Original owner

I consider myself very lucky to still be in possession of my grandfather’s first VW Beetle, which he owned from new. It is more than a classic car, more than a VW — it has memories of my grandparents who have since passed on; it represents the days at the beach with my parents and the picnics on a Sunday with my kids. If we truly manage to create memorable moments with our future generations, our children and grandchildren, our classic cars will be treasured.

Testimony to this is my very recent experience of reuniting a car with its first owner. I was contacted by a reader from this magazine, who asked me if I knew of an MG roadster for sale. He had owned one in his younger days, but, sadly, on the birth of the second child, the car had to go — a story which most of us can relate to! He emailed me a photo of what his car had looked like, and, a couple of phone calls later, I could tell that he wasn’t just looking for an MG roadster but that he wanted to reconnect with a missing link. He conveyed to me that his eldest daughter was getting married, and that she had grown up in the MG herself and was keen to get married in a similar MG, “just like the one we had!” he said.

Luck was on our side. Not only did I manage to find him an MG roadster, but the one he had previously owned! A couple of improvements had been made to it along the way, but it was still the same MG roadster.

There could not have been a happier bride on that day. And what a future is most likely awaiting the MG — it ain’t going anywhere.

Until next month, safe driving!