Just ended my Autocar subscription and feel guilty

[LivLifetotheMax]

Bit of a random post I know, but it feels like a long term relationship has come to an end as I have finally decided to cancel my 6 and a half year affair with the Autocar magazine.

I feel a bit sad as it only took a 40 second phone call to a generic call handler to put an end to it. Would it be wrong to email the magazine to apologise and explain my reasons? I feel it's the only way to get closure on such a dark moment!

[750turbo]

LivLifetotheMax said:

Bit of a random post I know, but it feels like a long term relationship has come to an end as I have finally decided to cancel my 6 and a half year affair with the Autocar magazine.

I feel a bit sad as it only took a 40 second phone call to a generic call handler to put an end to it. Would it be wrong to email the magazine to apologise and explain my reasons? I feel it's the only way to get closure on such a dark moment!

And try for 6 months of free issues

Go for it

(By the way Auto Express advertise that they are 80p cheaper than Autocar, they do not advertise that they are the motoring equivalent of Motor Cycle News though IE: st )

[Justayellowbadge]

If only the publisher had some kind of internet presence, where maybe you could mention it.

[marcosgt]

I read Motoring News (later Motorsports News) for about 32 years - Last year I cancelled the subscription because I felt it had turned into the Motorsports equivalent of The Sun under Haymarket.

I thought I'd miss it, but I can honestly say I haven't even sneaked a peak at an issue in Smiths since.

Don't waste your time or money on sub-standard publications...

M

PS Oh and I did tell MN a few times that I thought their direction was insulting to their loyal readership - Frankly, they didn't give a toss...

Edited by marcosgt on Thursday 10th June 18:17

[C8PPO]

I don't think you should write and tell them. There's no point both of you being upset.

[heebeegeetee]

750turbo said:

(By the way Auto Express advertise that they are 80p cheaper than Autocar, they do not advertise that they are the motoring equivalent of Motor Cycle News though IE: st )

Whoa! at least Autocar is actually quite good as a mag, whereas auto Express is really ste.

I really don't know who buys Auto Express or why. I imagine all its readers would be Picasso owners but then why wold they buy a mag about something they have no interest in anyway, ie cars and driving?

[J500ANT]

As a subscriber still waiting for this weeks issue, its a tempting thing to do.

[Papa Hotel]

Justayellowbadge said:

If only the publisher had some kind of internet presence, where maybe you could mention it.

Perhaps some sort of PetrolHead (or similar) forum?

[MrLou]

http://www.pistonheads.com/terms.htm
PistonHeads is a registered trademark of Haymarket Consumer Media

[750turbo]

heebeegeetee said:

750turbo said:

(By the way Auto Express advertise that they are 80p cheaper than Autocar, they do not advertise that they are the motoring equivalent of Motor Cycle News though IE: st )

Whoa! at least Autocar is actually quite good as a mag, whereas auto Express is really ste.

I really don't know who buys Auto Express or why. I imagine all its readers would be Picasso owners but then why wold they buy a mag about something they have no interest in anyway, ie cars and driving?

Yep, is that not what I implied, sorry if it came across as wrong

[miniman]

Goodwin replaced by Tim and his vacuous comments, that's where it really started going downhill for me. Still at least there's the amusing game of "how many times will Cropley use the word convivial?"

[Beefmeister]

I cancelled a few years ago after 12yrs subscribing.

I felt guilty, but the mag just wasn't worth it for me any more, when you can get 90% of the content on the Autocar site now.

Now Chris Harris is at evo, i'm even happier as i keep my subscription to that...

[Johnny Drama]

750turbo said:

(By the way Auto Express advertise that they are 80p cheaper than Autocar, they do not advertise that they are the motoring equivalent of The Beano though IE: st )

EFA

[LivLifetotheMax]

I don't feel so guilty now- I think the night's sleep helped.

If anyone else has read it for years, I like Ben Oliver's writing originally, then he left. Chris Harris was brilliant and I love the videos he does (but not enough to switch to Evo). Now Goodwin has taken a much smaller role, and I loved his 'Ask Goodwin' pages. I wrote to it a few times and he was like a cool (with a funny voice) motoring uncle!

I think I might try the darkside of Top Gear......

[rob.e]

Beefmeister said:

I cancelled a few years ago after 12yrs subscribing.

I felt guilty, but the mag just wasn't worth it for me any more, when you can get 90% of the content on the Autocar site now.

Now Chris Harris is at evo, i'm even happier as i keep my subscription to that...

Ditto.

Cancelled a few months back after about 10 years continuous subscription.

Still miss my weekly fix, but I've kept my EVO subscription so its not all bad. TBH i got sick of reading the whole thing cover to cover in about 25 minutes finding little of interest. I'm really not that bothered about the latest diesel people carrier or supermini..

CH moving back to EVO is great news as far as i'm concerned.

[varsas]

The new extended 'autocar extra' is the best bit....but I too am considering stopping it. I certainly wouldn't buy it if I weren't subscribing.

[heebeegeetee]

750turbo said:

heebeegeetee said:

750turbo said:

(By the way Auto Express advertise that they are 80p cheaper than Autocar, they do not advertise that they are the motoring equivalent of Motor Cycle News though IE: st )

Whoa! at least Autocar is actually quite good as a mag, whereas auto Express is really ste.

I really don't know who buys Auto Express or why. I imagine all its readers would be Picasso owners but then why wold they buy a mag about something they have no interest in anyway, ie cars and driving?

Yep, is that not what I implied, sorry if it came across as wrong

No probs, and my comment was meant generally and not aimed at anyone.

[SJobson]

LivLifetotheMax said:

Now Goodwin has taken a much smaller role, and I loved his 'Ask Goodwin' pages. I wrote to it a few times and he was like a cool (with a funny voice) motoring uncle!

I rang Autocar's offices just before Le Mans in 1997 to ask when they were going to run the Le Mans preview edition. They put me through to Colin. What a lovely chap - possibly as surprised by my call as I was to be put through to him

How much are other subscribers paying per month, btw? The last couple of years my sub has gone up quite a bit, and I've had to spend quite some time negotiating with them on the phone to get even the better rate they offer to new subscribers. Think mine's £23.73 a quarter for the next year.

[Targarama]

Its not an easy time for printed publications. I wonder how many of the 100s of women's titles will be around in 5 years time?

My magazine reading takes place in the bathroom, and I expect the iPad to be able to replace them soon. Of course some car news sites might try charging for content.

I've been an AutoCAR subscriber for a few years now and I'm considering cancelling too. I cancelled Top Gear magazine a few years ago as it had turned chavvy and the layout had become unreadable. I subscribed to Performance Car after the first few issues, mistake, I was actually about to cancel my (short) subscription when they closed it down anyway (I was cancelling because it was basically a copy of Evo and reviewing exactly the same cars).

Whatever happens I'll keep Evo going and TVR's Sprint (TVRCC mag = cheaper insurance for being in club anyway).

[varsas]

Targarama said:

I cancelled Top Gear magazine a few years ago as it had turned chavvy and the layout had become unreadable.

Me too.

Curiously; despite it not being my favourite magazine; my best subscription experience was with Classic Cars magazine. For some reason I really liked coming home from work to find it waiting for me. I tend to get it free now otherwise I'd start that up again, just evo for me at the moment.