Yes, you read it right! I have been dreaming of buying/restoring/owning a Jeep since around 2011.
Preface
After joining Team-BHP, errr... actually even before my membership was accepted (about 2 years of reading through our 4x4 threads as a non-member), I used to be simply amazed and excited about 4x4s and M&M Jeeps in particular.
The Jeep bug had had me, and I really wanted one to call my own. Around that time, there was @Sreejeshmp's earlier MM-550 and @Samurai's CL-340 on sale as were numerous other astronomically priced restored MM-550s in the market. As reasonable as Sreejesh's and Samurai's jeeps were priced, I couldn't manage the Vit-M due to a lot of unforeseen incidents in the family and couldn't buy either of them.
An year later, I started to closely follow army auctions and would only re-assure myself that I would gratify myself when it would be the right time to do so. Had multiple chats/calls with @JerryCan and still couldn't find anything within the shoe-string budget that I had.
By this time I had settled down with my Punto-90HP and the Jeep Project was put on the back-burner.
The Last Six Months
The Punto is 7.5 years old now. Has done about 1,45,000km, and still drives like a new car. There is no perceivable loss in pick-up, the engine is still smooth, silent (compared to other diesels) and fuel-efficient and there have been no rattles inside the cabin.
A couple of issues I have faced with the Punto were:
- The Blue&Me gave up on me about six months ago and I replaced it with a humble JVC unit (with which the Steering mounted controls don't work). You'll learn what this can do in a minute.
- Around 1,40,000Km, when I was on a highway, the turbo suddenly refused to kick-in, no matter what I did. Figured it was a vaccuum cylinder which was the culprit and got it fixed.
Apart from these, it has been one heck of an ownership of the Punto and I am still in love with it.
When the Blue&Me conked off, I got it removed and put in a new HU. A week post that, the car's battery had died down in my parking lot. So much that even the central locking wouldn't work. The car used to show the standard "Air bag failure" message for a weak battery even before the new HU installation. So, I didn't suspect much and called my acquaintance at the A.S.S and asked him to get a new battery. Within an hour there was brand-new battery in the car and I was on my way.
A week later, this happened again. this time I was really furious with my HU installer. Got my car jump started and took it to the service center, by which time the battery had charged up a bit. Asked the electrician to plug in an Ammeter and check the current that was being drawn on a locked and parked car. The current was clearly more than the standard. He then unplugged the main coupler at the supply in the Fuse box near the driver seat and then the current went down. This was clearly indicating that the HU, or atleast something inside the cabin was the culprit. Next day, I took my car to the HU installer and asked him to fix it. He along with another expert electrician took about three hours and could find nothing. For another 2-3 weeks, I was somehow managing with the trick that the electrician at the A.S.S had shown. Used to remove the coupler after parking and would plug it back in before driving away. Another A.S.S visit (this time a different one) fixed the issue once and for all and the I had no problems thereafter.
However, these incidents kind of ignited the "New Car" spark in me.
So I started hunting and shortlisted a few:
Jeep Compass: A natural upgrade for one who has driven the Punto for years. This was however, way out of my budget. A "Limited Plus 4x4" would come upto 29 Lakhs plus (Karnataka) and I didn't want to splurge so much money on a car. But deep inside, I loved the Compass (who wouldn't!!) and head-over-heels for one. The only caveat being, there was no color to my liking.
Suzuki S-Cross: A well built cross-over. Almost Punto like highway manners, peppier than Punto within the City, had more space than Punto and came with all bells and whistles for about INR 14.5 Lakhs. A decent car for another 1,50,000 km, I thought. Until I visited their showroom and the sales guy offered me a paltry discount of INR 10,000/-. I was almost furious at their ridiculousness. No, literally.. Here's your premium car, which ain't selling in numbers by the way; And you don't want to even give a reasonable discount to a prospect customer who's come with the check-book! C'mon, Nexa.
The new Force Gurkha: Except for the interior, everything else was amazing. I was even fine with the under-refined age-old engine. Was okay if ill-informed people would laugh at me for buying, (according to them) a vehicle which is a people mover in the country-side. The interior however was a big let-down and the driver's stance was not all that nice.
Mahindra Thar CRDe: Only the heart works when I think about a Thar! But buying this meant, I had to keep the Punto for the family and parents, and I was quite okay with that. It would have been hard for me to let go of the Punto anywhichways. This checked all boxes for me. A 4x4 which I can (with little mods) use for medium terrain OTRs. Cruising on the highway would be good too. The kiddo would love it! He's 4 and trust me when I say this, his jaw drops whenever he sees a Thar. He shows it to me and says, "Look, there's the Thar, let's buy it".
During the last weekend of Jan '19, I went to a nearby Mahindra showrooom, and within an hour had managed to get a sizeable discount. I was all set and excited! Came back home and started browsing for ideas to modify the Thar once it would be delivered. Off-road bumpers, SA-Roll bar, custom seats, tail-lights, JCB work lights in the front.. there was no end to the list I was making. Just as I was browsing on Youtube, I came across this guy in Bengaluru, who made hard-tops that 80-90% kept the OE soft-top looks. Delved further and found that he also advertised that he restored MM-550s.
That's when an
"MM-550" came to my mind. I mean, why not! At 40% of the price of a Thar, if could get an MM-550 which would be reliable, there would be nothing like it. I anyways would keep the Punto so family trips so they would have no issues. With a lesser investment, it wouldn't hurt much if it got scratches on the body during OTRs. Over and above everything, I could start going to OTRs!! This was win-win for everyone and so the hunt started.