“The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That’s the deal. “– C.S.Lewis
A TRIBUTE TO THE KING OF SUVs:
The Tata Safari was always more than an SUV to me. It was my dream car. I know that many dreams of luxury & premium cars, I do too. But there was always something about a Safari which drew me to it. And I bought one the moment I could, and it was literally one of the best moments of my life.
It was always a standout in a sea of standard cars:
Changes in life, living Monday to Friday in another city, made the Safari dormant & the running became approximately 300 kilometers in 5 months. The evident was bound to happen, thought did not occur to me, until one day, while cranking it on the weekend, the Storme just didn’t start. Its battery had become completely died. The SA advised an immediate battery change & recommended you can’t keep a Safari standing this long, it’ll start developing more problems. It was then that I decided I can’t let that happen & decided to transfer ownership when it was fully functional at 100% capacity.
In a rainy July weekend, I decided to take it to Cars24 for an evaluation. I’ll detail out the experience later ahead in the post.
Fast forward a month later, I found a person (via Cars24) who would love my Storme as much I did (I hope). A couple of window shoppers reached out as well, but I had a lot of Ron Swanson moments wherein I just told those people to NEVER call again.
The gentlemen I considered seemed quite serious, to the point he travelled 350 kilometers(one way) just to come see the Safari (from Aurangabad). After a few long nights & negotiations, a deal was finalized. And nothing has been the same since then.
The last few days with it, I think I drove it as much as possible and clicked as many pictures as I could. I didn’t want to miss out on any memory of my Tata Safari Storme.
The LAST drive
The LAST day
I’m very very proud over the fact that my Storme looks as beautiful as it did on the first day I welcomed it in my life, inside & out.
Inside: Outside:
It still can’t express exactly how I feel, but these two words (
Safari Storme) are a part of who I was, & they will always mean something special to me.
COPING?
I was aware of the inevitable change, but my mind just hasn’t registered the fact I don’t own my Storme anymore. Even after delivery, I still would look down from my home to the park spot, but the Safari just isn’t there anymore, like it was in the past:
Silver Lining?
I might have had owned my dream car & no longer do now, but that’s doesn’t mean it’s the end. Dream bigger! The next love affair of my life is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. And YES, I will get it a Silver Wrangler!
I drove it for around 300 kilometers in the US, & it was the closest I felt to the happiness I felt driving the Safari.
Wishing the new owners of my Tata Safari Storme, many many happy miles!
Cheers!
Rohan Sachar
Now, speaking the language I can clearly express i.e. numbers:
Cars24: SOP:- Take car to them evaluation
- Evaluation takes 45 to 60 minutes
- For small cars, offer via auction comes in 30 minutes, for SUV, takes up to 12 ~ 24 hours
- If you’re okay with offer, sale can start. If not, they list the car then on the website
- Post listing, Cars24 collects interested leads via listing & reach out to you for offers
Experience:
The evaluation rating for the Storme was epic, with nothing wrong mentioned except for a slightly hard clutch (I disagree, but maybe the person was thinking from a buyer PoV). HOWEVER, the offer I got via the auction was a pathetic Rs. 3,50,000. I outright rejected it & decided I would rather wait for the right buyer.
A month later, a gentlemen approached via Cars24 team with an appropriate offer. Deal was finalized in a week. The Storme was handed as is, no changes, nothing removed. Cars24 takes a nominal fee for sale from both parties & the buyer has to pay additional charges for RC transfer.