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March & April 2019 Newsletter from the Figaro Owners Club - Issue No: 103
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Welcome to our
March & April 2019 Newsletter
Today we
celebrate our 10th Birthday! I cannot put into words just what fun it's been for Sue and me running the club over the years and how many wonderful friends we've made in the UK and much further afield
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Watch our 10th Birthday Celebration Video
Grab a coffee and chill to a great tune plus some amazing memories from the last 10 years...
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| Figaro Owners Club 10th Birthday Video |
Look back as to how the club started?
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Dan still owns his green Figaro named 'Figgy' |
"My son 'Daniel' had always wanted a Figaro having seen the car at his local garage when he was just 16. After saving for a number of years (plus a small contribution from his mum and dad!) he at last brought an emerald green model in May 2008. Following the purchase we searched on the internet for a club in the hope we could attend events and meet other owners. We were amazed that at that time no club existed so the Figaro Owners Club was born. We decided to build a basic website and forum which took a few months and on the 1st March 2009 we pressed the publish button and waited to see if anyone wanted to join? Within a week we had 10 members, a month 35 and a year 478!"
Birthday Party
In June we are holding a Birthday Party on the Saturday of the Wales Figaro Rally and will be celebrating the milestone with over 160 of our wonderful members.
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London Ace Cafe Meet 2019
Venue: Ace Corner, N Circular Rd, London NW10 7UD
Location: London
Date: 06/04/2019
Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Motorfest 2019 - Gemini Events
Venue: Chetwynd Deer Park
Location: Newport
Date: 21/04/2019 - 22/08/2019
Time: All Day View
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EVENTS ON OUR FACEBOOK CHAPTER PAGES
Many local events are also listed on our Facebook Chapter Pages -
Join here
SEND US YOUR EVENT/MEET/GET-TOGETHER
We are always on the lookout for great events for our members to attend or if you are a member and would like to help organise one then simply complete our form
Click here
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London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) Compliance Update
It's now only only
39 days to go until ULEZ kicks in on the
8th April 2019 and will mean anyone living in 'Central London' driving a Nissan Figaro will have to pay a
daily fee of £12.50.
Phase two will start on 25th October 2021 the area will be expanded to the inner London area bounded by the North and South Circular roads. Over the a past few months we have been working with
The Figaro Shop in the hope that a solution can be found?
A few weeks ago Toby Brooks contacted us and the news was not good. Costs from the official WLTP cycle test run at Millbrook test station are currently very high with the first car tested costing circa
£30,000 and tests after that running at around
£500 per car, plus the specialist exhaust system. They are still working on a solution so watch this space.
Read more
Interesting Footnote
I entered both our Figaros' Registration Plates into the ULEZ Website and in both instances we were told that they are subject to the ULEZ. However, we have been contacted by a member (
who will remain nameless) who applied and his
Figaro was not subject to ULEZ! We don't understand why this should be the case but maybe it's worth checking your Figaro?
Enter Your Registration Here
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1/18th Scale Figaro Model Review
After months of waiting at last Hobby Japan released the much awaited large scale model in all 4 classic colours.
Sue brought the Pale Aqua example for my Birthday which was a couple of weeks ago. Measuring around 20cm x 8cm the model is highly detailed and very accurate inside and out.
We have created a specific page which contains more picture and a video tour from me Read more
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New Rear Arch (repair panel) Supplier
As you may or may not know, the Figaro suffers badly from rust around the rear arches. The front arches are plastic but the rear are metal and due to the design can trap water leading to extremely bad corrosion. Typically much of the existing bodywork needs cutting away meaning a panel is required to fill the space. Club Member Colin Bullock can supply the panel required to be welded into the chassis.
Colin is a keen restorer of the Figaro and has had these arches manufactured to his exacting standards.
Price - £175 - Order by emailing Colin
[email protected]
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Read Archive Press Reviews of the Figaro
If you enjoy reading about how the Figaro was received at the time of its launch we have uploaded a number of articles to our website. They also include a number of reviews written by the motoring press over the years by CAR MECHANICS, CLASSIC & SPORTSCAR, CAR & CLASSIC CAR BUYER.
Read now
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Sue and me in the Rally T-Shirts
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31 days left to book our Wales Figaro Rally...
Between the
6th-10th June our largest ever Figaro Rally will take place in Wales.
We currently have almost
80 Figaros registered to attend this five day adventure which will include fabulously long convoys, spectacular dams, the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Black Mountains, beautiful countryside, breathtaking waterfalls, steam railways, underground caves, country houses & gardens, pretty market towns, narrow bridges, beaches.
Oh and we almost forgot a birthday party to top all parties!
Learn more
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Sign up for a great day out at Tewkesbury
The event, now in its 9th year is the Rotary Clubs' biggest charity annual fundraiser which actively raises thousands of pounds for both national and regional charities.
The event will take place on the 18th August. Due to the popularity of the event, pre-booking is now advisable to guarantee a space for your Figaro.
The cost is just £5 per car Read more
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Cars on the Campus 2019 - Kilmarnock
Staged by Ayrshire Classics Car Club this event kicks off the Classic Show season in Scotland.
Message from
Ken Graham who is our Scottish Chapter Coordinator.
"Last year, I managed (as a late entry) to squeeze my Figaro in, this year the organisers have said they would be delighted to welcome a 'Flock of Figaros'. Not sure if that's the correct term, but I quite like it!!"
Learn more
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Read Archive Press Reviews of the Figaro
If you enjoy reading about how the Figaro was received at the time of its launch we have uploaded a number of articles to our website. They also include a reviews written by leading motoring publications such as CAR MECHANICS, CLASSIC & SPORTSCAR, CAR & CLASSIC CAR BUYER.
Read now
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WANTED! 5 day Figaro Hire for Wales Rally
We have been contacted by Pakistani Member
Khuram Saqib who wants to travel to the UK to attend our Wales Rally & 10th Birthday in June 06/06/2019 - 10/06/2019.
Due to logistics Khuram cannot bring his own Figaro so is looking to hire one for the rally. He has an International Driving License so if anyone can offer their help by offering their Figaro for hire please contact him directly by emailing
[email protected]
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The importance of using an Specialist Figaro Body Shop - UK Owners Only
Last week we were contacted yet again from our insurance partner Classicline Insurance regarding another Figaro being written off 'because the owner had not taken it to a Figaro specialist'. This continues to happen because typically owner is told to take their car to a couple of 'local body shops' and get a few quotes for the insurance company.
The problem is, in many cases if they do not have the 'specialist knowledge' they need, sometimes leading to the car being written off. If you are located in the UK and looking for a repair quote, we suggest you always start by looking at the listings on our club website. Search here
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Me & Sue enjoying our 'Belle' |
Lastly, a great big Figgy Welcome!
To all our new members. Please remember Sue and I are super friendly so
get in touch if you have a Figgy story or picture to share.
Catch you in a couple of months :)
Kevin & Sue
Club Founder & Assistant!
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Below is our favourite picture of the year spelling 'FIGARO' from the air involved 37 cars and a trailer for the full stop. It was taken during our Jersey Figaro Rally 2018. Thanks to everyone who participated and Patrick Light for his inspiration!
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My son Daniel in June 2008
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About the club
How the club started
My son Daniel had always wanted a Figaro, having seen the car at our local garage when he was just 16. After saving for a number of years (plus a small contribution from his mum and dad) he brought an Emerald Green model in June 2008.
Following the purchase we scoured the internet for a members club in the hope that we could attend events with other owners, but were amazed that none existed...and so the Figaro Owners Club was born! We decided to build a website and forum which took 6 months, and on the 1st March 2009 we pressed the 'publish button' and waited to see if anyone wanted to join. Within a week we had 10 members, a month 35 and a year 478 members.
Today the club has around 1,300 members worldwide in countries including New Zealand, Japan, Australia, USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and many more.
We are grateful to you and all our other members for help and encouragement throughout our journey as the club has grown into a passion which has taken over our lives.
Warmest Regards
Kevin
Figaro Owners Club Founder
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