Who could refuse this offer?

[Peter C]

 

[Asimo]

Wot, no pdm?

[mercrocker]

That is indeed a nice offer.   Thank you.   Er, could I have the PA instead?

[sierraman]

You could spend your money welding up this Maestro for a year and then at the end we'll have it back.

[ProgRocker]

Or whoever gets the chance to be it's custodian can stick 30,000 miles plus on it.

[Bradders59]

30,000 miles in a Maestro ? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.   

[ProgRocker]

30,000 miles in a Maestro ? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. 

 

[AlabamaShrimp]

30,000 miles in a Maestro ? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

[anonymous user]

You won't get the Maestro, but will wake up in a bath of ice missing a kidney

[Felly Magic]

Tanya Field is one of the heads of the Maestro club IIRC

[scdan4]

Good on them.

 

I think that’s brilliant. I hope some keen young motorist does do 30,000 miles in that year. They’ll use it and love it. And be heartbroken when they have to give it back.

 

I assume it comes with a fresh mot and you have to give it back when/as that runs out, so no welding, just running repairs.

[barrett]

I'm not sure why this winds me up so much, but it really does more than almost anything.

 

This 'loan scheme' started with a Model A Ford. The idea was to encourage young people who might not otherwise have the chance to have the use of a Vintage car and hopefully engender some enthusiasm for elderly vehicles in the next generation yadda yadda. Sounds like a nice theory, but the chap who ended up with the car is the son of somebody well known in old car circles. Surely if your dad already owns several Vintage cars you don't need any further encouragement? Oh, and that's not to mention the fact this guy could easily afford to buy several Model As of his own if he really wanted. So who benefits?

 

The Maestro is equally stupid because why go through all that bother to get the use of a £500 car? Anyone who is under 25 but has a garage either lives at home - and if your parents want you to fill their garage with an old car, surely you can fill it with your own £500 old car? - or is financially independent enough to buy their own car. And if you're paying to insure, store and maintain a car then pay for your own car and at least you get something at the end of it. As far as I can tell, this scheme basically gets the owner of an old car free garaging and maintenance for a year, whilst the 'young enthusiast' basically gets nothing they couldn't do on their own.

 

Bah humbug

[Peter C]

The little 1.3L Maestro certainly looked very tidy, as did Tanya’s other cars, which included a mint Montego Estate diesel. Not my cup of tea but it sure is a great way of introducing someone to charismatic classic motoring.

[Squire_Dawson]

I know of at least one other club doing the same thing, with a very nice late 50's car. I am also of the opinion that anybody with a genuine interest would buy one themselves, and then there's the risk of having a nice car possibly come a cropper in some way from a 'borrower' who doesn't know how to treat an old car... but maybe that's just me being skeptical and negative. But it is true that some clubs are bequeathed cars and they are left with them... often a close inner circle of the club are the only ones who have access to it and use it, and don't like the rest of the membership asking inconvenient questions about it.

[flat4alfa]

Why did all this 30k come from?

 

Peter James policies are more likely maxed at 3k a year

[BorniteIdentity]

I think they’re trying something different. In my line of work, that’s something to ALWAYS be encouraged. So what if it goes wrong? We had a go - tried something new - took a new approach - turned things on their head - so what if it fails?

 

I doubt very much they’re expecting someone to plough thousands into someone else’s car, only for them to take it back at the end. How many times have we found great cars on here that nobody wants, as we’re all full?

 

If it enthuses just one more person into shit old cars, then I’m all for it. If it gives someone who’s on their arse a leg up, or someone who’s ill a bit of focus - then that’s the panacea.

[The Moog]

If you don't try you will never know. Far to easy to cynical about things

[Noel Tidybeard]

damn i can't fit anything else in my garage- which is an arse cos said garage used to be home to a Y reg Maestro 1.6 HLS so i know it would fit

[sierraman]

I've got to say some of my happiest times have been struggling away in shit old cars. There's nothing like doing a massive trip in a banger, the unknown of will it go bang at the next junction or the enormous satisfaction of doing 500 miles in one stab in a £300 car. Flying past the dimwits in their new Audi's on the hard shoulder, the lack of worry or care that someone might scratch it or if you have spent all your money on beer you'll have no worries about repayments.

 

I grew up in that environment, we always had old cars, even the breakdowns were memorable, many of my fondest memories are helping my dad with the car, can still see him glassfibring the holes in the doors on his Sierra when I'd be about 7-8.

 

Sadly its not about that these days, its more about giving off an image to people. Getting by or 'good enough' isn't what the youth of today want. It has to be 'the best' straight away, as sad as it is I can't see the queue being massive to own the Maestro for a year. That saddens me tremendously as they don't know what they've missed out on.

[scruff]

I've got to say some of my happiest times have been struggling away in shit old cars. There's nothing like doing a massive trip in a banger, the unknown of will it go bang at the next junction or the enormous satisfaction of doing 500 miles in one stab in a £300 car. Flying past the dimwits in their new Audi's on the hard shoulder, the lack of worry or care that someone might scratch it or if you have spent all your money on beer you'll have no worries about repayments.

Can someone keep this for the next time we have a wanky "what is Autoshite" thread?

[MorrisItalSLX]

This would be prefect for me if I wanted to spend some time in the UK, no need to get a hire car and I get the shite experience without the hassle of ownership!

 

Sadly, I am way too skint to be thinking bout such things. 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Mixed feelings.  Fortunately enough, I don't have access to a garage - otherwise I might be up for this caper.  On the other hand, I see what people have said about paying for maintenance, etc.

 

My abiding memories of Maestros are of my Dad's face when we got to the car hire centre in Stromness off the ferry in summer 2000.  I was 12.  We'd been promised a brand new Renault but ended up with a 1300 Maestro.  He was devastated and angry but there was no way around it at the time and our accommodation was right up in Birsay, so we couldn't faff around with it.

 

He backed it into a gatepost one afternoon.  Got out to check the damage and got back in with a shrug and just said:

 

'Value has probably gone up.  Knocked some rust off.' and continued driving.

 

My brother and I penned the 'Austin Maestro song,' which I still recall to this day.  One day I'll record it and pop it up here.  We sang it every time my Dad got into the car and swore at it.

 

Three weeks in that thing and it was glorious.  Of course, I never got to drive it and part of me is now curious.  My Dad wasn't fond of the gear change in particular.  I suspect if he'd been given a good one that was newer (i.e. we'd been there ten years earlier!) it wouldn't have been so bad...

[mk2_craig]

I'm not sure why this winds me up so much, but it really does more than almost anything.

 

This 'loan scheme' started with a Model A Ford. The idea was to encourage young people who might not otherwise have the chance to have the use of a Vintage car and hopefully engender some enthusiasm for elderly vehicles in the next generation yadda yadda. Sounds like a nice theory, but the chap who ended up with the car is the son of somebody well known in old car circles. Surely if your dad already owns several Vintage cars you don't need any further encouragement? Oh, and that's not to mention the fact this guy could easily afford to buy several Model As of his own if he really wanted. So who benefits?

 

The Maestro is equally stupid because why go through all that bother to get the use of a £500 car? Anyone who is under 25 but has a garage either lives at home - and if your parents want you to fill their garage with an old car, surely you can fill it with your own £500 old car? - or is financially independent enough to buy their own car. And if you're paying to insure, store and maintain a car then pay for your own car and at least you get something at the end of it. As far as I can tell, this scheme basically gets the owner of an old car free garaging and maintenance for a year, whilst the 'young enthusiast' basically gets nothing they couldn't do on their own.

 

Bah humbug

The age requirement is 25 or over (presumably for insurance reasons) - does that put a different slant on things?

[Six-cylinder]

I love the idea of driving round in a Maestro for a year.

 

Having the use of a different car that I have not had to invest money in and will simply be returned without having make a decision if I want to keep it sounds great to me.

 

Over 25 √

Care for car √

Use of garage X

[jonny69]

Council lock-up garages near me are about £14 a week. I gather that’s on the expensive side. You don’t need to be a tenant to get one. Just saying.

 

We need some more rubbish like this in the fold - it’ll help keep our standards down.

[Bradders59]

You won't get the Maestro, but will wake up in a bath of ice missing a kidney

 

I wouldn't mind as long as they take the left one. It hasnt worked since 12/ 10 /76.

If they take the right one, I'm fucked.