Owners or Car Club?

[Britd5]

Ok all, which club do I join and why?

[Ian F]

My opinion (and that's all it is):

Having been a member of both (MGOC initially, then MGCC for 30 years) I came to the conclusion that MGOC is really a business, not a club.
MGCC is the parent of this forum, and also has the history and the credentials to be a car club, and if you are at all interested in the history of MG and in Motorsport, then MGCC is the one for you.

Ian F

[Bumpa]

I'm with Ian 100 percent, having been in both clubs. MGOC was set up by the Bentley brothers at the time of the MGB's run-down and eventual factory closure. It was then and is still, first and foremost a business. I became disillusioned with them many years ago and let my membership lapse, whereas I have been a continous member of the MGCC for around forty years now.

The MG Car Club is the original club, founded in 1930 with support from the factory. It is a genuine enthusiast's club, run by members for members. The number of salaried staff could be counted on your fingers and are just for the administration of a truly international organisation. Sure they don't have the financial clout to run a spares department or an insurance company but they hold masses of historical information on MG cars from the earliest days to the present, and the events they run are always worth attending. It is such a pity that the virus has caused the cancellation of so many gatherings. One trip to MG Live at Silverstone would show you just what they are capable of. I have been year after year, even though it is a nearly 800 mile round trip for me.

The club is sub-divided into regional centres and also into model registers so there is always someone to lend advice when needed. Here in Scotland the Caledonian Centre has punched well above its weight in terms of events and scenic tours with an anuall 3-day tour and a 5-day tour, culminating in Aviemore 2013 when we held the MG European Event of the Year, attracting over 370 cars from all corners of the globe, including the USA and Australasia.

MGCC for me - no question.

[Paul Hollingworth]

Ditto the above. There's nothing wrong with the Owners club, I'm sure they have many satisfied customers, but it is a business. There's no doubt that the Car Club is the oldest, but which is the biggest. The MGOC make that claim, but for some strange reason the Car Club only count joint members as being one whilst the OC count them as two.
I was in the Owners Club in the Seventies when Roche Bentley was working and only running the club in his spare time. Believe it or not spares for B's and Midgets were hard to come by and they were still in production. Before going into the spares business themselves Roche used to publicise a network of suppliers the bits could be obtained from. Particularly useful for re-con parts like wishbones and kingpins. I went to a place in Tranmere for those for my Midget, I recall. Now although the Car Club doesn't have a spares operation, members do get a discount at David Manners. They are quite local to me and have always got what I want in stock. Then there is Moss which also have most things for our classics. I've not found the OC spares particularly good value.
The biggest selling point for the Car Club are the registers (like this one) where lots of help and advice can be gleaned.

[Tom Brearley]

Now although the Car Club doesn't have a spares operation, members do get a discount at David Manners.

I didn't know that. What's the deal?

[Paul Hollingworth]

I thought at one time Manners said 15% but apparently not. They don't specify now but are reasonable anyhow. Their website is being reconstructed and didn't work that well last time I used it. Just give them a phone call, they will answer quickly. They do have a good B spares brochure and they generally use the same part numbers as Moss. The cheapest source I found for some spares was Welsh MG in Wrexham. Worth shopping around.

[John Watson]

I am a member of both MG Clubs, as is said the MG Car Club is a club run by members for members.
Regarding spare parts the MGB Register have a good partnership with Moss Europe they have promoted some of our events in the past and have run a tech workshop at they premises in London.
Moss also have an agreement with the MGCC that if you buy £555 of spares from them in a 12 month period they will pay your MGCC membership fee. Contact Liz the membership sec at Kimber House in Abingdon for details 01235 849734 for more details.
Stay safe and well
John