VBOA Rally for 2017 links pre-booking

[ADRIAN]

The pre-booking forms for Billing ooops....new VBOA rally 2017 are now available http://www.lmfvauxhall.co.uk/Camping-for-VBOA-National-Day-2017.html
ADRIAN

[hbr341]

Hi Adrian
I have just pre booked very easy all sorted thankyou.

Regards Chris.

[ADRIAN]

Strange how there has not been any comments about the event yet. I dont want to appear to be a moaner, as we are all just glad that the show is happening, but there are a few issues. I have had an email to book in the trade plot area, and it is just too expensive. At Billing, the VBOA plot cost was £30 , but here it is "only" £42, and the camping is extra on top at £17 per night, and we would have to be there for 4 nights, making the total £110. Personally, adding that to the cost of MOT / insurance & petrol on the van,- it is just not worth it. You'd need to sell a hell of a lot of parts in order for it to be worth while, and I can see other trade people thinking the same and the autojumble area is likely to be just as small as it was this year. £10 part of the camping fee is for the "show entrance fee", but traders will not be there to look around the show. Also, everybody please note that there is no "pass out", so if you want to leave the site to go to pub for a meal or visit supermarket to get food, they are charging you a £10 entrance fee to get back in. So, we are all "locked in" on site, and we will all have to take quite a few days worth of provisions. No car movement on site after 9pm, so you could not go out anyway!! The showground publicity advertises the benefits of the local amenities, but you wont local be able to get to them.

[droopsnoot]

That sounds like a bit of a hike, although you're obviously not just MOTing and insuring your van just for this one event.

I think the "no pass out" thing is a bit daft, and the event may well be short-lived if this is the way that people are to be treated. I wonder who is behind it - the sponsors, the VBOA or the venue owners? I guess they would be trying their best to keep people on-site to buy food etc. at the vendors they'll have there, which is fine as long as there's something a bit better than an overpriced, poor-quality burger to be had. For those camping over several days, it's much more serious of course. I first wondered whether your note about "no car movements" meant to say 9am, but wasn't thinking about those staying overnight. I guess that's to head off local worries about burn-outs and noise late at night.

I have no experience of the costs of these things - does that pitch cost compare well or badly against a similar-sized pitch at a similar event? That is to say, was Billing especially cheap and they're just taking an opportunity to get costs similar to what other events charge, or was Billing comparable to other events and this is expensive? I guess only generic autojumblers will know that - Vauxhall specialists probably won't be taking stands at the Ford equivalent of the VBOA show.

[ADRIAN]

To clarify, I have just gone through the "rules", and it seems that the "campers" can leave and re-enter the site without an extra re-entry charge. But there is a vehicle movement "curfew" of 9pm. So you cannot go down the pub or supermarket unless you arrive back before that time.
As for my van, yes it is only MOT'd and insured just for this weekend event..........unless you know of another Vauxhall show I could attend!!

[redfirenza]

I think we were spoilt at Billing as the jumble pitches were very cheap and large but it did draw the autojumblers and individual sellers in for that reason, I think the prices for the new place will put sellers off even though they are pretty reasonable compared to other shows, its going to be all new and will have its problems but we don't have many all Vauxhall/Opel shows so I guess we have to put up with it!

[droopsnoot]

As for my van, yes it is only MOT'd and insured just for this weekend event..........unless you know of another Vauxhall show I could attend!!

Oh, OK, I didn't realise. There's (usually) the VBOA autojumble as well, but I don't know of anything else in your area. Hard to know how well you'd do at a more generic show.

I guess it's a "wait and see" situation really, for everyone involved. If the prices put off the visitors and traders, then you'd like to think the organisers will have a re-think and hope they haven't scared everyone off permanently. Maybe someone could raise these comments with the VBOA to see what their take on the situation is.