DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... First car stories

I'll bet I'm not the only one around here who almost killed themselves at 18/19 years old in their first car.

My first car was a used AMC Hornet that I got cheap as it had sigificant hail damage and looked like it had the measles.

I ended up rolling it on a dirt road on a farm in Coshocton, OH. (going about 5 MPH).

It was a tiny one lane driveway.

I was going downhill around a slight bend and gassed it (to spin the wheels in the dirt). The car slid sideways and both the front and rear wheels slid into little drainage ditches on either side of the road. The forward momentum was enough to roll the car. (3/4ths roll - car ended up on its side (the driver's side).

It was summer and the windows were open. I'm lucky I didn't get seriously hurt or lose an arm.

Car was totalled. The Hornet had a unibody and the roof was caved-in.

I must have had decent collision insurance because I was able to buy my second car fairly soon afterwards: a Ford Maverick.

My older brother wrecked that one.

Anybody need a ride?

You should have had a car like my first car, a 69 Chrysler New Yorker. That steel behemoth protected me in 6 different wrecks. I never got a scratch.

mannnn.....

My first car was at 16. My dad always had my back. My mom is this crazy overprotective puerto rican woman. So she was always keeping me from doing stuff. Well my dad had me going to Driver's Ed without telling my mom, and when I turned 16, he took me early in the morning to go test for my driver's license.

When i passed, we went home, and around 2pm, this tow truck came backing up into the drive way. It was a 98 Honda civic EX coupe. Busted ass hell, didn't start, missing a whole damn rim, busted windows lmaooooo.

but at the time, i JUST got this job working at best buy, and that was also the time my parents moved me into a private school starting junior year.

i spent everything ounce of money i had getting that car to work. And working at Best buy, everybody acted like a family, so a lot of my car audio stuff, AFTER ofcourse i had to buy new glass and engine parts and a tire lol, was coming stupid discounted from my homeboys at Best buy.

by the time senior prom rolled around, i had that car DECKED. dropped it a couple inches, 15 inch racing rims, gun metal grey paint job. 2 10 inch subs plus a 15 inch where the spare tire was suppose to be in, custom box. Rockford Fosgate power series Amp, speakers, and a Kenwood flip screen.

That was my baby.


Then i got hit by a drunk driver in oklahoma. hit me so hard the car spinned, engine on the ground,....just.....broke my heart.


man i'm going to build another one.

My first car was a total POS, a 1962 VW Bug. Cost me $300 when I was 16. It had a 4 speed manual transmission - I had never driven a stick before - and I had to drive it home from E185th & Lakeshore to our house on the west side. I must have stalled it 5-6 times sitting at a red light on an incline at West Blvd that first day. The car had no forced air heat, so on cold days you had to scrape the inside of the windshield. Had it about 6 weeks before I blew up the engine on I-90 at W117th. I'll never forget the look on my Dad's face when he asked me if I had ever checked the oil, and I said "Uh, check the oil?".

by Dave above:

"I must have stalled it 5-6 times sitting at a red light on an incline..."

I hated that. That's probably the single hardest driving situation I've been in (that I didn't like):

In a car with manual transmission, waitng at a red light, on a steep incline, at a busy intersection in rush hour traffic. (and a row of impatient jerks right on your back bumper)

I wore-off many millimeters of clutch disc-friction facings every time I did that.

The good thing was it was usually in someone else's car. I almost always had an automatic tranny. Sorry Ned.

I had a 67 Dodge Polara station wagon. A real tank. The interior smelled like transmission fluid because I couldn't afford to fix the leak.
It wouldn't reverse when I was pulling into the dealership to trade it in for a new AMC Hornet. I tried to tell the guy but he kept saying, "C'mon! get in here!". I pulled right up to the bench in the garage.
They got me back though because the AMC Hornet was a pos.
No wheel wells and the tops next to the hood rusted completely through.
The standard transmission kept falling out and I had to reach under across the exhaust to put it back together. My arm looked like roasted hot dog.

First ride was 1961 Chevy Impala coupe back in summer of '68. Couldn't understand why it would stall out at inopportune locations or have sluggish pickup otherwise car was immaculate body/interior,paint. Found out why when we went to change oil after first our first 1200 mile--oil in chambers and pan looked like high school spaghetti sauce with meat. Ended up rrebuilding this 283 then sell car for original cost $500. Then purchased "64 T-Bird soft top and my dad buys the full loaded Landau version. Only problem with it was the top motor mechanism design,contact points were vertical instead of horizontal,truunk and cover end would function great then top cycle 1/4 to 1/2 open then stops have to take inside console area where top unit was aprt from whole break connection points then put back together to finish cycle to have top down. Told cop friend I had a real "mafia staff car" when this happens bullet proof shield protection.

My first car was a 1972, Candy Apple Red Pontiac Grand Prix. I was out driving one evening, (around 8 or so, in the summer) and entered this intersection, and WHAM! This old guy ran the red light, and smashed into my car. I think that he fell asleep at the wheel. He hit my car so hard that this huge car was shoved 2 feet sideways as I traveled through the intersection. (they could see my tire tracks, and they went sideways, that's how hard the guy hit me) This was a 25 MPH speed limit, and there is no way the guy was going 25. He hit my car so hard that he actually ripped the engine off the transmission.

The cops said that they could not tell who had the light, and even if he had been speeding, it would not necessarily make him responsible.

My poor car, my first car was dead.

I was out in Lincoln Knolls a few weeks later, and I saw this deep black Grand Prix. It was a 1971, and it was beautiful. The paint was faded, and desperately needed rubbed out and waxed ..... but it was beautiful. I fell in love immediately. It was $300. (minimum wages was like $2 at the time) I had $100 to my name ..... but the guy said that he would take payments. I paid him $3o every 2 weeks until the car was paid off. He never put a lien on the car ..... but I drove on something like 6 or 7 temporary tags. lol

I went through a lot with that car. It caught fire, and I had to learn how to rebuild the carburetor, and rewire wiring harness ...... I moved to Columbus in that car ..... it broke down halfway between Columbus and Youngstown when I was moving back, and my car was stuffed full of all of my worldly possessions ......

I wish I could find another one, and could afford to restore it. I really loved that car.

My first car was technically a 1969 Ford Falcon. Bought it for $100 and attempted to rebuild it. I had a really limited high-school student budget, so I barely got the thing cobbled together. Was able to start it up once, drove it around the block, and it never ran again.

My other first car was a Subaru Legacy, but I bought that with my girlfriend. I think I paid $900 for it, but quickly realized the clutch was going bad. We cleaned it up and ended up selling it for $1200 a few months later.

Mine was a brand spanking new 1967 Chevy Camaro. Dark Blue, white bumble bee strip around the front, 327, 2 bbl carb, single exhause with a pernandle handle (ask if you don't know what that is.

Dad bought that car a few months before I got my license. I learned to drive in it and when I turned 16, he gave me the car with the provision I kept grades up and didn't get stupid. As if! LOL

Drove it like a 16 year old would, raced everyone, didn't win a lot cause it wasn't a race car by any means. Did drive it through a corn field with my buddies and we had a case of quarts of Iron City Beer in the trunk..(that we bought at a speakeasy in Republic PA called Momma Jewels) We got stupid drunk on my buddies farm..., Didn't drive home that night thank goodness.

Fun car.. Great memories. Wish I could find a decent one to rebuild.

by Damanshot above:

"Wish I could find a decent one to rebuild."

Yeah, I bet.

A 327 '67 Camaro?

Very cool car. Where'd your old man get that kind of jing?

The first car I was allowed to drive was my parents' 1971 Dodge Polara SW. It was even a dark military green. I backed into a fire hydret, and it only left a 5 point dent in the bumper. Major tank.

My first car was a 74 Opel Manta. Strange car. It had a lot of European influence. Very quick and agile, though. My favorite part was the electric heater that would turn itself off once the engine heated up.

First car? First car I drove was a 1980, or 1978, maybe an 82 - plymouth horizon, 5 speed, 4 cyl. hatchback. It was dad's old car since he bought a new one for himself when I could drive.

We lived in the country (that's important later) and I distinctly remember dad telling me, when I got my permit, that he was going to teach me to drive a 5 speed.

Now, what my parents didn't know was, when they weren't home - be it for the day, or when they'd go on vacation, I'd taught myself how to drive a 5 speed. I'd driven that car for 6-8 months before I had my permit.

So, dad's going to teach me. I hop in the drivers seat, he's in the passenger seat.........he's giving directions on how to clutch, feather the gas, etc, and then he says (as I was "speed shifting" - shifting without the clutch) "Well, you're catching on pretty quick."

First vehicle I bought was a 1987 GMC S-15, 5 speed with vinyl seats, heat, and an AM/FM radio. Served me very well.

First NEW car I bought was a 1991 Pontiac Grand Am coupe, with a tech 4 engine, and 5 speed tranny (because I didn't want to spend the extra $400, or $450 for an automatic tran.)

Up in Lincoln Knolls,you're near my neighborhood on the Campbell side of 422.

A little side note to the Chevy:Classmate at other end of street dad had brand new '67 Impala and another classmate dad had a '62 Imapala so we meet at local Red Barn or KFC and just for giggles the other two try their keys in each other's ignition and the cars start,then we try all three keys in each others to find out all keys worked in each car. What are the odds of this happening? Oh and one more for the T-Bird: ran out gas on way to gas station (2 and 1/2 Blocks from station). Parked at curb firgured I'd get a shot of energy from trunk,fifth of Jim Beam,to walk to gas station,took shot than think maybe give Bird a taste in tank and carb starts right up smooth as silk. Now we have an alcohol race car.

"...Jim Beam...in tank and carb..."

That's downright brilliant.

And in a few years, economical too.

I knew a girl who worked at the Red Barn up there ......

Also, my uncle had a farm in Bessemer, PA, so my family and I used to drive 422 every week when we went to visit him. (until he moved to Struthers)

Someone brought up a Horizon or an Omni .... man, I had one of each at the same time. I had a bright orange (imagine that) Omni, 5 speed, no air, and a radio. I had a top end Horizon, IIRC it had air, and it was dark gray. They were actually decent cars, for little cheap run around cars. I could go forever on a gallon of gas.

My first car was a 1969 Ford Galaxy500. Big freaking heavy boat. Great first car cause I would have obliterated anything I hit if I got into an accident and it taught me three other important things..

1. When the gas gauge is at a 1/4 tank, you better start panicking lol.

2. Give yourself plenty of space to slow down when needing to come to a stop, cause it took forever with that big ole boat with drum brakes.

3. Check the oil regularly, lol. When I sold it, she had a rod knock from not doing that.

All in all, not as exciting a first car story as some. But I liked that car!

Those big Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge cars required a minute or two of pre-planning your turns.

When it came time to buy my first car, back in 1992 or 1993, my family scraped up $1400 with help from my grandparents. My dad asked me what kind of car I was looking for, so I told him I had three criteria:

1. Good gas mileage. I was in college and working, so I didn't have much money to burn.
2. Small size. If I couldn't find a spot to park in on campus, I'd have to find a spot in town and I wanted something easy to parallel park.
3. A tape deck. Every car my mom had driven, which is what I was stuck with, had only a radio. I would love to be able to listen to my tapes.

He acknowledged the three points and we split up headed out to find something.

A few days later, I got a call from him that he had bought a car for $1400 from some guy he met in a bar. It was a 1978 Chrysler Cordoba.

The Cordoba was pale yellow with a pale yellow leather interior. The front seat was a bench, so every turn you'd take, you'd sliiiiide around. It showed 143,000 miles on the odometer. It got 10 miles to the gallon. It was 18 feet long. It had an AM radio. It had two different sets of hubcaps on each side, but that wasn't a big deal since you couldn't see both sides at the same time (which my dad pointed out numerous times).

My 12 year-old brother laughed hysterically when he saw it. My friends howled with laughter at it and it immediately became known as the Pimpmobile.

It was because of the Cordoba that I heard my mom utter the f-word for the first time in my life. Even while cruising down the highway at 60 mph, the engine had a propensity for suddenly quitting. You'd have to shift the car into neutral and crank the ignition while you rolled along the road. When it started back up, you'd throw it back into drive and hit the gas to make up for all the speed you lost while coasting. We were driving out to my aunt and uncle's and the car kept dying on us. That's when my mom turned to me and said, "this car is a $%*#-ing death trap." I had been whining about the awfulness of the car for the two weeks I'd owned it but my parents thought I was being melodramatic. As soon as she dropped the f-bomb, I knew mom was on my side and the Cordoba wasn't going to be around for much longer.

The next day, the car quit again, just as my brother and I were crossing a highway. With oncoming traffic streaking at us, my brother started to panic and I frantically tried to restart the car. It roared back to life just in the nick of time and we squealed into the parking lot of a little grocery store. I put it into park and a huge plume of white burst from underneath the hood.

My dad eventually got the car fixed and sold it for the same $1400 we paid for it. I looked for my next car by myself and picked up a sweet little 1985.5 Ford Escort that fit my needs perfectly.

Ha,, dad was self employed as a Shoe Maker and he also worked for Fisher Body. To this day, I still get the GM Employee discount. At least as long as Mom is alive.

Besides, this was not a fully loaded Camaro by any means. I don't remember the sticker price but it wasn't a lot by todays standards. I don't think it was a lot by 1967 standards either.

My bother had a Cordoba (with "corinthian leather). When he'd take me to school (he's 5 years older than me), we'd jam to Jackson Brown on the 8 track.

Much later, my Plymouth Horizon only had an am/fm radio - but it was no problem as I had a "boom box" that I'd stick on the passenger seat. Cranking out Brian Adams "Summer of '69" on the way to bale straw and/or hay for the day - that's a memory that sticks out to me.

Baling is a memory that also sticks out to me, for different reasons. If you've never baled straw/hay for 10-12 hours a day, for 7-10 days in a row, you won't know what I'm talking about.

This comment made me laugh. My Galaxy didn't even have a legit area to mount/install a tape deck, all I had was radio too.

When I sold that and installed a cd player/tape combo in my Camaro, WITH an Equalizer, I thought I was the coolest kid EVER hahaha.

Yes, I was that person (for awhile, had somewhat long hair) that was in the camaro blasting Metallica or Megadeth. Classic times those were, very classic.

Not "Core-doe-ba, weeth Reech, Core-in-thee-un Lay-thur".

"Nobody rides for free...nobody...nobody..."

"Runnin' on... runnin' on empty.."

JUST GREAT ARCH, Thanks. Now I'll never get these tunes outta my head.

"Oh wont you stay..ay..ay... just a little bit longer..."

• My first car was a '58 Dodge Station Wagon my grandfather gave me when I was 15. I never really got it on the road because I was always "fixing" it and none of that went well.

• My first drivable car was a '63 Rambler American. It was a unibody design which had no real, steel frame. Quickly it rusted out all the way across the floor board at about the bottom of the gas pedal. It got so bad that when I applied the brakes it humped up in the middle. Those days you could get away with some crazy stuff.

• My next car was a '67 Ford Galaxy 500. It was in great shape! Nice body and clean interior and ran very well. I detailed it as clean as I could get it.

A couple months after I got it I decided to drive to Colorado to visit a friend who moved out there. For the trip I thought I'd treat my car to a new set of shocks. I took it to a Sears garage who was having a sweet special on shocks installed.

I walked arouond the store until they called my name (which came rather quickly I thought). The mechanic told me that the frame was so rotted and unstable that he couldn't take a chance in putting it up on a lift. I drove away very disappointed.

Still, I drove it to Colorado, spent a week there and drove it back home with no incident.

• My next car, some Chrysler product, I forget, died on the expressway on my way to Columbus. It was toast. The towing company took in lieu of the towing bill which saved me a few bucks. I got all my stuff out of it and called a friend from Columbus and he picked me up.

I could go for another twenty bullet points describing one defunct car after another but I digress.

I had a sweet '80 Toyota Corolla in '84 but the wife wrecked it the first 6 mos. just enough to make it ugly for the entire time I paid it off.

I also had a very nice '85 Toyota Van which I drove about 7 yrs. I loved that thing.

Right now I'm driving a 1987 Chevy Celebrity (which no celebrity would be caught dead in ). I paid $800 for it and if it lasts until this June I will have been driving it 6yrs. I take it anywhere I need to go with no worries.

However, here in about 3 mos. I'm upgrading to a small pick up spending around $4000-$5000. That should hold me a while.

Yes, but the cool thing was that I could exaggerate the lack of gas mileage and requested $2 from everyone to ride along. That becomes quite lucrative when you can stick 20 people in a car.

I am now headed to you tube to listen to Jackson Brown. (the 2 songs you listed - were my favorites. That, coming from the younger brother that had no say in what we listened to.)

For those interested.

That car would have been a nightmare, if it wasn't for all that soft Corrrrinthian Leather....







You were most fortunate, my frrrriend...

I took my friends on twisty back roads to zoom around and watch them slide all over on the Corinthian Leather seats.

Man, I do NOT miss that car one bit. lol



I just bought my first new car last February, a 2014 Ford Fiesta, and I had had it exactly one month when my mother-in-law wanted to take it for a spin. She promptly backed straight into a brick well in our back yard and gouged the crap out of the bumper.

Bless you

The first car that I owned myself was a 1977 Pontiac Gran Prix with a 400 hp 4 barrel engine got a impressive 7 mpg lol I ended up trading it in on a 1977 camaro that got twice the gas mileage. Man how did we ever afford to put gas in those things. Oh yes gas was .32 a gallon