News : Mystery Maestros…

Can anyone shed any light on this mysterious Maestro spotted by Mark Graham in the car park of Guildford railway station on Friday August 8th?

Assuming it’s a British-built example then N-plate is very late indeed, but there doesn’t appear to any vehicle record relating to it on the DVLA Vehicle Enquiry website.

It appears to be in pretty good nick, so has this one recently come out of a long hibernation and the vehicle record not been updated, or is it something even more unusual? Who knows…?

mysterymaestro (800x600)

And while we’re at it, while on holiday in Menorca last month I found this round the back of a beach goods shop:

menorcamaestro

 

menorcamaestro2

According to the DVLA, it, too, has disappeared from the vehicle register, which may explain the rot-free wheelarches, as it’s clearly been there a while. It appeared to be in daily use, as it certainly moved around a bit while I was there…

Craig Cheetham

21 Comments

  1. The N-reg is probably an Apple2000 rebuilt Bulgarian kit, I believe they were all designated an N prefix. The Ledbury Maestros were registered R – 51 plates.

  2. Good Maestros are still around. I fairly regularly spot a pale metallic blue one (a VDP I think) piloted by an elderley gentleman outside a supermarket about 10 miles from Chester. It is in immaculate condition but I haven’t been able to stop and have a chat to the owner, who I suspect is in his late 70s.

    I also ran across an immaculate early model Sierra a few weeks ago in Bawtry whilst on my travels. A one owner car for the past 29 years!

  3. That red one is likely a Ledbury and built 2000/2001 despite it’s “G” prefix.

    A surviving Maestro, LHD AND on a G plate is just too much of a coincidence.

  4. Do fill me in please ! What is a Ledbury ? I have always admired the Maestro , which I thought was a rather nice and refined car, but it does seem to come in for some stick on this site

  5. The Ledbury and Apple 2000 thing is explained here: http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5179

    If I remember well, the G-Reg ones were the last Ledbury cars and were sold off even more cheaply than the previous ones which were given current registrations.

    The N-Reg one is listed as ‘Rover Maestro Unknown’ on an Auto Trader plate check and so for some reason it is listed under Make -> Other -> Rover Maestro on the DVLA vehicle enquiry system. Seems to be no such thing as consistency when it comes to the naming of old cars on registration documents.

    Details are…

    The vehicle details for N93 DVV are:
    Date of Liability 01 01 2015
    Date of First Registration 07 09 2000
    Year of Manufacture 1996
    Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1275cc
    CO₂ Emissions Not Available
    Fuel Type PETROL
    Export Marker N
    Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
    Vehicle Colour WHITE

    The G-Reg comes up on the Auto Trader as well but it comes up as ‘Unknown Unknown’ so not sure what it comes up as on the Vehicle Enquiry site.

    • Hi Sandie, I’m confident that the G reg is not a Lebury, unless the owner for some strange reason decided to re-register it with an older plate. It looks like a Clubman D to me. I worked for a Rover main dealer from 1989-94 and the last Maestro I sold was on an H plate; there were still a few old stock ones registered on J plates.

  6. I agree the red one looks like a Ledbury – looks like it has 14″ wheels from a diesel, but the exhaust looks like it’s from a petrol.

  7. …..the one at Guildford station was probably parked there by someone who has spent the last 14 years waiting for the 07.34 to Waterloo. I’ll have a look on Platfom 5 tomorrow and see if I can see a skeletal figure with a pipe and hat….

  8. I saw a blue Rover 100 today, which is a rare site now. Indeed all M type Austin Rover cars seem to be very rare.

  9. I saw an immaculate H reg, driven regularly by an old boy, in Bexhill on sea,I think it s a special,in white and shows a lot of brand new cars up because of it s immaculate condition. It looks like it s just come out of the factory-probably the old boy s pride and joy and is probably garaged. Quite refreshing to see a 24 year old Austin Rover in such good condition.

  10. @ T. Martin, the last time I saw a Maestro was two years ago and at least five for a Montego. The Montegos seemed to vanish quite rapidly, probably due to poor rustproofing and reliablity on Austin era cars, and also due to lowish sales compared with their Ford and Vauxhall rivals. Indeed they seemed to remind me of the FD Vauxhall Victor, a common sight in its heyday in the early seventies, but rust issues saw most of them vanish by the end of the seventies or end up destroyed in episodes of The Professionals. ( Otherwise a good car, though, and with a small band of enthusiasts keeping the surviving ones on the road).

  11. In the late 1990s a friend of a friend had an E reg Montego which seemed very tired for a 10 year old car, especially as it sometimes overheated if it was standing in traffic for too long.

  12. The ‘WP’ in number plate of the red Maestro indicates it was originally registered in Herefordshire.

    Perhaps that is further evidence that it is a Ledbury Maestro, seeing that Ledbury is in Herefordshire.

    (Formerly ‘WP’ was used only for neighbouring Worcestershire, with Herefordshire having ‘CJ and ‘VJ’)

  13. The red G plater has been in Menorca a few years. It’s usually parked down at Mahon harbour. The nice climate is doing it a world of favours. There’s also an Ex-pat Cortina in the Son Bou area I first spotted in the 90s and it’s still creeps about now and then

  14. Having read this http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5179 it explains why the red one is a Ledbury assembled one on a G reg:

    “From what is known, ‘Ledbury’ Maestros are available with R, S, T, V, W, X, Y and 51 registration plates. A number of 2000/1 built left hand drive Ledbury Maestros were also registered with G registration number plates. Some which were never converted, were sold for use in holiday homes on the continent.”

  15. Well, it failed the MOT in Jan 15 and it might have gone for good:
    12 January 2015
    FAIL

    Mileage
    58,389 miles

    MOT test number
    1887 9271 5444

    Test location
    unavailable until further notice

    Reason(s) for failure
    Offside Rear passenger door cannot be opened from outside the vehicle (6.2.B.1c)
    Exhaust emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle excessive (7.3.D.3)
    Exhaust emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (7.3.D.3)
    Nearside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
    Offside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
    rear brake application uneven (3.7.B.2)

    Advisory notice item(s)
    Nearside Front Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)
    Offside Front Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)
    Nearside Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.5.C.1a)
    Offside Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.5.C.1a)
    Sump is heavily corroded
    Oil leak
    Both rear tyres are heavily perished

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