[ajprice]

I have had my first car for nearly a year now, and its been fine. It's a Skoda Fabia (small 1.4 hatchback based on a VW Polo). It does what i want it to (fits my 6'6" self behinnd the wheel, cheap to insure, fairly cheap to run), and its a pretty safe choice as a first car for anyone. No intention of replacing it anytime soon, but friends have said that after they had their 1st car, their 2nd car was a bit of a reaction to it, and they got something more sporty and up spec, and something that doesn't shout "My First Car!!". Someone I know went from a Ford Fiesta to a Ford Puma, for example.

So what was your 1st car, and 2nd car, was there a similar thing going on by getting a very safe and cheap to run 1st car, then going for something a bit different 2nd time around when you were more confident behind the wheel?

[Madison]

My first car was a 1978 El Camino that I bought from my brother in 1985. I had that for 2 years, then I replaced it with a 1986 Monte Carlo SS that I bought in 1987. I've been GM all the way since.

1978 El Camino
1986 Monte Carlo SS
1988 Beretta GT
1993 Bonneville SSE
2000 GMC Jimmy 4x4
2005 GMC Envoy


That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

[sek929]

1988 Chevy Suburban Silverado
1992 VW Jetta GL
1992 Nissan Pickup xtra cab
1995 Dodge Intrepid
2000 GMC Sonoma SLS 4x4*


* Picking up this baby in a few days, good thing since my Dodge is starting to run funny.

Madison, how was your 2000 Jimmy? Any problems?

[ajprice]

Jeez!!!! There is no way on earth I would even have considered getting a big V6/V8 or SUV as a first car. Apart from the fuel costs (UK petrol is way over £3 per gallon), I'd scare myself silly having a big car with that much power in it.

Out of interest, what cars do driving schools generally use in America? I had a Ford Focus 1.6.

[Spliffdaddy]

1978 Buick Regal
1976 Jeep CJ5 V8
1980 VW Rabbit
1979 Mercedes 300D
1982 VW Rabbit diesel
1984 VW Rabbit GTi
1988 Chev. S-10 pickup
1988 VW GTi 16v
1984 Audi 4000s
1992 Nissan Maxima
1989 Jaguar XJS
1986 Chev. Astro van
1996 Mazda Miata M
1998 Chev. S-10 pickup

prolly left out a few...

whoa. looks like I need a new car.

[Dakar]

Hahaa, great idea.

1984 Renault Fuego turbo (with full top 'sunroof')
1984 Volkswagen Scirocco (and I'd still drive that thing today if I ould have it factory fresh condition. Fun car)

[macroy]

1985 Mercury Cougar Station Wagon (ah...brings back memories)
1988 Mitsubishi Vanagon (One of the first Japanese mini-vans along with the Toyata).
1990 Acura Integra
1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd (hunk of junk... hated it)
1999 Toyota Camry LE V6** (first car I actually paid for with my own money)
2000 Acura 3.2 TL
2004 BMW M3
2004 Honda Pilot

[NYK Ace]

1996 Ford Taurus
2004 Ford Mustang

(hey im only 22 so my list isnt that long.... yet)

[jebjeb]

1991 Honda Prelude
2003 MINI Cooper S
2002 Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG
---- next one soon

[Person Man]

1. Used 1983 Chevrolet Cavalier that was converted from a stick shift to automatic transmission (it was 17 years old when I got it).
2. Used 1995 Ford Contour
3. Brand new 2004 Nissan Sentra

[ghporter]

1962 Mercury Comet
1973 Mercury Comet (about 5 years after the demise of the above Comet)
1980 Honda Civic
1986 Honda Civic
1973 Dodge Dart (long story involving being assigned to Panama...)
1985 Nissan Pulsar (nice...)
1988 Hundai Excel (one of the "bad" ones, before Hundai figured out their subcontractors were giving them a VERY bad name by building horrible cars)
1992 Honda Civic (my wife's)
1993 Honda Civic Hatchback (mine)
2000 Honda CRV (wife's)
2002 Honda Civic Coupe (mine)

[cmeisenzahl]

The shame of a 1976 Mustang ][, but I have a Civic now, hope to get a Honda Fit at the end of the year.

[Spliffdaddy]

Mercury Comet?

Isn't that like a Ford Maverick?

Dude, you're older than me? I'm sorry

[dav]

1984 mazda rx7
1995 nissan nx2000
2000 nissan maxima se
(all manual transmissions)

[jebjeb]

Originally Posted by ghporter

1962 Mercury Comet
1973 Mercury Comet (about 5 years after the demise of the above Comet)
1980 Honda Civic
1986 Honda Civic
1973 Dodge Dart (long story involving being assigned to Panama...)
1985 Nissan Pulsar (nice...)
1988 Hundai Excel (one of the "bad" ones, before Hundai figured out their subcontractors were giving them a VERY bad name by building horrible cars)
1992 Honda Civic (my wife's)
1993 Honda Civic Hatchback (mine)
2000 Honda CRV (wife's)
2002 Honda Civic Coupe (mine)

Ha! You just made me think of how different nationalities pronounce different car manufacters. I love how you yanks say Hun-day for Hyundai and Knee-san for Nissan. In Australia there was two different ways of saying Hyundai: Hi-yun-die and Hee-un-day. Nissan just sounds wrong if it is not pronounced Niss-an

Anyway, you like your Hondas eh, Glenn? Good reliable car. Shame about how they are seen in here in the UK. The rep is getting better but they used to be either for Old Age Pensioners or young ricer kids. In Australia they have been sold more as a mid-premium brand. To support that, for a long time the bottom of the range engine would be the same as the top of the range engine in the UK.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

Mercury Comet?

Isn't that like a Ford Maverick?

Dude, you're older than me? I'm sorry

Actually, the '73 Comet WAS basically a Maverick with different head- and taillights. The '62 was a pretty cool car.

And I'm about to turn 47, so I'm probably older than most people here-I've learned to live with that.

[Nagittar]

1. 1993 2nd hand 1968 Toyota Landcruiser FJ40
2. 1995 2nd hand 1978 Holden HZ Station wagon
3. 1995 2nd hand 1984 Honda Scooter 50cc
4. 1996 2nd hand 1992 Kawasaki 250cc
5. 1997 2nd hand 1963 Holden HR
6. 1997 2nd hand 1996 Suzuki RGV 250cc
7. 2004 Toyota Echo
8. 2005 Alfa Romeo 147 Ti

(edit: broken link)

[Dakar]

Complete with links. Somebody's gunning for extra credit points.

[Sealobo]

1. 2000 BMW M Coupe
2. 2004 Honda CBR600 RR
3. 2006 Toyota bB 1.5 (the new Scion xB for you guys in the N. America)
4. 2006 Porsche Boxster 2.7

[ajprice]

Interesting how they use the same name for completely different cars in different countries -

UK/European Ford Maverick:


US Ford Maverick:

[rickey939]

1991 Ford Taurus
1996 Mercury Sable LS
2001 Ford Taurus SES
2005 Mercury Sable LS "Platinum Edition"

See a pattern?

[Paco500]

1972 VW Super Beetle
1976 Chevy Nova
1978 Honda Civic CVCC
1985 VW GTI
1989 Kawasaki Ninja
1985 Nissan Pickup
1986 Saab SPG
1986 Toyota 4Runner
1992 BMW K75
1985 Saab 900 turbo
1972 International Harvester Scout
1986 Isuzu Trooper
1989 Subaru GL
1995 Plymouth Neon
1985 Volvo 240 turbo
1991 Nissan Maxima
1995 Chrysler Concorde
2003 Honda Civic Si

[davesimondotcom]

1979 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (the Blunderbus)
1984 AMC Eagle
1988 Ford Tempo GL (First car that was mine, not a car my parents had that I drove)
1993 Chevy Cavalier
1992 Olds Achieva (hated it)
1991 Ford Ranger (still my truck for putting around)
1998 Mazda 626 (great car, wife got hit and totaled it)
2000 VW Passat (previous owner had trashed it, so we offloaded it before we spent too much $)
1999 Subaru Legacy Outback

We plan on a new Passat sometime in the next year or so, at which time the Ranger will go and the Outback will become "mine."

[ajprice]

Originally Posted by rickey939

1991 Ford Taurus
1996 Mercury Sable LS
2001 Ford Taurus SES
2005 Mercury Sable LS "Platinum Edition"

See a pattern?

Hmm, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2005.... No sorry, no idea what the pattern is there rickey

[Goldfinger]

My first car was (and still is ) a 2001 Renault Clio 1.6 16V, a full option one, which is pretty rare. I had to look a long time to find one. Bought it in September 2004 with 62000 km on the clock, I'm now at around 90300.

Next car will probably be a Renault Mégane 2.0 or RS. Full option. I'd also like to have a new Clio RS but I really want a bigger car next time.

[mindwaves]

1) 1999 Pontiac Sunfire
2) 2005 Honda Civic EX Special Edition

[vmarks]

Driving school: Ford Escort.
Parents cars: 1984 Dodge Caravan, 1984 Toyota minivan (RWD!) - both manual shift.
1970 VW Type 1 convertible
1986 Civic CRX Si
*1971/68 (combined two cars into one) VW Type 1 sedan
1981 BMW 320iS (paid $100. sold for $1300)
*1962 Chevy Impala 4dr hardtop. v8, 283ci. (4.7±L for you metric folks.)

one of these briefly,renault along with a smattering of Vespas and a Kymco 150cc superduke.

1994 Mitsubishi Galant
*1998 Mitsubishi Galant

* cars I still have.

[Tuoder]

Originally Posted by ajprice

Jeez!!!! There is no way on earth I would even have considered getting a big V6/V8 or SUV as a first car. Apart from the fuel costs (UK petrol is way over £3 per gallon), I'd scare myself silly having a big car with that much power in it.

Out of interest, what cars do driving schools generally use in America? I had a Ford Focus 1.6.

The one near me uses American-brand compact cars. I know for sure that my sister drove a Ford Focus 2 liter. The small motor in the US is the 2 liter. We are like that about everything. Also, gas is around $2.75 where I live, so that makes it a quite a bit cheaper. It is still not practical to get 15 MPG, but I've survived on 25 MPG.

Oh yeah. cars

1989 Nissan Sentra (Named Nicole)
1983 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham (Heather)
1987 Toyota Celica GT (Ta-kun or Nandaba Naota)
1987 Volvo 740 GLE (Anniya)
1986 Toyota Corolla (Jet)

I junked the last car when I was 18 and got the first one when I turned 16.

[zmcgill]

1995 Ford Contour 4cyl ATX
1996 Ford Probe 4cyl MTX
1996 Mercury Mystique 6cyl ATX

The Probe definitely got the best milage of the bunch, but the Mystique is definitely faster.

[cjrivera]

1986 Ford Taurus
1990 Ford Thunderbird

[sek929]

Originally Posted by ajprice

Jeez!!!! There is no way on earth I would even have considered getting a big V6/V8 or SUV as a first car. Apart from the fuel costs (UK petrol is way over £3 per gallon), I'd scare myself silly having a big car with that much power in it.

Out of interest, what cars do driving schools generally use in America? I had a Ford Focus 1.6.

Well, I really had no choice.

It was my father's work vehicle for 150K trouble-free miles, he bought a new work van and I got to drive that beast around for a few months before he sold it. It was the 1-ton chassis complete with 8-lug wheels and huge Cooper tires. Whatta behemoth, but it got me driving carefully real fast.

I swindled my pops into using the money from the Suburban to buy me the Jetta, it was a sweet car (5-speed, black, sunroof) but the front end had been demolished since the previous owner chopped the springs to lower it ( )

I fell asleep at the wheel going to my second day of college classes and tanked into a tree. Then came the Nissan Truck which, even at 130K miles, was in pristine condition.....man that thing ran like a champ...but some innatentive 17 year old girl took care of that with her 1987 Buick.

I've put over 30K miles on my current car (Intrepid) and it still runs great. However, it needs front shocks, struts, and upper and lower ball joints...so I figured to take the pluge and finance a nicer newer vehicle (4x4 truck) and not sink any more money into my 165K mile POS.

[BRussell]

I've only ever purchased one car, a 1995 Honda civic that I bought in 1996.

[von Wrangell]

'88 Mazda 323 (blue)
'06 VW Polo (with sunroof)

[mdc]

2002 Hyundai Accent (bought August 2005)
2006 Scion xA

Had a little accident with the Hyundai which made me trade it in and get the Scion. I was planning on getting the Scion later this year, but this way made more sense.

I *love* the scion, it's so much fun to drive.

[TailsToo]

1982 Nissan Pulsar
1995 Dodge Neon
19997 Honda Civic
2003 Honda Accord
2006 Acura TL

[ort888]

I'm still on my second car. I bought an '86 Camry right after high school and a '99 Protege 6 years later.

I'm going to drive my Protege until it explodes, because I really only view my car as a means of transportation.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by ort888

I'm going to drive my Protege until it explodes, because I really only view my car as a means of transportation.

And unintentional suicide as well, apparently.

[Tuoder]

Originally Posted by Tuoder

1989 Nissan Sentra (Named Nicole)
1983 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham (Heather)
1987 Toyota Celica GT (Ta-kun or Nandaba Naota)
1987 Volvo 740 GLE (Anniya)
1986 Toyota Corolla (Jet)

You know, when I think about it, my cars were really reactions to each other. The Nissan was small and slow, the Olds was big and slow. The Celica was small and fast, then the Volvo was bigger and slower, but not as bad as the Olds. Then the Corolla, well my parents bought that for me. It was small and slow and made awesome gas milage for the year (and the fact that it was carbeurated).

O yeah, and my cars die tragically. My sister ran my Nissan into the garage. The Olds died after a couple of months. I ran the Celica up on a curb, emptying out the transmission and oil pan. The Volvo died when I was in another state, and the Corolla was in a wreck. It was not my fault but I ended up paying for it anyway.

[OreoCookie]

I have had only one so far, 1984 VW Golf 2 (that's the Rabbit for all ya Americans). I got it with 100,000 km, drove another 35,000 km and couldn't afford the maintenance anymore (brakes, shocks, the list goes on).

[skipjack]

1969 Fiat 850
1982 Toyota Starlet

[ajprice]

Originally Posted by Tuoder

O yeah, and my cars die tragically.

Well I was going to ask about that one . I mean, 5 cars from turning 16 through to 18 years old!! (PS. So 16 is the minimum driving age in USA? it's 17 here.)

[Railroader]

'81 Mercury Zephyr
'80 Buick Skylark
'76 Mustang (4 cycl.)
'83 AMC Eagle 4x4
'78 Ford Fiesta (German made?)
'85 1/2 Ford Escort
'78 Buick LeSabre
'80 Mercury Zephyr (given to me)
'94 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
'93 Pontiac Grand Am [wife's]
'96 GMC Sonoma
* '98 Pontiac Bonneville [wife's]
'00 GMC Jimmy
'01 Pontiac Grand Am GT1 [wife's]
'03 Chevrolet Venture [wife's]
'04 Chevrolet Cavalier

* My favorite

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by von Wrangell

'06 VW Polo (with sunroof)

Looks great in black!

[LegendaryPinkOx]

1986 Honda Civic Si (Sophia)
1990 Nissan 300ZX 2+2 (Sasha)

The Z's still running strong for a 16 year old. But thats my girl

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by ajprice

(PS. So 16 is the minimum driving age in USA? it's 17 here.)

It varies by state. In my state, you can get your learner's permit at 14 and on the day of your 15th birthday you can have your license. Scary as hell.

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by BRussell

It varies by state. In my state, you can get your learner's permit at 14 and on the day of your 15th birthday you can have your license. Scary as hell.

Scary now, amazing when I was 14.

I knew ranch kids though that were driving at 11 or 12.

[SeSawaya]

83 ford escort
83 ford mustang
90 Chevy Cavalier
91 Chevy Cavalier
98 Olds Aurora
97 Mercury Villager - still use
06 Scion XB - just got

[mdc]

SeSawaya, Did you get the iPod option?

I paid for that option, but they haven't gotten it in stock yet. They gave me my car without it and I will have to take it in to get installed.

If you have it, could you tell me your impressions of it. Does it turn off the iPod when you turn off the car? etc.

[volcano]

[QUOTE=ajprice]Interesting how they use the same name for completely different cars in different countries -

UK/European Ford Maverick:



That's a Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner here in the US.

My list is short.

2005 Toyota Corolla S.

Purchased at the beginning of my senior year in August 2004. I sure felt cool for those first few months - touting how I had a 2005 in 2004. Up until that point, I had borrowed my parents cars (Toyota Avalon and Lexus RX300) - and well, they absolutely loved it when I borrowed them. [ /sarcasm]

And yes, my family has a strange love affair with Toyota/Lexus. I can almost guarantee my parents next car will be from Toyota/Lexus, because they're quite reliable. My older brother is the odd man out with his 2003 Mazda Protege 5.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Railroader

'00 GMC Jimmy

Same question you to Rail.

How was the 2000 Jimmy? I'd be interested in what model you had and what your experiences were.

I only ask since, on Wednesday, I'm picking up my 2000 GMC Sonoma 4x4 (basically the Jimmy)