Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story

mikebhat · 11th April 2022, 19:44

Hello Friends,

I am Muralidhar Bhat. I am basically from Udupi, but brought up in Harihar, Davangere.
I am working in Bangalore since 2003. Finally now at Team-BHP.

Since childhood, my financials were not good but always interested in wheels.

Childhood:
I used to see other kids had better Hotwheels where I had plastics. I used to think hotwheels get hot when used a lot. I was 4th standard by then.
An uncle used to get me old car magazines, I used to cut the images and paste them with gum on old engineering lab record books. That was my virtual showroom back then.

Highschool:
Cousins who are like 8 years elder than me helped me learn two-wheelers, I always used to beg for a chance. Those were the times of Chetak, RTZ, RX100, Kinetic Honda and dads Bajaj M80.
I considered Dad's M80 like a dirt bike, hard enough to enjoy but careful enough not to get any service bills to shock my dad.
No one had the car until then but I was always positive.

Job after 13 years of education:
Due to budget and responsibility constraints, I did not go for engineering. I did 10 and 3 years Diploma after that came to Bangalore in search of a job.
One of the elder cousins in Bangalore had Alto but he never let me touch it except sit in the back seat or washing the car.

Job:
Got into an MNC and after 4 years and the strength to pay an EMI, decided to buy an Alto since my cousin anyway had it and I felt I knew the vehicle.
Until that day I knew specs on paper but never had an experience of driving a car or knowing suspension, dynamics, steering response and power.
After 15 days of driving to school, almost went to boo but my best friend got me to a used car and explained the benefits of value offering.
Meanwhile, even though the car was not on the list, Hotwheels were making me happy. Now I have 52 cars.

First Car:
Maruti Esteem 1.3 LXI USED. It had done 30k and I made it run another 30k. I had to sell after 2 years. Sad story.
Here's why, no one knew how to check a car, all I knew was I can now pay EMI. Without any knowledge of banks, I took ICICI used car loan at 17% and got home the Esteem for 2.25 lac.
It is like HEAVEN since it's the first car in the family, the first one to own a car at a young age, first one to own a sedan. A year went well with pride, washing, polishing, night rides and fun.
Over a period of time, suspension broke up and later came to know this was an ACCIDENT piece. This was a WB Registration car. The story is long. But in short, out of rage, sold the car at 90k. Wanted a new car badly, even a new Alto was fine even though it was hurting my image.

How Was esteem otherwise:
As you all know, it was big and spacious, with sufficient power, power steering is the only feature. The ride was acceptable.

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-8.jpg

Second car:
Ford Ikon TDCI Brand New, well my budget was Alto, extended to WagonR. A couple of friends suggested Tata serviced Fiat Palio but I feared its image, and expenses on services.
Took a test drive almost Alto, WagonR, Zen Estilo and Swift. Heart Wanted swift but wallet told WagonR.
Almost decided to hide my dream and went to book WagonR, another best friend stopped and told me to buy a Sedan no matter at what cost. He also mentioned reading team-bhp but I was not knowing it about it much, also did not have the internet at home or on the phone. Internet was only on the office desktop where everything is restricted.
We took a test drive of Accent and Ikon TDCI, i was blown away by IKON. Also, my friend had Ikon 1.6 Petrol and I always loved its power and handling, razor-sharp steering.

Lathangi Ford suggested taking out Music System from the old car to save money, also got maximum discounts as much as possible. 1.3lac was required but I could arrange only 1.1 lac from all sources. The 90k from Esteem was used to close its loan so hard I had 10k from it. I told Ford to cancel the booking and was ready to pay 2k for processing. The sales guy was an elderly man who pulled me out and convinced me that he will give me 20k, I can pay him later in a month. This happened because he saw me how I was DROOLING on Ford Ikon, like falling in love.

Another day DAD came to see the vehicle, he liked it better than Esteem or Swift. Swift had ABS and Airbags but we both liked Ikon. I got the remaining amount and we booked.

8 years with that car and 1.3 lac km done. Sold it to another enthusiast for 2 lac so that I can buy the Ecosport.

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-7.jpg

Third Car:
Ford Figo Type 1 facelift USED :
By this time I knew the head and tail of IKON so I was confident to buy another Ford. But then the Family wanted to invest in house construction. They put this task right after I sold IKON. I couldn't plan for ecosport but knowing the 1.4 TDCI characteristics and trust in Ford, got the Figo thinking that I will upgrade to Ecosport soon. I did enjoy Figo, the same diesel engine but small size. City drive or highway, both were enjoyable. Overtaking on the highway is bliss. HPS steering and same handling that of Figo. hatchback wins over sedan in one section, putting boxy luggage by folding seats.

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-4.jpg

It's been 5 years. I had got it for 4.5, now in plans to sell soon. What could be the right price I can expect?

I will write another page on my next car purchase when I actually purchase it with all my test ride stories but most probably it's Skoda Slavia 1.0 Style AT.
I also hope I will contribute as much as possible. It's been 9 years since I am reading a lot of articles.

If you still like reading further on my driving profile then here it is:
Cars:
My personal
Maruti Esteem 1.3 LXI
Ford Ikon TDCI
Ford Figo Type 1 Facelift

Closest Friends, Used regularly
Maruti Omni, WagonR AMT, Alto LXI Type 1
Hyundai - Accent, Santro, I10, i20, Verna Type 1
Honda Brio
Ford Ecosport TDCi
Toyota Innova
Mahindra Scorpio Getaway

Test Drives:
Maruti Zen, 800, Celerio
Hyundai Creta
Honda City MT and CVT
VW - Polo, Passat
Tata Altroz, Nexon

Bikes:
Unlimited Scooters - Luna, Kinetic Honda, TVS Champ, and todays scooters even Athers
Royal Enfield Himalayan, Classic 500, Bullet 500, Bullet 350, Thunderbird 500, Pulsar 180, 200, 220
Bajaj Chetak, Bajaj M80, Kawasaki RTZ
Yamaha - RX100, FZ150
Triumph Speedmaster
Harley Davidson Street 750

First Bike ride with friends

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-2.jpg

Wicked Ride

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-1.jpg

Testing 2 car parking with of a friend

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-3.jpg

Ex Boss Ka Triumph, took a test drive but its not for my thin body.

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-5.jpg

Finally diecasts. It has Fast and Furious, Various Originals, Many Sizes, Batmobile, Jeep, many many many more

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-9.jpg

Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story-11.jpg

Turbanator · 11th April 2022, 20:47

Dear mikebhat,

welcome to the forum.

Note - Please proofread the posts prior to posting.

androdev · 11th April 2022, 21:04

Warm welcome to the forum mikebhat. That's a great story - honest and straight from the heart.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading. Cheers!

Samegoodkid · 11th April 2022, 21:33

Welcome mikebhat. Now that is a proper introduction

I was smiling while reading your introduction.

Regards,
Another newbie!

Roy.S · 11th April 2022, 22:07

Welcome to the forum!
That was an entertaining introduction and I'll be looking out for your Slavia (or whatever you buy next) ownership experience posts.

ABHI_1512 · 11th April 2022, 22:48

I think this introductory post deserves a ovation just for the reason that it comes across as an honest and heartfelt story of someone who never stopped dreaming.

Welcome to the forum mikebhat, will look forward to your posts in the forum. Thanks for the honesty, it’s at a premium these days.

Regards.

Red Liner · 12th April 2022, 07:47

I felt a lot of good vibes reading this humble introduction. The part where the old salesman took you out and offered to loan you 20k just so you could buy the car you want brought a tear to my eyes. Where are such people now?

Rajjay · 12th April 2022, 09:54

Welcome on board. I was really touched by your honest and humble introduction.

carthick1000 · 12th April 2022, 14:00

Honest and a very humbling introduction. Welcome and enjoy your stay!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Liner

IWhere are such people now?

There are some among us too

.One such story here.

sukhbirST · 12th April 2022, 15:59

Welcome and wish you miles of safe and long drives. It is nice to be frank and honest in sharing life secrets, as it motivates many others. All the best.

libranof1987 · 12th April 2022, 16:24

Terrific story, Muralidhar! What a joy it's been to read your story. Hope to read your Slavia ownership journey soon.

From a used Esteem to getting the Ikon, with a gentle nudge from a good samaritan - that's the stuff dreams are made of.

nikhilarni · 12th April 2022, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikebhat

Hello Friends,

I am Muralidhar Bhat. I am basically from Udupi, but brought up in Harihar, Davangere.
I am working in Bangalore since 2003. Finally now at Team-BHP.

Hi Murlidhar aka mikebhat,

Welcome to the forum and loved reading your "straight from the heart" narration.

Nice to see the journey. Trust me, many of us had a similar journey from the first car to where ever we are now.

Loved the car collection and the showcase. I always wanted to create one like that, but never managed to.

INJAXN · 12th April 2022, 19:57

Great story @Mikebhat, I can relate to some part of it where I also used to look at other's cars as we did not have one.

Welcome to Team-bhp. And yeah, you have a great hot wheels collection.

Axe77 · 15th April 2022, 08:16

What a lovely introduction thread - straight from the heart with lovely anecdotes from your automotive journey.

volkman10 · 15th April 2022, 08:21

Welcome to the forum!
Nice introduction and will be looking forward to your ownership posts as it happens!

Welcome to Team-bhp and hope you have a great knowledge sharing and experience here.

11th April 2022, 19:44	#1
mikebhat Newbie Join Date: Apr 2022 Location: bangalore Posts: 3 Thanked: 112 Times	Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Hello Friends, I am Muralidhar Bhat. I am basically from Udupi, but brought up in Harihar, Davangere. I am working in Bangalore since 2003. Finally now at Team-BHP. Since childhood, my financials were not good but always interested in wheels. Childhood: I used to see other kids had better Hotwheels where I had plastics. I used to think hotwheels get hot when used a lot. I was 4th standard by then. An uncle used to get me old car magazines, I used to cut the images and paste them with gum on old engineering lab record books. That was my virtual showroom back then. Highschool: Cousins who are like 8 years elder than me helped me learn two-wheelers, I always used to beg for a chance. Those were the times of Chetak, RTZ, RX100, Kinetic Honda and dads Bajaj M80. I considered Dad's M80 like a dirt bike, hard enough to enjoy but careful enough not to get any service bills to shock my dad. No one had the car until then but I was always positive. Job after 13 years of education: Due to budget and responsibility constraints, I did not go for engineering. I did 10 and 3 years Diploma after that came to Bangalore in search of a job. One of the elder cousins in Bangalore had Alto but he never let me touch it except sit in the back seat or washing the car. Job: Got into an MNC and after 4 years and the strength to pay an EMI, decided to buy an Alto since my cousin anyway had it and I felt I knew the vehicle. Until that day I knew specs on paper but never had an experience of driving a car or knowing suspension, dynamics, steering response and power. After 15 days of driving to school, almost went to boo but my best friend got me to a used car and explained the benefits of value offering. Meanwhile, even though the car was not on the list, Hotwheels were making me happy. Now I have 52 cars. First Car: Maruti Esteem 1.3 LXI USED. It had done 30k and I made it run another 30k. I had to sell after 2 years. Sad story. Here's why, no one knew how to check a car, all I knew was I can now pay EMI. Without any knowledge of banks, I took ICICI used car loan at 17% and got home the Esteem for 2.25 lac. It is like HEAVEN since it's the first car in the family, the first one to own a car at a young age, first one to own a sedan. A year went well with pride, washing, polishing, night rides and fun. Over a period of time, suspension broke up and later came to know this was an ACCIDENT piece. This was a WB Registration car. The story is long. But in short, out of rage, sold the car at 90k. Wanted a new car badly, even a new Alto was fine even though it was hurting my image. How Was esteem otherwise: As you all know, it was big and spacious, with sufficient power, power steering is the only feature. The ride was acceptable. Second car: Ford Ikon TDCI Brand New, well my budget was Alto, extended to WagonR. A couple of friends suggested Tata serviced Fiat Palio but I feared its image, and expenses on services. Took a test drive almost Alto, WagonR, Zen Estilo and Swift. Heart Wanted swift but wallet told WagonR. Almost decided to hide my dream and went to book WagonR, another best friend stopped and told me to buy a Sedan no matter at what cost. He also mentioned reading team-bhp but I was not knowing it about it much, also did not have the internet at home or on the phone. Internet was only on the office desktop where everything is restricted. We took a test drive of Accent and Ikon TDCI, i was blown away by IKON. Also, my friend had Ikon 1.6 Petrol and I always loved its power and handling, razor-sharp steering. Lathangi Ford suggested taking out Music System from the old car to save money, also got maximum discounts as much as possible. 1.3lac was required but I could arrange only 1.1 lac from all sources. The 90k from Esteem was used to close its loan so hard I had 10k from it. I told Ford to cancel the booking and was ready to pay 2k for processing. The sales guy was an elderly man who pulled me out and convinced me that he will give me 20k, I can pay him later in a month. This happened because he saw me how I was DROOLING on Ford Ikon, like falling in love. Another day DAD came to see the vehicle, he liked it better than Esteem or Swift. Swift had ABS and Airbags but we both liked Ikon. I got the remaining amount and we booked. 8 years with that car and 1.3 lac km done. Sold it to another enthusiast for 2 lac so that I can buy the Ecosport. Third Car: Ford Figo Type 1 facelift USED : By this time I knew the head and tail of IKON so I was confident to buy another Ford. But then the Family wanted to invest in house construction. They put this task right after I sold IKON. I couldn't plan for ecosport but knowing the 1.4 TDCI characteristics and trust in Ford, got the Figo thinking that I will upgrade to Ecosport soon. I did enjoy Figo, the same diesel engine but small size. City drive or highway, both were enjoyable. Overtaking on the highway is bliss. HPS steering and same handling that of Figo. hatchback wins over sedan in one section, putting boxy luggage by folding seats. It's been 5 years. I had got it for 4.5, now in plans to sell soon. What could be the right price I can expect? I will write another page on my next car purchase when I actually purchase it with all my test ride stories but most probably it's Skoda Slavia 1.0 Style AT. I also hope I will contribute as much as possible. It's been 9 years since I am reading a lot of articles. If you still like reading further on my driving profile then here it is: Cars: My personal Maruti Esteem 1.3 LXI Ford Ikon TDCI Ford Figo Type 1 Facelift Closest Friends, Used regularly Maruti Omni, WagonR AMT, Alto LXI Type 1 Hyundai - Accent, Santro, I10, i20, Verna Type 1 Honda Brio Ford Ecosport TDCi Toyota Innova Mahindra Scorpio Getaway Test Drives: Maruti Zen, 800, Celerio Hyundai Creta Honda City MT and CVT VW - Polo, Passat Tata Altroz, Nexon Bikes: Unlimited Scooters - Luna, Kinetic Honda, TVS Champ, and todays scooters even Athers Royal Enfield Himalayan, Classic 500, Bullet 500, Bullet 350, Thunderbird 500, Pulsar 180, 200, 220 Bajaj Chetak, Bajaj M80, Kawasaki RTZ Yamaha - RX100, FZ150 Triumph Speedmaster Harley Davidson Street 750 First Bike ride with friends Wicked Ride Testing 2 car parking with of a friend Ex Boss Ka Triumph, took a test drive but its not for my thin body. Finally diecasts. It has Fast and Furious, Various Originals, Many Sizes, Batmobile, Jeep, many many many more Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Turbanator : 12th April 2022 at 12:00. Reason: Fixed typos/ errors.
	(89) Thanks

11th April 2022, 20:47	#2
Turbanator Team-BHP Support Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 6,718 Thanked: 28,341 Times	re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Dear mikebhat, welcome to the forum. Note - Please proofread the posts prior to posting. Last edited by Turbanator : 11th April 2022 at 20:56.
	(3) Thanks

11th April 2022, 21:04	#3
androdev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 3,099 Thanked: 22,357 Times	re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Warm welcome to the forum mikebhat. That's a great story - honest and straight from the heart. Thoroughly enjoyed reading. Cheers!
	(1) Thanks

11th April 2022, 21:33	#4
Samegoodkid BHPian Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Pune Posts: 65 Thanked: 144 Times	re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Welcome mikebhat. Now that is a proper introduction I was smiling while reading your introduction. Regards, Another newbie!
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11th April 2022, 22:07	#5
Roy.S BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 707 Thanked: 946 Times	re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Welcome to the forum! That was an entertaining introduction and I'll be looking out for your Slavia (or whatever you buy next) ownership experience posts.
	(2) Thanks

11th April 2022, 22:48	#6
ABHI_1512 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: Calcutta Posts: 945 Thanked: 11,185 Times	re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story I think this introductory post deserves a ovation just for the reason that it comes across as an honest and heartfelt story of someone who never stopped dreaming. Welcome to the forum mikebhat, will look forward to your posts in the forum. Thanks for the honesty, it’s at a premium these days. Regards.
	(9) Thanks

12th April 2022, 07:47	#7
Red Liner Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,209 Thanked: 18,044 Times	re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story I felt a lot of good vibes reading this humble introduction. The part where the old salesman took you out and offered to loan you 20k just so you could buy the car you want brought a tear to my eyes. Where are such people now?
	(15) Thanks

12th April 2022, 09:54	#8
Rajjay BHPian Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Tuticorin Posts: 40 Thanked: 84 Times	Re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Welcome on board. I was really touched by your honest and humble introduction.
	(1) Thanks

12th April 2022, 15:59	#10
sukhbirST BHPian Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Noida Posts: 255 Thanked: 513 Times	Re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Welcome and wish you miles of safe and long drives. It is nice to be frank and honest in sharing life secrets, as it motivates many others. All the best.
	(1) Thanks

12th April 2022, 16:24	#11
libranof1987 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: All over! Posts: 7,621 Thanked: 18,358 Times	Re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Terrific story, Muralidhar! What a joy it's been to read your story. Hope to read your Slavia ownership journey soon. From a used Esteem to getting the Ikon, with a gentle nudge from a good samaritan - that's the stuff dreams are made of.
	(1) Thanks

12th April 2022, 19:57	#13
INJAXN BHPian Join Date: May 2014 Location: Pune Posts: 141 Thanked: 364 Times	Re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Great story @Mikebhat, I can relate to some part of it where I also used to look at other's cars as we did not have one. Welcome to Team-bhp. And yeah, you have a great hot wheels collection.
	(1) Thanks

15th April 2022, 08:16	#14
Axe77 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,933 Thanked: 20,692 Times	Re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story What a lovely introduction thread - straight from the heart with lovely anecdotes from your automotive journey.
	(1) Thanks

15th April 2022, 08:21	#15
volkman10 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: -- Posts: 23,434 Thanked: 67,877 Times View My Garage	Re: Hello BHPians, I'm Muralidhar and here's my story Welcome to the forum! Nice introduction and will be looking forward to your ownership posts as it happens! Welcome to Team-bhp and hope you have a great knowledge sharing and experience here.
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