As we revealed in issue...

As we revealed in issue 856, up to 10,000 vehicles are being stored as the legal wrangles continue over who owns what following the collapse of the Birmingham-based company.

But the latest move comes after Capital Bank - which claimed control over the 10,000 cars between the Longbridge factory gate and the dealer showrooms - provided new funding to help sell them. Getting the vehicles on forecourts will help Capital recoup some of its costs.

Demand for the cars is said to be strong because customers think there are bargains on offer. Richard Cort is owner of six showrooms in the north west of England - two of which are MG Rover sites - and is also chairman of the national dealer council. He told us: "Sales are pretty buoyant at the moment. When someone gets the sort of publicity this company has received, you would have to be from the Planet Zog not to be aware MG Rover has gone under. But people aren"t securing the sort of half-price deals which have been suggested." And Cort added buyers haven"t been getting hung up on the fact that there is no guarantee offered on the models.

"MG Rover didn"t make bad cars," he said. "They won"t break down in the gutter. People who want a warranty are buying one separately out of the savings they made on their vehicle."