Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most

ritedhawan · 24th May 2023, 15:26

It would have to be my second hand Opel Astra Club for sure. My only extensive experience with a German brand car. I had a good and bad relationship with her, yet I always reminisce about it to this day. Two tone color from outside, solid build, the more speed the more stable it used to feel on highways, sunroof. I adopted a habit of cleaning and polishing it with my own hands, a habit which I continue to this day for my current ride a Honda Accord.

Once polished, Opel Astra would attract attention whether in city or highways. I drove it within city, highways issuing out to HR, CH, PB, HP. Bought second hand by my father in 2003 and sold at the turn of 2012 due to innumerable issues and lack of parts.

When I joined T-BHP, I wrote an extensive piece on My Opel Astra Club:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ng-review.html (OPEL ASTRA club, 1.1 lakh km, long review)

Some pics are in order:

sanjayrozario · 24th May 2023, 15:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by sajivkk

Same for me, I had an SX4 ZXI, right at the launch and it was the do all car for me. Comfortable cruiser, all you need features for me, could go places, on unpaved roads, drive to a 5 star with family. I miss the car.

You've said all that I wanted to. It could indeed go anywhere - any road, no problem & it was sturdy for a Maruti. I truly miss it.

FiFo_ · 24th May 2023, 15:56

For me it is my Ford Fiesta 1.6S. I listed the car on classifieds last month as my usage has become low due to a job change. I was surprised at the interest from several people in the S. I finalised a good chap and even got the advance from him. On the day of sale, I woke up early and decided to drive the car in the morning one last time. I decided I will never part with the car, come what may. I immediately refunded the advance and cancelled the sale.

My love, my Ford Fiesta 1.6S.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-ef0995ebb44e4b2ea8b8c58cc1d62cf1.jpeg

am1m · 24th May 2023, 16:05

For nostalgic reasons, our family's Ambassador since I virtually grew up in that car. But it was a pain. Like most old movies, we loved it simply because there wasn't anything better available back then.

Now, even with so much choice, the car I miss is my wife's old Alto. Not a year goes by that we both don't regret selling that car. Did everything pretty well, perfect size for Bangalore city traffic and parking, not a bad highway performer at all (5 adults with a lot of luggage easily on Shiradi, couple of trips on the Ooty hairpins, Agumbe). Surprisingly peppy in the right gear. A friend still uses his Alto on some pretty bad terrain in the outskirts of Bangalore on weekends without any issues. Service bills that at times were lesser than the service bill of my Pulsar 180! And was in perfect running condition when she sold it after 13 years.

If we had the parking space, we'd certainly have retained that car.

anshu1101 · 24th May 2023, 18:07

My VW Vento 1.6 TDI.

My first car. Sold this in 2021 after almost 9 years of owning it, and still regret it.

Had a blast in this car, especially on the highways. Was very stable and confidence inspiring at high speeds, and was a hoot to drive with that 250Nm of torque rush.

And like most modern turbo diesels, it was both fast and efficient. After buying this car, my usage of domestic flights came down substantially. This car took me across the length and breadth of this country, without batting an eyelid, and begged to be driven hard.

The below pics were taken a month before I sold the car - after almost 9 years and 1 lakh kms on the odo:

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-screenshot_20210913120952.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-screenshot_20210913120928.jpg

vj123 · 24th May 2023, 18:11

It will always be my 2019 VW Golf GTI. I sold it with a plan of getting another performance vehicle but this would be one of the best vehicles I have ever owned.

I had a 2016 MK7 Golf GTI for a few years and ended up selling it as we wanted a bigger vehicle. With dual clutch transmission becoming more rare, i dearly missed a GTI is my garage and bought a MK7.5 few years later. I chose the Rabbit trim this time and it was 1 out of 250 sold in the country. Rabbit trim offered the right features which i always preferred: blacked out exterior, plaid seats, no sunroof with minimal driving aids. VW offered 6 year / 72k mile warranty which made the whole package even better. This platform offered a great value for money and i got mine for 20% off MSRP.

There have been plenty of memories associated with this vehicle. We took our 8 month old son for his first road trip (9 hours) while taking delivery of this vehicle. I was trying to be a Team-BHP member for several years and my request was approved on the day I took delivery.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-golf-gti.jpg

akp666 · 24th May 2023, 18:23

"There's no love like the first." —Nicholas Sparks

The car in which I learnt to drive. Got it as a hand me down from my mom who was upgrading, and she was already 8 years old then. 800 CC, Non power steering (which made it more fun imho. It was like on rails.) and I loved it to bits, black bumper and all! I kept her till the government mandated 15 year rule made me part with her. For the last 2 years of her life, she was used sporadically on weekends as for the daily commute to Gurgaon, the weak AC was becoming a pain and I upgraded to an i20. The alto was still used every weekend without fail with an early morning dash to Manesar Mcdonald's to stretch her legs. Even though I drive an Ecosport now, I miss this plucky little car everyday.

This grainy pic is from circa 2009. I wish I had more pictures of the Alto, but alas:

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_2821.jpg

Neel70 · 24th May 2023, 18:54

As it is the case with many others, the quintessential Maruti 800, my first car-sold in 2016 after many years of blissful driving, remains my favourite:

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-335dd7f14b8e49459bcb5e913a825336.jpeg

Neversaygbye · 24th May 2023, 20:02

While our first car was a Fiat 1100D, it was mainly my father who drove it and I never developed a connect with it like I did with our second car, the Daewoo Matiz, which my father replaced the Fiat with.

In 2004, we got the Indica V2 as the family's second car, and the Matiz came to do duty with me in Delhi, and it remained in my possession till we sold it off in 2012 after getting the Beat. From 2004 to 2007 the Matiz was my only car as that was the time I was in Delhi. When in Cal, I would use the Indica and post 2007 which is when I returned to Cal, I mostly used the Indica for my highway drives from Cal and the Matiz was mostly used in the city.

I have extremely fond memories of the Matiz - it was a constant companion during my Delhi days, and accompanied me on trips to Kasauli, Shimla, Jaipur, Mussoorie, Alwar, Agra and countless other places. The car did over a lakh kms in the 12 years that it was with us and for the initial 8-9 years was reliable and trouble free.

However, it had become very unreliable by 2010-11 and was prone to frequent breakdowns. With GM not taking over Daewoo's plant and not re-introducing the Matiz in its original avatar (I thought that the decision to relaunch it as the Spark was a stupid one considering the brand recall and positive sentiment associated with the Matiz), and with the limited FNG service support in Calcutta, maintaining the car became too much of a hassle and we finally sold it off, but with a heavy heart. I hope it is still alive and doing duty somewhere - I did spot a blue Matiz in one of the frames of Aamis - the Ravening right towards the end of the movie, and I hope that it was my car.

I have fond memories of the Matiz. It was my first car and will always have a special place in my heart.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0184.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0188.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0192.jpg

Agra, circa 2005

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-phto0278.jpg

Mussoorie, 2006

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0895.jpg

View of Jal Mahal from the car, 2006

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-phto0207.jpg

Kasauli, 2006

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0208.jpg

Amber Fort, 2007

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0818.jpg

Shimla, 2007

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0730.jpg

Stuck in a humongous jam on erstwhile NH2 on the way to Tajpur, 2009. A 4 hour drive took 12 hours!

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dscn0046.jpg

Dusky beauty

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0580.jpg

Drove it for more than 1.15 Lakh kms before I let it go. All of our cars have done over a lakh kms. The Beat and the Vista have both reached the 1.15 Lakh kms milestone and are still going strong.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0196.jpg

hummer · 24th May 2023, 20:14

Nice thread indeed, among all my 11 cars I still MISS my SUZUKI BALENO.

It had everything to put a big grin on my face every time I drove it

Here are some pics:

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-suzukibaleno1.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-suzukibaleno3.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-suzukibaleno4.jpg

RaiVW · 24th May 2023, 20:33

It was so tough to find my ex’es (2013 VW Polo, 2015 Audi A4 and 2017 Mahindra XUV) in one frame:

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_0149.jpeg

airguitar · 24th May 2023, 21:27

First job, first house, first car, first partner...

Think that there have been a few threads already on ex-cars, but doesn't hurt to have one more. I have only one ex-car which was my Swift VxI. Bought it on an impulse in 2008 - spent only 30 mins researching what car and which dealer to buy from. All I knew about the car was that it was 'peppy', whatever that meant. Learnt driving on a Tata Sumo, took driving test on a beaten Alto that the driving school brought. 2-3 years, I was really busy at work and the car clocked a paltry 3000 kms in 3 years. My grand-uncle, a cabbie, never missed an opportunity to cook-a-snook at me that this was the least driven car in the world.

Things changed in 2009/10 after a nightmarish year at work where my manager made my life miserable and I started looking at other interesting things in life. A day before I was to go on my first multi-day road trip, I broke both legs and an arm in a scooter accident. I spent 4 months recuperating, and what was on my mind all the time was to finish the trip that had not happened. After recuperation, it was many weeks of physiotherapy given the extent of damage. Finally it did happen : a 6 day trip to most of Malnad in Karnataka where the maximum speed reached on the car was 70kmph. Dad and I - both relatively inexperienced drivers ( yes, my dad learnt to drive on this car ). Some 1200 kms later, during which the drive through the beautiful road b/w Sagar - Kogar - Bhatkal on pitch dark summer afternoon with thunderstorms at 2PM being the highlight, things never looked back. The car clocked 26000 kms in about 8 months from then on. Sat 5AM to Mon 3AM kind of trips became the norm. Atleast 2-3 trips each month. From 3000 to 80000 it took 3 years. One of the most enjoyable phases of my life - with dad and sister, with just dad, with entire family, innumerable solo drives it had it all.

Equally memorable was dad driving through the heartland of Karnataka - Davanagere, Tiptur, Raichur etc where he spent his formative (financially struggling, if I may say) years earning a living - he was teary-eyed with life coming a circle. Those were the days that I really understood my father as a person. The car was a witness to it. And the years of self-realization and self-discovery. Did someone say that driving is meditative? The standout trips were where he and I visited Dandeli and instead of turning back from Dandeli on a Sunday afternoon, chose to drive through a broken Joida-Kumbharwada-Sadashivgarh stretch to reach Kumta at 3-4PM and then started for Bangalore after a quick meal reaching Bangalore the crack of the dawn. Another standout trip was through the old broken Bisle ghat. And another one to Meghamalai in super-slushy July despite getting warnings that it was a bad idea on a Swift. Or that late night trip from Valparai to Thrissur where we just managed to cross the checkpost a minute before the last allowed time.

My personal favourite trip on the Swift was a 7 day solo : Bangalore-Vagamon-Erattapetta-Kottayam-Gavi-Thekkady in the peak of Karkitakam rains : where the car was stranded between Gavi and Vandiperiyar due to a raging Periyar river or staying in a tented cottage in the middle of Gavi with no electricity in the electric fencing or just passing by road-widening-related rock-blasting near Erattapetta : all a week before the birth of my first child

Then things slowed down with our first kid and the car petered out to it's final 110000 kms by early 2016 when I sold it ( to someone I know ). The car never had a trouble even a single time, and with MS services upto scratch, it was smooth sailing all through the years of ownership (and yeah, I hadn't heard for the NCAPs then). This was a major reason why I had no reason to get technical with the car - the most technical I ever got with this car was changing tyres

. It always felt more than adequate on highway runs or city drills. My life changed forever ( and for the good ). I don't get to see it and all I know is that it is in Malnad somewhere.

Lastly, note how many picked their first car as their favorite ex-car.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_0670.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_0693.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_0710.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_1521.jpg

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-dsc_2169.jpg

sunikkat · 24th May 2023, 22:06

Well that has to be Fiesta 1.6s. The steering feel, agility, handling etc. hardly can be matched by any car. It was like part of your body. The best handling FWD car.

Gone, but not forgotten | The one car you sold, but still remember the most-img_1627.jpeg

Stardust · 24th May 2023, 22:33

Technically it is not an ex-car, as I never owned one, but which I definitely miss on the roads is Toyota Qualis. There was something unique about that boxy reliable MUV. It was a legend of its time.

OffRoadFun · 24th May 2023, 23:44

My car after landing the first job (but second car with my own money).

Also got married shortly after buying the car. I have very fond memories associated with this car. New house, sightseeing in California with my wife.

Did many trips on this one to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and death valley, Seattle, Sierra Nevadas, Sequoia NP etc.

I also had a custom license plate for the car. A few times, people on freeway complimented me for the license plate, can't forget that. ( I design Integrated Circuits for a living)

Put 40k miles in two years!

Though it was pre-owned, I can never forget that car!

Following picture was taken somewhere in Arizona!

24th May 2023, 15:26	#46
ritedhawan BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Noida Posts: 336 Thanked: 661 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most It would have to be my second hand Opel Astra Club for sure. My only extensive experience with a German brand car. I had a good and bad relationship with her, yet I always reminisce about it to this day. Two tone color from outside, solid build, the more speed the more stable it used to feel on highways, sunroof. I adopted a habit of cleaning and polishing it with my own hands, a habit which I continue to this day for my current ride a Honda Accord. Once polished, Opel Astra would attract attention whether in city or highways. I drove it within city, highways issuing out to HR, CH, PB, HP. Bought second hand by my father in 2003 and sold at the turn of 2012 due to innumerable issues and lack of parts. When I joined T-BHP, I wrote an extensive piece on My Opel Astra Club: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ng-review.html (OPEL ASTRA club, 1.1 lakh km, long review) Some pics are in order: Attached Thumbnails
	(10) Thanks

24th May 2023, 15:56	#48
FiFo_ Newbie Join Date: Feb 2023 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 23 Thanked: 141 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most For me it is my Ford Fiesta 1.6S. I listed the car on classifieds last month as my usage has become low due to a job change. I was surprised at the interest from several people in the S. I finalised a good chap and even got the advance from him. On the day of sale, I woke up early and decided to drive the car in the morning one last time. I decided I will never part with the car, come what may. I immediately refunded the advance and cancelled the sale. My love, my Ford Fiesta 1.6S. Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:25.
	(24) Thanks

24th May 2023, 16:05	#49
am1m Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,010 Thanked: 13,457 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most For nostalgic reasons, our family's Ambassador since I virtually grew up in that car. But it was a pain. Like most old movies, we loved it simply because there wasn't anything better available back then. Now, even with so much choice, the car I miss is my wife's old Alto. Not a year goes by that we both don't regret selling that car. Did everything pretty well, perfect size for Bangalore city traffic and parking, not a bad highway performer at all (5 adults with a lot of luggage easily on Shiradi, couple of trips on the Ooty hairpins, Agumbe). Surprisingly peppy in the right gear. A friend still uses his Alto on some pretty bad terrain in the outskirts of Bangalore on weekends without any issues. Service bills that at times were lesser than the service bill of my Pulsar 180! And was in perfect running condition when she sold it after 13 years. If we had the parking space, we'd certainly have retained that car.
	(2) Thanks

24th May 2023, 18:07	#50
anshu1101 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Bangalore Posts: 119 Thanked: 201 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most My VW Vento 1.6 TDI. My first car. Sold this in 2021 after almost 9 years of owning it, and still regret it. Had a blast in this car, especially on the highways. Was very stable and confidence inspiring at high speeds, and was a hoot to drive with that 250Nm of torque rush. And like most modern turbo diesels, it was both fast and efficient. After buying this car, my usage of domestic flights came down substantially. This car took me across the length and breadth of this country, without batting an eyelid, and begged to be driven hard. The below pics were taken a month before I sold the car - after almost 9 years and 1 lakh kms on the odo: Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:26.
	(4) Thanks

24th May 2023, 18:11	#51
vj123 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: The Detroit Posts: 315 Thanked: 1,862 Times View My Garage	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most It will always be my 2019 VW Golf GTI. I sold it with a plan of getting another performance vehicle but this would be one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. I had a 2016 MK7 Golf GTI for a few years and ended up selling it as we wanted a bigger vehicle. With dual clutch transmission becoming more rare, i dearly missed a GTI is my garage and bought a MK7.5 few years later. I chose the Rabbit trim this time and it was 1 out of 250 sold in the country. Rabbit trim offered the right features which i always preferred: blacked out exterior, plaid seats, no sunroof with minimal driving aids. VW offered 6 year / 72k mile warranty which made the whole package even better. This platform offered a great value for money and i got mine for 20% off MSRP. There have been plenty of memories associated with this vehicle. We took our 8 month old son for his first road trip (9 hours) while taking delivery of this vehicle. I was trying to be a Team-BHP member for several years and my request was approved on the day I took delivery. Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:27. Reason: Typo
	(3) Thanks

24th May 2023, 18:23	#52
akp666 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: New Delhi Posts: 83 Thanked: 146 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most "There's no love like the first." —Nicholas Sparks The car in which I learnt to drive. Got it as a hand me down from my mom who was upgrading, and she was already 8 years old then. 800 CC, Non power steering (which made it more fun imho. It was like on rails.) and I loved it to bits, black bumper and all! I kept her till the government mandated 15 year rule made me part with her. For the last 2 years of her life, she was used sporadically on weekends as for the daily commute to Gurgaon, the weak AC was becoming a pain and I upgraded to an i20. The alto was still used every weekend without fail with an early morning dash to Manesar Mcdonald's to stretch her legs. Even though I drive an Ecosport now, I miss this plucky little car everyday. This grainy pic is from circa 2009. I wish I had more pictures of the Alto, but alas: Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:28.
	(2) Thanks

24th May 2023, 18:54	#53
Neel70 Newbie Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5 Thanked: 3 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most As it is the case with many others, the quintessential Maruti 800, my first car-sold in 2016 after many years of blissful driving, remains my favourite: Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:28.
	(1) Thanks

24th May 2023, 20:02	#54
Neversaygbye BHPian Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Calcutta Posts: 400 Thanked: 1,636 Times View My Garage	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most While our first car was a Fiat 1100D, it was mainly my father who drove it and I never developed a connect with it like I did with our second car, the Daewoo Matiz, which my father replaced the Fiat with. In 2004, we got the Indica V2 as the family's second car, and the Matiz came to do duty with me in Delhi, and it remained in my possession till we sold it off in 2012 after getting the Beat. From 2004 to 2007 the Matiz was my only car as that was the time I was in Delhi. When in Cal, I would use the Indica and post 2007 which is when I returned to Cal, I mostly used the Indica for my highway drives from Cal and the Matiz was mostly used in the city. I have extremely fond memories of the Matiz - it was a constant companion during my Delhi days, and accompanied me on trips to Kasauli, Shimla, Jaipur, Mussoorie, Alwar, Agra and countless other places. The car did over a lakh kms in the 12 years that it was with us and for the initial 8-9 years was reliable and trouble free. However, it had become very unreliable by 2010-11 and was prone to frequent breakdowns. With GM not taking over Daewoo's plant and not re-introducing the Matiz in its original avatar (I thought that the decision to relaunch it as the Spark was a stupid one considering the brand recall and positive sentiment associated with the Matiz), and with the limited FNG service support in Calcutta, maintaining the car became too much of a hassle and we finally sold it off, but with a heavy heart. I hope it is still alive and doing duty somewhere - I did spot a blue Matiz in one of the frames of Aamis - the Ravening right towards the end of the movie, and I hope that it was my car. I have fond memories of the Matiz. It was my first car and will always have a special place in my heart. Agra, circa 2005 Mussoorie, 2006 View of Jal Mahal from the car, 2006 Kasauli, 2006 Amber Fort, 2007 Shimla, 2007 Stuck in a humongous jam on erstwhile NH2 on the way to Tajpur, 2009. A 4 hour drive took 12 hours! Dusky beauty Drove it for more than 1.15 Lakh kms before I let it go. All of our cars have done over a lakh kms. The Beat and the Vista have both reached the 1.15 Lakh kms milestone and are still going strong.
	(13) Thanks

24th May 2023, 20:14	#55
hummer BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: B'LORE-SHIMOGA Posts: 360 Thanked: 1,322 Times View My Garage	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most Nice thread indeed, among all my 11 cars I still MISS my SUZUKI BALENO. It had everything to put a big grin on my face every time I drove it Here are some pics:
	(9) Thanks

24th May 2023, 20:33	#56
RaiVW Newbie Join Date: Aug 2022 Location: New Delhi Posts: 17 Thanked: 92 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most It was so tough to find my ex’es (2013 VW Polo, 2015 Audi A4 and 2017 Mahindra XUV) in one frame: Last edited by manson : 24th May 2023 at 21:30.
	(3) Thanks

24th May 2023, 21:27	#57
airguitar BHPian Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 736 Thanked: 2,261 Times View My Garage	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most First job, first house, first car, first partner... Think that there have been a few threads already on ex-cars, but doesn't hurt to have one more. I have only one ex-car which was my Swift VxI. Bought it on an impulse in 2008 - spent only 30 mins researching what car and which dealer to buy from. All I knew about the car was that it was 'peppy', whatever that meant. Learnt driving on a Tata Sumo, took driving test on a beaten Alto that the driving school brought. 2-3 years, I was really busy at work and the car clocked a paltry 3000 kms in 3 years. My grand-uncle, a cabbie, never missed an opportunity to cook-a-snook at me that this was the least driven car in the world. Things changed in 2009/10 after a nightmarish year at work where my manager made my life miserable and I started looking at other interesting things in life. A day before I was to go on my first multi-day road trip, I broke both legs and an arm in a scooter accident. I spent 4 months recuperating, and what was on my mind all the time was to finish the trip that had not happened. After recuperation, it was many weeks of physiotherapy given the extent of damage. Finally it did happen : a 6 day trip to most of Malnad in Karnataka where the maximum speed reached on the car was 70kmph. Dad and I - both relatively inexperienced drivers ( yes, my dad learnt to drive on this car ). Some 1200 kms later, during which the drive through the beautiful road b/w Sagar - Kogar - Bhatkal on pitch dark summer afternoon with thunderstorms at 2PM being the highlight, things never looked back. The car clocked 26000 kms in about 8 months from then on. Sat 5AM to Mon 3AM kind of trips became the norm. Atleast 2-3 trips each month. From 3000 to 80000 it took 3 years. One of the most enjoyable phases of my life - with dad and sister, with just dad, with entire family, innumerable solo drives it had it all. Equally memorable was dad driving through the heartland of Karnataka - Davanagere, Tiptur, Raichur etc where he spent his formative (financially struggling, if I may say) years earning a living - he was teary-eyed with life coming a circle. Those were the days that I really understood my father as a person. The car was a witness to it. And the years of self-realization and self-discovery. Did someone say that driving is meditative? The standout trips were where he and I visited Dandeli and instead of turning back from Dandeli on a Sunday afternoon, chose to drive through a broken Joida-Kumbharwada-Sadashivgarh stretch to reach Kumta at 3-4PM and then started for Bangalore after a quick meal reaching Bangalore the crack of the dawn. Another standout trip was through the old broken Bisle ghat. And another one to Meghamalai in super-slushy July despite getting warnings that it was a bad idea on a Swift. Or that late night trip from Valparai to Thrissur where we just managed to cross the checkpost a minute before the last allowed time. My personal favourite trip on the Swift was a 7 day solo : Bangalore-Vagamon-Erattapetta-Kottayam-Gavi-Thekkady in the peak of Karkitakam rains : where the car was stranded between Gavi and Vandiperiyar due to a raging Periyar river or staying in a tented cottage in the middle of Gavi with no electricity in the electric fencing or just passing by road-widening-related rock-blasting near Erattapetta : all a week before the birth of my first child Then things slowed down with our first kid and the car petered out to it's final 110000 kms by early 2016 when I sold it ( to someone I know ). The car never had a trouble even a single time, and with MS services upto scratch, it was smooth sailing all through the years of ownership (and yeah, I hadn't heard for the NCAPs then). This was a major reason why I had no reason to get technical with the car - the most technical I ever got with this car was changing tyres . It always felt more than adequate on highway runs or city drills. My life changed forever ( and for the good ). I don't get to see it and all I know is that it is in Malnad somewhere. Lastly, note how many picked their first car as their favorite ex-car. Last edited by airguitar : 24th May 2023 at 21:44.
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24th May 2023, 22:06	#58
sunikkat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,373 Thanked: 3,669 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most Well that has to be Fiesta 1.6s. The steering feel, agility, handling etc. hardly can be matched by any car. It was like part of your body. The best handling FWD car.
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24th May 2023, 22:33	#59
Stardust Newbie Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: New Delhi Posts: 11 Thanked: 60 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most Technically it is not an ex-car, as I never owned one, but which I definitely miss on the roads is Toyota Qualis. There was something unique about that boxy reliable MUV. It was a legend of its time.
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24th May 2023, 23:44	#60
OffRoadFun BHPian Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 342 Thanked: 1,707 Times	Re: Gone, but not forgotten \| The one car you sold, but still remember the most My car after landing the first job (but second car with my own money). Also got married shortly after buying the car. I have very fond memories associated with this car. New house, sightseeing in California with my wife. Did many trips on this one to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and death valley, Seattle, Sierra Nevadas, Sequoia NP etc. I also had a custom license plate for the car. A few times, people on freeway complimented me for the license plate, can't forget that. ( I design Integrated Circuits for a living) Put 40k miles in two years! Though it was pre-owned, I can never forget that car! Following picture was taken somewhere in Arizona! Last edited by OffRoadFun : 24th May 2023 at 23:51.
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