[aravind.anand]

Cars! They aren't just another means to get from A-B for Petrol-heads like us. Like all the other petrol-heads & BHP-ians, a Car means a lot to me too. When my parents took me along with them, to get my first ever birthday cake, I pointed out and chose what I wanted, ‘a Car shaped cake’ – they still recall this very well. My love for cars was born with me I suppose! Then I grew up playing with numerous car toys, many are still there at my house, treasured memories they now have become. I had a Mercedes Benz W123 keychain, I love it, and it has been with me for more than 17 years now! I was 5 or 6 years when my Dad gifted that to me. By the time I was in pre-KG, I used to identify cars from afar, my parents proudly claim today. My dad had an Ambassador back then, and I refused to go to school in it, I demanded a Blue Maruti 800 if I had to go to school. And I had bunked first day of my school life! So my dad obliged and immediately bought a Base Blue Maruti 800 from Chennai and drove it down to Coimbatore to make me go join school. So by now all my relatives knew what a Petrol-head I already was at the age of 3! As I grew, my dad's cars kept changing, after 3 consecutive Maruti 800s, he finally decided to upgrade to the Maruti 1000 and then an Accent. I started reading automobile magazines when I was in 7th class, Autocar & Overdrive used to be Rs.30 back then! I kept reading them through the day and slept with car magazines and car toys beside me in my bed at night. Somewhere along the way, I guess I got disappointed with the way cars were being designed, and so learnt the art of designing cars and started designing cars on my own. Thanks to my dad, who helped me with the 'Learn to Draw Cars' book he got me from Delhi, I still treasure this book which has helped me design cars on my own today. I have always loved travelling by cars and yearned for the day when I would be allowed to drive a car on my own. My dad’s Hyundai Accent was a dream sports car of sorts to me, though I had read numerous reviews criticizing its handling and its unresponsive 1495cc Petrol engine. Smitten by cars, quite naturally I took up Automobile Engineering, here again I am very thankful to my wonderful dad, who got me a seat in Automobile Engineering in a very reputed college, as he thought children would shine the most, if they were let to do what they best like to, and want to do. And so I spent the 4 years of college life reading about cars, dreaming, designing and test-driving Cars!

So understandably, possessing my own car has always been my desire, my ambition. I have always been hooked onto sedans and hence wanted my first car to be a sedan too. I also wanted a diesel car as I love long drives and diesel would be much more wallet-friendly! Though I really loved the grunt and the sound of the petrol engine, Petrol prices hovering about 77 Rs per Litre ( about a year ago ) was a big threat. And thanks to the lessons taught by our trust worthy, non-ABS Hyundai Accent, me and my dad realized the importance of ABS and wanted our future cars to have it. Dad upgraded to the Honda City 3 years ago. I have had immense fun, driving the i-Vtec engine and whipping the 118 horses it pumps out, but those horses were never going to be mine, no matter how many times or how hard I whip them, I knew. So, when I finally started earning, in July last year, I started getting serious about my own car. Finally it was time, I thought. So my requirements were simple, “A good looking diesel sedan, which was fun to drive, with ABS”. Since it had not even been a year since I started earning, my budget would not be able to stretch itself by much, so 8L on road would be the maximum price I can afford. But even this figure was seen as a stupidity by many around me, who hadn't seen the passion for cars within me, echoed in unison– ‘What? 8 Lakhs? For your first car? Don’t you think it’s a little too much? And do you really need a car so early in your life? Are you nuts?’ – Those questions seemed like a cake walk compared to the question running in my mind –“Which car is it going to be?!”

[aravind.anand]

DISCLAIMER:
My apologies to the owners of the any of the following cars, the below mentioned comments are purely my views and not intended to hurt anybody, kindly do not take it to your hearts.
My sincere apologies to all TBHP-ians, its one looong post ahead!

My options weren't many actually…
>Toyota Etios – The Etios was a surprise at the Autocar track tests where it managed to surprise and impress all those who drove it at its paces through the corners the track had to offer. But the Etios also got eliminated from my list without a test drive, mainly because of its interiors which neither had the quality nor the design allure, not that the exterior design was attractive, but the interiors were what broke the deal. Especially I dint feel that the central housing for the instruments were something I can live with. So the moment I sat inside, I realized I wasn’t going to be driving this baby Toyota sedan.

>Nissan Sunny – The car that is clearly built for the rear seat passengers – It says this clearly even from the outside, take a look at this Caaaar and this is evident from its looong rear door! No I am not going to be ferrying people around. Hence the additional rear seat space would never matter to me. None of the reports were saying that the V-platform sedan was fun to drive too. Standard ABS was a good move by Nissan nevertheless.

>Ford Fiesta Classic – This car seemed to fit my bill perfectly. I liked the proportionate looks, the diesel mill was decent (strictly decent, even with generous proportions of diplomacy), handling and ride quality were awesome and I loved the way the steering felt, meaty on the hand, with brilliant feedback. But alas, the ZXi + ABS option was removed when the Classic was launched. So I had to shell out over 9.5L and get the SXi variant if I wanted ABS, also the SXi variant would come with lots of chrome (at places I least want it – Chrome ORVMs, Chrome grille ,chrome rear garnish! Not any good on a sedan that wants to be sporty). But the Fiesta really tugged my heart strings, since the day I test drove one. So the Fiesta was the car I narrowed in on. But 9.5L for a car that had just 68 horses was a big no-no, all that additional chrome weren’t helping matters either. After much thought, the Fiesta lured my heart so much that I was ready to sacrifice the all-important ABS even! So I zeroed in on the CLXi variant, which was just over 8.2L. The decision to buy a car without ABS dint last long though! Any car intended to be driven enthusiastically should have ABS for sure, I couldn't convince myself to ignore this fact.
Note: Ford hadn't launched the Titanium version back then, else would've considered it very seriously.

>Skoda Rapid – This is a car which I fell in love with even before I drove one, this is despite the numerous threads I had read about Skoda’s nightmare A.S.S. I had driven my friend’s the Vento and had always liked the way the VW’s torquey 1.6 litre engine felt and drove. According to various reports, the gear ratios were better on the Rapid than in the Vento, which already were damn good! Also the suspension was improved over the Vento’s as well. And what was more interesting was that the Skoda fared much better in VFM parameter than its German cousin! So the Rapid’s Ambition variant was perfect – ABS was available in this variant too! But 10.6L was a bit over the top for a first car. And the fact that I had to shell out over a million bucks for it and I won’t get even a music system was not helping matters. I wasn’t able to convince myself to go for the Rapid, forget convincing others. My best friend and colleague, who is as excited as I am when it comes to cars (fellow BHP-ian vvijay) was not going to allow me to go shell out more than 10L for my first car. He had bought himself an Alto K10 before he even received his second salary, and he was shelling out quite a sum on EMI every month, so he wouldn’t approve the Rapid. So with a heavy heart, I had to put the Rapid down. The Rapid had it all, a wonderful engine, stunning looks, spot-on Dynamics (the steering isn’t as direct as the Fiesta or as heavy at speed as I would have liked though), nice interiors, but it was also out of my reach, by quite a margin. But this is the Skoda that made me forgive their A.S.S. good job Skoda! [/FONT][/COLOR]

>Fiat Linea - This car seemed to have it all, a wonderful steering, nice gorgeous Italian looks, decent performance, great handling and all that I wanted, but the ABS equipped version was close to 10L again. Sigh, had Fiat launched the 2012 Linea with standard ABS instead of the automatic headlamps and wipers, I would have bough this Italian lady for sure. Had to let go of the Linea with a very heavy heart.

Ones that dint feature on the list -
The Honda City thought being very impressive, due to the lack of a diesel heart dint make it to the list. Also, my dad had one already, so wasn't very keen on buying one more.
The Verna has never been fun to drive and wasn't on my Radar at all.
The Global Fiesta, this brilliant drivers car is not in my reach at all, even the base petrol wasn't!
The Dezire, Logan/Verito, Manza were all never considered as they have never appealed to me at all, seriously, don't know why though.

And so, none of the sedans in the market at present met both my requirements and my budget, sad as I honestly never thought I was asking too much – A fun to drive Diesel Sedan with decent looks, and ABS for 8L was all that I was asking for. But still I had no luck ( We now have Amaze! ) So had to cut down on one of my requirements to try and find out a car for myself.

>Punto'12 - Just then the Punto ’12 ads started grabbing my attention. I wondered- ‘The Punto has got gorgeous Italian looks just like her elder sister Linea, interiors are well designed ( fit & finish were below average though) The Punto’s chassis and steering have always impressed the petrol-heads among the journalists, the national engine was present, that too in both the 76 PS and the 93 PS forms as well, come 2012 and the Dynamic MJD onwards all the variants have ABS too. And at 7.4L on road (free insurance), the Punto Dynamic MJD was well within my budget! Voila!’
But the Punto 90 was very delicious as well, especially since the Punto 76 was never appreciated for its ability to gallop. But I was aware that even the Punto 90, with 93 PS on tap and ‘The most powerful Diesel hatch’ title safely in its kitty, though it definitely wasn’t the fastest around.
So I wanted to drive both the variants back to back to see if the additional power was worth the premium or if the Punto Dynamic + tuning kit was a better proposition. Sadly I tried two dealerships in Chennai and one in Coimbatore. None of them had a Punto 90 for TD, they all said that the Punto 90 was going to receive some nice upgrades and thus Fiat had got their Punto 90 back. So I took TD of the Punto 76 PS thrice and each time the car made me love it more. The steering was fantastic to look at and to hold, and was even better in terms of feedback. The ride quality was outstanding and it impressed my friends and family alike. Dad complained about the performance though, so did my friend Vijay, but everything apart from that appealed to me and more importantly, it met all my requirements, just that it was no Sedan. But I decided that it had to be the Punto and waited for the upgraded Punto 90 to arrive and then take a decision.
I was sorely disappointed to see the Punto 90 Sports being launched with some fancy pedals, vinyls and a silly odd coloured ORVMs! Waste of time, now just give me a test drive and let me choose the variant I thought. Just as I awaited the TD, that is when things changed, and magic happened...!

[aravind.anand]

Call it fate or magic or destiny, but things have all changed in my life now! I can't believe that I am driving a car that was once a dream car for me, and made me drool for. The Fiesta 1.6 S! that too in its trademark Aquarius blue shade (I have always preferred to call it the Racing Blue though) And no, its not a second hand car too. So how did I get a new Ford Fiesta 1.6 S. a car that went out of production roughly two years ago?
Well its not exactly new, it was a 3 and a half year old car, but has been driven around for only 433 kms with only a temporary registration. Why? you may ask. Well go to the 'Ford India walk around thread' in our forum, and you would find three Aquarius blue 1.6 S cars, this was one among the three cars that was being used for the media drives and thankfully (?!) the car ran into some problem and thus was left out by the media guys and the car was given a long rest before it came to my hand.



Go back in time by 4 years, when the Fiesta face lift was launched and that was when the world was shown the Fiesta 1.6 S with its newly acquired sporty looks. Frankly I was never a fan of the Ford Ikon, as the car lacked quality compared to the Accent, which I made my dad buy. I never was a fan of the Fiesta too, when it was launched back in 2006. It looked too conservative and traditional and thus never really appealed to me. And when the face-lift was launched, this 'S' version with cool skirts all around, a drool worthy rear spoiler (the best from an OEM in that segment IMHO), 195 section sticky boots, 15 inch alloys, and the real cool Racing blue colour made it a Rock Star among the vanilla segment back then. It was love at first sight for me. And I yearned to see one on the streets of Coimbatore, sadly nobody in my city went for the Racing Blue color. And whenever me and my gang of friends went frenzy on sighting a Racing Blue 1.6S, it was the demo car from the Ford dealership in the city doing the rounds. Sad thing that this car went out of production before I finished my college and started earning then. By fate (or luck) I got placed in Ford, through college! And the first time I entered Ford factory, this particular car, grabbed my attention and the attention of all the petrol-heads alike. Fellow bhp-ian vvijay and I delighfully discussed if this vehicle would be sold to us, and also wondered why this hadn't been sold by then. So as time passed, I thought of getting a diesel car, and as I had mentioned in my post above, the Punto was it, i thought and was awaiting the TD of Punto 90, when this Racing Blue 1.6 S came up for sale!

I rushed to the parking yard to see this car at once. Its like an auction, where the employees or people referred by the employees can see the car physically, start the engine, check the features (but not move/drive the car!) and based on the condition of the car, you can place your bid. This particular car had been driven around for 433 kms before they called it a day and put it in the yard! It hadn't been registered too. The battery was dead, and upon jump starting it with another donor vehicle, the car would stumble, stammer, struggle to breathe and run and finally die again! Gulp, not in a decent condition by any standards then. But the car's body panels were clean without much dents or scratches, except one in the driver's side A pillar. The headlamps were faded and worn out, suspected heavy wattage lamps (could also see additional, external wiring to the head lamps too) and then everything else seemed to be good. But the engine was quite a mystery and I really thought about it night and day!

The Fiesta is my dream car, I might never ever get an opportunity like this in my life, but the engine is a nightmare! Especially since these cars aren't covered by warranty. The Punto is exciting to drive, is a diesel and thus much more economical. And then the ride quality of the Punto was like nothing I have experienced before, so I really loved the Punto too. Hey come on man, who wants ride quality? the 1.6 'S' buddy, in your favourite Racing Blue shade too! Life is really giving you a chance no one else would have got. True but what if the engine doesn't run? anyway the battery, tyres and other small small components need replacement straightaway, add the engine components that could have gone kaput! The Punto is the safer choice now. Ya, but anything that is thrilling & exciting is never completely safe, it does have the element of risk, but the 'Fun' of owning the 'S' can never be matched by the safe choice, the Punto! - Thoughts that haunted my mind for as long as the bidding was open - about 2 weeks I think. I spent sleepless nights, and researched a lot about both these cars. So much so that one day my boss asked me, " You seem to be bothered by something, any problem? Is everything fine? You seem really tired too, take some rest". Everybody thought I went nuts, my Dad asked me to get what my heart wants, as now is the time to enjoy life. My mom asked me to be practical and go with the Punto especially after she had experienced its ride quality (Ride quality and looks are paramount things in a car for my mom! ) So the questions in my mind were too many and multiplying day by day and to put an end to all this, I sat down with my BIL and worked out a bid, which would cover the risk and also the known parts that needed replacement. So working back from a figure of 6.5 Lakhs, we arrived at a figure (not willing to disclose in the open Forum) and put the bid in. And I impatiently waited for the bidding results to come, I kept inquiring about the results and managed to annoy the person who was responsible for giving out the results. The evening the results mail came to my inbox, I felt an adrenalin surge as my hand dragged the mouse pointer in a race against time to click open the results and yes! I had won the bidding and the 1.6 S is mine, of course if I paid the quoted amount within three working days though! Slowly the storm gained traction and we debated about the car buying decision seriously over the weekend. And finally, like always my dad made it easy for me, when he said - If you felt really like this car, if you really want it, then go for it, he said! Mom was a bit skeptical about buying a petrol car with fuel prices hovering around Rs. 72 a litre ( at the time of making the decision ). But we decided to go for it as the deal of getting my dream car, which is almost new, which is fully loaded at that too at a bargain, was making a good business case for itself.



So I took a DD and gave it at my office and got the invoice of the car. I cannot put how I felt at that moment to words, I felt an adrenalin rush as I walked closer to my car, "MY" car! Finally the day has come, I thought. The car though could only be touched and felt emotionally, as it wouldn't start as the battery had drained as it was kept standing over the years, even a jump start wouldn't help as the engine would shudder, hunt and eventually die even after repeated attempts. So we decided to tow the car to Chennai Ford, which was about 50 kms from the place the car was parked! Thanks to vvjijay, we connected a Sunrise Copper couloured Alto K10 and a Racing Blue Fiesta using a bright green rope - a colorful sight for sure it was So finally we started hauling and the car started rolling. Trust me, being towed by a car was not as easy as I thought, and it also din't help that I was sitting in a car with not battery, which meant - no hazard lamps, windows wont come down (Figo with manual rear windows would have been a blessing in disguise here), no horn to rescue me, and most importantly - no power steering or brake booster either! The K10 proved to be more than adequate and was also trustworthy in towing a car much heavier than it. There were numerous occasions where bikers wanted to overtake me and cut in front of me, only to realise that I was being towed. All I could do in such situations was scream and shout in horror, thus making me panic and sweat more, as if I wasn't sweating enough already due to Chennai's summer heat - This was in May last year! As we approached the service station after more than an hour and a half, Vijay rolled his windows down and punched the air, what an experience it was, phew, eventually we made it without any mishaps.

And at the dealership, they were very courteous enough to offer us something to drink , something I needed very badly, after the hot sauna drive. And then they assigned a Service Advisor, who politely gave me a sheet of paper and asked me to fill up whatever I thought would need replacement. I let my instinct ( and imagination) work overtime and come up with all sorts of things (We'll discuss the huge list later on) and the S.A. came with a staggering estimate of Rs. 55,000! But I shouldn't be shocked as I expected this when I dropped my bid too, so I gave them the key and returned home by bus, not before thanking Vijay for lending such a huge arm to help me out.

[aravind.anand]

Ha! BlueBolt ( That's what I call her ) spent 3 days at the Service station, where I visited her everyday after office, before heading home. Finally they identified what went wrong with the car. The experience was extremely satisfying, as the service guys slowly narrowed down to the root cause of the engine's malfunction and kept me informed with the status every time they ruled a suspected component out. Finally it was down to the Fuel injectors! So we tried cleaning them, repairing them, but alas, the damage had been done beyond rcovery and I had to replace them. So finally, after 7 days at the service centre, BlueBolt was up and running! The entire ordeal cost me about 45k, and the service experience was very, very satisfactory. Now it was time to get the car registered. I towed the car with only the temporary Registration and Insurance in place. And having grown up in Coimbatore, I was used to seeing TN-37 TN-38 in all our cars, so I wanted to get the car registered there, so I drove down from Chennai to Coimbatore for registration. And that journey was the first time I drove for over 550 Kms, all alone, and it is one of the most enjoyable drives to date..!

At the start of the journey, after crossing the toll-gate near Hyundai factory at Sri-Perambatur, I clicked these two pictures.




I made it a point to take the journey at a relaxed pace, and thoroughly enjoy the journey and the drive. I packed water, juices, snacks, music CDs, my DSLR and set off at 7 in the morning.



And reached the destination at about 6 PM, which is like 11 hours to cover 554 kms, and this is on simply flawless highway roads. I never breached 80 kmph, took numerous photos on the way, ate leisurely and sang my voice out ( good that I was driving alone )



I gave way to anyone and everyone who I noticed in the rear view mirror. If you think its tough to resist putting the right foot down to the floor in the Fiesta 1.6 S, while driving on smooth, glitch free tarmac, imagine this - I gave way to numerous cars ( mostly Innovas / Etios / Swifts / Figos ) then buses, but when Tata Ace honks at you, it tests your will power. But when a Tata Indica cabbie with a huge Godrej bureau and chairs tied on the roof whizzes past you, you are awestruck and left with a wide open mouth. But I kept calm ( thanks to nice soothing melodies playing in the car ) and trailed behind almost everyone on the road.

[aravind.anand]

Driving on a highway from Chennai in June needs lots of juice bottles and water and a powerful AC! Summer at its peak was driving everyone on the roads scurrying for cover, a good thing that, as I never came across cattle or people running across the roads through the entire journey.

Bluebolt trying to hide under the tree (?!) for whatever shade that it had to offer while I stopped over for lunch.



Open roads, fabulous time behind the wheel, all alone, to bond with the car and to understand her better. It was like a honeymoon with my car



A fantastic photo opportunity, just could not resist running on the highway to seize this spectacular moment, myriads of colours in these frames, I just love it.




A sight to behold! each time you look at the ORVM, you notice the blue wing, and then you are reminded of what you are driving. Makes you feel so special, and inadvertently you start smiling..!



Also, during this journey, BlueBolt reached 1000 kms, felt like a mamma watching her baby take the first steps, felt so very happy. And I had decided to run the car in for about 2000 kms, as somebody had already driven it for 433 kms before I took possession.



One particular incident I can never ever forget, I was in 5th gear doing about 70 kmph when I decided to overtake a lorry travelling at about 50-60 kmph. As i was approaching the lorry, the road ahead of me started narrowing due to impending road works going on. The diversion ahead was very well intimated and was very clear, don't know why though, I never down shifted, but just stomped the accelerator. As the diversion drew very near, I realsied I was in a very wrong gear and totally underestimated the speed of the lorry! I was almost certain of getting crushed between the lorry and the huge cement barricade! I squeezed my eyes and cheeks and my hear beat raced in horror of the stupid decision I had taken! Thanks to God, I made it alive, with not even a scratch on the car, though the lorry driver never bothered to slow down.

Till date, I am unable to explain how I defied physics and geometery! And that is by far the worst mistake / mis-judgement I have ever done in my life, I am very very fortunate to have come out without a scratch from that! So please never ever over-estimate your car's ability, or under-estimate the speed of others on the road. Be mindful, enjoy the journey and your life, and drive safe!

Things I love:

> The steering, the single thing that made so many people love it, and made it the car that it is today. No amounts of reading will help you understand the feel you get from it, you simply have to experience the Fiesta / Punto / Linea to understand what "Steering Feel" means.
>The way the car looks - simply special, the Aquarius blue turns heads everywhere, especially in Coimbatore where no body else seems to have this colour! And the body kit makes it extra special.
>The AC is a chiller, with no sun film, under the direct heat throughout the day, it kept the cabin cool.
> Mileage on the highway - I managed 21 kmpl once, 18 kmpl during another trip.
>The rear spoiler, just the right size, brilliantly designed and stands out in a crowd.
>The way the car bonds and connects with you is very very special, I simply cannot think of selling this car now.
>Engine has oodles of torque, and it is easy to try up-shifting from the 5th gear at times!

Things I think could have been better:

>Why no USB-in? Have to get used to CDs and Aux devices, especially frustrating after being used to the Honda City's Hi-Fi music system.
>The Auto up/down feature for the power windows.
>Steering mounted audio controls, I am ok without it, but placing the seek-track buttns on the extreme side from the driver is not good though.
>This car made me miss the 'Punto' another fabulous car, I still am in love with. The next Gen Punto would definitely be my first choice when I plan to expand my garage





The changes in a 1.6 S variant over the normal Fiesta are -

> Sport spec suspension
> Dampeners with stiffer damping
> Steering with short gearing for faster response
> Wider 195 section tyres, and snazzy looking 15 inch alloys
> OEM skirts all around, with a great looking rear spoiler
> Truly special shade of Aquarius blue
> A different exhaust with a much sportier looking end pipe
> Special double stitched seats
> A different intake module and state of PCM
> Aluminium finish pedals
> Full black front cowl grill
> The 'S'pecial feel of owning the 'S'!

Though it was manufactured about 4 years ago, as on date, my BlueBolt would definitely be the least run Fiesta 1.6 S in the whole world! As it was the last one to leave the Ford premises, the last Fiesta Sport variant to be registered across the country! The last one to bear the torch of the endangered species of Driver focussed cars... Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you - BlueBolt, The last Samurai !

[moralfibre]

Note from Mod : Thread moved from the Assembly line to Initial Ownership Section.

[aks_karthik]

Congrats aravind.anand,

One of my love of yesteryears especially this Racing Blue as you said.
The Build, Paint and Interior(Black) qualities are way better than other cars in this segment.
Some Black Racing Stripes might enhance its presence.
Any idea in Customizable ECM Tuning/Maps.

Enjoy and Driev Safe

[Percy N P]

Congrats Aravind and wish you All the Best with your Blue Baby. I am so happy for you that you ultimately listened to your heart and went ahead and bought what you always wanted. Like they say some decisions are better taken from the heart. Reading through your post, it was very obvious what a petrolhead you are and always have been. Wish you many many miles of safe and happy motoring. Also do keep updating this thread with your ownership experience as time goes on.

[DicKy]

Lucky you to chase your dreams and land at a job in Ford, only to meet your first car there.
Congrats on getting your FWD BMW and wish you more miles of 'winding roads'.
Cheers.

[shivasuma]

Congratulations on the 1.6S. This is the best drivers car below 20L that I have ever driven. Sticks to the road like a leech. If it were in the market today, I probably would buy it.

[puchoo]

Many many congratulations and have fun , its a gem of a car , one of my favorites!

[niranjanrvce]

Congrats Aravind! Damn lucky to have a landed a Blue S this late with pretty much nil running. Perks of working for Ford eh?

So what is going into her? Start with a FFE and CAI? Ping if driving down to B'lore sometime and we can have 1.6 meet

[girishglg]

This is really awesome stuff, something that dreams are made up of. Coming to think of it there are very few cars on our roads which have the best of the both worlds in terms of performance and handling in a neat package and this beauty is one of the rare ones.

Kudos to your narration and pics (teaser ones were very nice indeed) and then to relive all the experiences you have had in the run up to acquiring this blue beauty.

Happy and safe driving!

[ghodlur]

@Aravind,

Congratulation on the Acquarius Blue Fiesta. Was happy to read the ownership of one after eons, there was a time when Fiesta ownership thread ruled the forum and there were a lot of 1.6S being bought.

So you said you bought it from Ford directly? Would Ford honour the warranty on the car assuming that it has exceeded the min & extended warranty period. What cost did you pay for the car? Hope you have taken care of the issues which had forced the car out of service.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

[sammyboy]

Wow, congratulations bro. Looks you were just destined to own the 1.6S, a dream vehicle for a lot of people and the Aquarius blue is DROOL worthy to say the least.
Loved the way you were able to get your hands on it. Take good care of it and have a wonderful time, you two truly deserve each other .

I just went pre owned in a slightly similar way, badly wanted to pick up a Linea D but wasnt sure if I wanted to spend so much (being in bangalore the high price does make cars just a bit out of reach sometimes), then out of the blue got a one year old pre worshipped Emotion variant done 7K kms and immaculate condition at a good price and just picked up, all within 3 days of seeing it.