Interesting and no doubt provocative post, Kai. From what I have seen, I
would have to agree with you about the penny-pinching later MGB owners. I
also agree that the earlier model owners (MGA, early MGB) are more willing to
do a job right and less likely to ask about a deal on used brake pads or
reconditioned oil filters (said mostly in jest, but both have happened to a
friend in the trade).
I would add Jaguar and Jensen Healey owners to the 'cheap' list. The latter
car has a lovely Lotus engine that is expensive to maintain in comparison to
car values, and I get in trouble on the Jensen lists whenever someone wants
to put a V6 or V8 in to save money, by saying that if they can't afford to
won the car and maintain it properly, do everyone a favour and sell it to
someone that can, and take the money and buy themselves something they can
and will afford to use (Toyotas come to mind....)
Which makes me about as popular as I'm sure you will be for pointing out the
truth to people with no desire to hear it.
Keep your head down!
And if you don't think the majority of owners are cheap, ask yourself why
suppliers like Moss don't make a premium bumper that has chrome that won't
corrode and fall off while sitting on the shelf? Because no one will pay for
it - they'll buy the crap at the cheaper price and worry about the quality in
a couple of years.
I had a dispute with my insurance company - told them that the grille that
someone had backed into was factory and the Moss replacement was like
replacing an inlaid hardwood item with pressed cardboard - the 'new' grille
came out of the box with rust spots on it, while the brass original was of
course pristine after 40 years. I didn't get too far with them, sadly.
Bill S.
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