Ledbury Maestros

[Guest]

Hi everyone. I’m new to this forum. I hope you are all well. I’m really impressed by everyone’s encyclopaedic knowledge of Maestros so I hope I don’t offend anybody with my complete naivety.

I’ve been a fan of Maestros ever since my dad bought one to replace our Marina estate in about 1984. Just for the record it was A367DNU, a 1.3L in metallic Gold. After that we went through two Montego estates and a couple of Rover 400s, and even now I’ve left the roost my dad’s still on Rovers.

Anyway, to return to my childhood, and now that I’ve got the funds to own and cherish a classic, I want to get a Maestro. I’ve been reading about the Ledbury cars, and how there should be a few out there, but not many are known to the Club. Now I know all of you would buy one if only you could find one, but I’d really like to know how I can get one too. Can anybody help? I saw a Y-reg one on Autotrader but was too slow. Does anybody know of one for sale? I know I’m not the first person to ask this, but any help would be gratefully received.

Happy Christmas,
Jim

[Beaker]

How long are you prepared to wait must be the question I ask first?

Ledburys are a bit like buses. You wait for ages then two come along at once.

However now you have alerted us to wanting one, I will most certainly keep an eye out for you.

[Beaker]

Forgot to mention Welcome to the forum and 'Merry Christmas'

[SimonR]

Welcome, Jim!

As Lindsey says above, if you're willing to wait then you'll eventually find a Ledders Maestro. However, one of the wonderful things about the Maestro is that so many were bought by elderly people that these days it's not unusual to find a 20 year old car with fewer than 30,000 miles on the clock in as good as mint condition. The best thing about this is that often these cars are the more interesting ones such as the Vanden Plas, Mayfair, HLS etc.

Whilst the Ledbury maestro is a great little car and it's great to own a Y or 51 reg Maestro, it is the most basic of them all and also has the smallest engine and lowest trim level.

If you're after a classic Maestro you may be better off with an early one!

Of course the other benefit is that people charge a premuim for the Ledders cars, whilst you can often pick up a very tidy early car for as little as a couple of hundred quid.

Take a look on the Classifieds Page and you'll see what I mean.

[Guest]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies. I can afford to wait as long as it takes. I've just said goodbye to another 80s favourite of mine, my MK1 Golf convertible, so there's a warm dry garage waiting for the right car.

I've definitely considered buying an original Maestro, and in fact my heart really lies with the late model MG's. If someone had a mint one for sale I'd be getting very excited. I only really decided to follow the Ledbury route because I want the peace of mind of a rust-free shell - I've got the time to look after a car but not to get the oxi-acetylene out.

How likely is it I can find a real blinder of an MG?

[E_T_V]

Well very generally speaking:
The older higher spec cars VDP's HLS's etc were owned by older people who looked after their cars well, garaged them etc. So you can quite often turn up a nice Austin Maestro

The MG's tended to be driven harder and as the body shell flexes to the water and rust creeps in. Saying that MG's can be owned by true enthusiasts who REALLY REALLY look after their cars. So MG's tend to either be very ratty or very nice. I think there is a nice MG for sale on here, or infact maybe two.

[Beaker]

Nice MG's tend to fetch a higher premium nowadays, but no-more than you would be paying for a Ledbury. Nice ones do come up, which have been maintained and looked after by there owner.

Which MG would you be interested in? They came in three variants, the MG1600 which is rather rarer, the 2.0 Efi, and the turbo.

As only 505 turbo models were made, perfect rust free models are likely to cost in excess of £1500 tho.

I will keep an eye out for either a ledbury or an MG for you.

[Guest]

I'd be interested in the EFi or Turbo. Will have a look in the classified section. Nothing interesting on eBay today.

[Beaker]

A quick look on adtrader has bought this up, it looks like a mistake on the year to me for that price, but perhaps it isn't, only way to tell is to give them a ring Adtrader

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be that much going at this time of the year, hopefully it will pick up in the new year.

[Guest]

A 2001 Maestro has appeared on Autotrader today. It's Left Hand Drive, so not sure if this means it was built in Ledbury.

Red, 42,000 miles, £495. Does this interest anybody?

[E_T_V]

Judging by the windscreen wipers (which are hard to see) that car might be an apple 2000 maestro rather than a ledbury one, (I donlt know if ledbury sold any cars that were left hand drive, I thought they converted them all.

[Guest]

Apple? Ledbury? This is all new to me! How many people made these things once the factory stopped?

[D87SMW]

Apple? Ledbury? This is all new to me! How many people made these things once the factory stopped?

Click here and read though this.

[Guest]

That's a great story! How cheap must Ledbury have bought them to do all that conversion work and sell them at £4995!

But where does the Apple come into it?

[D87SMW]

Apple 2000

That's a great story! How cheap must Ledbury have bought them to do all that conversion work and sell them at £4995!

But where does the Apple come into it?

Apple 2000 must have had a batch as well as Ledbury (Parkway Services). These ones weren't totally converted, i.e. still have LHD wipers and were registered on N plates, but I think this 51 reg could also be one. There was another 51 plate one for sale earlier this year.