I had this idea when I saw someone asking someone else how old they were. Post here(pics if you have them) your first car YOU purchased(not the first car you drove or your parents car).


My first car was a 1937 GMT(General Motors Truck)
Bought for $500 when I was 15.

 

My first was 1969 Dodge Dart, 225 slant six, no air, automatic, $1200, 35K miles.

But my grandmother had the best. When she was about 14, her dad took pictures of her driving around in the park in a new car. These were for a promotion for car dealers, a poster to go in their showrooms. Something to the effect "if I can drive one, so can you". Women did not have the vote yet. All these cars were black. Her Dad was the manager of an ad agency in Detroit, now known as J Walter Thompson (JWT). The car builder was so impressed he gave her the car. So she became one of the first teenagers to drive and own their own car. The car builder also decided her Dad could come to work for him. So my great grand dad became marketing manager, for about six years, and then opened the first dealership for this line of cars in the state of Alabama. He also served as the editor for their magazine that went out to over one million owners.

The car was a Model T, the builder was Henry Ford, the magazine was Ford Times, and great grand dad is Charles A. Brownell. I actually have some of his business cards. Nope, don't have the car. JWT still has the Ford account.

 

1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale coupe with a 350 Rocket and a turbo 300 transmission.
Full power everything, a/c did not work, nor the cruise.
Speedo did not work either.
I drove the hell out of that car, I used to fly down dirt roads at 70mph drifting around the corners like a rally car driver.
It was 2 tone brown, I paid $500 for it and I was 15.

 

Savannah: Wow. Really cool story. My first was a 1983 Jeep CJ-7 Limited Edition. Rust brown with a carpeted hardtop and all the options available at that time. Dad and I put in tons of work and mods over two years. Custom mahogany center console, complete interior rebuild, new carpet, total engine overhaul, Holley four barrel carb, lift, tires, you name it. My final project after engine, interior, etc was to replace my rear springs. They were a day old to the day when a lady ran a stop sign with her POS Toyota station wagon and totaled my Jeep. I have never had another vehicle I have loved as much. It was a sad day watching it get dragged on that flatbed tow truck.

 

First car I bought was a 1985 Mustang GT 5 speed ac cruise and a factory sunroof

 

1981 Celica GT for $1,200 or so when I was 16 in 1992. I learned a lot from that car:
1: Smoking tires at age 16 was really cool.
2: Dumping the clutch while revving the engine and then left foot on brake prolongs this effect.
3. Downshifting into 2nd gear at highway speeds causes engine to redline.
4: It is possible to start from a stop in 5th gear - you just have to keep the revs up, and ease the clutch out VERY slowly.

5: 1-4 cause extreme clutch wear and a seized transmission.

6: Replacing a transmission in January on a cold garage floor, with just a floor jack and stands, at age 16, with NO automotive experience to date, makes for a great learning experience!!

 

Great thread! Brings back memories.
Dont have any pics of "my first vehicle" but it was a silver Automatic 97 Mercury Grand Marquis GS. The interior was basic but the seating was superb - extremely comfortable and felt like gel! Car handled corners like a big o' boat and the interior was very spacious, not to mention a huge trunk that I managed to fit an entire full size boxed up drum set in! All in all a great car - I bought it because it closely resembles the other two sister models (Ford Crown Victoria & Ford Interceptor) I wanted something like a Police car . Like the US Land Rover models, the Grand Marquis has a V8 with an unrelenting thirst for fuel. But unlike the Land Rover, the Marquis is only two wheel drive and despite its impressive weight - cant do **** stuck in moderate snow and ice!

*One notable bad memory: The transmission **** the bed in part due to faulty adjustments made by previous owner. So I replaced with another used transmission and had a "reputable" local mechanic do the work - from the that day forth the transmission would not shift into "Park" so shifting into gear (IE: Park, Drive, Reverse, 1, 2, 3 etc) required the following procedure in order as shown:

1.) apply e-brake
2.) apply large stone to pressed brake pedal
3.) get underneath vehicle and manually shift the transmission into needed gear...

manually shifting the transmission was easy, but there were afew times when the car started to role while I was still underneath! What a nightmare. The "reputable" local mechanic claimed no responsibility for the fault regardless of the fact that he installed it. Still a great car though! Just find a better mechanic to do the work, or DIY!

 

My first car was purchased new in late September of 1982. It was a VW Rabbit 2 door Black Tie Edition (the precursor to the Wolfsburg Editions). The car lasted me less than 30 days. Traveling up 3rd Ave. in NYC one rainy October night someone ran a red light crossing the avenue and t-boned me on the driver's door. The Rabbit was tossed from the west side of the street over to the east side (four or five lanes) where it smashed into a parked car. Needless to say, it was totaled while I was left in a coma for a week at Bellevue Hospital. I have no recollection of the accident and only a few memories of the car.

 

Ok, so this was actually my second car. My first car that I picked out and purchased myself was a 1986 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer with a 2.8L V6. It was a piece and I sold it before I actually finished paying for it.

My second car I loved, and I paid it off.... yep, all $900 of it.

It was a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger with a 318 and column shift automatic. Power steering, manual drum brakes, and non-functional factory air.

 

'71 Super Beetle