I didn't have a car, but I did have a store bought drivers liscense. My granny bought me driving lessons. It was nothing more than lessons to pass the driving test, but I had no idea how to drive.

How is this for feminism! My parents bought my brother this dump of a four wheel drive vehicle, International Scout was what it was to be exact. My parents said that I could get guys to take me where I wanted to go. Boys don't have that option.

Rusty would be a very kind name to call it. But when he was done tearing it up and bought a Jeep, I inherited it by default, I guess. Today, they call these type of vehicles SUV. Well, the SUV has been around a long time, minus the leather seats and carpet. This had a standard transmission and manual choke.

I would ask my dad or brother to take me to work. I got so sick of the cracking up laughing at me pointing to that nice SUV that they all knew I couldn't drive. I walked to work. It wasn't really out of anyone's way. Sometimes they would take me. Sometimes they wouldn't. But, every time I asked for a ride instead of walking, that's what I got. They cracked up laughing and told me that was my ride.

Anyone that owns a SUV can tell you just how expensive tires are. I was a minimum wage worker. Five cents was considered a raise. I worked my butt off anyway. I was saving up for a car. Then 2k would get you a very nice used car, but that is a lot of work for the times to save that much money. I was a minimum wage worker at a restaurant.

The driver door had these eye and hook type of things on it so I wouldn't fall out. My dad put it there. I once had a friend that almost did fall out clinging to the door at a turn. I always asked passengers to be really sure the door was shut. She said it was. Well, she doesn't shut doors too good, does she?

What exhaust? There was plenty in the cab. Thankfully, there was enough rust to drive so you wouldn't pass out on the road even in the dead of winter. Heat? That depended completely on what you were wearing. The air conditioning was fabulous in the winter.

I needed tires. I took it to a local place that sold retreads. Even retreads for SUV vehicles is very expensive. I don't think it's legal to sell them now, but it was then. I didn't give the guy lessons on the manual choke. The mechanic started a carburator fire because he didn't do it just so as that vehicle demanded or you were begging for a fire.

I knew how to prevent these fires in the engine and knew when my choke wasn't working right. My friends thought I was mechanically adept or something. I had to climb into the hood of this thing and reattach the choke sometimes. You could feel it when it wasn't attached. My dad showed me how to reattach it.

Well, the mechanic was completely irate when I came to pick up my luxurious SUV. He didn't know how to use a manual choke, which I assumed people that worked with cars did. I was in my teens and figured it out and a girl on top of it. He overloaded the carb, which caught on fire.

When you did something stupid like that, it went to the nonexistant exhaust in flames. Yeah, it's pretty from the inside of the cab and very loud too. Bevis and Butthead would go, "Huh, huh, huh, that was cool." What a wuss, he got scared. Well, if he knew about manual chokes with no exhaust, then just maybe he could have gotten my wonderful SUV done in a lot less time. He gave me the bill and grumbled about taking that junk to the junk yard where it belonged. Oh, what an attitude. I was offended that a so called mechanic would stupidly catch my lovely truck on fire. How completely stupid. What a jerk.

I was young and dumb. If my dad said it was ok to drive, I drove it. Now I know my dad a little better. He thinks everything can be fixed. He dies over replacing anything, although he has plenty of money to do it. That thing was dangerous. I used to joke about it. I said I was going to spray paint a skull and cross bones on the hood, which was massive by today's vehicles.

I learned a valuable car lesson from my father. Never drive anything that catches on fire no matter what anyone says, even your dad. No one taught me how to drive this death mobile. I got sick of them laughing at me wanting a ride to work. I said to myself, if I can make it to the top of the driveway, try it. I did. Then I said, if I can make it to the stop sign at the end of the road, keep going. I did. I actually made it to work with this thing! I was thrilled that I didn't have to bug anyone for a ride anymore.

I did have a little brake fluid problem. Here, it is hilly. I couldn't stop going down a hill at the school I was going to. Luckily, there was no traffic. I asked my dad about it. He swore someone tampered with the brake. No, it couldn't be rusty brake lines!

It is truly amazing that I am alive to tell about my first car. It was a death trap. I had to watch oil since it was a big time leaker. No point in changing it, that bad. I had to watch brake fluid so I could actually stop. I used an eye and hook to keep the door shut. I figured out how to control engine fires. Young and dumb, but it ran, so I drove it.

You know when I stopped driving that thing? After I had my son and was afraid of the fumes an infant would breathe. Get this, I'm a smoker. I was an adult at a whole whopping 23. I drove that thing for too many years. No problem for me. But an infant scared me.

The last time I drove it was late at night with my son in the snow over a fight with my husband I was attempting to escape. It, for once, broke down on me. I walked, I couldn't tell you how far taking short cuts on a golf course in the snow carrying a baby and baby bag to get to my parent's house.

Since that money I saved went towards buying a house, that was all I had to drive. I junked it. I got chewed by my family over the stupid title. Go figure!

OMG that is so funny. Mine wasn't that bad, but I did learn quite a life lesson from it.

I waited till I was 18 to get my driver's license. Hubby (I was dating him at the time) taught me to drive, and after a few months I had $300 saved up to buy my uncles 1980 plymouth volare (this was in 1992). It had 100k miles on my test drive, but my uncle kept it in great shape. It was spotless, no rust, no problems.

The car was a good car, technically, but only am radio, no air conditioning and a major gas guzzler.

That fall hubby (boyfriend) and I started commuting to college together, and one morning it was my turn to drive. The whole time I was on my way to where we were meeting, the temp gauge was showing a hot engine temp and there was steam coming from the hood. When I met Scott in the parking lot I told him about what was going on with the car. He said "Lets just drive it a little and see how it goes". (OK, I was dating him, my first boyfriend and I figured he knew alot more about cars than I did) We started driving when the car started making a terrible whining sound, and the steam started pouring out. We pulled over, and he said maybe I needed coolant (coolant? Whats that...as long as I check the oil, everthing is good right?)
So, we walk back to the Kmart where his car is parked, buy a gallon of (cold) water, and pour it into the (hot) radiator...and drive it back to the parking lot. Then we headed up to school in his car.

After school, we went to pick up my car and found a lovely green liquid flowing out from underneath my car. Apparently the cold water cracked the engine block.

Luckily, my uncle had a neighbor who was selling a 79 volare because the body was all rusted out. I bought it for $250, paid a mechanic another $250 and had the engines traded.

That car lasted me another 5 years or so before it wouldn't pass inspection.

Moral of the story? Hubby never comments on anything when it concerns the care of my car...no opinions on what garage I take it too, or what I pay for work on it...If he starts to gripe, I remind him of that situation...

Good for you Shel!!

I don't have a terrible car story with my OWN car.. but when my dad was teaching me to drive Standard, he was really impatient and intimidating. I started to reverse the car, forgot to take it out of gear (it was in first), it lurched forward over the embankment... I slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting the house... and broke the catalytic converter!

Needless to say, it was a VERY expensive repair!

(ANd I am a MUCH better teacher than my father was, I taught Sagus to drive Standard on a one lane country lane which included 3 point turns without going down into the fields! )

I don't really have the right to go into nostalgic stories. Not when I'm 19, still have my first car (a 92 Honda Accord) and have horror stories about myself and the idiots who should've never been given their liscences (or should have them stripped away) that I would really rather forget.

I did drive my mom and dads cars for a while though... my dad has a Jeep Cherokee that I liked to take on some nearby dirt roads... that was fun!

lol sounds ya'll have had fun with first cars here , well mines a bit diff i learned to drive in a 88 taurus wagen and a aerostar van neither was the greatest thing in the world lol. that was when i was 18-20 then when i got my first car lol may sound like a country song but my first car was a pickup truck 1984 s10 excab v6 , not a bad truck but it did havea temper of its on at 36-60 mph the automatic over drive would go insane jerking the truck like it wanted to break in half lol. needless to say i had it from august 97 till i found another car that ened up totalled after that i got a 88 regal coupe v6 with 156312 on the odo in 2000 i gave the car to my dad for work after he wrecked his van. at this time the 88 regal has 203312 or so on it runs like the wind , needs exhaust system and few other things . just keep in mind when ya buy something old afer 10 years the bloody thing goes of kelly blue book lolol