RUMCars Forum
General Category => Unusual Microcar Discussion => Topic started by: Grant Kearney on May 18, 2014, 11:26:37 AM
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A brilliant feature in today's Mail on Sunday highlighting the benefits of Microcar ownership and belonging to a Club. Andy Carter and some of his collection are featured in the Finance section as a case study into insurance savings. Titled 'I get BIG savings on my tiny cars - so join the club' the article highlights the insurance benefits of classic cars and discounts available if you belong to a club.
Lets hope all those who are currently running down our Microcar clubs don't have these types of policy as its a necessity to be a current paid up member or your policy is invalid ;)
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or your policy is invalid ;)
My policy always has been Invalid.
Excuse me Gentlemen, my Carriage awaits.....
;)
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Good one Stuart !!!
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Which club does Andy use to get cheap insurance? Perhaps he is like me and uses a membership of another sort of car club, local to himself, to gain insurance benefits. A far more effective method as the area we drive in and store our cars tends to be the same risk. We have a good negotiating position. None the less worth a look at the Mail though. Plus added cars. As indeed a club with a good policy agreement is worth having and savings might cover the cost of membership, as can any other discounts agreed by the Club in question. CCC and BX Club offer 10% of spare parts prices at several outlets country wide, for instance. These local savings are not greatly helpful to members abroad though, which was the thrust of the topic moved to here. The tangent move to deflect the argument coming in there, as predicted via PMs.
I tried putting together a discounted 2 stroke deal some years back, but the support from the Club was absent. That one of the officials sold oils privately might have something to do with it. Another initiative had spares offered at 10% off to members, full price to all but associate members but the Club in question decided, after initially agreeing, to handgrenade the project by withholding funds, wasting my and another's time and effort by none democratic means. This initiative was in part to answer supplying Americans, and other foreign buyers, by offering an internet membership thus avoiding the expenses of home administration costs they could make no use of. Really what Steven is asking for. These things can be done, and easily these days, if the will is there. Yep, been there and done that. You can see why I am moving on.
Am I running down the Microcar Clubs or pointing at elephants in the room? We will find out if the elephants panic, as it will not be me run down in the rush. Nor will I be doing the mucking out while they stand mute so everyone can pretend they are not there. You've got to laugh! ;D
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With our help, the elephants may exit the clubrooms just a little more quickly. ;D
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When all the elephants are gone you'll be left with the DODO's some people want it all and pay nothing for it!
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wasting our time here Steven just can't or won't see it ::) i am a club man through and through . Courtesy of this site may i wish all committee members , and or officers , of all clubs a heartfelt thanks , they try their best and are in the main under appreciated for all their efforts . THREE CHEERS FOR THEM I SAY !!
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When all the elephants are gone you'll be left with the DODO's some people want it all and pay nothing for it!
That would be the senior members that feel entitled to free subscriptions.
I am a reasonable man that would appreciate the opportunity of simply paying a fair price for a part I need from a club that I would be getting no other benefit from.
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i wouldn't know . i have never knowingly been part of a club where anyone had free subs - but i have nothing in principle against it actually . you obviously don't get the club thing at all . the benefit you get is being the club itself - you are the club
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I am a reasonable man that would appreciate the opportunity of simply paying a fair price for a part I need from a club that I would be getting no other benefit from.
And ... er ... why would does that make you " a reasonable man"?
You want something from a club, that you're not prepared to support. None too reasonable, it seems to me.
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I'm with Richard long may we have club's that try to help CLUB MEMBERS not the freeloaders who want the goods on the backs of those that pay
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A "reasonable man" is both self defining, and an appropriate legal term.
Evidently I've stepped into a room full of elephants and they've started to stampede!
FYI I have nothing against a fairly run club. Indeed I am not only a member of some, but the president of one of them.
It appears that our (US) version of a free market, is somewhat different than yours.
Remember that old "taxation without representation " complaint ?
Perhaps less has changed in the last couple of centuries than I thought.
Besides your trying to muddle it all up as if I am anti club is a pitifully orchestrated and undeserved attack. :-\
What next- I see torches outside my castle?
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Steven you appear to be the biggest elephant of all as you are now changing your tune which club do you think is not fairly run just the ones that will not let you have something for nothing
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I think your medication has worn off. ???
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MOC's own website states that the publication and mailing fees of their newsletter is funded by membership fees.
It also states that Parts smart profits (yes they use the word " profits") are used to fund everything else.
So what reasonable justification do they have for requiring that you pay membership fees if you are not a Messershmitt owner, and not desirous of a subscription to their newsletter to accompany your parts order?
Seems like protectionist bullying to me, and will likely cause smart shoppers to take their business elsewhere.
So this policy will likely be eventually self extinguishing as Parts smart looses market share.
Wouldn't it be better even for themselves if they played it fair? ;)
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Steady chaps.
Generalizing about small clubs is a bit dangerous, as some come from the very well founded mutual support into club status, which I would support without being a member, to ones that have evolved into entities which hardly can be described as clubs at all, and all things in between.
Get to specifics and the critic takes on a more serious roll. Two things apply to clubs though. You can only change thing directly by being a member with a vote. Clubs that become too unbalanced loose active support, their chief chance to regain balance is to look at what is said about them, constructively, by potential members who do not join. It is not constructive if a majority of potential members not joining is greater than those joined. Restricting spares availability might be a good policy for the club finances since it boosts membership to those looking for an easy life. Its always easier to ignore unpleasant facts and situations.
Reality is the more parts made in an order, generally the cheaper they are. I am not convinced by the protectionist argument. Even if it was so then a simple solution is investors, individual or collectively, in a new part under construction obtain it at market rate and the subsequent price to anyone else is 10% higher. Protection achieved, membership happy and sales high. However I know that a lot of these club stalwarts would never put their money where their mouth is and are happy for the club funds to foot the risk rather than themselves. Would our altruistic club think thus, no each would shoulder his share of the burden to the betterment of all, like investing in helping Bond spares when not even a Bond enthusiast....Yeah, that worked out well. Who did get the benefit of that cash injection? Much like a pure free market, its a very honest system and it is rather difficult to hide in a pure club or a free market. Your either in pulling or your out. Seniority and such counts for very little, the respect comes from the knowledge and experience being given to the group. Admittedly that should be in return for the active participation of younger more energized newer members. That is one area there is a serious issue though. Not enough active skilled new members. Its in imperfect world.
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So what reasonable justification do they have for requiring that you pay membership fees if you are not a Messershmitt owner
Your still not getting it Steven. The clue is in the name..... Messerschmitt Owners' Club, a club for owners of Messerschmitts. The primary aim of Partsmart is to supply parts to club members.
Thankfully the 150 plus MOC members in the American and Canadian region understand what it's all about and are grateful for membership and parts supply. Speak to the region rep, Ralph Hough if you want more details.
Perhaps it's just my British, soon to recognise as Scottish ;D, attitude to fair play........
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If Scotland leaves us they will take the S and H with them, leaving us as Briti south of the boarder. Need a new name. England sounds pretty good......
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If Scotland leaves us they will take the S and H with them
Eh?
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Eh 2 and anyway al's forgotten the Welsh and the Cornish
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So what reasonable justification do they have for requiring that you pay membership fees if you are not a Messershmitt owner
Your still not getting it Steven. The clue is in the name..... Messerschmitt Owners' Club, a club for owners of Messerschmitts.
OK, as I am sick of arguing about this topic by now.
But for the record in my book, they are:
PREJUDICIAL against non owners by requiring subscription fees to an unrequested periodical.
HYPOCRITICAL / guilty of comingling funds considering their own statement that Partsmart enterprises are fully and already profitably funded by its own sales, whilst never the less requiring concommitant payment of dues that serve as the sole source of funding for the publication and postage of their periodical.
PROTECTIONIST by not serving a free market.
NONCOMPETITIVE by overcharging for parts that are available for less elsewhere.
PROFIT MOTIVATED, as opposed to dedicated to getting as many Messers on the road as possible. Nothing inimically wrong about this, just not up to the unimpeachable standard of a John Meadows or Stephen Boyd type dedication.
Not a particularly inviting proposition. So in the future, I will continue to let my pocketbook respond to the non invite, and for their own sake, as well as the sake of other would be buyers or club members, hope that they are paying attention and care enough evolve into a more user friendly organization.
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And, for the record:
Prejudicial - certainly. In the same way that golf clubs, who don't allow others in to use the course, pool, etc. are prejudicial.
Hypocritical - not really. They said you can't have parts unless you're a member, and now, guess what, as a non-member you can't have parts. (If they DID sell you parts, now that would be hypocritical.)
Protectionist - certainly. See "golf club" above.
Non-competitive - certainly. But who said they were?
Profit motivated - not really. If they were, they'd put the prices up and sell to anyone. But then your argument so far has been to complain that they're NOT profit-motivated ...
For fun, I'll ask my question again (since you didn't answer it last time): why would that make you " a reasonable man"?
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Steven you would moan if they sold you the parts at a slightly higher price as a non member seems to me you want your penny and the bun!
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Wouldn't moan for paying a nondiscounted price whilst club members got a reasonable discount, like Al suggested several posts ago. Or call it a premium price to non members. Its the same thing really and if not overdone, nothing to complain about.
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I think this topic has gone as far as I would like it to go now and further bickering [I'm guilty too] is going to serve no purpose. Lets leave it now please and move on.
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Please Mr Moderator can I post a link which takes the thread back to where I started it ?
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/money/cars/article-2631252/Comparison-websites-help-cheaper-car-cover-more.html (http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/money/cars/article-2631252/Comparison-websites-help-cheaper-car-cover-more.html)
A good selection of interesting microcars. Not sure about the figures stated though, thought Andy was much younger.............
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Ok but lets make it the last.
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I want to be the last ;D
£60,000 for my old P50 plus the dosh from all the copies.
Why didn't I think of that in 1976 when I sold it for £40. :'( ;D
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I think this topic has gone as far as I would like it to go now and further bickering [I'm guilty too] is going to serve no purpose. Lets leave it now please and move on.
They weren't bickering, they were talking about buns. My favorites are Lincoln biscuits and Chelsea buns.
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And whilst we've been distracted, I bet they've sneeked in and sunk all our battleships.
(Copyright N. Clegg 1987) ;D
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Don't worry its not you its them !
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Is that the consensus? Sounds about right.