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Growing up with my Toyota Innova: 15 Years and Endless Memories

13th May 2025, 11:12 by Kanad Kalasur

I am now 31, and the car entered my life when I was 15. I used to sit in the same car when my father used to drive.

BHPian sandeepravi recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

It all started in April 2009 when I was an obese child in 9th grade and I needed a seat of my own when we went on trips, et. al. My father was exploring options for picking up an Innova. At that point, this only probably the only reliable people mover apart from the Xylo, IMO. He spent months contemplating whether he should break into his savings and invest in a modern metal tin can with fairly advanced features for its time, for the benefit of our family. After some bit of haggling, he finally gave in in September 2009 and decided to visit the bank to speak about the possibility of a loan to purchase the vehicle. Given his professional standing, the bank agreed to finance the car along with his savings. My father decided to pay for 50% of the cost through his savings (trust me, that's when I realised he had so much in savings )

Come 30th Sep 2009, I had study holidays given that exams were looming ahead. I tried to contain my excitement and was eagerly looking forward to taking delivery of our stead. I still remember that evening, my father dropped me off for Math tuition and I had sneaked out my mother's cellphone for reasons unknown (it was mostly my stupidity in trying to be cool in front of my friends). An hour into the class, I was caught doing something stupid, and the teacher confiscated my mobile and would not let me go until I called my parents. On the contrary, I could not let my parents know of this because of the occasion at home, and I eventually never went to the delivery event, and my parents went to pick up the car. I spent 3 hours trying to beg the teacher to hand my phone back, and she finally gave in at 9 pm, and I walked back home. Once they returned with our new car, I then spoke to my Mum about what happened, and she had an insensitive reaction because when my Dad dropped me off for tuition, he specifically asked me if I had Mum's mobile, and I flatly refused. Of course, the aftermath was not very pleasant, and after some heated arguments, my father decided to forgive me for what had happened.

On the next day, we took the first long drive (sort of) in the car to the airport to pick up my aunt who was arriving from the U.S. Believe me, the car was barebones, the variant was a 2.4 GX 8 seater, and it had practically nothing. At the end of that week, my father decided to send the car to Coimbatore, where his friend had an accessory store, and he'd promised he'd install the best stuff on the car. My mom's brother came down and offered to drive the car to Coimbatore to get alloys, body graphics, wooden panels for the interiors, side step, seat covers, mats, a carrier (which eventually got stolen) and a Pioneer music system, which my father's friend got from Muscat. That weekend, all of it got installed, and the car was back home.

2009 and 2015 Updates

Between 2009 and 2015, the car was doing what it was expected to do and was doing it well. I was not very involved in its functioning because I was not yet legal/ not allowed to drive. In 2014, I wanted to install a DVD player instead of the old single-DIN CD player that we had installed. My father's friend got it in Muscat again, and I took the initiative of visiting a nearby workshop to get it fitted.

2016 Update

Come 2016, I'd gotten a job through campus placements and was earning money, although it was paltry. It was at this time, I got an itch to modify the car (thanks to TeamBHP). Given that it was a GX variant, I wanted to add everything that was in the VX variant. The first step was to add the chrome package (door handles, front grill, rear view mirror, and the rear trunk opening, number plate housing). Visited Nandi Toyota and they quoted around Rs 21000, and I got it done.

Shortly after, my career took the front seat, and I began to focus more on it. Come 2018, I was contemplating doing my Master's abroad, and the car was performing flawlessly during this time. I eventually left in 2019 and returned in early 2021 due to something that shut the entire world down, yes, I am talking about COVID. It was hard to find a job, and I eventually came back to India for hopefully greener pastures.

Well, I came back to the Innova and arguably so, it wasn't used as much given the circumstances, but the car was clean. Quickly getting back to what we do best, I wanted to replace the steering wheel of the GX version with that of the VX version. I started hunting down stores and dealers that would assist with this, and I finally found a guy in Koramangala who had a refurbished steering wheel from a 2013 Innova and was in mint condition. Spoke to him and we agreed on a price and I got it fitted. Here is a picture from then.

2021 to 2023 Updates

Between 2021 to 2023, the car was again performing flawlessly. Of course, the itch to make it better would never go and I was no exception. In 2022, I wanted to get the interior door openers finished in chrome, so I reached out to a dealer in Kerala, and he helped me source them, and I subsequently got them fitted. Simultaneously, I also got sun shades installed in the car. There was a dealer named Yash Jatwani that I came across on Facebook Marketplace, who helped me source it. Alas, folks at home were having a comfortable journey in the car despite the horrid heat.

2024 Updates

In 2023, my brother's wedding was confirmed, and I decided to give our stead a much-needed makeover. So in February 2024, I decided to change the seat covers/ doorpads that were installed when we bought the car. It was all worn out, so I thought it was the perfect time for a change. At this time, I decided to go with our very trusted man, Mr. Devaraj. Thanks to TeamBHP's directory, I found his number, spoke to him, and explained my requirement. Shortly after, I went to his store, finalised a colour and paid the advance. I went the subsequent weekend, got the seat covers fit, and the car was throwing 2009 vibes all over again. Here are a few pictures from then.

Come August 2024, the wooden panelling that we got stuck on the original panel had started to show signs of age and was looking bad. Again, I put on my research hat and found a person who did the 3D painting of these parts to emulate a wooden panel. I quickly reached out to Dawn Customs, who immediately agreed and pulled out the old parts from my car and got them painted in a record 48 hours that too very flawlessly. Here are some pictures from that event!

At this time, I believed I had tried my best to keep the car in its best shape with timely services at Toyota and ensuring the car is presentable. We're now in 2025, and I realised the alloys were in a bad condition. Given that it had faithfully served us for 15 years, I decided to get them switched. I visited our good old Hot Tracks, which I believe is one of the best in the industry. I reached out and explained my requirement, where I did not want to sacrifice on ride quality and wanted to retain the same 15-inch rim size. Given that this size is sparsely available, he did have a few options, and I was smitten with one., I immediately decided to get them installed. Given how well-rounded they are, they asked me if I wanted to get my wheel callipers/ drums painted, and I did not refuse. I told them I wanted it in Jet Black, which I thought would give it a good look.

While we're at it, I explained to Ramesh (the manager) that I wanted a new spoiler since the old one had cracked and stopped working. He immediately arranged a gloss back piece from one of his vendors, and I immediately agreed to get it installed. Since I was running late for the day due to other commitments, I told Ramesh that I would get the spoiler installed the next day, and he agreed.

The next day, I reached the outlet by 11 am, and they immediately got to work. As I was looking at other cars coming in/going out, I saw a Vellfire coming in for new 3D mats, and I wanted to get that for my car too. He gave me a good price, and I ended up picking that up too.

15+ years with out Toyota Innova

I am now 31, and the car entered my life when I was 15. I used to sit in the same car when my father used to drive. Now I mostly drive the Innova, and my father now drives a BMW, but some stuff never changes, and this is one of them. The car has seen me/ us evolve in so many ways and has been part of so many. great memories, so I would never want to let it go. Given the impact that it had on me throughout my life, I've looked after/ babied the car to the extent possible, and the car is in top-notch condition *touchwood*.

I have attached a few pictures for viewing pleasure. Happy to hear thoughts and feedback, if any. Thank you all for reading thus far. I will keep the thread updated about any escapades that I plan henceforth.