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Post by Grampa on Feb 4, 2022 17:30:06 GMT
This time it's my granddaughter - although it's a while off yet, she's started to muse over what she'd like as a first car. She's wanting to stay away from the default Fiat 500 as a first car for a young lady. Like many teenagers though there's a chasm between the desire to have a black Fiesta ST and the reality of what will be affordable and insurable. So I showed her her a couple pics of 8-10 year old Fiestas in that lovely Magenta colour they used to do. "No" she said, "That's a car for a 6ft slim Mexican lady with long black curly hair, tight jeans and bright red lipstick" Who knew car demographics could be so specific?  |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Feb 4, 2022 17:55:19 GMT
More to the point; where can I meet said Mexican lady?
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Post by Grampa on Feb 5, 2022 13:49:39 GMT
More to the point; where can I meet said Mexican lady? In a magenta Fiesta I guess  |
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Post by alf on Feb 8, 2022 16:42:37 GMT
I'll keep an eye out for those Fiestas then! My daughter is 17 this year... scary stuff! I'm not intending getting her a car straight away but maybe when she's 18 or 19 I could be tempted.... If I have any money  |
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Post by Big Blue on Feb 8, 2022 17:41:33 GMT
I'll keep an eye out for those Fiestas then! My daughter is 17 this year... scary stuff! I'm not intending getting her a car straight away but maybe when she's 18 or 19 I could be tempted.... If I have any money  My boys are 20 this year: not interested in cars or driving. |
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Post by johnc on Feb 8, 2022 18:31:46 GMT
And my daughter has managed to get through two front tyres on a Mini One in just over a year and 10,000 miles! I'm proud of her.
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Post by ChrisM on Feb 8, 2022 18:37:55 GMT
And my daughter has managed to get through two front tyres on a Mini One in just over a year and 10,000 miles! I'm proud of her. A little off-topic but the Fiesta was serviced and MoT'd today. At 22500 miles there is still over 5mm left on the rears and over 4mm on the fronts (from new). The real (pleasant) shock was when they told me how badly worn the front pads were..... 10%. At that rate they should last the life of the car. Similarly the front discs are barely worn. I may change all the tyres this autumn due to age rather than wear, and will stick with Conti on the above basis |
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Post by Alex on Feb 8, 2022 19:19:33 GMT
I'll keep an eye out for those Fiestas then! My daughter is 17 this year... scary stuff! I'm not intending getting her a car straight away but maybe when she's 18 or 19 I could be tempted.... If I have any money My boys are 20 this year: not interested in cars or driving. Seems to be a more common thing amongst their generation. Are they bothered about learning so they can get about or do they have decent enough access to public transport not to bother? |
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Post by Big Blue on Feb 8, 2022 21:56:24 GMT
They live in Godalming which is a world unto itself. They’re 4th generation from there and the most likely workplace is Godalming, Guildford or London, none of which require a car to visit - in fact it’s probably preferable to avoid it.
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Post by PG on Feb 9, 2022 13:13:43 GMT
They live in Godalming which is a world unto itself. They’re 4th generation from there and the most likely workplace is Godalming, Guildford or London, none of which require a car to visit - in fact it’s probably preferable to avoid it. It seems very variable. Of my six nieces and nephews, three were keen to learn to drive and three not. |
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Post by Martin on Feb 9, 2022 14:30:57 GMT
My boys are 20 this year: not interested in cars or driving. Seems to be a more common thing amongst their generation. Are they bothered about learning so they can get about or do they have decent enough access to public transport not to bother? My eldest is trusting the life out of me by not being bothered about driving. He knows he’ll get a reasonably decent car when he passes his test that he won’t have to pay for, but he’s happy to cycle to work and the gym as it keeps him fit (fair enough) and his mates all have cars so he’s never the designated driver on a night out of trip to see friends at Uni. So he doesn’t feel the need to spend money on lessons at this point, the only positive is he’s saving money rather than spending it. It would save me 10k miles a year, a decent chunk of money and even more importantly, a lot of time if/when one of them drives. |
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Post by LandieMark on Feb 9, 2022 14:38:07 GMT
I couldn't wait. Living in the sticks meant dad taxi or expensive private hire charges.
My sister's partner has only just passed his test or started lessons (can't remember which) and he is nearly 40.
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Post by Martin on Feb 9, 2022 15:08:23 GMT
I didn’t live in the sticks, but was the same. Had my first driving lesson on the morning of my Birthday, 6 lessons (plus practice in my mums car) and I passed my test just under 7 weeks after my Birthday.
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Post by Tim on Feb 9, 2022 15:18:21 GMT
I couldn't wait to get out on the roads and had been driving on private bits of land since I was about 10 (it helped that we had a Mini for a while). I was allowed to put the cars in the garage at night from about the age of 13 which certainly helped keep the weeds down on the drive A couple of my mates don't drive - now in their 50s - and the wife of one of those doesn't drive either so they rely entirely on public transport/lifts. I just couldn't face that. |
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Post by bryan on Feb 9, 2022 19:13:37 GMT
I was in the sticks, so was champing at the bit, starting on my 17th birthday and passing 4 weeks later.
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Post by Alex on Feb 9, 2022 20:44:31 GMT
I was at college at time and didn't really need a car. I went to college in the New Forest getting the train from Poole each day so didn't need a car and even at weekends I could use my season ticket or my bike to get to work in Bournemouth (where I wouldn't be able to cheaply park a car anyway). I did lessons once a week but didn't bother learning properly until after my A levels.
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Post by PG on Feb 10, 2022 15:49:53 GMT
My dad had my sisters and me all out on the roads the day of our 17th birthdays. Passed my test, using my mum's Mini Traveller, in 12 weeks (too long!) as my A levels were between me being 17 (May 1977) and real driving practice.
My dad's biggest mistake was buying a Mini as a third car when my eldest sister passed her test. The precedent was set....
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Post by Big Blue on Feb 10, 2022 16:14:36 GMT
I turned 17 in May '85 but there was no point in lessons or a test until after the summer as every year early July - early September I was with my mother in the US so I returned and passed my test in November '85. My dad also made my older sister take her test at 17 as he considered a driving license the equivalent of another A level. She hated driving but still passed.
I had driven at 16 on the road in Texas (as was permitted) and also did so in the UK before I passed when my dad was away. Amusingly the first time I used his car with permission I wrote it off (although as another driver rear ended me it was not my fault). My first car arrived at 18 - I bought a Chrysler Sunbeam from my sister's school friend (I worked part time in a sports club from 16 so had funds) and my dad paid my insurance.
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Post by Grampa on Feb 23, 2022 13:01:51 GMT
I spent the best part of my 17th Birthday driving the family Mk3 Cortina Estate - my Dad said that sitting beside me was very therapeutic as it made him forget about everything thing else!
I soon clicked that the best bet was taking my Grandmother's Imp with with my Grandpa in the passenger seat. By the time we got to the end of the road he was asleep and would wake up when we got home and say, "have we been anywhere nice?" I ended up buying the Imp when I passed my test as my Grandmother had all but stopped using it.
Both daughters wanted something interesting - we bough the eldest a Ka and the youngest a Mini One and both were keen to get out in the road on their birthdays. Glad the genes seem to have passed on to my granddaughter (daughter of the daughter who had the Ka).
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