Finally the Marriage - Ritz VDi, based on my true story Introducing Leading characters
Myself (Not my first post on TBHP, but more so definitely my first thread)
The Ritzie
Supporting Cast - Mom, Wife, Brother, Swift, i10, Indica (to some extent)
The Story - Flashback
It was probably ~5 years ago, when he saw her (Swift VDi)
Adorned in Red, the seductive ways of her had captured his heart completely
He always wanted to walk up-to her, but never did so - Cause somewhere deep within he could never sum up the courage to do so
He wanted to be worthy of her in all true sense
He wanted to be capable of, taking care of her completely
He wanted to pamper her to the "T"
And thus with a mission in his heart - started the journey for the marriage
Went thru job changes and with every job change, he always wanted to be in a better position before approaching her
The last job change took him all the way up to the capital and there he felt that the time had arrived to make the lady his own
He also got the opportunity to see and interact closely with his lady
But then tragedy struck and he had to go abroad for an assignment for 3 months
Came back, but was told that this would become a regular affair
Now a bachelor - a newly married one at that! cannot leave his bride behind and go abroad for 3 months right!
So the question of walking up-to her was postponed for some more time
After 3+ years of dilly dallying with his manager's, finally they decided to let him go back to Bangalore
The moment he touched down in bangalore, he knew he would have his lady by his side in coming times
Little did he know, that fate had other plans
A financial crunch at the family front forced him out of all his savings and he knew he could not afford her then
The wait which he believed was over, again painstakingly started and stared for a long time at his face
But more than ever this time around, the determination to have his lady by his side had overshadowed anything else in his world
After discussing it with his 1st wife over lengthy periods (Ahh sorry forgot, after touch down Bangalore he got married as per his parent's wish)
But he had always wanted the other lady too, so after lengthy discussions with the wifey - she was convinced of his desire to have the other lady
He had been arranging the dowry to be given for her for sometime now and was almost there
Come 03rd June, he went along to meet the girl's family (RNS Motors, Kalyani Motors, Trinity Motors)
The joy errupting in his heart while speaking to her family was boundless, but he was controlling it all the way till -
RNS motors actually told him that he cannot have his lady any sooner since the marriage would take close to 4 months (Can you believe that?) &
Kalyani & Trinity were better, cause they said that the marriage would take 2-3 months
He just could not wait any longer
He requested with her family, but nothing was listened to
He begged with her family, but they said they were helpless
He threatened them by saying that he would marry another girl, but they said they didn't care and did not even blink once
He was heart broken, He felt cheated
He never felt so close, yet he never felt so far
The family members offered him her sister (younger one at that!!) RiTZ VDi
But care he did?!, Nahh!
It was high time for him to get married (no two ways about it). He was also getting old but still younger sister was a long stretch!!!
He came back home clueless and was staring into the blank space in his mind, when his 1st wife approached him and started talking about the younger sister
At first he was not even ready to listen, cause it was betrayal of the highest order and he would never be able to look into his own eyes if he married the younger sister
But the family and friends (some!!) started putting some sense like her dowry(Total value) to be given, her efficiency (FE), her smartness (power), her looks (though we both were in complete acceptance that she was not tasteful from her back)
Hearing all these he again went into more confusion and went to bed with his head full of thoughts about his lady and the younger sister
Come 04th June, A New day, A New Thought -
Why not younger sister? Only for her looks she could not be rejected. There should be something more for him to say no and convince his 1st wife to stay away from the thought of the younger sister
He along with his 1st wife went to the lady's family once again
This time he decided to speak to the younger sister (Test Drive) and agree the family did!
He spoke to about various topics (All types of roads) for some time and he felt happy
The younger sister
almost resembled (characteristics) to the elder sister (Swift VDi)
Though she was not and can never be as good as her elder sister, she still was great to be with and he made up his mind
That he would marry her
He started all the procedures as required to make her his
(Interval) Off the story line now -
Requirements -
1. A family car to do the business of transporting family to & from Bangalore to Calicut (once a month)
2. A car good enough to be driven to office 20-30kms each day for 5 days
3. A generous weekend use, Sometimes ending up using it to visit relatives spread all across bangalore (extreme ends, from Nagharbhavi to J.P.Nagar 15th crs, to C.V.Raman Nagar, to Attibele, to Viveknagar)
4. A car that can stand the abuse that would be meted out to it by my race-maniac brother
Contenders -
A car which could fit in my budget of 5-6 lakhs
1. Swift - Any-day I would buy a swift. I love driving the car and there is an amazing connect b/w me and accelerator pedal which is beyond words for description
2. Hyundai i10 - A savvy ride, wonderful interiors, In the budget
3. Wagon R - A maruti workhorse, proven! Ok drive, comes with gas too, definitely cost effective
4. Santro - Would be well within budget (middle class mindset ehh!), compulsion of following on elder brothers footsteps (what with mom saying why don't you buy it? It must be good. Else why will you brother buy it?)
5. Indica - A car good enough for my purpose, lacking in character, I am not a huge fan of the center console dash
6. Punto - Fabulous car, the name in the front and the back make people run away from it. (Test drove the 90BHP and felt as if i was born (not the other way around) to own this beauty!!)
7. Figo - Good car nevertheless, but still i was not happy. Have no particualr reason but somehow it just did not strike me out
Remaining contenders in the ring after - test drives, multiple discussions with family and friends, Cash flow considerations, trying to graduate after reading all the information on TeamBHP
1. Swift - Ohh yaa. As said above, swift i shall buy anyday and no matter what somebody says it would be bought!
2. Hyundai i10 - Very good car and would suit the requirements to the T
3. Indica - 1 more Indica and TATA would have officially announced our family as the Indica family with already 4 Indica's within the family (extended though!) Somehow, Indiaca does not come off as a car which i would like to own. Moreover it would be driven by your's truly completely
Finalisation -
2. Hyundia i10 - Had petrol prices been around 50/-, this would have been the purchase without a doubt
1. Swift - Went to RNS to book swift, but was dissuaded by the waiting period. I was told a waiting period of min. 3months
And i needed a ride badly and was sulking when they asked me to try the RiTZ VDi
~ RiTZ VDi - She shares the same engine of the swift, that could be treated as a consoling factor for me
Her rear is not something i am fond off, but it grows and the more one reads about it, the more it starts to seem different (Though slightly)
The mother and the In-laws, liked the Ingress / Egress of RiTZ
And the brother and me liked the way she behaved on the streets
So RiTZ VDi it was decided and moreover, i would have it in 5days time
Not bad, 3months to 5days was a big transition
04-06-2011
And so on a Saturday it was booked and the promised delivery was Thursday
Come Monday morning, SE called up to say that the car which was available was already booked
Suddenly, it felt as it was a cosmic intervention and god did not want me to buy anything other than the Swift
But in the evening, when it was all but decided i get a call again saying that they are trying to locate a SS(Silky Silver) RiTZ VDi for me and requested me to hang on to them 1 more day, before planning to cancel my booking with them
08-06-2011
Wednesday morning (after lots of talking on Tuesday), SE called me up to say that they have 1 SS RiTZ VDi and they have booked it in my name and that i can take it by Saturday
So as decided way earlier, Ritzie it had to be and so we started the documentation
I was opting to finance the car, since there are other priorities which have to be tendered parallelly
So Wednesday the bank documents were given to the bank executive (Again representative from HDFC - RNS motors)
Thursday evening the loan was approved and Friday they wanted me to sign the agreement
But i insisted on seeing the car before signing the agreement and was duly told that the car is in the showroom and i could visit the showroom and have a look at the same
But since it was in the middle of the week - Just couldn't make it to the showroom and promised them to make it by Saturday
11-06-2011
As said, Saturday went to see her in flesh and she was beautiful!!
Ritzie in Flesh during PDI
At that point of time she had already run 11kms
Spoke to the SE for a long time asking how it ran such distance? But to no avail
Did a PDI, as per the TBHP check-list and then signed the Form-22 for registration purposes
After all said and done the loan agreement was signed on Monday
And the delivery date was fixed as Thursday (auspicious for some reasons know to my mom)
16-06-2011
Come the day, i was the most happiest guy, with a weird feeling as to why others are not so happy, until going to the showroom
We did all the remaining documentation, paid up all the remaining dues and was explained regarding all the options available
Also all those lights in the speedometer were also explained and sort of understood!!!
The Ritzie being "DELIVERED" Me with both the ladies
The puja formalities completed - My race-maniac brother just could not wait to get his hands on the lady
We received 5ltrs/- Diesel coupons from RNS and we deemed it at the nearest bunk
And off we went.....!
The story resumes
Once the procedures were done, the marriage was fixed in 5 days time
But come Monday, disappointment hit him
He was told the bride was sick and it may take time for the marriage
But in 2 days time, everything was fine and back to normal again
After 12 days from speaking to the bride's family as agreed he got married
He along with his family bought home the bride with band bajaa baraat
To be continued.....
22.06.2011
Have been really busy with work
But Ritzie has definitely created a problem
Everybody wants to take her out or go out with her
How can that be possible? I think..
But that is the truth, She has already completed 560kms as this being written
And some observations were / are made -
1. It does definitely feel like sitting higher than many other cars (seriously!!)
2. As already documented by many people here, the moment the Turbo kicks in - She is a riot on the streets
3. Her lights are definitely poor, way poor
4. She does manage to throw people inside if she is subjected to hard curves at moderate speeds
5. Dead pedal must have been there for Ritzie, since her clutch travel is not the best and the seats lack under thigh support, it (missing dead pedal) definitely is highlighted
6. 5 people can definitely sit comfortably
7. The brakes do not bite that well when it is fully loaded (May be only with my Ritzie! I have no clue. Will bring it up during the 1st service)
8. Reversing her can be managed effectively until the rear seat headrest's are lowered
9. She does create problems while turning due to her thick A-Pillars
10. Somehow the gear does not slot in smoothly (3rd gear only, Again might be an issue with my car only, Solution - Same as point 7)
11. She does not loose power when the AC is turned on to the 2nd position
3rd and 4th makes her feel weak a bit more than the other 2 positions (Again until the turbo kicks in at 1800-2000)
12. The accelerator pedal positioning is a bit awkward, but liveable
13. The waterfall dash mounted gear lever design is good and does reduce the effort for the gear changes in bumper to bumper traffic
14. She is audible until she is driven in the 1800-2200rmp range
Completed 1st Service (1100kms)30th June 2011
Work done -
1. Oil change
2. Wiper blade issue (addressed with a promise, if in future there is an issue, it would be replaced)
3. Checked for the gear issue all normal!!
4. Brake issue - Nothing can be done. Not that she does not stop, she does not exude the confidence
Changes after having her serviced
She feels a bit more relaxed
She is being worked up to 2500rmp levels on a regular basis and (I feel) she is enjoying it
The brakes still don't bite the dust, should have gone for the ABS version (my bad!!!)