Your first car: What was it? And how long did you have it?

[ZacFields]

Just as the title says, I'm interested to know what everyone drove as their first vehicle, and perhaps a little background info. I'll start.

My first car was a 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier. I received it as a gift from my parents when I was 16, and I still own it today. I'm 22 (almost 23) so that's about 6.5 years so far and about 90,000 miles I've put on it myself (140,000 total. The car had 50k when I got it).

It's nothing special, really. I lived out in Ely, Iowa where there's a lot of high school kids and very few jobs. My parents bought me the car and paid for the first tank of gas. From then on, I paid for everything. All the modifications, gas, insurance... everything. The car paved the way for my independance both mentally and financially.

As I wrote in another topic, I pulled the old girl out today. I installed the new front bumper that I had lying around for over a year and a half now, and took her out to the car wash. While the car certainly is not as beautiful as it was about 4 years ago, I think it's held up very nicely. Once I get the bumper painted it will be back to looking just as good as it ever did!

[ZEE]

74 Vega. Was an automatic. Called it the vegamatic. Paid $500 for it from my neighbor when I was in HS. Paid for it with my own money as I have with every car that I owned. Other neighbor had a Challenger that he had put a 383 in and built it up. It rattled the windows when he started it up. He was selling it for $500. My dad wouldn't let me buy it. He said I would kill myself in that. Also wanted to buy a 454 chevelle as they were in the classifieds for $500 all the time. Dad wouldn't let me.

[ZacFields]

I can sympathize about dad not letting ya buy those cars. Every car purchase idea I ever had was shot down. I wanted to buy Micah's firebird, but he shot that down. Basically for the same reasons as your dad, except he masked it by saying that he didn't think I had the money or time to rebuild an engine (which is what I wanted to do) and we didn't really have a place to store it anyways. I also wanted to buy several other cars, all of which he persuaded me not to do.

In the long run, he saved me from lots of wasted money and lots of heartache. When I'm older and settled in to a bigger home and established in my career, I will get my old muscle car and it will be WELL worth the wait. I will have enough money to build it the right way and I'll have more free time (no full time school AND work) to enjoy it anyway.

[TbTalon94]

89 Grand Prix SE

was awesome. 3.1 V6, fully loaded with 18-way adjustable seats. The seats were the absolute best thing about that car. Loved it.

[Luminatorz34]

my good ole 93 lumina z34. got it from a $5 dollar car sale at a car dealership...where you sit in the car they mark the price down and ask if ull take it or what not...basically i got them to cut the price in half. had that car a long ass time. even went thru the hard ship of jumping the timing belt and had trent put a newer motor in for me...lost all the respect and glory i had built up for that car when i got it back i had it a long time i think 5 or 6 years. i know i got rid of it in 05 when i got my maro. so uhm yeah

[slobalt]

My first car I had was a 1959 Dodge Truck with 3 on the tree. I was living in a small border town in Texas and I bought it from my uncle for 300 bucks.

It was this big green fugly looking thing my uncle used to haul garbage so we all just called it Oscar. It had a handy dandy screwdriver for the ignition. You had to hold second gear in place or it would fall out and as you held it in place it would kick at you.

I used it to get back and forth to school and my first job. I had it for almost a year till I cracked the giant steelie rim trying to off road it. I noticed it when I got up to 40mph and the truck would start to shake violently. It was either buy new rims and tires or get the 1975 Monte Carlo I had my eye on.

Don't know what happend to it. One day it was just gone, I don't think we noticed it till a few days later. Some say it found its way back to mexico.........

[DustinsDuster]

my first car was the 1989 Toyota P/U my mom bought new when i was in kindergarten. 2.3L 4 cyl, 5 speed, 2wd. it was actually pretty damn peppy for what it was. my grandpa and i changed the clutch out right before my 16th birthday, and on the B-day, it was officially mine.

i beat the piss out of that truck for the next 5 years, and the 50k miles i put on it were probably harder than the 150k my mom put on it before me. it went pretty much everywhere i ever tried to take it. unfortunatly, i let it run too low of oil for too long, and it spun a bearing. in hindsight, it was a bad decision, but when the motor blew, i decided to have the truck scrapped. it really hurt to watch it get crushed, but i couldnt bear the thought of it being stripped piece by piece in a junkyard. looking back, i wish i wouldve just spend $500 or so on a newer engine for it...

i might have to drink a beer in memory of that truck tonight...

[fordman0910]

i had a 1989 ford ranger with a 4banger/5speed in it. got it ford my 16th birthday by mowing lawns and painting the barn for dad. it was in peices so i had to work more to buy parts to get it back together. had it for 6 months till my mom and dad sold me there 1997 chevy blazer. i was so happy to get rid of the truck that caused me nothin but headache after headache. i say good riddens to that truck forever.

Mine was a 1988 Ford Mustang convertable...
Actualy purchased the car from Brandon Phillips' grandpa (didn't realize thats who it was 'til brandon said something to me... Anyways. 2.3L with an auto when i bought it. some dick decided to drain every drop of oil out of it one night so the next day the motor got smoked shortly after pulley out of my driveway.

primed it, swapped it (460/C6) and put it on ebay...

[sLoWnStEaDy]

The above post belongs to me... not sure what happened there....