Ok, I just have to respond. Please don't take this wrong, I don't want
to offend all our fellow enthusiasts in countries other than the USA.
But here's my story.
About 5 years ago I was selling my MGA. I had an interested buyer we'll
call him Steve. Initially he indicated he was a collector and
enthusiast. After lots of discussion I didn't sell to him, he didn't
want to pay what I thought was a fair market price for my car. Later I
also found out that he was not a collector at all, he was a exporter, he
was going to crate the car up and ship it to Europe. At the time I
didn't think much about this situation. I figured everyone is entitled
to make a buck.
Recently I have noticed the following ads in the local newspaper:
"Collector Wants AH 3000, AH100/6, AH100/4 or Bugeye please call (xxx)
xxx-xxxx."
This ad has run continuously in the local paper for months in the Austin
Healey section.
"Collector Wants MGA, B, TC, TD, TF please call (xxx) xxx-xxxx"
This ad has also run continuously in the local paper for months in the MG
section.
I was talking with an friend here in Denver and asked if he knew who this
collector was .... can you guess? It's the same guy .... Steve. My
friend says Steve is buying up as many of these cars as he can and
shipping them to Europe.
Here's the rub. Wouldn't it be typical for someone selling their car to
look in the classified ad portion of the newspaper to get an idea of what
similar cars are selling for? Well in Denver Co, USA they don't see any
cars for sale, just Steve's ad to buy their car. My guess is when they
call Steve he gives them the collector line, buys the car, and it is off
to Europe.
So why am I writing all this? I am now looking for another car. Guess
what, none show up in the paper. No Buyeyes, no AH 3000, no AH 100/6s,
no AH100/4s, no MGAs, no MG Ts. Once in awhile a B shows up. There's a
couple of million people that live in this area. Where the heck are all
the cars?
There are a some interesting consequences to all this. Certainly our
friends around the world end up with more cars to enjoy, the remaining
cars here in the States become more valuable, and don't forget Steve
makes a living. But what about new younger collectors who want to enjoy
LBCs? What about the future of the collecting hobby. What if there is
nothing to collect, or restore (here in the States)?
Maybe I'm just feeling the pinch of a global economy. If there is more
cash abroad to buy these cars, or the demand is greater maybe there
should be more "Steves". And then again, perhaps someday the tide will
turn and the cars will be shipped back.
Please all of our friends "across the pond" and "down under" don't take
offense. Just take care of those cars.
Cheers,
Larry Hoy
1969 MGB Roadster
=====================
On Fri, 17 Jan 1997 11:58:49 -0000 "Kosten Metreweli"
<kmetrewe@www.rens.com> writes:
>Don't worry, even here in the UK, MGs are much more expensive than in
>the States. I suppose they received the lion's share of the cars when
they
>were produced, so there are simply more around. Tax on cars is also
pretty
>high in the UK. In response to Bill, who mentioned he'd heard of people
>shipping cars from the States to the UK - my car is is an ex-California
'60 MGA
>-and rust free (at least for the moment). Mind you, I've been told that
>shipping a classic car from the States to the UK is an expensive
>business, and at the end of the day, you can expect to pay an extra 50%
of the
>value of the car.
>
>Regards,
>
>Kosten
>
>----------
>> From: wkchapm@gil.com.au
>> To: mgs@autox.team.net
>> Subject: mg prices.
>> Date: 17 January 1997 02:59
>>
>> Hi all,
>> I am a relatively new mg owner, my wife and I purchased our first, a
>>'64 mgb only two months ago. Since that I have joined this group and
find it
>>really interesting and informative.
>> I am however, completely spun out by the price of mgb's as quoted in
>>these pages. You would be flat out getting 1/3 of an mgb in parts and
>>rusty for the money that you all seem to be able to buy them at, well
those
>>discussed anyway. We payed 8000 for ours which is an absolute rock
bottom
>>price... a steal in fact. I wonder why these cars are so much cheaper
up there
>>than down here in Australia! Would be a very lucrative business
>>proposition to import and sell here. Any way here's cheers from OZ,
>> chappo,
>> '64b
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