AACA Membership Benefits?

[dan at larescorp]

I was wondering what kind of benefits you get for having an AACA membership?

I.E.- What's the benifits of having a lifetime membership over renewing annually (besides the obvious-Not having to renew each year)?

Thanks in advance!

[Steve Moskowitz]

Dan,

The lifetime is still a bargain.The chances are that dues will go up someday and our lifetime membership is way under-priced at $600.

As far as benefits go, there are many. You get free entrance into the AACA Museum at any time. You get an hour 1/2 free research through the AACA Library. These two alone are worth the price of the membership at $35. Plus you get arguably one of the best magazines published in the car hobby, a monthly email newsletter and the ability to parfticpate in great meets and tours during the year. The altruistic part is that AACA is always fighting for the protection of our hobby and being by far the largest club in the US our voice is heard. AACA frequently has special offerws to members and is constantly looking for new quality benefits to its members.

You also have at your fingertips a national headquarters and staff who work full time on behalf of our members so the phone, email and letters are always there for you.

[MCHinson]

From the Homepage:

Free bi-monthly magazine filled with content about the art of collecting

Free monthly online magazine - “Speedster”

Free admission to the AACA Museum

Access to national car meets and tours and more!

The magazine is worth the annual membership fee in my opinion. The benefit of lifetime membership is simply so that you can pay once and save some money over time.

In my case, when I first started, a lifetime membership would have saved me a bit of money. Unfortunately, as a young police officer I could not afford a lifetime membership. Now that I could afford it, after having been a member for a bunch of years, I don't think that it would save me much.

[MCHinson]

Steve said it better than I did. He managed to post that after I started writing my reply to your question.

[dan at larescorp]

Thanks Steve and Matt.

I was just getting ready to purchase one or the other. I just wanted to see what the pros and cons where of each. I have no doubt after seeing how well this forum is run that it will be worth every penny.

Thanks again.

[Bhigdog]

Subtract your age from your actuarial life expectancy, divide that number into 600. If the result is less than 35 it would pay you to buy the life membership. If more, not so much...............Bob

[old car fan]

Just a trip to the museum, Is worth the membership.If you have not been to the museum,get there,always something new.I am also with Mr Hinson,I am also too old to benefit,So i pay yearly.Best money you will spend.An added plus is then site is free,and so much knowledge is here,at your fingertips.

Edited March 5, 2013 by old car fan (see edit history)

[Jim Bollman]

I luckily decided to stretch the budget back in the 70s and went for Life when I think it was around $150. Needless to say it has been paying dividends for a long time now.

I always wondered since Life is for a joint membership does the membership extend to the spouse if the primary member dies first. Not sure my wife would care but many would.

[MCHinson]

Bob,

I am probably on the borderline of a payback for a life membership. I wish I had the money when I was younger. If they wanted to give a 25% discount of dues already paid, I would jump on a lifetime membership now. I am almost convinced to go ahead and do it anyway, but I think that as soon as I make sure my kids are going to stick with it, I might just buy them life memberships instead.

Jim,

As I understand it, the life joint membership lasts for the lifetime of both members.

[Bhigdog]

Here's a plan, Jim. Buy the membership then live to 100 just for spite. :cool:. I just did my IRA mandatory withdrawal. The IRS says I have 24.7 years left to aggravate everybody. That means a life membership would cost me $24.29/year. I'd like to see poor Steve M.'s face when he reads 24.7 more years...................Bob

Edited March 6, 2013 by Bhigdog (see edit history)

[Steve Braverman]

I got my life membership in 1980. I was six years old.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Dan, since you have already decided to join this is more of a general statement then one for you. A major benefit of memberhsip not mentioned thus far is access to joining a region. You must be a national member to join a region.

What that has done for me over the years is provide access to comoraderie, knowledge, leads on vehicles & parts, and inclusion in local activities. It increases the enjoyment factor tremendously. I have also been able to see several private collections in the area that simply would not have been made available to a "civillian" . That alone is worth the money.

Eventually I would like to get involved more with the National however right now time is an issue, was a local region BOD member for 5 years but dropped due to business committments, for now.

[dan at larescorp]

I got my membership yesterday. I will have to wait on the lifetime membership until next year or so due to having a 6 month old son. I'm sure most of you know of the surprise expenses kids give you lol.

My next question is do we have a member #, and if so how do I find out what mine is?

Also I wanted to thank you all for your responses. You have been a great help.

Thanks again

[dan at larescorp]

Dan, since you have already decided to join this is more of a general statement then one for you. A major benefit of memberhsip not mentioned thus far is access to joining a region. You must be a national member to join a region.

What that has done for me over the years is provide access to comoraderie, knowledge, leads on vehicles & parts, and inclusion in local activities. It increases the enjoyment factor tremendously. I have also been able to see several private collections in the area that simply would not have been made available to a "civillian" . That alone is worth the money.

Eventually I would like to get involved more with the National however right now time is an issue, was a local region BOD member for 5 years but dropped due to business committments, for now.

I have what might be a dumb question, but I dont like waiting to get laughed at

The annual membership is a national one right?

Edited March 6, 2013 by dan@larescorp (see edit history)

[MCHinson]

Dan,

I assume you joined online at AACA.org, or downloaded a membership application and sent it in to AACA. That would be a national membership. As has been mentioned, you can join local regions and/or chapters also. The main page of the website has a list of those and a search feature to help you find those in your area. You will receive a membership card in the mail soon. The membership card will have your membership number.

[dan at larescorp]

Thanks Matt!

[rocketraider]

I had a different and some may say selfish reason for buying my Life Membership a few years back. Yeah, I figured it would save me a little or at least break even over the rest of my lifetime, but I want my obituary to mention I was an AACA Life Member. It's no secret to friends and family, but I would like to be remembered as having been committed to the old car hobby and maybe that will influence someone else to get involved and keep these old cars alive.

Maybe I should just be committed, I donno...