My first car!

[2003FocusLX]

Hi everyone! New Ford owner here, a delightful 2003 Focus 1.6 LX. It's the first time I've owned a car!

It's not that I'm a teenager, or a non-driver. I'm 35, and have approximately 400,000 miles under my belt thanks to rep work, but I went straight in to company cars from Uni 10 years ago, and I've never had the pleasure of owning my own car!

It's going to be a fun learning curve. I have no idea how much things cost, it's very simple in a company car. service light comes on? Call a guy, drive a courtesy car for a day. Needs tyres? Call a guy, top of the range Continental's, no idea how much they cost. Reach 80,000 miles? Call a guy, new car delivered in a month. All very expensive, but rolled in to a salary so it feels like free! I think I'm going to miss it.

So, I quit that job, now I'm starting up on my own. So I bought this Focus for £250 on Facebook, covered in dents but runs very nicely for a 15 year old with 130k. I'm already looking forward to the things I can do now I own one. I'm an electronics geek, so can't wait to fit a reversing camera, home-made sound system, parking sensors, OBD readout, all that jazz. I hope there's a nice community here.

Are you still reading this? Good god man, haven't you got something better to do?!

[James Drebin]

Hey Chris, welcome! I'm new here too, but as the new users board seems to be a little quiet, I thought I'd greet you anyway. :-)

I learned to drive quite late in life (mid 30s), and my first car was a 2002 Toyota Yaris T-Sport with 77k miles on it. As I was the seventh owner, I wasn't too precious about it - just had it for 4 years to get myself settled into driving.

I've just this month purchased my first car from brand new, and the sense of excitement is great. That said, I do admit that it does create a little more anxiety, knowing that any the damage/general wear is going to be down to you. So I'd imagine you're feeling somewhat the same - going from very little to worry about, up to having a bigger stake in how your car is.

My advice for getting clued up is to simply check with knowledgeable people before buying anything for or doing anything to your car - never take the advice of professional salesmen or mechanics without triangulating opinion first. That's the best way to avoid getting suckered into stuff.

Anyway, welcome to the forum!

~ James

[dezwez]

Hi Welcome

[2003FocusLX]

16 hours ago, James Drebin said:

My advice for getting clued up is to simply check with knowledgeable people before buying anything for or doing anything to your car - never take the advice of professional salesmen or mechanics without triangulating opinion first. That's the best way to avoid getting suckered into stuff.

Thank you, very kind of you. Although this is MY first time owning a car, I'm fortunate that my dad was a classic car nut who ran a garage (albeit 45 years ago) and my brother has had a plethora of interesting cars over the years, and has worked as a race mechanic, motorsport data analyser and a professional kit car builder, so I've had a certain level of exposure to that world - and I have no shortage of "knowledgeable people" to call on!

As for not being precious - I only paid £250 for this car, and I've only owned it a week, and yet I already value it more than my house, my livelihood, and quite possibly my wife. It is my pride and joy, and I'll love it until the day it dies.

[James Drebin]

1 hour ago, 2003FocusLX said:

"...my dad was a classic car nut who ran a garage (albeit 45 years ago) and my brother has had a plethora of interesting cars over the years, and has worked as a race mechanic, motorsport data analyser and a professional kit car builder"

"...I only paid £250 for this car, and I've only owned it a week, and yet I already value it more than my house, my livelihood, and quite possibly my wife. It is my pride and joy, and I'll love it until the day it dies."

That's excellent news! So long as you run any decisions by them, you won't go wrong - consulting with the vast number of Ford specialists here too, of course!

RE: the burgeoning love of your new car, I think you have things entirely in the correct perspective. A car will never tut at you for not using coaster, she won't demand you attend at least 430 weddings of people you don't know per year, and she is unlikely to get moody if you don't take her on holiday with you. They can cause you to haemorrhage money like mad and take over your life, though, so watch out for that. 😉