Congratulations to Brian Pritchard and his superb black 'Ron'

Every month we feature stories from you so don't be shy and share your experiences and fun you have with your Fig with the club. Click here

A lovely story
Story by Member Graham Austin

"We have just joined your club and see that you are looking for stories about our cars etc,. We first saw a Figaro at a stately home. We were on holiday in Buckinhghamshire and paid a visit to Clivedon House to view the gardens; as we approached the house itself which is now a very posh hotel, there was a collection of rather prestigious cars at the front. Among Bentleys and Jags and the like was this peculiar little car, the like of which we had never seen before. Being already in the old car world (we have a 1955 MG Magnette and previously several pre war cars), we were naturally interested. I left my wife and crept quietly towards it - expecting at any time to be chased by a commissionaire as we were not staying at the hotel and the area looked as if it might be reserved for those who were, - I quickly glanced at it looking for a badge to tell me what it was. (anyone watching me must have thought I looked very sus!) However, all I saw was 'Figaro' The miniscule 'Nissan' legend evaded me in my haste. My wife was smitten and resolved to find out more. Lo and behold, within a few days we saw another but it was on the move so we still didn't know who made it. Once back home, we investigated further and found more about these lovely little machines but, already involved with our own car we did nothing more than admire from afar, until we retired last year.
 
We went to a local show with our Magnette and there on the field were two lovely examples; I was frogmarched over to have a closer look and of course we got into conversation with one of the owners who was very helpful and told us all about them. It was only a few weeks later when a friend rang to say he'd found one advertised for sale in our local paper. It turned out that it was a garage advertising and they had seven of them all in different stated of repair. We went for a look; some were really tatty and were going to be restored before sale, some were very good but too expensive and a couple were within our price range and very presentable. It was one of those we came out with. All of them, the man said had just come into the country apart from the one we chose which had already been owned by a local man so was already tried and tested on our roads. We were told that the sticky roof lining was because the Japanese are heavy smokers and nicotine caused the stickiness and the marked carpets were because they also drink coffee whilst driving and tend to spill some. I believed the nicotine thing but took the coffee story with a pinch of salt until I read it in a publication so who knows? Actually maybe you seasoned owners do!!.
 
So now we are the owners of two classic cars. The Fig has only two drawbacks as far as I can see, being comparatively new, it is still taxable - our older cars have always been tax exempt. Perhaps the government will relent one day! And the other is that is fairly expensive insurance compared to classics but now we've joined the club I see there is a discount available so I'll test that out when time comes to renew. Other than that the little Fig is a delight to drive and joy to own and has brought a whole new dimension to my wife's retirement. Congrats on the club newsletter and good luck for the future."

Thanks Graham, it must be tricky to choose what car to take out on a nice sunny day! ed
 Our special one
Story by Member Cath


If you drive down our road we could play snap! It's identical to our Figgy!..ed (: