| Re: The first car jitters: True Value Estilo
Its a crime to revive an almost two year old thread.
Its a bigger crime if its your thread and you have ignored it completely.
And its completely unpardonable if the post is about how you let go of your car!
Yes! After exactly two years, i sold off my Badi Nano.
So, is this an ode to my first car ever. Maybe yes, a lump in the throat insists that it is.
Our Badi Nano had been bought with one purpose, to ensure that wifey could go around gurGAON without any security concerns. Yes, the flimsy sheet metalled and cheap plasticky Estilo could double up as a security watch dog - minus all that slurping and neediness.
Being a biker at heart, the Badi Nano was never getting any attention from me. While i munched up miles on my bike, the car just stood at its parking spot - getting less love from me and more **** from the birds. Once in a week or two, when wifey would pester about that big bazaar coupon the office wallahs had given a few months back - the BadiNano would be cranked up and be made to endure a share of the husband duties. BadiNano didn't complain.
One year into my ownership, the total amount i had spent on the car was Rs 150! Yes, this Yuvrajly/RahulG-ly sum (princely is passe - i have moved on with the times) had been spent on a cheap steering wheel cover. BadiNano didn't complain.
The third free service - exactly a year after i purchased the car - cost me 16xx Rs or so. I was done with my Ladakh ride on my T20(Pulsar 220 - name, a dedication to India's T20 triumph the same day and the T90 tanks - i know what you are thinking - "damn! this italicky context thing is irritating)
and the biking itch was down a notch or two. My mom never approved of "second hand" cars as it smacked of "goreebi/ pooar peepal". I went at lengths explaining to everybody how it made so much sense, specially when a home loan was looming large on us. I decided to jazz up the car a bit. Side beadings, cheapest possible seat covers, a headlight bulb upgrade and new "alloyish" wheel covers cheered us up. I think the BadiNano never really bothered. It just stood there in the parking lot- patiently counting the number of birds overhead, the timings of the workmaids coming in to work, the evil sweeper who swept up such a dust and generally engaging in small talk with the dented/rusted indica beside it.
Apart from some Gurgaon-Ludhiana son-in-law-duty runs, a jaipur-chowki dhani ripoff and an early excursion to Dhanaulti-Chamba, the BadiNano hadn't been outside the city - or its mall parkings. Meanwhile, me and my fellow gurGAON dwellers had contributed in equal measure to chip off some paint and scratch its bumpers. December 2011 end, a hawkish Obama and my befuddled financial services company had put me on bench with lots of free time. 11 days of freedom meant a 6 day ride on my T20 to Himachal and then a 5 day trip on the BadiNano to Rajasthan. As 2012 crawled in (only a benched IT employee employee can say - crawled) the Estilo was business as usual - faithfully keeping stable at 100kmph - courtesy the Michelin MX1s i had got it as a friendship gift. Rajasthan roads can induce boredom and sleep in potent doses with its straight roads and zero traffic. The Sony XPlod,its 4 speakers and that rattle from the left front door cooked up an orchestra which kept me awake. Ohkay, a bit of credit goes to my wife too - who managed not to sleep for atleast 50% of the time :-P
Over 2100km and lovely roads - the unthinkable happened. I graduated from being a biker to a proper petrolhead. Suddenly, i actually cared about things like "handling", "steering feel", "ride quality" and acceleration-without quotes.
While my BadiNano had now introduced me to the world of cars it was itself falling short on these criterias. The change in my mindset reflected even on Google Chrome. The most visited site changed from a leading bike forum to team-bhp. But, first things first - i needed a new bike.
Bought the CBR250R and blooded it in Ladakh in early June. This done, my car obsession was going through the roof. Ten months without service, the Estilo and i were having a bit of a tiff. It creaked, gave off weird noises from the timing belt while i grunted and floored the pedal in the futile hope of catching up with the newer cars. This marriage of convenience was almost good as over. We even tried Accessories therapy as a last ditch effort. Took it to a leading automobiles accessory shop to jazz it up. Alloy shalloy, spoiler shoiler - smoked tail lights - the works - i thought. I negotiated for a good deal with the shop owner when a person came and said. "Apni Nano thoda side kar denge, mujhe apni gaadi nikaalni hai" (Can you move the Nano, i have to take out my car) That was it! this was over. No amount of big Gandhis could rekindle the romance. Therapy aborted, the search for a new car started.
The trials and tribulations of searching, fuelling the dzire, wakudoki, boldly new driving, admiration guaranteeing, diesel toh banta hai, driving simply and better and finally.. feeling the difference will be detailed in my new ownership thread - as i get my car in a few hours.
I dropped off BadiNano this Monday. The True Value guys offered to drop me off at my office in what was no longer our car. We accepted and for the first time ever, i sat in the rear seat. Damn! how cramped and ergonomically wrong was it! Nope- not the time for that. The driver dropped me off at the company gates. I took out my 3.2mp underpowered mobile cam to take some last parting shots. The world went about its business and ensured that i didnt have a clear shot. Letting go of the technology, took a last look at my BadiNano - with the heart missing a few beats, started the day.
Apologies for no pictures: Will upload the pictorial times of Badinano after i get my new car delivery.
Thanks for reading. | 
23rd September 2010, 16:20
, you bow down. You cannot do without a car in Gurgaon's cow traffic (I just loved that phrase)
