Home› Main Category› Clubhouse
Please tell us about your experience getting your first new motor vehicle ever.
This assumes you have had at least one new such car, truck, motorcycle, etc.
Here's mine:
It's a long story, but I made a very bad buyer's remorse decision back in 1983 when I bought a new car under a $10K price constraint (from the Big Three) I hated. A new stripped-down '83 model Chevy Camaro hatchback ($9,100 sticker, el cheapo vinyl seats, AM Delco radio, no a/c). I was 19 then. Think of how nicely-appointed I could have gotten a Japanese import back then for around that price if I had not such a buy-American attitude. A new '83 Chevy Impala started at about $11,500 and it had no a/c either. 'American' cars were a real rip for what they really were. Big Three dealerships were never warm and friendly to customers like Toyota (and most other foreign car) dealerships were and Big Three products did not have Japanese reliability and longevity.
Even in 1983, $10K did not buy much new car in terms of size and luxury. A loaded-down econobox was about all that was happening within that price constraint then. Think 4-cylinder motor.
I was a shill for "American" brands back then to my own young stupidity. I had a paper-kite budget but wanted to shoot for the moon. I was too ostentatious for my young spoiled-rotten britches. I really wanted a new Lincoln Town Car back then but for only $10K, no way.
If one were to have had $10K cash back in the spring of 1983 to buy a brand new car as I did, one's best choice then would have been a well-equipped Toyota Corolla or Corolla DX wagon, coupe or sedan.
I had acquired $10,000 from a lawsuit of my mother's and my mother's rule was that it had to be a new car and it could not go out the door for anymore than $10K. I told her about the possibility of a pickup truck and she said no, it had to be a regular automobile.
This was even before I got my first driver license. It's better to get a license first then you can test drive different vehicles. My mother and the salesmen at the showroom at our local Chevy dealer pressured me into that stripped Camaro because "it looked cool, smart-styled and sporty". My mother was looking at the new '84 Corvette and that metallic-gray Camaro on the showroom caught her eye.
I hate myself for not liking Japanese when I was young. I've had several horrible experiences with "American" car dealerships (mostly GM) and a number of crappy Big Three products (from Ford, GM and Mopar) that I've bought over my lifetime because I was such a buy-American apologist.
I now love my current 1995 Corolla DX to death. My next vehicle is definitely gonna be a Toyota truck.
Here's mine:
It's a long story, but I made a very bad buyer's remorse decision back in 1983 when I bought a new car under a $10K price constraint (from the Big Three) I hated. A new stripped-down '83 model Chevy Camaro hatchback ($9,100 sticker, el cheapo vinyl seats, AM Delco radio, no a/c). I was 19 then. Think of how nicely-appointed I could have gotten a Japanese import back then for around that price if I had not such a buy-American attitude. A new '83 Chevy Impala started at about $11,500 and it had no a/c either. 'American' cars were a real rip for what they really were. Big Three dealerships were never warm and friendly to customers like Toyota (and most other foreign car) dealerships were and Big Three products did not have Japanese reliability and longevity.
Even in 1983, $10K did not buy much new car in terms of size and luxury. A loaded-down econobox was about all that was happening within that price constraint then. Think 4-cylinder motor.
I was a shill for "American" brands back then to my own young stupidity. I had a paper-kite budget but wanted to shoot for the moon. I was too ostentatious for my young spoiled-rotten britches. I really wanted a new Lincoln Town Car back then but for only $10K, no way.
If one were to have had $10K cash back in the spring of 1983 to buy a brand new car as I did, one's best choice then would have been a well-equipped Toyota Corolla or Corolla DX wagon, coupe or sedan.
I had acquired $10,000 from a lawsuit of my mother's and my mother's rule was that it had to be a new car and it could not go out the door for anymore than $10K. I told her about the possibility of a pickup truck and she said no, it had to be a regular automobile.
This was even before I got my first driver license. It's better to get a license first then you can test drive different vehicles. My mother and the salesmen at the showroom at our local Chevy dealer pressured me into that stripped Camaro because "it looked cool, smart-styled and sporty". My mother was looking at the new '84 Corvette and that metallic-gray Camaro on the showroom caught her eye.
I hate myself for not liking Japanese when I was young. I've had several horrible experiences with "American" car dealerships (mostly GM) and a number of crappy Big Three products (from Ford, GM and Mopar) that I've bought over my lifetime because I was such a buy-American apologist.
I now love my current 1995 Corolla DX to death. My next vehicle is definitely gonna be a Toyota truck.
Replies
🤨
Sarcasm
He drove it for a whole week and we got stuck in a big traffic jam on the way home from him picking us up at school (my sisters and I were in High School). In the middle of traffic he decided he had pushed on a damn clutch too many times. He stopped the car and exited and told me it was my car now so I was to drive my sisters home and he'd meet me there. He walked away through three lanes of traffic and disappeared, so I jumped in the drivers seat. I'd been driving since I was 9 with my dad and since 12 on my own (licensed at 15 but dad was not a big "rules" kind'a guy) but I'd had driven a manual transmission exactly ONCE up and down my street a few days before. I REALLY learned how to drive one that day.
By the time I got home my dad had already bought another car and the Fiat was mine.
I do have a love affair with Japanese cars having owned a bunch of Nissans, Toyotas, and currently we have two Mazdas in our home which we bought new. Wife drives a 2019 CX9 Grand Touring and I drive a 2018 Mazda 6 Signature Turbo. They are EXCEPTIONAL cars.
BUT we've had a bunch of American trucks too, including several Ford and Lincoln SUVs, Ford trucks and our beloved and no longer available Hummer II. All of them great vehicles on their own accord.
I've concluded that steel is the best material for automobile body construction. My '89 black/over/red 'Stang GT 5.0 ragtop was solid (unlike the glass body Vette) with the soft top down but that Ford Fox Body had other issues. Leaky windshield header. Trouble with the headlights. Bought used in the summer of 1998 and dumped six months later at a 2 grand loss.
Went to a Ford dealer and they had a base (work) Ranger for $9900 and a base F150 for $12,000.
Bought the Ranger. 4cyl, 5 speed, no A/C or anything . Got 30mpg. Owned it for near 7 years.
I was happy with it...... I wish I bought the F150 though. The bigger bed would have come in handy many times
I had worked summer jobs and part time jobs during school for several years by then, so I had a little money saved. I found an ad in the paper for a '56 Chevy for only $300. I bought it.
When I bought it, the seller told me that there were some gaskets or something like that which needed to be replaced so it wouldn't leak oil, and that it was a cheap fix.
He lied.
My cousin, who was my Dad's age, was a mechanic, and checked it out after I bought it. He told me it needed a ring job and other work, and to demand my money back. I did, and the seller talked me into keeping the car and gave me back $100.
I helped my cousin rebuild the motor and do a few other things that needed to be done. The labor was free, but I had to pay for all parts.
The car was also in need of a paint job. At the time, my dad was the bookkeeper for the local Ford dealership, and swung a deal with the body shop guy that only cost me $20 for a paint job.
When it was all said and done, I had a pretty nice clunker. It was a 2 door post model, with a 265 ci motor bored to 283, 4:11 gears, 3/4 race cam, but a 2 bbl. carburetor. I drove it for 3 years relatively problem free. I have lots of good memories from that old car.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
My wife bought a 19 Flex last Fall but she bought it used at an auction.
By the time I had 50k miles on it, I had to have the motor rebuilt and the clutch replaced. I ended up selling it for scrap after I replaced it with a '78 Buick LeSabre (good car, BTW). For a long time, Japanese cars held no fascination for me.
Since then, I have owned a 2009 Mazda RX-8. It was nice, but not really practical, especially for Colorado winters. We traded that in on a 2012 Honda CR-V, and then traded that CR-V in on a 2018 CR-V, which is our primary car now. I like Hondas just fine, but also like my 1997 Dodge Ram that has over 215k miles on it and has taken quite a beating over years. It still runs great.
In my experience, both Japanese and American car makers make good vehicles.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
My first new car was a 1957 Chrysler 300 C, 392 cu. in. Hemi , I bought it at Bass Chrysler Plymouth. No hassle just walked in told the salesman what i wanted , agreed on a price and drove it off the showroom floor.
Since that time every new car/truck i bought has been a Mopar with the exception of a 1967 Ford Bronco, 1972/3 Jeep CJ 7, 1973 Porsch 914 Spyder, & 1974 Porsche 914 Can Am Targa.
The last new truck I bought is my 1998 Dodge 1500 4WD it has well over 200,000 mi and at my age they can bury me in it.
JAY
I bought my '97 Dodge Ram 2500 in '99 from someone advertising in the paper. It had 31k miles on it, and I paid $25k. That was probably 15-20k less than what it would cost new, but I'm not 100% sure. It was in like new condition, so I have no complaints.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
my other cars were all used and were all USA made (at the least "assembled" in the USA), 1 Ford (74 mav) , 1 Dodge (76? dart) , 2 Chevys (88 beretta & 02 imp). all of them were good USED cars. Never thought i would buy a NEW since i had good luck with all of my USED cars.
but its funny with all the redneck people way back then. I still remember USA this, USA that and so forth. But i will say that back then, some of the imported stuff wasnt that great either. But eventually they were able to put out a good product and kick the redneck USA A$$ too.
I made a comment about driving a **** truck to my redneck friends. They dont say much or if they do its "they make a great truck" and sometimes "better than any USA crap". So the tides have turned for now.
but so far my Subi has been good. I did have some water stains on the back roof liner and have no idea on where they came from or when, but i had it in the shop and they did all they could do to find any leak, but no joy. I could have left the windows open during a rain or something, but dont remember. Also getting old sucks. In the beginning i was able to get almost 30 mpg in combined city/highway mostly to work/home, but its dropped now to about 25 mpg combined. So the next time it goes into the shop i have to remember to ask them to look into the mpg drop. its only a few mpg better than my imp did and my imp had a V6 with way more get-up-and-go.
- Don Burt
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
First car I ‘bought on my own’ was a 1980 Chevy Silverado 1/2 ton 2 WD long bed. Bought in probably 1994. GREAT truck. Paid like $1200 for it and drove it everywhere. Perfect for college. It died when my brother’s girlfriend pulled a left into oncoming traffic. (Starting to see a pattern here?)
First ‘actually new’ car that I bought was a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. Still have it, its my daily driver. Buying was easy- Ordered the way we wanted from the dealer, and had it delivered.
That will probably be the LAST new car I ever buy. New cars are stupid expensive these days. I’ll buy a 2-3 year old truck from now on.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
And this thread made me realize that I've bought plenty of brand new stuff, including motorcycles but never a car.
i have never (knock on wood) totaled a car
one of my brothers has totaled 4 of my cars. The other brother has had a Girlfriend total one of mine.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov