Do you realy love me

[TLC]

This will rattle a few cages!!!!!!!!!! why when members are suppoesd to love there cars, spending huge amounts of time and money on them,do they sell them?If the tin worm is bad or it needs to much spending on them to get it thjrough the mot you see it for sale.It is so easy to buy to many cars that we cannot afford to do what we want on all of them as your monny is then spread to thinly .you should be realistic in what you can do.Or can it be boradom ?whats the next project?:laugh:

[D87SMW]

This will rattle a few cages!!!!!!!!!! why when members are suppoesd to love there cars, spending huge amounts of time and money on them,do they sell them?If the tin worm is bad or it needs to much spending on them to get it thjrough the mot you see it for sale.It is so easy to buy to many cars that we cannot afford to do what we want on all of them as your monny is then spread to thinly .you should be realistic in what you can do.Or can it be boradom ?whats the next project?:laugh:

From experience, it's usually impulse purchases. I for one have one car I will be keeping as long as possible and this is the one I do love. Of course I spend some time and money maintaining and improving the other cars I've had before selling them. I can't say as I've ever spent huge amounts of time and money on a restoration, I suppose this is what you refer to.

People who have spent X amount of time and money restoring a Maestro or Montego before selling them are doing some good to be honest. If they aren't kept, that just means there are more good examples out there.

[Miracle maestro]

Looking long term, the owners I admire most are those who are looking after their cars properly.

ie no longer see Maestro/montegos as everyday runabouts but rather have found a really good example, and only use it in the summer as a show car.

Realistically how many maestro's/montego's do you know that will make old age if they continue to be used as they are today?

I can only think of a few

Personally I'm as guilty as the next man/woman for using my maestro until it died -and was un economic to repair. I hold my hands up as guilty but hope readers of this thread will learn from my mistake and now think about putting good examples away.

[Austin-Rover]

I like to think I don't buy cars as a 'regular' thing. Recently, I have only bought out of necessity. The last two cars I sold I did my best to find them the best new owners I could. My Ledbury cost me too much on insurance so I decided to sell. I papered that car and spent a lot on keeping it in tip top shape. It went to a new owner who I knew would appreciate it. My 1.3 Montego also went to a good new home. I couldn't afford to continue with the restoration work it needed.

I also use my cars 365 days a year, in all weathers and I still manage to keep them looking great. They are perfectly capable of this despite being 20 and 22 years old respectively.

Of course people impulse buy. But if that impulse purchase saves a car from an imminent date with the crusher and buys it extra time until it can find a permanent home, then is that so bad? No.

[TLC]

Mines been in use every day since 1988,unless theres been a problem and not many considering 277849 miles and some TLC.It will i hope still be runing long past the total restoration of my first car of 1979 a Triumph Dolomite which is slowly progresing forward.

[Ed]

You all know that in the past I have been putty in the hands of a Monty needing rescue. I have had countless Montys in the past, most of which were kept on the road longer because I gave them that chance. Sadly many are no longer with us but I am pleased that many of my best previous Montys are still with us. My Countryman is happy trundling its way round Bristol, my Twin HL is happy with Rich and even the Time Warp Maestro is still with us, dispite some worrying rust causing problems.

My current HL and HLS Montys were both rescues. My HLS literally came from the scrapyard and the HL was scheduled for an appointment with the scrap man had I not collected it four days before hand. My HL is not going anywhere, sure there has been the odd occasion when I have thought I'd have to part with it but I think it is destined to stay with me. It is pampered, spoiled and put away over winter. There is no rot on it now, and I don't expect there to be while I own it.

The HLS is a different story. I always wanted an HLS because of how rare they were and how heavily loaded they were with extras. However, in recent days, I have discovered just how bad the bodywork is in places and its now questionable as to whether it can properly be repaired. I don't want to give up on it but we have to draw the line somewhere?

How far should we go to keep a rare model from dying?

[Guest]

The timewarp is stored away in a garage and has a new front end ie wings and bonnet and front bumper all from a scrapped car (ok it was a rare mg maestro 1600, but that car was beyond saving!!!! you have to draw the line at that much rot) the timewarp will be making a comeback in the spring and it will never be scrapped..... I have saved a car like (ed) from the scrapyard ie E447 YNO, but I knew with the mileage I do yearly (40,000) that it wouldn't be in that condition for ever and it went to a good home and has recently been on ebay and looks better than ever. It was the first car we waxoiled and that has paid off and is still low mileage. I have been through a few.... had to scrap a few due to engine failure etc..... but have never scrapped a car due to having no time for it.... I know recently that the monty vp estate had to go i even started putting things right with her, but that was due to circumstances beyond my control! I did my upmost to try and find someone to take her on..... should I have got the car (yes) my only regret is that it will not be mot'd ever again and has been stripped to be used as a van until it goes bang.

[Guest]

'I papered that car and spent a lot on keeping it in tip top shape.'
wow, that's devotion! I find painting it is usually sufficient:laugh:

[Guest]

This will rattle a few cages!!!!!!!!!! why when members are suppoesd to love there cars, spending huge amounts of time and money on them,do they sell them?If the tin worm is bad or it needs to much spending on them to get it thjrough the mot you see it for sale.It is so easy to buy to many cars that we cannot afford to do what we want on all of them as your monny is then spread to thinly .you should be realistic in what you can do.Or can it be boradom ?whats the next project?:laugh:

You`ve just described me perfectly! I`ve got so many cars here that instead of working on one at a time I have about 4 that all need urgent attention and only one just about fit enough for daily use.
Doesn`t stop me buying other cars and tat though:laugh:

[G51 NAV]

I theoretically have the room to keep 4 Maestro-sized cars on my property, at a push. But I know I cannot feasibly look after than many, nor do I have enough money to do so. In truth I already have one-too-many old cars: since buying the VP in June the small percentage of my time & disposable income that I can say is ringfenced for car-maintenance & repairs is now split between three cars not two. I am not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.

There are a number of jobs I intended carrying out on the Turbo this year that have been shelved because I bought the VP. It's a moot point whether I should have even bought the VP at all, but at least in buying it from David Reeves I spared the car from ebay and a potential fate-worse-than-death in the hands of some nutter who would have just ran it to the ground.

The Turbo is the car I cosset the most. Not just because it's a Turbo but because I feel incredibly honoured to have found one that had already been so well looked after that I feel almost contracted to continue the good work. It is taxed from April to September inclusive and typically covers around 200-300 miles in that time.

The VP is a recent impulse-purchase bought when I wasn't even actively looking for another car at all. I'm not even sure I have a real use for it. There are a number of niggly jobs which need doing that blot its copybook in terms of preventing it from being perfect which, if it was someone's sole pride and joy, would get done. There's no denying that I am concerned that both my time and my money are spit too many ways.

[Simon]

I can realistically only look after one car at a time properly. A car needs using every day. I obtained my Maestro free of charge in 1998 but over the years have given it some TLC. In late 2003 the bodywork etc got so bad that the choice was: Bite the bullet and restore, or scrap. I chose the former and spent a fortune.

[steve smith]

well just look at me i have 3 early montys and only one is in every day use the other 2 are in storeage but one may be sold soon so watch this space i try and keep them all in running order and all moted which they all are just one isnt as only just got it which is my 1.6 sl estate soon to be a 2.0 DSL estate this car will then be used every day as cheap to run i love my cars and only get rid if i really have to .

[D813YBB]

Simon

Do I detect a hint of regret when you say you spent a fortune on a restoration? My car is coming to the stage where I'll have to choose between running it into the ground or restoring it. With the up coming winter I imagine the body work will really suffer after the deterioration of last winter. Should I spend a sack load of money on it for sentimental reasons or buy another one off ebay for a few hundred quid with better bodywork? In hindsight would you have still had yours restored?

[Maria]

Interesting thread. I have to admit to being something of a stockpiler of hard cases. I have spent FAR more money than is at all sensible on my camper van to get that to be what is currently the household's only roadworthy example of Maestrokind. I have spent some serious cash on a number of occasions getting work done on the Vanden Plas too. Currently, it's sitting sadly in my garage, with things piled in and around it, and I don't have the space to work on it. BUT, while it might be the sensible thing to do to scrap it, it was my first car, and to me, it's worth as much time, money and effort as it takes. And while it might not be roadworthy now, at least it's not in a scrapyard. Similarly, I have 2 turbos, which need some attention, but while I have them, they're not being scrapped, mullered, crashed etc and I can guarantee their future. The other 2 1.3s are of no real value - well, maybe the HLE. However, they both belonged to my parents, and hold too many good memories to simply get rid of. The HLE will take a LOT of work to restore, but I fully intend to do whatever is necessary. The other 1.3 ... well, I have plans and dreams for that one too. One day. And the final example is the racing MG1600 ... and that doesn't really count!

So, that makes 6 Maestros, 5 of them dormant, but at least guaranteed a crusher-free foreseeable future!

I count myself lucky to have a Rover 400 to take the daily strain, and enough space at my house to keep all these cars. Garage space for all of them is in the pipeline. Oh, and I get far too sentimentally attached to my cars, and haven't managed to sell one ever!

[Simon]

Simon

Do I detect a hint of regret when you say you spent a fortune on a restoration? Should I spend a sack load of money on it for sentimental reasons or buy another one off ebay for a few hundred quid with better bodywork? In hindsight would you have still had yours restored?

No regrets! WHAT'S MY CAR LIKE,EVERYBODY he shouted!
I could have got another off ebay - I had a serious think over a black Maestro Advantage a while back, but I love my Mayfair, I've known it from new and I consider the expense to be worth it in my eyes. I'd do the same again. It doesn't make financial sense one little bit. Only you can make your decision to restore, patch up or scrap your car.