What was your dream first car?

"AM3R" (AM3R) 01/23/2014 at 21:36 • Filed to: Let's discuss

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And I don't mean the viper you had all over your walls as a kid, I mean the car you found on Craigslist or on autotrader or a forum while you were begging your mom to let you drive her minivan around with that fresh license or permit in your pocket.

For me it was an E30 325i sedan I found on bimmerfest in California... I'm in Virginia. It was black on black, clean interior and the paint was beautiful. It was on some amazing BBS wheels. It was also an automatic, but I planned and priced a swap anyways. Oh yeah, it had 180k and a broken odometer. I got in contact with the guy and we eventually agreed on $2200 and I would cover shipping. Took maybe 10 minutes of negotiation. I already had $1500 saved up and my brother was willing to lend the last $700 and I promised to pay him $850 back. (I was 16 with a fresh license, I was desperate). So I held $2200 in my hand as I showed my dad the listing on bimmerfest, and he immediately said no. We argued for a little bit, he made some good points I made some good points but the answer was no. I was mad for a good 2 weeks, then the car was sold, I spent another week genuinely sad, and then i completely got over it and spent the rest of the semester and summer having fun.... Without an E30. What was the car you just had to have when you first started driving?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:38

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Because Batmobile

Nibby > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:39

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When I was 6 I found a Volvo 240 in a classified ad in the NY Times and I showed my parents and they thought nothing of it.

LITTLE DID THEY KNOW ABOUT THE LEGACY OF THE RWD 240 WAGON

AM3R > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/23/2014 at 21:40

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Nice, I wanted to buy an old muscle car so bad when i first started driving but I didn't have a garage to wrench on them in, and most examples that could handle DD'ing duties were way too expensive in my area

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:41

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Easy.... 1995 M3 in Dakar Yellow

and I now own one

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:41

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That was when I was like 3. Then it was the 1967 GTO.

N/A POWAAAHH > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:43

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Mazdaspeed 6. Black on Black leather. Sun roof. All options. Manual, with IIROC 140km. When I first saw it on auto trader, it was all I could think about day and night. After about 2 weeks, I went for a test drive and absolutely loved it. Loved the power, liked how it felt. But my father said no, because he thinks cars with turbos are money pits.

So now I'm in a N/A subaru impreza. Don't get me wrong, I love my subaru, but I still have feelings for that mazdaspeed.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:45

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The celica. I loved that thing. I sat in one a few years back and thought, wow.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:46

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I was looking for a replacement for my first car. I was looking at Subarus not really knowing what I was looking for because I didn't know much about cars at the time, and i stumbled across this a 1999 Impreza 2.5RS with 86000 miles. My dad took me and we bought it the day I found it. Its what really kicked off my interest in cars and I still have her sitting in a garage under a cover at my parents house, going through a heart transplant because the original engine gave out.

ghosty - electric space wizard > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:48

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Contour SVT. I wasn't even into cars. I found it on cars.com and went to Wikipedia to check it out. I started clicking links in Wikipedia and just kept on reading about all sorta of automotive things. Then I started finding other cars and looking them up too. Next thing I knew I was hooked on the car drug. Didn't matter what car, I wanted to know more. And here I am. I'm a car guy because of a Contour SVT I never saw in person.

Zero regrets.

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:48

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Miata. Actually. Lol

BeaterGT > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:49

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1970 Chevelle. Was for sale at the gas station down the street for way more than I could ever even hope for.

PRBot II > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:50

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Dodge Stealth. Many countless hours spent on Ebay Motors browsing and lusting back in the 90's.

Couldn't get enough of it then, and still can't now.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:52

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2 years ago I almost bought a 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A. Ended up buying a 2002 instead.

GhostZ > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:52

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I worked on a house where there was this old, beat up 1964 1/2 Mustang (I don't mean 1965. We checked the Vin, it was a legit 1964 1/4, generator light and F-code 260 motor and all). It had twin grey racing stripes, which were probably added afterwards. The owner was a crotchety old bastard who was letting it sit and rot in a field, saying he would "restore it" some day when he magically was granted the money to do it.

If I had bought it, I guarantee you that I would have restored it carefully and brought with me to college. It was literally the perfect project car: everything was there, no rust, numbers-matching, exceedingly rare, very easy to work on and rebuild, cheap parts, and and a car I already loved. But he wouldn't even negotiate a price at all.

The real shame is that I went back and saw it a few years ago and it was completely destroyed. Instead of reinflating the tires or getting new ones (which were tore up from having 30 year old rubber on them) and rolling it, they decided that to move it they would hook a tow cable to the rear axle and drag it across dirty farmland about 500 feet by the axle . The whole car was bent out of shape and completely unusuable, unless you had a new frame for it. This had caused the windshield to be broken too, so the interior was now exposed to the elements. It was the saddest automotive crime I had ever witnessed. It wasn't like someone ruined a classic car by putting tacky things on it, they ruined. a. classic. car. Made it undrivable, unsalvageable, and did it through complete negligence. It's likely they didn' own a computer, because if they had, 2 seconds on google would have told them that they could sell the car for $5000, easy, just on merit of it being an original 260 1964 1/2 model, without any restoration whatsoever. This was during the big classic Mustang boom too.

I ended up with a 1990 Nissan Maxima that was falling apart.

Sn210 > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 21:54

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I found one, and I tracked down a mechanic. After talking to the owner of the one I was interested in, my father and I figured it would eat my Burger King paychecks faster than I could make a jr. Whopper.

JawKnee > BeaterGT 01/23/2014 at 21:55

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Lusted after my dads 72 growing up. Ended up buying a 66 can't go wrong with a chevelle

shitheelandtoe > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:00

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E28 M5. I loves me a fast sedan with some o that-thar handling them Germans are always on about.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:02

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Considering I was turning 16 in 2002...

BeaterGT > JawKnee 01/23/2014 at 22:02

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I'll own one eventually or I'll keep telling myself that. One or the other. 1969 was my favorite year but the 66s have really grown on me. That body style is too cool. Post up pictures if you got em!

AM3R > shitheelandtoe 01/23/2014 at 22:05

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Funny, after my dad said no to the E30 I tried to get him on board with an e39 M5.... That was also a no.

shitheelandtoe > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:09

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Yeah, they are very expensive to insure. Now I'm old enough and far enough along in my career that I can afford BMWs, but the M cars are still much more expensive to insure, maintain (after the 4 year "free" maintenance) and repair (after the warranty) than regular BMWs. But worth it, I think. There's nothing like an M.

Conan > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:10

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It loomed in the lot unsold for years.

AM3R > Conan 01/23/2014 at 22:19

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That would've been an awesome high school car... the high school car

AM3R > shitheelandtoe 01/23/2014 at 22:22

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Oh yeah there's nothing like an M. I drive an E90 328i, and I drove a friends tuned 335i that murders M3's on the track but one of my favorite automotive moments was driving a track prepped E92 M3 on my favorite backroad.

Conan > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:23

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My father's immediate response was "That looks like way too much fun." He taught me manual though, for which I will be eternally grateful.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:24

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My First "Dream first car" was this:

Yes, The Opel Astra twin top. Best know in Hair dresser circles as "DA BOMB"
But, to a 9 year old me, This 31,000 Euro car (Yes, it cost that much in Serbia, with the 200hp 2.0 Turbo) was what I wanted to have. Couple that to a light blue paint job, and sand beige interior, it was beautiful. Heck, I still think it's beautiful!
My mom wound up getting a $11,000 Euro Astra Hatch with the 1.6 16V, but every time it went in for something, I came along, hoping to see the "Twin top" in at the same time. Now, these were rare in Serbia. Probably 2 in blue in the whole country! Last time I saw one, it was in '11. It was dirty, beaten up, and underloved. I almost cried when the guy blasted by, hit a pothole, and slammed on the remains of the brakes.
One day, i'll own a twin top astra, and drive it with joy....

AM3R > Conan 01/23/2014 at 22:32

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Yeah I'm eternally thankful my dad taught me how to drive a manual while I was young.. Even though i ended up driving around the family accord which was an auto (at least it had a peppy V6)

Lazzris > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:32

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As a child i wasn't that well cultured with cars as my parents were red, white, and blue blooded Americans. So my first dream car was a bland 1965 Mustang, I since have dipped my feet in the jalop-pond and now have better taste in cars.

shop-teacher > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:34

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We didn't have the internet when I turned 16 (I'm young enough that it existed, but old enough that we didn't have it), so I was forever getting the free classified ads from the grocery store.

For some reason I got it in my head that it would be a great idea to buy an old tow truck. Dad wasn't having any of that. I ended up buying my Mom's Oldsmobile Toronado Troffeo from them. That thing was such a pile, I still think the tow truck would've been better!

Conan > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:35

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I ended up in an automatic wagon. I resented it at first and then began to appreciate the hugeness and wagonness. The important knowledge lingers though.

1337HPMustang > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:45

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20b in a fd

DasWauto > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:51

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I want my 325i to end up like this.

AM3R > DasWauto 01/23/2014 at 22:58

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Love this video. Everytime I see it I start shopping for an E30 haha!

DasWauto > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 22:59

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It's one of the videos that got me hooked on e30s when I was looking for one. The stance, wheels, interior and colour scheme are all excellent. A good clean build to aspire to.

AM3R > DasWauto 01/23/2014 at 23:06

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Yeah I can respect a clean, almost stock looking E30. One of those with an E39 M5 engine swap would be the ultimate sleeper/DD.

Mike > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 23:29

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Corvette C5 in red. My tastes have since become a bit more refined, if more extravagant. Although I'd love to get a car with the 'Vette's engine - namely, a V8-swapped Miata.

ksmay71 > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 23:36

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1997 Jag XJ (the supercharged V8 one). I test drove it with my Mom (can you believe it!?), and we both liked it. But after I spoke with the insurance people and the financing people, someone took it right out from under me.

It was only seven grand!

ozkar0rtiz > AM3R 01/23/2014 at 23:51

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Got my licence on March last year, started working. Drove the kia for almost a year.

Bought this after 5 months working (project and still is)Some day will look like this...

Since Last week I have been driving the 300D

911e46z06 > AM3R 01/24/2014 at 00:13

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Split window. How could a lad not fall in love?

camaroboy68ss > AM3R 01/24/2014 at 00:36

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I was given a 99 Silverado when I turned 16 after spending summers helping my grandpa work on a land development project he was doing. I also had my 68 Camaro that we restored together but that was for weekends only. the Silverado was a nice daily driver pickup but I wanted a 67-72 chevy pickup sooo bad. My great grandfather had one when I was a baby and loved riding in it. my grandpa has had a few growing up and then my buddy who is a year older bought one as his first car. I kept looking for one but the answer was always no because it was too old of vehicle. now I older and im really looking for one now.

Advan > AM3R 01/24/2014 at 02:00

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I would have loved any sort of MKIV Supra, but I ended up with a 1968 Chevy Camaro I-6 with SS badges, an awful 350 and a blown TH-350. I still want a supra probably more than any other new car. At least I can import a GT-R in a few years that might be in a similar purple-ish color. Royal Sapphire Pearl was the one I liked the most. I don't really like the Euro hood scoop even though it was functional, but this is as close to a blue that I think the last gen Supra got.

SpeedSix > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/24/2014 at 17:34

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Happy ending regardless!

Your 2002 is so awesome.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > SpeedSix 01/24/2014 at 17:51

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How did you see it?

SpeedSix > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 01/25/2014 at 18:39

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You've posted about it somewhere a long time ago, I think it's the white one with the chrome hubcaps, right?

I have a weird memory.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > SpeedSix 01/25/2014 at 19:33

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Yep

Jedidiah > AM3R 01/27/2014 at 21:28

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My dad told me stories about his convertible 442 and all the Oldsmobiles he owned, so I really wanted a 442 as my first car. I tried to buy back the 442 from the guy he sold it to, but he wouldn't sell it. However, he said he would sell this Cutlass Supreme and some accompanying parts to me for $100 if I restored it.

Here it is when I got in the garage.

Here it is now.

Don't plan on ever selling it.

AM3R > Jedidiah 01/27/2014 at 21:46

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Nice!!!! Seems like a cool guy for letting that go for $100

Jedidiah > AM3R 01/27/2014 at 22:02

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He is pretty cool. He always wanted to restore it, so he figured the car would have a better chance of being restored if he sold it to a kid who liked cars than letting it sit in his yard unused. Unfortunately, what you can't see in that picture is the rust underneath the fenders or the windshields. I did eventually fix it all with the help of my dad. I'm glad I got it running reliably now; college stops me from working on it all the time like I did in high school.