it looked pretty much like this except black with a front fender that had been replaced in blue.

We traded the wrecked Lumina in on a '96, I think, Grand Am. It was a cute car. We had that one when DD was born. It was blue and I loved how it sparkled. We didn't have it too long really... got it when I was pregnant with her and then we hit a deer when she was 5 months old and totaled it.

After we hit the deer we were in a pickle. We still had the truck but we also had a baby in a car seat and an 11 year old that was coming to visit for the summer. We needed room for an extra butt so we traded the truck in on a Chevy Cavalier like this one...

We drove the cavalier until just before Declan was born. We had been discussing a bigger vehicle for a while with a second child on the way. We had also tried to move with that car and you can't carry much at a time in it! We had this crazy 'false c-section' situation... scheduled for a c-section on one day and then it was bumped back 3 full weeks. Long story. Anyway, my daughter, 3 years old at the time, was super upset that she didn't get to meet brothersister (what she called the baby) that day. We went out of town to cheer her up. On a whim we stopped and bought a mini van. It was a 2000 Nissan Quest, forest green.

We drove the Quest longer than any vehicle we'd had before. We got it in October of 2005 and traded it in April of 2011 for a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan.

Anyway, we've shared a vehicle since 2003. Its been great not having to deal with a second but there are times lately I wish we had a second (like today when DH is off with DS doing guy stuff and DD and I are stuck at home)

And there's our car history... LOL I love seeing everyone's. Cars can say so much about a person sometimes.

 

[LeeAndra]

My first car was a blue 1988 Chevy Celebrity. Man, was that thing a boat.

After a year and a half of almost constant repairs, my dad had my grandma buy me (and I paid her back) for a 1995? Geo Metro hatchback. I was able to fill up the entire gas tank for $12 when I was in college (circa 2001)! I had that car until 2006.

I briefly had a Chevy Cavalier convertible until the engine blew up in 2008. [I still miss that car!] Now I have a 2007 Chevy (are we seeing a trend?!) Aveo.

 

[joelsgirl]

Now THIS is a thread ful of some eye candy! LOL

My first car was a Nissan Stanza just like this:

In college I upgraded to this:

LOVED it, except that it guzzled gas, and that was even back when gas was cheap, lol.

So I traded it in for this my sr year of college, and I kept it until we moved overseas:

 

[gracelikerain]

What a fun thread! Right after I got my license my folks bought me a 1973 AMC Hornet. It was school-bus yellow. I felt like such a dork, but it was mine

For high school graduation my grandparents bought me a 1981 Chevy Malibu--it was such a tank!

Then when I got my first real job, I bought the only car I've ever picked out on my own. 1995 Buick Skylark Oh how I loved that car--it had a six-CD changer in it. Hot stuff!

 

[lovely1m]

I had a 88 Chevy Spectrum. It looked like this except it was black with pink & aqua pinstrips and I freakin loved it.

I drove it for 2 and a half years until I got sick of it being hit. It got hit 5 times, I think because it was small and black, no one saw it. Then I got a great deal on a 1995 Chevy Beretta which I drove until it died on me though I still own it and want to fix it up someday.

 

[4noisyboys]

1978 Honda Civic in olive green

Then a 1972 VW Bug

and then a 1967 VW Bug before I sold it and moved to Alaska

When I was up in Alaska, I bought one like this off a friend for $250. Most of you will have never seen these on the road, because they were voted like the worst car EVER made!! It's a Chevy Vega!

 

[Melissa Bennett]

Oh boy, I think I may have had the oldest first car and man is it embarrassing!! I had a 1970 Plymouth Fury. Ya, it was a boat and may have gotten a whopping 6 miles to the gallon! LOL!!

 

[YepBrook]

Oh boy, I think I may have had the oldest first car and man is it embarrassing!! I had a 1970 Plymouth Fury. Ya, it was a boat and may have gotten a whopping 6 miles to the gallon! LOL!!

Melissa, I LOVE that car. Seriously, I would love a re-furbished one to drive around. Sweet car.

 

[kscwgirl]

My first car was a Plymouth Voyager that was my mom's. I was only driving to school and back. when I was 16 I hit a parked Chevy Camaro. Totalled my mom's van... did NOTHING to the Camaro.

My 2nd car was a white POS, I couldn't honestly even tell you what it was.

Then I got my dream car...

Had it until abby was probably 1.. then it was leaking and we traded it in for a ford escape...

most of you prob remember that wreck, so we won't discuss it again

I now have, and love this... it's a dodge durango

 

[nun69]

my 1st car was a 1987 Geo Spectrum (I think that is what year it was) but even though I got my license at 17, I didn't get a car until I was almost(my BF drove me everywhere and seriously we went everywhere together) and I bought it all on my own. But then I joined the Navy in Jan 1991 and I had to give it up cause I couldn't afford the payments for it and wasn't sure I was going to be able to take it with me wherever I got stationed. Then Dh and I bought a 1993 Geo Prizm just like this except in lt blue and we had it until we left Italy in 2003!

Then we bought a 2001 Impala (just like this) and I absolutely LOVED this car but after we had Abby it just wasn't enough room for 2 kids in car seats and a teenager in the back so we upgraded to this
2006 Kia Sedona(love this van and we pay the last $200+ on July 1st)!!!!!

and we still have 2 in booster seats so not sure when we will upgrade again!

 

[Julie Billingsley]

My first car was a castaway from my parents. It was already over 10 years old when I first drove it, but I drove it for another 3 years when the thing finally died. I was just grateful to have a car to drive as we were a family that always struggled financially. Don't be jealous everyone, but my car was the ultra hot 1975 Ford Pinto Station Wagon Squire. woohoo!

 

[Shawna]

All I wanted for my 16th birthday was a 1967 Ford Mustang and my Dad actually found one and bought it for me! It looked just like this but had a black top and man did I LOVE that car! It was fun to drive, even though it didn't have power steering or power brakes (probably not the best choice for a brand new driver). I had just got my first job and was supposed to help make the payments on it, but unfortunately I only had it less than 6 months before I got in an accident and it got totaled :crying:

It's been almost 18 years and to this day I still get crap from my entire family about wrecking that car! Since I was the oldest I kinda ruined it for all my younger siblings cause my Dad learned his lesson and they didn't get anything nice for their first cars lol...

 

[Leontine78]

I am riding it now! A 1991 Peugeot 206

 

[rach3975]

I'm surprised at how many of you got or bought your own cars very young. I had my license at 16, but throughout high school my parents refused to give me or let me buy a car because they'd known too many teen drivers who had accidents. I could use my mother's car when she didn't need it, but they wanted more control than they'd have had if I had my own car. Then I went to college, and it was a non-issue because I lived on campus and could get into Boston easily without one. I finally got my first car when I was a senior in college and needed to student teach in a place I couldn't easily get public transportation to. It had been my parents', and they gave it to me as an early graduation present.

It was a blue Ford Taurus, a 1995 I think.

Unfortunately, I drove it less than 2 years before someone ran a stop sign, hit the side, and totaled it. The first car I bought myself was a dark red 1998 Toyota Corolla.

That was my car until 2006, when we got the Honda Odyssey minivan I drive now.

 

[Freckles]

Can I just say Wow, it's amazing your first cars were all so big! Over here we usually start with a small car, lol.
This was my first, a Ford Ka. Very small but I loved it. It was the exact same color:

 

[dana]

my first car - when i turned 16, was a 1978 red VW beetle convertible, like this:

my younger sister drove it for a little while after i went to college, but she hated it (and had trouble driving it) bc it didn't have power steering (or anything) and no real air-conditioning, which was challenging in TX.

my second car, which my parents bought me my senior year of college, was a ford explorer - sport (2 doors vs. 4 doors) - i LOVED it and had it until i moved to france ... it looked like this, except different color (mine was kind-of gold - called mocha frost) and with normal wheels

in paris, i drove a twingo that looked like this:

and now we have a silver highlander and a gold sienna

this but gold:

 

[Stacey42]

1972 Dodge dart in a stunning olive drab with black roof. It had an awesome AM radio and air conditioning. It needed a quart of oil every month. My parents got it (for $500) for me when I was 16 in 1983 because they were sick of driving me around, especially to work and back.

Could have been worse though. 3 years later my brother got our grandparents 1968 Plymouth. The car was 2 years older than he was.