Richard,
Just to be clear, you're not paying to use the forum. You're using it already. And the absolute gold mine of information is almost all here for free.
There are however some sections that require premium membership. To access the "for sale" section and the absolutely superb "how to" section for the price of what is little more than a pint, represents extremely good value and I'm definitely not alone in thinking this. Look how many people are paid members and you might get an idea.
How much do you think hosting alone costs for this place? Especially given the high volume of traffic the site sees. I think you may be surprised. Not to mention the considerable amount of time the excellent moderators put in here for free. They're not on the make. What do you do for a living? How often do you do it without being paid? How about offering up all your knowledge for £5 a year?
Look at it this way, if your £5 gets you the car you want, it would be worth it just for that, let alone the other benefits for future parts purchases or maintenance info. Worked for us.
As far as what you said about "for sale elsewhere" good luck with that. If a fiver isn't worth the effort to you in order to be able to buy a car from a genuine enthusiast that often has an incredibly detailed history thread behind it, good luck with a trader from Pistonheads or some sketchy oik on facebook etc. The £5 doesn't just get the section unlocked, it gets you access to the sort of owners that you can't find elsewhere.
Oh and yes, there is NOWHERE as good as right here for these cars.
At the end of the day... it's £5 mate.
