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A big hello to everyone on Team BHP. My name is Nitin and my friends call me Chase. I'm 34 and less than a month away from turning 35 :eek:. I have been a member on Team BHP for a little more than a year however i was a bit lazy and hence pretty late with an intro. I have been crazy about cars and only cars since my childhood. In fact i had never even learn t to cycle however that's another story altogether and i don't want to write a biography of my life here and bore you people to death lol:.

I have owned the following cars over the past decade:

1.) 1987 Mitsubishi Sigma
2.) 1987 Ford Laser
3.) 1982 Toyota Celica
4.) 1984 Toyota Supra
5.) 2004 Suzuki Alto
6.) 2011 Chevrolet Beat
7.) 2012 Honda Brio
8.) 2013 Volkswagen GT TSI

I started to drive cars at the age of 24 which is when i got my license. I began to drive under the aegis of my grandfather and i had a torrid time trying to master hill starts and trying to master moving the car by just releasing the clutch and not giving it gas. I must say my grandfather was a tough task master and i'm glad that he taught me how to drive.

After initially getting my license in India and practicing driving on my grandfathers faithful Hyundai Santro for a few weeks, i had the good fortune of leaving the chaos of Indian roads behind and going to Australia as a student. It was down under that i first started to drive by myself and got to understand the road rules. Driving in the western world is a pleasurable experience and at first it feels like you are in utopia. It is this feeling that made me lax and that resulted in me being involved in my first accident which was totally my fault and brought me crashing down to earth.

I was in Australia between 2003 and early 2006 and during this period i had driven only Automatic vehicles. My first car was a 1987 Mitsubishi Sigma (2.4L) which i had bought for just $500 and crashed (totaled) within 2 weeks. Luckily i just suffered from whiplash and nothing serious all thanks to the seat belt. The other vehicle that i crashed into was badly damaged however the occupants were safe and in a daze. Being in such an accident so early in my driving cycle esp in a foreign country taught me many things. I was very impressed by the police/fire/ambulance units which were there in no time and how professional each and every one of those departments were. I was subject to a breathalyzer and the cops got my information after which i simply went home with my car in a tow truck. A few weeks later i received a fine amounting to $300 for reckless/negligent driving. I can't imagine what trauma i would've been through with the cops here in India if i had been in such an accident which was caused by my negligence.

A month later i decided to buy another car and this time i bought a 1987 Ford Laser (1.6L). This car wasn't what i had wanted it to be because i ended up buying a lemon. The car had a non functional a/c, it had problems with the starter motor and the automatic clutch was worn out as well. I had this car for 4 months after which i decided that enough is enough and moved to the sports car territory.

My third car was a 1982 Toyota Celica (2.0L). So in other words i had already owned 3 different cars by the end of December 2003. I loved the sporty nature of the Celica. It was mechanically excellent and never game me any trouble. This was also the car in which i had done 220km/hr quite a few times which is the fastest that i have ever driven any car in my life. The only problem with this car was a non functional fuel gauge (i couldn't have it fixed as the requisite parts were not available) which was really not a big deal because i used to fill the car up with gas completely and use the trip meter and avg fuel efficiency to accurately figure out when i needed to fill my tank again.

Having used the Celica for close to a year and 3 months i then decided to move into the real sports car territory. In March 2005 i purchased my fourth car, a 1984 Toyota Supra (2.8L) for $2000. This car was simply breathtaking. A 6 cylinder engine that produced amazing torque and was faster than any car that i had ever driven. It also had features that i had never seen in cars before such as pop up headlamps, cruise control, electronic speedometer etc. I had this car for 9 months and had so much fun with it however it had a few issues with the radiator. I guess i was pushing it too hard and doing too many things with it as a pizza delivery driver for Dominoes not considering the age of the car. When my time in Australia was done i felt really sad to let this car go but i had no choice.

My next car (fifth to be precise) was close to a year after i got back to India and it was a puny 2004 800 cc Suzuki Alto that i had purchased in the used car market in 2007. This was also the first manual car that i had driven after 2002 when i used to sit in my granddads Santro and practice driving. My initial experience was nothing short of horrible. The fact that i had to move from the convenience of automatics to the rigmarole of a manual especially in the chaotic traffic of India was tough for someone who had gotten used to driving in Australia for close to 3 years. Added to this was the fact that i was driving a 3 cylinder Alto after having driven a 6 cylinder sports car such as the Supra.

As the years rolled on and i made a bit of money i decided that it was high time to change my car. So in 2011 January and i picked up my 6th car which was the Chevrolet Beat (1.2L). Though the Chevy was only average and not a scorcher in terms of performance i had decided to opt for this car as i fell in love with the design of the vehicle. I was pretty happy with the Chevy but the one thing that i found irksome was the prominent blind spots while driving the Chevy.

Another year passed by and i felt that i needed something more interesting than the Chevy in the performance and handling department and hence i chose to go with the Honda Brio (1.2L) in 2012. The Honda Brio is an excellent hatchback in all aspects except for the boot space. The Honda Brio was my 7th car and in fact it is on its way out. Its also the first time that i am selling a new car in under 6 months.

The reason the Brio is on its way out is all because of the newly launched VW GT TSI. I couldn't say no to the convenience of a 7 speed automatic gearbox which produces power and torque in oodles. I am buying the GT just for what is under the hood. The 2013 VW GT TSI which i have booked and already paid for is waiting in the wings to be my 8th car.

So after a decade of owning several types of cars and also driving several cars the only thing that i can say is that my love and passion for cars is unlike any other person that i have known and i am sure that the next decade is gonna be even better.

I wanted to add photos of all my cars out here however most of them that i have exceed the 1MB limit for photos and hence not able to post them.

Welcome to TBHP, chase_nt. Your cars look really smashing in those photographs.
Wish you have a pleasant stay here. :D

I think I have seen your Brio's ownership report in some other forum also. Waiting eagerly for an ownership log.

BTW Yours is one of the best ownership write-up IMO.

Thanks Loud. I'm glad you liked the cars and my ownership write-up. I wont be able to do a ownership log on the Brio because there is not much to write about. I have had that car for five and a half months and i just sold it with a miniscule 650kms on the clock. Hopefully the VW GT TSI that i'm taking delivery of next week will be with me long enough to add significant kilometers for an ownership log lol:.

Well, what was the reason of letting the Brio go?:eek:

Changing my statement: Waiting for an ownership log of the GT TSI! Which color, BTW?
Hope you show her more kilometers and keep it with you for longer!

Welcome aboard Chase!

Do see post #4 here : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-team-bhp.html

cya
R

The only ulterior motive that i had in selling the Brio was to satiate my urge to own the GT TSI. I like hatchbacks as they are the most practical vehicles in India however there is a dearth of powerful petrol hatches out here. Sure we have the Mini Cooper S now however it is exorbitantly priced and almost 100% of the price is taxes and customs duties. Anyway the GT TSI seems to be a nice powerful hatchback and i wanted to get my paws on it lol:. My GT is red and i am taking delivery of it on Wednesday. In fact i am the first person from my city who is buying this car clap:.



Wow Thanks a bunch for that Rehaan. I can upload a few more photos of my cars after following the instructions here.

Wow! The GT TSI seems to a nice buy, but don't you think you change cars too early!? stupid:
The GT looks really hot in red. Eagerly waiting for an initial ownership log with eyes and mouth wide-open! What was the price OTR in your city?

Is the GT a Polo or a Golf? In any case it looks splendid in its red.clap:

Show us some pictures of her.

It is the Polo GT TSI, buddy. Didn't you read the opening post? chase_nt has mentioned that he has booked a red Polo GT TSI. :)

.

I do change cars too often and it's a bad habit that I wanna break. Hope the GT is gonna usher in that change in my mentality. The car worked out 9.5 lakh on the road. The dealer offered me 15000 discount and also free mudflaps, mats and Teflon coating.

Thanks joe. It is a Polo GT. I will post pics once I take delivery on Wednesday.

9.5 L on-road! Looks like a massive amount to me. I got my Rapid Diesel Automatic at around the same price, a bit higher though. lol:

I would suggest you to leave most of the accessories and get the VW Polo body kit.

Here's a pic-


(Also posted in the Tastefully Modified thread. Link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ml#post3137435)

Welcome to the team Chase! :)
That’s indeed a long list. Great choice with the Polo GT TSI. Looking forward to your ownership review.

Rapid diesel automatic? Assume that it’s a typo :)

Oops! Sorry, typo!lol:
Mine is a 1.6 Petrol MPI Ambition AT. I got it for a little above 9.5 L including accessories.

Yes its pretty expensive. I could've got a Honda City or Hyundai Verna or VW Vento for that price. The ex-showroom price in my city is around 813,000 and a large chunk of the OTR price comprises the road tax which is really high in AP at 12%. I wish that the AP government provides us with decent roads after charging such exorbitant tax however its just a pipe dream. I don't intend to fit any accessories to it cause its loaded with almost everything however i did decide to go in for the body kit a while ago. I will wait for 6 months or so and have the body kit fitted.


Thanks vb-san. Its strange that we don't have any ownership reviews of the GT TSI yet despite the fact that we have quite a few GT TSI owners on team bhp already.

I heard that taxes would be uniform in all states (@6% I think) in coming future. Yes, the GT TSI comes well loaded with features but on the visual side, there is nothing that appealing, so I suggested body kit. But, VW charges very high for the body kit. But the fact is that it looks really neat and elegant. :D Hope the wait ends and you install the body kit soon! Very eager to see some snaps by Wednesday. Will discuss more in the ownership report you would create. :)