On Sat, 13 Jun 1998 Wildbil923@aol.com wrote:
> You are quite right. Back in the 1980's at a british car show, a gent
> was approaching everyone at the show asking if they wanted to sell their
> LBC. He would offer cash to any willing taker. He told people he was
> shipping them overseas where the demand was very high. In my local
> paper I often see an add offering to buy just about any British sports
> car. The gent from whom I bought my Austin Healey 3000 said he sold his
> MGB to a guy who put it in a crate and sent it to Holland. He said he
> was able to make more for the car doing it that way. Personally, I
> don't like to see this, as it diminishes the supply over here. But,
> when you think about it, most of these cars came here in the first place
> and we, therefore, have the greatest supply. It's natural that, as they
> become more popular worldwide, buyers will look to our shores as one
> source.
You're right, it's natural and is bound to happen. It's not a new
phenomenon, either. From the mid 1960's through the late 1970's it was
possible to buy T-Type and pre-war MGs in the UK at much lower prices than
the going rate here in the US, even when shipping to the US was included.
There were several entrepreneurial types (some reputable, some not) in the
UK who took advantage of this and advertised widely in the US. For
example, in 1968 I imported a TC for $950 including shipping. The same
car would have cost me around $2000 in the US at the time. A few years
later I imported a YA for $2000, again including shipping. That car would
have gone for about $3000 over here.
The number of cars (especialy TCs) shipped from UK to US during that
period was high enough to create some pretty bad feelings among our
British cousins. The trend seems to be reversed now, with more T-Types
being shipped from the US than to the US. It's simple supply and demand
economics in action.
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Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 NEMGTR #2271
Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO
fold@bcpl.net
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