31st October 2011, 13:56
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| BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bengaluru
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| “Pegasus” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Statutory Warning: You are about to read a very long story cut short. It is advised that you read this sipping on some coffee/tea. Writing has never been my forte and I sometimes might sound very boring below. I beg your pardon, even though I could control my mind to write short, my fingers would just NOT listen!! Happy reading. An appetizer first, Anyone?? Scene 1-- Three zooming stills and a spiral-in effect and we go back into my history book to four years ago. I had made good impression and reputation at office for being an auto-savvy guy. I was the unofficially official car buying advisor for many people and had to continuously be glued to the Indian car market to keep myself updated to meet my clients’ (read colleagues) expectations. God knows how much I was updated about the technology which I was working on!! But for cars, my thirst to know more and more and more was unquenchable. Fast-forward 6 months and we (me and my elder brother jointly) bought a Swift in the August of ’08. It is a long story of how I first convinced my elder bro and parents that we needed a car. It takes an entire book to write about how many calls and weekend dinner round tables at Mysore it took, to finally get their nod for an Alto. Family approvals and car loan approvals went hand-in-hand as I was somehow confident that I would be able to convince them. You always have an undue advantage if you are the youngest kid at home and I leveraged this to the maximum extent. I had quite a few acquaintances in the car industry as I had worked for many of my clients’ cases and this really helped in speedy processing of the loan. However, I personally wasn’t satisfied. Something inside me was saying, “ALTO, Out of All?? Are you nuts?” (No offense meant to any Alto owners. I personally felt that it was not really worth 3.38 Lakhs on-road BLR). So, a short discussion with my brother highlighting all possible advantages of a Wagon-R over an Alto and Wagon-R it was!!! Booking was made, loan approval was a breeze and the car was in the stock-yard in just 5 days. A thorough PDI and everything looked fantastic. It was August 5th 2008, I had to visit the showroom to make the second part of the cash-down. Here comes the turning point; A colleague of mine wanted me to TD a Swift Petrol for him and let him know how it was. Hesitantly (as I was suggesting a Swift Diesel to everyone), I agreed. After TDing, I first told the executive that I might end up buying a Swift. His face was a sight to see!! “Saaaarrr, You booked an Alto, changed to a Wagon-R and now when the vehicle has arrived and is allotted to you, Swift?? It will be verrrrry difficult saar!!” was what he said. I convinced him saying that he would get a good appraisal for making an Alto customer buy a Swift. He immediately bought my words, with a pinch of salt though!! I immediately called up my brother and said there was a smaaaaaal confusion and he replied “Now don’t tell me that you want to buy a Swift!!”. I told him that he’d got it right and after a fifteen minute conversation he was indeed a very easily convincible guy. So all went well and we got our hands on the Swift on August the 15th 2008. CUT!! Scene two- It is 2009. News about Fiat launching the Grande Punto in India is doing rounds in the market. The need to be on the razor edge of industry updates still lives and little did I know about what was going to happen. It was the first time I laid my eyes on a Grande Punto and I was engulfed in deep, true and eternal love. Less told about how much crazy I was, the better. I had decided that, if I buy a car it ought to be this one. Cut!! – Scene 3 - 10th October - Decision Making and Booking 2011 it is. As I already have said, the decision to buy a GP was made in 2009 itself. What was undecided was “WHEN”? In 2011, my marriage (did I mention I am just 25!!) was on the cards and I didn’t want to take a financial setback before my marriage. I waited for the wedding to happen and as expected, all funds that I had mobilized went down the drain in the name of marriage and honeymoon expenses. A whopping 3 Lakhs spent in just 2 weeks and buying a car was again on the back-burner. A feeling that I had forsaken one love (Pegasus) over the other (Wifey) occupied me. I somehow overcame the feeling and decided that “The Time, Is Now!!” It was October 8th, I visited the showroom along with my mom, went straight into my uncle’s (the General Manager) cabin as everyone in the showroom looked at us perplexed. My mom and maama (read mom’s brother) discussed for a while and finally my mom said, “I want him to buy the car he likes. Every time we sighted one on the road, he’s been showing it to me saying he likes it very much and now, I don’t want him to make a compromise.” (Was I speaking about the undue advantage you enjoy being the youngest child at home??!!). My maama immediately called up the sales manager and asked him to get us an invoice. He also assured that I would be getting the best price in the market and asked me not to worry about figures. Being content to the core, we went back home carrying a brochure of the GP to show it to Dad. I left for Bangalore the next evening thinking that I would be making a payment the subsequent weekend. Much to my surprise (in fact to everyone in the family’s surprise), my Dad, who is the last person to be interested in automobiles (he neither rides nor drives), called me up on the 10th and said that he would be going to the showroom to see the car. I was overwhelmed and informed the sales guy that my father would be visiting. Dad called me up again and said, “It is a really nice car. But are you sure that you want to buy a Fiat??” He then had to listen to my explanation for about half an hour and later told me that he was just curious to know how much firm my decision was (I was once infamous at home for being very much fickle minded!!). He told me that he had given a check at the showroom just to speed up the process and all I needed to do was to transfer the money to his account immediately. My heart jumped!! I was thrilled that the Apex court had given a nod and so much support for the appeal I had presented. I called up the sales rep and he told me that the car would arrive by Diwali. The countdown started!!! 22nd October - PDI at the Stockyard It was 9:00AM on the 22nd October. I was in the last leg of my sleep and the phone Rang!! (I hate to receive calls early in the morning. And yes, it’s early morning for me till 10 or even 10:30 AM sometimes.) It was the SE. With a drastic change in my mood, I picked up the call. The SE informed me that the car had disembarked the previous night and was in the stockyard currently. I got ready and went downstairs. Mom and dad were horrified. “What on earth has waked you up by 9:00???” was what they said. They were later able to comprehend when I told them that the car had arrived. Skipping my breakfast and picking up my camera, I headed straight to the stockyard to see that there were 2 BNW 90HPs that had arrived. Although both the cars were of the same month-of-manufacture, one of them had Goodyear shoes and the other had Apollo Acceleres. I decided to PDI the one with Apollos. I was dismayed when realized that I was not carrying the PDI checklist with me. Not losing much heart, I checked almost everything I could remember from the checklist.  Guys from the stockyard helping me doing the PDI in the morning  My friend who accompanied me in the morning The guys at the stockyard who do the PDI for the dealer were very much accommodative and put the car on the Ramp for me to do a PDI. The PDI went on till 1:00PM but I still was not convinced. I told the guys at the stockyard that I would come back again by 3:00PM along with my checklist to do a second round of check for which they readily obliged. These guys had sensed that I would not let go that easily and informed the executives at the showroom that 3 other cars (an Aria and two Vistas) which had to be PDIed on the same day had to be postponed. I reached there along with my friend by 3:15PM and this time, was fully equipped. We independently took the car through the checklist once and did it together the third time. One of the mechanics was so happy to see a customer so keen that he pulled up a Vista on the Ramp behind the Punto and started showing us the differences they both had. Everything under the body was so near yet so far between these cars!! The quality of everything under the body of the GP was clearly way ahead than that of the Vista. I was happy!!  PDI goes on  It's post noon. I do have a Checklist, Don't I.  And am using it too   Having found its master, The Pegasus goes down the Ramp.  One for the memory!!  Yet another!! By 6:00 PM, we thought we had finished and handed over a list of the below 4 issues to the PDI guys:
The guys promised to get these things working before the delivery and feeling assured, I went back home knowing that I would have sleepless nights for the next 5 days!! Friday the 28th - Delivery and driving my Pegasus home Alas, the day had come and I was firm that I would not let anything dissuade my happiness and bubbling energy. The previous day, I had told the SE to let me know when the car reaches the showroom which he promptly did. After a trip to the RTO to negotiate on the registration number, I was at the showroom by 10:30 AM and the car was in the basement for its final touches. I was happy to see that all the issues that I had noted during the PDI were resolved. The car was washed and dried, a coat of 3M wax polish was applied using a machine, interiors were vacuumed and the ribbons were put in place. It was definitely a sight to see the Pegasus dressed like a Groom!! It was 2:00 PM and the car headed to the RTO for registration. I accompanied it to the RTO and the registration was finished within 5 minutes. The car went back to the showroom and I went into the ARTO’s cabin for a quick chat about the registration number (I had an acceptable level of reference) and he unenthusiastically asked me to come back the next day. It was scheduled that I would put my hands on the Pegasus only after 7:35PM (strict orders from Dad) and I just abided. Me, Wifey, Dad and 3 of my friends were at the showroom exactly when the clock struck 7!! Slowly but alertly, I completed all the formalities as time just flew by. It was time, and everything was ready. I made my dad do the honors of taking the delivery and cranking the engine for the first time (after it was in our hands of course). It was decided that Puja will be performed in the Hanuman temple located in the Mysore Palace. I asked one of my friends to drive the car till the temple and he willingly did. The Puja was over by 9:30PM, there was a sense of blood rushing all over my head and arms when the priest made my dad hand over the Keys to me. It was completely an out of the world experience for me!! But still, there was something missing. It was my mom. Little had we realized that she was travelling from Bangalore and we had to pick her up from the bus stand. We picked her up, bought sweets and headed straight back home!!!  SE delivering the car and handing over the keys!!  All smiles Father!!   Dad doing the first Crank!! Trust me, he managed to start the engine for the first time!!  Pegasus reaches Mysore Palace!  The Priest performing Puja   The art work begins!  It soon ends!  I simply love this pic!!!  A much deserved "Mysooru Mallige" garland for my Pegasus...   Driving-off the evil spirits    Two LOVEs together!! What more can I ask for!! What I liked -
What could have been better –
Finally, it was a day that I would cherish till my last breath!! (I just had that blood-rush feeling even when I wrote this line!!!). Last edited by Driving_Nomad : 31st October 2011 at 16:32. |
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1st November 2011, 10:32
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| Distinguished - BHPian   | |
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1st November 2011, 10:55
| #3 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mumbai
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| re: “PEGASUS” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Let me be the first to congratulate you on your buy. GP is one hell of a stunner. No wonder you fell for it!!!!  Any mods planned?Enjoy your ride & do take care of the baby!! Regards Varun |
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1st November 2011, 11:44
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| BANNED Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bengaluru
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1st November 2011, 14:44
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| Distinguished - BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai
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2nd November 2011, 10:15
| #6 | |||
| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bengaluru
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| Re: “Pegasus” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Quote:
Mods planned are as below: 1. Rear Spoiler - Got a black one fitted on saturday! 2. OE Door Sill/Kick Plates 3. Chrome Exhaust 4. Brake Caliper and Rear brake drums painting 5. Abarth graphics(strips) on the sides 6. Bosch Horn (Like the ones in Skodas and Volks) 7. Comps for the front- Focal Polyglass is too much out of budget for me. Weighing other options. Co-axials (3-way) for the rear- Have shortlisted Polk, Kicker and Kenwood. Amp only if budget permits. Can strecth upto a maximum of INR 25k for the entire setup. 8. Xenon headlamps with angel eyes. This will be the Last on my priority list. Quote:
And yes, I bought it in Mysore from URS KAR. As I have mentioned, one of my maamas is a General Manager at URS KAR and I definitely got some brownie points for the purchase!! Quote:
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2nd November 2011, 11:21
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2nd November 2011, 12:35
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2nd November 2011, 13:53
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: bangalore
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2nd November 2011, 14:43
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| Distinguished - BHPian  | Re: “Pegasus” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Congratulations Driving_Nomad. Good decision to say the least. In short "SHE IS AWESOME" Quote:
 Below are the photos of my fair lady with the mods done. (the grey one is BHPian MCR's punto)        More pictures on my owner ship thread at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2391755 Last edited by hemanth.anand : 2nd November 2011 at 14:45. | |
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2nd November 2011, 14:55
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| Re: “Pegasus” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Quote:
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2nd November 2011, 15:39
| #12 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Re: “Pegasus” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Quote:
Off late I've seen lot of punto bookings. bhpian MCR was telling me that last weekend when he took delivery of their "3rd punto of the family" he saw 6 puntos delivered at the same time. 5 out of the 6 were white it seems.White for sure looks stunning. Waiting for the october sales figures... | |
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2nd November 2011, 15:57
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| Re: “Pegasus” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Quote:
Of course, I meant to say precious Punto. Thanks for pointing out, hemanth.anand. | |
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2nd November 2011, 17:09
| #14 | |||||
| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bengaluru
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| Re: “Pegasus” – My Winged Stallion; Fiat Punto 90hp Quote:
Quote:
I am a definite customer on the Mysore-Bangalore road every weekend. I start from Bangalore on Friday evening and return in the evening on Sunday!! Mine's KA-09 Z 9323. If you happen to see me on that stretch, do overtake me and ask me to stop. We can have a quick chat! Quote:
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Chrome exhaust tip (Dual) - Where and how much? Abarth Badges - Where did you source these from? I have heard that badges sourced from the UK are not a plug-and-play fit for the indian GP. Let me know the cost too. Abarth Strips - Did the guy have the vector file with him? Is it Vinyl? How much did he charge? Quote:
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2nd November 2011, 17:53
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bangalore
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