Charles Ware

[emmerson]

Went to the Minor Centre in Bristol yesterday to collect some bits for Trefor the Traveller, and get some advise on replacing the wood. Very helpful people, and Wayne in the workshop showed me how to refit the rain channels (when the time comes--seems along time in the future just now!)
Anyway, the point of this post is that they were putting the finishing touches to a complete rebuild, which was absolutely stunning, but the toal cost was over £17,000!!! This one was going to Canada, but apparently that sort of cost is not exceptional. Great if you can afford it, but I'd be afraid to drive it. I certainly wouldn't allow my dogs in it, and as Trefor's main purpose is to transport Herself's mobility scooter and our dogs, I can't ever see him getting refurbished to that extent!
Good place to visit though.

[WPR678B]

Good place to visit though.

Couldn't agree more! I was there myself on monday and saw the traveller you speak of and must admit that it did look good. I was unaware of the price tag though!

[dunketh]

17k ... blimey.
Even if I had that sort of money to throw around I'd have to do some serious soul searching before spending it on a trav - no matter how nice it was.
I'd probably spend 2k on a 'good' minor and take the rest to JLH for the old Mad Max option of "How fast can you make it go for 15k?"

[bmcecosse]

Exactly - there is a limit to Minor 'enthusiasm'. If I had to spend that sort of money on a classic - it would be something very much faster and with a good 'name' - so it would at least hold it's value. A 17K Minor will never hold it's value. I'm afraid Mr Wares efforts are for ' Lottery Winners ' only!

[ASL642]

You could get quite a few really lovely cars for that kind of money.

[jonathon]

Well the £17K would be broken down by labour at £1974 per every 40 hours. Panels, depending on initial condition at about £800. Paint and materials £700 plus, trim, interior,chrome etc £2K, plus maybe their Series 111 kit at around £2K plus mechanicals at £2K, wood at £1500.
Add all of these together and you soon approach £17K.
Clearly the spending of this sort of money is for a limited few enthusiasts, but the car if done well should last 15-20 years, so represents good long term value, and if kept in good condition it should retain about a third of its cost, on selling.
Clearly the owner believes that they will end up with a 'really lovely' car , whish in my book is all the justification they need.

Dunketh, about 130nph, but you would then need to make it handle and stop

[emmerson]

Agreed, Jonathon, and this customer has just that - a really stunning Traveller, and if he/she has that sort of money, then why not?
I must admit, it made me feel quite envious, but I have other things to spend my money on!!

[Dean]

but I have other things to spend my money on!!

Maybe that customers wife will be thinking the same when he tells her!!!

[les]

Maybe that customers wife will be thinking the same when he tells her!!!

A friend of mine would say-- If she starts to show disapproval just mention that you don't play golf!

[grumpygrandad]

I THOUGHT I HAD HEARD THAT NEW ONES WERE BEING BUILT IN INDIA OR SOMEWHERE, WITH ALUMINIOM FRAMEING ANY ONE KNOW IF THIS IS RIGHT AND AT WHAT PRICE. OR WASI JUST DREAMING, GRANDAD

[jonathon]

Not heard of this.

[grumpygrandad]

Not heard of this.

i cant renber where i heard or read i seem to think they were building new morris and new old minis. probably i will wake up in a minute, grandad

[d_harris]

From some of the things I have heard and seen CW would not be somewhere I would get work like that done. There is only one trader who I would trust with my mog and I've told him that in the past.

[Cam]

Best bet is to go down and have a look for yourself at the quality of the work of the traders. Then have a long and detailed discussion about your needs/requirements before proceeding with any work.

That sort of money (£17k) is an awful lot to spend on a restoration of a Minor, but it all depends on the sentimental value of the vehicle involved, its rarity and of course your budget!!

[Vikki]

i think its easier to justify spending that sort of money when your completley clueless about cars... like me. plus i work a lot and would never be able to devote the time to sort my car out. my car is in with jonathon at the moment and whenever i go over to see it im more and more convinced that i could never of done it up myself. theres just so much time and knowledge that goes into it i could see why someone would pay someone else to do it all.
they are gonna have there dream car, still 17k is a hell of a lot to spend in one go, i would never do that cause i could never afford that! still i wonder how much some of you have spent on your moggys over a longer period of time?

[grumpygrandad]

it would be níce to have a classic that is absolutly prestine, also i note coments about charles ware they have been around a very long time so they must be doing something right to stay in busines so long.grandad,

[downsey]

17k is a lot?? I've seen guys over here in the US spending easily 300-500k on cars that will be luckily to 25 percent of that upon resale. In fact i once saw a BEAUTIFULLY done Nash Metropolitan. It had a big block Chevy with all the right parts . Yet at the the end of the day the guy still only had a nash metropolitan.

And personally, i dont understand spending that kind of money on a car that really has no long lasting and deep value to its owner-- true love is only found by putting in the labor yourself-the blood sweat and tears. But hey thats my two cents.

Unless you go to JLH of course, they do some fine work

[Vikki]

i agree jlh do some fine work but i do think you can really love your car even if you havent learnt how to do them up yourself yet.
the guy whos spent 17k on his car must ### love it.

[leafie]

At the national last year a guy was looking at my car and said he had just spent £5.00 short of 20k on restoring his van. I remember being quite shocked but it was his money and his van and if he gets pleasure from it I say good luck to him.

Leafie

[rayofleamington]

still i wonder how much some of you have spent on your moggys over a longer period of time?

If I priced the hours at minimum wage over the last 20 years + the money spent on purchase, tools, Mig Gas, and parts then my 15 Minors, 3 Landys etc... etc... would have cost me far far more than I like to put in writing!!
But experience is priceless ;-)