David:-
I've got bad news for you, it's going to be an uphill climb. I think
several factors are really going to prevent the B's (which I assume is
the model you are referring to) from becoming a highly desirable
collector car, at least in the next decade:
1) There were 500,000 of these things made over their 18 year production
life. Although lately the early chrome bumper types are beginning to see
some appreciation (in two senses of that word), the numbers will always
be against you, they are just not rare. I think that is proven by the
fact you see so many available.
2) MG's reputation for reliability was just not good in the general
public's mind, whether deserved or not, or due to poor maintenance or
not. I remember being told from a very early age by my father that "the
electrics in those cars are just no damned good." He still doesn't
understand why I bought 2 (and a half, see You Probably Own an MG, Part
1). He gloats whenever I tell him about the latest repair, although I
have *never* had an *electrical* problem (touch wood).
3) The styling is just not all that exciting. Although we might all
think that a B is a neat looking car, it cannot be considered a milestone
of automobile design.
4) Until the cars become more rare, perhaps through attrition, it is
kind of a catch-22. It really doesn't pay to fully restore a car that is
going to be worth less than half of what you have to put into it to
restore it. Most collector cars today end up being worth only about 2/3
of what they cost to restore, anyway.
5) The memory of MG is becoming dim in this country, unfortunately,
since MG left these shores. I find that I am usually one of the youngest
attendees (except for someone's son or daughter) at most MG events, and
I'm nearly 40 (ack!). I am certainly the youngest person in my local MG
club that owns an MGA and I think one of the youngest in the *country*
with a TD! For this reason and others, I don't really see an enormous
appreciation for those cars, either. In any case, when some youngster
asks me what model car it is, I always end up spelling the answer, as in
"I said *M*G*, yeah, that's the manufacturer, the model is *M*G*A*, I
said..."
I'm sure the day will come, perhaps fifteen or twenty years from now,
when you will be in your rocker on the porch of the retirement home,
watch a pretty B drive by, and you will say "I remember when you could
buy those for $1,500, and I just cry when I think how many were crushed."
So, do what you can, save the ones you like, keep 'em for a looong time,
and enjoy them in your retirement, but make some good investments, too!
Flame away. No brag, jes' fact.
David Littlefield
Houston, TX
On Fri, 24 Jan 1997 15:17:15 -0800 drded@ix.netcom.com (David Deutsch)
writes:
>Hello my friends and others,
>
>Something is deeply disturbing me (as if I could ever be more
>disturbed
>than I already was and still walk free). The number of available
>"solid" condition MGs available presently. I know not all people live,
>
>eat, breath and dream MG like I do but some is wrong. Right now I know
>
>were 3 or 4 are for under $1,500 dollars. If I were in the market for
>another I'd know where more are. Maybe I've gotten to close to it and
>need to step back but it seem there is a lack of interest. I'm talking
>
>general public here. Perhaps we need to launch a campagn to educate
>the
>public about the rewards that can be reaped from ownership of these
>cars. I talking about the feeling of pride one can achieve by being
>able to tackle repairs, that feeling that you get when the guy the car
>
>next to you gives you "thumbs up". Most people wash their cars because
>
>they are dirty, not me, I wash my car because I want to wash my car.
>
>The problem is that I have a line of cars I want to restore. I'm going
>
>to get great please in doing this but when I'm finished I can not
>possible keep them all and selling at a loss is hard to justify. Maybe
>
>nature is being disturbed and we need to let that whole "survival of
>the fittest" thing take it course? If we do "save" these cars who is
>going to maintain them? It just seems that the supply is larger than
>the demand and this is truely troubling me. Safety Fast, David Deutsch
>
>
>
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