[Swarit19]

Hello all fellow members of Team Bhp,

I'm Swarit. First off a big big thankyou to the lovely moderators of team bhp for approving my request to become a member. I'm very happy you guys have given me the opportunity and considered me worthy for it. Was doing the daily deed of looking if I had a reply from team bhp and saw I had been approved to my surprise.

I'm an 18 year old science student that currently holds a mere learners license but I've always been passionate about cars even when I didn't have a chance to drive them (I'm very serious about laws in our country and hence never tried to do the "aree jara khale ground me chala le koi Nahin dekh raha / try driving in a open ground no one will see or notice anything" not that my parents would have let me either as they are very serious about it as well) Being a serious tennis player my legs were important for me and I just couldn't risk any damage to them through two wheeler usage hence never got tempted to ask my dad for a motorcycle / scooty. It was weird to all my classmates in school because they'd have their friends outside with pulsar's doing wheelies and them being amazed by it whereas I just moved on and didn't care about it as I've sort of always been a safety freak. So overall you could say I'm a bit different when it comes to my generation sometimes even the polar opposite of what their priority is usually.

The first car (rear wheel drive sportscar with special racing fuel I.e LPG) as I heard someone on team bhp joke about was our OMNI. It was a long time ago and I knew nothing about safety back then however one thing to note is it never broke down in all its time of service. It was chauffeur driven. However I've travelled in a loaded to the brim like cattles in OMNI multiple times when in school which I'm sure many others have as well and it makes me really sad to look back at it now. Our driver would push that tin can above 80kmph in city! I thought whatever (sat in front with three kids ) and didn't care but now thinking about it, one of those days could have been my last! I'm very happy for current generation as the police now give tickets to these cars being filled like that and endangering little children's lives although even stricter rules should be in place to help solve this issue but that's a matter of another time I suppose.

Moving on and fast forwarding back, early on my father really liked Honda city (first gen) and promised me to buy me one as soon as I turned 18 and got my license for which I was really excited for. Surprisingly as time grew on I lost interest in sedans and my mother lost interest in them as well. Due to being busy all the time I never got the chance to get my license however when I got free in April I walked to the office to apply for a learners license and passed with zero errors it had a congratulations you have passed the test with a Hindi translation below as well (I was surprised to see all the test being in a room with 8 computers and the tests being mcq style). I went ahead and started searching for channels that taught how to drive a manual and I came across a channel named World Driving where an instructor named Chris had lot of videos about it. The reality of driving schools around here atleast and most places else I bet as well is they don't teach you much and say if you shift wrong they will shift for you and you learn nothing they also slip the clutch and brake for you as well with minimal basic tips so you end up like my mom who even after chewing the theory test back then cannot drive as she's very nervous that she might break something or hit someone. The chaps at driving school didn't help her when she went to learn all those years ago and hence I plan to teach her myself and give her confidence to experience something so much fun after I've gained some more experience. Back to training cool and world driving, I've already recommended the channel to so many of my friends and they've been extremely thankful for it (really he has a very calm voice and is the most straightforward, non complicated driving instructor I have ever seen).

So my daily routine was to practise what I had learnt from Chris's video that night during the half hour I was given to learn how to drive. First time around my instructor was really weird and he would constantly shout at me while eating paan There were two girls that were learning how to drive one that brought the car to me and one that learnt after me. What's funny is he would go all "oh what do you do how are you where are you living what are you studying etc" and as soon as they almost rammed into some truck parked on the wrong side of a car, he'd go heyyyyyy (in that tone) please try to mind your surroundings don't worry have confidence and you will learn in no time followed with a creepy smile that would make you cringe ever so slightly. I actually thought I was just imagining things but nope! Took my mom with me on the lesson and she had her hand on her mouth trying to control herself the entire trip (I told her beforehand of his funny behavior). As soon as we got off she was laughing uncontrobbaly and making jokes about him.

Second time I got lucky! We went ahead and registered with a new school as I still wanted to perfect my driving. This time the instructor was very easy going and let me do what I had learnt from the videos and really get comfortable with the vehicle. I had spent the first few days making minor errors but then I was confident and he didn't have to intervene.

After finishing it was time to search for cars that I would be getting on or around my birthday (sep 11). I had been very interested in crash testing and safety in general so I was shocked to know most cars sold here (tier 1) did not have airbags. What in the world is wrong with car manufturers I thought but then our rules in place were nowhere as strict as they should be so they aren't the only ones at fault. Still in shock I quickly closed the website carwale and went to sleep

Next day I went ahead and completely skipped past all the tier 1 cars and started looking at cars with airbags but after awhile it wasn't enough for me as I really wanted to drive to my heart's content on highways as well. Now the search began for cars with abs and airbags together and the cars I ended up with were New Ford Figo, Grand i10, Elite i20, Baleno & The one and only Volkswagen Polo. I think you know what car I will be buying just by looking at that last sentence but that story is for the initial ownership thread haha.

How I came across team bhp is when I was looking for honest actual and very mildly biased unlike some online reviews I've seen who either say it's the best with no issues or say it's the worst with everything wrong (Hey everyone is slightly biased about their car, tell you the truth I was extremely proud of even my mountain bike back then even tho it wasn't the best in its price range). I really cannot thank everyone enough for posting reviews of their cars as it has really helped me decide on what I should really get. The environment here was enough to pull me in and make try again and again so I could become a member

I am a very do it yourself sort of guy so to say and really enjoy doing most of the things myself in a car or even outside of a car. Way I see it it's part of the experience itself or else I find it very dull and boring personally which I'm sure will change once I'm old. We will probably have self driven cars by then but I can imagine myself keeping a completely manual car and taking it to a track (hopefully buddh circuit) just to enjoy it again. Compared to almost everyone of similar age I know I'm more concerned about safety of myself and others. I would love to push it to the limits where it's safe but be a very unobtrusive driver when it comes to normal city roads due to my extreme mentality as I'm always thinking about the worst possible scenario and don't want to end up there even if the chance is very low.

Interests outside of cars for me are fitness, studying, watching and music. Look forward to interacting with you guys more!

[GTO]

Welcome Swarit!

Originally Posted by Swarit19

I'm an 18 year old science student that currently holds a mere learners license but I've always been passionate about cars even when I didn't have a chance to drive them (I'm very serious about laws in our country

That's the spirit, man. Start off slow with a worn out car. Spend some time reading through the many 'driving tips' threads we have on Team-BHP. This place is an ocean of knowledge. Wish I had access to such a platform when I was 18.

Being a serious tennis player my legs were important for me and I just couldn't risk any damage to them through two wheeler usage hence never got tempted to ask my dad for a motorcycle / scooty.

I understand. Love motorcycles myself and have owned an RX100 & Kinetic Honda back in the 90s. As much as I want to buy a superbike today, I won't as our roads are simply too dangerous for riding. I'd rather have a 'cage' protecting me.

I think you know what car I will be buying just by looking at that last sentence but that story is for the initial ownership thread haha.

Congrats! She may be old, but she is certainly not outdated. Love the clean, timeless styling. A red Polo with nice rims still makes my head turn.

[Swarit19]

Originally Posted by GTO

Start off slow with a worn out car. Spend some time reading through the many 'driving tips' threads we have on Team-BHP. This place is an ocean of knowledge. Wish I had access to such a platform when I was 18.

I understand. Love motorcycles myself and have owned an RX100 & Kinetic Honda back in the 90s. As much as I want to buy a superbike today, I won't as our roads are simply too dangerous for riding. I'd rather have a 'cage' protecting me.

Congrats! She may be old, but she is certainly not outdated. Love the clean, timeless styling. A red Polo with nice rims still makes my head turn.

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome!

Unfortunately even tho I did first look at used car market far before even getting a thought of buying a new one, Neither my parents or me have the time or knowledge required to make it happen. I wish we could but a lot of the stuff I've seen so far has been a bit shady and just not very confidence inspiring to, say dump 4-5 lakhs into as we don't know what exactly to look for even after numerous tips. Which is precisely why we've decided to go the new car route instead. But I do remember some of your posts where you've recommended a used car as the first car for a novice driver and I'm happy to report I used a old Santro Xing to thrash around and get ample amounts of practise before attempting a test drive of a new car at dealerships I went to. It wasn't my car but it served it's purpose well

And yes that is a big reason I never tried to acquire one or developed interest towards them. During an unfortunate incident one of my slightly distant cousin was killed on his normal motorcycle as well after his brain literally came out (although reasons of the accident itself remain unknown to this date to my knowledge). It was a major turn off as well and a big reason why I went from "Not much could happen in Delhi traffic" to "Discard all cars that discard safety" quickly.

Precisely! I've always loved older cars (Maybe some of it has to do with the fact that my mother was taken to the hospital in a ambassador back then when I was about to be born). My father although not a big fan of cars also loves the Amby & Fiat 500. Funnily enough he doesn't know of any current fiat cars and always thought that fiat was just that old cars name. Polo to me still retains that do it yourself feel & solid build quality that other cars unfortunately are trying to get away from to get higher fuel economy for example which turns me off quit a bit. Enjoying every time the door closes to twisting the key to start, manually adjusting the AC, using that lovely gearbox. There's just something about doing it yourself and being rewarded for it that can't be replaced for me. Hopefully down the line abroad I get to own a classic as my second car and a reliable safe normal hatchback as my daily.

I do plan on doing subtle mods to the polo but still unsure whether to go for white or a red. The sales guy did try to push on the brown saying "sir people buy red a lot but it gets boring very fast". I did give a mild nod to avoid further discussion at that time but I wasn't a big fan of the color especially since I read a few threads here saying metallic is much more expensive to repair as well after being expensive to buy in the first place!

Would have jumped on metallic if they offered that blue silk but they don't