[iamapc]

Hello Team-BHPians,

It is a privilege and honor to be a part of the Team-BHP community. Many thanks to the moderators for the opportunity.

My name is Avinash. I am originally from Kerala, brought up mostly in Bombay. I am currently settled in Hyderabad. I am a computer science engineer by profession and write code for a living.

I learned riding on my uncle’s Yamaha RX 100 and the first car I drove was my dad’s Maruti 800. Later on, I was blessed to have an opportunity to own and drive several vehicles. I am listing them in chronological order:
Suzuki Shogun (1998 - 2001)
Maruti Zen (2000 - 2001)
BMW 325i (2001 - 2005)
Ducati SuperSport 800 (2003 - 2004)
Acura TL (2005 - 2008)
BMW 325i (2006 - 2011)
Acura MDX (2008 - 2012)
Honda CBR 600 (2009 - 2011)
Porsche Boxster S (2011 - 2012)
Skoda Laura TDI AT (2012 - current)
Toyota Fortuner 4X4 (2013 - current)

Of all these vehicles, the three most special in my heart:
Shogun – It was my first owned vehicle and the fun I had with it was so much more than the two bikes that came after. It was a sad day when I had to let her go, since I was moving to US.
BMW 325i – My first car in the US and I reached for the stars while most of my friends were content driving Corollas, Civics and the likes. I can still remember the feeling of driving it off the showroom floor.
Porsche Boxster S – By this time we had decided to relocate back to India and I wanted to live my dream of driving a Porsche before moving back. I wanted a 911 but had to settle for a Boxster S. A Porsche is everything as advertised, there is no substitute. If money was no issue, I would love to buy a 911 and drive it for rest of my life.

I have been driving Skoda Laura for over a year and have been pleased with its performance so far. I just bought a Toyota Fortuner to complement the Laura.

Apart from automobiles, I am a huge sports fan and I love American football.

I look forward to interacting with other members of the forum.

Happy and safe motoring to all.

[IshaanIan]

Nice to see more people from Hyderabad

Looking forward to reading an ownership thread perhaps of your Laura and T-Fort

Welcome to the forum

[autonarr]

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Hyderabadi and USA returnee. I think this forum is very interesting and informative, and I think I'm finding myself getting smarter every time I visit this site

[mobike008]

Hi Avinash,

Welcome to the forum and to Hyderabad TBHP Fraternity. That's an impressive list of vehicles that you have owned/driven.

Coincidentally, I too enjoyed a Suzuki Shogun which I used to ride from Pune to Hyderabad and vice-versa during the same period that you mentioned and must have done atleast 4-5 such trips and it was one amazing set of 2 wheels ( second after my most favorite those days-RX 100)

I guess you joined TBHP a wee bit late as we just concluded a Hyderabad Team BHP Drive meet a couple of weeks ago and details of which can be found here :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-b...-next-one.html

Other few threads where you will find lot of folks from Hyderabad are here :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...underabad.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...-you-stay.html

Please do take sometime to go through the rules of the forum and look forward to bumping you around the forum and also during the next meet in Hyderabad

Cheers
Mobike008 (Another coincidence is we share the same name)

[getsurya]

Welcome Avinash!

TBHP-Hyd is a happening place with never a dull moment of life!

Hmmm...some competition for my Fortuner!

[sunny310c]

Welcome aboard Avinash. That is indeed an impressive list of automobiles you have owned.

Would love to hear from you about your Skoda experience with the Laura so far as am contemplating buying the new Octavia.

Anyway, happy posting.

[iamapc]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Nice to see more people from Hyderabad

Looking forward to reading an ownership thread perhaps of your Laura and T-Fort

Welcome to the forum

Thank you. I hope to get around to an ownership thread sometime.

Originally Posted by autonarr

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Hyderabadi and USA returnee. I think this forum is very interesting and informative, and I think I'm finding myself getting smarter every time I visit this site

Thank you. I agree completely about the wealth of information on our forum.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Hi Avinash,

Welcome to the forum and to Hyderabad TBHP Fraternity. That's an impressive list of vehicles that you have owned/driven.

Coincidentally, I too enjoyed a Suzuki Shogun which I used to ride from Pune to Hyderabad and vice-versa during the same period that you mentioned and must have done atleast 4-5 such trips and it was one amazing set of 2 wheels ( second after my most favorite those days-RX 100)

I guess you joined TBHP a wee bit late as we just concluded a Hyderabad Team BHP Drive meet a couple of weeks ago and details of which can be found here :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-b...-next-one.html

Other few threads where you will find lot of folks from Hyderabad are here :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...underabad.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...-you-stay.html

Please do take sometime to go through the rules of the forum and look forward to bumping you around the forum and also during the next meet in Hyderabad

Cheers
Mobike008 (Another coincidence is we share the same name)

Thank you for the pointers. Looking forward to the next meet-up of members from Hyderabad.

Originally Posted by getsurya

Welcome Avinash!

TBHP-Hyd is a happening place with never a dull moment of life!

Hmmm...some competition for my Fortuner!

Thank you. I did read your thread before deciding on my Fortuner. Look forward to seeing you in future meet-ups.

Originally Posted by sunny310c

Welcome aboard Avinash. That is indeed an impressive list of automobiles you have owned.

Would love to hear from you about your Skoda experience with the Laura so far as am contemplating buying the new Octavia.

Anyway, happy posting.

Thank you. My Skoda experience has been smooth since Laura has been trouble free thus far. Which model of Octavia are you considering? Good luck with your car search.

[richiesubbaiah]

Welcome on board iamapc!

A wonderful list of vehicles owned! Was it a daunting task to ship a pre-owned car from the US? I remember when I was in Dubai there were options to ship the cars back to India if we planned to move permanently. Is there a different rule in the US?

[sunny310c]

Originally Posted by iamapc

Thank you. My Skoda experience has been smooth since Laura has been trouble free thus far. Which model of Octavia are you considering? Good luck with your car search.

Good to know that you are one of the happy Skoda customers. I have my eyes set on the 1.8 TSI Octavia but looks like I might have to wait a while before getting my hands on one. Have recently bought a house and have lot of expenditure around that for the next few months. Hopefully will able to make a decision in the next 2 - 3 months.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by sunny310c

Good to know that you are one of the happy Skoda customers. I have my eyes set on the 1.8 TSI Octavia but looks like I might have to wait a while before getting my hands on one. Have recently bought a house and have lot of expenditure around that for the next few months. Hopefully will able to make a decision in the next 2 - 3 months.

It is no surprise since Mahavir auto has regularly won awards for the best dealer in terms of market share and customer satisfaction by Skoda India. My friend's father is one of the partners and I have witnessed almost nill complaints about Mahavir auto.

Ofcourse, can't comment on how things will be once you drive your Skoda out of Andhra Pradesh.

[iamapc]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

Welcome on board iamapc!

A wonderful list of vehicles owned! Was it a daunting task to ship a pre-owned car from the US? I remember when I was in Dubai there were options to ship the cars back to India if we planned to move permanently. Is there a different rule in the US?

Thank you. As I understand, registering LHD cars in India is not possible anymore. Hence, I did not considering shipping my car from US. I would have loved to ship my Porsche here, but then would have had nightmares of driving it on the roads here.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

It is no surprise since Mahavir auto has regularly won awards for the best dealer in terms of market share and customer satisfaction by Skoda India. My friend's father is one of the partners and I have witnessed almost nill complaints about Mahavir auto.

Ofcourse, can't comment on how things will be once you drive your Skoda out of Andhra Pradesh.

My satisfaction with Skoda was more related to the vehicle than the dealer. It is nice to know that Mahavir is a good dealer, but would like to have as minimal dealing with any dealer as possible.

[ecosport rules]

Originally Posted by iamapc

Hello Team-BHPians,

It is a privilege and honor to be a part of the Team-BHP community. Many thanks to the moderators for the opportunity.

My name is Avinash. I am originally from Kerala, brought up mostly in Bombay. I am currently settled in Hyderabad. I am a computer science engineer by profession

I look forward to interacting with other members of the forum.

Happy and safe motoring to all.

Hi Avinash,
Welcome on board
Nice to see another enthusiast from hyderabad.
Looking forward to see you in the next hyderabad meet.

[alphadog]

Hi Iamapc

Welcome to the group.
The numbers that caught my eye from your post was the magic 911. I have driven it in the UK, the turbo, on a track-day experience and it was a totally out of the world. We share a dream of owning one some day.It sure is THE car for me.
I am returning back to India after 13 long years in the UK and have had the good fortune to own a list of fantastic vehicles, including a Beemer 3 series Convertible (E46) Audi A6 TDI, S-line-which I had engine-retuned to extract more power.
I did consider getting a vehicle back to India, under the transfer of residence route, however, backed out thinking of the customs and registration hassle etc.
Also, I believe that Indian vehicles are made for Indian roads and unless the roads are improved, there is little point in driving around in fancy/luxury cars , apart from the obvious snob-value and status symbol.
Wishing you many miles of exciting drives.

Cheers

VK