[govindremesh]

Hi All,

Here is an interesting situation. We're a family of 4, dad is a Public sector employee, Mom is a teacher, brother is in 2nd year Engineering and then myself- a 25 year old IT guy.

This post seeks your opinion on better utilization of the vehicles in our garage which are as follows:


1. Honda City V -ivtec -May 2015
2. Honda CB Triger - November 2013
3. Honda Activa - September 2004
4. Maruti Alto VX 1.1- April 2001


Scenario:

All the above vehicles were utilized well when we were in Kochi. Four people using 4 vehicles. But life happens, and in a flash, all of us were in different cities!

My parents shifted to Bangalore, I was in Kochi and brother moved to Calicut (Kerala) for his B.Tech.

Dad used to drive the Alto in Bangalore for commuting to office as he is not confident to take the City for the 10 KM drive to office in Bangalore traffic. His fear got multiplied after a BMTC scraped our Alto giving it a custom decal while a biker dented one of its bumpers.

He does not want the same fate for our less than an year old City, which has already got rear ended by a Bangalore scooterist while my brother was driving (The car luckily got just a minor crack to the bottom of the bumper). However, since the Alto is now in Kochi for re-registration (post 15 years), he is indeed driving the City to his office daily, but he has decided to get the Alto back for his daily commute. Car pooling with his office mates is also an option for him.

Mom goes to school in a school bus, but the 2 hour ride (in a single direction) is too tiring for her. She drives well, but is not confident to take the big Honda on to the Bangalore streets. She is confident to drive the Alto though, and is planning to get a Nano since dad uses the Alto.

Both Dad and mom drive brilliantly on highway though and they recently completed a trip to Kochi from Bangalore to get the Alto re-registered.

Activa is gathering dust in Bangalore. No body uses it since July 2015. My brother, who used the Activa, is in his college hostel and does not need a vehicle. But dad is not ready to let go the Activa (first scooter sentiment?) as he says he "Will use it" someday.

I used my CB Trigger well till June 2015. After my parents shifted to Bangalore, the trigger gets very less running as I live close to office (office is less than a kilometer away). I take her on an occassional highway ride of 75 KM to Thrissur which is near Kochi to meet my relatives, once in a month.

Since January this year, I am in Kuwait on a project which is getting extended without a solid end date. My trigger is with dad's friend in Kochi, lying unused

It saddens me to see 3 good vehicles being underutilized (City,Trigger and Activa). While we have no intention of selling off the City (We usually use it for an outstation trip once in a month and it will be retained for the next 10 years).

I have no idea of what to do with the Activa and Trigger as It's difficult to sell a KL registered Activa in KA, while the trigger not that old and my return can be anytime in the next 4 months.

The Alto is over 15 years old, but has clocked less than 40,000 kilometers till date and has been always serviced well. The 1.1L engine under it's hood makes it one of the limited edition cars on the road!

Mom is eyeing a Tata Nano (new or second hand) to cut short her commute. Dad is ready to give her the Alto and take the Activa to office which I strongly discourage, since two wheeler accidents are on the rise. Another fact that we do not want a new vehicle in our garage and spend more money on a vehicle right now.

My plan is as follows:

My dad should continue use the City with carpooling (scratches and dents can always be repaired!) and Mom use the Alto.We will sell off the Activa and get a new one if a requirement ever arises for my parents to have a 2 wheeler. The Trigger, unfortunately will have to gather dust till I return. I am planning for further studies and if my plans work out, the Trigger obviously will be sold off.

It would be good to hear the opinion of fellow Bhpians!

Please respond while addressing the following points.

1. How to better manage the vehicles in our garage?
   
2. Is it a good idea for my dad to use such an old car which doesn't have a power steering or any safety feature in Bangalore traffic, considering their age (of both, the driver and the car)?
   
3. Will motor vehicles regulations soon render our Alto unusable overnight? (Dad still has 5 years to retire)

Let your thoughts flow. Thanks!

PS: Mods, please move this post to the appropriate sub thread if required.

[Rajeevraj]

Your plan seems mostly sound. Dad uses the City. Agree that he should not be looking at taking the Activa on a regular basis considering Bangalore's traffic and pollution. You mentioned a 2 hour commute for Mom in school bus. How much will this be with self drive? A 1-1.5 hour drive in a 15 year old Alto with no power steering (Does it have AC?) may be more tiring than a school bus. Personally I think the school bus would be better with the Alto retained to take when needed.

If there is absolutely no use case for the Activa, better to sell it. If there is a chance dad can use it for short shopping trips, would be good to retain. In any case, you are not going to get much for a 12 year old Activa. So even if it can be taken for short trips once a week, it should be retained. Selling now and then buying a new one later will be more of a hassle.

The trigger is relatively new. So no point selling, see if someone can start it and/or take it for a short spin once in a couple of weeks it would help keep it in shape.

[pganapathy]

My question is simple. How many vehicles will actually be used.
The Activa is being kept on emotion, which I understand, but that doesn't make it right.
The Trigger awaits your work / future plans, which you are only thinking about keeping because it is new.
The Alto is more complicated. If your mother saves a lot of time driving to work, then she should do so. I am in the same dilemna as she is. I take 45 minutes to 1 hour to get to work and even less on the way back because of much less traffic. I get an office cab but choose not to use it because it comes around 2 hours before work starts cos they need to pick up others and ensure I reach work early or at worst on time. Let her try the car for a week or two and if she saves sufficient time and doesn't feel stressed / tired, keep the Alto. Otherwise, there is not much point.
The City is what your dad should use daily to work, combined with his car pooling.

Another question, that will impact my answer. Does your mother need a car for anything other than going to work. For example grocery shopping or visiting friends / family on a regular basis. I ask because if t is rare then an Ola/Uber does that job very efficiently.

Given all this, my suggestion is sell the Alto, Activa and Trigger. Like you I don't think a bike in Bangalore makes sense from a safety perspective. If all that money is put into the bank, you can then buy another vehicle as the need arises later on

[govindremesh]

Thank you for your response!

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

You mentioned a 2 hour commute for Mom in school bus. How much will this be with self drive? A 1-1.5 hour drive in a 15 year old Alto with no power steering (Does it have AC?) may be more tiring than a school bus. Personally I think the school bus would be better with the Alto retained to take when needed.

If there is absolutely no use case for the Activa, better to sell it. If there is a chance dad can use it for short shopping trips, would be good to retain.

Mom will save more than an hour if she drives to school, as the bus picks her up first and follows a circuitous route. In the return, she is the last to be dropped. The good thing is that the majority of the drive is on the airport highway and since her school starts at 8 (she will leave by 7:15 AM in case she drives) there won't be much traffic till Mekhri (we stay in Yeshwantpur).

Dad says he will use Activa for short trips , but with the thickness of dust that has already settled on the scooter, I doubt so! The heart doesn't agree to sell the old Activa for a throwaway price, considering that it has not even crossed the 20,000 KM mark (in contrast, my trigger has completed over 15,000 KM in 2 years). But keeping it without using doesn't make sense either.

About the Alto, it does have power windows and air-conditioning, but no power steering. It's a 1.1L model so no problem on highways either.

Problem with the City is that dad has resumed driving after about a decade (he had a driver till now) and is out of sync with the traffic situation. Events like Lane cutting, sudden stops by others raise his blood pressure and that's why I am not very comfortable to force him to use the City. The old small car has a definite advantage in this case. It's another story that I had asked him to consider a small car when he brought the City, but he wanted the big Honda which was one of our family's long time aspiration.

Originally Posted by pganapathy

My question is simple. How many vehicles will actually be used.
The Activa is being kept on emotion, which I understand, but that doesn't make it right.

Another question, that will impact my answer. Does your mother need a car for anything other than going to work. For example grocery shopping or visiting friends / family on a regular basis. I ask because if t is rare then an Ola/Uber does that job very efficiently.

Given all this, my suggestion is sell the Alto, Activa and Trigger. Like you I don't think a bike in Bangalore makes sense from a safety perspective. If all that money is put into the bank, you can then buy another vehicle as the need arises later on

Agree. We have a shopping complex near to our home which means mom doesn't have to use the car often for other trips. Plus the metro station is very close that she already uses to go shopping at Mantri.

Trigger is stationed at Kochi and I was expected to complete my onsite assignment by March. Now, it's May and there is no sign of the project ending anytime soon. So that puts the trigger in uncertainty with no one to ride it.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by govindremesh

Thank you for your response!

Trigger is stationed at Kochi and I was expected to complete my onsite assignment by March. Now, it's May and there is no sign of the project ending anytime soon. So that puts the trigger in uncertainty with no one to ride it.

I hate to mess with your heart, but sadly I see no reason you should keep the Activa. It is a dust magnet. I understand emotion of your first vehicle, but what use is it if you never use the vehicle and only have expenses on it from service and insurance.

The Trigger is in a similar situation. Nobody is using it and you have no idea when you will be back and as you said there may be other plans post your return where you will not use it. Again like the Activa why cost from service and insurance.

Given this situation why not sell both the Activa and Trigger. If at a future point you need an additional vehicle, the same sale money kept in a bank and the money saved from not havng those expenses, will enable you to buy a new 2 wheeler.

WRT the cars, the situation is different. Like I said, I drive because of the time it saves me. So I say let your mom drive to and from work. However, my suggestion is let her drive the City since her traffic situation is more peaceful and the big car is not a burden fr your dad to drive. I personally prefer driving my Zen rather than Fiesta to the office because it is a smaller car and I go through Tin Factory traffic nightmares daily.

Let your dad drive the Alto and use car pooling and let your mom use the City. On weekends either of them can drive either car according to convenience

[noopster]

I can only advise you based on my own experience. My wife used to ride around on a Flyte scooterette when I drove the Swift. Once we bought the Vento, that became my primary ride while my wife gradually moved to the Swift full-time. The Flyte was rotting away so we finally got rid of it. Instead of keeping a 2-wheeler in the garage "for grocery runs" we find that doing a week's grocery shopping in one go (and one car) is a better option plus you can get much-needed exercise by walking to the local store in case of an emergency!

In short: sell the Activa immediately. In fact I'd say sell your CB as well. I've seen friends too attached to their rides leave them at home while they are overseas and the bikes inevitably go to seed. You can always buy another when you return.

That leaves the 2 cars. IMHO there is no value in retaining a 15 year old car (won't it have to be re-registered every year?) A better bet is to buy a small used car- maybe a later Alto or Wagon R or i10, or even a new Nano- and ask one of your parents to use that.

Also from my own experience this whole fear of driving "big" vehicles is overrated. My wife refused to touch the Vento for nearly 3 years after we bought it till I finally convinced her to take a ride in it. Not only did she take to it like a fish to water, latest update is that she loves driving the family's Innova as well

In summary: sell the 2-wheelers. Retain the City and replace the Alto.

[Mistakenguy]

Originally Posted by noopster

That leaves the 2 cars. IMHO there is no value in retaining a 15 year old car (won't it have to be re-registered every year?) A better bet is to buy a small used car- maybe a later Alto or Wagon R or i10, or even a new Nano- and ask one of your parents to use that.

Hi noopster,
The re-registration at 15 years is valid for 5 years. With such a low run car without much of issues, I would suggest that the OP keep the car.

Agree 100 % to your points on the two wheelers. It is better that they are sold off, since there is no value add currently.

[govindremesh]

Originally Posted by noopster

In short: sell the Activa immediately. In fact I'd say sell your CB as well. I've seen friends too attached to their rides leave them at home while they are overseas and the bikes inevitably go to seed. You can always buy another when you return.

Also from my own experience this whole fear of driving "big" vehicles is overrated. My wife refused to touch the Vento for nearly 3 years after we bought it till I finally convinced her to take a ride in it. Not only did she take to it like a fish to water, latest update is that she loves driving the family's Innova as well

In summary: sell the 2-wheelers. Retain the City and replace the Alto.

Thanks for your opinion! Selling the 2.5 year old Trigger would hurt me emotionally.. my first ride with my own money! I'm waiting for a month more. If the project still continues without an end date, I'd have to sell her. As for the Activa, I too feel it has to go.

Regarding your second statement, you are correct. Since the Alto is in Kerala for a month to get it re-registered, Dad is currently using the City in Bangalore and enjoys its light controls and the ease of driving. His (and sometimes mine ) fear is not of driving a big car, but someone leaving their "mark" on the "new" car, specially since the Alto already has got banged two times within an year in "bang-a-lore". The City got kissed but escaped major damage.

Same is with my mom who has no problems driving the City on highway but refuses to touch it within city limits. Ironically, our "City" has clocked 95% of its 7,000 KM ODO reading on the highway

[SoumenD]

Oh my situation is similar to yours'. I was sent here (Australia) for 3 months around a year back(April,2015) and still no clarity when would I be going back(been 13 montsh almost). Hence due to the uncertainty couldn't take a call on the vehicles( A 2010 Estilo with only 15k kms on odo & a 2007 Apache RTR 160 which has stage one upgrade to 172cc,18bhp setup having done 60k kms). Both are eating dust(more or less) in my parking. And yeah both are my first vehicles after I started working so have emotional attachment as well.

What I have managed though is to convince a friend to come over and start stop the vehicles once in 2-3 weeks. I know just that doesn't suffice and some running is required but its really hard to find such people who wouldn't abuse your vehicle in your absence plus my parking is in 6th floor . Have been to india twice in this tenure and the vehicles looked in decent shape without much apparent wear-out/damages.

Would suggest you to do the same for the trigger, if you dont want to let it go. But the Activa you should get rid off right away. About the cars, I would suggest exchange the Alto for newer Alto/Nano-AMT. Honestly if it takes 2 hours in a bus, car should be around 1.5hrs and doing so in bangalore traffic on the Alto in itself would be a pain. The Nano would be much better if she loves driving, else I would suggest continuing with the School Bus service for such long distance/s. City can be used by your dad. With time the fear for driving bigger cars fade off.

[NiXTriX2004]

My two cents.

City - Dad for regular usage.

Sell
Activa, CB Trigger, and Alto.

Buy the Nano AMT. It is smaller and has an added advantage of being an automatic. Driving in traffic will be less stressful.

We bought a Nano AMT for my mother's daily commute to her school but I have honestly enjoyed driving it on my commute to work more than her. It makes perfect sense for the city traffic mess.

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by govindremesh

1. How to better manage the vehicles in our garage?
   
2. Is it a good idea for my dad to use such an old car which doesn't have a power steering or any safety feature in Bangalore traffic, considering their age (of both, the driver and the car)?
   
3. Will motor vehicles regulations soon render our Alto unusable overnight? (Dad still has 5 years to retire)

My few cents-

On point 1 above-

Firstly all the vehicles in your garage have good brand value. I say this with some experience of my close relatives.

Activa - SELL - Will fetch a decent amount as demand for well used scooters are quite high and you would get a decent residual value after all. My uncle sold his old Scooty and got a good sum which was totally unexpected (around 15k). If that was for Scooty, Activa will fetch even better or at least the same.

Trigger - SELL - Again a Honda so would fetch a good resale, retain if you are sure of using it, else will keep depreciating as you delay your decision. Also with a good resale value that you realize, you can always go in for a better/newer bike whenever you feel you need one as the market is flooded with more choices.

Alto - SELL - Its a rare hot hatch if one may call it. As its due for RC renewal, why don't you get it re-registered with a KA instead of continuing with KL. It may cost a little more but would would fetch higher in Bangalore car mart since this market generally gets a good resale value. Calculate the economics and decide.

(not covering City since it is there to be kept)

BUY - Nano (pre-owned post limited edition models- 2 years or less) or Nano AMT (new if budget permits). The earlier option can be bought as low as a lakh of rupees from various dealers and ones in very good condition and yes there are some great deals if you scout around as Nanos go down on value pretty fast.

You can buy one with manufacturer warranty still intact so that it is hassle free. Nano is a great car for the city and I am sure not only your mom but your dad will enjoy using it in the city.

AMT of course will give some really useful features such as open able boot and auto gears and yes the peace of mind of a brand new car. Actually the AMT can be nearly funded by the sale of the other vehicles or a pre-owned Nano can be fully funded with spare cash in hand. Just a rough assumption on the optimistic side -

Activa+ Alto + Trigger : 20k+150k+50k = 220k

In fact a very reliable source for used car price check is in our very own TeamBHP - http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/used-car-price-check/

On point 2 above

No problem at all driving an used car whatsoever if its well maintained and yes its a Maruti for sure so no worries on servicing. However your dad may need some more creature comforts like power steering as the other car has one.

On point 3 above

Not really worried that something of that sort will happen. Even my older car an M800 is just 16 years young and used by my wifey now without any worries. Just in case you are worried about it why not sell it off right now?

So think hard, weigh all options and take your call!

[govindremesh]

Thank you all for pitching with your opinion:

UPDATE!

1. The City is now a part of Dad's Car pool. It is used twice in a week and for weekend outings. As many have pointed out, the big-car fear has indeed faded away.

2. The Alto got it's registration renewed and completed a ~1000 KM trip (over a month) covering BLR-COK-TRV-BLR. The vehicle performed without a hiccup (except for the horrible wobbling over 80 KMPH, which I put down to faulty wheel balancing and alignment). Mom uses it occasionally to go to school and no-one sees any financial sense putting extra money to buy a new car or a used one for that matter. So the Alto stays. So does the Activa (I really don't know why!)

3. My higher study plans worked out and I'll be migrating to the Netherlands in January 2017. Further, I came back from Kuwait for a 2 month break and am going back for the next three months. The Trigger has to go

Now the new topic: How to let go your beloved first vehicle?

She's the apple of my eye, saved my life many times on the road, never let me down. My first vehicle with my hard earned money.. I could go on ranting.

Bhpians, please help me with kind words so that the pain of separation is lightened!

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Here is my take:

I would sell of the Alto, Activa and Trigger and would put the money on a Nano XTA.
Hand over the Nano to Mother for her home-work-home commute, while father uses the City for his part of commute. Nano can also serve the occasional market trips.

Once you have a definite return date and see the need to get a new set of wheels, you can decide on the car/bike of your choice. That ways, you wont end up spoiling a relatively new set of wheels and some one can use it well in the meanwhile. This will also help you off load the pain of someone else riding it and god-forbid getting involved in any accident etc.

Just my two cents worth.

We are also a family of four and have an Ecosport/Nano XTA/Activa and a Wego.

Ecosport exclusively for me.
Nano - Used by father as and when needed.
Activa - Exclusively for Wife
Wego - Anyone takes it as and when required.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by govindremesh

The Trigger has to go

If possible sell it to a close relative or within known acquaintances, you may be able to see it regularly. The so called pain will subside slowly without any side effects.

I had let go my M-800 long long time back with a lot of drama, my parents chided me for being childish. But you will get over it sooner than you think. Start looking out for bikes in Netherlands.

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by govindremesh

How to let go your beloved first vehicle?

She's the apple of my eye, saved my life many times on the road, never let me down. My first vehicle with my hard earned money.. I could go on ranting.

Bhpians, please help me with kind words so that the pain of separation is lightened!

Since you are now moving out to a different country and will be back only after a couple of years, keeping the bike here makes no logical sense.
Finding a relative / neighbour who will maintain it when you are not here and give it back to you when you return, is not really an option for everyone.
So, think about what it would do to your beloved bike, that you bought with your own hard earned money, if you intend to leave it unused in the garage. You will develop ulcers from Netherlands, just by thinking how the bike is becoming useless day by day without maintenance!
Selling is the best option for you as well as the bike.
List your bike in online portals, and sell it to a new owner and wish him happy days with the bike! Of course, make sure that you get the registration transferred properly.
When you return back, you could get a new vehicle if needed, depending upon what is the status of the "too many vehicles in the garage" problem!