Team-BHP
(
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
Hey guys,
Since I can remember I wanted a vehicle in which I could cruise on the highway at comfortable speeds, take the family on vacations, have 4x4 capability, available in the Pre-Owned segment, have decent to good reliability, etc
So the vehicles in question were the either the Toyota Land Cruiser, Mitsubishi Pajero or the Suzuki Grand Vitara. Vehicles like the Tata Safari or the Scorpio I dint consider as having already owned the Safari I wanted something more from the vehicle and if I did that I would be booking a loss on the vehicle, spend another 7-8 lacs but still stuck with the vehicle that I had for the past 3 years. Also I dint want to buy new vehicle as the depreciation in the first couple of years is huge, so I decided if I buy pre-owned one the depreciation hit that I would take on my safari would be compensated to some extent on the pre-owned vehicle that I'd buy.
Now the problem was or is that there are not many available in the pre-owned segment and the ones that are, are not in that good a condition. The availability of the Pajero compared to the FJ is still better but to find a good vehicle read good condition, less abused and most importantly well cared for is still a matter of luck and chance. But anyways I was on the constant lookout and on the slightest chance I would talk to people who owned these vehicle and try to share their experiences.
So as I said that I was constantly looking for a vehicle I would also visit workshops and talk to the service advisors take their opinion on the cost of normal servicing, estimate of parts like suspension jobs, engine work, servicing etc. Further though I was eager to buy any one of the above three vehicle I was giving more weight to the diesel vehicles as I would be using the vehicle for highway and long distance driving so having a diesel compared to a petrol would obvious benefits. But as they say
beggars can't be choosers I was eager to grasp a low mileage GV anyday had I found one.
Another thing is that there are not many threads on teambhp on the above three vehicles, especially in the 4x4 section and which are updated regularly. The one that are very prominent and updated periodically are Sudev's GV thread which practically I've read all the pages, Samurai's GV thread, couple of thread on the Pajero the one that I remember and which is regularly updated is Ricky thread. But no thread on the FJ80.
EDIT: I remember there was this one thread on teambhp on the FJ80 started by IRAGHAVA but that was more of pics than actual ownership experience.
The search became even more pronounced since the day I sold my Gypsy. I think that this was in June 2010 and as I was eager to officiate in Raid 2010, but without vehicle no luck.
So as I said I would keep visiting workshops and get the opinion of people I visited this one workshop in Vasant Kunj where a friend of mine gets his FJ maintained. I went there with the intention of talking to the owner and getting his opinion on the stuff going on in my head. By this time I had decided that I would buy either the Pajero or hunt for a FJ80. The owner told me that between the two the cruiser would be more easy or same on the pocket as some parts are cheaper on the cruiser than the pajero and vice-versa.
(now guys this his opinion only, I am just a novice sharing my thoughts and my experience on what I heard and learned) My policy is if you don't know the vehicle then know the guy who maintains your vehicle and as my heart was always on the FJ80 I decided that this was it. I would buy the FJ80 only, howsoever long it takes I was ready to wait and was in no hurry. The guy assured me that in matter of sometime he would find a good conditioned, used vehicle. This was sometime 2-3 weeks back.
Since that day I started dreaming about FJ80 but the same old problem kept haunting me,
NOT MANY AVAILABLE. I would scan the classified section everyday and as luck would have it. NOTHING.
So last weekend, I think it was the 27th of August I was roaming around with a dear friend, RENEGADE, and he just mentioned to me that there is this FJ80 for sale on teambhp. I said that it can't be as I check it almost daily but he was adamant that there is one. I did a scan of the first few pages on my phone but dint find anything. I dint bother and dint think further about it. Next day Saturday when I logged on to Teambhp I again decided to see the SUV section, but this time I did a search 'cruiser' and found the following advert
Team-BHP Classifieds - Price Reduced - 96 Landcruiser 80 4.2 Turbo Diesel - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds
As again luck would have it The advert was almost 16 months old and thing like this do not wait for that long. The owner would have sold the vehicle and forgotten to remove the advert from the site. My dream would remain a dream. But still I thought that I'd try my luck and call the owner. Then something struck me. The location city of the vehicle was Chennai and that where TRAMWAY lives too. I decided to call him and see if he knows this bhpian REDONE. I even remember the time it was between 9-10am. I called him and he was not familiar with the handel 'REDONE'. But he assured me that he would speak to the owner and try to find out the details.
He dint call me for like 30 mins and by this time I was eagerly checking the signals on my phone and check the status of the battery so that it was not off or something
Next update tomorrow...
Dude... looks like Kollywood Ishtyle of movie-cum-story telling has bit you big...!!! :)
Now this is nail biting situation,but i know the end,its the start of FJ80 story in your like harjeev,
Congrats! now let us know the condition,price and most importantly the PICTURES
Anyways as I said that I was waiting for TRAMWAY's call and was high with anticipation. The phone rings and I am please to see TRAMWAYS name. He tells me
Harjeev you are a very lucky guy!!!
My excitement builds up and over the conversation I learn that the vehicle is still not sold and is in an extremely good condition. Further I think that the gods were in a mood to listen to all my prayers that day it turned out that TRAMWAY knew the owner well. So over the course of next couple of hours I had a very detailed conversation with the owner, REDONE, who I'd say was one of the most patient guys I'd ever spoken too. He answered all my queries some of them now that I think were quite weird, but it was a big decision that I was taking.
To cut a long story short I think that before lunch that day 28th of August, exactly 1 week before, I'd done the following.
Booked my air tickets, taken prints of the essential paperwork Form No 28, 29, 30, Delivery note, Payment receipt, etc
(thanks to teambhp everything that I needed was on the threads), Had the Demand drafts ready etc. What followed was a very sleepless night or I should say no sleep night.
Next morning (
Sunday 29th August 2010) flight was Kingfisher DEL-BLR departure @ 620am so I was at the airport at 5.15ish and reached BLR around 845am. Very surprisingly the flight was around 30-40 mins before the scheduled arrival time. Took a taxi and reached Santosh's home.
Another thing that deserves a special mention is that
TRAMWAY is one of the best friends that I've made on this forum. What else would prompt a guy to drive all the way from Chennai to Hosur park his jeep there and then take a bus to Bangalore. Just did a google search and the drive is like 350kms!!! My gosh thats quite a lot.
Second is
SANTOSH another fellow bhpian whom too I'd met for the first time and was with us throughout the day. I effectively ended up ruining there complete holiday
;-)
Third is my cousin RANBIR who too is studying near Housr. He too was very kind enough to come and join us.
And forth and foremost if it wasn't for
RENEGADE I would have never ever started dreaming of TLCs in the first place and would still be driving the vehicles that I'd owned in the past couple of years. Thanks again buddy.
And then there is my friend
Neeloy Sarkar. I am not sure whether he's there on the forum or not, but this guy was my fall back for everything. Any issue I had, without thinking next thing I knew I was calling him to clarify the details.
Guys I really thank all off you for taking the time out and coming to help and support me. Thanks a lot.
We reached REDONE's home and there she was. The vehicle was as it was depicted in the pictures, but only better. Or I should say that the pictures did not do justice to the vehicle.
Here are some pics that I've downloaded from the advertisement. The copyright is REDONE's
We took the vehicle for a spin enjoyed it immensely. I was actually driving a 4.2 TCD FJ80 for the first time in my life so didn't know what to expect, but still had a great time :D
Liked the vehicle and I should say that for a 13 & 1/2 year old vehicle it was very well maintained. Thanks again REDONE for taking care of it.
Now all things said the timeline was as follows. (
I have taken approximate timings)
9am: Land in BLR
1030am: Reach Santosh's House
11AM-12PM: Depart for REDONE's House and reach there
12PM-1.30PM: Do the test drive and all, finalise the details and Guys I become the proud owner of a December 1996 4200 cc Turbo Charged Diesel
'Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80'
I never anticipated that it would be so quick and smooth and within a little more than 24 hours of having a look at the advertisement I would actually have the keys of the vehicle of my dreams in my hand.
Will update the rest of the details later in the day with pics and all and how I embarked on the longest solo trip of my life till date...
Cheers
Congrats Phaaji:thumbs up
The moment,i noticed your Safari,in classifieds,i had started wondering,what would be the replacement vehicle.
Congrats once again,did you drive it down from Chennai to Delhi?
Congratulations on the "new" TLC. She does look like she is brilliantly maintained. 4200 cc turbo diesel clap: Slurp slurp...stuff dreams are made of.
Hope you have a great ownership experience & a wonderful time with the TLC :D Let us have the pleasure of seeing some pics of her here in Delhi. Do share your experience of the looooong solo drive. Looking forward to it. Hope she did not "misbehave" enroute.
Cheerio
Congratulations harjeev,welcome to the TLC world,now the journey begins:D. Your vehicle is in very good shape mate,loved the way engine sounded,now just keep on cruising.As discussed earlier,now are camping trips are on the moment my LC is on road.Have fun and enjoy the ride.
cheers
:thumbs up
Congratulations Harjeev and let me tell you are very very lucky to find this beauty and that too in such a good shape, its my dream vehicle and have been hunting for one since ages, these are very difficult to come by and if you find one in such a good shape, the prices quoted are Horrible. I hope you have got it in good price. If you don't mind can you p.m it to me.
Eagerly waiting for more Pictures and your trip from Chennai - Delhi to unfold
P.s: This forum is a boon, I was able to purchase my 550 within 24 hrs of the add posted in classified.
congrats on the drive , we see a similar model but snuff coloured one in bangalore , parked at central silk board in bangalore , it's owned by some governament organization , have noticed the cab drivers maintain min distance from the LC on all sides
Congrats, one of my fav SUVs. Hope to own a green one someday.
Great find Harjeev, I can claim that I have already ridden it. Found the interiors to be very clean. No doubt the previous owner took very good care of it. The engine bay was very clean indeed. loved it, congratulations again and hope I can test drive it some day. RENEGADE needs a special mention here as his knowledge knows no bounds, he manages to surprise me everyday! He has a gem too but I will not steal his thunder today!
congrats harjeev ! you said that FJ was in chennai in the first post?
btw how will she perform otr? post more pic of the interiors please
Congrads Harjeev,
Your dream come true to own a TCL.
-Sathya
congrats on the vehicle, thats a neat buy.
Quite surprising that it didnt find any taker for so long, guess it was meant for you.
Looks like a mean machine to do offroading.
| All times are GMT +5.5. The time now is 01:04. | |
