[RKM]

Hi, fellow BHPians!

I am Rajender Makhijani from Pune. I came across Team-BHP by accident a few weeks ago while searching for car reviews and am simply amazed (maybe stunned would be a better word) at the wealth of information here and the passion and technical knowledge of all the BHPians, and their eagerness to share their expertise. I am also deeply impressed by the superb reviews such as those by GTO and Rehaan, as also the passionate and honest ownership accounts by so many of you. Some of these are masterpieces. I wish I could also bring out such inspired writing!

Even though I have been driving for the better part of 35 years, I am completely out of your league since my knowledge begins and ends with the steering wheel, gears and the foot pedals. In short, I am a complete ignoramus as far as the machinery and the technical jargon is concerned, even though I am trying to make some head or tail of things like torque and rev. values.

I grew up in Delhi where I initially drove my Dad’s 1969 Fiat 1100D. My job as a Geologist took me to various places, and my Dad finally gifted me his Fiat in 1984. In 1989, I went in for a 1983 model Fiat, or maybe it was known as a Premier Padmini by then. Why a used car? Remember, back then it was a seller’s market and buying a new car was not only unthinkable for most people, but also entailed years of waiting after booking. The present waiting periods of popular models like the Swift and the Swift Dzire, and Polo, to name just a few, are not a patch on the situation that prevailed at that time. During the intervening period I booked a Maruti 800 when the bookings opened and then about a year or two later a Maruti Van (now known as Omni), in the hope of an early delivery, but my allotment numbers were way down the list. My booking for a Fiat Uno also met with the same fate. So in 1997, I bought a beautifully maintained 1994 Maruti 800, which I enjoyed till Dec 2005, when I finally bought my first brand new car, a Santro Xing XL, which is still with me and in near immaculate condition. Great car, great comfort (C and D segment users, please excuse!) and absolutely no trouble at all so far though I have definitely felt the need for greater pulling power while climbing up a ghat section with a full load and the AC on. This car, my favourite till date, has now been promised to my son, who stays in Mumbai, and hence my search once again for a new car, one that brought me to Team-BHP. But this time around, it has to be a roomier hatch which can accomodate five adults on occasion and also have decent boot space, or maybe a sedan.

Pushing the absolutely irresistible Honda City towards the back of my mind and focusing on the larger hatchbacks, I first got interested in the Skoda Fabia (for its looks), i20, Jazz and Polo (this one for its ‘German engineering and quality’ tag), but closer inspection and research have left me dissatisfied. Since then my search widened and the reviews on TBHP have thrown up unexpected candidates and also thrown out some. So far I haven’t been able to narrow in on the one car that fully satisfies me in terms of looks, space, driving pleasure, reliability and waiting period.

Now for the twist in the tale. My son has finally come out and said what he really wants is to buy his own new Swift VXI! So, no more searching!

One good thing definitely did come out of the whole exercise - that I discovered this wonderful world of Team-BHP. And, of course, I got to learn a lot about the cars I had in mind and also so many more. And who knows, a couple of years down the line, I may just decide that I must have the Honda City or maybe, just maybe, the yet to be launched but still very tempting Skoda Yeti after all!

Cheers!

RKM

[jeepster]

welcome on team bhp Rajender Makhijani !!
it happened with me too.
i came to know about team-bhp when i was searching information regarding mm540 & off-roading.
as soon as i saw information about jeeps, cars, bikes i registered here 2 years ago.

& please go trough here Announcements - Team-BHP & Team-BHP - Announcements in Forum : Announcements & Team-BHP - Team-BHP FAQ .

rgds,
Nikhil

[RKM]

Originally Posted by jeepster

welcome on team bhp Rajender Makhijani !!

please go trough here Announcements - Team-BHP & Team-BHP - Announcements in Forum : Announcements & Team-BHP - Team-BHP FAQ .

rgds,
Nikhil

Thanks, Nikhil. I see you are always among the first to welcome any new entrant. BTW, I saw your own intro also which you posted recently - it was really something. Your passion came right through. Wish you all success in achieving your ambition.

Cheers!

RKM

[jeepster]

Originally Posted by RKM

Thanks, Nikhil. I see you are always among the first to welcome any new entrant.

you are right about that.
the reasons for it are

1. it feels nice if we get welcomed by others.
2. you see whenever news guy finds team-bhp he gets addicted to it. after some time he registers himself on team bhp. as a newbie guys gets really exited about their new found privileges (ability to post, pm, create new threads ). in this excitement they some times makes some mistakes & get Infractions. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...on-system.html

as a newbie I too did some mistakes so i am trying to give some humble advise. (that is also after my introduction)

rgds,
Nikhil

[nanduchitnis]

Rajender, welcome to Team BHP. We lived in the same age when wait period for Bajaj 150 scooter was 6 years, Fiat 1100 D was 7 years and Gas connection took 3 years.

Indeed it is difficult now to decide what car is best Value For Money. Keep searching. for options are so many and new launches new models are dime a dozen.

But Team BHP members may also be a great help in deciding what your new car should be, given their knowledge and experience with machines.

Regards

Captain Nandu Chitnis

[RKM]

Originally Posted by nanduchitnis

Rajender, welcome to Team BHP. We lived in the same age when wait period for Bajaj 150 scooter was 6 years, Fiat 1100 D was 7 years and Gas connection took 3 years.

Indeed it is difficult now to decide what car is best Value For Money. Keep searching. for options are so many and new launches new models are dime a dozen.

Yes, Captain, absolutely right about the age we lived in. In fact I had forgotten about the torturous time I had in getting a gas connection after I left home to take up my job. One had to wait for months, if not years, for new bookings to open and then battle it out in long queues just to book! The facility for getting a second cylinder came much, much later and till then one had to try all kinds of tricks to get early refills, which would normally take a month and a half! You may have had better experiences, given your service background, but the ground reality for civilians was quite pathetic.

Everything has changed today, and how! Today, by the time you settle on one car, there's already a newer and better (?) model in the market, or just coming out. The only thing is that the waiting period for some of the popular models is quite ridiculous. But, as I said at the end of my first post, my son has already booked a Swift VXI for himself and I can carry on for some more time with my trusted Santro Xing.

Regards,

RKM

BTW, I wonder if you happened to see my post in your Intro thread, made yesterday.