Who are we?
THE MG CAR CLUB is the original club for MG Owners based in the heart of  MG country, Abingdon in Oxfordshire. We are a non profit making organisation, with six full time staff and a Worldwide membership of 35,000 people. We welcome every type of MG, from the Vintage cars to the most recent MG TF.

History
The MG Car Club was formed in 1930 by the MG factory, when in Abingdon, and has been providing top quality support for generations of MG Owners ever since. Our strong factory connections mean we possess a wealth of historical material at our headquarters. For a detailed history of the MG Car Club click here. 

Location
The Club Head Office, Kimber House in Cemetery Road, Abingdon, is sited on the edge of what was once the MG Car Company's headquarters and factory - where Cecil Kimber (Managing Director from 1935-1945) and John Thornley (General Manager and subsequently Managing Director) successfully ran one of the world's most well-known and well-respected car manufacturing companies.

The route to the office is signposted from the direction of the A34 with brown heritage signposts. For more information about the MG Car Club click here

Why should I become a member?
Through the MG Car Club you will have access to the largest group of MG fans in the world.  Club members share your enthusiasm for MG cars of every type and generation. 

Members get together to enjoy MG themed events, including racing and other competitions.  They share information, advice and support for their MGs in model groups called 'Registers'. 

Club members have access to a list of trusted suppliers for parts and services and discounts on parts, consumables and services such as insurance. 

Club members enjoy discounted admission to events and many other shows during the year.  All members receive the monthly Club magazine, Safety Fast!, which covers the world of MG as well as Club events. 

Be part of the world wide family of MG by joining the MG Car Club.

There seem to be more than one MG Club, why should I join yours?
The MG Car Club is just that, a club, a non for profit organisation. We're based on Cemetery road in Abingdon, right next to the original MG factory site and have been functioning since 1930.

We're the original club, formed by the MG factory and our seventy nine years of experience means we're extremely well placed to help you.

Whether you have a 1920s or 2009 MG we will welcome you with open arms and provide support when required.

The MG Car Club won't charge you a joining fee when you sign up, instead we give you membership to your local centre and register free of charge. 

The MG Car Club is a genuine “members’ motor club” run on a democratic basis by its members, we'd love to welcome you on board.

What are the main benefits of joining the club:

Safety Fast! Magazine
Safety Fast!, our 100 page, full colour, perfect bound Monthly magazine is an integral part of club membership. The publication was established in April 1959 and has consistently provided members of the club with an unprecedented insight into everything MG. Includes a full spectrum of latest news, technical, historical and racing articles along with a comprehensive round up from each register and centre. It's widely considered the World's best MG magazine and is enjoyed by enthusiasts in every corner of the globe. Click here to view an online copy of Safety Fast!

Insurance
The Peter Best Abingdon Policy is exclusive to members of the MG Car Club, a particularly low risk group which generates a very low rate of claims.  You must to be a member of the Club to qualify for this group scheme.  In general, our members report that they get the most attractive premium quoted under this arrangement.  As a Club member you would be well advised to contact Peter Best Insurance to ask about this scheme.  Have your membership number to hand and call them on 01376 573033 or 01621 840400.  Alternatively, they offer an online quote service through their website at:  www.peterbestinsurance.co.uk The MG Car Club does not take a commission of any kind from Peter Best Insurance.  We repeat our advice above that you should always shop around for the best deal for you.

Centres
13 Regional Centres organise events and social gatherings throughout the UK. Each centre organises Pub Meets and events throughout the course of the year. Membership to your local centre is free when you join the MG Car Club.

Registers
The MG Car Club operates fourteen 'Car Registers', one for each model of MG. Each register caters for the direct needs of that model and offers a vast technical insight.
The Registers have been established to provide a wide range of benefits and specialist knowledge to their members. Registers organise their own events and activities whilst also taking part in all the major MG Car Club events.

They publish newsletters and articles in the club magazine Safety Fast! magazine enabling members to keep up to date with news, views and helpful hints and tips.

Registers sometimes organise rebuild seminars and produce rebuild manuals. They can offer technical and historical information and know where to source spares and parts.

Most importantly the MG Car Club Registers are run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts who promote the enjoyment of owning and driving an MG.

Simply put, our register are a shoulder for you to lean on! Register membership is free for all MG Car Club members.

 

Technical Help
The structure of model Registers is a unique feature of the MG Car Club.  Hundreds, maybe even thousands of Club members with the same car as you will belong to your Register.

It’s highly likely then that any technical problem you may be having will have been experienced – and solved – by a Register member in the past.  So that this valuable knowledge is not lost, each Register appoints a Technical Advisor among its Committee who is responsible for archiving this information and answering technical questions from members of the Register.

This service can vary in how it is delivered but nevertheless, Registers are a great source for technical support, including questions about where to find elusive spare parts.  You can find the list of Registers and their Committees within this website here. Of course, if you have discovered some interesting fix to a problem with your car, the Register Technical Advisor will be pleased to hear from you so that your knowledge can be added to the resource within the Register.

The Club main office at Kimber House in Abingdon is open each weekday to support members and it is often the case that we can also provide technical advice from our own experience and certainly suggest preferred suppliers for parts and services.

We maintain a technical library with manuals covering most types of post-war MGs.  We also publish and supply to all members annually a booklet called the ‘MG Car Club Trade Directory’ which lists suppliers of parts and services around the UK and in continental Europe.  These suppliers are committed to supporting the Club and its members, so give them a try first. You can also find the Trade Directory online here. The Club offers a selection of technical manuals by Haynes and other significant publishers in our online shop, here

Trade Membership Scheme

The MG Car Club Trade Membership Scheme, was introduced to ensure that Club members gain access to the very best services on offer. The MG Car Club does not deal in spares or services and relies on a number of companies to provide members with what they need - whatever it is - wherever they live.

The companies and businesses listed in this directory have all agreed to support and promote the MG Car Club in addition to providing a high quality service.
Many of the Traders in the scheme offer exclusive discounts to MG Car Club members. For our online trade directory click here

Discounts on Tickets
Wherever possible the Club tries to offer members worthwhile discounts on admission to events which we run. The best example is MGLive!, where members enjoy a substantial discount over non-members for admission.  A further discount can be had for admission to this event by booking your tickets in advance.Whilst the club doesn’t take the gate revenue from any of our race meetings – apart from the Silverstone international event – we are often able to negotiate a bulk discount on admission for members to race meetings, for pre-booked tickets only.  These offers will appear in our Club News page on this website.The club is frequently able to negotiate reduced admission prices for shows and exhibitions such as the NEC Classic Show, where we normally exhibit.  Again, watch the Club News page on this website for details.

If you see an event where you think the Club could ask the organiser for a bulk discount, please call Kimber House and let us know.  We will try to achieve a better admission rate for you.  Our phone number is 01235 555552

 

Activities

The key to getting value from your membership of the club is to become involved in the activities we pursue.  Whilst our Club magazine, Safety Fast, provides good value for money for your membership subscription, there is much more going on within the club and plenty of scope for every member to take part in enjoyable activities.  Like most things in life, you only get out what you put in. For a comprehensive review of activities please click here.

Racing
The marque MG has, since it’s inception, been synonymous with Motorsport with virtually every model ever produced having been driven in some form of motoring competition.
Whether it’s Racing, Rallying, Hill Climbing, Trails or some other test of speed, endurance or agility, a look through the record books will regularly turn up the name ‘MG’ in the results. The MGCC has long had it’s own ‘competitions department’ to run championships and meetings in all forms of the sport, specifically for the enjoyment of it’s members and to encourage and assist those MG owners taking their first steps into this arena.

Currently the Club promotes and runs no less than seven motor race championships, which race at meetings     all over the UK, either at one of the Club’s own organised events, of which there are currently six each year, or as invited guests of other club’s meetings. Likewise the MG Car Club invites other club races to join it’s own events and regular visitors include the Morgan Car Club and the Equipe GTS series for 50/60’s sports cars. Click here for a more comprehensive review of our race championships.

MGLive!
MGLive! is the biggest and best event for all MG owners and enthusiasts. Located at the home of British Motorsport, Silverstone Circuit, no other UK car show offers so much.
This is the World's biggest MG gathering! Expect to see 5,000 cars across the weekend, if you love MG then you won't want to miss it. For more information see the events official website www.mglive.com

The MG Car Club Archive
Recent visitors to Kimber House will have seen changes taking place in the Archive Room here. Random piles of all sorts of things have been replaced by well-organised boxes of photographs, carefully sorted into logical groups. 

This means that members looking for photos of particular types of cars can research them much more easily, as can Club staff seeking images for Safety Fast! or our website. This marked improvement is due to the voluntary efforts of Peter Neale and Colin Grant who have put an immense amount of work into sorting and categorising photographs and now race programmes as well.

So far, more than 10,000 photos have been categorised and the methods of storage are improving greatly. It seems highly appropriate that the MG Car Club in Abingdon should be the home of the fullest possible archive of the MG marque and it’s a great shame that it is not - yet. However, with the help of members of the Club we can make further progress to add to the achievements so far.  If you are able to volunteer time to help with the project, or specialist knowledge of identifying cars and drivers, that would be a help.

Can I come and visit you at Kimber House?
Club members are very welcome at our offices in Abingdon, Kimber House.  We're open from 09:00 to 17:30 Monday to Thursday' 09:00 to 16:00 Friday and at weekends by appointment.  We have plenty of parking, a Club exhibition, an excellent Library, an archive of photos and much more.  We can point out other sites of MG interest in Abingdon including the old MG factory, the Abingdon Museum, Cecil Kimber's former house and the factory test routes.  Members are offered free refreshments.  There is no admission charge.  We would really appreciate a call in advance if you are travelling a long way to visit as at certain times (especially around Silverstone International) we may be very busy or perhaps even closed. For more information about what we have here at Kimber House, please click here

I want to start racing – what do I need?
The thing you need most is good advice!  Fortunately, the MG Car Club runs the friendliest and most cost-effective racing operation in the UK and freindly advice is free.  We run seven race championships covering all types of MGs and six race meetings a year across the UK, with a chance to get involved in racing for everyone who really wants to.  If you're interested in marshalling or organising events we always need volunteers.  If you want to start racing on a budget we have one of the lowest cost racing championships around.  If you want to get to the top, we run one of the most prestigious one-make championships in the UK which has sent drivers to careers in Touring Cars.  Give us a call at Kimber House to discuss your ideas.