Why we sold off our Mahindra Marshal after 12 years of ownership

The Getaway was supposed to have been a replacement, but we realize now that NOTHING can truly replace this Marshal

BHPian ringoism recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

As of this past Saturday, the good old Marshal is gone, having been sold to a party from Arunachal who saw the ad here in the classifieds and flew in to purchase and drive it back home.

I sincerely hope he'll join Team-Bhp and write of some experiences as good as what we've enjoyed in that wonderful old vehicle! A 2,500km cross-country trip with a couple of his friends across the north of the subcontinent at the beginning of his ownership ought to be a good start! The one last dream I'd had was to drive this car out to the Northeast via the length of Nepal - something that will never come to pass for us, but that could be left for them to accomplish.

My younger son cried the evening before and again the morning of the sale. We all felt it inside, it's been such an integral part of our family life for 12 years. Very sad to see it go, but the time seemed right, and as we watched it drive off and disappear around that final bend, I can say I had peace about it.

It helped considerably that this person into whose care we were transferring it struck us as a genuinely great guy who's happy to have found it and appreciates it for what it is. A mature man of retirement age, he had driven such vehicles back in the day and knew what he was getting himself into. He took the wheel from the Bhuntar airport to Manali and seemed to become comfortable with the old beast in short order.

He had, moreover, been patient when I temporarily wavered on the question of whether to go through with the sale, didn't haggle on price, and even brought along an assortment of premium chocolates to help console our grieving kids.

In terms of sheer distances covered, the Getaway has probably done more in the past 1.5 years than the Marshal had in the past dozen - and with much greater comfort/speed. That said, it will never match this older Mahindra in terms of rugged simplicity, manoeuvrability, eye-catching vintage style, overall character, off-road prowess, or - despite its advanced electronics - even fuel efficiency...

But cars almost universally represent compromises. The Marshal was clearly biased towards bumping along country roads and horrible village tracks in as frugal and rugged a manner as possible - as such it has proved perfect for our local uses and touring in these hills, and its new owner should surely find it equally suitable for intended uses in and around his farm.

We feel so blessed to have been able to own both of these great, capable, versatile, sturdy vehicles.

The Getaway was supposed to have been a replacement, but we realize now that NOTHING can truly replace this Marshal - OUR Marshal - the one our family has grown up in, commuted in, gone for picnics in, carried countless friends and neighbours in, and enjoyed so many wonderful adventures in.

So we simply move on for now, and gratefully.

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