[aghate]

Hello Guys,

Introducing Mr. aghate on this amazing forum via his 100th post. Remarkable timing I must say as it took almost 4 years to introduce myself.

I am a fan of Team-BHP since 2009-10ish, I admit I cannot recall and that is as far as my memory goes. Internet was booming in post 2008 and we had a new BSNL broadband 1GB data pack at home. Being interested in Cars and Bikes as a kid brought me to this Amazing, Awesome (add 100 more adjectives) forum.

Best part of this forum I like in any review is the 'What you will like and dislike' part. It gives so much insight in a nutshell for anyone who wants a quick review. Needless to say I read almost all of the exhaustive reviews for every car and motorcycle reviews shared by fellow members.

Where do I begin now? Have just begun my entry to early 30s, 31 years of age now as I pen/type this. I am an IT Engineer by graduation and have worked in Healthcare IT since getting graduated. Was part of Application Support in Pune office and have currently move to UK a year back through Inter company transfers to enjoy a new challenge in Project Implementation and working with NHS UK. My friends think that I am in a wrong job though since I am a roaming encyclopedia of Cars and Bikes and the go to person when someone is looking for a new set of wheels.

This love for cars led me to study the UK used car market and car insurance quotes which turned out to be an interesting study when I came to UK. Took a long 1.5 months to understand what car can I get and what would be the relative insurance quote. Getting insurance for a newbie driver in UK is a costly affair. Try getting a quote for a BMW esque brand and your quote is more than the value of the car.

As a kid whatever change (chillar) that remained on getting my bicycle tyres pumped used to be with me. These 5-6 odd rupees saved over a period of weeks used to be spent in buying Car magazines from a local 'raddiwala' for 3 Rupees each (I just realized I never bought chocolates with these savings). Auto India was my favorite then. I had loads of these magazines at that time. The dream at that time was to get a yearly subscription when I start earning and how fast times have changed. Which makes me wonder that these thoughts were so vintage.

I learned to ride a bike as a 19 year old through my friends. They encouraged me to start learning with all good and nice swear words which will not be mentioned here considering the decorum of this forum. You know them very well though, "Bas bike var '.....'', mi baghto kasa nahi yet tula"(Sit on the bike you '.....' I will see how you can't ride a bike yet). Learned to drive when I was 27 through Maruti Driving School and I cannot thank them enough to make me a safe and skilled driver.

Riding a motorbike though will always have precedence over driving because I am a rider first and I love it.

Vehicles that I have own(ed) as below:

1) Bajaj Pulsar 180 Dtsi UG3.
I have christened her 'Agni'. Currently being taken care by a close friend as I do not wish to sell it and is being equally loved by him. Still waiting to pen a 11 year old review but time as usual is a '?'. This being love at first sight needs justice to be done.

2) Honda City i-Vtec 3rd Generation.
Named 'Roadrunner' coz 'beep beep' and being comfortable and fast at the same time.
Gem of a car and was my dream car. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have this as my first car. Got it pre-worshipped and has been the best decision and money well spent for me. I sold this to my aforementioned close friend as I moved to UK and I still get to see her. Also, the reason that prompted me to finally apply for membership on this forum.

Getting this car was a big 'No' from my colleagues who are more experienced in driving and they said you can get a new i10 in the same price. But heart is where heart is and I took the leap of faith. She has never disappointed me till date and to my surprise has returned excellent fuel efficiency.

It is funny though, wherever I have driven in that car everyone thinks I am a 'Sahib' and got massive respect. Might be because owning a Honda City was still a rich man's thing in that 2001-10 era and is still considered as a 'status symbol'.

3) Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi (2009 model, Mk 2.5).
My first car in the UK and I wanted something that isn't sold in India(talk about priorities in place). This 115 BHP diesel monster was fun to drive. Unfortunately she developed or already had a lot of problems which I could not identify at the time of purchase and I had to sell it for a huge loss post few months of usage. My limited knowledge about car technicalities and no knowledge about Diesel engines got me scammed. Lesson learned well though.

4) Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi (2010 model, Mk4).
This was my dream car to purchase in UK. I had actually test driven one before I purchased the Focus, but I got nervous since I was driving after 3-4 months and this is a Big car for narrow streets of UK. Hence, got the Focus then.
I love it though and I call it 'Torque_Monster' as it has 138 BHP and you can feel them once you lift your foot off the Clutch. This one's made in Germany and you can tell that by the its solid build. In preparation for a comprehensive review of the same as there is limited information on this car on this forum.

Applying for a Team-BHP membership is a difficult affair even today. Some of my friends with their extensive English vocabulary still do not manage to crack it. I brag that I got mine in my first attempt. Probably this has something to do with your love and emotion towards Cars and Bikes which gets you to pen down exactly why you want to join. And this is why we are here and others are not.

Things to do on this forum are always to contribute as much as I can. Need to start a new thread and that could be anything from my review of the Mondeo, my Pulsar 180, the extensive list of vintage cars that I saw and photographed at the Cheshire Passion for Power show last year or the exhibition I covered at Motorcycle Live at Birmingham last year in October. The content is there and I promise I will put it to use.

And as I say, 'Just the moment matters and not the time' (whatever that means).


Regards,
aghate

---------------------------------

Forgot to mention my other hobbies in the midst of introduction.

Besides being an auto enthusiast I love to do photography and I really enjoy the photography threads on this forum. I own a Nikon D5200 and got it with the standard 18-55 and 55-200 mm VR Nikkor lenses. I have recently purchased the Nikkor 50mm 1.8G for portraits.

Riding a bike to less visited places is a hobby which lets me enjoy riding and photography at the same time.

Also, I love to play Guitar and have 3 of them. Not a collector but wanted one in the UK instead of getting the one's I have in India. I have two semi-acoustics, the one in India is a Hobner(my very first) and an Epiphone in the UK. The electric guitar is an Ibanez with a basic amplifier and Zoom processor with pedal. Loads to learn in this still.

In sports, love to watch anything apart from Cricket. I used to like it but for some reason the following died down post winning the ICC World Cup in 2011 and the constant hammering of Cricket all year round. Avid follower of football especially the English Premier League. In 4 wheeled format I like Formula 1, may try and catch up on WRC sometimes and the Dakar. I try and watch almost every motor sport ranging from Moto GP to Trials and Enduro. Like to catch up on Olympics every 4 years, especially the gymnastics.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by aghate

Hello Guys,
Introducing Mr. aghate on this amazing forum via his 100th post. Remarkable timing I must say as it took almost 4 years to introduce myself.
aghate

Maybe it is just me, I can only see your post count as 99 , maybe the moderators are messing with you

Was fun reading your intro. Keep revving!!

[aghate]

Originally Posted by SideView

Maybe it is just me, I can only see your post count as 99 , maybe the moderators are messing with you

Was fun reading your intro. Keep revving!!

Thank you SideView!
Yes, I did see my posts are still at '99' and probably will still remain the same after 'this' one. I will let the Mods sort this out.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by aghate

Thank you SideView!
Yes, I did see my posts are still at '99' and probably will still remain the same after 'this' one. I will let the Mods sort this out.

I recollect seeing the below in FAQ section. So good luck with your 100th.

Why is my post count number not increasing?
It may take the system upto an hour to update your post count or membership level. Also note that posts in some of the forums do not add up to the post count. The excluded forum sections are:

1. Introduce Yourself.

2. Shifting Gears.

[GTO]

Welcome Aghate! As your welcome gift, I've solved your 100 post problem. Just don't ask how .

Such a detailed introduction - I can't wait for an ownership report or two from you.

Originally Posted by aghate

Best part of this forum I like in any review is the 'What you will like and dislike' part. It gives so much insight in a nutshell for anyone who wants a quick review.

Thanks! We actually dedicate an entire day just to the likes & dislikes post. I consider it the showstopper of any review.

Got it pre-worshipped and has been the best decision and money well spent for me.

Haha! My kind of guy. I love pre-worshipped cars too. You might enjoy reading this thread (The 'not-so-obvious' advantages to buying pre-owned cars).

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by aghate

Introducing Mr. aghate on this amazing forum

Whenever I used to see your post, I used to expand your handle as 'Aditya Ghate' (don't know why) with last name matching famous tabla player from Pune. Glad to know you.

And while you are in UK, you can try meeting other BHPians like 'blackpearl' (Kolkatta) or meccanico (Pune).

Also, I love to play Guitar and have 3 of them.

Once you are back in Pune, get in touch with 'noopster' who also plays Guitar.

Originally Posted by GTO

As your welcome gift, I've solved your 100 post problem.

Sweet gesture.

Just don't ask how.

LOL

[aghate]

Originally Posted by GTO

Welcome Aghate! As your welcome gift, I've solved your 100 post problem. Just don't ask how .

Such a detailed introduction - I can't wait for an ownership report or two from you.

Thank you so much! The word 'Legend' is an understatement for you.

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks! We actually dedicate an entire day just to the likes & dislikes post. I consider it the showstopper of any review.

Gosh! No wonder that it is so precise.

Originally Posted by GTO

Haha! My kind of guy. I love pre-worshipped cars too. You might enjoy reading this thread (The 'not-so-obvious' advantages to buying pre-owned cars).

Since that purchase I am certain that pre-worshipped is the way to go. I have read your ownership review of your Beemer and you mentioning it in many other threads how pre-worshipped cars offer better value for money. UK is actually the best place in terms of used car market. So many options here to buy from.
I have read that thread on its launch and followed it for a few days. Is there any topic we can't find on this forum?

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Whenever I used to see your post, I used to expand your handle as 'Aditya Ghate' (don't know why) with last name matching famous tabla player from Pune. Glad to know you.

Actually, it is 'Akshay Ghate'. To be fair my connection with learning musical instruments did start with Tabla, so you are not far off from the guess.

Originally Posted by sukiwa

And while you are in UK, you can try meeting other BHPians like 'blackpearl' (Kolkatta) or meccanico (Pune).

Sure, I will get in touch with them.

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Once you are back in Pune, get in touch with 'noopster' who also plays Guitar.

I am not good enough for a jamming session as such. Used to play regularly as practice and then Corporate IT happened. Playing Guitar has always taken a second priority since. It is how it is (sad in a way), we start earning to get what we want to fulfill our hobbies and then not find the time to utilize it fully. I play like for an hour in a month when I start feeling ashamed when I look at the Guitar case sitting in a corner. Will get in touch with him once I am back though. Good to have some inspiration to play.