In 1985 I got the hand-me-down 1969 VW Beetle (I wish I still had it). My parents bought me a brand new 1986 Ford Escort GT the next year and then in 1991 I traded it in and bought my first car, a brand spanking new metallic black 1992 Honda Civic Si. There are a bunch of cars and trucks between then and 2007 when I finally came full circle with the German car thing and bought a 2001.5 Audi A4, added the 2000 Boxster S in 2012 and bought a 2001.5 Audi S4 last year.
The one thing I learned along the way was that I don't need/want new cars.