[kittigadu]

well,
As promised in my intro, here are the details of my jeep

Mint MM550 XD
XD3P engine (73/76 bhp)
4 wheel drive, single lever shift
4 gear Fwd + 1 reverse
Front free wheeling hubs
Limited Slip Differential
Steering stabilizer (shock absorber to one of the rods)
Front Disk brakes
16" Sand Grip sand & highway tires

--- all the above are company fitted ---
not sure of the tires though.

Lenso Alloys + HID lights + hella fog lamps + old Land rover seats.

I bought it in may 2008. It ran only 2000 Kms when i bought it. Its a 2000 model made for the army and somehow the first owner was able to procure it. He is a big guy though. very big guy.
Its not an army disposal vehicle. He got it brand new from M&M.

He didn't use it much after he bought it. He had to take up the business responsibility and mostly traveled in cars. He has a collection of 12 ultimate luxury cars. It was a special jeep to him, bad that he couldn't take the jeep around after he started taking care of the business.(good for me)
But the jeep is well maintained and well taken care of and a few goodies like the rear tail lamps etc are imported from UK.

All those 2000 Kms were done in Hyderabad city only. So everything is in mint condition.
On the day i went to see the jeep, i could smell mint when he cranked it up. it was gods answer to all my prayers and 5 months of searching and waiting for the right jeep. We went around the KBR park jublee hills( 4-5 kms) a few times for a test drive. Except for a high bass jet sound,( probably from the tires+road+wind, a few trucks make that kind of a sound on the highway) there was not even a squeak.

Made the deal the same day and his manager helped me in getting it transferred to my name the very next day.
It takes me where ever i want. Have taken it to few places where people said "no vehicles can go there". For now, i use it mostly for going around places in and around KA and KL. Because of the parking problem, couldn't take it to office daily.

Its my daily car and turns quiet a few heads where ever it goes. A crowd gathers where ever it is parked.
A lot of people ask me a lot of questions and i feel happy when they do so. People will be staring at the tyres when passing thru villages.

There is an unofficial offroading track on top of mahindra hills near my home, and when i took my friends to show what it was capable of,
They all dropped their plans to buy the swifts and vernas. Now they are all searching like mad.

It has its own share of shortcomings which i would like to solve in the days to come.Once i get to know it better and the safety stuff in place, i shall start the torture. My next dream is to compete in the ride de himalaya with it, its a long way to go together.

It is a very special jeep to me too. It has got a lot of family sentiment attached to it.
(Refer new member intro in jeepthrills.in with the same user name page5.)

Even after owning one, when ever i see any other jeep on the roads my head automatically turns to see it. i dont compare it with mine, i just see it till its gone out of sight. Dont know why. Ocationally wave hands if i feel its driven by (not chauffeur looking) young guys.

here are a few snaps of it.

regards,
krishna

[aadix]

lovely!! an amazing jeep.. so simple yet so good looking.

btw your from hyd or banglore? are the tyres the oe one's from the company or did you procure it in hyd?

[anjan_c2007]

Great find and a great Jeep- happy 2X4 and 4X4 motoring. The XD3P is a lovely engine
- a welcome change after the XDP 490 2112cc on the older MM540's. My Bolero 2001 has this engine and I just love it for what it is. Sadly its being made in smaller numbers now.

[khan_sultan]

Krishna, welcome to T-BHP and that's a great MM550 you have been able to get for yourself. I am sure a lots of folks here would be happy as well as envious of you and for sure you will have lots of questions aksed on the lenso alloys :-)

Do join us for an OTR in Bangalore. BTW some nice pictures that you have taken of your jeep.

Originally Posted by kittigadu

.. when i took my friends to show what it was capable of, They all dropped their plans to buy the swifts and vernas. Now they are all searching like mad.

You bet. Considering the number of recent thrust in 4x4 fondness and liking for jeeps, it's just a matter of time before the prices of jeeps shoot through the roof. However, you are right in saying that a lot of folks drop their plans to buy a car and at least think of buying a 4x4, after they have seen what a true blue 4x4 is capable of.

[Stratos]

Welcome to the forum Kittigadu. What a sweet Jeep. I especially loved the second picture. Awesome.

[.anshuman]

For the kind of options we have here in india for this budget i must say you are one lucky person and you make people like us jealous,anyways congrats kittigadu for owning a legendary vehicle.

[vaspro]

Thats a nice Jeep. Looks beautiful and capable :-)

Only thing/s missing might be a good custom made roll cage and a winch. Add them and you have an absolute stunning machine in your hands.

Btw, are those pictures taken in Banjara hills?

thank you
-Vaspro

[Parm]

many hearty congratulations to another proud jeep owner.

do post more photos as and when you add or make changes to that lovely jeep.

cheers:

[aah78]

That's a beautiful looking Jeep you have and the passionate way in which you've introduced her puts forth how much love you have for this vehicle.

Take care of her and enjoy! Congratulations .

[mjothi]

Excellant. If you had those bars at the back, it would be even more wonderful Forgive me, I dont know the technical name for that

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by mjothi

Excellant. If you had those bars at the back, it would be even more wonderful Forgive me, I dont know the technical name for that

Maybe it's the roll cage/roll bar that you are referring to Mahesh.

[iceman91]

Hey, that is a beauty...Congrats on joing TBHP as well as the Jeep.

[rjstyles69]

Olaala whatta an awesome looking jeep you got there Krishna. Looks like you were the chosen one .

Happy driving and yes it sure is a head turner. My next question HOW MUCH ?

[DirtyDan]

Welcome to the site. That is some first post, I must say! I have never seen a jeep configured with the rear seats like that. If it is not too much trouble can you post a few more pics especially of the rear area where your canvas top meets the rear deck. And, what can you tell us about those wheels? They are imports?

[SirAlec]

So its raining XDP these days in tbhp. All I can say is, its beautiful.
Are you facing any heating issue while using in low gear for 10-15 minutes.