Membership Renewals

[Gareth]

The MMOC has passed a motion to raise membership costs by £1 to make the National Rally free.

Now, this makes the membership renewal for the UK cost £18 which for the "largest one marque car club" isn't an awful lot.

However, I know I won't be able to go to the National Rally this year, for the same reason as I didn't attend last years - it's too far away.

If it comes around locally every 4 years, then that makes the "entry fee" for the National £4, asssuming the renewal isn't raised next year.

Treasurer Martin Flanders resigned over this issue - so where do you stand?

[Chris]

I havn't heard about this

Has the march/april minor matters come out yet? Because I havn't got a copy yet.

I doubt I will be able to go this year, but how much is the entry fee anyway?

Cheers,
Chris

[olonas]

Looks like the accountants are trying to sneak this one through. Sorry to be such a killjoy but if it goes through I will not be renewing my future membership.
Why should the members who, for whatever reason, cannot or do not attend the rally subsidise those who can/do?

[Cam]

largest one marque car club

What about MG???

Anyway, I think we should be free to choose, and like you Gareth I did not attend last year due to the distance.

(the article is on page 8 of the March/April 2003 edition of Minor Matters - mine arrived Friday)

I don't think that it will suit a lot of members, so we should have the choice to vote officially if they wish to change it.

I will be renewing my membership, even if it doubled, because as Gareth says, £17 or £18 a year is not much, and I will not haggle over £1.

I know that there is an important principle involved, and the club should not take liberties, but not renewing my membership will affect me more, so, no I won't be cutting my nose off to spite my face.

[Gareth]

Apologies, the above should read: "one of the largest classic car clubs" (Minor Matters, March/April; p.9).

Mine arrived on Saturday morning, so they are in the system...

I have renewed my subscription. Well, I will have, when I get it posted, and I have enclosed a cheque for the full £18...

When you get your renewal, on the back of the form there are a few lines printed for additional information. I would recommend airing any grievances there. That's what I have done.

There is no question of my cancelling my membership because of all the benefits of belonging to such a club. Had they proposed a raise of £1 to cover admin. or whatever, and this was ratified by the annual accounts summary (which I probably should read in more detail than I do...) then I wouldn't object. However I dislike this "back door" form of funding.

Chris, the Rally, for those showing a current membership card at the door, is free. For those not doing so, it will be at the standard rate of entry into Knebworth. For £1 I believe that would be quite a saving, and for those who travel country-wide to go to rallies, it must be quite an incentive. However, I was so busy last year that I attended no rallies whatsoever. There were a couple that I could have gone to, but didn't like the format.

I said at the time, and I will reiterate it, that had I lived closer to Harewood, I still would not have attended the rally because I didn't like the theme. Under the new regime, had that been my local National for the next 4 years, and I had paid for it within the membership, I would have felt a little cheated.

Anyway, I was just interested to gauge public opinion. I've had my rant, so I'll be off to the post-box.

[Cam]

Gareth,

You have brought some important points up in this thread.

Clearly the poll that you included show a bit of a landslide in our favour!!

You say that you did not like the format of the Rallies. I totally agree. I did not like the format either.

e.g. the 'Western' theme of the Harewood rally. Why??? It is a car show and I would love to have gone and seen all the Moggies, but quite frankly the 'wild west' theme was a LOT off putting.



As well as being a little embarrassing and scary !!!!

Do we need to have these extra bits included - it all seems a little childish to me, as if we need to be entertained constantly for having a short attention span.

If grown men wish to parade around in public dressed as a barmaid then clearly they are in the wrong type of club!!!

The Mini clubs are full of boy racers and lager louts.

The MG clubs are full of 65+ gents dressed in tweed and flying helmets telling you that your MG is not a 'real' one.

The Morris Minor club seems to be full of VERY strange individuals (present company excepted!!).

There's just no happy medium.

What's wrong with a bunch of blokes looking around cars and going to autojumbles, why do we have to have additional themes?? If we need something to fill time gaps then why not something car related like autotests or 'fastest service competitions' etc.

As usual, no member consultation from the organisers.

[moggyman999]

I think the cost is more than enough for what u get out of it. Im not a member "yet" but assuming the club is like other car clubs, Most things are jacked up by the people who are involved in their local branches & they pay for there activities. If the club wants to pay for free drinks down the pub on local meets then that is fine! lol The club insurance scheme was dearer than mine & ive got free breakdown cover! I was a member 4 yrs ago & didnt realy think it was worth the money. Now ive got a moggy im only joining to mingle with other owners. The technical help is always invaluable, but then u can get all the help u need on here! I mite do the london to brighton run. Is that a good one to do?

[Cam]

Lee,

I am quite happy with the value for money of the club, as are most members I would think.

I would love to do the London to Brighton run, as it is supposed to be very good. BUT for me, Gareth and Ray (and a few others). It is a much bigger run to get down to London than the actual London to Brighton bit!!

Having said that I did the Riviera run with the Mini club twice (1995 and 1996) and that was absolutely brilliant!! The run itself was fantastic with the motorway completely awash with one model of car!!! That run was from London to Newquay (800 mile round trip for me!!) and the events in Newquay were well organised.

I must really make an effort to go to some events this year, as I have not been to any yet!!

[moggyman999]

by the way cam u look very fetching in that outfit

I agree with cam about having a happy medium... I like to look at other cars & compare them, not put them down & say that is the wrong washer under that nut lol. A chat, drink etc is all u need. Also cruisin around in convoy sound s cool!! lol

[Willie]

Surely you cannot think that £18 is too dear for membership.
Come on, it includes six issues of the magazine and you can
easily save a fortune on the spares listed in there.
I agree with the remarks about club insurance though,they are much
more expensive than my present specialist AND do you realise that
they will not insure any Minors unless they are garaged overnight?
When I purchased a second Minor they cancelled my original cars
cover,after four years without a claim,because it would have to park
on my drive! I don't consider that a good club insurance scheme.

[Willie]

Forgot to say that I certainly do not think that we should all subsidise
the National Rally. I only attend one (the Kent Branches Hop) because
it always includes a convoy run of about an hour and a half. Much more
enjoyable than staying parked on a field all day. I don't expect anybody
to pay the entry fee for me!

[Robins]

I supose £18 is good compared to the MG owners club at £28 I think I paid. And £32 for the Triumph club.

Willie, I'm with the club insurance and none of my moggies are in a garage, all on the drive, and they know this. They did double the premium this year, so after a good shout down the phone they lowered it to what it was last year but couldn't tell me why it went up in the first place. Bloomin insurance just a pain in the rear, got to watch them though or they take you for a ride.

[Willie]

ROBINS....very interesting. As I said they actually refused to cover
my Minor because it was not garaged! I have seen no notices from
the club which say this policy has been altered? You say that they
know your car is not garaged? I would check that carefully for your
own peace of mind.

[Cam]

Willie and Robins,

Is this the AON club insurance??

[Willie]

Yes, it's a good few years since I was refused continuance of cover
but I believe that the original scheme had just been taken over by
another company. Cannot remember the details now but as AON
say that they have been associated with the MMOC for fifteen years
it must have been them. They did me a favour as I now have agreed
value cover for much less than I was paying before. However,tohave
had two Minors neither of which were insured through the owners club
seems indicative of a failure to me? Perhaps the club scheme is good
for younger members?

[rayofleamington]

On the theme of the 'Free' rally. I am 110% in favour of it.
It was covered in latest MM but also minutes from AGM were printed in the previous one, so it should be no surprise!

I think a free rally would encourage a bigger turn out as we will all have paid for it.
An increased turn out would be fantastic and help raise the status of the club even higher than most others.
If it also encourages a handfull of people who would never attend any rally at all, then it would also be fantastic.

For £17 the club does an amazing amount:
1) The magazine alone is worth more than the £17 (read by the majority?)
2) The discounted spares (not used by all)
3) Club spares (not used by all)
4) Discounted club insurance (not used by all)
5) Free use of the message board, including free ads!! (used by a only a minority)
6) Well organised rallies and shows. Local/National, small, large and occasionally combined. (not used by all)
7) Branch organisations to allow local meets and assistance. (not used by all)
Discounted classic car mags (not used by many)
9) Discounted RAC. (I'm in the AA....)

The sum of these things and all the other services we get from the committee + helpers is absolutely marvellous, especially as much of it is done soley for the love of the club, not for money. There are so many things but surely nobody uses all so does it not average out???
I'm proud to give an extra pound towards the national rally as it is another string to the club's bow, even if I can't get there.

I could not help the club in the way these people do, as I would not find the time and therefore I for one will never be grudging of the efforts of those in the club who do!!

I was deeply saddened to read of Mr.Flanders proposed departure. Although he may not have agreed with the AGM vote, it's a real shame when a democratic decision making process can cause a rift like that.
I hope the free rally is a major success and I'll make an effort to attend, but if it isn't the decision can always be reversed and the club will live through it.

Willie - My Minors are not garaged, but they are parked off road, and it only added a small premium. Could it have been your area code that caused the problem? I've not heard of that problem before on the club insurance.

[Cam]

I thought that AON used AXA now?? They did with me, but I said that the car was garaged overnight.

I had no problems with them, but by coincidence I had my Rover insured with AXA also. I don't know if this had any bearing??

[Willie]

RAY....you could be right about the London postcode but this certainly
was not mentioned at the time despite my sending a protest letter
to the editor, and it is not mentioned in the present literature.
I now pay a premium of £60-90, including tax, for mileage of 4,500
annually,with agreed value of £4,500-00 AND if I prang it and wish
to repair it myself they will pay for the parts and pay me 50%of the
going labour rate!!! I think that is pretty reasonable.

[rayofleamington]

Thats a nice deal Willie!
I'm on a 6K mileage with 2 drivers and more than 1 car on the same policy - Each extra Minor costs me a £5 fee to insure.
It was more than your 60 to 90, but it's not like for like and I'm happy with it.
If we prang ours, I'd be happy for a Minor centre to do it as they are only average to start with. For those with a top car that's been their own work, it's understandable why you'd DIY so you deserve to get paid for it.

I'm in my early 30's... not wanting to ask how old you are but wonder if age helps to give a cheaper premium than I get?

[Chris Morley]

I'm with Gareth on this topic. I guess a small minority of regular national rally goers will get an advantage from the other member's pockets.

However it's not a resigning matter. You could argue that the users of this messageboard get an advantage that most MMOC members don't enjoy.

I was totally alienated by that silly 'Wild West' theme last year. Thankfully there's been nothing similar proposed this year (I hope!). However, for the fourth year running I'm working the weekend of the national rally. How do they do it?

Perhaps we should arrange an alternative messageboard rally and ask for funding? Not with the idea of ours cars being judged (especially mine), but for the members to meet up and go for a drive?