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When I passed my test in1982, aged 17 I wanted,(could afford) only certain cars, I really wanted a Vauxhall Chevett 1.1, Fiesta but ended up with a 1.0 Allegro -lucky me
Edited by Pugugly on 25/08/2008 at 12:41
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When I passed my test in 1956 I wanted (could afford) a 1936 Wolseley, and got it. Unlucky me!
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Couldn't afford my own car in 1996 but did see and tried to find a way to buy an A-reg 205 GL in metallic blue that was on at a local dealer for £999.
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I really wanted a BMW 5 Series but I had to make do with a Citroen Xantia diesel.
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I was already driving when I passed my test, courtsey of the law which allows you to drive a three wheeler (Reliant Regal) on a bike licence. My first proper car was - ahem - a Morris Marina. I had to wait a while before I got the car I wanted, a Capri Mk1 facelift.
Edited by Robin Reliant on 25/08/2008 at 13:14
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I was already the owner of a rather temperamental Wolseley 6/80 when I passed my test in the mid 60?s. Reliable motoring came with my next car, a 1959 Triumph Herald Coupe.
Clk Sec
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I did not want a car when I passed my test.
I took the test because I thought it would be useful to have the bit of paper.
After a year of no driving I hired a Victor 101 with a column change, for a day. ( an "eventful" hire).
I had no need for a car for several years as quick door to door public transport, relatives and high street both local etc.
Eventually I did want a car so I was fortunately able to buy a 18 month old 1600E.
I shudder to think that I was able to insure it and was let loose in West London traffic with "stale" experience of UK driving. I was again fortunate, in the meanwhile in having clocked up many miles in an old hired heap in Cyprus.
I had no other driving experience util my 1600E but I survived.
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When I passed my test in 1969 I was still at boarding school and not allowed a car even if I could have afforded one. I wanted what my dad drove, a gleaming white Jag S-type 3.8. Eight years and a variety of bangers and jobs later, I settled for a Jag S-type 3.4 auto in gunmetal.
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I passed in 1964. I wanted a Mini but what I could afford was rusty. (They all had rusty floorpans, holes in sillls, and the subrames!)
So instead I bought a 1929 Riley 9 Monaco - one owner from new- 50,000 miles - fabric body, clapped out piston rings (the blow by was impressive) and a fabric body which had seen better days.
It was great fun but after six months I sold it for £90 and bought an Austin A30...
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Passed in 1976. Wanted a Mini Cooper. Ended up with a Wolseley Hornet.
Claim to fame or something was that the first car I ever made move when aged 14 ( as opposed to properly drive ) was a DB5 belonging to my mate's Dad. We were mucking about at their house and my pal and I sort of nicked it. We stayed on their land but still got into fairly serious bother over it when his father found out. Never "TWOCED" anything since I hasten to add !
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I passed my test in Australia in the late 60s and bought a mini. My Australian pals thought that something with less than a straigt six engine mounted across the car was from a different planet. They were a bit perplexed when the couldent keep up on a twisty road in their Holdens and Falcons, well out accelerated on the straight though.
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When I passed my test, I had to have a van of some kind, as my fathers commercial vehicles insurance meant that the insurance would basically be free.
I wanted an Escort RS Turbo van. Strangely enough, my parents were unconvinced this was a good idea, and I ended up with a Bedford Astravan instead.
It was an utter shed, cost £400 and was a rip off at that. Still, at least all it did was break down - I'm pretty sure I'd have killed myself if I'd been allowed the RS Turbo at that point.
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When I passed my test in 1987, I wanted an Mark1 Golf Gti. Ended up with a Datsun Sunny Coupe great engine shame about the body. Still hanker after the golf. Maybe one day.
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When I passed my test in 1956, I wanted and bought a second hand Austin A30 - nice little motor and I drove all over the country in it. Despite the road system it seemed so much easier then.
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Back in '75 I just wanted a car... any car... and got a rusty Mini 850... that'll teach me! :)
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1977 - I had a Moggie 1000 (1960) moved up a notch to a 1967 version just after. Wanted a BMW 2002 tii - funnily enough - still do and still just as unattainable.
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i had learnt to drive in my fathers 1966 series 2a landrover when i passed my test wanted a xr3i but dad said i had to buy the land rover kept it for a year then got my xr3i but the insurance was £2000 a year 3rd party only ouch !!!!!!!!!
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XR3 - driving dynamics apart they were the "bizz" though ! Excellent Ford marketing - you just wanted one !
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Wanted a Vauxhall Magnum 2300, got a MK2 Cortina 1300 !
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Funny I now realise I wanted one of those as well. ( A Magnum that is)
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Opel Mantas got me salivating. Nearest I ever got was to get an erstwhile employer to buy me a Mk1 Cavalier 1.6 basic in flat custard yellow.
:-(
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I had one of them -- A Belgian built 1600 ( I proposed to the other 'alf the day I bought it). A colleague had a younger 1300 Luton built one - the 1.6 was far better out together. Cracking strong cam in head engine, pulled like a train. I still have the clock for it in the garage.
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I had one of them -- A Belgian built 1600 ( I proposed to the other 'alf the day I bought it). A colleague had a younger 1300 Luton built one - the 1.6 was far better out together. Cracking strong cam in head engine pulled like a train. I still have the clock for it in the garage.
>>
I loved mine, still the best car I ever owned bearing in mind the technology of the day. It is still miles better looking than the cartoon cars you get now, half of them look like they were styled in a disney studio.
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I bought my Mk11 Ford Zodiac three weeks before I passed my test - I learnt to drive in 1966 in a works Morris Minor van and vowed never to drive anything that small or basic again.
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Passed test in 1977 already wanting a Morgan 4/4. Bought one in 1983, and still got it.
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Yes the Mk1 Cav was actually a fine car despite its possible aesthetic limitations in base trim.
They handled very well and were reasonably quick for their day. My 1.6 seemed very fast by comparison to the MG Midget 1275 it replaced ! A colleague who was older and more senior had the 2.0 GL which felt positively sporty on the odd occasion I managed to blag a shot of it. Top prize on that front though was engineering a situation where you could borrow the boss's 3.0S Capri. Now that was fun !
Coming back to the custard coloured Cav. I once had an odd encounter in Glencoe where having slowly but surely plodded through snow in the Vauxhall en route to a customer I was surprised by an equally yellow Westland Wessex rescue helicopter landing on the road in front of me. I had to stop and a crew member jumped out to ask if I was OK. I assured them that I was and if they didn't mind I would quite like to press on as I was already late. They pointed out that I was in fact the only car left in the Glen as the road had been closed due to being deemed impassable. I pointed out that while conditions were not ideal, progress was being made ! Oh the arrogance of youth.
Good car. Can't say I missed the colour though.
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Mine was the same colour VBF544S
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Just remembered another thing about the Cav. Huge long gearstick as I recall. Orange and black sort of checked "Gingham" type fabric seats. Classy !
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VBF - Cheshire I think. Mine was a Norwich car. Want to say something like ?NG 728S
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 25/08/2008 at 20:14
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Staffs - I bought it from a cop who was a trader on the qt.
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That blinking number is going to nag me now ! Cheers !
:-(
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Or was it ?VF 728S ? Aaaaaaargh !
Going to watch 5th Gear to take my mind off it.
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 25/08/2008 at 20:39
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Passed my test in 1965 in my trusty 1936 Morris 8. Wanted an Austin 1100 (in maroon) just like the one my pal had; I can even remember the list price: £640.
Eventually traded the Morris in for a 1934 Singer Le Mans. Wonder what that would be worth now.
Edited by RobertyBob on 25/08/2008 at 20:57
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I wanted the Caspian Blue Y registration Fiesta XR2 mk1 that my dad's mate was selling. Not mint, but clean, with the original pepperpots and factory front spots on it. Beautiful car!
Anyway, £500 for the car (which I had)
£2800 Third Party Only for the insurance (which I didn't) This was at the height of the joyriding epidemic in the early 90's.
Ended up with a Mini 850!
Cheers
DP
Edited by DP on 25/08/2008 at 21:48
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I passed in January 1966 in my mum 's Morris 1100 - last year at school and then went to university, so I didn't aspire to a car then, but was lucky to be able to use the 1100 or my father's MG 1100 in the holidays - and even luckier to be able to repay their trust by never crashing either 1100!
First car in 1969 - lovely old 1955 Austin A50 Cambridge - suitably bought in Cambridge at the end of my time there. OCE 340. It started first time every time and never let me down - and with the noble flying-A mascot on the bonnet it felt good to be British.
Four British cars followed it (2 MGs, 2 Maxis), then 7 French (all big family Renaults) and recently 4 German cars (VW, Audi, Mercedes, VW). All reliable, and all good cars with the possible exception of the Mercedes.
A bit sad if you're a patriot as I still am.
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I guess around that time, 1986, I would have been into the Renault Fuego with it's stylish glass rear end. Probably an awful car but it looked so radical to me.
I was reminiscing about those wonderful college days when all your mates start passing their tests at the same time and how we all tried to get access to various cars.
If I had a good enough reason, my old man let me use the 7-seater 504 but only in the evenings. Howard's dad was a pushover so he was always driving his old man's mark 1 Astra. It remains my favorite Astra too. But on Fridays he'd take us to sixth form college in his grandad's Ital and we'd spend the lunch hour driving up to a Werneth Low pub. Dave sometimes wangled his dad's Marina which you could literally start with a lolly pop stick. Very occasionally I had access to my next door neighbour's yellow Chevette which I'd drive around with the choke full on. Martyn's dad also had a Marina. So did mine at one point come to think of it. Andy's mum had an old bronze VW shooting-brake thing which she always let him use. We always had use of a car if we needed one.
Of course 1986 was the height of Miami Vice mania so we were cruising in these dreadful cars with slicked back hair, jackets with sleeves rolled up and white shoes, pumping out In the Air Tonight from bootleg cassettes cos someone had a tape-to-tape Amstrad tower. Happy times.
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I passed in 1997 and wanted a Bedford Rascal... Reason? I was well into mountain biking and I had this idea where I'd put the bike in the back and take it into the hills. I was an odd kid.
When it came time to actually buy a car I saw a 1300 Mini that I fell in love with... But on closer inspection it was an utter wreck of a car. Badly corroded and subsequently poorly repaired with overspray everywhere and the 55k on the clock sounded more like 90k when you actually started it apparently (had a friend check it out).
Ended up buying the Micra I traded in last friday on a 0% finance. Good way to build my no claims.
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In 1977 in the farm Morris Marina Pick Up. Hole in passenger floor and no syncromesh in second and third gear. Smelled of pure farmyard and had a hole in the exhaust. Think the examiner took pity on me and I passed first time. Another friend took his test in an Austin Allegro 1750SS that broke down 2 miles from the Test Centre -he failed. Another when doing an impressive emergency stop on a very wet day in his father's Vauxhall Victor FE2300S was somewhat surprised when the car eventually stopped to find the back door flung open and a wee womens with a weeks shopping jumped in the back! "Thank goodness you stopped -I thought I was going to be drowned." They left her off at the bus stop, continued the test and yes he passed. O how I remember August 1977! Oh and the car I wanted - one of the new VW Golfs but saved up and bought a new yellow 950 Fiesta the next year.
Edited by Webmaster on 27/08/2008 at 01:44
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What I wanted was a 365 GT4 BB.
What I got was my Dad's 1600E as a deal brokered by Mum on condition I forget any notion of buying an RD350.
Kevin...
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That's mums for you....:-(
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Fiat Uno 45 Fire. Only a little 1000cc and 45 bhp but would rev forever and had quite a good turn of speed. I lived in Kent and went to Uni in Wales and it felt fine on the motorway, would sit at 80 mph no probs. I wanted the Turbo ie version but at 17 in 1997, I don't think so!
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Ford Cortina 2.0 GL / GLS / Ghia.
With the fabulous Ford black and silver "sports road wheels" with chrome rimbellisher.
May be even a couple of descrete front spots.
Utter perfection then and now come to think of it (easily pleased I guess) :-p
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Alfasud 1.5Ti. A white one.
My girlfriend's Mum had one, which they wanted to sell. Dad wanted 600 quid for it, I only had 400 and he wouldn't do the deal. Then my girlfriend drove it into the back of a Granada whilst rummaging in her handbag in a a trafffic jam. The car was written off and scrapped. TPF&T insurance - they got nothing for it. I'll never forgive that man for not taking my 400 pounds - I fantasise that I'd have kept the car running to this day (that was 1987 by the way).
I ended up with a Mark 1 Escort, 1.1 Deluxe. Hardly the stuff of dreams!
Edited by Alanovich on 27/08/2008 at 12:26
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Correction: - Just remembered I actually passed my test in a family friend's Morris Marina 1.3 saloon, as the Moggie had to be started on the handle if it stopped during the test (eee we were tough then) I had exorcised or airbrushed this from my memory....at least it was rear wheel drive and could be driven on the edge (of reason)
Edited by Pugugly on 27/08/2008 at 19:54
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i always wanted a batmobile, as the tax ,mot, and service costs were down to the tax payers in gotham city.....and i could legit get away with wearing rubber gear and a mask
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1973 I think...so, so wanted a Jenson Interceptor.Then I went back into the real world.
Instead bought a tired old Mini Clubman estate.
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1967 and wanted a GT40. Eventualy ny first car was a 1961 Mini cost £70.
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Can't remember what I wanted but I am pretty sure I didn't get it.
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i cant really remeber when i passed my test in 1997, I do recall drooling over a VW Golf GTI at the time though - however I bought my A Reg 1.3 Astra MK1, in pastel blue I kept it until it reached 160k and if i could have it back i would! (but a nice new engine and a decent paint job)
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