Bought Pre-owned Tata Safari EX - The White Elephant


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It all started with my maruthi 800 where i started drivinng and learning and making mistakes. It was 2003 5 speed model. I bought it in 2009 when it has 50,000. I have done nearly 70,000. The car served well. but i started having a lot of problems. rusting, suspension, gear box problems. The last road trip on the car ended in the middle of a road when one of the leaf springs gave up. so I sold the car for 40,000. But this is the car i which i have learnt and made mistakes.

My search started for a hatch with 5.50 lakhs budget. after input from TAI members and after reading so many reviews finally narrowed down on

1. indica ev2 ls
2. wagon r vxi abs and airbag.
3. ford figo disel.
4. siwft lxi.
5. honda brio exclusive edition

first we planned for diesel car and obviously indica ev2 ls was the choice of the family. I test drove honda brio after suggestion form our members manish09. i was blown away the engine quietness and response. although it had a smaller boot and ride quality isn't great. i wanted the brio for the engine smoothness. after checking for discounts, brio exclusive edition was offered at 550,000.

THE DECISION CHANGE:

I was on the way to book brio i was on my office cab(my friend). he suggested getting a big diesel vehicle. his suggestion was bolero, Scorpio crde for my budget. later he told me about a safari ex. test drove the vechicle and also checked with the document. this was a premium car in terms of space, comfort and suspension. every one was happy but i was worried about the niggles.

then i asked myself when i will be able to safari. not atleast for the next 5 years. so then the price would go up and so let me try this safari. i prayed to god, gone ahead and got the car. the deal was finalized for 3.90 lakhs. i gave the papers for ownership and insurance transfer with the help of a driving school.hope i will receive it coming Monday.

it's 2008 November month vehicle. color is pearl white. accessories: alloy wheels expect for spare wheel, Pionner dvd player, head rest lcds and reverse cam( a sad thing happened to the cam) will share it later.

postives: good in fact best ride quality, no need to worry about scratching belly on speed breakers, commanding road presences, at last respect from cops, excellent space and comfort, middle row can set fat people comfortably, leg room and head room.

negatives: gear shift seems to be like a truck. i have shifted to 3rd instead of 1st while moving from standstill. this was done nearly 12 times. clutch not friendly for city driving. legs pain, lot of blind spots needed to be careful, the u turn process is the most difficult.

kms drive: 600 kms in 5 days. got the car on December 2 Monday.
I got a fuel efficiency of nearly 16 on highway trip to villupuram with 6 people and air con was at speed 1. speed was between 80 to 90.

planning a trip to ooty by this month end.
 

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Congrats Parvin I must say you got a very smart deal and the price at which you got this beauty is awesome Please do update some more pics and also share your all experiences. Happy Driving.
 
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Hi Pravin,
Your monster needs some care,get it detailed.Somebody stole your camera?
Regards,
Aneesh.
yes u are right. the camera was fixed below the spare wheel cover. the place where the stand comes. the previous owner has removed the stand and fixed the camera. some one just cut the camera with the body plastic and took the cam away with wiring hanging. there was small sized rectangular hole from where the cam was stolen. will post the pics.
 
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pravin, congratulations on your safari, its a sweet deal you got.Do share more pictures of your ride.For clutch to get it checked and see when was the last service done, if it needs to be looked at.Apart that you would get used to the clutch gear pattern soon.
Enjoy your ride.
 
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Thread Starter #11
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some more pics

the pic below the spare wheel is from where the reverse cam was cut with the body and stolen. any idea how to fix this?
 

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@pravin Congrats for your new ride[clap]. Your Elephant need some water wash and polishing. For clutch, you get used to it.
 
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@pravin could n't find the picture which you were mentioning about camera. or am missing it?
sethu sir the pic is there. it was rectangular cut below the spare wheel.

took the vehicle to my home town start early morning today at 4 and reached home town at 7.45. no breaks taken

route: porur- porur toll plaza bye pass- tindivanam- villupuram-ulunderpet-vriddachalam
kms: 240
mileage: 16. sparse traffic as it was early morning. ac switched on for last 30 kms. speed was kept between 80 and 90.
6 people in car. a bit of luggage

positives: after 50 kms of drive, i asked my mom whether i need to stop for a break. there was no answer. when i turned back everyone was sleeping. comfort of safari does the magic.

negatives: still i stall the vehicle in 1st and 2nd gear. i suffer from 1st gear syndrome. after reaching home, i slotted the vehicle in first gear and i found the first gear position ends near the volume control of the DVD player so i keep the volume control as a target and slot gear. i'm shifting gears at 2000 rpm. is it right?
 

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