Your first car.

[JWags85]

I think of all these trendy big city neighborhoods where almost all of the parking is on the street.   Where are electric cars going to charge?   I can have the necessary equipment installed in my garage and charge it every night.   What about the tightly packed trendy north side of Chicago?

Ehh depends, the majority of upper end cars (aka Teslas and other pricier hybrids) are still parking in garages.  In my time in Old Town, Lincoln Park, and Gold Coast, it was fairly rare to see a $50K car parked on a side street, permanently.  The last apartment I lived in Old Town for 4-5 years had a 3 floor parking garage.  I'd say a good 3rd of the spots were rented by tenants who didn't actually live in the building.

I think more of places like London (and elsewhere in Europe) where parking just doesn't exist PERIOD.  Where you walk down the street at night and see Bentleys and Porsches and $200K sports cars parked on the street in Kensington or Notting Hill cause there literally is no garage parking available nearby, not even for the $5MM house the owner lives in.

[WarriorFan]

[/quote]

This reminds me of a discussion I had with Dean Robert Reid.  He was my engineering senior project mentor - and a helluva guy.  We got to talking about Jags because he always had a beautiful XJ12 parked behind the engineering building.  He told me he has 3.  One for him, one for the wife, and one for the workshop... and they rotate weekly!

Anyway I just bought my son his first car... 1997 Lexus LS400.  Looks great and seems in perfect shape, and got it basically for pocket change.

[real chili 83]

I've found that vehicle reliability depends on power train maturity. 

I bought a new 2003 GM vehicle with a 5.3 liter engine.  This version of the long standing 5.3 was only a few years old, and it showed. First issue was an intake manifold gasket going bad.  Turns out the the fuel blend would break down the gasket.  They had a redesigned gasket by time mine needed replacing.  There were other issues, including carbon build up on the intake, TPS going bad, intermediate steering shaft, etc.  I can safely say I drove that vehicle through its life cycle, selling it at 330k miles.

Replaced it in 2017 with another GM 5.3 engine.  This 5.3 platform was around for about 10 years.  No issues, and still driving it 119k miles later.

Coworker bought the same vehicle in 2019. GM had a brand new 5.3 platform that year.  He had sh1t ton of issues and sold it last year.  Only good part of that story was that he sold it for more than he bought it with the crazy hot used car market. Go figure.

I've never bought extended warranties as I am fairly handy.  However, I would consider one based on a vehicle's power train maturity.

[real chili 83]

Oh, and first vehicle was a six cylinder 76 Camaro. A real pooch. Transitioned to a 2 door 77 LTD. That car took 5 of us and 14 cases of RWB (thanks Chopper) to Fort Lauderdale senior year.

[wadesworld]

2011 Audi A4 used. Had a bunch of issues like 4 years into owning it. Sold it for cheap and bought a used 2016 Grand Cherokee. Has been great and I absolutely love it.

[warriorchick]

1975 burnt orange Ford Maverick.

[MU82]

1973 Plymouth Valiant, forest green.

This was the first new car my parents ever bought after having had numerous used cars over the first three decades of their marriage.

When I went home for 1982 spring break, my parents gave it to me as an early graduation present, and I drove it back to Milwaukee.

[PointWarrior]

1984 Renault Alliance.  Motor Trend "Car of the Year" in 1983.

So not awesome, it warrants a full article in 2022 reviewing that award

https://www.motortrend.com/features/why-renault-alliance-was-1983-motortrend-car-of-the-year/amp/

[tower912]

It wasn't that it was good, it was that every other new car was worse.

[pbiflyer]

My first car was not giving you a password reset question. 

[dgies9156]

This car without the vinyl top and fancy wheels. Tried to take out the Delta Chi back porch one night with my rear bumper. The porch won.

Ah, the Gran Torino.

My brother had one and, true story, drove it to my wedding from St. Paul in 1980. Took out a power pole near LaCrosse. Not a dent on the Torino but the power pole sawed in half and went over the car.

When Wisconsin Power sent my Dad a bill for the damaged power pole, my brother told my Dad, "Don't pay 'em, Dad. Not until they send me my power pole.*

[brewcity77]

Sort of depends. The first car I drove primarily was a red 1978 Jeep CJ-5 ragtop, but it belonged to my mom. The first I bought was a silver 1983 Chevy Citation.

My most vivid memory of the Citation was getting ticketed going 20 over because the speedometer was broken (it was, but I also drove too fast as a kid). It didn't last long and I got the Jeep as a hand me down when the Citation died.

[StillAWarrior]

First car I drive regularly was a 1973 VW bug. First car I bought was a 1988 Ford Tempo.

[Marquette Fan]

1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme - my Mom bought a new car and I got to drive her old one.  It was a great first car.

[real chili 83]

Any fans of Marvel Mystery Oil out there?  Add it to gas, oil, or both?

[Warrior Code]

1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme - my Mom bought a new car and I got to drive her old one.  It was a great first car.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Audi and VW share about 60-70% of the same components depending on the model. I have driven 5 VWs over the last 14 years or so (3 Passats, 1 Atlas and 1 Tiguan) and have never had a single issue with any of them.

If you turned in the leased car every few years hopefully no major repair issues come up.

[Not all scoop users are created equal apparently]

Have a 2017 Alfa Romeo Guilia TI for two years now and have not had a single issue, and is the most fun (and Beautiful) car I have ever owned by a wide margin. Go figure

[🏀]

Have a 2017 Alfa Romeo Guilia TI for two years now and have not had a single issue, and is the most fun (and Beautiful) car I have ever owned by a wide margin. Go figure

The front end looks like a cat.

[Not all scoop users are created equal apparently]

The front end looks like a cat.

That's a good thing

[🏀]

That's a good thing

Never said it was a bad thing!