I bought my first car when I was 18. It was brand new and cost £3500, in today's terms about £8200 (see being an accountancy student helps me calculate these things). It was a 1988 Citroen 2CV Dolly in Plums and Custard colours, I can even still remember the registration number, it was F604 UWK.
It had a mighty 602cc engine, was air cooled (like the Formula 1 cars, but that is where any similarity ends), the tyre iron doubled as a crank handle to start it if needed and it took me everywhere.
I don't actually know how fast it went as the speedo stopped at 72mph and there were no such things as SatNavs to tell me, mind you it didn't have a cigarette lighter so I couldn't have plugged one in anyway.
One year I had gone on holiday to Wales with Mum, Dad and the dog and we had taken both mine and Dad's cars, we went out for the day and were having a quiet picnic by a lake when three cars came screaming over the bridge. It was a group of Police Officers on a high speed driving course. Dad spent the next 30 minutes taking them for rides around the car park in MY car!
I traded up after 3 years but I really, really wish I had kept hold of it, it was such a fun little car.
This isn't my car, but it is the same model and colourway. I have checked on the DVLA website and it seems likely that the car was scrapped when it was only 10 years old which is such a shame. However if it was still around, today it would cost more to tax than my current car which has a 1.9 lite engine.
My next car was a Peugeot 205 GL, this one was not brand new but about a year old. It was a speedy little thing, but not the fun to drive that the Dolly was.
Mine was only a 3 door.
It was smashed into in a car park at a local park when I was working there, whilst it was in for repair I was loaned a Maestro which I thought was fantastic, not a sleek car by any means, but a good solid workhorse, so my next car....
Mine was newer than this being a K reg, but the shape hadn't changed much, if at all.
After this there was a succession of Ford Fiestas and Escorts (why are Ford cars named after porn magazines?)
The last new car I bought was a Ford Escort SI, 1.8 litre in silver with body kit, sports steering wheel and polished aluminium gear change knob.
It was beautiful.
Unfortunately a redundancy (number 1) meant that I couldn't afford to keep it.
Cue several years without a car.
Just as I was back on my feet and considering looking for a car I was made redundant again.
Now, after a couple years of being in a steady job I have been able to buy a car again. It's the oldest car I have ever owned, but other than the 2CV which gave me my first taste of freedom and Independence, it is the one I appreciate most.
Yes it is old, yes it is dented, yes it is scratched. But it is fully paid for and it is mine! It was MOTd before I collected it and I have since had it serviced at a Fiat dealer just for peace of mind. I hadn't intended to keep it long, it was just a first foray back into car ownership, but I love it!
How do you feel about your cars?
Well my poor little Fiat went back to the garage last Saturday thanks to the engine leaking diesel and I still haven't had it back. After driving the replacement Proton now for over a week I am becoming more accustomed to it, and the boot is huge! Great for shopping.
I started the second of my courses this weekend for the June ACCA sitting, and I do not like the tutor, so much so that I am considering swapping from the weekend course to the weekday course, I just need to see if work is ok with it, and then whether there is space on the weekday course.
Today has been a lovely day weather-wise. Sunny and windy, perfect drying weather.
I woke up just before 5am (as usual) and at 6am gave up and decided to put a wash in. When it finished out on to the washing line it went and a second load put into the machine.
I was tidying the front room when I heard a noise outside (I had the back door and all the internal doors open to air out the house) but thought nothing of it, a short while later I went into the kitchen and looked out of the window to see all my washing on the floor. The post holding the line had snapped. I was not impressed.
So the washing ended up at Mum and Dad's on their washing line.
I still feel poorly today, I feel so drained all the time. I have these tiny electric shock type feelings shooting through my head at random intervals. Every little bit of physical exertion affects me much more than it should, I could have cried when I was making the bed, I had to have a sit down part way through as it was. Even going up the stairs wears me out and when I first get out of bed, I walk like Bambi on ice! I do wish that I could have a couple of days in bed without feeling guilty, but that is never going to happen!
I hope that I get my car back soon, and that I feel better soon!
I have been without a car for many years now, two redundancies and residual debt saw to that. But I had a promotion and payrise last July and have been saving ever since and I have finally saved enough to buy a decent second (third?) hand car.
I tried a few dealers that were local, by which I mean easy to get to on foot or by bus and hadn't seen anything that really grabbed me. Some of the dealers I walked into, turned around and came straight out again as they just felt 'wrong' for want of a better word. I have had feelings like this before, generally hotels and bars and have just had to walk away.
Last Saturday, Dad drove me over to Michael Kiernan Cars in Anstey, Mum came too but 'just for the ride, she would wait in the car'. And as we drove in, it just felt 'right', it wasn't a new place (they have been in business since 1973) and the cars weren't sorted into any particular order, but it felt welcoming. We were greeted but left to wander around, which we did, all going in different directions (Mum had decided that she would have a look round too).
I was immediately drawn to a car right in the middle, it was a mucky looking Fiat Punto. I went and found a salesman who fetched the keys. He talked to us about the car briefly and then left us to it. We all checked various things on the car, Dad went for the engine, Mum for the boot, I checked everywhere else.
I made an offer and it was accepted.
I arranged to collect the car this weekend. By the time I collected it, it had been MOT'd, cleaned and few issues sorted. I was also given a 3 month warranty.
It is a fantastic little mover and I do feel I have got a bargain.
I will definitely be going back when it is time upgrade.
