Hello BHP-ians!

[SatishBalaram]

Hello BHP-ians,

This is Satish from Bangalore. Like many others here even I 'googled' and landed up at this site when trying to look for more info about cars (as I was/am planning to buy one). I have been very regularly reading the posts on this site from past one week or more and getting a lot of info - yes am a patient guy . One of the most satisfying moments while reading the posts here was my discovery of what ICE stands for! .

What I do for a living?
slog it out at a private firm who are into software business.

Did I get what I was looking for in this site?
Oh yeah! you bet!. I know what is an ideal config. for ICE, I have a general idea of what other accessories can get into a car, where in BLR to look for these accessories, et al.

My thoughts on this site and fellow BHPians
Awesome, wonderful, unbelievable, cool. Addicted helpful automobile geeks.
I only wish that similar sites are created and maintained for everything else in life!
Before this site, I was reading up all reviews on mouthshut.com as that was the only other place I found reviews.

Vehicles I have ridden/driven for a reasonable amount of time.
tricycle , bsa-slr, tvs-champ, vespa, kinetic honda, omni, ford focus, tvs-fiero.

Vehicle that I am buying now:
am one more guy going in for a swift vxi. will be trading in the 9 year omni. This could be as early as in the next 5 days!

Suggestions:
IMHO
1) I think a little bit of advertising would help a lot of other people with the treasure of knowledge stored here.
2) How about a hand book on car FAQs with most of info from here? How about stickers advertising this website? (of course good old word-of-mouth also works but is more slow)

By the way, is there a history page out here on how this forum was started and so on?

You guys R O C K!!!

Cheers,
Satish

[jkdas]

Welcome to TBHP.

Work with oracle?

And, Why not VDi or ZXi?

[SatishBalaram]

Thanks for the welcome! Proud to be posting here.

Why not Vdi?
I did my math before for this. According to that, for me to break 'even' (recover the cost difference between Vdi and VXi) it would take me 5 years! (with my amount of driving).

Why not ZXi?
1) I still belong to salaried class - not that much money
2) I read that airbags get activated only at high speed collisions that too at some proper impact angles - so did not know if this ZXi feature would actually make sense for my moderate speed city driving. So didn't need this feature.
3) I read that we need to get used to ABS way of working - keep pressing the brake and wait for the magic processor to work (something that is not intuitive). With this reason I convinced myself that this ZXi feature too is not required for me. (brain comes up with reasons when you want it to)
4) Finally - My exclusive high profile 8 feet width car garage is a combination of pavement and our corporation road. So did not want one of my life's most expensive buys parked out!

[GTO]

am one more guy going in for a swift vxi. will be trading in the 9 year omni. This could be as early as in the next 5 days!

Congrats on the decision. But do consider the VDI also.....some petrol heads have become converts after driving it. Try doing the calculations from an EMI perspective (EMI + fuel costs per month). You will be surprised with the results.

1) I think a little bit of advertising would help a lot of other people with the treasure of knowledge stored here.

Pointed noted. Thanks.

2) How about a hand book on car FAQs with most of info from here?

You can find most of the information compiled here. If you have any suggestions toward additional topics, feel free to put them here.

Welcome aboard Satish.

[rocksterraghu]

Hi Satish, welcome to Team BHP. I'm sure you're going to have a great time here

Originally Posted by SatishBalaram

How about stickers advertising this website? (of course good old word-of-mouth also works but is more slow)

Team BHP stickers are available, you can get them at the Team-BHP meets. For more information, go to 'Shifting Gears' section of this forum.

Cheers!

[Dippy]

Thats a very nice intro Satish. Another one from the Bangalore software bandwagon. Congratulations on the Swift Vxi. Do go through the Rules and Annoucements to see how the forum works.

Welcome and enjoy yourself

[snaronikar]

Welcome abroad Satish......That's a fantastic decision about your buy. You will enjoy your stay here......only 2 smiley's are allowed per post.

[Steeroid]

One more Bangalore boy, one more software driver. Welcome to Team BHP - good intro there!

Do try the diesel Swift - I think you will like it more than the Petrol.

[xinome]

Welcome satishbalaram to Team-Bhp, Sticker's as said can be handed out in team-bhp meets, ask Rudra sir i guess he has ton left over from all his previous meets.

i know lots of people with swift diesel and they are quite happy with the outcome.

and as for the "TREASURE OF KNOWLEDGE BOOK" i will be more than happy to sponser and market this book ( quote " if GTO and the Kind Moderaters and distinguished members here permit" )

2 Amazing threads worth having a look at

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/access...ht=swift+petes

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ht=swift+petes

Cheers
Shabeeth AKA "Xinome"

[Rehaan]

Hi SatishBalaram,

Welcome aboard.
Great intro! and very organized, made it so easy and pleasant to read.

Originally Posted by SatishBalaram

By the way, is there a history page out here on how this forum was started and so on?

Check this thread out for one - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/colle...-lifetime.html

cya around
R

[SatishBalaram]

<< Steeroid, GTO: Suggestions to check out the Diesel swift>>

Diesel Swift test drive
After reading the suggestions for the diesel swift test drive, I had approached my sales contact at RNS for the same. He told me that they do not encourage diesel test drives as people generally do not want to wait for 6 months. It seems the after test drive people book the car and within 2 months they start calling up for delivery and then eventually cancel the booking once they realize that they really have to wait for 6 months. So long story short I could not get to drive it from my nearby dealer. And I left things at this.

<GTO: Try doing the calculations from an EMI perspective (EMI + fuel costs per month). You will be surprised with the results.
>

I shall pm you on this for better understanding soon. As of now it seeems the same to me.

<<rocksterraghu:
Team BHP stickers are available, you can get them at the Team-BHP meets. For more information, go to 'Shifting Gears' section of this forum.
>>

Thanks rocksterraghu! Shall check that out. Didn't get to do that yet - what with so many interesting reads around.

<<Dippy:
Thats a very nice intro Satish.
Do go through the Rules and Annoucements to see how the forum works
>>

Thanks Dippy! Yes I did go through that in the first few days and shall conform to the same.

<<xinome:
Sticker's as said can be handed out in team-bhp meets, ask Rudra sir i guess he has ton left over from all his previous meets.
>>

Thanks for the welcome and tip to get stickers. I shall pm Rudra sir for the same.

<<Rehaan:
Welcome aboard.
Great intro! and very organized, made it so easy and pleasant to read.>>

Thanks for all the warm welcome and good words. Thanks for mentioning the links on history of team-bhp.

Bid farewell to my beloved Omni :( and got the new car!
Well I did sell my 9 year Omni on Monday and took delivery of swift on Wednesday. So far everything seems to be good - getting used to the bonnet while driving now! I am planning to post a separate review on my buying experience soon. But more or less it is the same as the one posted by another senior user when he bought the diesel swift.

First surprise in my new car
I did not know that Vxi came with tubeless tyres - thought it was reserved for the Zxi only. Mine has JK Tornado or something 165 R something. The air pressure recommendation for this remains at 33 psi.

First problem in my new car :(
I seem to hear some kind of periodic noise from the tyre or mud flap when the windows are down. It is like for each revolution of the tire there is a flapping kind of sound. Tried looking for some protruding object at each of the tyres but could not find any. I remember there was a thread on some similar sound problem from tyres - but I guess this is different one. Anyway I shall get this checked at the dealer soon.

Cheers,
Satish

[GTO]

Well, congratulations on the Swift! It would be great if you put up an ownership report (>10000 kms) so that others can benefit from your review. Like you did from the others!!

I shall pm you on this for better understanding soon. As of now it seeems the same to me.

I prefer to keep it on the public board so that others can benefit.

Note : All numbers are guesstimates and not actual since this is during work hours.

Assumptions : You have an average running of 15,000 kms per year. And the difference between a petrol / diesel car is Rs.80,000. Consider a 5 year loan with a petrol car price of 4.5 lacs, diesel car price of 5.3 lacs and a down payment of Rs. 1 lac.

1. The EMI difference per month is about Rs.1,700 additional for the diesel.

2. A petrol car will cost you about Rs.5,500 per month (Rs.48 per liter @ 11 kpl). The diesel will cost you about Rs.3600 (Rs. 38 @ 13 kpl). The diesel saves you about 1,900 bucks a month.

Therefore if you consider monthly expenses as EMI + Fuel Cost, the diesel is cheaper / they even out / the diesel is MUCH cheaper if your running is higher. But the common-rails offer better driveability and have far superior resale value. Also with some cars (Swift, Verna, Mercs etc.), the common-rails are more fun to drive and offer greater ownership experiences.

[KVS]

Satish,Welcome to team-bhp

Very good point GTO. People (including me) tend to miss the EMI part, when they calculate the savings.