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Didn’t drive at all until I was 25; got a Toyota Prius C, brand new in 2016 as my first car after working a few years and saving money. Best thing about it is that I’m still driving it; I haven’t done anything but routine maintenance on it and get ~53MPG.
Citroen Saxo, everything was SO cheap. I remember I had to replace a side mirror and a new one was like … 30€? And I was able to do it myself.
Replacing a side mirror on my Octavia was almost 500€!
Sunroof.
It had wheels and an engine, I was finally able to get out of my hometown on my own power.
(Without putting too much detail out) It was a coupe with a relatively chonky engine and all around relatively comfortable ride. Bought it because I had no need for “sensible” features or fuel economy as I was single and driving relatively little.
It was a cheap old heap of course and upkeep of any car costs a small fortune. And even with no known weak points, it’s still old and could break down at any time. But there was no getting away from that at my budget, so why not be comfortable and happy while it runs.
Single favourite thing? That’s hard. I’ll just have to go with “it’s all mine”. I almost miss it. At least the non rusty bits that still worked.
The fact that it would run with no oil and all four engine mounts broken
My uncle was a mechanic. He spent a lot of time getting that car into good condition. It was the last car we worked on before he died of cancer.
The price.
Bought a used '96 Mazda Protégé off a coworker for $700. Ran it into the ground. Scrapped it for $300 when I could finally afford a better car. Definitely got my money’s worth.
I got to learn what driving without power steering felt like after the compressor locked up and the drive belt shredded. Ended up replacing it with a smaller belt just for the power steering since I couldn’t afford to replace the A/C. Drove with the windows down for a few months. Good times.
A sense of independence.
The wheels didn’t fall off when I drove it
1980 Firebird bought in 1991ish, for 1,200, sold in 1996 for 1,500
Tail lights lit up to say FIRE. BIRD.
Custom hand carved Judas * Priest in the center console.
Hole in the drivers side acceleration/brake that would freeze your toes in the winter
Water would accumulate in the non existant footspace of the driver side back seat passenger that would create a block of ice in the winter (generally filled with trash: cigarette boxes, phone books, water bottles)
Ran for 2 years without changing the oil drivers side door would randomly open on right hand turns
Exhaust rusted through the catalytic converter somewhere in Iowa driving to NY for school, got it wired up at a garage & then a straight pipe put in in Missouri.
Heater stopped working for the wonderful NY winters
Took me across the US twice, up and down the East Coast of the US a couple times.
Basically, everything. Best. Car. Ever.
An Alpine radio and phone dock meant I was streaming podcasts way before it was cool.
It never broke down. Didn’t change oil, didn’t check water, just gassed it up and drove.
AMC in-line 6-cylinder. They don’t make them like that anymore.
It had a Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra bumper sticker on it. Pre-installed.
