Your first car

[DustyBin]

My first car in '88 was an old Cavalier MK1 in GL trim and with 80K on the clock. It only did 20mpg, because as it turned out the camshaft was worn. So I got a replacement cylinder head from a scrapper and put that on.
Magnifico for a week, then the piston rings went (probably because the top end was so tight now). This had the effect of producing copious clouds of grey fumes inside and out, because the leaky rings allowed partially burned fuel and exhaust vapours to pressurise the crankcase and puke out of the rocker box breather.
So I got a replacement engine off another scrapper and then managed to sell the thing for £800 which was what I paid 10,000 miles earlier.

I got married and ran about in my new wife's old Mini Kensington. That was the first car that I ever crashed into a ditch. Every Sunday for a year I battled to get it match fit for the Monday morning commute.
One Sunday I went to the Lucas Autospares shop in Durham which is now a housing estate and managed to buy replacement brushes for the wiper motor. Installing them required three fine screwdrivers to push the contacts back against the springs while with whatever other grasping limbs were available slid the assembly onto the spindle. Then it turned out the gears were seized it wasn't the brushes at all. Cue immersion in a bucket of penetrating oil.

Later I learned to change wheel bearings (frequently) shim up the suspension (frequently), extract and change the steering rack (once only), and I also had to do something to the rear radius arms and some U-bolts.

Once when it had a blowing exhaust valve, my late, great father in law Tom (who could show James May a thing or two) and I whipped off the cylinder head, replaced the valve, ground it and the other valves back in, improvised a valve spring compressor from a floorboard, and successfully reassembled the top of the engine, exhaust manifold, head gasket and all. WooHoo!

But, ladies and gentlemen, pride cometh before a fall.

Now as some of you will know the 1L Mini engine featured a curious cylinder head bypass hose which was a short concertina rubber number, essential to the working of the cooling system.
Fearing the reputation of this little hose I had acquired two spares at Sewells in Billingham from an old man in a brown dustcoat. Sadly, when the engine was reassembled and restarted, water was pouring from this bypass hose. On examination it was apparent that someone (OK, me) had clumsily put a screwdriver through it.
According the the bible (the Haynes Authorised Version) "It is nearly impossible to replace the cylinder head bypass hose without removing the cylinder head". Note "nearly". It was 7PM on a Sunday night. No time to strip the engine again. Somehow by trimming the hose ends, applying lubricant, and forcing the thing with a pair of tongs we contrived to get the spare hose in place, and the two jubilee clips tightened up. (Do anyone else's knuckles twinge at the thought of a jubilee clip?).

I flogged that Mini, got a better job, started buying three year old cars in the 2nd hand market and paying someone else to fix them. I haven't worked under the bonnet of a car since 2003 and I'm not starting again. But I can say "I was there".

Sewells probably still carry that part, there’s nothing they don’t have.... And last time I was there I was served by a man wearing a brown dust coat.... What a place!

Hey! I also started learning after my 17th birthday in the same month , and passed more than a year later in October 2020 (after dealing with THAT stressful queuing system). My original test date was also delayed like yours due to the pandemic, but it's like after learning to ride a bike; you never forget how!

I would probably get a Toyota Aygo as my first car, but not till after uni.

I once had to drive an Aygo, under duress (actually it was because the hire place had nothing else). It was painfully slow but the absence of lateral grip meant it was still entertaining. When it got out of shape though it was a real handful, the short wheelbase and relatively high centre of gravity makes them very unstable.

1980 W-plate Vauxhall Chevette hatchback in Jamaica (banana) Yellow.

Arguably not the least cool vehicle in the sixth form car park, as a friend had an Allegro...

Learnt to drive in a BSM Maestro 1.3, but for reasons I can’t recall, took my test in Dad’s Volvo 240, and passed first time.

You perhaps (understandably) didn’t want to be seen in the Maestro?

 

[TheEdge]

My first car (that I owned and learnt in but failed an MOT badly before I passed) was an M-reg Rover Metro with 4 forward gears and a manual choke, and I passed in 2009...

My first true car than I had to live with was a nice little P reg Ford Fiesta that moved me and my girlfriend across the country to Norfolk in 2012. Loved that little car, then the bottom fell out of it.

I moved up in the world and now I drive a 69 plate Volvo V40

 

[Kingspanner]

1980 W-plate Vauxhall Chevette hatchback in Jamaica (banana) Yellow.

Arguably not the least cool vehicle in the sixth form car park, as a friend had an Allegro...

Learnt to drive in a BSM Maestro 1.3, but for reasons I can’t recall, took my test in Dad’s Volvo 240, and passed first time.

My dad had a banana yellow Chevette! One day I leaned on the front wing and my finger went through the banana yellow-painted rust...

 

[37424]

My first car was a 1977 Mini Clubman bought in 81, complete with rust which was standard equipment. I particularly wanted a Clubman because i didn't like the speedometer in the middle of the dash as it still was in original Mini's of that age. A less impressive feature of a Tesla Model 3 if you ask me a car that can virtually drive itself at least on American Roads but yet you have to look to the left on a big screen Mini Style to see what speed you are doing.

I was never a massive fan of the Mini but was all I could afford at the time, My second car was Vauxhall Cavalier MK1 Sports Hatch (essentially an Opel Manta) which was a car I loved probably the best I car I had in many respects. It lived on as the Opel Manta after Vauxhall brought out the MK2 Cavalier.

Unfortunately I got made redundant and decided to go to university so reluctantly the Cavalier had to go.

 

[scosutsut]

1995 Ford Escort 1.6 Sapphire (absolutely nothing sparkled let me tell you!) Bought in 2003 before passing my test. It was a shed, and it died quickly!

 

[peteb]

My first car was a bright orange Volvo 244DL 4 speed saloon, petrol, manual gearbox, 25mpg, brown nylon upholstery, huge rubber bumpers reg ANR739T. A huge beast, no power steering. Even more bizarre when you consider I lived in London NW3 and used it to chug around the capital, but it seemed you could always find a parking space. Mind you this was over 30 years ago........

 

[KeithMcC]

My first car was a horrible old Renault 12, subjected to a dodgy repaint. Made strange noises and broke down expensively once or twice. My job changed and I didn't really need a car then a lad in a Curry's van wrote it off while it was parked one Saturday night and after a lot of arguing his insurance coughed up more or less what I had paid for it!
Cars are now so much more reliable and don't seem to rust much at all. I remember a friend in the 80s with a 3 year old car with the paint bubbling up all over the boot lid.
They are also hard to fix, unlike things like the Morris Minor. Another 2 friends changed their Morris Traveller clutch on the hard shoulder of the M5 one afternoon.

 

[Nippy]

I wrote my first car off in 1991 after passing my test and being on the road for 1 week, 2 hours and 5 minutes.
I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it though...

I passed my test in December 1993, bought my first car in Jan 94, and wrote it off within 24 hours

 

[Cowley]

I passed my test in December 1993, bought my first car in Jan 94, and wrote it off within 24 hours

I feel your pain Nippy. Thankfully apart from my ego, a wooden fence and the car nothing was hurt so a valuable lesson learned...

 

[DriverEight]

Ford Cortina 2.3S. Power steering that only worked when turning right. Then moved up to a Nissan Bluebird 1.8GS, one of the first to be built in Sunderland.

My favourite was an Alfasud given to me by my brother. They were cracking little cars, the best of the early hot hatches. The chassis was brilliant, it handled like it was on rails. The 1.5 litre flat four boxer engine was revvy and responsive and coupled to a stainless steel exhaust, it made a gorgeous sound. It had the flared wheel arches, body kit and twin headlights, so it looked the part too

 

[delticdave]

I've had two "I'st cars", a Messerschmitt KR200 3-wheeler, (driven quite legally on my motor-cycle licence) back in 1965, the 1st 4-wheeler was a 1957 Ford 100E Prefect after passing my car driving test in 1966.

I taught myself to drive the Schmitt whilst taking it home from Staines to Walthamstow (steering bar rather than a wheel, not unlike a go-kart) & sold it for £40 to a cousin.
I had four other 3-wheelers before buying "real" car, the last one was a Berkeley T60 which sold for £100. That was enough to pay for the driving instruction, the test & my £60 Ford.
That was a long time ago, but I still enjoy driving, mostly in a Skoda Superb & some interesting cars whilst on vacation abroad.

 

[AM9]

Passed my test second time in 1981.

1st Car a Triumph Dolomite 1850 - "OLD" L Reg.

Passed my (manual) test second try in 1979. First car L reg. Triumph Dolomite 1850 auto. Great car, luxury ride.

 

[70F]

I passed my test in 1978, but didn’t buy a car until I moved out of London to Rickmansworth in 1985 - a 1982 Fiat Strada 105TC bought for £2950 from a colleague at work.
Had over 20 cars since then, currently drive a 2019 Peugeot 2008 1.5D auto.

 

[TheHovisKid]

My parent's car when I passed my test was an E-reg Nova with the 1.3 engine. It went well enough, but you could hear it in the next county. In cold weather, you'd get icing in the carburettor.
First car of my (our) own was an S-Reg Corsa in Apple Green. Not common, but parked between two others in Pembrokeshire once.
Upgraded that to a Meriva 1.3 diesel, which I liked (and which fitted two children aswell)- it's downfall was the particulate filter. She fancied a change so went for a C3 Picasso. Excellent visibility, never felt terribly positive gearbox-wise, didn't mind it but wasn't enthused. Currently got a 1.2 Crossland with the turbo, generally good fun to drive, found the shark.
My car for the commute is a 13-Reg Agila-B (Suzuki Splash, I think). Tall and roomy, can fit all fur of us, no boot (and don't need one). Not snappy but goes well enough, but has a dead spot around 55-65 where you feel like putting another 50p in, but then it rarely goes further than town, still under 25k miles.

 

[jb108822]

My first car was bought in November 2017 - a silver 59-plate Fiesta. It's probably done 70,000-ish miles now, and despite having three new tyres in two years (two due to potholes, one due to a screw in the sidewall), it's served me well. Other than when the alternator went and I was stuck in Sheffield! :P Boot's of a decent-enough size for me, and it's normally just me in the car, though there's the odd occasion when I'm giving someone a lift somewhere or I'm on a mini-road trip with friends. It's only got a 1.25L engine, which can be a pain on occasion, but it's perfectly decent for what I need from a car.

Aside from my driving instructor's car (an '06 Suzuki Swift), I've driven a T-reg Micra (which I wrote off), a Y-reg Clio, and a 64-plate i10. Oh, and I was insured on my parents' now-sold 61-plate Golf for a week when they were on holiday and my brother wanted a car when he was back from uni.

 

[Richard Scott]

Had a 1983 Alfa 33 1.5 with over 100,000 on the clock. Engine was fantastic, totally unburstable and would rev like nothing I've ever driven since. Sounded great too. Stuck with Alfa's ever since, are they unreliable, no. Worst bits about them; the damn German stuff usually made by Bosch. If anything goes wrong that's best place to start looking as it will almost always be the Bosch components! Only sold it as saw an Alfa 75 V6, I fancied. Worst thing I ever did was sell the 75; wish I had it now, what an awesome machine it was, fantastic engine, rear drive, could drive it on the throttle and it could make you look like the best driver ever!!!

 

[D1537]

I passed my test in 1985 aged 17 and my first car was a complete shed of a 1978 Mk1 Fiesta 1.1 in a putrid sky blue. It was chronically unreliable (it really didn't like rain) and it came as a mercy when it was stolen and found burnt out. With the insurance money for it and a small loan from my father I bought a 1984 VW Golf 1.3 in sensible black which served me excellently for quite a few years despite a wheel once falling off at 60mph in the outside lane of the A46.

 

[birchesgreen]

I didn't pass my test until I was over 30, and then it took me ages (I had driving lessons for a 30th birthday present!) Anyway I passed on the second attempt in early 2003.

My first car was a K reg Lada Riva 1500E estate which cost me 295 quid, what a wonderfully crude beast it was. Loved it.

I'm only on my third car now to be honest, I inherited my Dad's Fiesta in 2008 and still drive it! In between I bought a Skoda Favorit for 600 quid. So in my life I've spent less than 1000 pounds buying cars...

 

[ABB125]

So in my life I've spent less than 1000 pounds buying cars...

Quite an achievement!

 

[CBlue]

Passed my test first time, at 18 years old back in 2009.

First car was my mum's runabout, a 2002 998cc Nissan Micra with just 18,000 miles on the clock...complete with the tyres it had from new!

Once new tyres were fitted it was an incredibly entertaining car to drive - and taught me to drive "properly" as finding the limitations in its handling was quite easy..

Two years later it was written off by a lady cutting into the wrong side of the road and I replaced it with a 2007 1.25 Ford Fiesta which tolerated my foot down driving and lack of care perfectly happily for 11 years. Eventually with the exhaust falling apart, a dangerously over milage cambelt and plenty of electrical woes that stopped it starting when hot I traded it in for a 2015 Skoda Fabia. The Fabia has been great -110bhp from a 1.2 litre engine is pretty impressive, and it rides like a far larger car.

Done several long motorway journeys in it now and set a pace that would have been impossible in the Fiesta.

 

[ac6000cw]

First one - Austin Metro 1.0 in about 1983 after I passed my car test at age 25 (I'd owned a few motorbikes ranging from 100cc - 400cc before then). Had noisy valve gear (the A-series engines were an old pushrod OHV design) but was otherwise OK and reliable - if rather boring.

After a few years I traded it in for a new Fiat Uno 70SX - classic Fiat 1300cc high-revving SOHC engine with a twin-choke carb (and as it was a bit lacking in low/mid range torque you had to rev hard it to get anywhere quickly ). Usual Fiat patchy design and build standards of the era, but it never let me down and was good to drive.

Went through at least one more Uno, then bought a 5th generation Ford Fiesta with the 1.25L Duratec engine (designed in conjunction with Yamaha). Kept that one for about 15 years - nice to drive, good engine and decent handling for a 'basic' small car.

Current car (which replaced the Fiesta) is Suzuki Swift with the 3-cylinder 1L 'BoosterJet' (turbo) engine - that's easily the best small-car engine I've ever owned or driven. If you put your foot down, once the turbo boost properly kicks in the revs rise so fast it's hard to change gear quickly enough...and it makes a nice noise while it's doing it (sounds a bit like a classic 1960s straight-six).

Most fun car I've driven - my girlfriend's old Citroen Visa 6 complete with typical soft suspension and a 600cc flat-twin air cooled engine. There was so little power that 0-60 was best measured with an egg timer, and overtaking maneuvers needed a pretty empty road and long-term forward planning. But the lack of power meant you had to thrash the engine through the gears and hone your fast gear-changing skills all the time - which was such fun you just drove around with a big smile

 

[heart-of-wessex]

2001 (Y) 1.2 Vauxhall Agila (same as Suzuki Wagon R+ but badged), bought new (well, dealer ex demo) in 2001. Box on wheels but cheap to insure (group 2) and ideal for a tall bloke - a typical small car is a bit of a squash!

Passed my test in 1997 and just drove my parents' car and the student union minibus before that. Was sort of like a mini-mini-bus!

Sure I have a photo of it somewhere but can't find it sadly.

Edit: not actually this one but this is from a random Autotrader ad, same colour etc:

My first one I've just sold was a W reg Vauxhall Agila, ideal for someone tall as you say, and cheap to run.

It gets slated but I absolutely loved it, and my colleagues were always impressed with it's low mileage (48k) and even as a 1.0 the mpg was high, a round trip to Cleveland from Wiltshire on a rough 550 - 600 miles cost me under £40, as only had to fill up once (granted I was on quarter of a tank when I got home, but still!) and does 70mph quite happily, noisy but expected! Passed the MOT every time as well

 

[Flange Squeal]

I originally took my bike test at 17, waiting another four years before finally opting to do my car test, following four years of commuting in all weathers at all times of day/night which made me finally succumb to the lure of a heater and weather protection. First car was a 2001 Citroen Saxo. It was the cheaper-to-insure 1.4 rather than the more 'desirable' 1.6 VTR/VTS, despite the previous owner's best attempts of trying to fool people by putting a VTR badge on it but making zero other changes! Overall not a bad car, although the pedals were pretty close together meaning they weren't really compatible with work boots, and I seemed to be forever being pulled over in the early hours of the morning on shift work for 'random' checks...

 

[Anonymous10]

What was your first car (for forum members who drive)? This might be an interesting topic. If possible, include the year the car was built, the year you got it/passed your test, and whether you were 17/18 or more "mature" when you got a car.

To start off:
My first car was (and still is) a ... wait for it ... 2006 Peugeot 107 . How embarrassing! Although it can be driven in a more "entertaining" style if desired... Acquired in 2019, having passed at 17.

mine is a 2005 plate kia picanto sport with 1l engine up side its passed nearly every mot its ever had and my 2 with no issues

 

[Bald Rick]

So in my life I've spent less than 1000 pounds buying cars...

Good grief, I spent more than twice that on my first, 31 years ago this week!

After a few years I traded it in for a new Fiat Uno 70SX - classic Fiat 1300cc high-revving SOHC engine with a twin-choke carb (and as it was a bit lacking in low/mid range torque you had to rev hard it to get anywhere quickly ). Usual Fiat patchy design and build standards of the era, but it never let me down and was good to drive.

Sames as mine (without the X); yes you had to give it the beans to get anywhere.

 

[DustyBin]

Most fun car I've driven - my girlfriend's old Citroen Visa 6 complete with typical soft suspension and a 600cc flat-twin air cooled engine. There was so little power that 0-60 was best measured with an egg timer, and overtaking maneuvers needed a pretty empty road and long-term forward planning. But the lack of power meant you had to thrash the engine through the gears and hone your fast gear-changing skills all the time - which was such fun you just drove around with a big smile

There’s a lot (well, something!) to be said for slow cars especially if they happen to have a decent chassis. Being able to drive enthusiastically without doing anything illegal is great fun. My mother had a 1.0 Focus until recently, with 125bhp it perhaps wasn’t slow-slow but it wasn’t exactly a rocket ship. In every other respect though it was a good drivers car. It was actually a strange experience driving it as the basic interior was very similar to my own Focus which puts out 375bhp and occasionally I’d forget which one I was in!

Good grief, I spent more than twice that on my first, 31 years ago this week!

Yes that’s some effort @birchesgreen, I’ve spent nearly that on a set of tyres!

 

[delticdave]

There’s a lot (well, something!) to be said for slow cars especially if they happen to have a decent chassis. Being able to drive enthusiastically without doing anything illegal is great fun. My mother had a 1.0 Focus until recently, with 125bhp it perhaps wasn’t slow-slow but it wasn’t exactly a rocket ship. In every other respect though it was a good drivers car. It was actually a strange experience driving it as the basic interior was very similar to my own Focus which puts out 375bhp and occasionally I’d forget which one I was in!



Yes that’s some effort @birchesgreen, I’ve spent nearly that on a set of tyres!

Interesting, what Focus variant makes 375 bhp, tweaked ST or RS?

 

[DustyBin]

Interesting, what Focus variant makes 375 bhp, tweaked ST or RS?

MK3 RS, tweaked by Ford from new using their optional upgrade (it came as standard on the final limited edition but mine is a regular model). It actually makes 375hp/370bhp, apologies I was in autopilot there.

 

[Dai Corner]

Talking of minimal expenditure on cars, I paid £4000 plus trade-in on a 3 year old Focus in 2004. 13 years later I got £4000 for it under a Mazda 'scrappage' deal.

 

[chorleyjeff]

What was your first car (for forum members who drive)? This might be an interesting topic. If possible, include the year the car was built, the year you got it/passed your test, and whether you were 17/18 or more "mature" when you got a car.

To start off:
My first car was (and still is) a ... wait for it ... 2006 Peugeot 107 . How embarrassing! Although it can be driven in a more "entertaining" style if desired... Acquired in 2019, having passed at 17.

Triumph Spitfire about 1965. Dreadful handling and not fast. But nice to have a removable hard top. Insurance no claims discount carried forward from my Norton 99ss so affordable.