Has been a long wait. Over a decade of wishing, a year of research and 2 months of counting every passing day. The TATA SAFARI 4wd has finally arrived and I got to see/feel/drive the vehicle at the Tata Motors Sarjapur stockyard.
I am a Honda City person. Have been driving one for the last 6 years. Took the car to places where I felt sorry for it. Learnt to hate and curse every speed-breaker that came my way. The wish of driving something where I won't feel so sensitive about the road or the number of adults sitting inside the car has been there with me for quite a while. So we<wife and I> finally decided to give the Honda a break -We said we will use the Honda only within the city and have a more tough one for our escapades. A well deserved break after the flawless run it has given us for all these years without a single glitch.
So I started searching for something exactly opposite. We wanted to have something which can be serviced easily across the country so it had to be between Mahindra and Tata. Of course the pricing was also a big factor since we wanted this for occasional use. First choice was a Bolero. The Stinger to be specific. Figured out that it will not be a 4wd and the plastic costs 2 lakhs. Then to CRDE Storm .. wife vetoed it out. So finally landed between Scorpio and Safari.
Safari appealed to us for multiple reasons. It was the first real SUV that we got to see in India; has been a cult vehicle all along; more space; suspension felt great; Mahindra really did not want to sell us a 4wd; roof AC evnts; we already had a city car AND I really like the Safari ads. The one that appealed to be most as a teenager was the TATA Estate/Sierra ad where this guy comes back from office and the car goes and rough itself up on its own.
So I went ahead and booked the GX 4wd on 6th Feb 2010. Concorde motors, Hosur Road.
I was told that I can expect the car in a month.
And the wait starts..
I get a call a week later that the dual tone I had ordered in out of production so I changed to a full black.
I got one more call on 3rd week of Feb and Concorde said that the 4wd is causing more delays and I will only get my car on March end.
Meanwhile Mr. Finance Minister changed the excise duty and the prices went up. To add to that it was also announced Karnataka road tax is increasing by 1%. So I set myself a target of getting the car registered before 31st March.
Got a contact in TML from the showroom but even he was helpless. Gave me the option of taking a 2009 model. I was confused ...
Finally one of my friends said that he has a real good friend in the Pune plant and he will try to see what can be done. I got a call 3 days later <this is 2nd week of March> that he has pulled a few strings and my Safari is ready. Sure enough TML called me within 48 hours and said that the car is in the Pune yard and I will get it in 10 days. This was 15th March. I was on cloud nine.
I had the Chassis number in an SMS <this great resourceful friend of mine> and I started counting days. All this while I have been behind the sales guy checking for updates. The Sales guy <Pravith> is a nice patient fellow. I almost drove him crazy ... I think he is as happy as I am that the car is here.
Got a call 2 days ago that the truck is near Bangalore and I can expect to see my car either Friday or Saturday. The transport guy took some more time so there I was 12 noon today at the yard seeing the black beauty for the first time -
And Lo Behold!
my dual tone is here. I called up home and said that finally we did manage to get what we wanted.
Did my basic tests - forward, reverse, 4H, 4L, turning radius, AC, lights.
Found that the turning radius on the left was less than the right. TML looked at it and said they will adjust.
Everything inside looked usual.
Car will be registered on Monday and I plan to drive to my daughter's school on 31st. Surprise for her on the day summer vacation starts.
More to come once I get the car .....