James Van Der Beek 'had beat-up car'

James Van Der Beek has admitted that the first car he owned as a teenager made him unpopular with girls.

In an appearance on MTV's When I Was 17, the actor revealed that the vehicle had "lots of miles on it" and was the target of many jokes by his peers.

"With the money I had made doing theatre, I purchased, for $800, a 1986 candy-apple-red Hyundai Excel," he explained.

"The car was basically a prophylactic on wheels. We called it the stud mobile, because to ever get any action in that car, you had to have game like nobody's business."

Van Der Beek joked that the car's faulty performance ensured that it would not be stolen by thieves.

"It had its own anti-theft device, which was that in order to start it, you had to pump the gas vigourously and do that at least three times," he said.

"When I would turn corners, I would put my foot on the clutch, and if I didn't rev the gas... it would stall."

When I Was 17 airs Saturday at 11am on MTV.