I sold my beloved Hyundai Santro in 2011 only to buy it back in 2015

Later, when I was in my senior years of school, the same car that was my ride in nursery was used for dropping me to school and back.

BHPian backpacker_2912 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

For some people, a car might be either a vehicle on four wheels and merely a means of commuting, but for us BHPians surely it is pure emotion. For me, my Hyundai Santro Xing (2010 model) has always had a very special place in my heart, in fact a bond which is inexplicably strong. It was our first new car and thus has been a very important part of my childhood memories. I’ve never liked a car so much so that I practically hated the car that replaced it a year later in 2011, the now discontinued Chevrolet Aveo. I had developed some kind of an emotional connect with it that is still intact to this very day.
Probably the memories entangled with it makes it so precious to me. When I was in junior school, one of my fondest memories was my father picking me up from school in that mushroom coloured Santro. I used to be overwhelmed to see my father and my ride.

In 2011, when my father sold that Santro to buy an Aveo, I was so grief stricken for a few days, that I refused to sit in the Aveo. I strongly believed no other car could ever replace my beloved Santro. Today, it seems unreasonable to blame a car but try explaining it to a child who had just lost her precious possession, no amount of reasoning or logic can outweigh it's emotions.

A couple years later, in 2015, my father was looking for a second small car to buy for my grandparents. I immediately suggested a Santro. Surprisingly, he came across that very same Santro that we sold in 2011. Fortunately it was still well kept and so he promptly bought it back. Well, what were the chances of us getting the same Santro? Nil, but probably it was fate that we came across it I believe. My happiness knew no limits that day, I was on cloud nine that I was getting my Santro back.

Later, when I was in my senior years of school, the same car that was my ride in nursery was used for dropping me to school and back. We were in a remote area and I had to travel around 80 km everyday to and from school, so my only means of transport to school was that Santro. I cared for it a bit too much, if anybody slammed the door a bit too hard, I’d complain to my father about how harsh they were being with it, and he had to ensure me each time that it’s a car after all and can endure it.

Now fast forward to this day, I’m learning to drive and will be getting my driver’s license soon, I’m so very excited that I’ll finally be able to drive my childhood buddy and my trusted companion, my Santro.

It completes 15 years in May 2025. Though it is a basic car, no airbags, ABS or fancy features, but not once in all these years has it left us stranded anywhere in India. Epitome of reliability, I would say.

All thanks to my dad, BHPian @aviator1101 who agreed not to sell/scrap it, rather he’s getting it all renovated, repainted and registration renewed for me to use ! I’m really very excited thinking of the journeys we have ahead of us.

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