I was on a hunt for a "Maruthi 800", reason being...it was cheap (I had only 40 and odd K to spend for a car) and easy to maneuver in a place like Chennai. Few of my friends from my previous company were willing to help me out with my hunt for "Maruthi 800" and one of them suggested a car owned by his friend and we finalized a date for me to check the car.
First impression
The car was not used for a couple of days and had a layer of dust settled on it. The owner quickly took a "dirty" piece of cloth (grin on my face, thought " the cloth would make the car look worse") to wipe the dust on the car. My cousin, the so called expert came along with me and both of us drove the car around to find if it had any issues (he drove the car and I sat beside him as I was not good at it).
"Ettha paravalaya?" which means "is it ok?" in my mother tongue (badaga)
"Nalavathu saviraka...paravala" was his reply... "for the forty thousand you have..this is OK" was what it meant.
Time for some bargaining over a road side teashop...
"55 K sir...." said the owner of the car
That sounded too much and told him that I was looking for a car around 40 K. A little more help from my cousin on the bargain, we finalized for 48 k and odd...which included a service and the insurance which was about to expire.
First car
I had to pick up the car after a week and was eagerly awaiting that day. It was a Saturday and I woke up by 5 am to pick up "my very first car". One of my very close friend and my cousin accompanied me, I exchanges the cash for the keys and I was a proud owner of a "Maruthi 800".
My friend insisted that the car had to be driven to a temple for a "pooja" before going home and my cousin supported her. With no option left I sat beside my cousin who took the wheels (I just learnt driving...so preferred an expert to drive us home on its very first drive as "my car")
For the next one week, my friend and I took the car out early in the morning for half an hour to master the art of driving. In the week end she wanted to drive the car to her relatives place along with her 13 year old kid and her parents. The back up plan was to take me along in case of any assistance. The back up plan has to be implemented pretty soon as she rubbed past an auto-rickshaw and was close to rub another car.
I took over the wheels, with expertise no greater than her I drove the car. With not much of gear change needed along the main road, kilometers passed by and the driver in me took shape... a steady increase in speed meant an increase in confidence. The drive back was full of confidence and appreciation from her family members, we came back home safe.
To keep the confidence on a high and for my friend to gain confidence we continued to drive in the morning and one of those days the head light turned on by itself and will never turn off !!!. I tried all combination of switches and nobs, but with no respite. Irritated with the car, I drove it to the usual parking space and left it there for a few hours. It was 7 AM so had to wait for the mechanic shops to open before I can drive it to get the issue fixed.
During all this, I did not want to look foolish to the people in the street, so I had a constant vigil on the surrounding and quickly went back home as if I had forgotten to turn off the head lights. But to my embarrassment three of them in a gap of one hour knocked my door to tell me that the headlight on my car was on. Finally the hands of the clock showed 9:30 AM and I went to car (lot of people on the street tried to indicate that the head light was on) and acted as if I did not know about it. The only other person apart from my friend who knew that my car had some trouble was the a person who took care of the of the temple in our street (let us call him the "temple boy"). This temple boy was dumb and showed only hand signals... so the fact stayed within us.
The temple boy
With a scene of relief that I can get the issue corrected and the fact about the headlight stayed a secret, I stared the car...The car would not start. People passed by and smiled at me, I smiled back and acted as if I was arranging the things in my car before starting it. Being a new comer to the street, I made it a point to smile at all of them.
Meanwhile, the temple boy waved his hand and showed a few hand signals. I tried to figure out as to what he was trying to show, but in vain. I did not want the him to feel bad so waved my hands back to him and smiled. All this while I tried to start the car a few more times but with no luck. Few more walked past my car, I got down and acted as if I was dusting my car before taking it out. I was wiping the bonnet of the car and then did I realize as to why the temple boy waved at me...the headlights had gone off.
I quickly turned to the temple boy and with my left hand pointing towards the headlight and with the index finger of my right hand just above my shoulders, I showed the action of switch off and switch on. He smiled back at me and with great relief I locked my car and walked towards my apartment. The temple boy was barely 15 feet away from my car and I had to cross him to go to my apartment. He smiled once again as if to say "I know you are bluffing", with a blush on my face I walked and realized how stupid I was, not only for the lie but also for the fact that he was only dumb but not deaf. I could have told him that I turned off the headlight, instead of showing hand signal.
Lesson learnt... "don't think people are dumb" and "be yourself, stop acting".
Later in the day, I managed to find a mechanic who after examining my car, informed me that the battery was down and had to be recharged (no wonder the headlight turned off). I also informed him about the headlight. The battery was taken for recharge and he came with another battery to test the headlight.
"Loose connection sir" was his comment and quickly cut a few wires, joined a few and covered it with a strip of insulation tape.
After a couple of hours the recharged battery was fit into the car and every thing seemed to be fine.
Radiator trouble
Week on week the car had some problem or the other. The car huffs and puffs like a steam engine after long drive (approximately 14 km) by its standards. I have to open the bonnet and pour some water to cool it.
There are situations when cars and bikes dare come near my car seeing the smoke coming out of the bonnet and I have the whole wide road only for my car.
From radiator to back bumper from the tires to the roof of the car, you name it and the car had the problem. The head light was the beginning for all the trouble.
Blessing in disguise
During all this trouble, I was on the look out for a mechanic who would once and for all get all the issues resolved. My friend helped me find a mechanic who was close to it, the only difference was he told me that I had to change my car to resolve all the issues.
I drove the Maruthi 800 for 8 months and my mechanic helped me sell the same car for a whooping 43 k which is very high for that car. He also helped me in getting a second hand Fiat UNO which had not given me a single trouble in the last 6 months.
My Fiat UNO
The car looked pretty new on its very first sight. I did not want to make the same mistake as the Maruthi 800 so I asked for a suggestion from my mechanic.
"Engine... soooper condition sir" and my mechanic went on to assure that I can drive around without any trouble as the vehicle had done 47000 KM only which is considered as very less for a second hand car.
Back ground check
Apart form the engine conditions my mechanic did a few more back ground checks. The car was owned by a ex military officer and wanted to sell the car as he was leaving to the US to live with his son.
I was ready to spend close to 60 K and guess what he quoted 50 K which sounded very reasonable. I paid the cash and drove home the Fiat UNO...very sturdy and reaches 120 kmph on the highway which is pretty good in comparison with the new brand of cars.
I started loving FIAT ... :)
First impression
The car was not used for a couple of days and had a layer of dust settled on it. The owner quickly took a "dirty" piece of cloth (grin on my face, thought " the cloth would make the car look worse") to wipe the dust on the car. My cousin, the so called expert came along with me and both of us drove the car around to find if it had any issues (he drove the car and I sat beside him as I was not good at it).
"Ettha paravalaya?" which means "is it ok?" in my mother tongue (badaga)
"Nalavathu saviraka...paravala" was his reply... "for the forty thousand you have..this is OK" was what it meant.
Time for some bargaining over a road side teashop...
"55 K sir...." said the owner of the car
That sounded too much and told him that I was looking for a car around 40 K. A little more help from my cousin on the bargain, we finalized for 48 k and odd...which included a service and the insurance which was about to expire.
First car
I had to pick up the car after a week and was eagerly awaiting that day. It was a Saturday and I woke up by 5 am to pick up "my very first car". One of my very close friend and my cousin accompanied me, I exchanges the cash for the keys and I was a proud owner of a "Maruthi 800".
My friend insisted that the car had to be driven to a temple for a "pooja" before going home and my cousin supported her. With no option left I sat beside my cousin who took the wheels (I just learnt driving...so preferred an expert to drive us home on its very first drive as "my car")
For the next one week, my friend and I took the car out early in the morning for half an hour to master the art of driving. In the week end she wanted to drive the car to her relatives place along with her 13 year old kid and her parents. The back up plan was to take me along in case of any assistance. The back up plan has to be implemented pretty soon as she rubbed past an auto-rickshaw and was close to rub another car.
I took over the wheels, with expertise no greater than her I drove the car. With not much of gear change needed along the main road, kilometers passed by and the driver in me took shape... a steady increase in speed meant an increase in confidence. The drive back was full of confidence and appreciation from her family members, we came back home safe.
To keep the confidence on a high and for my friend to gain confidence we continued to drive in the morning and one of those days the head light turned on by itself and will never turn off !!!. I tried all combination of switches and nobs, but with no respite. Irritated with the car, I drove it to the usual parking space and left it there for a few hours. It was 7 AM so had to wait for the mechanic shops to open before I can drive it to get the issue fixed.
During all this, I did not want to look foolish to the people in the street, so I had a constant vigil on the surrounding and quickly went back home as if I had forgotten to turn off the head lights. But to my embarrassment three of them in a gap of one hour knocked my door to tell me that the headlight on my car was on. Finally the hands of the clock showed 9:30 AM and I went to car (lot of people on the street tried to indicate that the head light was on) and acted as if I did not know about it. The only other person apart from my friend who knew that my car had some trouble was the a person who took care of the of the temple in our street (let us call him the "temple boy"). This temple boy was dumb and showed only hand signals... so the fact stayed within us.
The temple boy
With a scene of relief that I can get the issue corrected and the fact about the headlight stayed a secret, I stared the car...The car would not start. People passed by and smiled at me, I smiled back and acted as if I was arranging the things in my car before starting it. Being a new comer to the street, I made it a point to smile at all of them.
Meanwhile, the temple boy waved his hand and showed a few hand signals. I tried to figure out as to what he was trying to show, but in vain. I did not want the him to feel bad so waved my hands back to him and smiled. All this while I tried to start the car a few more times but with no luck. Few more walked past my car, I got down and acted as if I was dusting my car before taking it out. I was wiping the bonnet of the car and then did I realize as to why the temple boy waved at me...the headlights had gone off.
I quickly turned to the temple boy and with my left hand pointing towards the headlight and with the index finger of my right hand just above my shoulders, I showed the action of switch off and switch on. He smiled back at me and with great relief I locked my car and walked towards my apartment. The temple boy was barely 15 feet away from my car and I had to cross him to go to my apartment. He smiled once again as if to say "I know you are bluffing", with a blush on my face I walked and realized how stupid I was, not only for the lie but also for the fact that he was only dumb but not deaf. I could have told him that I turned off the headlight, instead of showing hand signal.
Lesson learnt... "don't think people are dumb" and "be yourself, stop acting".
Later in the day, I managed to find a mechanic who after examining my car, informed me that the battery was down and had to be recharged (no wonder the headlight turned off). I also informed him about the headlight. The battery was taken for recharge and he came with another battery to test the headlight.
"Loose connection sir" was his comment and quickly cut a few wires, joined a few and covered it with a strip of insulation tape.
After a couple of hours the recharged battery was fit into the car and every thing seemed to be fine.
Radiator trouble
Week on week the car had some problem or the other. The car huffs and puffs like a steam engine after long drive (approximately 14 km) by its standards. I have to open the bonnet and pour some water to cool it.
There are situations when cars and bikes dare come near my car seeing the smoke coming out of the bonnet and I have the whole wide road only for my car.
From radiator to back bumper from the tires to the roof of the car, you name it and the car had the problem. The head light was the beginning for all the trouble.
Blessing in disguise
During all this trouble, I was on the look out for a mechanic who would once and for all get all the issues resolved. My friend helped me find a mechanic who was close to it, the only difference was he told me that I had to change my car to resolve all the issues.
I drove the Maruthi 800 for 8 months and my mechanic helped me sell the same car for a whooping 43 k which is very high for that car. He also helped me in getting a second hand Fiat UNO which had not given me a single trouble in the last 6 months.
My Fiat UNO
The car looked pretty new on its very first sight. I did not want to make the same mistake as the Maruthi 800 so I asked for a suggestion from my mechanic.
"Engine... soooper condition sir" and my mechanic went on to assure that I can drive around without any trouble as the vehicle had done 47000 KM only which is considered as very less for a second hand car.
Back ground check
Apart form the engine conditions my mechanic did a few more back ground checks. The car was owned by a ex military officer and wanted to sell the car as he was leaving to the US to live with his son.
I was ready to spend close to 60 K and guess what he quoted 50 K which sounded very reasonable. I paid the cash and drove home the Fiat UNO...very sturdy and reaches 120 kmph on the highway which is pretty good in comparison with the new brand of cars.
I started loving FIAT ... :)
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