goods mornings ladies and gentalmans... in the series of the serious posts this week, one of the most important historical events was missed out on the blog...
THE 1242 CC Fiat Palio Sports was moving at speeds of over 125 kmph roaring at 3500 rpm to better the previous record of 3 minutes by about a minute!!! yippieeeeeeeeeee and these 2 minutes include the stopping time at the toll plaza...
am I doing this again... yes I am sometime later... post the fitting of a K&N Filter in my car...
I am sure almost all of you know about how obsessed I am with my car... to make myself happy and to let you ppl know in detail here is what happened in September'04 which turned out to be one of the best and the fastest decision that I have made in the 27 years of my life on this planet!!!
I had joined IBM in august 2004, and suddenly I had to switch over to a self driven mode from being chauffeured around in office cabs for over 3 yrs!!!
The 800 though doing great was not the most reliable mode of transport as it was already 15 years old... and the need of buying a car arose from there...
Did some research... I did not want to buy a Hyundai and Papa did not like the looks of a Wagon R... even I was not too keen on the two Hatchbacks which were available...
my next stop was the Opel Showroom... and a discussion on the Opel Corsa and the Corsa Sail followed... Both of these are wonderful cars but for some reason I was not convinced to buy them...
So that Saturday evening, I thought I would go ahead and discover a Tata Indica... the car seemed to make a lot of sense in terms of fuel efficiency... I had thought of a few cosmetic changes that I wanted to do in the car which would have made the looks better too... changes like the spoilers, Upgraded Tubeless Tyres and Alloy Wheels and a few more... Me and mom were driving to the Nawab Motors when I took this wrong turn.. and instead of turning right towards the TATA Showroom, I took a left to see the Fiat Dealership in NOIDA, Dynamic Automobiles... I thought what the heck.. lets check this out now that we are here... So I enter the showroom... see a white Palio NV ELX which looked ordinary... and then turned LEFT !!! this turned everything :)
She was standing there.. all shining and smiling.. waiting for me to introduce myself to her :) which I did... took the keys.. sat inside the car.. checked out the interiors, the exteriors.. and fell in LOVE !!! it took me about 2 minutes to decide that a FIAT PALIO SPORTS FERRARI RED is what I wanted to buy !!! rushed out of the showroom.. and went back home... what helped freeze the decision was the autocar edition of that month that had rated about 100 cars on Indian roads on various parameters... Fiat Palio was rated the highest in personal satisfaction and build quality and various other parameters, however lacked big time in A.S.S. ( After Sales Service).. Went through the magazine a number of times, to ensure that I was taking the right decision... and then the next day went with Papa to see the car... and he had a similar reaction.. he loved the car.. he later told me that he always wanted to buy the Palio as well !!! Pa and I were in complete agreement with everything after a very long time :) and that ensured that the car was bought earlier then thought of...
I was thinking that I would do some more research to get the best price, but Pa decided that if I was keen on buying the car, I should not wait any longer and get the things taken care of the same day.. We sat down with the finance guy there.. worked out the EMIs and all.. and to our satisfaction he lowered the ROI as well a li'il bit to facilitate the purchase...
a down payment of 65000 was needed, and I did not have that kinda money :( I checked out both my bank accounts and could manage only 40K after taking out every single rupee from them... the rest 15K took from dad and made the payment the same day... We had initially thought of taking the car after the Shrads but the guy at Dynamic said that he could arrange for the delivery before they even begin.. and I was more then happy !!!
21st September is when I got the car; and 28th September is when the registration was done: It was a Tuesday and the car market in NOIDA was closed, I remember searching for a number plate guy, managing to find one finally, and getting the number plate made... 29th is when I took the car to Delhi for the first time !!!
I also did not tell anyone about the car, because she was something that ppl had to see and not hear about.. and I still smile when I think about the reactions I got from my friends :)
some of the things which were invariably asked and said about it were:
~ Yaar, gaddi to mast hai par fuel efficiency nai hai.. 7-8 ki deti hai sirf..
My reaction: I did not buy this car for efficiency; If you are comparing it with a Santro or a Wagon R then you are not doing the right thing.. they are about 250 Kg lighters... and it obviously takes less fuel to move a lighter vehicle... and I expect to get 11+ in city driving...
My comments today: I have been getting an average of over 12 kmpl with about 30% AC in the City... the last 4 tank fulls I got more then 13.5 kmpl with minimal AC usage...
My reaction : I know... hope things improve with the FIAT management changing in
My comments today: I have not faced any trouble with the car except a windshield wiper motor trouble since I bought the car.. The parts availability yes was a problem but things have changed in the past few months... with the FIAT-TATA MOU getting signed.. the workshops where you can get your Petrol FIATs serviced have increased and improved, though I have not faced any issues with my workshop in NOIDA...
Some of the other observations that I have...
I ride with the biggest and the widest tyres that are there in any hatchbacks today.. I run on a 165/85/R14 Alloys which come factory fitted with the Sports Version... The only car that comes close to Palio wrt tyres is the Swift...
The large weight of the car ensures a better grip on the road and safety... when you close the doors you hear a thud and not a cluck unlike most of the cars even bigger in size...
I am still in love with the car after almost 24000 kms... to the extent that other then me only approx 10-20 kms must have been driven by anyone else...
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee first.
ReplyDeleteMore after reading the post.
i know it rocks.......its one hell of a car...............really good one.........as for milege and all is concerned, its individual choice......those who want milega shud take alto not palio........its looks damn sexy in red...........
ReplyDelete2 mins is one hell of a time on toll road.......i have driven on it for arnd 120 and made it in 3 mins max.........but there is ought to be a diff between palio sports and matiz (00 model) :D
radhe radhe........jai ho
kya baat hai... fiat palio ki free me publicity :P vaise i dun even know how to drive :d car kharidne ke baare me kaha se sochungi??
ReplyDeleteDont know about too many technicalities and all but I must say Palio has a BIG car feel...one of my close friend in college has this car and 4 yrs in it have been fun!
ReplyDelete# sayan...
ReplyDeleteam still waiting for that "more"...
# deeps...
i never thought getting about 13kmpl on an average was bad either ;)
2 minutes yes was awesome... and the car was rock steady at speeds of 130... incredible..
@ kishley...
free mein nai.. i get more happiness from my car then anything else in this world today...
# bhaskar..
true...
# mayuri...
Om aur Radha ka combo waise bhi deadly hota hai ;)
Her Birthday is celebrated everyday !!!a
WHOA! Chaa gaye bidu :D
ReplyDeleteWait till I get my car in three years...ahem...four may be.. tab main bhi try karunga! Dad ki car to ab weekends per bhi nahi milti :(
kya love story hai re!!
ReplyDeleteSince I already knew the love story, am not commenting on that...but just a couple of lines on Radha per se.
ReplyDelete1. She is a beauty indeed.
2. Love the way you take care of her and she takes care of you.
3. And the way she assists in picking up and dropping your friends.
Radha truly rocks! :D
radhe radhe
ReplyDeleteyes sir we know how much u r in luv wid ur radha.....bhot soni hai thts all i know abt her n nothing else....hehe.
god bles u both!
i have reached 140+ on petra on DND, when drunk (Wont do with sane mind).
ReplyDeletePetra gives me arnd 12.5 with 50% AC.
ppl tell me abt reasale value,,i just say one thing,,accent viva has similar specs and was 2 lacks expensive. So after 5 yrs, when accent is worth 2 lacks,,even if i gift my petra, i wud have saved by means of interest...he he he.
And yes parts are expensive, but still what i saved when buying it,,will come handy there;-)
I can bet anyday that anybody riding a petra wont go for accent or similar car in its class..maybe Ikon, but its expensive and even more expensive on maintenance,,,
Whew!!!
ReplyDeleteTalk about Love at First Sight!!!
Have to say I have had women come to me, all beady eyed and tell me in a dreamy husky voice about their first love...
but have to say...i was not impressed. Your story made me all teary eyed about my esteem...which i recently sold!!!
God I was missin her so much...now i am missing her even more. But hey...i needed a smaller car. Zen ain't my first love...(it was however my first crush's car!!)
Anyhow, your blog, your story.
Boy of Boy...I haven't seen a prettier car...in the sense of the lover of the car.
Enchanting, sweet and totally awesome.
May you and your Radha enjoy a long and beautiful relationship.
Man, you were asking me about the Who in your life...now i ask you...
DO YOU REALLY NEED IT?
It seemes you are already smitten..
Cheers!
And a simple word of caution...
DRIVE SAFE...
Its your Radha!!!
Loved it since I first saw it. Remember, all of us met at Ansal Plaza and then we went to Noida. We couldn't stop raving about the design, looks, comfort, feel... she is the best!
ReplyDeleteRadhey Shayam Sita Ram!!!
ReplyDeleteDilli aane pe darshan hongey Radha Rani ke..
Remind me to call u when I am thinking of buying a car....Better still, tu khud hi bata diyo
# rohit...
ReplyDeletelet the time come... you will get all you need...
# richa..
hai na :)
# sayan..
thank you thank you...
# shweta...
ekdum soni hai wo...
@ ankur...
you can be sane and drive her at 140 bro.. the car would be as cool as ever...
and whoever feels that fiat is not worth a try... i feel so bad for them for they loose out on the BEST possible car in its category...
# aqui...
do not compare me to anyone ever... i am the first Prashant Bhardwaj...
she deserves to be take care of :)
# kanu...
she is the best... and she is mine..
and i seriously do not feel the need of that SOMEONE in my life.. thanks to my car and a few friends who i'd love till death...
# subbu...
that was a quick plan :) 4 cars... and two ppl in each car coming to noida from Ansals.. the dinner at Vishal's Kitchen...
she for sure is the best...
if today i have to buy a car.. i will go for a fiat again...
# Lalit...
:)
sure... we will get the best car for you... no points for guess which one its going to be ;)
where is krishna?
ReplyDeleteOff the record, I once did 1:40 minutes for the DND with my opel corsa 1.6 going upto 160 kmph.
ReplyDeletefantastic...
ReplyDeletewith a 1.6 i am sure thats a piece of cake :)
friend to a
ReplyDeletefriend for a
friend to be a
friend so that a
friend remains a
friend of a
friend who is a
friend 4revr.
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Keep smiling always LUIZA BRAZILIAN INDIAN