Don't want to upset anyone but....
 

I'm a newbie to the Club but have owned a 75 for the last 5years. Since I joined the Club the information, how to's and knowledge I have gained has proved invaluable. This brings me to my point . I pay £2.20 a day for a paper and £2.50 a fortnight for Private Eye and get nothing like the benefit I do from these forums which are available for 20p a week. I don't know how long the subscription has been £10 a year but I'm sure the Club could be helped by a reasonable increase which surely no reasonable member would object to. A bigger stand at NEC and maybe even a bit of help to members ( DaveLincs comes to mind ) who take the time to arrange home get togethers and the nano meets are a few things that spring to mind and other members I'm sure could suggest better uses. I understand that the Club is not there to make huge profits but a an extra fiver or tenner ain't the end of the world even to someone on Universal Credit.

Don't want to upset anybody
 

There is a donate button at the top of the page....

Some members don't pay subs for reasons of their own- are you sure you don't want to upset anybody? Let the flame war begin.

Don't want to upset anyone but....
 

No I really don't. The sum involved isn't worth getting upset about and certainly doesn't justify warfare. It was just a thought. I'm off to the shelter in my tin helmet, this is the bomber county !

Off up the steps of the Lancaster morelike :D

I don't want to upset anyone but...
 

Not that close to East Kirkby Trikey. Maybe that's a good thing ! I have no problem with not paying subs but maybe a PM to subscribers could give the option to pay more or not. Would it be ok for me to PM you sometime about T4 query?

You have to subscribe to trikey's pension fund! :D

I think your original post is a good one!

Of course..

What do you think the membership would gain by an increase in "subs"?

macafee2

I don't want to upset anyone but...
 

Thanks MSS. Always willing to Help the Aged. Must apologise to you in advance but I have to fit an in line thermostat to my CDTi ( work daily driver ) but promise never to refer to it as a mod!!!

This has not just upset but offended me. It wa such a promising start as well! :smilie_re:

Or buy shares in Mcvities!!

I don't want to upset anyone but...
 

Hi Ian. I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough about the Club to give specifics, I would be prepared to leave that to those better placed.
I was really just pointing out the incredible and vast amount of expert advice and solutions available at such a small price. I know that helping each other out is what the Club is about and there are numerous examples in many threads. I've been really impressed by the amount of parts you've supplied f.o.c from your donor car. But I digress. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more.

I don't want to upset anyone but...
 

I knew I shouldn't have told you MSS. Promise to get rid soon as feasible.
Only way I can keep earning a crust .

the d.i.y members on here appreciate the technical knowlege and knowhow on here far more than those who dont use spanners ... for whatever reasons. some of us are on very limited budget restraints only supported by basic pension . ... for whatever reasons or circumstances they find themselves which are not always their own fault. each of us have different financial circumstances so its probably a good idea to have a donate button , which i doubt is used very often at all. each to his own of course . :}

I don't want to upset anyone but...
 

Totally understand xsport. My situation is very similar and it's a shame people have to survive on such pittances.

alot of people have been caught in the private pensions changeover. i.e too old to take out a private pension plan. not enough years to pay into , plus very low wages paid to workers to support paying into a pension fund that will be of any use at all. i opted out of the state pension under maggie then lost my job. i could only pay into the scheme a very small amount monthly. i then had to rejoin the state pension scheme . my graduated pensions accrued were stood against my additional pension and reduced my income when i retired at 71 yrs old. at least the younger people now have time to build up a pension pot, something that i didnt have because of age. how can you build a pension pot on minimum wage ? members of parliament really do live in cloud cuckoo land. rant over ... as i have said before .. we all have different financial circumstances. ;)

Thank you, I did not want to make money from your kindness, that was not appropriate. I will never be rich with that attitude :)
I am a member of a number of other forums, some I guess survive via advertising, others I have no idea how they survive.
One forum has just gone to subscriptions to access some areas that were once free.

Before we agree to increased subs, we need to know what the money will be used for. Forums should be free for the most part. Paying to sell a vehicle, yep I can go with that.

As for pensions, perhaps obvious to plan for the future but when you are young it is not top of your list. Do schools teach financial planning? I was in my 40's when I considered a pension but being BT I had been in one for some 20 + years. The last few years with BT I put as much money as I was allowed into AVC's.
The minimum wage is to low. For some time now I think being in a pension scheme is automatic unless you opt out, if you can opt out, perhaps this is the thin edge of the wedge to no state pension in years to come. There is more to settled life then a pension, there is also what do you do with your money when you get it. Spend it if you need to or save it if you can afford to.

I think pension age is to high, 67, your body is on its way out. With private pensions lets look at 55 being the new retirement age. I'm sure there are reasons why this is not practicable.

macafee2

Trikey and a few others would be well worth the money too keep them on board.

Rev.

I agree, although I was only thinking of biscuits when I wrote that line.

This cannot happen for the majority because a private pension is nothing more than a long-term savings scheme where the pension funds are invested in the stock market. The majority of people do not earn enough to save a large enough pension pot from which to draw a pension over an extended period. My own feeling is that the top 20% or so of the working population will be able to retire early, as they can now, but the majority will end up working until the age of 70ish.

I just hope we don't end up with the Russian system where I believe the pensionable age is higher than the average life!

oh god I hope no recommends that last line to one of the political parties.

macafee2

i have read, but cannot say for sure if it is true or not, that from a class of 40 young pupils at infant school, that only 8-10 children actually reach retirement age. apparently down to numerous reasons which include .. disease, ill health heart/stroke etc. accidents at work or home or domestic. car accidents. suicides, drugs,alchohol abuse, murders, killed in wars etc etc .. the list goes on. most of these people never receive any state pension at all. so many elderly have died during covid the pension burden cost must be reduced dramatically, but still they want to reduce an already poorest paid pension in europe. the other thing that also is unbalanced is that companies are unfair to pay x number of pounds to high salary earners monthly and very small amounts to those on low wages who have had little but no chance to either save or pay large amounts monthly into pension pots. is that equality ? in france they retire with decent pensions at 61 yrs of age. im not a political animal but things need to be adressed somewhat. i pay my subs on here , never missed a payment. the way i look at it , is that the club saves me money. and of course keeps my pride and joy on the road. ... :bowdown:

Hi Pete.
Personally i think £10 to pay if you want to is enough, because any information you gain from these threads or posts on here you can also get from other places for free, and remember added by members not the club it's self.

So it's the members that make the club, not the club that make the members, quite a lot of members whom do not subscribe add a lot of great knowledge to the threads as well as those who subscribe.

The subs are a personal choice and that is the way it should be, where the subs go as been talked about for ever and 99.9% of the time ends up with members arguing with each other, or members getting banned.

What i will say if the price was to rise i would not subscribe, i also post all my photos and threads on other forums which are free, so as above all the knowledge is out there.

As you may know we hold Nano meets which are free to attend, also free to join the forum, there is a donation box which is hung up ever meet, to which you are free to donate, if not then not a problem, the money is always put back into the meets either buy purchasing tents, or sometimes to pay for venues which would want payment, tools that would help all at the meet, petrol to the generator and so on, but it must benefit those that attend not individuals.

For all the support, help and friendship £10 is cheap.
Personally if it were up to me there would be no free membership - everyone should pay.

:eek: .

Thanks Arctic. Good point well made. As I said , I don't know enough about how the Club operates. I will use the donate button as previously suggested by others.

I have said the same a number of times over the years. I would allow say 3 months free membership for newcomers to taste the offering and then the subscription would apply.

We could have a separate politics section with a £100 annual free perhaps? :eek:

Don't want to upset anybody
 

Have been a subscribed member for a wee while now and subs due near the end of the month. Will be renewing subscription as I believe it is money well spent- but on what?

As Steve has said- most of the knowledge is offered by members.
I understand that the club groups all this knowledge and these members together through the forum but as a casual "forumite" I don't see the what else the club "does".

You were, Simon, until recently a moderator and so I assume have a better understanding of how the club operates and what it "does". I would appreciate a better understanding of what the club does and how it operates if you feel able to give me the benefit of your experience.

I've always paid the annual subscriptions up until this year and have been involved in organising regional meets which have been very successful and have made some great friends also had great advice at these get togethers not once have I or other members who have organised meets representing the club had any support encouragement or thankyou from the top we still have our get togethers without the input of the club so I chose not to pay the subscription I do enjoy browsing through the forum but I've found myself less and less getting involved in any threads maybe some inventiveness from the top would give me the incentive to pay again but for now I'm quite happy been blue

Sent from my VFD 730 using Tapatalk

Hi Richard
One of the reasons I made the original post was reading about the meets at DaveLincs and others. I was surprised to learn they were not supported by the Club in any way. If you are going to continue with them is there anywhere the details will be available as most seemed to be fairly close and I would be interested in meeting up. Can't beat a good meal and chat.

Pete.

U mean his hob nob fund lol

Yep - that is the sort of fund holding I had in mind. :}

The key to this oft repeated debate is surely in the stats. As I type there are only eight (paid up) members but some 83 guests reading this Technical Forum. As I've said before - and shouted down - I think we're being taken for mugs - but it ain't my forum.

Ive been a paid up member but no longer have a MGZT or R75. If the club was losing money I agree but the ethos of the club is to help one another and a tax for people to read some posts goes against the grain. If they were to pay where would the money go to and how would every paid up member equally benefit more than they do now? Ive been on many car forums looking for advise and Ive never been denied access to helpful posts that have been of great help to me. It does make me chuckle when a new member alone has suggested this where as members who have paid year on year have not! He may well get fed up of his "new" car in the near future and after successfully changing how the subs are paid etc vanish off the sight of the earth!:eek:
Just saying like..........

Before I acquired the V6 I ran a Stag and belonged to the Stag Owners Club - £32 annual sub. You had a printed mag that I personally found of little use, but I think much of the subs had accumulated over the years to finance the production of parts and panels that had become unobtainable. OK the Stag is a much older marque but from memory only some 26000 had left Coventry but the SOC claimed that more Stags were still runners, or SORN, (6000) than any other classic car.

There may well be plenty of R75 scrap parts around now but this won't be the situation for ever, and if this club is to remain a viable support would it not make sense to follow some of the same course?

Even club stalwarts like say Arctic, Big Russ, SD1, Trikey etc and etc just possibly may not be immortal and where will we be without 'em?

The value of this club is nothing to do with the £10 subscription. It is all to do with the members. Over the many years that I've driven a 75, I've had a few problems. A short question results in a bucket load of knowledge and experience from people with an interest. £10 may not be much to you, but for some of us it is several meals. What would members gain by increasing the subs? For instance, I joined the IAM in 1989. The subscription was fair and it was for drivers. Over the years the subscription increased by huge amounts and it changed from being for drivers to a political campaigning group. They even got rid of the driver fora. Result? I saved my money and left the group.

A well argued, balanced view, I agree 100%

Hi coab and Polinsteve
Well at least it made you chuckle and I promise not to get fed up with my "new" car as I had one for 5 years before this which,rather than scrap, I donated to a Club member. I don't want any other car. If money was no object I'd buy the best one I could find.
I'm not worried about benefiting equally or in personal gain, I just thought a Club like this could always find a good use for a bit more cash. Miss Moppet seems to have some good ideas.
As I've mentioned previously, nothing compulsory. Perhaps an opt in or out PM to subscribers. Until then I have and will use the donate button
as often as my universal credit allows.
Cheers Guys
Pete.

Wow really? several meals :eek: You can do my housekeeping too if you only pay that sort of money :D

Getting back on topic, I belong to several owners clubs and the subscriptions range from £25 to £35. For that I get access to club forums (some of which are very quiet and others only accessible to paid members i.e. no free content) the occasional newsletter and some club discounts. The main benefit being the opportunity to meet up with fellow owners and seek help with technical issues etc. Some are asking what does this clubs £10 subscriptions pay for? I confess I haven't a clue on the full costs of running this club but someone must be paying for the servers to support and maintain this forum which is openly free to all and sundry in the world. Then there must be some form of insurance and other costs for Club organised events such as the Nationals as well as outlay for items for the club shop (although that is recouped by sales eventually). And I'm sure there are other hidden costs just to maintain the current status quo. Its an absolute bargain but surely not sustainable in the long run if membership numbers slowly diminish as the number of Rovers/ZTs get fewer and fewer. This is imho one of the best club forums anywhere on the net and I for one would not object to a small increase in subs or indeed a revamp of the forum into two parts - one general open to all and one only for subscribers. This would be in line with most other clubs. :getmecoat:

Hi Paul.
It is one of the best on the net, because of it's members and owners whom share their knowledge for free, and want to help each other, that help should be for all walks of life even those whom cannot afford to pay the subs.

I note that the OP stated he will donate as often as his universal credit allows him too, personally i would say the club does not need donations to keep running therefore his money will serve him and his family better, but that is a decision only he can make.

If anyone feels that they need to subscribe to gain access the willing shared knowledge from the Rover 75 car owners, please do not as it is available on other forums as well, as 99% of those that share that knowledge are also member of the other clubs so most if not all the how too's are repeated on the other forums, which are not hard to find and are also free no subscription but do have a donation button which can be used if you feel you wanted too.

We should recognise that the club and associated forum is a commercial enterprise and the owner/directors determine the subscription model.

That having been said, having returned to the forum after a gap of about 2 years, I am surprised that with the vast majority of users being non-subscribers it remains a viable enterprise.

If it was my enterprise, I would be adopting a model along the following lines:

1. Annual subscription fee of around £20, which can be waived by the owner/management in exceptional circumstances and for special cases e.g. hardship or forum experts who make an exceptional contribution.

2. An initial zero-fee subscription period of 3 months, after which the annual fee becomes payble.

3. Subscription free lifetime membership (honorary membership) for those who have been paying members for say 10 or more years but no longer own a MGR vehicle.

4. Enhanced subscription fees for those who own or have owned VW, Audi, or Skoda cars. Members from Coventry may have dispensation.

Lincoln Green - this is the way to achieve almost universal coverage when wishing to annoy or upset people. Your attempt was half-hearted to say the least. But it's early days. ;)

Finally, those who are surprised at the possibility of several meals for £10 should mix with us Indians more. My late father used to laugh at the TV programme which had a title along the lines of 'How to cook for two for £10'. He always said that an Indian can feed a family for a week on £10. Ten pounds spent on chappati flour and 1kg of Channa Dhal (Dhal tarka) goes a long way. It is this lifestyle that is responsible for a person starting from dreaming about owning a Hillman Imp to actually owning the cars in my signature on the left and dreaming of owning a Jaguar XFR-S (542BHP Supercharged V8). This could be one way for members to save for the revised subscription!

" chappati flour and 1kg of Channa Dhal (Dhal tarka) goes a long way"

Maninder, sounds yummy :drool4: Please send me the recipe or invite me round for lunch :D

Thanks for the job invitation :D I must admit that living more frugally since I retired means that my French maids dress is a little large, so taking up your offer would initially require some serious investment. I would be quite happy to send you some recipes and shopping tips.

I'm sorry that a correction is necessary. You forgot to mention BMW.

BMW intentionally not included
 

I had included BMW in my initial post but then updated it and removed the manufacturer. I consider that BMW drivers have advanced to the extent that they are now almost socially acceptable. I suspect that in a few years time most of us will be happy to own up to having BMW drivers as friends.

A socially acceptable Beamer driver, existence of Father Christmas or a truthful politician? The question is, which is more believable.

Until BMW start supplying indicators as standard on their cars and not making them an optional extra (must be stupidly expensive as nobody ever specs them) it's not happening :duh:

Don't want to upset anybody
 

That's me subscribed for another year.

Still not sure exactly what the club does...




:shrug:

As a minimum it provides you with a platform to upset people. This alone is worth £10 per annum (I would say actually more). ;)