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:
Sounds interesting! Definitely a bit more unusual.
Passed my test in 2013, bought a car in 2014 - a 1.0 Y plate Vauxhall Corsa C for £460 on ebay with a grand total of 8 former keepers! Great little car, gave a bit of hassle every year for its MOT and finally got rid of it last April after it failed an MOT for a hole in wheel arch. Gave it in part ex for a 2016 Corsa E and got £100 for it, and to my shock the dealer welded it up and sold it on! Managed to get 6 years out of it, not bad for £460.. I now drive the Mrs old Y plate 1.2 corsa and she drives the 65 plate - give me the old Y reg any day, rarely gives trouble and drives much nicer, not bad for a car that's 20 this year!
Would it be fair to say that newer car models are typically worse than older ones?
I didn't learn to drive until I was 39, as prior to that I lived in London and worked for TfL. I now live in Scotland. First car was a 2010 Kia Picanto that I inherited from my mum when she died. Horrible thing, it was almost impossible to drive without stalling - the clutch was either completely on or completely off, and finding the biting point was really tricky. It was also far too small for my needs. Traded it in 2014 for a new Dacia Sandero Stepway. Although these are extremely cheap cars that petrolheads mercilessly slag off, I've been extremely happy with it. Nothing has ever gone wrong with it, it has a massive boot for a car that size, and it's extremely economical to run. Only issues that have ever cropped up in MOTs have been routine wear and tear things like brake pads and tyres. Very little tech on board and it has a rather bland interior, but it's comfortable and perfectly decent to drive.
Nothing wrong with a cheap car in my opinion!
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...
Did it affect your insurance costs?
My first car was a "A" plate VW Polo, enough to get me out and about when I turned 17
These seem quite popular, a few people in my year at school had a Polo, quite a variety of ages too.
1971 Bedford Van was my first got in 1977
That would be pretty much unheard of nowadays* (high insurance costs). Was it common back then?
*Someone in my older brother's year at school had a car, but was also insured in the family van, which sometimes made it into the school car park!
Passed my test second time in 1981.
1st Car a Triumph Dolomite 1850 - "OLD" L Reg.
Sounds good!
I feel rather spoilt having read about some of your first cars! Mine was a Ford Capri, it was only a 1.6 but had a twin choke carb, 2.0 cam and tubular exhaust manifold so went pretty well. I bought it in 2001 and it was only a couple of years younger than me. It used to consume rear tyres (and petrol!) at an alarming rate, although that could have had something to do with me being an 18 year old male at the time....
It’s still on the road today, and in considerably better condition than when I owned it I must say!
I imagine that was quite expensive to insure?
Passed test in 2003, my first car was a Y Registration Vauxhall Corsa. It was ok. Got me to work dry and warm.
Again, quite a popular first car.
I got my full license in 1975 and bought a 1968 "G" registration pale blue Morris Minor two door the same week.
Sounds nice!
I’m still driving my first car! (Passed my test in Sept 07).
Must be quite a good car then!
Ford Capri 2000 M registration (1973-1974) acquired in 1985 and run at little cost (primarily oil) for 18 months. It had automatic transmission which dropped out to neutral on the first roundabout outside my little estate when it was cold; I checked the transmission fluid was topped up (it was) and decided that any repair attempt would cost more than the car was worth.
I had its windscreen stolen when it was parked outside my house, presumably because it was relatively easy to do and there were plenty of matching homes for it at the time.
It'd be a nice car to have today in good condition; I saw one parked in Wilmslow a couple of years ago and it looked nice.
EDIT - I was 24 when I got this first car, I had passed my test about 6 years earlier at 17/18 but as a student for most of the intervening time didn't have the money to buy a car earlier, and with 3 years in London also there was little need for one anyway. After a number of months in my first job in Portsmouth I bought the car off a colleague; at the time I was living in Portchester and commuting by bus to North End which was OK but having a car meant I could drive to B&Q and those sorts of places to go shopping at weekends.
On the subject of stealing parts, locally a few weeks back the "catalytic converter gang" were about stealing converters from cars. Luckily the one on mine is somewhere within the engine bay, so is too much effort to steal!
I thought outside the box for mine.
Volvo S40 from 2003, it's very comfortable for my daily commute to work.
Interesting.
A 1972 VW Beetle, still the best * car I’ve ever owned. Bought it in 1989 ahead of my placement year from college. It was a 1302S, so the 1600cc version that developed a whopping 45 bhp.
* best for character, robustness and reliability once it was set up properly. Other things like the heating were primitive in the extreme.
I can still vividly remember how it felt to drive, the noise it made (the previous owner had a non-standard exhaust fitted), the little things that made it different.
I wish I’d kept it
I think a lot of people wish they'd kept their first car!
I passed my test in January 2000 at the age of 20 and shortly after bought my first car which was a 3 yr old Fiat Cinquecento Sporting in bright yellow.
I'd always loved them since they were launched, especially the Sporting variant which kicked out a whopping 54bhp!!
I kept it for just over 3 years after which I traded it for another car I had a desire for from launch......a smart ForTwo (or City Coupe to give it the proper name from the time). They are very much a marmite car and I was very much in the love them camp and once the engine died in my first, I got another which served my well for over 100,000 miles including a few trips to Germany. Now I have the big brother, a smart ForFour. I wanted something a little more 'normal' whilst still being a bit different. It's a nice car but feeling it's age a bit these days.
In an amazing twist, I noticed my old Fiat driving around locally a couple of years back and it turns out it resides around the corner from where I live now!
It's now 24 years old and still looks in amazing condition.
My dad saw one of his old cars is Sheffield a few years ago, he must have sold it at least 10 years ago!
First Car I owned (and still do, for now) was a 2007 Mini cooper S with quite a nice spec - British Racing Green with white roof & mirrors, cream leather interior and wood trim (faux-jag spec!), although as I'm barely driving it and the electrics on it have started to go haywire, I'm going to be selling it (spares & repairs/scrap). Bought it about 4 years after passing my test having driven parent's cars as needed before that
I don't know why, but I just don't like modern Minis. An original one however...