In times when there is a conscious move against under-age driving, I had the fortune of becoming the owner of a beautiful white Maruti 800 at the ripe age of 37. That it was second-hand didn’t make any difference to me. What was important was that I had earned it with hard work and honest money.

Imagine my happiness when I cleaned up my rusted skills after a gap of 19 years! I had taken my first driving lessons on my 18^th birthday from my father in his Ambassador. I did drive his car for some time but since he was possessive about it, I had to give up. Driving it meant lot of tensions and so I gave up for the peace of everyone involved.

I had a 70 mm grin when I drove my car, the first time.

“Don’t change lanes too often. Mind the front as it is in your control and leave the back to the one who’s behind you,” my brother-in-law told me when I took him with me. I wasn’t confident and needed his advise and a refresher course in driving.

I was given the clean slip from him.

“Slow but good. Just don’t be rash and you will be a good driver.”

I sighed with relief.

The dealer who sold me the car was my friend. “Since it is a second-hand car, be prepared for expenses. You have saved on down payment so be ready for some running expenses. Don’t blame me every time you have to go to the garage. This is the best I could get for you!”

The car was remarkably easy to handle, compared to Ambassador. It was so good that my father too bought a Maruti three months after I bought it because he found it easier to handle and reliable compared to the aging Ambassador!

In six months I managed to deal with the rash driving habits of Delhites. My strategy – give them all the way they want, keep at least five hundred meters of distance as they could brake unpredictably, watch out for car dives from left and zoomers, ziggers and zaggers!

The a/c in my car seemed cosmetic as whenever I tried to run it the car would stop. My friend had warned me not to expect anything from the a/c in advance! Two months later when it started to rain the wipers wouldn’t move and when I replaced them, the battery conked out.

“You have been conned by your dear friend,” every one told me.

But my friend’s warning and a diary of expenses kept me going.

“Remember the early days of marriage,” I told myself. “When the marriage seemed stormy and everything looked gloomy! You had faith in Neeru, yourself and the marriage.”

And so I kept the faith in the car, my car dealer friend, myself and my mechanic.

And after some hiccups, splutters and pushes, my car climbed out of a torrent of expenses and began to cruise. In this period I had to change the radiator, tyres, suspension, batteries and some more accessories. A quick sum and division told me the expenses were still below 600 a month and therefore not too bad. Two years down the lane, my expenses were much below the depreciation of a new car. Moreover, what mattered was that I was driving one for two years and a new car was anyway unaffordable for me.

8 years later, when my car started to smoke, everyone said it was as good as dead. But my mechanic convinced me he could revive the beauty. The remedy – an engine overhaul.

“If you want a make do job it will cost Rs. 6000. But a good job will cost you Rs. 10,000!” My mechanic told me.

I decided to go in for a “good job”. But how to convince my wife!

“I love you and you too are old now. And since I will never discard you, how can I discard my car? I love it like I love you!” I told my wife when she argued with me for my decision to spend a whooping Rs. 10,000 on the engine overhaul with uncertain consequences.

That did it. Because I meant my words. She immediately loosened her purse strings.

And my car got a life again.

Things improved and so did my financial condition and it was time to load my car or discard it for a new. But when I tried to look at it however analytically and objectively, emotions would come in my way. The white beauty seemed to have a life of its own. I realized I was more deeply in love with it than I knew and instead of opting out of it I decided to deck it up! I removed some small dents it had weathered, changed the upholstery, powered the a/c and changed tyres.

There was another issue I has been considering for a long time. I had been thinking of installing a CNG kit on my car.

“What?” My horrified friends screamed. “Are you aware the cost of the CNG kit will be more than your car’s worth.” Ironically the friend who sold me the car too was dead against the decision. I asked around. Once again my mechanic told me that my car would be able to run on CNG.

The dice was cast.

“The more I drive, the more I will save,” I told my wife! “ I had read the line on CNG stations. So a few years from now, I will be able to finance a new car from this one!”

That argument won her over! Yet again.

And so I invested almost Rs. 55000 to renovate my car and fit it with a CNG.

I did save a huge packet on fuel. My monthly bill from Rs. 4500 came down to just Rs. 1200! For the first time in so many years both me and my wife drove the car to our heart’s content, without thinking of the fuel bill! We drove out at nights, aimlessly. We called these our 'romantic' rides. We would cruise for 50 kms at a stretch, relieving our day-to-day tensions, talking, sharing, holding hands and feeling all the compulsions and emotions of two teenagers in love! The car brought us closer than ever!

My son who wanted to come home on weekends from his IIT hostel in Hauz Khaz but had huge trouble with the auto cartel outside the gate could now be with us for the weekends. Both me and my wife would happily fetch him from the hostel and drop him, not as a job but as an outing. Both of us enjoyed the ride as we could talk of the issues that concerned us while enjoying the outing. He could take large quantities of his favourite health potion – milk, eat home food which he found delicious compared to the messy mess food that he had to plough down his throat for five days! He gained his health and enjoyed our company like we did his.

But then came another of those prolonged phases where all the parts wear out at the same time! It was time to change the clutch, battery, suspension, brakes and more. A blue line bus hit us from behind while me and wife were driving one day. Fortunately both of us were safe. And after realizing we were safe, we both laughed.

“Imagine what would be our reaction if it had been a new car!” My wife said.

That brings me to another trait of my car – it has never let me down. Not in that accident and nor any other time. The snags or faults whenever they happened have happened at the starting point or after reaching the destination when the situation was manageable! Very, very rarely on the way! Yes there have been incidences but not more than 5-6 in all these years.

This trait became obvious on the long drive to Jaipur. A year after I bought it, my wife wanted to go to Jaipur by car. I was scared because it was a used car and my friends advised me against the trip by car. But she insisted and so we drove. She insisted because she too got to drive and she enjoyed the ride very much. On reaching Jaipur and after finding a suitable hotel, when I tried to start my car it wouldn’t. A help from a battery shop right across the road told me the battery was dead. We replaced the battery and the car sprang to life. We enjoyed Jaipur for three days, climbing the fort there (it was very steep) and cruised around. Then we returned with no incident! The trip was wonderful!

The denting and paint job from the accident took about Rs. 3000 but I didn’t claim from my insurance company, preferring a blemishless record over so many years to the small amount. In all these troubles, from a monthly expense of Rs. 600 my maintenance expense shot up to Rs. 1100 on an average. But still it was peanuts compared to the depreciation and the attending tensions of a new car without a CNG. I had registered the CNG kit because I was told that moving with an unregistered kit was illegal and should anything happen to me or my car, my life and my car insurance might not be valid. Because of this, my kit is not transferable to a new car.

It’s now been almost 2 years since I fitted the CNG kit and I have recovered the cost of my CNG kit and made a cool Rs. 10000 by saving on my fuel expenses. My car is helping me make money and bring my family together!

Just yesterday, I fitted a double coil condenser on my car. My mechanic had one that was second-hand and in good condition. He knows I love my car and the a/c is the only thing that disappoints me. So he held the bait and I had a bite. I was hooked!

My car is now very cool, but wait, it’s just been a day. Keep reading my blogs for more!!!!! Maybe this will work to bait you!

Everyone who sees my car is surprised I am still driving the old Maruti. The society conscious ridicule me and hurl pointed barbs whenever they get the opportunity but I remain unfazed. Yes, my car has become unfashionable. There are bikes that enjoy more respect these days. It is now a lower middle-class thing. But just a few days ago the Vatican said that to pollute is now an official sin. At least my conscience is clear. I drive a car that gives a decent 20 kms on every kg of CNG. It is non-polluting small car compared to the huge petrol guzzlers that have found favour in these times.

What’s more, my car keeps getting better. People, friends and mechanics, whoever drive it comment on its impeccable condition. I take it to my mechanic whenever there is slight noise or something that “just doesn’t feel right.” There had been times initially when my mechanic had been sceptical thinking that I was just being too sensitive. But my hunch has always proved right and now he respects my visits to his garage.

I have tried to find if my car can be made into a vintage car but then I was told that vintage cars are cars made during a specific period. Car’s beyond that can never be vintage. But because of my need for perfection, my car keeps getting better. So in that sense it is like a vintage wine that keeps getting better as it ages.

And that is why I love it.

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