[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

That is long enough! 20 days and you post now!

I know, tell me about it, but then, its been 20 days and you still havent helped me out to take a few pics and post them here.

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

You were lucky to be at the right place at the right time - there was vehicle which you liked being sold by a person who had a dead line to meet. Second hand market purchases are lot of research and timing, with luck thrown all around!

True, but it is possible to find a good one in the used market, provided the buyer has no deadlines to meet. Slow and steady is the name of the game there. I can try to assist someone if required.

[dkamath]

Congrats on your purchase!!!
Your liking towards your newly found friend is glaringly evident in your opening post itself. Wishing the both of you many happy km's of togetherness, hehe!
By the way, does the name draw inspiration from most of the movies that are released here, or a tribute to the last brand new SUV you inspected for Lukey?
Sorry, just kidding and no offense meant.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by dkamath

Congrats on your purchase!!!
Your liking towards your newly found friend is glaringly evident in your opening post itself. Wishing the both of you many happy km's of togetherness, hehe!
By the way, does the name draw inspiration from most of the movies that are released here, or a tribute to the last brand new SUV you inspected for Lukey?
Sorry, just kidding and no offense meant.

Thank You for your wishes
LOL, that was a good guess, inspiration for the name, well, he is green and I wanted a name which is very Indian, very rustic and easy to remember...only after the naming did I realise that I had friends of a similar name....!!!

Naah, Lukey's is the 4th last SUV inspected by me, I done 4 more after that but yes, Lukey, and his "name" have indeed become special now.

[Ramsagar]

Congrats on the buy. What color is it? price is always welcome.
You were little lucky to lay hands on a nice piece.
Pics are pending. and wanna detailed report about the search & long drives etc.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Congrats on the buy. What color is it? price is always welcome.
You were little lucky to lay hands on a nice piece.
Pics are pending. and wanna detailed report about the search & long drives etc.

Thank you for your wishes. He is Turf Green and the usual Light Gold/brown on the claddings.
Pictures, this weekend hopefully. I have just begun to type the detailed report and will post it most probably by today evening.

[vijaythacker]

congratulations on your scorpio, 20 days of ownership, you have yet not posted any picture of your wheels. not fair.Come with some pictures and enjoy your ride.also do share what price you paid for it.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by vijaythacker

congratulations on your scorpio, 20 days of ownership, you have yet not posted any picture of your wheels. not fair.Come with some pictures and enjoy your ride.also do share what price you paid for it.

Thank you for your wishes. I know it is not fair but like I said, my only camera has been borrowed by a friend who has taken it to the US. But I have arranged one for this Sunday with HappyWheels and will certainly post pictures.
For now, I hope you like reading my next post.

[n.devdath]

I already had car. My ever faithful 1998 Daewoo Cielo GLE. It doesnt miss a beat even after being used for over 10 years and 80k kms. I love it. But it runs on petrol and that means its running costs are generally above my budget. Which brings me to first criteria of choosing my next 4 wheeler. It had to run on diesel and had to be low on upkeep costs as well.

I am a travel freak. Ever since I bought my LML Vespa Star back in 2002, I vowed not go anywhere using any other form of transport other than my own set of wheels. The dream was realised to a great extent but also compromised at places due the ever short Vitamin-M.With my job came Don. My Bullet Electra and we have toured the country quite a few times. Don has never let me down be it the non-existent roads of MP and Bihar, the super hot climes of RJ or the pouring rains of KL. We have developed a very strong bond.
The only constraint I experienced while touring with Don was the vulnerability to rain. Now, rain for a couple of hours doesnt really bother me but I mean the incessant downpour that torments you for hours together, slows you down, and to add to that, overtaking or being overtken by a truck/bus/car on the highway means you get bathed in their grimy water splash. Now, that too isnt an issue with my body. It is the helmet visor that becomes useless. You cannot close it completely as it fogs inside and you cannot leave it open becuase that results in water shooting into your eyes.
So, here was my second criteria. My 4 wheeler had to be a good touring vehicle which could conquer any road/trail/path whenever required and had to be very very reliable.

I still remember the time when I was stuck with my Dad's Chetak on a forest highway in the middle of nowhere and had spent the entire night sitting on it because it had a broken clutch cable. Yet, as soon as the day dawned, I was able to hitch a ride from a trucker and the very first spares shop I could find in the next village(It a cycle repair shop) had a clutch cable.
So, the spares for my 4 wheeler had to be easily available. My third criteria.

Owning and riding a bullet gives you 3 things. Comfort, space and ego boost. I was used to all three of these and wanted a 4 wheeler which could give them to me as well. My fourth and fifth criterion.

I do not sell my vehicles. I have never sold any so far even if they are not used by me. My Hero Ranger LE 5speed, my Dad's Chetak and My LML Vespa Star are at my hometown. I have the Don and the Cielo here. So I wanted a vehicle which I could keep for a long time without regrets. My seventh criteria.

So, with these in mind apart from my budget, which was in the range of, say 8 lacs for new car and 6.5-7 lacs for used one, I set out shopping, almost an year ago.

..To be continued

[bantejas]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I still remember the time when I was stuck with my Dad's Chetak on a forest highway in the middle of nowhere and had spent the entire night sitting on it because it had a broken clutch cable. Yet, as soon as the day dawned, I was able to hitch a ride from a trucker and the very first spares shop I could find in the next village(It a cycle repair shop) had a clutch cable.
..To be continued

Why dude? Broken clutch cable and u sat on scooter? Come on!! It's dead easy to ride the scooter without the clutch cable! I mean it!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by bantejas

Why dude? Broken clutch cable and u sat on scooter? Come on!! It's dead easy to ride the scooter without the clutch cable! I mean it!

Certainly is, if you have ridden them enough and if you are as smart as you are now when you were 13 years old....!!!!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

nice to know this. welcome to Scorp country!
one query - when are you going to share some pics??

enjoy the Scorp - he's a solid reliable workhorse who, with a little care and affectionate treatment, will take you pretty much to the ends of the earth in comfort and safety.

cheers!

Thanks Shankar. Pics surely this weekend. Sorry for the delay in posting them.
You are right about the Scorp's reliability. When we had been to SKS for service, I could spot many of them with odo readings in excess of 90k kms and they were still going strong. The owners too seemed to be equally happy.

[n.devdath]

Continued....

My range of vehicles was varied. Octavia, Innova, Safari, Optra Magnum, Swift diesel, Dzire, Ikon TDCI, to mention just a few. The sedans other than the Octy were wiped out when compared to the Octy in terms of quality, feel, build and class. So the range was shortened to the Octy, Safari and the Innova. The Scorpio was nowhere in consideration yet.

I scouted around for a good used Octy a lot. My friends at TAFE Access too tried their best. The cars which were in my range were too old which meant paying huge amounts of interest as no nationalised bank would give me a loan for them.The ones I liked were too expensive.

The Octy gracefully drove out of my list though I continue to remain a huge fan of it. Its GC, limited rear space and expensive spares too had their share in pulling it down.

I was left with the Safari and the Innova.

Taking the Innova out was a no brainer. Its unimpressive looks, taxi image, comparatively expensive spares and bloated pre-owned market rates did it.

I was left with the Safari only. I began to look out for various options as I did not want to buy a pre owned TATA and moreover there aren't many good 2.2s in the market.
I contemplated buying it outside Blore, buying it through the army canteen, buying an older model with the dealer etc etc but one day all that changed.

I went to a used car dealer to see an Octy. I was not impressed but a black 06 Scorpio CRDe DX with OE alloys pulled me towards it. Sat inside, took a close look, drove it a bit, and that changed my perception forever.
Apart from a bit of extra middle seat comfort and space which translate to better long distance comfort, the Scorpio beats the Safari hands down variant to variant in my opinion.
Crisper engines, better fit and finish, better after sales, better reliability, better pre owned value, lots of things. No wonder it continues to lead the market consistently. I decided to give it a try.
I paid a token amount for that Scorp as well and came home happy. But, like they say, Man proposes and God disposes...

That evening, I got a lead. I called Hariya's previous owner, and fixed an appointment for an inspection opposite India Garage at St Marks Road at 8:30AM the next day. One look at him, and I was bewitched. I knew he was coming home.

To be continued....

[bantejas]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Continued....


Apart from a bit of extra middle seat comfort and space which translate to better long distance comfort, the Scorpio beats the Safari hands down variant to variant in my opinion.

To be continued....

Mods: Off topic! For sure I won't continue about this anymore.
Dev bhaiya!
Can you elaborate on this please? You know that I am not asking as a Safari owner, just wanted to know the pros and cons. I remember taking a test drive of the scorp mhawk and having driven 2.6 CRDe, I thought that Safari was best in the class for long drives (in SUV class + affordable range). The 2.2 Vtt engine is anyday more refined than the 2.6 CRDe and the braking too is much better than 2.6 Scorp. mHawk I certainly feel had a refined engine than the safari, peppier ride too but again because of the space constraints (my wife didn't like scorp as it didn't have middle seat space) we didn't buy it. Braking in the mHawk is as good as safari or just a little better (if you compare the ABS version of the safari).

Scorp owners: Nothing directed to you, but just sharing my little uneducated thoughts. I don't know much about the cars, but I know what to feel in a car when I drive it. I would like to know more any day. I actually have a fav scorp too which is owned by Rehaan !

[shishir_bn]

wonderful narration @dev. Please continue ASAP. hooked to this thread from many days. dying to see you with the beast pic. by the way what is the cost for "Hariya" you paid and did you do the PDI similar to the ones you do for new ones

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by shishir_bn

wonderful narration @dev. Please continue ASAP. hooked to this thread from many days. dying to see you with the beast pic. by the way what is the cost for "Hariya" you paid and did you do the PDI similar to the ones you do for new ones

Thank You Shishir, Yes, the general PDI parameters are the same for all vehicles but it does get a bit more detailed and intensive when it comes to a pre owned vehicle.
It may sound surprising or careless on my part but I tried to gauge Hariya within 15 minutes of our meeting and am glad to say that my impression about him was right. I Thank God for that.
Pics coming up this weekend as there is a photo shoot planned at HappyWheels place with a few plates of chicken thrown in for our senses.