It’s First Car Appreciation Week so the team reminisce about their first cars

There is one thing that the majority of our population has in common, and it’s all thanks to our first car.

Whether your first car was a brand spanking new one with all the bells and whistles, a hand-me-down from parents or siblings or an old bomb that only lasted 2 weeks before needing to be towed away. We all have a first car story that is unique to us, and very relatable to everyone else.

So today, the team here at carsales are celebrating everything first cars. For this week we are proclaiming it First Car Appreciation week!

If you or one of your kids are almost ready to make the move in getting their first car, check out our Ultimate First Car Buyers Guide and Best First Cars recommendations here.

We asked the carsales Content Team about their first cars and memories and there are quite a few beauties. We are keen to hear your stories too, comment below or use the #carsalesFirstCars on socials.

Mike Sinclair – carsales Director of Content and Editor in Chief

My first car was a Holden LC Torana S in Pinnaroo Beige which cost $1600. I paid for half… while mum and dad paid for the other half. How it smelled…The freedom of movement it delivered. The fact it kept me broke. In the end I wrote it off… Turned on to a main road that was dirt, the car coming panicked, skidded and slid across the road into me.

My advice: Remember, it’s only your first car. Cheap and cheerful (and reliable) is better than flash.

Feann Torr – Senior Editor

My first car was a 1978 XC Ford Falcon which I bought from the classifieds for $2000. My first car had three-on-the-tree (translation: three speed automatic with column shifter), was running on LPG and had about 280,000km on the clock. Barely driven! It never missed a beat. In fact, it had bass drivers under the front seats with their own amplifier, so you felt every beat. Rage Against the Machine never sounded so good! In the end, I sold it for $500. I should have kept it.

My advice: Take it for a test drive first and go with someone who has some mechanical knowledge. Especially if it’s an older model.

Rod Chapman – Senior Journalist

My first car was a 1994 Audi 80 in silver which cost 750 British pounds (About $2200 AUD at the time). When I moved to the UK to further my career as a motorcycle journalist, I was adamant I’d continue riding motorcycles for work and pleasure throughout the year. But after struggling through snow, sleet, black ice and freezing temperatures I promptly hit the classifieds to buy my first car.

At one stage the driver’s door lock packed it in, and the only way in or out involved getting through the front passenger’s door and clambering over the centre console and (rather pointy) park brake. I did thousands of happy miles in that car all around Britain and through France and it never missed a beat. It was no match, however, for the driver who sped through a stop sign and nailed the back-end of the car, spinning my wife (who was driving at the time – I was elsewhere) 180 degrees. No one was hurt but our dear Audi 80 was a write-off. My wife was in a state of panic – fortunately the attending police officer was able to pry the boot open with a crow bar, so she could rescue the bottle of wine she’d just bought for the evening. Disaster averted!

My advice: My father had imparted the importance of looking after vehicles properly (“Look after them, son, and they’ll look after you!”), I promptly took my nine-year-old, 100,000-mile Audi 80 to my local Audi dealership for its first service under my careful ownership. The service cost 250 pounds more than I’d just paid for the car! I soon found a private Audi specialist I could actually afford…

Ken Gratton – Contributor

My first car was a 1979 Ford Escort RS 2000 in yellow. In an era when the Ford Escort dominated world rallying it was natural for an 18-year old to buy one of Ford Australia's locally re-engineered RS 2000 Escorts. A yellow two-door model with Globe Volante alloys, my Escort was quick enough in the early days to outrun six-cylinder Holdens – as long as they were 'red' sixes.

The Esky led a hard life, even enduring a light roll at autocross. Paid for with my own money (and the bank's too), the Escort cost me $6500 in 1979 – and 40 years later cars like it are fetching sums of money up to $50,000. If only I had kept it and restored it, rather than selling it to a family member...

My advice: Save your pennies to splurge on your second car, not your first. Your first car should be cheap, practical, unexciting... and fitted with bolt-on panels for easy repairs.

Anthony Madaffari – Lifestyle Editor

My first car was a 1987 Holden VL Commodore in white. This car had already done a lifetime of kilometres, so much so that the odometer was no longer spinning. The fuel gauge was also very temperamental and I ran out of fuel three times during my two years with it.

I added a woodgrain steering wheel to it and the thing drove like a go-kart, so much fun. It was a car I began to love over time, as it was far from what I had envisioned my first car to be, but with its non-existent safety systems, manual windows, no central locking and its ability to fill the footwell with masses of water when it rained, it taught me a lot about how to drive well, how to drive smart and to appreciate new technology.

My advice: Start with an older car, and work your way up gradually to a nicer one. You'll appreciate the perks of creature comforts a lot more that way.

Alexandra Lawrence – Journalist

Convinced I wanted something old-school for my first car, I ended up with a red 1976 Ford Escort MkII Ghia. It was a 35-year-old car at the time, so not only was it hard to find (a good, clean example), but it was even harder to convince Dad to let me buy it when I finally did. Four-speed manual, zero airbags, only a few rust spots, no anti-lock brakes (ABS), and it even ran on leaded fuel, so I’d have to mix up potions every time I went to fill up at the servo. Even still, I was lucky enough to have Dad help me restore the Esky, and together we travelled interstate, through tarmac, gravel, and Krispy Kreme drive-thrus. He was charming yet stubborn, had to be pushed as much as he was driven, and played an iconic role in my adolescence.

My advice: If at first Dad says no, keep asking until he says yes. Don’t try to rebuild a carburettor when you don’t know what you’re doing. Forget sensible and reliable, follow your heart. Life’s short.

Nadine Armstrong - Consumer Editor

I bought my first car, a 1991 Nissan Pulsar Sport (N13) after earning my stripes behind the wheel of the family car, a Ford Fairmont Ghia (circa 1982 with around 200,000km on the clock). My motoring life blossomed - as did my social life! And just like that, my street cred was transformed. I was the designated driver of choice among my club-going cohort and I found my happy place in the not-so-fast lane. I drove everywhere, for anyone, anytime!

My advice: First-time car owners should treat their wheels as a relationship. Look after it and it'll look after you. And a weekly wash and regular maintenance will serve you well financially when it comes time to sell!

Barry Park – Boatsales Editor

My first car was a 1972 Datsun 1600 wagon in mustard brown which cost $500. I’d bought my 20-year-old Datsun to help me pay my way through uni. It became a rolling hotel for hay-carting in summer, and a vital link with a variety of late-night dead-end jobs during term. Despite my best efforts to self-service, neglect caught up with it and a valve burnt out. It sat beside the hayshed at home for about 10 years before a bloke driving past saw it through the blackberries and gave my father $50 for it.

My advice: Don’t crash your first car. I did, three times.

Rachael McBride – PR Manager

My first car was a Peugeot 207 in white which I called ‘Erbie’. It was a manual with all the latest sports features and having grown up driving tractors and paddock bashers it was a very interesting change. My parents helped me purchase Erbie and we hadn’t tested the car so when I drove it for the first time, it felt extremely light, had the most amazing turning circle and the gearbox was very close together in comparison to what I was used to.

I remember travelling on the highway when the biggest kangaroo I’d ever seen came out of nowhere and hit Erbie in the front left side. However, being the noble steed he was, we managed to continue onto Melbourne in one piece.

My advice: It might seem important to have a car that looks cool and has all the awesome features but the more I’m on the road driving away for weekends or up to the farm, I like being high up and in something that feels safe.