My first 'bump' was just a few hours after passing my test, I was on such a high at passing first time after just six lessons that I rushed back home to grab my nail of a Mini 1000 and picked my girlfriend up to go for a razz round the Warwickshire lanes. Turning the car around in Birdingbury village I clipped the rear of a brand new XJS whilst trying to avoid the phone box! Several years later I had my one and only proper crash when driving my much treasured '69 Mk2 Mini Cooper to work one Friday night, passing a side road an old dear in a knackered old Fiesta came flying out and hit me square on, pushing the passenger door right in, her poor grandaughter in the back was hysterical and it took ages to calm her down. The following week the Cooper went off to the appointed insurance repair garage where the assessor wanted to write it off saying ''it's just an old Mini mate'', despite the only damage being to the door skin, my reply being ''f*ck that it's a rare genuine Cooper, I want it repaired''. I'm glad I stuck to my guns and kept the car for a few moor years afterwards.
Back to small Italians - when my Alfa was off the road for three weeks having a new subframe due to some very serious pothole damage I had an Abarth 595 as a courtesy car, it was an utter hoot from start to finish, I didn't want to give it back.