Sarah Kavanagh, presenter of RTÉ'S Driven talks about her first car at Toyota Corolla GT
Your first car? An early 1980s Toyota Corolla GT with twin cam, 16 valves, 1600 cc, rear wheel drive, 140 bhp dynamo.
New or secondhand? Secondhand but not very! It had one previous owner who, I'm sure, had no idea what sort of car they had been driving. I don't think it had visited its red line even once.
Did you know how to drive when you bought it? Yes - I was racing before I was driving on the road but I bought this car because it had the same engine capacity and rear wheel drive as the cars I was about to start racing in. So I was going to use it to learn how to drive fast - very naughty but in it I learnt how to late brake, left foot brake, clutchless gear changes, power-shifting and all sorts of other driving racing techniques (most of this stuff is done electronically now).
What did you know about cars when you bought it? Quite a bit. I knew exactly what I was looking for and what I wanted it to do. Mechanically it was quite simple so there was a lot I could do myself. You learn much quicker about how a gearbox works, when you can drop it out and have a look at it - not something you'd do too often with today's cars.
What advice did you get when you were looking for a car? I had someone with me who knew their stuff - very important, especially if you're an 18-year-old girl. Someone who knows about resprays or accident damage, rusty floorpans or noisy cam belts. Car dealers can be painfully patronising - they seem to barter better with men than women. I knew I'd get a better deal if the money talk was left to the boys.
What did you pay for it? £2,600 sterling.
What impact did running a car have on your pocket? It was in fantastic condition, very low mileage. Really, all I did was put petrol in it. Maintenance I handled myself because mostly there wasn't any - oil changes, brake pads, new clutch . . . all stuff that could be done at home.
Was it hard to get insurance? Oh boy! The difference between here and the UK is unbelieveable. Insurance was just a matter of a phone call and cost about £700 or £800 sterling, which we all thought was astronomical at the time. My younger brother today pays about €4,500.
How reliable was it? Started every time, rain or shine. 170,000 miles later and it still started on the first turn.
How did it change your life? Freedom! I don't know how people manage without their own wheels, even if it's just a bicycle. Plus it was a lot of fun and had an impact professionally as driving was to become my career.
Your longest trip in the car? I suppose driving from London to Dublin, not very long but tediously frequent enough to seem like years.
Your best memory in the car? Learning how to drive in it, really drive. There was a dual carriageway under construction in the London Docklands area - miles of sweeping road and roundabouts completely empty because it had been built but literally went nowhere as none of the buildings had been built yet.
Your worst memory? Waking up one morning looking out my window and seeing it gone. It was stolen from outside the place where I lived in Dublin and, at the time was pretty much my sole possesion. It was like someone took my home. I was so upset. The Garda just thought it was amusing that I had a newspaper photo of it and there was much smirking and nudging in the face of my devastation. Of course, it never turned up.
What do you drive now? I'm extremely attached to my Honda Prelude, but I'd like nothing better than a car collection. I'd still have the Twin Cam GT in it, but I'd have to add an S2000 to it, and, if we're going there, an Aston Martin Le Mans Vantage - a bargain at £250,000.