We've been talking about the first cars we ever had and getting very emotional!

Mine was a white Toyota Celica Mark I. And it was gorgeous! It was quite old when I bought it (it was a 1977 plate) and I paid £700 for it. That car had real character - a sunroof, five gears, a wooden dashboard. It had a really sport shape and went like hell! Like a lot of Toyotas of that era, the engine ran and ran and ran but the bodywork fell apart. It's probably the only car that I've ever felt strongly about. Ever since then they've just been a means of gettng from A to B.

My first was a 1968 mk1 Ford Escort 1300. Bought from a breakers yard when I was 16, and i'd got an MOT on it by my 17th birthday! It was still running a couple of years ago, and I spoke to the bloke who owned it who said he was going to do it all up again. He's promised me first refusal if he ever sells it, but I fear it may be out of my price range by now!!

Mine was an ag student's classic - a red, three door Peugeot 306 D Turbo with at least 100,000 miles on the clock. Hardly gorgeous, but it was my first car and some serious street cred with it's bucket seats and matching faux fuel caps on the rear pillar!

I was more than a bit upset, when it was rear-ended and written-off on a road somewhere in Oxfordshire.

My first car was a Mini Clubman 1275 GT.  I bought it for £50 because it had been involved in a bad accident. An industrial sander and quite a few tubs of bondo and it emerged from the shed, resplendent,  two-tone grey and its original '70s-esque peach colour. It was brilliant on twisty, country lanes and, in that environment, I bet it could match many of today's over-engineered, overweight, sports cars. It struggled on motorways though - bondo can't fix smacked up steering gear and suspension. The noise and vibration at 70mph (honest) meant hanging on to the steering wheel was like a stint with a pneumatic drill. I sold it after a couple of years for £125. Show me a car today that appreciates like that. I suspect it didn't live for long afterwards but if it were still around somewhere I'd buy it right away and head for the Devon lanes.

Now, I'm not a man, however I do get told on a regular basis that I seem to have a few masculin chromosomes kicking about (loving tractors and cars, snoring (not much!) etc).

My first car was a yellow G-reg Metro. It was pretty awful - my parents bought it for me (with my money I hasten to add!) and turned up at school with a bright purple bow round it one afternoon. Despite the unfortunate calf-scour-esque colour, I loved it to bits. It came with a multi-coloured steering wheel cover and I soon had some fluffy dice to prevent me from seeing foreign objects like sheep and deer on the narrow island roads where I grew up.

The most expensive thing in it was undoubtedly the stereo one of my mechanic friends fitted for me. It was a top-of-the-range Pioneer (I'm not sure he had come by it completely legitimately but ask no questions and you'll get no lies!) complete with remote control. Some extra speakers in the parcel shelf and a fetching 'Passion, grace and serious bass' sticker completed the look.

Now, although it wasn't that long ago (ok - so it was nearly 10 years), when I turned up to Cirencester to embark on my degree, it didn't seem to matter that I had a clapped out yellow Metro. Yes - there were plenty of Land Rovers - but equally most of those were dodgy to say the least. I get the feeling that if I turned up now in my little peril that it may look a little out of place among the Audi A3s and Minis that definitely shout DBI (Daddy bought it).   

After that - I had a lot of cars in quick succession (yes, yes, my insurance premium is quite high!). An E-reg Polo, an L-reg Renault 19 (loved that car as it was black, had front fogs and looked like something out of the film Ronin), a Golf Mark I Clipper convertable (only had that two months and then sold it at a profit as it needed a new fuel tank and leaked like crazy!) then a Subaru Impreza Sportswagen. That I stuffed into a tree the day before my MSc finals.

Text on the list was a Golf GT TDi Mark 4 (in a tasteful racing gold) which I then traded in for a new Freelander II. One of the biggest mistakes of my short financial life - lost a packet and, going back to buy a Golf a year after had to pay a lot more than I sold it for the year before). Don't get me wrong - the Freelander was a joy to drive and gorgeous to look at (blacked out windows and black alloys!). But doing 30k+ miles a year isn't good for a car that barely did 30mpg (I have a heavy right foot!).

Now, I have my trusty Golf Mark 5. It's done 112,000 miles so far (due for a belt change and service very soon!) and I love it.

I know I've listed them all - but for me each car has been so important. Cars will never just be a means - I spend most of my life in them so they have to feel right, look right and be fun to drive!  

Mine was a morris marina 1.8, drove like a boat with wheels, but had more fun driving them times 

My first car was a 1.4l Mk3 Astra, in a wonderful shade of white...not the best colour for travelling about on farms, but it provided great camouflage in the snow! The skinny tyres were also great in the mud/ snow, although at anything over 65mph it did tend to develop the shakes.

It was never going to be the fastest or most exciting car in the world, but it was my first after passing my test and that made it the best...at the time (like emily, I've now also discovered the joys of the VW Golf!). Sadly, the "Disastra" had to go to the great wreckers yard in the sky after the head gasket went somewhere outside Swindon...

Paul

First car was a Ford Escort, nothing to write home about. Unreliable would be the kindest way to put it.

The next was a major investment an Audi 80 1.6 petrol which we still have.

The Germans make some of the best cars in the world, as mentioned above.

My next investment will be a SLK just after I get that illusive winning Lottery ticket.

My first car was an Opel Kadett 1.3 ( same as an Astra ) it was quite a nice car but not all that sporty. I had a few new wings etc following some over-enthusiastic driving, but managed to keep it on the road for a few years. My wife finally wrote it off, not long after we married. [:'(]

After the Opel came a Mk 2 Cavalier SRi 1.8 which was very fast, then a Mk 3 Cavalier 2.0 SRi which was a bit faster but didn't handle as well. Then along came the kids and we bought a Nissan Terrano ( boring as hell but very practical ). This did 170k before going on the scrappage scheme last year. We now have a VW Passat 2.0 tdi......on reflection probably the best car I have ever owned, but thinking about my first car has bought back lots of happy memories, most of which will have to remain top-secret.

I am quite proud of the fact that after 26 years of driving I'm only on my fifth car and still have a clean licence ( more luck than judgement ).

Tim.Relf:

Mine was a white Toyota Celica Mark I. And it was gorgeous!

 

Tim, I take it that the person in your photo isn't you then ? Hope I haven't put my foot in it !

I've only ever had two cars, a Vauxhall Chevette which my dad bought for me at college when I got my firearms license. It was great, you could fit a double airbed in the back and the boot was low enough to wrestle a deer into, even for a girlie. We also managed to mend it on the cheap as we had a box of Viva parts in the garage which could be adapted to fit.

Then I got my Hi-lux about 10 years ago and we have aged gracefully together. An amazing vehicle!

Now, if you want to talk about motorbikes..........

 Fit a double airbed in the back of a Chevette, incredible, just incredible

 

A Rover 105S. Leather, walnut dash. Armchair-like seats. Well, I was 21 years old and a man needs comfort. The fact that it had an enormous engine under the bonnet and could out accelerate just about anything on the road, with a top speed well over the 100mph, were just little bonuses if the need arose.

 My first was a Fiesta Mk2 that I shared with my brother though I only got to drive it 3mins up the road to my grandparents house and back with my dad before my brother driving me to a driving lesson and himself to work was hit by a speeding transit and it didn't come out very well with the mobile forge acting as a bit of extra balast in the transit coming down the hill.

Our next was a Polo it was a nice car but to be honest I prefered the Fiesta (what can I say I like blue, though the fiesta was beige and the polo dark blue)

That where my brother and I parted sharing when we sold it he got a Peugeot 306 lemon and I got a 205 which is still going though I am hoping that sometime next year when we finally get around (hopefully) to changing it for a Discovery or similar.

 

ps. Emily is it more of a tank or chainsaw as my dad is more of the tank which I can sleep through even when the house is shaking and the chainsaw is my mum which you can hear from a mile away and it'll still keep you awake. Though she swears she doesn't and complains about my dads' habit 

1956 split screen Morris minor, bought it for £50 when l passed my test age 17.

The insurance was £55 fully comp, my Dad would not let me put it on his policy.

Got rid of it when l started my second year at Seale Hayne, interestingly, it could hold the front and second row of the rugby team! 

 1976 Chevy Malibu was the first car I ever had possession of, but the first I ever bought was a 1979 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup, in 1986.

Been trying (unsuccessfully so far) to find a photo of my Toyota Celica.

I remember it sat outside in one particularly bad winter. Basically had a week buried under snow - then when it thawed, I jumped in it, turned the key and it started first time. Brilliant engine. Lumps fell off it through rust, through. Used to treat the body work with something called isopon. Wonder if you can still get that?

Yes Isopon is still going strong, though its allot cheaper now as other companies can produce equivalent products.

Photo of MK1 Toyota Celica any particular colour Tim?

Or does it have to be your particular car?

Probably, sentimental value.

 

mursal:

Photo of MK1 Toyota Celica any particular colour Tim?

Or does it have to be your particular car?

Probably, sentimental value.

It was white Mursal. And yes, I'm sure I've got my rose-tinted spectacles on... if I got in that car today I would think it was a cheap, tinny and rusty piece of rubbish 

mursal:

 Fit a double airbed in the back of a Chevette, incredible, just incredible

 

It was an estate!

Mine was an Austin Maestro - an absolute shed! I fondly remember it bursting a pipe and flooding the passenger footwell whilst cruising up the A303 in Wiltshire. Luckily, I had some copper pipe and jubilee clips and could effect an emergency repair bypassing the heater. Thank goodness it was summer!

Mine was a White Morris 1000.Very reliable.started first time every time and was good on fuel.72 mph flat out,a Mini would leave you.I then Had a Mini Pickup,absolutely brilliant,would be just the cheap runabout needed today.Then the three litre Ford Capri,fast, well it was like a Rocket but that had to be in a straight line because this Monster did not go around corners but Beautifull Leather Seats,brilliant Radio and Heater.Ah! those were the days.

http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=readersrides&action=display&thread=35730

White Toyota Celica MK1, for those it may concern 

I have my doubts its a MK1, more like a later model to me.

But nice cars just the same.

 

Mine was a 1985 Land Rover 90, and I've still got it! If you dont include the galvanised chassis, 2x axles, gear and transfer boxes, doors, suspension etc then it's been the most reliable car I've owned. It's managed to survive being replaced by a 300Tdi Discovery (the Disco got sold to the chap who came to buy the 90!), a Peugeot 106 van (apparently I needed a more practical car?).. and now is in full time use again after a little incident has meant it's most recent replacement, a Ford Ranger is unservicable at present.

Mine was a  Reliant three wheeler and, because at the time I only had a motorcycle licence the reverse gear was blanked off. This meant that to park it I had to get out and push it backwards whilst turning the steering wheel. Boy could I tell some unbelievable stories of that car (someone remind me when we meet in January)

I then swapped it for a Standard Eight (the one with the boot (trunk) behind the rear seats but with no access from outside the vehicle. That engine blew up and I replaced it for £60 all in. My next was a Riley 1.5 and then a Hillman Imp which was my first Company Car. That takes me to 1965 and I will stop there as the list goes on and on.