[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by torquecurve

Bro, if you could check his latest ODO reading for me. I am willing to buy this car next year (at depreciated value of course )

Originally Posted by amitwiz1

That's amazing indeed !
I remember how my mother had clocked only 500Kms in her new Alto in a year!

The latest odo reading is 458 Kms. He said, in 2013 its going to be used more often.

[sauravdc]

During my childhood days, I used to stay in the Coal India township in Dhanbad. Most Coal India employees used to get soft loans from the employer to buy cars and an allowance to maintain it too. Net result: every home had a car. Majority were Ambys, rest were Fiats (Premiers in some cases), and a counted number of other models (Standard Herald, Hindustan 16, etc) and almost all were pre-owned (we used to call them second hand). After 1984, 3 Maruti 800s of BPR series was seen. The other variety of vehicles were white Ambys owned by Coal India for their officers, and Mahindra / JEEP / Willys jeeps for field visits.

There were no formal driving lessons. There were no driving schools. There used to be a drawing room discussion whether it is better to learn driving & then buy a car, or buy a car & then learn driving. Opinions varied with people. But both the schools of thought existed. My father belonged to the later version. He bought a second had Amby of 1968 model and learnt driving on that, as he felt it below his dignity to "beg" somebody's car to learn driving. Our car always had nicks & scratches!!

I do not remember how I learnt driving. It was a mix of Jeeps & Ambys that I used to tinker with. Later I perfected on my father's Amby. No scratch ever on the car for me.

It is more than 25 yrs now that I have been driving (both with & without license).

Regards,
Saurav

[pganapathy]

I don't have a problem with people buying a new car before they know how to drive. The only thing is common sense should prevail and they should get proper driving lessons and learn to drive in a safe area (open ground, away from people) so that accidents don't happen and ultimately affect other people.

The whole new car vs used car debate is a bit pointless to me. Once you have learned to drive properly, you can take any car out on the road. Of course the cost of repairing an used car is less than that of a new car, but is it worth the hassle of buying, then selling and finally buying the car you want. Personally I don't think so.

I have received various scrapes and dings on my cars and bikes (some my fault and some others faults) but the good thing is nothing major so have never let it affect my confidence. I feel sad for so many people mentioned in this thread (including the OP) who have or had vehicles but don't drive them. What they really need is self confidence

[SDP]

A gentleman in our building has picked up a used car recently. He has a covered parking spot and there is a slight incline before getting into the parking spot. Now this guy seems to have very limited driving skills and struggles to give the right amount of accelerator while getting into the parking lot. I have seen him hi-revving so many times while parking that it is just a matter of time before he ends up crashing his car in the parking.

I stay clear and have asked my kids not to play anywhere near that parking spot.

[Binzone]

Originally Posted by SDP

I have seen him hi-revving so many times while parking that it is just a matter of time before he ends up crashing his car in the parking.

Does he use a petrol car? May be a diesel with its torque would have helped.
I have felt its easier to precision control a diesel car than a petrol, due to the higher torque and engine braking.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Binzone

Does he use a petrol car? May be a diesel with its torque would have helped.
I have felt its easier to precision control a diesel car than a petrol, due to the higher torque and engine braking.

The slope is not too big. The parking slot floor and the building compund floor have a height difference of about 4-5 inches and so there is a 1.5-2 feet gradual ramp to get into the parking slot. What this gentleman seems to be doing is apply possibly 10 times more accelerator than what you and me would apply and then trying to control the power by operating the clutch . If his feet comes off the clutch by a fraction of an inch, its going to be disaster.

[am1m]

The chap who sits next to me at work just bought a new Swift DZire. He's in his late 30s and intends to learn how to drive now. A few of us suggested he sign up for the Maruti driving school course, but he says it's too expensive. Quite surprising, that after spending 10 Lakhs on a new car, one would find driving school fees too expensive!

I think his uncle is teaching him how to drive now, in his new car!

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by SDP

The slope is not too big. The parking slot floor and the building compund floor have a height difference of about 4-5 inches and so there is a 1.5-2 feet gradual ramp to get into the parking slot. What this gentleman seems to be doing is apply possibly 10 times more accelerator than what you and me would apply and then trying to control the power by operating the clutch . If his feet comes off the clutch by a fraction of an inch, its going to be disaster.

It is very easy, to go and tell him the same.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

It is very easy, to go and tell him the same.

This is a good option, but depends on what kind of a person the other guy is. There are a lot of people who will get mightily offended if a third person gives them tips on how to drive as they take it personally. If he is that type of a person, not worth it I guess