Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


Reply
  Search this Thread
43,850 views
Old 24th May 2023, 15:26   #46
BHPian
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Noida
Posts: 295
Thanked: 441 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

It would have to be my second hand Opel Astra Club for sure. My only extensive experience with a German brand car. I had a good and bad relationship with her, yet I always reminisce about it to this day. Two tone color from outside, solid build, the more speed the more stable it used to feel on highways, sunroof. I adopted a habit of cleaning and polishing it with my own hands, a habit which I continue to this day for my current ride a Honda Accord.

Once polished, Opel Astra would attract attention whether in city or highways. I drove it within city, highways issuing out to HR, CH, PB, HP. Bought second hand by my father in 2003 and sold at the turn of 2012 due to innumerable issues and lack of parts.

When I joined T-BHP, I wrote an extensive piece on My Opel Astra Club:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ng-review.html (OPEL ASTRA club, 1.1 lakh km, long review)

Some pics are in order:
Attached Thumbnails
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc01631_mod.jpg  

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc01632.jpg  

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc01639.jpg  

ritedhawan is offline   (10) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 15:39   #47
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: MH47 / KA05
Posts: 95
Thanked: 193 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

Quote:
Originally Posted by sajivkk View Post
Same for me, I had an SX4 ZXI, right at the launch and it was the do all car for me. Comfortable cruiser, all you need features for me, could go places, on unpaved roads, drive to a 5 star with family. I miss the car.
You've said all that I wanted to. It could indeed go anywhere - any road, no problem & it was sturdy for a Maruti. I truly miss it.
sanjayrozario is offline  
Old 24th May 2023, 15:56   #48
Newbie
 
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Coimbatore
Posts: 20
Thanked: 103 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

For me it is my Ford Fiesta 1.6S. I listed the car on classifieds last month as my usage has become low due to a job change. I was surprised at the interest from several people in the S. I finalised a good chap and even got the advance from him. On the day of sale, I woke up early and decided to drive the car in the morning one last time. I decided I will never part with the car, come what may. I immediately refunded the advance and cancelled the sale.

My love, my Ford Fiesta 1.6S.
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-ef0995ebb44e4b2ea8b8c58cc1d62cf1.jpeg

Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:25.
FiFo_ is offline   (24) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 16:05   #49
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,886
Thanked: 11,833 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

For nostalgic reasons, our family's Ambassador since I virtually grew up in that car. But it was a pain. Like most old movies, we loved it simply because there wasn't anything better available back then.

Now, even with so much choice, the car I miss is my wife's old Alto. Not a year goes by that we both don't regret selling that car. Did everything pretty well, perfect size for Bangalore city traffic and parking, not a bad highway performer at all (5 adults with a lot of luggage easily on Shiradi, couple of trips on the Ooty hairpins, Agumbe). Surprisingly peppy in the right gear. A friend still uses his Alto on some pretty bad terrain in the outskirts of Bangalore on weekends without any issues. Service bills that at times were lesser than the service bill of my Pulsar 180! And was in perfect running condition when she sold it after 13 years.

If we had the parking space, we'd certainly have retained that car.
am1m is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 18:07   #50
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 111
Thanked: 188 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

My VW Vento 1.6 TDI.

My first car. Sold this in 2021 after almost 9 years of owning it, and still regret it.

Had a blast in this car, especially on the highways. Was very stable and confidence inspiring at high speeds, and was a hoot to drive with that 250Nm of torque rush.

And like most modern turbo diesels, it was both fast and efficient. After buying this car, my usage of domestic flights came down substantially. This car took me across the length and breadth of this country, without batting an eyelid, and begged to be driven hard.

The below pics were taken a month before I sold the car - after almost 9 years and 1 lakh kms on the odo:
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-screenshot_20210913120952.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-screenshot_20210913120928.jpg

Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:26.
anshu1101 is online now   (4) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 18:11   #51
BHPian
 
vj123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: The Detroit
Posts: 297
Thanked: 1,669 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

It will always be my 2019 VW Golf GTI. I sold it with a plan of getting another performance vehicle but this would be one of the best vehicles I have ever owned.

I had a 2016 MK7 Golf GTI for a few years and ended up selling it as we wanted a bigger vehicle. With dual clutch transmission becoming more rare, i dearly missed a GTI is my garage and bought a MK7.5 few years later. I chose the Rabbit trim this time and it was 1 out of 250 sold in the country. Rabbit trim offered the right features which i always preferred: blacked out exterior, plaid seats, no sunroof with minimal driving aids. VW offered 6 year / 72k mile warranty which made the whole package even better. This platform offered a great value for money and i got mine for 20% off MSRP.

There have been plenty of memories associated with this vehicle. We took our 8 month old son for his first road trip (9 hours) while taking delivery of this vehicle. I was trying to be a Team-BHP member for several years and my request was approved on the day I took delivery.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-golf-gti.jpg

Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:27. Reason: Typo
vj123 is offline   (3) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 18:23   #52
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 68
Thanked: 120 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

"There's no love like the first." —Nicholas Sparks

The car in which I learnt to drive. Got it as a hand me down from my mom who was upgrading, and she was already 8 years old then. 800 CC, Non power steering (which made it more fun imho. It was like on rails.) and I loved it to bits, black bumper and all! I kept her till the government mandated 15 year rule made me part with her. For the last 2 years of her life, she was used sporadically on weekends as for the daily commute to Gurgaon, the weak AC was becoming a pain and I upgraded to an i20. The alto was still used every weekend without fail with an early morning dash to Manesar Mcdonald's to stretch her legs. Even though I drive an Ecosport now, I miss this plucky little car everyday.

This grainy pic is from circa 2009. I wish I had more pictures of the Alto, but alas:
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_2821.jpg

Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:28.
akp666 is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 18:54   #53
Newbie
 
Join Date: Dec 2022
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 4
Thanked: 3 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

As it is the case with many others, the quintessential Maruti 800, my first car-sold in 2016 after many years of blissful driving, remains my favourite:
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-335dd7f14b8e49459bcb5e913a825336.jpeg

Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:28.
Neel70 is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 20:02   #54
BHPian
 
Neversaygbye's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Calcutta
Posts: 359
Thanked: 1,372 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

While our first car was a Fiat 1100D, it was mainly my father who drove it and I never developed a connect with it like I did with our second car, the Daewoo Matiz, which my father replaced the Fiat with.

In 2004, we got the Indica V2 as the family's second car, and the Matiz came to do duty with me in Delhi, and it remained in my possession till we sold it off in 2012 after getting the Beat. From 2004 to 2007 the Matiz was my only car as that was the time I was in Delhi. When in Cal, I would use the Indica and post 2007 which is when I returned to Cal, I mostly used the Indica for my highway drives from Cal and the Matiz was mostly used in the city.

I have extremely fond memories of the Matiz - it was a constant companion during my Delhi days, and accompanied me on trips to Kasauli, Shimla, Jaipur, Mussoorie, Alwar, Agra and countless other places. The car did over a lakh kms in the 12 years that it was with us and for the initial 8-9 years was reliable and trouble free.

However, it had become very unreliable by 2010-11 and was prone to frequent breakdowns. With GM not taking over Daewoo's plant and not re-introducing the Matiz in its original avatar (I thought that the decision to relaunch it as the Spark was a stupid one considering the brand recall and positive sentiment associated with the Matiz), and with the limited FNG service support in Calcutta, maintaining the car became too much of a hassle and we finally sold it off, but with a heavy heart. I hope it is still alive and doing duty somewhere - I did spot a blue Matiz in one of the frames of Aamis - the Ravening right towards the end of the movie, and I hope that it was my car.

I have fond memories of the Matiz. It was my first car and will always have a special place in my heart.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0184.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0188.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0192.jpg


Agra, circa 2005
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-phto0278.jpg


Mussoorie, 2006
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0895.jpg


View of Jal Mahal from the car, 2006
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-phto0207.jpg


Kasauli, 2006
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0208.jpg


Amber Fort, 2007
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0818.jpg


Shimla, 2007
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0730.jpg


Stuck in a humongous jam on erstwhile NH2 on the way to Tajpur, 2009. A 4 hour drive took 12 hours!
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0046.jpg


Dusky beauty
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0580.jpg

Drove it for more than 1.15 Lakh kms before I let it go. All of our cars have done over a lakh kms. The Beat and the Vista have both reached the 1.15 Lakh kms milestone and are still going strong.
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0196.jpg
Neversaygbye is offline   (13) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 20:14   #55
BHPian
 
hummer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: B'LORE-SHIMOGA
Posts: 338
Thanked: 1,254 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

Nice thread indeed, among all my 11 cars I still MISS my SUZUKI BALENO.

It had everything to put a big grin on my face every time I drove it

Here are some pics:
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-suzukibaleno1.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-suzukibaleno3.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-suzukibaleno4.jpg
hummer is offline   (9) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 20:33   #56
Newbie
 
Join Date: Aug 2022
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 17
Thanked: 92 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

It was so tough to find my ex’es (2013 VW Polo, 2015 Audi A4 and 2017 Mahindra XUV) in one frame:
Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0149.jpeg

Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:30.
RaiVW is offline   (3) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 21:27   #57
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 692
Thanked: 2,033 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

First job, first house, first car, first partner...

Think that there have been a few threads already on ex-cars, but doesn't hurt to have one more. I have only one ex-car which was my Swift VxI. Bought it on an impulse in 2008 - spent only 30 mins researching what car and which dealer to buy from. All I knew about the car was that it was 'peppy', whatever that meant. Learnt driving on a Tata Sumo, took driving test on a beaten Alto that the driving school brought. 2-3 years, I was really busy at work and the car clocked a paltry 3000 kms in 3 years. My grand-uncle, a cabbie, never missed an opportunity to cook-a-snook at me that this was the least driven car in the world.

Things changed in 2009/10 after a nightmarish year at work where my manager made my life miserable and I started looking at other interesting things in life. A day before I was to go on my first multi-day road trip, I broke both legs and an arm in a scooter accident. I spent 4 months recuperating, and what was on my mind all the time was to finish the trip that had not happened. After recuperation, it was many weeks of physiotherapy given the extent of damage. Finally it did happen : a 6 day trip to most of Malnad in Karnataka where the maximum speed reached on the car was 70kmph. Dad and I - both relatively inexperienced drivers ( yes, my dad learnt to drive on this car ). Some 1200 kms later, during which the drive through the beautiful road b/w Sagar - Kogar - Bhatkal on pitch dark summer afternoon with thunderstorms at 2PM being the highlight, things never looked back. The car clocked 26000 kms in about 8 months from then on. Sat 5AM to Mon 3AM kind of trips became the norm. Atleast 2-3 trips each month. From 3000 to 80000 it took 3 years. One of the most enjoyable phases of my life - with dad and sister, with just dad, with entire family, innumerable solo drives it had it all.

Equally memorable was dad driving through the heartland of Karnataka - Davanagere, Tiptur, Raichur etc where he spent his formative (financially struggling, if I may say) years earning a living - he was teary-eyed with life coming a circle. Those were the days that I really understood my father as a person. The car was a witness to it. And the years of self-realization and self-discovery. Did someone say that driving is meditative? The standout trips were where he and I visited Dandeli and instead of turning back from Dandeli on a Sunday afternoon, chose to drive through a broken Joida-Kumbharwada-Sadashivgarh stretch to reach Kumta at 3-4PM and then started for Bangalore after a quick meal reaching Bangalore the crack of the dawn. Another standout trip was through the old broken Bisle ghat. And another one to Meghamalai in super-slushy July despite getting warnings that it was a bad idea on a Swift. Or that late night trip from Valparai to Thrissur where we just managed to cross the checkpost a minute before the last allowed time.

My personal favourite trip on the Swift was a 7 day solo : Bangalore-Vagamon-Erattapetta-Kottayam-Gavi-Thekkady in the peak of Karkitakam rains : where the car was stranded between Gavi and Vandiperiyar due to a raging Periyar river or staying in a tented cottage in the middle of Gavi with no electricity in the electric fencing or just passing by road-widening-related rock-blasting near Erattapetta : all a week before the birth of my first child

Then things slowed down with our first kid and the car petered out to it's final 110000 kms by early 2016 when I sold it ( to someone I know ). The car never had a trouble even a single time, and with MS services upto scratch, it was smooth sailing all through the years of ownership (and yeah, I hadn't heard for the NCAPs then). This was a major reason why I had no reason to get technical with the car - the most technical I ever got with this car was changing tyres . It always felt more than adequate on highway runs or city drills. My life changed forever ( and for the good ). I don't get to see it and all I know is that it is in Malnad somewhere.

Lastly, note how many picked their first car as their favorite ex-car.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_0670.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_0693.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_0710.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_1521.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_2169.jpg

Last edited by airguitar : 24th May 2023 at 21:44.
airguitar is offline   (6) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 22:06   #58
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,232
Thanked: 3,327 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

Well that has to be Fiesta 1.6s. The steering feel, agility, handling etc. hardly can be matched by any car. It was like part of your body. The best handling FWD car.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_1627.jpeg
sunikkat is offline   (8) Thanks
Old 24th May 2023, 22:33   #59
Newbie
 
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 11
Thanked: 60 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

Technically it is not an ex-car, as I never owned one, but which I definitely miss on the roads is Toyota Qualis. There was something unique about that boxy reliable MUV. It was a legend of its time.
Stardust is offline  
Old 24th May 2023, 23:44   #60
BHPian
 
OffRoadFun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 328
Thanked: 1,654 Times
Re: Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

My car after landing the first job (but second car with my own money).

Also got married shortly after buying the car. I have very fond memories associated with this car. New house, sightseeing in California with my wife.

Did many trips on this one to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and death valley, Seattle, Sierra Nevadas, Sequoia NP etc.

I also had a custom license plate for the car. A few times, people on freeway complimented me for the license plate, can't forget that. ( I design Integrated Circuits for a living)

Put 40k miles in two years!

Though it was pre-owned, I can never forget that car!

Following picture was taken somewhere in Arizona!

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-camry.jpg

Last edited by OffRoadFun : 24th May 2023 at 23:51.
OffRoadFun is offline   (3) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks