[biggrin]

Happiness is an emotion which is reflected through a smile on our face. We smile for a reason and a smile turns into a broad one when the reason behind that is big. Dictionary points out that a broad smile is a grin. A big grin (or a big broad smile) comes when the reason behind it is even bigger. For me, a 21 year old fellow from Haryana, the reason was really special. It was a mail which read 'Team-BHP Membership APPROVED!', ahh, that much-awaited mail.

Sorry for stretching this thread-start-drama, now I will focus on the introduction. I am a final-year B.Com student from Delhi University, living with my family near Delhi. I am a fun loving and entertaining person and love to talk and socialize. I read books, dance, play guitar, hit the gym, play cricket and do a lot more, to the extent that I hardly get any free time. At times when I am not studying (yes, I am the book-worm types), I manage small business activites at Dad's factory in Faridabad. I am a Team BHP reader since 2012 and the credit for 80% of my automotive knowledge goes to this very community of enthusiasts. I learnt a lot from this community and I owe a lot to it. Applied for membership on my birthday and got the approval mail in a week's time. I chose biggrin as my username as I always wanted to have a username which projected 'fun' and the 'green taklu' emoticon striked the right chords!

At this moment, a Fluidic Verna, a Dzire and an Etios adorn our garage. These cars were bought in the last week of December in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. One can assume that we were on a car-buying-spree during that period. Credit goes to land acquisition and other favourable developments back then!

Dad is an enthusiast and loves to drive. In fact, he has been involved in most of the DIY and detailing sessions carried out on our cars. We plan to keep our cars for long, which is a reason why we stick to Japs for beater cars, because of the emotional attachment due to the amount of pampering gone into the car. Dad is very particular about his preferences and precise about his requirements. When we had bought the Verna in 2011, the daily drive consisted of bad (not broken) stretches which the soft suspension gobbled up pretty well. 6 months down the line, we change our factory's location and the Verna had to go through 60 kms of well-paved highways every day. Dad decided to get another car with better high speed dynamics to keep him entertained behind the wheel. We got a Dzire in the next 6 months. A decision to add one more car to the stable in 2013 was heart-over-mind. Dzire had a weak low-end and opened up only after 2.5-3k RPM. Diesel was the need of the hour. We had clocked 30k kms already and a tank of fuel lasted only a week. Mind you, 42L of petrol costed quite a bit back then. We decided on the Toyota Etios Diesel. The other car in consideration was the Figo Diesel as our prime requirement was low-end drivability. Etios was a car which I had always wanted in my garage for its reliability. 87k kms clocked in 29 months without a single breakdown and Dad doesn't question me anymore on why I chose a Toyota! Fluidic Verna and Dzire have clocked 78k and 45k kms respectively without any niggles but surprisingly, the tightest of the trio is the Etios.

Another interesting thing in our car ownership journey is that, in 2011, I was the only one who pushed Dad to trade our Alto (1st car) in 3 years of ownership for its un-premium feeling. And in 2013, I was the only one who wanted the Etios despite its un-premium feeling. Life is strange.

At last, a 'Thank you' goes straight from my heart to the moderating team for approving my membership in the first go!

Regards,
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[RavenAvi]

Hello biggrin,

Welcome onboard. Hope you have a wonderful time in our forums.

Plenty of kms for your steeds in a short time, which means extensive traveling around. Some good travelogues (with pictures) to share? You can check through our Travelogues section and post any good, memorable ones you wish to share with us.

Good to see an Etios owner fully satisfied with his purchase. The Etios thread would need contributions from you.

Hope to catch you around. Keep revvin' but drive safe!

[landcruiser123]

Welcome to the Forum.
Have a great time here.

If you look at the car buying guide, you'll learn that buying cars in the last month of the year is simply not the most ideal thing to do unless that benefits your company.

Originally Posted by biggrin

These cars were bought in the last week of December in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

but surprisingly, the tightest of the trio is the Etios.

Why are you surprised? There's nothing to be surprised.

All Toyota's a put together very well and their build quality is excellent. No wonder your Etios is holding up well. She'll gladly cross 250000 kms if you just send her for her periodic services.

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Originally Posted by landcruiser123

If you look at the car buying guide, you'll learn that buying cars in the last month of the year is simply not the most ideal thing to do unless that benefits your company.

We have managed discounts of around 50k (25-30k additional over normal discount, and 5-15k savings from new year's price hike) when buying a car in December. Most customers wait for next year and the SA can provide the best possible deal to December buyers to meet his targets for the month.

There is no reason other than resale value for going with a newer model year car. I don't think I would be able to recover even 30-35k in resale value by getting the car in January, provided that the car is not sold in the initial 3-5 years. After that, condition speaks more than the model year. So for us, car purchases will always be in December.

Thanks for the warm welcome.

[biggrin]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Hello biggrin,

Hope to catch you around. Keep revvin' but drive safe!

Thanks for the warm welcome. I have been following all your ownership threads religiously and I am a big fan of your writing skills. I remember having submitted a reply for this post earlier but don't know what went wrong.

The Etios is used mainly by Dad for work. On long drives, we pick the Dzire or in worst case, the Verna (due to the low and soft seatbase at rear). On longer stretches, me and Dad drive alternatively to complete the journey with minimum fatigue.

I have a Taj Mahal travelogue to share, but that would come only by the end of this month as I have exams in between. We have driven to Nainital, Punjab, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Meerut, Rohtak, Mathura, Neemrana, Bharatpur and many more destinations in the past. In fact, Mathura-Vrindavan trip comes every month as parents insist on parikrama once a month (on a side note, I get to drive! ). My longest solo drive has been to Chandigarh and back in a single day without breaks! I will surely go through the travelogue section as well as respective car threads and post my experiences there.