How old were you when you got your first car?

[Roadgeekteen]

I cannot answer this question.

[Big John]

21.  couldn't afford one before then.

[1995hoo]

16. A guy at my father's office had an old Ford Granada he no longer needed and I bought it from him for a few hundred dollars. Sold it to my brother two years later when he was turning 16.

[Eth]

19. Freshmen couldn't have cars on campus anyway, so it would have been pointless before that.

[Max Rockatansky]

I got a 1992 Pontiac Sunbird when I was 15 because I had a learners permit.  I made payments to my Dad, I want to say it was $2,000 dollars back in 1997?  I eventually ended up buying his 1997 Silverado 4x4 by the end of high school and took it with me to Phoenix in 2001. 

[jp the roadgeek]

16; 2 days after I got my license.  My dad's family owned a car dealership, and although he had passed away a year earlier, I got the family discount on my '83 Buick LeSabre. 

[Takumi]

24. Before that I had carte blanche on my dad's.

[Rothman]

17.  It was gifted to me.

First purchased car was probably not until I was 23 or so.

[vdeane]

18 if you count when I first became the primary driver of the Accord I had.  22 if you count when the title was officially transferred to my name.

[corco]

15 - First car that was dedicated to my use (1997 Jeep Wrangler), I got the keys when I got my license, though my parents owned it.
17 - First car I ever purchased outright on my own (a 1976 Subaru - the ownership of which was sort of a joke)
19 - First car I ever purchased outright on my own and actually used as a daily driver (1990 Dodge Colt)

[DaBigE]

23 - was a college graduation present.

[Beltway]

18 - my mother sold me her 3 year old Volkswagen Beetle.

[Hurricane Rex]

I cannot answer this question.

Nor can I. I just borrow my parents car.

[jeffandnicole]

18. An unimpressive little Dodge Colt Hatchback, but served me well the years I had it.

[Shoppingforfood]

16. An old Ford Ranger.

[US71]

I was 20. I "inherited" my mom's Dodge Dart.

[US 81]

15. 1961 Ford Falcon. My dad guided me thru buying and working on it until it was drivable. 

[roadman]

Bought my first car (1984 Ford Tempo) when I was 26.  Prior to that, I had use of my parent's 1975 Buick Century wagon.

[Buck87]

15, within 2 months of my 16th birthday. My aunt sold me a 1986 Ford Escort for $1.

[dvferyance]

I was 23 my first car was a 2001 Focus and it was a lemon. Had it for 8 years until it was totaled in an accident. But it was sure misery the time I had it.

[cl94]

Depends on the definition.

17: I was effectively the primary user of one of the family cars, as I used it to drive to school and such.
21: Actually bought my own car shortly after I started grad school. Needed an income stream and I wanted to buy something decent that would last (would have lasted if some a$$&@|* didn't rear-end it when it was parked).

[signalman]

A 1990 Toyota Camry that I bought off a guy I worked with when I was 16 (although I didn't get my license until I was 17, but I drove it with my learner's permit.)  It had 72,000 on the odometer when I bought it, 6 years later it had over 320,000 on it.  It was still running when I got rid of it.  It was becoming a maintenance money pit and I began to worry about getting stranded somewhere far from home.

[gonealookin]

18 - my mother sold me her 3 year old Volkswagen Beetle.

A Volkswagen Beetle!  Wow were you fortunate.  Because my answer is:

19 - my mother sold me her 2 year old AMC Spirit.

[HazMatt]

I grew up with my grandparents, so I became the primary driver at 15.  I basically drove their cars into the ground before buying my own at 27 (Chevy Aveo, do not recommend).

[briantroutman]

As pointed out above, it depends on the definition.

16 - Subaru Legacy wagon - First car that I drove with any regularity–my dad's winter car that became "mine"  over the summer. When anyone asks about first car experiences, this is the vehicle that comes to my mind.

16 - Dodge Spirit - Purchased for me by my father (from one of his co-workers for next to nothing) so that he could take his Subaru back for the winter. This was a car I loved to hate, and I did whatever I could to avoid being seen driving it. (Yes, I was being an immature little twerp.)

17 - Mazda Protege - Purchased with my summer job earnings (so that I wouldn't have to drive the Dodge) but titled and registered in my father's name for insurance purposes.

Through my college years, I drove first a Subaru Legacy wagon and later an Impreza wagon–both hand-me-downs from my father and both still titled in his name for insurance purposes. Since my legal residence was still at my childhood home, it was more cost effective to remain on my father's auto insurance policy. I racked up more than a quarter million miles between the two cars.

I was still finishing my second college degree when my sister borrowed and then wrecked my Impreza, so my father agreed to get me a replacement. I couldn't find a suitable Subaru right away and needed transportation, so I settled on a Toyota Matrix instead. This was the last of my cars to be registered in my father's name. After earning my second degree, I moved to California, changed my legal residence, and traded my Matrix for a nearly identical one with a manual transmission. So finally:

27 - Toyota Matrix - First vehicle legally registered in my name.