> I think Kai may be missing the point entirely. One of the primary reasons
> that so many of us own MGs is precisely because they are affordable. I
> spend more money on my MG than all other cars combined (with the possible
> exception of my late model Chevy), but that's because I drive the MG more.
> In pure economics the MG is a very inexpensive car to drive for lots of
> miles, primarily because it is a simple machine and easy to maintain. I
> believe it is cheaper by the mile than anything else I have ever owned.
> That of course does not detract from the fact that it's a lot of fuin to
> drive. Works for me.
>
> Barney Gaylord, so tight I squeak when I walk
Barney, but that is precisely the point! If people couldn't *afford* the
purchase of their car they wouldn't buy it, however they seem to be able to
forget that they also must be able to then *afford* the associated costs of
owning a classic MG (or any LBC).
A prime example happened yesterday, which is probably what then put me in a
sour mood the rest of the day, but a fellow I know who is a devout Midget
nut bought a Lotus Europa for $3000. Why? He could afford it and liked the
Europa. He then proceeded to run down a list of all the problems the Lotus
had, and then noted he was going to try and fix everything as cheaply as
possible! This didn't make sense to me, you buy a Lotus and then you're
going to try and make it even cheaper than Colin Chapman achieved building
it?
In the past oh 12 hours or so I've thought about what I have said on the
list, and came to the conclusion that perhaps it isn't the mentality of the
most MG owners that is wrong... but that my mentality is just rare. I've
grown up with British and Italian cars, if I want to drive an MGB I'll drive
the TR6 two hours north and borrow the keys and if I want to drive one of
the last Pininfarina bodied Ferrari 250GTs I'll drive 15 minutes then
proceed to beg for another fifteen minutes and then receive the keys
(believe me, they just sound good... otherwise a frogeye sprite handles
equally as well). My first introduction into LBCs was in that 1967 MGB when
I was very young -- it was pretty cool at the time, and the only reason I
bought an MGB later.
As I figured, James Nazarian Jr, totally would miss the point but manages to
emphasis mine in his post. In regards to the rude parts suppliers, no one
gets into the business of selling LBC parts because you make millions... you
get into it because you enjoy the cars first and want to make your living
doing something you enjoy. I can almost guarantee that every supplier out
there started their business originally from enthusiasm for the hobby. Now
think about WHY they may be rude on the phone? How about years of dealing
with 200 people a day who are rude, discourteous, clueless, timewasters,
etc., etc., etc. Perhaps he didn't like your tone of voice when you called?
There have been some great quotes throughout this thread but "...I didn't
have the money to buy new parts, so I bought the cheapest ones that I could
find." by young James is by far the best and to the point exactly.
Kai
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