The plan for 2027 was always to take a month off and drive around Italy. We’ve been many times on city breaks, Bologna being our favourite so far but there’s also an awful lot we haven’t seen at all.
Originally, we were going to go in my 1990 Alfa Romeo Spyder, one of the last of the S3 models and fitted with electronic fuel injection which made it absolutely purr along. However, someone made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and so I’ve been looking for something else.
A traditional British sportscar had always been lurking at the back of my mind. I’d love an MG A, the first of the post-war designs with flowing lines. But they’re a bit pricey and right at the top end of my budget. So I kept looking.
For a while, 1930s Austin Sevens caught my eye and I started looking at a 1935 Austin Seven Opal Tourer which looked a complete steal at £6,500-ish. But then my son suggested the post-war MG Midgets as being a bit more practical and also dropping in price. When I checked, prices were indeed dropping but sellers of nice, well restored ones were still asking around £20k. ‘Asking’ is one thing, ‘Getting’ is another.
Auctions show where the real market value lies. I checked a few and spotted this one on Car & Classic. It looks as though it’s been well used (true, as a I found out) but also well looked after… and had not been restored. At least, not a body-off restoration. There was a lot of ‘patina’ as the classic car world calls it. ‘Tired’ is another phrase.
I joined the auction at around £5k but the ‘Reserve not met’ sign kept glowing. I stayed away until the final hour and went to my limit. With ten minutes to go, I was left in the dust. Oh well, there’ll be another. There always is.
But blow me down, I had a phone call from Car & Classic with the news that if I met the reserve price of £8,250, it was mine. Someone who had bid after me had dropped out at the last minute. I had my MG.
