Kids First Car?

[ultrarunner]

Thinking the same... my OLD car was only 6 years old when I bought it in High School

Today... my NEW car is model year 2002...

 

[Jstpssng]

'67 Buick LeSabre bought in 1978 for $495. What a piece of crap that thing was!!!

Took over driving the family 1970 VW Camper after that. Learned a LOT about maintenance with that thing, but LOVED driving it! LOTS of good memories in that old van!


Kind of funny - I was driving those vehicles when they were 10-12 years old and they were at the end of their lives at that point. Now I have an '08 truck and an '02 Jeep Wrangler (10 yrs and 16 yrs old) with plenty of life left in them!! So much for "they don't build 'em like they used to!" :laughing:

I've told this one before; in 1975 my father bought a new Power Wagon to replace his '62 Willys pickup. (He regretted selling that Jeep to the day that he died,) In 1976 with 12000 miles on the truck he rebuilt the front end as the bearings had failed, and the warranty had run out.
That same year he bought a high mileage 1974 Torino for my sister - it had 80,000 miles. Everybody marveled at the good condition that 3 year old car was in, because there was no rust showing.
Today you go 100,000 miles before your first tuneup. Oil is good for 5000 miles, and fuel economy is much better. Toyota is replacing rusty frames on 10+ year old pickups, my 2004 Ranger was just recalled because of the air bags. (Those 1970's vintage Fords had a habit of not staying in park; FMC's "solution" was to mail every one a sticker for the dash, reminding them to use the parking brake.)
They sure don't make them like they used to... Thank God!

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm guessing my first car is about the oldest... 1929... still have it.

Do come across a lot of high mileage Honda and Toyota... mostly folks with long highway commutes.

In the old days the longevity went to the million mile Mercedes Diesel and Gas Volvos...

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm guessing my first car is about the oldest... 1929... still have it.

Do come across a lot of high mileage Honda and Toyota... mostly folks with long highway commutes.

In the old days the longevity went to the million mile Mercedes Diesel and Gas Volvos...

If you don't post pictures, it never happened.

I'm always stumbling across carcasses of old cars dumped out in the woods. For my father's birthday I would make a card with a pic and he would tell me what it was. After he passed away we tried to get the Model A that he had sold to use in his funeral, but it wasn't running.

This IH KB5 did a lot of work for him over the years. As he got older it got harder for him to keep it running and he sold it to a friend. If I was half as talented as many of the members here it would be parked in my driveway right now.

 

[ultrarunner]

Love the IH... is that 4wd?

 

[Jstpssng]

2 WD Split axle. He bought it around 1962 and had it until after he closed down the greenhouse. It would sit in the barn for months at a time, but always started when he needed it.
When we were kids we used to ride our bicycles 8 miles to our camp in the spring, then ride them home in the fall. One year our camp neighbors wanted to ride up with us so we put their bikes in the back and rode from camp home standing up holding onto the dump body...
If we did that now they would lock up all of the parents in jail and throw away the key.

 

[RSKY]

I held a new car for both the daughters as a prize for good grades. Not that they really needed it. Both got scholarships and lived at home commuting to the local state university. The state money (high school students in Kentucky get a specified amount for good grades to be used toward tuition and other expenses as long as it is spent in state) paid for their books, gas, lunches, and other expenses. I bought both of them new Mazda Proteges for their commute. One was a 1999, the other a 2004. Best return on investment I ever made. Those two economy cars enabled me to retire five years early. I also had the peace of mind knowing that the daughters were traveling in a new car and not one that was more prone to breaking down.

RSKY

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The real question there is....... where did you find a $1400 Subaru?????? :laughing:

Those things are priced like gold around here!

I wondered that also....

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The car I drove to High School and College and for 10 years after is a 1972 Green Plymouth Valiant with 6-cylinder... the A/C was also broke but is was straight and I found the rubber floor mats to very practical... paid $800 for that car and it served me well for 20 years.

The problem was it embarssed my employer... I was even summoned to the CEO offices and told to sit down...

She said bluntly... I know what I pay you so why in God's name do you drive the ugly car?

After the initial surprise wore off... I said I have had since high school and my cost of ownership is nil...

Note the car did not need any body work... had clean white wall tires... etc.

Then I reminded her all the money I save the hospital because of my frugal ways... she admitted I was right... but left saying I really need to do something about my car...

I told her I would drive one of my other cars to work the next day... which was my mint 62 Corvette...

Well that also got noticed... in passing... she asked if I was driving the White and Red Corvette... thinking all would be good... but it wasn't... one of the Doctor partners commented she was paying me too much if I could afford such a car...

Sometimes you simply can't win for losing... and I still have both cars today...

I cant believe any boss would concern themselves over the car you drive. Wow, that is so wrong....
But i would have asked, " what kind of company car do you intend to give me?"

 

[Howling]

I wondered that also....

$1400 Subaru was 15 years ago. Local mechanic sold it as favor for another customer that bought a new car.

 

[mark02tj]

I cant believe any boss would concern themselves over the car you drive. Wow, that is so wrong....
But i would have asked, " what kind of company car do you intend to give me?"

I worked for a family owned manufacturing company when I got out of high school in 1980. I wasn't part of the family but was best friends with the owner's youngest son. When I started there I was driving my 1970 VW camper and had to park out back with the rest of the second class citizens. When I bought my 1980 Subaru Brat I was told by the owner that I could park my new car "up front" in the office employees parking lot instead of having to park with the lowly factory workers. It was a weird place to work!!

 

[ultrarunner]

I cant believe any boss would concern themselves over the car you drive. Wow, that is so wrong....
But i would have asked, " what kind of company car do you intend to give me?"

That question had been asked and answered... no company car.

I did rebel some... started taking the bus to work for a few days... things came up and I asked the boss to use her car... didn't go over well... my job description was changed to include must have vehicle...

Lots of changes since no longer a stand alone medical facility I actually put in for mileage reimbursement now... before... I kept track and deducted as unreimbursed employee expense...

 

[kc5dlo]

When I started driving in 1978, The rule was any car I drove had to be insured. All expenses were mine. My mom did loan a small part of the purchase price. I had to agree to a payback plan that was recorded in a notebook. I knew that not paying it back in a timely manner would be the end of any financial help if needed in the future.

A friend from work was at my parents house when the 16 year old girl across the street drove up in the brand new 1979 Trans Am her parents bought her. My friend made the comment that every car she got after that would be a disappointment. Her sister was 2 years younger and only got a Cavalier when she turned 16. That would have been tough to swallow.

 

[hawkeye08]

When I started driving in 1978, The rule was any car I drove had to be insured. All expenses were mine. My mom did loan a small part of the purchase price. I had to agree to a payback plan that was recorded in a notebook. I knew that not paying it back in a timely manner would be the end of any financial help if needed in the future.

A friend from work was at my parents house when the 16 year old girl across the street drove up in the brand new 1979 Trans Am her parents bought her. My friend made the comment that every car she got after that would be a disappointment. Her sister was 2 years younger and only got a Cavalier when she turned 16. That would have been tough to swallow.

Not if the younger sister that got the Cavalier got something else (like cash for college). The Trans Am would be fun for sure, but affording the insurance, etc would be a bummer..

 

[gwstang]

"I did have an ace in the hole... I have an old 66 Mustang she has asked about fixing up... and the mere mention of this has her parents in a tizzy... "

I too have a '66 that I have restored. Put a 1990 5.0 HO/AOD transmission/holley Sniper EFI in it and dynamax mufflers and it hauls behind. Wife even likes to ride in it and she makes a good rev limiter too. Goes to beating on my leg when I rev it up and do a hugh burnout....lol

 

[2LaneCruzer]

"I did have an ace in the hole... I have an old 66 Mustang she has asked about fixing up... and the mere mention of this has her parents in a tizzy... "

I too have a '66 that I have restored. Put a 1990 5.0 HO/AOD transmission/holley Sniper EFI in it and dynamax mufflers and it hauls behind. Wife even likes to ride in it and she makes a good rev limiter too. Goes to beating on my leg when I rev it up and do a hugh burnout....lol

Luv it!

 

[gwstang]

My first car I paid for from cutting yards...a 10 year old corvair. Had a flathead 4 and 4 on the floor. If I could get it to crank...it ran pretty good. Had those "Maypop" brand tires on it...lol No ac no nothing. Friends thought it was funny to sneakily pour sour beer on the floor, when I had parked at at a local hot spot and was walking around talking to others. Stank to high heaven. I left the windows down overnight and a dang old tomcat decided to see if he could out stink the sour beer smell. Ugh, nothing like cat crap/urine all over the seat. I kept it about a year until I could afford a '74 vw beetle that was very dependable. Ahhh, the joys of driving a vw into the car parking lot at school. Hey, it got me there and back...

 

[Jstpssng]

Those old Beetles were tough, inexpensive to run, and simple to work on. When I was in HS they had almost a cult-like following. The only drawback was the heating system... or lack of it thereof.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Those old Beetles were tough, inexpensive to run, and simple to work on. When I was in HS they had almost a cult-like following. The only drawback was the heating system... or lack of it thereof.

We had three of them at one time; I had a 70, and and the girls had a 72 Super and a 74 Super. Needless to say, they kept me busy changing oil, adjusting valves and such. Good thing the brake and clutch adjustments didn't come quite as often; I had the mechanic do those. The girls loved them; the 74 was a vert...it got a real workout. And yeah, you would freeze your butt off in the Winter, and the defrosters were practically useless. I got into a sleet storm with mine and had to pull over and scrape the ice off by hand...several times going home that evening.

 

[MossRoad]

We had three of them at one time; I had a 70, and and the girls had a 72 Super and a 74 Super. Needless to say, they kept me busy changing oil, adjusting valves and such. Good thing the brake and clutch adjustments didn't come quite as often; I had the mechanic do those. The girls loved them; the 74 was a vert...it got a real workout. And yeah, you would freeze your butt off in the Winter, and the defrosters were practically useless. I got into a sleet storm with mine and had to pull over and scrape the ice off by hand...several times going home that evening.

We had many VW buses, a bug, and a Karmann Ghia. One of the buses, I think a mid-year early 70's had an "experimental" engine in it, so the mechanics told my dad. It had dual two-barrels. If you launched it, and started timing pumping the gas pedal with the bounce, you could get it to start hopping the front tires about a foot off the ground over and over. :laughing: