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Stoneleigh show this year...
computid - 6/5/13 at 06:18 PM

Was it me or did it seem a bit dead compared to previous years? It just seemed like there were less clubs, less cars and certainly less traders.

I think I would have been sorely disappointed if I'd paid to get in. Last year was decidedly busier in comparison.


Slimy38 - 6/5/13 at 06:27 PM

And there I was thinking last year was a bit quiet, then again I did go on the Monday...

I was so disappointed to not be going this year, I expected the decent weather to bring out all sorts of hand built masterpieces.


ian locostzx9rc2 - 6/5/13 at 07:07 PM

I went on sunday I thought the clubs where busy and lots of people at the the show but hall 2 had empty spaces and very wide walk ways always the biggest show of the year though so you have too go!!!!!! still enjoyed it and the good weather always helps .


wylliezx9r - 6/5/13 at 07:15 PM

I went today for the first time and thought it was brilliant. Couldn't find the locost section unfortunately but bumped into a few people I've talked to on here which was nice.


MK9R - 6/5/13 at 07:44 PM

I was there on Sunday, hall 1 was very busy most of the day, and I thought the number of cars and amount of people outside was very high. Hall 2 did have some bare space and didn't feel as busy, but all in all a good show.


matty78 - 6/5/13 at 07:47 PM

I wasnt the only one then, been to afew over the last few years and it was quiet in attendance in a sense of clubs and trade stalls.

In the 2 exhibition halls, quite few manufacturers on display though it was spread out quite abit but still alot to see.

The Westfield and lotus seven club seem to have the biggest numbers in attendance and sort of wish i took mine to the show so not to pay but didnt quite workout that way.

Nevermind, a still good show compared to some others on this year.


theduck - 6/5/13 at 08:14 PM

Certainly a little quieter in terms of traders this year, club stands seemed busy enough though and good number of people about.


Xtreme Kermit - 6/5/13 at 08:23 PM

I was there on Sunday and thought that the halls were a bit wuiet, but the clubs stands well attended.

We had a good show on the quantum plot and there were a she'd load of Cobras. Quiet on the Luego stand tho


rusty nuts - 6/5/13 at 08:25 PM

There wasn't a lot of cars on the Locost club pitch today, loads of traders missing from previous years


snippy - 6/5/13 at 09:01 PM

I was able to visit the show both days and overall it was definately quieter which surprised me with the weather being so nice for once. The main halls had less `main stands` with noticeable large gaps all over. General trade stands were down in numbers too. I was shopping for some simple stuff and it just wasn`t there this year. A few of the clubs outside were down in numbers too, my Tiger club had possibly 12 - 15 cars, previous years we have had in excess of 30. The show this year was definately not as good but its local for me so I will still support it.
I did hear someone say that another company have taken over the showground and increased the prices a lot which is possibly why a lot of stands were missing? Don`t know if this is correct though?


T66 - 6/5/13 at 09:21 PM

Was there last year, when it rained on the Saturday and the weather was pap, and I think it was busier last time. expected more this time with better weather, still enjoyed the wander.


Apart from the knob maitre de in the stoneleigh lodge, him with the chest high pants,segs and the Sgt Major swagger, and the grumpy chef. Dont ever put your toast in the toaster twice, ever.....


I have a confession to make, I snore.....VERY LOUD



I predict a Riot - 6/5/13 at 09:22 PM

I am going to air my opinion - risky I know on here but it's got to be said...

IVA is killing the kit car industry. It's effectively a £1000 tax on a finished car.

There is a recession on - has no one noticed. People are keeping what money they have close to their chest.

Stoneleigh - £1.80 for a f***ing cup of tea!!!! £4.80 for a crappy pastie. And absolutely no entertainment going on in the vast but empty main arena. What was there for the family on a day out, just having a look at the scene - nothing! Kids and spouses were not catered for at all.

Sorry if I sound grumpy but I thought it was all a bit - lazy!


neilp1 - 6/5/13 at 09:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by I predict a Riot
I am going to air my opinion - risky I know on here but it's got to be said...

IVA is killing the kit car industry. It's effectively a £1000 tax on a finished car.

There is a recession on - has no one noticed. People are keeping what money they have close to their chest.

Stoneleigh - £1.80 for a f***ing cup of tea!!!! £4.80 for a crappy pastie. And absolutely no entertainment going on in the vast but empty main arena. What was there for the family on a day out, just having a look at the scene - nothing! Kids and spouses were not catered for at all.

Sorry if I sound grumpy but I thought it was all a bit - lazy!


Missus was with me on sunday and yes nothing for her, just as well she is easy going!


nick-york - 6/5/13 at 10:09 PM

I was there today and was a little disappointed that there seemed less of everything compared to last year despite the fantastic weather..i d love to know why.. Some good suggestions on here.


bigbravedave - 6/5/13 at 10:14 PM

I live within walking distance of the show and haven't been for the last few years,

It has been in steady decline sadly, alot of the shows there have been in decline or disappeared sadly


snapper - 7/5/13 at 04:52 AM

Detling is dead
Exeter to for for me
Newark a shadow of its former self
Stoneleigh was indeed quiet compared with previous years

But for god sake it is the biggest and best show we have
We must support it or that will be the end, we will have no showcase, no annual focus and inspiration


EX01 - 7/5/13 at 07:37 AM

This was my first kit car show I went on the Sunday, I really enjoyed it though as I am looking to purchase I had lots of questions and spent lots of time talking to different clubs and manufactures, I didn’t speak to anyone from on here which I had hoped too .

So I guess I had goals that kept me busy/entertained for the day, though I agree the price of a Bacon butty? £4.80 and I had to buy 3, then a brew each and all of a sudden Breakfast cost £20!!!

If I go again I will be taking a cool box with butties in it for sale and that should cover the cost of the build I have planned in one morning.


Dick Axtell - 7/5/13 at 08:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by I predict a Riot
IVA is killing the kit car industry. It's effectively a £1000 tax on a finished car.

Sorry if I sound grumpy but I thought it was all a bit - lazy!


I also found that there appeared to be less show stands, (some absentee traders), and noticeably increased space between stands, where the organizers evidently spread out those who had turned up. Seemed to be less traders in the cowshed area, also.

Overheard on one main hall stand - "If UK remains in the EU, their increasingly tighter rules regarding the self-build/low volume car industry will kill it off." There were more examples of existing kit producers offering body conversions, thereby side-stepping the IVA, and its associated restrictions.

So this seems to be the way we're going.


Slimy38 - 7/5/13 at 08:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by snippy
I did hear someone say that another company have taken over the showground and increased the prices a lot which is possibly why a lot of stands were missing? Don`t know if this is correct though?


I did wonder how it was funded, the kit car owners getting in free must account for a large proportion of people, I can't imagine takings at the gate being anywhere near enough to cover costs. Does that mean the traders have to cover the rest?


big_l - 7/5/13 at 08:14 AM

Tbh there's a lot of negativity in some of these posts

I was there all weekend and really enjoyed everything
Every trader I spoke to said it was there best show for years (sales wise )
(MNR,SVC )


I met loads of new people too wich is always fun

All in alla good show will always be back...


Myke 2463 - 7/5/13 at 08:20 AM

quote:
Originally posted by snapper
Detling is dead
Exeter to for for me
Newark a shadow of its former self
Stoneleigh was indeed quiet compared with previous years

But for god sake it is the biggest and best show we have
We must support it or that will be the end, we will have no showcase, no annual focus and inspiration



Very true, send your suggestions to the organizers as we are there customers, without us they don't make money.


BATHO - 7/5/13 at 02:31 PM

I was there both days had a good weekend and spoke to some great interesting people as always.
The locost pitch was very quite all weekend witch is a shame.....but never the less great show it's all there.....


Irony - 7/5/13 at 02:40 PM

I think they should start charge a small fee for kitcar owners. I am sure most people wouldn't mind somewhere less than a fiver to keep the show running.


richardm6994 - 7/5/13 at 04:33 PM

I can only assume that the traders must pay a lot to have a stand at Stoneleigh, and this inevitably increases their selling prices......

I went to Stoneleigh this year with a shopping list of bits.......previously priced up on ebay / tinterweb before I went at just under £200, and pretty much like for like at the show would have cost me £235. I'm not saying that there arn't bargins to be had, but gone are the days when you could get your bits from a show cheaper than anywhere else!!

[Edited on 7/5/13 by richardm6994]


big_wasa - 7/5/13 at 04:56 PM

With you on this. I love making the thing but the cost of the iva against what ever use I will get out of it doesn't add up.

I offered the wife and kids the choice between the show and the beach and it was 4 against none

Parking, Free.
Food, took a pick nick.
Fuel half that of getting to the show.
Extra costs, £6 for an ice-cream each.
Good bank holiday weather, Priceless.

I will try and get to Newark as that's my local show.

quote:
Originally posted by I predict a Riot
I am going to air my opinion - risky I know on here but it's got to be said...

IVA is killing the kit car industry. It's effectively a £1000 tax on a finished car.

There is a recession on - has no one noticed. People are keeping what money they have close to their chest.

Stoneleigh - £1.80 for a f***ing cup of tea!!!! £4.80 for a crappy pastie. And absolutely no entertainment going on in the vast but empty main arena. What was there for the family on a day out, just having a look at the scene - nothing! Kids and spouses were not catered for at all.

Sorry if I sound grumpy but I thought it was all a bit - lazy!


scootz - 7/5/13 at 05:54 PM

quote:
Originally posted by T66
I have a confession to make, I snore.....VERY LOUD



LOL... I wish I could host the 'noises' somewhere on the web and share with everyone!


Talon Motorsport - 7/5/13 at 05:54 PM

The trade stands and the manufacturers have to pay per square meter to be there, if trade is slow during the build up to the show they can't afford to be there simple as that. You could spend £1000-2000 easy just to stand there for 3 days for people just to walk by and say 'can't afford one of those' and move on to the next stand. Most of the people going to a kit car show have built their cars or are building a car and are there to look around and have a day out , nobody buy's a kit at a show if you are going to buy an expensive kit from a company you go to their place of business and spend a few hours talking to them face to face while they show you where it will all be made with out them being distracted by other people.

Truth is kit car shows are a waste of time for manufactures they are just there to make up the big holes between the parts stands. They spend good money during the year advertising in the kit car mags and what do they get from these mags when it comes to show time, discount to be there perhaps? When we used to do model railway shows there was free tea and coffee for the stands during the day, some of the bigger shows had a lunch thrown in too each day so that you felt that you where actually wanted there. I wonder what you deal you get as a trader at a kit car show?

The smaller shows will die out as they get less and less attended by every body due to people saying 'it's not what it once was' and guess what nobody bothers going...
You'll end up with one big show a year in the middle of the country that is treated as a social event that only a few of the bigger manufacturers can afford to attend.


keith777 - 7/5/13 at 06:04 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Irony
I think they should start charge a small fee for kitcar owners. I am sure most people wouldn't mind somewhere less than a fiver to keep the show running.


If It wasn't for the kit car owners taking their cars there,surely there wouldn't be a show !


zekill - 7/5/13 at 06:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by MK9R
I was there on Sunday, hall 1 was very busy most of the day, and I thought the number of cars and amount of people outside was very high. Hall 2 did have some bare space and didn't feel as busy, but all in all a good show.

Hi, I have see your car this sunday, high modified Fury
if you remember, what is the beautiful green car behind ? thx.


stig mills - 7/5/13 at 07:07 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Talon Motorsport
The trade stands and the manufacturers have to pay per square meter to be there, if trade is slow during the build up to the show they can't afford to be there simple as that. You could spend £1000-2000 easy just to stand there for 3 days for people just to walk by and say 'can't afford one of those' and move on to the next stand. Most of the people going to a kit car show have built their cars or are building a car and are there to look around and have a day out , nobody buy's a kit at a show if you are going to buy an expensive kit from a company you go to their place of business and spend a few hours talking to them face to face while they show you where it will all be made with out them being distracted by other people.

Truth is kit car shows are a waste of time for manufactures they are just there to make up the big holes between the parts stands.


Sorry to have to disagree. Manufacturers are there to fly the flag.
We do not have Country wide show rooms so we take our cars to the customers by doing shows at various times of the year in various locations, not just kit car shows but many different car shows. Sales wise you are wrong in saying "no one buys a kit at a show", My best year was 2011 when we took a staggering 16 Exocet orders at Stoneleigh. This year we sold 4 Mevsters and had a huge amount of positive interest from potential Replicar buyers.
So on a positive note, anyone reading that wishes to show their products to a target audience really does need to attend Newark in 6 weeks, 30th year, needless to say MEV and RTR will be exhibiting, please join us.
Stoneleigh 2013 was a fantastic show IMO.


Carbonman - 7/5/13 at 07:26 PM

Have to agree with stig mills. This was my first time at Stoneleigh as a trader and the experience was a totally positive one. The reason for going was not to simply sell as much stuff as possible, the whole reason for going for me was to speak to potential customers face to face and get a feel for what products they actually want/need, and get feedback as to whether or not what I am making fits that ethos. So in a nutshell PR & Marketing and for me totally worth while so will certainly be at Newark


eddie99 - 7/5/13 at 07:38 PM

As above, we went to generate interest in the new car, not necessarily to flog parts.

Its important for the manufacturers to support the show and i still think its the best kit car show. Unfortunately we will be racing same weekend as Newark so won't be there.... Next show for us will probably be Autosport next year.


Andybarbet - 7/5/13 at 10:36 PM

I bought my kit at Stoneleigh a few years back.

I had already done lots of research before hand & visited the Luego factory when they had an open day too.


scootz - 8/5/13 at 08:24 AM

Have to say that Westfield nearly got my dough for their XI's (even though I didn't go to the show with any thoughts about buying anything!).

Lovely wee car and they were offering 15% off for orders taken on the weekend! TBH, the only thing that stopped me was the lack of rollover protection (nothing in the hump, and the passenger - wife - would likely injure their neck in a solid rear end shunt). I had a wee think about how you would remedy it, but everything I came up with would ruin the look of the car.