Lotus 7 Club - is it worth it?

Lotus 7 Club - is it worth it?

Author
Discussion

BertBert

18,954 posts

210 months

Wednesday 6th March 2013
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EFA said:
I'd rather eat a horsemeat pie from the chippy than become embroiled in such backstabbing and diatribe.
That's exactly what you get from eating horse pie - a nasty case of diatribe

Paul Holywood

74 posts

117 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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From an outsiders PoV, if I'm aloud too, I would say it's high, but I will see how I feel one I place my deposit on my first cat soon.

PhilipRJ

29 posts

149 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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Seems like some love it and some hate it.

I was a member, now I'm not, I do have a Caterham.

Much of the subscription goes on the club magazine ... which used to make sense when I was a member of the Triumph club in the 80's ... but doesn't make any sense nowadays (to me), the internet is a much more flexible / cost effective / relevant way to deliver this stuff. Even less useful now that I live in Chicago and the magazine doesn't get delivered here.
Th club even makes a point of only including some info in the magazine and not on the website. The magazine isn't available online !

There are some discounts available with membership ...

The membership is less than the cost of a tank of petrol.

Local club meets are members only ... so it's a meeting for Lotus 7 Club members, not a meeting for people with Lotus / Caterham cars.

You can't post on the Forum without paying your fees.

The new website / Forum had caused quite a stir ... and much less Forum traffic as a result.

I found the sum of the parts a bit odd ... so I left.

Chrisp5782

630 posts

137 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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I think it's worth every penny.

Discounts, information, get togethers and what I think is a great monthly magazine that I look forward to getting in the post.

I go every month to the Dorset meeting, it's not just about 7's, I've made a lot of, what I consider to be, great friends from all walks of life.
We regularly meet up for blats and breakfast runs and every event is memorable and enjoyable.

Recently, when I had my accident, the group rallied round to help me sort things out and even helped me find a new car!

I find the website very useful and enjoy a tour around Blatchat, yes there's some random stuff posted but it's always worth a read.

For the cost of a tank of fuel you've got nothing to lose and an awful lot to gain!

sjmmarsh

551 posts

219 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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My membership is normally paid for by the discounts I get, so is effectively free.

Steve

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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PhilipRJ said:
Local club meets are members only ...
Are they? How's that work then, because my local area meets at a pub.....where anyone can go for free without needing to be in any club.
Are you seriously suggesting I wouldn't be allowed in a pub because of the presence of a group from a club that I could be a member of but choose not to be, whereas everyone else in the pub is allowed to stay on the basis that although they're not club members they haven't "opted out"?
Weird.

red_slr

17,122 posts

188 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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I thought anyone could come along - is that not the idea?
I remember in years gone by when there might be quite a mix of cars in the car park.. even the odd Westfield... redface

Smollet

10,465 posts

189 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Overall I think it's pretty good value. It's a shame that the forum atm is not what it used to be but that shouldn't put anyone off joining as the benefits outweigh that.

forest07

669 posts

204 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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The meetings I used to attend welcomed anyone with an interest in Caterhams, Lotus etc.
Maybe it's different in some areas or some are trying to make them exclusive like the Clubs forums.
Not a good idea for introducing new members if they are.

johnny7

55 posts

177 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Yes meetings are free to anyone turning up-- as Chris says there's a mix of new and old members-- some of the older ex members that have moved on from caterhams still turn up for a chin- wag--- £50 is a fair bit for membership-- considering most of the clubs funds seem to be geared to the Motorsport side of things- not the humble area club meetings-- which cost Jack **it to the club- but hey-ho.

spanky3

258 posts

140 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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What would be really helpful would be making the list of discounts visible to non-members. It seems bonkers hiding the benefits of membership from your customer base.

I've got a good insurance quote from Frank Pickles and would join the club tonight if I knew I could get a decent discount. Likewise thundersport - I can see there'll be a discount but no idea whether its a worthwhile one.


SimonRogers

146 posts

157 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Johnny7

Can you tell me where you got the information from with regard to most Club funds being geared toward Motorsport.

Not trying to be controversial - I was Comp Sec for a number of years and the Speed Championship was self funding and indeed added to the Clubs coffers by a significant amount over the period I was in the seat and also did so in the preceding 4 years. So thats 8 years of a substantial contribution that was never then withdrawn as such - it just disappeared into the coffers.

I guess I am interested in the perception that is out there and how that seems to have been achieved.


No axe to grind.

IBDAET

1,655 posts

262 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Simon, Were you not on the committee when they granted authorisation for a large percentage of Club funds to be spent by purchasing an Event Support Vehicle? A vehicle which is reported to have spent more time supporting the activities of a the small section of membership who wanted to go sprinting. That group just happening to include a number of people from the management team.

I think this is where the rumours have emerged from.

SimonRogers

146 posts

157 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Yes and No.

It was already purchased and in the Clubs possession prior to my joining the MT.

Thereafter for every event a set fee was placed against its use for every event.

Effectively there is a hire rate for the vehicle and its driver per/day.

In general every event should cover this cost to make sure the ongoing cost of operation is recovered.

It was absolutely the case that its costs were recovered by multiples where it was used for Speed Champ events.

There are a few more general events such as Stonleigh where it is impossible for the club to recover the running costs given it does not control entry prices/tickets. Since events such as this are for the general membership the cost is absorbed.

Seems reasonable to me.

IBDAET

1,655 posts

262 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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So here is a general problem around the procuremtn of this vehicle.

A similar vehicle could be hired locally I'm sure at a competitive rate.

I bet the level of use it gets falls massively short of meeting the bill for depreciation and running costs combined.

So I conclude:

It was a total waste of money, just like printing Low FLying is.

This is where your £50 membership goes. And on a website which is frequented by many of the dullest people on earth.

johnny7

55 posts

177 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Simon- so if your Motorsport side of the club isn't costing the club anything and the grass route club members don't get a lot then the club must be cash Rich?
Out of interest anyone know what other one make clubs charge for membership?
Just to make it clear I think low flying is excellent and have been a club member since the nineties.

downsman

1,099 posts

155 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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IBDAET said:
And on a website which is frequented by many of the dullest people on earth.
I always new I was outstanding in some way laugh

If this thread goes on any longer, it might start to get personal rolleyes

Risky

167 posts

224 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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IBDAET said:
So here is a general problem around the procuremtn of this vehicle.

A similar vehicle could be hired locally I'm sure at a competitive rate.

I bet the level of use it gets falls massively short of meeting the bill for depreciation and running costs combined.

So I conclude:

It was a total waste of money, just like printing Low FLying is.

This is where your £50 membership goes. And on a website which is frequented by many of the dullest people on earth.
I love the way you don't let facts get in the way of your postings.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Risky said:
IBDAET said:
So here is a general problem around the procuremtn of this vehicle.

A similar vehicle could be hired locally I'm sure at a competitive rate.

I bet the level of use it gets falls massively short of meeting the bill for depreciation and running costs combined.

So I conclude:

It was a total waste of money, just like printing Low FLying is.

This is where your £50 membership goes. And on a website which is frequented by many of the dullest people on earth.
I love the way you don't let facts get in the way of your postings.
Go on then.....

7heavensoon

87 posts

161 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Marginal I think.

I made a lot of good friends through building and owning my Seven, some of which I still contact regularly.

Only part of the Club I got real value from was Blatchat, but I've not managed to log into the new forum. The new site just doesn't attract anywhere near the old membership - A real shame, as Blatchat was a fantastic place to chat (I think I was in the top 10-15 posters), and to get advice on just about anything. It did become a bit of a 'Let me Google that for you' proxy towards the end, which was a real shame, Lots of the real characters left, and I found myself using the archives more than the recent stuff to be honest. I miss the old days on there hugely.

Low Flying adds very little value for me personally, but is well produced.

Discounts might well be worthwhile if you are buying lots of stuff.

I went to a couple of Club meets but never really liked them - I was never too bothered who had the best car... We had a local unofficial meet which was much more fun. The fact we all owned silly little cars was mentioned on rare occasions, with the quality of the Hooky beer being much more important.

My membership is live until next spring. As it's a DD, I suspect I'll forget to cancel it!