Johnmowog@aol.com wrote:
> #2 has me puzzled a bit, I think you're comparing apples to oranges
Hmmm... see below.
> but in this example it seems that for the money you would have a
> Perfect GT as opposed to a decent but used and worn E type.
Not many men on this planet that wouldn't take the E!
> the B looks like a bargain no matter what you spend on it.
Hmmm... well, depends what you are after. Don't get me
wrong I have three MGs, but by just about any metric you
can't put the MG in the same category as the E. To me this
is apples to oranges in spades.
The E is as pretty as they come on wheels. It has triple
the stock power of the B, and I know all the B people say
"but I can do this and that and get 130hp!" but you
can do them to the E as well. The suspension is light
years ahead, inboard brakes, limited slip differential,
and so on. The climate control is still lousy but generally
better than the B. Interior is leather, dash is stunning,
etc, etc.
Even interior room isn't a B/GT strong point because you
can get a 2+2 E if desired.
Don't get me wrong, MGs are wonderful cars, again I
have three and I've had four at a time before. However,
I don't think you'll find many takers for the "really
well sorted B/GT" versus the "worn but usable E".
It's also the 80/20 rule working against you here. That's
the rule that says the first 80% of the results come
with the first 20% of the money, but the last 20% costs
80%.
You describe your B/GT and it sounds pretty nice, and
was worth $4k. If you spent a pile to turn it into the
$13K B/GT to compete with the cheapest E, it would certainly be
nicer, but when parked beside the original car, how
many people would agree that it's worth more than three
times as much as the "nice" one?
On some levels, it's just not financially sensible to
make a car perfect perfect. There are e-types out there
changing hands for $100K, but are they worth several
times what my "nice driving E roadster" is worth? Pretty
hard to justify in my eyes.
Secondly, if you make your car perfect perfect and spend
a pile, it inevitable launches the above question, why
have a $20K perfect B when you could have a usable condition
Jag? I'm reminded of this every time I see a honda civic
with $15K spent on the engine. For that money they could
have bought a V-TEC Honda and had a nicer car with the
same performance.
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
"Wanna see me comb my hair really fast?" - Johnny Bravo
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