Monstro

[Russ]

I think an Austin rover car club would be a good idea, maybe with a large membership count a retailer such as Rimmer's would possibly engage in some form of members discount?

[E_T_V]

Rimmers don't offer discounts apparently. (I've already asked!). They do (or at least did) provide paid advertising in club magazines and websites though.

There are already various "rover" clubs which cover all AR/R/MGR marques so I wouldn't go down that route.

There are two key things that people need to understand.

1. The club needs to ask more of its members - When were any normal members solicited for articles / help with activities? Not often if ever. I can't remember when I was last asked for anything.

2. The members need to take some responsibility to provide help/content. It is YOUR club. You are the ones paying the money - you are the ones who make it good (or bad!).

If the committee want ideas to deliver value to their members then I'm more than happy to help provide them with ideas. Likewise if you want help with marketing then as it is my day job I can hopefully provide advice. I just can't provide all the content!

[BIGDAVE]

re club membership

I think the maestro montego owners club is a great club to be a member of.
I log in most days and like the comments and help the members give you.
and hope the club goes from strength to strength in the future.
as time passes by parts will be harder to source so there will be more need for a owners club to keep members cars on the road.so support the committee and lets look forward to many more years of keeping the brand maestro montego alive

[Jeff Turbo]

Rimmers don't offer discounts apparently. (I've already asked!). They do (or at least did) provide paid advertising in club magazines and websites though.

There are already various "rover" clubs which cover all AR/R/MGR marques so I wouldn't go down that route.

There are two key things that people need to understand.

1. The club needs to ask more of its members - When were any normal members solicited for articles / help with activities? Not often if ever. I can't remember when I was last asked for anything.

2. The members need to take some responsibility to provide help/content. It is YOUR club. You are the ones paying the money - you are the ones who make it good (or bad!).

If the committee want ideas to deliver value to their members then I'm more than happy to help provide them with ideas. Likewise if you want help with marketing then as it is my day job I can hopefully provide advice. I just can't provide all the content!

Rimmers do offer discounts as I get them. Mind you I am a regular and also a member of other local clubs.

[Hobby]

When were any normal members solicited for articles / help with activities? Not often if ever. I can't remember when I was last asked for anything.

Both of two Monstros I have since I joined asked for articles, as has this Forum and the FB page...

Trouble is, same as several other clubs I am a member of, there are many people who complain but very few who actually DO anything! You hit the nail on the head in point 2, though I'd lose the word "some"!

I am too early into ownership to send in anything useful at the moment, but I will when I have something to write, just as I have for a couple of other clubs.

[Nick RS]

Similar to Hobby I am relatively fresh on the Maestro and Montego scene having bought my second one last year following a 20 odd year gap from the first. I've come from owning a BMC Landcrab which survives in quite small numbers and has the support of a great club behind it to keep the cars going.

Being new, I am not aware of the recent history behind the M&M club so my observations are really at face value.

1. We don't have a stash of parts. For whatever reason they were sold and so members need to look to Autojumbles, eBay, fellow members and others to source bits for cars. In an ideal world someone would have a lock-up full of the parts we need and might be able to turn a small profit on them. Jeff explained that the previous holder wanted their space back and with no-one willing or able to take them on the parts had to go. I'll live with that as the deed is done and I won't lament over what might have been as there is no point. The obvious downside is that when you need something it may take a while to track the part down. When I MOT'd the Maestro the tester was suspicious of the fuel filler neck but let it pass as it was covered in underseal and he couldn't see an actual hole. If the car had failed it would have been off the road for over six months as that is how long it took me to get a replacement. With the scarcity of this item the few that did appear on eBay made massive money. I ended up with a used one that will require some fettling before it goes in. I'm interested in whatever can be done with parts and will have a chat with someone at one of the shows over the Summer but at this stage I have no expertise or special knowledge. I hope that between us we find away to stop cars being off the road through a lack of available parts.

2. Monstro. I am impressed with the latest issue, there is something for everyone. I also know how much work goes into producing a club magazine and how difficult it is to get good copy to include in the next issue. I'm sure there is an article in all of us, including me, and I'll write mine at some point this year. Like Hobby I am still a bit fresh to add stuff in. If there isn't sufficient content then there is little point in producing a quarterly magazine; as a compromise I think the bulletin is a good idea which can also be distributed quickly.

3. Membership. I am happy to access the resources on this forum and get access to some of the events at cheap or free rates and meet other members. The £18 is worth it for that in my view. If you never looked on here, and didn't go to any the the shows or gatherings then maybe it isn't worth it and I would understand someone who felt that.

4. Updated website. We haven't seen this yet so it is hard to express an opinion. My wish list would be something that is easy to Navigate, has good quality links and is full of articles and features that include old brochures and historical stuff, a vehicle register, technical articles, shop, parts listing, classifieds and this forum amongst others. I look forward to seeing what is developed. I don't use Facebook or any of that sort of thing and would rather that it wasn't adopted as the main means of communication - I may be in a minority, not sure.

5. My opportunity to have an input is at the AGM or other meetings. I didn't go this year so I won't take issue with what was agreed to in my name. Because of that, what I have written above is just the opinion of one individual and not a want list for or a critique the committee.


Nick

[maestro dave]

Whatever happens in the future I will still pay my membership and support the club .

[E_T_V]

Rimmers do offer discounts as I get them. Mind you I am a regular and also a member of other local clubs.

Sorry, I should probably say people may get discounts but clubs generally don't. Or at least they didn't do when I last asked, but then that was quite a few years ago now I confess.

[Yorks-MGZS180]

Metros; and local meetings

Morning All

I like the idea mentioned above somewhere of inviting Metro owners to join us (then we become the 'MMM Owners Club'?)

With interest in 1980s 'classics' supposedly on the rise, but usable examples being thin on the ground, a club which caters for all three of the 1980s AR 'M' cars seems a good idea?

I have signed up to the Metro Owners Club forum, so they are still in existence, but like us, posts are by a few folk and overall not as active as other make/model fora.

Anyway that's a subject for discussion here and among the committee. An approach could be made to the Metro fraternity (as long as they don't feel we're taking them over)

Meanwhile another idea....

I checked the forum usage stats, and there are 20 forum members who have been active over the last couple of months in Yorkshire & Lancashire (there may be more, but some people don't supply any personal details on their profile)

Yorks-MGZS180
Tony
Edders
Austin-Rover
russellg
toonarf
GForce
Mrjones
Deutsch
John205
Normanmg2000
H48HPE
Dieselden
D87SMW
Benjyp10
LukeG83
Mark Williams
Carlberry64
Mat_C
Bigcrt

How about we have a go at having a meeting this Summer? My calculations show that a point roughly equidistant between the Lancashire coast, and the Yorkshire coast (there are members at each edge of the country) is about Huddersfield. I know there was a South Yorks group, but membership seemed to be about 4 or 5, and I'm not sure it has met in recent years?

I don't mean to step on the committee's toes (we are told they have various plans to improve/expand the club), but the best way of increasing interest and activity in the club is more face to face get togethers.

Any thoughts?

Andrew

[Beaker]

Not sure why some people are complaining about the loss of the spare parts, we have a double garage full of them yet no-one wants to pay money for them.

[seacow]

Morning All

I like the idea mentioned above somewhere of inviting Metro owners to join us (then we become the 'MMM Owners Club'?)

With interest in 1980s 'classics' supposedly on the rise, but usable examples being thin on the ground, a club which caters for all three of the 1980s AR 'M' cars seems a good idea?

I have signed up to the Metro Owners Club forum, so they are still in existence, but like us, posts are by a few folk and overall not as active as other make/model fora.

Anyway that's a subject for discussion here and among the committee. An approach could be made to the Metro fraternity (as long as they don't feel we're taking them over)



Meanwhile another idea....

I checked the forum usage stats, and there are 20 forum members who have been active over the last couple of months in Yorkshire & Lancashire (there may be more, but some people don't supply any personal details on their profile)

Yorks-MGZS180
Tony
Edders
Austin-Rover
russellg
toonarf
GForce
Mrjones
Deutsch
John205
Normanmg2000
H48HPE
Dieselden
D87SMW
Benjyp10
LukeG83
Mark Williams
Carlberry64
Mat_C
Bigcrt

How about we have a go at having a meeting this Summer? My calculations show that a point roughly equidistant between the Lancashire coast, and the Yorkshire coast (there are members at each edge of the country) is about Huddersfield. I know there was a South Yorks group, but membership seemed to be about 4 or 5, and I'm not sure it has met in recent years?

I don't mean to step on the committee's toes (we are told they have various plans to improve/expand the club), but the best way of increasing interest and activity in the club is more face to face get togethers.

Any thoughts?

Andrew

Great idea Andrew - I am Scotland based but links to Lancashire so depending on dates may be able to gate crash!

[seacow]

Morning All

I like the idea mentioned above somewhere of inviting Metro owners to join us (then we become the 'MMM Owners Club'?)

With interest in 1980s 'classics' supposedly on the rise, but usable examples being thin on the ground, a club which caters for all three of the 1980s AR 'M' cars seems a good idea?

I have signed up to the Metro Owners Club forum, so they are still in existence, but like us, posts are by a few folk and overall not as active as other make/model fora.

Anyway that's a subject for discussion here and among the committee. An approach could be made to the Metro fraternity (as long as they don't feel we're taking them over)

Meanwhile another idea....

I checked the forum usage stats, and there are 20 forum members who have been active over the last couple of months in Yorkshire & Lancashire (there may be more, but some people don't supply any personal details on their profile)

Yorks-MGZS180
Tony
Edders
Austin-Rover
russellg
toonarf
GForce
Mrjones
Deutsch
John205
Normanmg2000
H48HPE
Dieselden
D87SMW
Benjyp10
LukeG83
Mark Williams
Carlberry64
Mat_C
Bigcrt

How about we have a go at having a meeting this Summer? My calculations show that a point roughly equidistant between the Lancashire coast, and the Yorkshire coast (there are members at each edge of the country) is about Huddersfield. I know there was a South Yorks group, but membership seemed to be about 4 or 5, and I'm not sure it has met in recent years?

I don't mean to step on the committee's toes (we are told they have various plans to improve/expand the club), but the best way of increasing interest and activity in the club is more face to face get togethers.

Any thoughts?

Andrew

Great idea Andrew and certainly no stepping on toes - we are looking at ways to support more local meets. I am Scotland based but have links in the North West so depending on dates may gate crash!

[Sussex Pete]

Not sure why some people are complaining about the loss of the spare parts, we have a double garage full of them yet no-one wants to pay money for them.

Is it OK then if someone enquires about spares that we put them in touch with you?

[Jeff Turbo]

Not sure why some people are complaining about the loss of the spare parts, we have a double garage full of them yet no-one wants to pay money for them.

Yeah, don't know why they've not sold. If I wanted I'd have snapped them up

[Beaker]

Is it OK then if someone enquires about spares that we put them in touch with you?

Of course.