What was your first car?

[triquet]

A fascinating thread. It is noteworthy how many older AD's started their driving careers with ancient cheap sheds of various types, thus learning the rudiments of car maintenance and body work repair work with cardboard and fibreglass.

The days when you could mend your car with a big hammer, a mole wrench and a bed-spanner

And no check engine light

[jont]

A fascinating thread. It is noteworthy how many older AD's started their driving careers with ancient cheap sheds of various types, thus learning the rudiments of car maintenance and body work repair work with cardboard and fibreglass.

The days when you could mend your car with a big hammer, a mole wrench and a bed-spanner

What do you mean? That's still my preferred method. For fine adjustments. Coarse adjustments are done with an angle grinder

[TheInsanity1234]

Haven't passed my test, let alone turned 17

I'm praying to the gods that I can have a 100 HP Panda as a first car!

Sadly, you'll not be able to have as much fun, driving, as we older ones here had.

Well, I can still have fun!

Just make sure nobody's about to watch me... Being a student gives you some interesting philosophies in life

[WhoseGeneration]

Well, I can still have fun!
Just make sure nobody's about to watch me...

Test, then AD for you straight after so you get into the right mindset.
Perhaps join your local MSA affiliated Motor Club and get involved in some competition driving.
This, http://www.bmsad.co.uk might interest you.

[TheInsanity1234]

Well, I can still have fun!
Just make sure nobody's about to watch me...

Test, then AD for you straight after so you get into the right mindset.
Perhaps join your local MSA affiliated Motor Club and get involved in some competition driving.
This, http://www.bmsad.co.uk might interest you.

Alright, steady on! I was only joking

I'm not sure I could do AD straight after, simply because if I'm lucky enough to get a car and afford to maintain it, my funds would probably be rather depleted very quickly.

[WhoseGeneration]

Well, I can still have fun!
Just make sure nobody's about to watch me...

Test, then AD for you straight after so you get into the right mindset.
Perhaps join your local MSA affiliated Motor Club and get involved in some competition driving.
This, http://www.bmsad.co.uk might interest you.

Alright, steady on! I was only joking

I'm not sure I could do AD straight after, simply because if I'm lucky enough to get a car and afford to maintain it, my funds would probably be rather depleted very quickly.

AD is cheap relative to other motoring costs. Don't argue, just do it after passing the basic test.
All you have posted here has shown that you would benefit from AD immediately after test pass.

[skodatezzer]

Well, I can still have fun!
Just make sure nobody's about to watch me...

Test, then AD for you straight after so you get into the right mindset.
Perhaps join your local MSA affiliated Motor Club and get involved in some competition driving.
This, http://www.bmsad.co.uk might interest you.

Alright, steady on! I was only joking

I'm not sure I could do AD straight after, simply because if I'm lucky enough to get a car and afford to maintain it, my funds would probably be rather depleted very quickly.

Told you before - get along to an ADUK driving day. They're always on a Saturday, there's likely to be at least one not too far from you, you'll find we're a fairly tolerant bunch of old fogies (speaking for meself, of course), and we could make sure you got to go out with some good people who could point you in the right direction for your further driver development. Cost would be fuel and lunch. If you didn't want to drive, come along as a passenger. Loaada fun, lots to learn!

[TheInsanity1234]

AD is cheap relative to other motoring costs. Don't argue, just do it after passing the basic test.
All you have posted here has shown that you would benefit from AD immediately after test pass.

In what way?

Told you before - get along to an ADUK driving day. They're always on a Saturday, there's likely to be at least one not too far from you, you'll find we're a fairly tolerant bunch of old fogies (speaking for meself, of course), and we could make sure you got to go out with some good people who could point you in the right direction for your further driver development. Cost would be fuel and lunch. If you didn't want to drive, come along as a passenger. Loaada fun, lots to learn!

Intriguing, and I'd certainly like to come. The only issue here, is I'd probably need a car, and I can't guarantee I'll have one shortly after passing my test :/

[WhoseGeneration]

AD is cheap relative to other motoring costs. Don't argue, just do it after passing the basic test.
All you have posted here has shown that you would benefit from AD immediately after test pass.

In what way?

Do you mean in what way would you benefit?
If so, in avoiding the basic errors I, for example, made when a youth, on motorcycles and in cars.
Probably others old here did the same but, back then the penalties were much less severe than now, both legal and financial.
Remember, you'll be sort of on probation for the first two years.
It'll help you to temper your youthful enthusiasm, which I can easily understand, been there, done that and, perhaps, put an old head on young shoulders.
There's a subtlety in this AD stuff which is hard to convey via this medium.
You looked at that 'site I linked?

[Gromit37]

Mine was a seven year old, 1995 M reg Vauxhall Corsa 1.2, a hand me down from Mother dearest, with only 14000 miles on the clock. Oh, and it had a whopping 44 BHP. Yeehaaaa.

Before that, I spent several years abusing other people's cars.

[TheInsanity1234]

Do you mean in what way would you benefit?

Yes, I did.

If so, in avoiding the basic errors I, for example, made when a youth, on motorcycles and in cars.

I don't ever intend on getting on a motorcycle, so no concerns there.
What kind of basic errors, may I ask?

Probably others old here did the same but, back then the penalties were much less severe than now, both legal and financial.
Remember, you'll be sort of on probation for the first two years.

I am aware of that.

It'll help you to temper your youthful enthusiasm, which I can easily understand, been there, done that and, perhaps, put an old head on young shoulders.

My family moan about my head being far too old for my shoulders, I can't see how it's better to make my head even older
But yeah, I'm (I hope) very much in control of my decisions and completely aware of my weaknesses, such as having a very impulsive side to me which will certainly need to be kept at bay whilst in front of the wheel. I'm also aware of my short temper and my ability to find fault in just about anything if I don't like it, which won't help me in situations where I have to accommodate someone's misjudgement or something.

There's a subtlety in this AD stuff which is hard to convey via this medium.

Indeed, text is an excellent way of communicating facts, but it's useless for communicating emotion.

You looked at that 'site I linked?

I did indeed. I have to admit, competitive driving is probably not for me, as I'm genuinely not interested in speed, at all. I'm much more about getting the most well executed, and smooth drive possible (of course, keeping to the speed limits as I hate being held up, and wouldn't want to inflict that pain upon others), which might be a big deciding factor in the types of cars I'm interested in, such as the Range Rover, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, (And certainly the Citroen C6 ) and the like.

Comfort is the priority for me, speed is just a bonus.

EDIT: After reading through my replies, I've realised they probably would come across as being rather short out of annoyance. They're not, they're merely short because I'm tired but am unable to sleep

[Gareth]

There's a subtlety in this AD stuff which is hard to convey via this medium.

Indeed, text is an excellent way of communicating facts, but it's useless for communicating emotion.

I think it'd be more to the point if you'd said that text is useless for communicating complexity because, in this context, the experience -- and subtleties -- of driving are exceedingly complex.

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

From a silly thing shared on Facebook the other day:

Meanings of "I beg your pardon"
1. I didn't hear you
2. I apologise
3. What you're saying is making me absolutely livid

[TheInsanity1234]

There's a subtlety in this AD stuff which is hard to convey via this medium.

Indeed, text is an excellent way of communicating facts, but it's useless for communicating emotion.

I think it'd be more to the point if you'd said that text is useless for communicating complexity because, in this context, the experience -- and subtleties -- of driving are exceedingly complex.

Well, yes, that's a better way of putting it. I just couldn't think of the word I wanted

[WhoseGeneration]

I'm also aware of my short temper and my ability to find fault in just about anything if I don't like it, which won't help me in situations where I have to accommodate someone's misjudgement or something.

You should further comtemplate this statement and then consider the benefits of an AD course.
I'm not sure you've truly appreciated what AD is about.
Fact is, we all here could drive in the aggressive manner many do, with no regard for any other and, probably with no consequence, because of our AD training which gives us the thinking about any decision.
It's the AD though which also gives us the ability to just go about our way, in the main, tolerating others and their inadequacies