First Car..........

[anglefire]

My very first car that I was doing up was a Fiat 500 - when I was about 16 - but was Pex'd for £500 against a new one for me mother - but was bought back again for £50 and sold on.

So my first car I drove on the road - one I also did up after being given it - was a 1967 VW Beetle 1200 - great car - but safe? Think it was single circuit brakes (Mind you so is my Spitfire!) and a crumple zone that was largely the car you hit.

[DSL]

My first car was one of these bad boys. Crappy pic but the only one I could find in the right colour. It took SWMBO & moi all the way to the Algarve and back, seeing a good load of W Europe on the way. My first proper road trip. Even got a replacement rear door from a scrappie in W Germany as the original was pretty rotten.

[PillowSmuggler]

Sorry to hear she failed again, but as long as she learns from each experience rather than letting it get to her it can just be an annoyance rather than a bad thing. As already said the examiner on the day can make a big difference, so better luck next time.

I did not consider myself a particularly good driver (still don't!) when I passed but I know I got lucky...my examiner showed up 15 minutes late, red in the face, sweating buckets and blowing like a steam train after having to abandon the previous candidate as they were too dangerous to drive back to the centre. The walk back was a 3/4 mile steep hill back up to the test centre. The thing that i think helped me the most was that I just knew right there that I'd already failed as he'd pick up every little thing and so I lost all that stress and tension and just drove around. I really owe that guy an apology!

[anglefire]

Funny you say that Dom. My mum said last night that on her test she hit the curb very early on and assumed she had failed. So relaxed and actually passed.

It’s very difficult to be impartial tbf. But a serious fail for parking is a joke. It’s one thing that you have to do - and she can do. Ok she tends to find an easy spot. But there is nothing wrong with that.

[PillowSmuggler]

I agree that it sounds like the importance is overrated as any sensible person who is aware of their abilities can find somewhere easier/safer to park, but on balance I do think some basic level of parking skills are required.

I saw a car when I was in my teens try and drive into a standard car park space. They shuffled 5 or 6 times to get the right angle. Turns out that angle was just perfect to hit the cars either side of the space in one optimised movement. They then panicked and it was like watching a pinball hitting targets all around. Final tally was ~5 cars dented, shunted and scraped during the 12+ point turn, not including her own. Then she squealed out of the car park and was gone. Best show I ever saw from the first floor of that Micky D, and believe me the sights you can see on a Friday night are beyond description...

I do wish that they'd at the very least teach people how to reverse into a space; it seems like a dying art but it's a lot less likely to end in any damage to anything.