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Dear all - hello once again after quite sometime to all of you. I would like to share some wonderful information with you.

Recently, in the Liberty Cinema Hall in South Mumbai, there was a seminar on motorsports / racing / rallying in India, how the whole thing started way back in 1905, how those events were held in India etc. There was a small but wonderful display of some lovely classic cars including the Triumph of Mr.Hazir Hoosein in which he, Mr.Mohinder Lalwani and Mr.Suresh Naik won the 1970 Tehran to Dhaka rally outright! Ms.Michelle Mouton, the only lady rally driver to have won a round of the WRC was present and she delivered a wonderful presentation. There were various seminars conducted by eminent panelists on the dais who shared a wealth of information and knowledge about the various activities. After the seminar, a feature film on the life of Ayrton Senna was screnned. I attended this very useful seminar as motorsports has been my passion for as long as I can remember!

One of the sessions consisted of a presentation by a french lady Ms.Iris Hummel on the value proposition of classic cars and supercars. She presented some very interesting statistical data on the auction prices at which classic cars get sold in Europe now. Obviously, Ferrari tops the list, out of 10 most expensive cars sold recently, 9 cars were Ferraris. What was most important was the fact that "as a percentage of basic cost, classic cars are appreciating more than gold and artworks. People are buying classic cars not only out of passion but also as an investment"! The price is determined by single ownership from new, originality, availability of all documentation, time period during which the model was in production, low mileage covered, whether used by a known personality etc. As our country takes its rightful place on the world stage, auction houses such as where this lady works are expected to enter India and conduct business here.

If we interpolate this information for India made vehicles, Thar CRDe fits perfectly in most of the slots. In my humble opinion, although it will take time, Thar CRDe is a future classic. I leave it to you to draw your own conclusions on what to do now, before it is too late! For starters, the beautiful proportion and perfect height of the straight vertical line at the back of the canopy, with the exact dimensions of the transparent plastic sheets used as windows taken from the original 1995 MM540 is already gone, forever. I saw the new one, the canopy angle is positively ugly! It did not turn my head, neither it brought a smile to my face! :Frustrati.

If you are a young guy with 9 lakhs to spare and a closed parking place to use, buy a Thar CRDe, jack up the wheels, remove the battery, cover it and park it for 50 years, then see!

Isn't this the way family jewels are kept? ENJOY! lol:.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Hi Dilsher,

Nice looking Thar, and interesting hardtop. having scouted every possible HT in the market; this one looks interesting.

Also being in Moga, its not to far from my home in Jammu (vs sending the Thar to Nasik for the Mahindra HT)

I know you've mentioned this before but how sturdy is the HT ? Also the noise levels and leakages are a big concern for me.

PS - i see the OS sticker at the back. What batch ?

cheers

Kundan

Thanks Kundan,
It's been a year since I've had this HT, it has reduced the noise to as much as a bolero which was impressive. There is no leakage too as that was my first concern and I have taken in mudding, under water till half a door, full monsoon and all and haven't faced a problem till date. Except for once, that's when you wash it with a pressure washer and point the water directly to where the tail door and the rest of the HT join. My HT is running perfect and even you should go for it. I have four people I know who have the same HT in Amritsar and face no problem.

Yea I was in Sanawar for a few years. Batch: H'10

sounds interesting ! i'll ping you next time im coming to Amritsar to get a first hand experience.

cheers

Anytime you want. Just email me at dilsh3r at outlook dot com

I'd say it's more applicable to the Mahindra Classic SWB than the Thar. If you compare the two, the Classic is more of an original Jeep. Further, its supply was limited, compared to the Thar which has already sold over 20,000 copies (back of the envelope calculation).

Knowing Mahindra's quality control (or lack of), it'll look like this after standing for 50 years. There'll be nothing left to sell :Shockked::Shockked::

Image Source

Dear Rushabh - hahaha, I absolutely loved your comments! Let me try to clarify to the best of my understanding!

One more thing which I picked up from the conference on classic cars auction was the preference to buy cars having good "drivability"! That's why post-war classics now command a much higher price than those of the 20s or the 30s by a huge margin, because the relatively younger generation wants to buy something "that can be comfortably driven". In case of the really old cars, you don't want to keep on advancing or retarding the ignition timing manually by moving levers in the center of the steering wheel, or try to operate mechanical brakes on skinny tires. Interpolate this and the Thar CRDe scores comprehensively over the classic! On volumes, not even 1% of Thar CRDe vehicles in the market are "completely original", everybody has put some "dhinchak" in it and spoilt it, so I don't think that there will be more than 200 absolutely original "to the last nut and bolt" Thar CRDe vehicles out there!

On the subject of rusting in 50 years, of course they are no way near to what they ought to be, but come on now, they are not that bad either! lol:.

OK, let's reach a via media, a rich "father-in-law" can buy one as soon as his daughter is born to give to his lucky "son-in-law"! Then its 25 years instead of 50, and 25 years is very much doable! lol:.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

The image you have posted is not of a Mahindra product.

Any vehicle made of steel sheets will end up similarly rusted if not taken care of. As long as the owner maintains the vehicle properly (as is the case with all those vintage cars), this situation will never happen.

That picture was obviously for humor value :)

Just had a long Test Drive of the Thar on Palm Beach Road and I must say I am impressed by the vehicle. My father too liked the commanding view, road presence and the CRDI engine.
I especially liked the torque that is available from 1800rpm. The AC is sufficiently powerful and cooled the Test drive vehicle in no time at around 1 pm.

But even after many positives, the on road price of around Rs8.5 lakh is a bit hard to digest.

Was the test vehicle you drove a new model i.e. with the tapered canopy and the gaudy beige dash?

No, it was a demo vehicle with half canopy, they had added seat covers, bumper mounted spare tire, alloy wheels, rear roll cage and extra lights. The one I saw in the showroom had a tapered canopy, but no beige interiors (thankfully). I think the reason for the tapered canopy is that it reduces wind noise and/or flapping of soft top.

On probing the person who bought the test drive Thar, he said they have no communication regarding the new Thar, but he said that one can be certain of a price rise.

I am attaching the pics I took of the test drive Thar.

I require help on two Questions from fellow THAR CRDe owners and forum members-
1) My thar has oil ingress into the Turbo via the breather pipe of the oil seperator.
I noticed the hose from the aircleaner to the turbo getting greasy with oil fumes and traced the problem to the oil seperator breather.
I had the seperator replaced but the problem appears to have resurfaced in 1000kms.
Should I be worried?

2) The Jeep had to have the brake booster replaced at 25000 kms as it was beginning to lose vaccum. The Booster gets very hot due to its proximity to the Turbo.
I am told this is a design flaw in the Thar CRDe.
Any suggested solution in the form of a heat shield or vent?

Thank You.

Dear KMT - a small amount of wetness in the hose is well within the acceptance criteria. However, this should not result in oil consumption. The measure rate is 1% of fuel consumption + a 50% factor of safety, so 0.66% of fuel consumption. The Booster getting very hot due to its proximity to the turbo and you being told that this is a design flaw is nonsense. The Thar CRDe is actually a Scorpio / Bolero VLX in disguise, the interspacing of these aggregates is exactly same in Thar and Bolero VLX. People will never improve, they have a habit of talking nonsense without thinking!

If you are at all serious, buy one before the ugly ducking hits the showroom and the beginning of the end starts! HaHaHa! lol:.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar