I'm sure we had this thread before.... Never mind, it's a good topic.
I'm 57.
I couldn't afford a car of any sort when I was a student (a state which lasted for 10 years), or even when I started my first job as a university lecturer. I ran a Honda CG125 motorbike. However, it was the running costs I couldn't afford rather than the car itself, and all the cars I've bought have been new. (For about 18 years in the middle, all my motoring expenses, including the purchase of both Ferdinand and Ariel, were picked up by my business, so it wasn't all bad.)
First car was bought in October 1985, a Fiesta 1.1L called Miranda. Great car, but not exactly "performance".
Second car was bought in December 1993, a Fiesta XR2 called Ferdinand. Nice enough car but an absolute cop magnet. I got fed up being stopped on suspicion of driving an XR2, and driving for almost 3 years with 11 points on my licence was no fun either.
Third car was bought in February 1998, a Peugeot 306 GTi-6 called Ariel. (Anybody seeing a pattern here?) Absolutely terrific car, and before anybody starts, I chose it over the Golf MKIII GTi because it was faster and generally all-round a better car. So there.
Ariel was fed to the scrappage scheme in September 2009, as documented elsewhere in the forum, and succeeded by Prospero, a Blue Graphite DSG MkVI GTi. The first 5-door car I've had, due to changing personal circumstances. This is also a completely, totally triffic car.
Rolfe.
