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Old 11th October 2012, 17:57   #1
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Hi everybody

Hi everybody,

My name is Jeroen Dorrestein. I'm Dutch, married to Frances who's from Barbados, West Indies. We have just moved to Delhi and we will be here for a number of years. I work in the telecom Industry.

The last three years we lived in Kansas City, USA. Before that the Netherlands and the UK. I have been a life long car enthusiast. Currently I don't own any cars in India (yet). My company provides me with an Innova and driver, so I can get around. We've been living in a hotel in Gurgaon for the last eight weeks, but hope to move to the Westend, Delhi in a couple of weeks and get properly settled in.

I own several cars and at present they're all in storage in the Netherlands, or still on their way from the USA to the Netherlands.

My real treasure is a 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider. I have owned it for about 15 years. It is beautifully restored and I can claim to have each and every part of it taken to bits in those fifteen years. I used to be a very active member of the Dutch Alfa Romeo Spider Register. ( http://www.alfaspider.com). I used to be a member of the technical committee and of the event committee. Organized the rallies and fixed the cars that broke down on the way. These are old, Italian cars and we drive them hard. So they break down a lot. One of the most memorable drives was a tour to the polar circle, in the winter, top down, at -26oC.

Next is my Mercedes W123-200. I've owned it for about 8 years. It is in very good condition and all of the maintenance and repair work I carry out myself. The W123 series is probably the most and easiest recognizable Mercedes sedan. All over the world you will still find them. Many people use them as their daily runner and to date; in Germany you will find W123 taxis with a few zillion miles on the clock. Mine is the very basic 2.0 liter petrol version.

Whilst I was based in the USA I bought a 2002 Jaguar XJR. Straight of Ebay. First time I bought a car, without having seen it! Only pictures and a few calls with the owner. Turned out to be the best car I've ever owned.This is the 4.0 liter, V8 Supercharged version. This model is also known as the X308. All subsequent XJ models grew bigger and fatter. This is really the last very sleek Jaguar look! Loverly car. I used it as my daily drive. Drove it for close to 45000 miles in three years. It is absolutely cram packed with electronics. So I got myself all the diagnostics software to go with it. Do all maintenance and repair myself. I haven't had any major issues with it though.

I did put ceramic brake pads on it. This is a heavy car and I have a, lets call it, enthusiastic driving style, which also means heavy on the brakes. I was getting tired of always having dirty rims. With the ceramic pads this is a thing of the past and I can really recommended it. We joined the Heart of America Jaguar Club of which I have also been the treasurer and webmaster for the last two years.

We also owned a 1998 Jeep Cherokee whilst in the USA. They are really cheap, indestructible and very easy to maintain. Always wanted to have one. Very basic design. Somebody broke out his etch-a-sketch. Cars don't come much more boxy then the Jeep Cherokee! In the States there is a car part shop on every corner and they will stock each and every imaginable part for American cars. Jaguar parts are a little bit more difficult to come by.

Also, winters can be pretty severe in Kansas City. Year before last we had more than 3 feet of snow for several weeks. The Jaguar is rear wheel driven and has close to 400BHP. Pretty useless, if not to say lethal, on snow. The Jeep Cherokee just ploughs through it. Put snow tires on it too. Nothing could stop it. Just kept on going. Upon leaving the States I sold the Jeep and the Jaguar is on it's way to the Netherlands as we speak. It should be arriving in Rotterdam next week or so.

Have a look here for http://jeroendorrestein.com/Frances%...oens_toys.html

I have owned BMW's, Audi's, Volkswagens, Fiats and various other brands. My wife has owned a long host of cars, several Volkswagen Polo, several Ford Fiesta and a Ford Focus in the USA. Currently we also have a 2000 Ford Fiesta in the Netherlands.

I haven't decided what I will do car wise in Delhi yet. Certainly this site is a welcome and interesting place as it will help me make up my mind. I have been looking at maybe getting a Royal Enfield Motorcycle. Probably would go for an old one, so I have something to tinker.

Some of my other hobbies are photography and aviation. I'll certainly be doing a lot of photography here in India. I got my Pilot License whilst in the USA. So I'm also exploring opportunities here in India to do some more flying, which is proving difficult so far

Jeroen
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Old 11th October 2012, 18:38   #2
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Re: Hi everybody

Welcome aboard TBHP Jeroen. I see you have had an interesting car history and I am sure you will add to that here in India.

I studied in the Netherlands, in Deventer, for one year from Sep 97 to Sep 98 so I know a little bit about the country.

Am sure you will be able to add a lot of knowledge to this website, given how you have done a lot of work on your car yourself.
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Old 13th October 2012, 11:18   #3
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Re: Hi everybody

Welcome to Team-BHP, Jeroen, and to India! Good luck with settling in, you will love North India. Plus, there's lots of driving destinations from Delhi. I suggest you "break in" your stay with a road trip to Leh Ladakh

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
Next is my Mercedes W123-200.
Ah, the old Mercs make some of us go weak in the knees. I love the W123s, but the 126 a lot more. Hope to own one some day. If you like to work on cars yourself, I guess there's no better choice than the 123!

Out of curiosity, who is going to look after your many cars while you are away from home?

Quote:
I haven't decided what I will do car wise in Delhi yet.
Bet you're getting something interesting, and not one of the run-of-the-mill rides. Do open a new What Car? thread and we'll throw in our 2 paisa. Food for thought : Lots of '96 - '97 W124 E220s trading hands for a mere 2 - 3 lakh Rupees.
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Old 13th October 2012, 12:55   #4
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Hi Jeroen,

Welcome to Delhi, India and most importantly TeamBHP we are glad to have you here.

I will also recommend you join internations' Delhi chapter. It's a vibrant group of expats and Indians. Oct 18th meet is a god me coming up and hope to see you there. This group will help you settle in fast and in comfort.

w.r.t your cars in Holland, wow! I a have never come across someone from Holland who's as car crazy as you are I have few friends in Amsterdam and they all use bikes and rarely use cars.

Looking forward to your Indian journey.

hebben een grote een.

Cheers!
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Old 13th October 2012, 13:05   #5
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Re: Hi everybody

Welcome on board Jeroen!

Wishing you more happy miles in India. Have a pleasant stay here.
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Old 13th October 2012, 17:44   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
If you like to work on cars yourself, I guess there's no better choice than the 123!

Out of curiosity, who is going to look after your many cars while you are away from home?
The W123 is very easy to work on and part availibilit is excellent too. Amazingly the Mercedes dealer still stocks most parts for my W123 and at a reasonable price too.

My cars are in storage in the Netherlands. I know a guy who specializes in Alfa Romeo Maintenance and a little over three years ago he moved his works shop to larger premises, which also included storage for some 60 cars. That was at about the time I knew I was going to the USA for a couple of years. So I immediately claimed a few of these spots. I did not do anything special before I put them away other than a thorough cleaning job and put some extra pressure in the tires. Essentially they just sit there under a dust cover. I have two sons and some friends that occasionally drive them. So far, the cars have done fine, sitting idle for such a long time. We just put a new battery in them, check the tires and they run fine. The only time we had a problem was with the Alfa after a year. The fuel had gone bad and we had to drain the tank and flush out the whole injection system before it fired up. My Jaguar from the States has just arrived in the Netherlands and one of my sons will pick it up later this week and it will join the Alfa and the Mercedes

Jeroen

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sn1p3r View Post
Hi Jeroen,

I will also recommend you join internations' Delhi chapter. It's a vibrant group of expats and Indians. Oct 18th meet is a god me coming up and hope to see you there. This group will help you settle in fast and in comfort.


Cheers!
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into that. We've already joined the Delhi Network but this looks fun too.

Jeroen

Last edited by moralfibre : 15th October 2012 at 07:01. Reason: Back to back posts. Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!
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Old 15th October 2012, 16:48   #7
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Re: Hi everybody

Hearty Congratulations Jeroen and Welcome to Team-Bhp.

Great to see your collection.
It's really good to know the inside out of one's drive.

You can look up :
(a) Team-Bhp classifieds.
(b) Second hand or used car dealers near your area.
(c) Car magazines.
(d) Authorized Dealerships stocking refurbished used cars with warranty.

Example :

1. Maruti Suzuki [company]
2. True value dealership [used car dealership]
3. kizashi [car model]

They have fixed rate with warranty (peace of mind).

You can search up same for every car company on net.
(i) Note their contact information.
(ii) Call them up.
(iii) Visit them and check out the car.
(iv) And then decide.

Wish you many more miles and smiles.
Have a nice day.
Thanks for sharing.!
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Old 15th October 2012, 17:04   #8
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Re: Hi everybody

Welcome to teambhp and India Jeroen.
Your collection of cars and your enthusiasm in it is amazing.
Hope to see lots of pictures of the timeless classics soon.
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