FIRST (MIDDLE) AND LAST CARS

Do you remember your first car? Was it cute like mine? How about your last car?

GETTING MY LICENCE

When I was a teenager I couldn't wait to get my licence and to have the freedom of being able to drive when and where I wanted. The thought of never having to beg a lift from my parents ever again was a huge motivator for me and within weeks of turning 17 I had finished my final exams for High School and passed my driving test. Two huge accomplishments indeed!

FIRST

My parents were great believers in not indulging their children, so we each had to buy our own car when it came time to drive. I worked on the weekends at Aherns (a large department store) selling dress fabric and put my meagre earnings away each week towards the purchase of a secondhand 1971 (or thereabouts) Daihatsu 3 door, 3 cyclinder car. It sounded like a lawn mower and I loved it to pieces.

To show that I'm older than the internet - and how few pictures we took back "in the good old days", I don't have a picture of myself with my little red car and there weren't any I could find by Googling. This was the closest match to what I remember (and mine certainly wasn't as new looking as this one!)

Do you remember your first car? Was it cute like mine? How about your last car?

MIDDLE

When I started working full-time as a Dental Therapist in the early 1980's I was posted to the middle of nowhere in the outback of Western Australia. Not much to spend my money on in those days, so I squirrelled it away in the bank, watching the balance in my passbook - (remember those?) - slowly grow until I had enough at the end of the year to buy a BRAND NEW Datsun (before they became Nissan) Pulsar - my pride and joy. I was so proud that I even have a photo of me with it below.

Do you remember your first car? Was it cute like mine? How about your last car?

LAST

After the Datsun Pulsar, there were a few secondhand cars along the way as we raised our family and didn't have the finances to buy anything new. Then, a few years ago, we splurged and bought me a new little Mazda 2. I'm still driving it today and probably will for several more years because it's easy to drive, easy to park, and fairly economical (and cute). The picture below was taken on the day we picked it up and I've been smiling ever since.

Do you remember your first car? Was it cute like mine? How about your last car?

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Do you remember your first car? Was it little and cheap like mine, or did you have parents who bought you something flash? What about now? Are you driving the Midlife sports car or something sensible like me? 

Do you remember your first car? Was it cute like mine? How about your last car?

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28 comments

  1. My first car was a 1969 Ford (forgot the model) that was as big a boat and I paid $100 for in 1986. That thing wouldn't die and I had it until I joined the Navy in 1990.

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    1. They don't make them like they used to do they? I think those old clunkers lived on for decades - and young people didn't mind driving something cheap (and a bit dodgy). Now we all seem to want new and whizz-bang - a lot of teenage drivers have better cars than I do!

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  2. My dad practically had to force me to get my license. I was 16 and already in college and he said I could not go to college if I did not learn to drive myself there.

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    1. I'm glad he made you step up Elise - he probably had his own reasons but it would have ultimately made your life a lot easier! Independence comes with a driver's licence.

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  3. My first car was a 1979 Datsun. Just like your first car, I bought it with my own money, it sounded like a lawnmower and I loved it to bits!! Thank you for another fun trip down memory lane!

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    1. I'm not sure what it was with those old cars Donna, but there must have been a lot of lawnmowers driving around with teenage girls in them back in our days!

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  4. My first car was a Fiat 1100 and I paid $100 for it. like you I got my licence as soon as I could. My parents never drove and my brother had a motorbike so I was the first in the family to get a car. My first brand new car was a Honda Civic Hatchback in Metallic blue. I loved that car and still remember the rego JDN330.

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    1. I can see you in a little Fiat Sue - and I bet you were so proud to be driving it! And I think metallic blue was my go-to colour for almost every car I've bought over the years - it's so pretty!

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  5. My first car is my current car. I am in the market for a new one though, it's time and our needs are for something bigger.

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    1. No matter how much we love that first car, it always has to give way to a more practical (and often more reliable) successor. I do enjoy not worrying about whether my car will start or not and knowing it will get me from A to B without any problems. Good luck with the car shopping.

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  6. Oh yes, I remember my first car! It was a dark green Morris 1100 that I bought off my uncle for $200! I now drive a lovely brand new Toyota Corolla. Cars have come such a long way since the 1980s. #TeamLovinLife

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    1. I think it's nice that we started with a little clanger Kathy - it makes us appreciate that lovely new car we drive today even more doesn't it?

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  7. What a great post - which got me thinking! Unlike you, I didn't want to drive. I was a bit of a hippy and preferred hitching and scrounging lifts - not good! I was a terrible driver to begin with and my Dad ended up not taking me out - he used to shout at me and I'd shout back and there'd be a row. But in the end I did learn to drive, after my second driving test (the first one I failed for almost mowing a poor unsuspecting woman down on a zebra crossing!) and my first car was a Subaru. A big hefty hunky thing. I didn't love it, nor it me, but it went Broom-Broom and that was all I wanted!

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    1. Imagine if our daughters said that today Jo? "prefer hitching and scrounging lifts" would strike terror in our hearts - times have definitely changed! I'm glad you and your dad survived the learning phase (my husband and daughter were much the same!)

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  8. I didn't get my driver's license till I was 19 and didn't have a first car really. I borrowed Dad's car occasionally and was married when I was 20 (nearly 21) and that was when I had a first car (also his car though). Can't recall what it was? We had heaps of second hand cars over the years. I got my first brand new car only last year in December - just before Christmas. It's a Holden Trax Active and I love it so much! :-) #TeamLovinLife

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    1. My dad would never have loaned me a car Min - he wasn't very good at sharing! So buying my own was the only way to independence - and I couldn't wait for that to happen! It's interesting that Midlife seems to bring a lovely new car with it for a few of us :)

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  9. I haven't gotten a driving license or had my first car yet. I now go to my university by a motorbike. But your article has motivated me to get a license myself. I would try my best. Thanks for sharing your story.

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    1. I always wanted a motorbike licence when I was younger Thu but was never brave enough to do it. Good luck with getting a car licence down the track - but there's no hurry - motorbikes are a lot cheaper and easier to run!

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  10. My first brand-new car was a 1986 Chevy Nova. I bought the bare minimum package--hand-crank windows, a cassette tape player, and no air conditioning. I almost immediately regretted the lack of air conditioning. I had several cars over the years, and then in 2015 I purchased a Ford Edge, which I love and plan to drive until I can't anymore! I like the vehicle and I love that it's paid off!

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    1. I remember window winders and cassette decks and no aircon Christie - and it doesn't seem that long ago! Remember when a tape got stuck and unspooled everywhere when you pulled it out?

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  11. I've got a late December birthday so only just got my licence days before I headed to Uni in the following February.

    My first car was a bright yellow gemini with a black interior... I named him Bevan.

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    1. My birthday is in November Deb - and right in the middle of my final school exams - so I waited til I finished those and the first thing I did after that was get my licence - all the Summer holidays to be driving in - Joy!

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  12. My first car was my parent's old corolla - & yes, I bought it from them. My current car is a RAV4 that I bought new almost 10 years ago & that I adore. I secretly (ok, not so secret now) want an old landy i.e. landrover or something similar that I can pull up at lights & people say 'Man, that's an old chick driving that...'

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    1. You sound like my husband Jo - he drives a secondhand Alfa Romeo - and loves it when people comment on his European car (I just weep quietly at how much it cost to service and buy parts for!)

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  13. Great to see you as one of our most favorite bloggers at #BloggersPitStop, Leanne. You are always so supportive of link parties and other bloggers so well deserved.

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    1. Thanks Sue - you know how much I love you guys over at the Pit Stop xx

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  14. My first car was a 10 year old Datsun 180B, which I promptly christened Debbie Datsun. My current car is a Toyota Camry - it's got a few dings and scrapes (oops) but it goes it goes it just goes! I don't use it a real lot, just had the A/C fixed which is wonderful. I sometimes dream about getting a newer, snazzier car but it's just not a priority and I'd scratch and dent it again in no time, no doubt ...

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    1. When I bought my shiny new car I was so happy - within months some Drongo had opened their car door into mine and left a dent - the gloss was gone and after wiping away a tear or two, I have come to realize that shiny and new doesn't last long - next time I'll be buying something a few years old with less to regret when it get a dent!

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