Wheels & Deals with The Old Car Lady

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Most classic car auctions look like glamour on the surface, but the real story is all the unseen risk, cost, and strategy that happens long before the hammer falls. I take a look behind the curtain with Penny & Stacey from Iconic Auctioneers to find out what it really takes to put a classic car auction on, and why the smartest sellers and buyers use auctions very differently than most people think.
From the obvious cost of staging auctions at giant events like the NEC, Silverstone, and Carfest to the hidden expense of marketing, catalogues, postage, photography, and third-party listings, Penny explains how much an auction house invests before it earns a penny while Stacey breaks down the vendors side, including how guide prices are set, why realistic reserves matter, and what happens when a car arrives with a weak history file, poor presentation, or a price that simply isn't marketable.
We discuss why glossy catalogues still matter in a digital world, how auction results work as the classic car market's true price guide, and why a well-prepared history file can change everything. We unpack the psychology of bidding, the value of underbidders, how private sellers often misunderstand market reality, and why the right prep can increase both saleability and value.
For more information regarding Iconic Auctions please visit www.iconicauctioneers.com or you can follow them on social media @iconicauctioneers .
To discuss consigning a classic car in the upcoming auction at the NEC Classic Motor Show on 14th-15th November please call Stacey on 07472-250306 and for classic bikes Mark on 07958-107974 will be able to help.

“Being There: Stories from the Road Where We Keep the Rubber Side Down”
Award-winning motorcycle stories from a father, brought to life by his son.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
I hope you enjoy this episode, if you do I’d be grateful if you could like, subscribe, review and pass it on to anyone else that might enjoy it too. You can see what’s going on in my old car garage by following The Old Car Lady on all the usual social media channels and please get in touch with any questions or to discuss collaborations.
📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com
📞 Tel: 07851 694637
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎦 TikTok, Facebook and YouTube: The Old Car Lady
👍 The Old Car Lady Classic Car Community on Facebook
🔔 Subscribe: @Theoldcarlady on YouTube

Click here to talk to us…..we’d love to hear from you!
The humble Metro is far more fascinating than most people remember. From a base-spec 1982 Austin Mini Metro City to a rare Mark 2 MG Metro Turbo, a Rover 114 SLi, and the final Rover 100-era cars, this episode reveals why these small British hatchbacks were everywhere then, and why survivors are turning heads now.
The Old Car Lady joins Tim from Stockley Classics to compare four very different Metros side by side, uncovering how the line evolved across 18 years without losing its core character. From badge changes and facelifted front ends to interior upgrades, five-door practicality, and the shift from stripped-out city car to slightly more upmarket Rover, the conversation shows just how much car you got for the money, and how much personality came With them.
You'll discover:
 What actually changed between the Mark 1, Mark 2, Rover Metro, and Rover 100
Why the base City is so charmingly spartan, with no glove box, no radio, and plastic seats
 How the turbo and later K-Series cars altered the Metro formula
 Why the Hydragas suspension is both the Metro's secret weapon and its biggest maintenance headache
 What makes a low-mileage, original survivor far more interesting than a shiny restored example
There's also a brilliant look at the market logic behind these cars.
Some were once worth "two lolly sticks and a balloon, yet now the most ordinary examples are the rarest, because so many were used hard, rusted away, or simply disappeared. If you've ever wondered why a basic family hatchback can now spark more excitement than a Corvette or a Wrangler at a show, this episode has the answer.
This is essential listening if you love British classics, want to understand why originality matters, or you're shopping for a Metro, Mini Metro, Rover Metro, or Rover 100 of your own. Expect nostalgia, practical buying advice, and a fresh appreciation for one of Britain's most important everyday cars.
Thanks to Tim Ashworth of Stockley Classics for his time, knowledge and of course his Metro’s You can find Tim at:
Website: www.stockleyclassics.com
Social Media: @stockleyclassics
You Tube: Tim Sells Cars
“Being There: Stories from the Road Where We Keep the Rubber Side Down”
Award-winning motorcycle stories from a father, brought to life by his son.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
I hope you enjoy this episode, if you do I’d be grateful if you could like, subscribe, review and pass it on to anyone else that might enjoy it too. You can see what’s going on in my old car garage by following The Old Car Lady on all the usual social media channels and please get in touch with any questions or to discuss collaborations.
📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com
📞 Tel: 07851 694637
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎦 TikTok, Facebook and YouTube: The Old Car Lady
👍 The Old Car Lady Classic Car Community on Facebook
🔔 Subscribe: @Theoldcarlady on YouTube

Click here to talk to us…..we’d love to hear from you!
Two very different corners of the car world collide here - and the result is a brutally honest blueprint for how to buy, prep, sell, and actually make money from cars in 2026. If you care about classics, modern classics, or running a dealership without drowning in comebacks, this conversation is packed with real-world tactics you can use immediately.
James and The Old Car Lady get into the shift from modern stock to older metal, why project cars can be smarter than perfect ones, and how social media has become a genuine sales tool rather than just a marketing side hustle. They break down what really makes a car valuable, why transparency beats polish, and how knowing exactly who you are selling to can save you from expensive headaches later.
You'll discover:
 Why rough-and-ready classics can be better business than immaculate restorations
 How project cars create room for margin, content, and future opportunity
 The difference between selling to experienced classic buyers and first-timers
 Why honesty about faults, paperwork, and expectations
How YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram help build trust
 When a raffle model makes sense, and when it absolutely doesn't
The conversation also digs into the modern dealership squeeze: rising prep costs, warranty pressure, and why low-margin cars under five grand are getting harder to retail profitably. Against that backdrop, they make a strong case for the dealers who can show their work, explain their process, and prove the value they add before a customer ever steps through the door.
If you're a car dealer, enthusiast, trader, or just someone who loves hearing how the business really works behind the scenes, this episode is essential listening. It's smart, funny, and refreshingly unfiltered - with plenty of ideas for anyone trying to turn cars into a sustainable business without losing the love for them.
A Nod To
Huge thanks to James for joining me this week, to find out more about James and his dealership, classic cars and raffles please look for Chops Garage on all them usual social media channels - an if you don’t already follow him please have a look at his brilliant YouTube channel.
Website: https://www.cgcarsales.co.uk/
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@ChopsGarage

“Being There: Stories from the Road Where We Keep the Rubber Side Down”
Award-winning motorcycle stories from a father, brought to life by his son.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
I hope you enjoy this episode, if you do I’d be grateful if you could like, subscribe, review and pass it on to anyone else that might enjoy it too. You can see what’s going on in my old car garage by following The Old Car Lady on all the usual social media channels and please get in touch with any questions or to discuss collaborations.
📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com
📞 Tel: 07851 694637
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎦 TikTok, Facebook and YouTube: The Old Car Lady
👍 The Old Car Lady Classic Car Community on Facebook
🔔 Subscribe: @Theoldcarlady on YouTube

Click here to talk to us…..we’d love to hear from you!
A £50,000 Audi Quattro, a bargain Lagonda Rapide, and a handful of French and German oddballs that prove the market is full of surprises. If you love classic cars, auction drama, and the kind of brutally honest price-picking that only comes from people who are part of the industry, this episode is for you.
The Old Car Lady puts 6 lots under the microscope with sharp, opinionated calls on value, condition, and desirability. From a 1990 Audi Quattro 20-valve press car with a serious premium question hanging over it, to a rare Lagonda Rapide that's suddenly looking like smart money, every car gets judged on more than just shiny paint and a glossy brochure. 
She invites Richy Barnett - Markets Editor for Classic Car Weekly, Simon Monks from Lot 76 YouTube channel and dealer Jason Hall from Bramhall Classics to share their market insights as well as challenging them to guess where these cars will end up under the hammer.
You'll hear detailed reactions to a 1978 Peugeot 604 V6 SL in exceptional condition, a no-reserve 1978 Citroën GS Club, and a beautifully preserved Mercedes 190 Ponton with one of the most obsessive history files you'll ever hear about. Along the way, the conversation digs into what actually adds value at auction, why press car provenance can be both a blessing and a curse, and which classic shapes still stop people in their tracks.

In this episode: the 1971 Hillman Hunter Super 1725 is discussed as a no reserve resto-mod-style car that had a strong preview appeal, and the final price lands at £5,344 including fees, above the early estimate.
 Simon from Lot76 weighs in on the 1990 Audi Quattro 20-valve press car, arguing that the 20-valve version is more desirable than the 10-valve and that press-car provenance may justify a premium, but only up to a point.
 The Audi's press-car history becomes the big question: better documentation and preparation, but potentially a harder life from magazine and TV testing, track use, and repeated wear.
 The Lagonda Rapide is highlighted as the speaker's top pick of the sale, with a concise history of Aston Martin and Lagonda being brought together under David Brown and the market shifting from high-value to much more accessible territory.
 The Lagonda Rapide is praised for its design and value, with the estimate reset from a lofty prior range to a more saleable level, and it ultimately sells for £50,625 including fees.
 Jason Hall of Bramhall Classics joins the conversation outside to talk through a batch of French and German curiosities, and how he very nearly ended up a Maserati main dealer.
 The Peugeot 604 is treated as a hidden gem: left-hand drive, automatic, recent cosmetic work, and a strong sense of old-money elegance, though the market estimate looks low for such a tidy
 The 1978 Citroën GS Club gets a strong endorsement as a practical, efficient, compact family car that still makes sense today, with special mention of the bi-rotor version and the strength of Citroën enthusiast demand
 The Mercedes 190 Ponton closes out the discussion as a car with exceptional history and real driver appeal, but the lot does not meet reserve and remains unsold despite reaching €10,000 on the day.
I would like to apologise for the reduced quality of today’s episode - the Producer is having a well earnt rest and I’ve had a crack at it myself - normal higher quality business will be resumed shortly.
A Nod To
Simon Monks of Lot 76 YouTube channel @Lot76CARS
Richy Barnett of Classic Car Weekly and www.thespecial.org website
Jason Hall of Bramhall Classics 
📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎦 TikTok, Facebook and YouTube: The Old Car Lady
👍 The Old Car Lady Classic Car Community on Facebook
🔔 Subscribe: @Theoldcarlady on YouTube

I hope you enjoy this episode, if you do I’d be grateful if you could like, subscribe, review and pass it on to anyone else that might enjoy it too. You can see what’s going on in my old car garage by following The Old Car Lady on all the usual social media channels and please get in touch with any questions or to discuss collaborations.
📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com
📞 Tel: 07851 694637
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎦 TikTok, Facebook and YouTube: The Old Car Lady
👍 The Old Car Lady Classic Car Community on Facebook
🔔 Subscribe: @Theoldcarlady on YouTube

Click here to talk to us…..we’d love to hear from you!
The Old Car Lady is joined by Paul Gardner, founder of Speed Broker. Paul and his wife manage private treaty sales on behalf of collectors: photography, listings, storytelling, negotiation and handover, with the car staying exactly where it is.
Paul’s career went from a paper round to Halfords, through valeting, wrapping, three years travelling with the Gumball 3000 and a restoration centre in Essex. Along the way: The Beatles’ E-Type, a Ferrari F40 in Switzerland, 70s Astons and a De Tomaso Pantera that started up outside a block of flats in North London and changed everything.
Featured Stories
The De Tomaso Pantera on the Paper Round: Paul was 13, delivering papers in North London, when a man started up a De Tomaso Pantera outside a block of flats. That was it. Sold for life. The E-Type his dad had admired at 10 was the first spark. The Pantera was the one that lit the fire.
The Beatles’ E-Type: Bought at the Coys auction in 2016. It had belonged to Ivor Arbiter, the man who created the logo on The Beatles’ drum kit and assisted with instruments and bookings. The car had been left rotting for 40 years. Paul’s restoration centre in Essex spent two years returning it to a Series 1 flat-floor E-Type in crimson. It won awards.
Speed Broker: Matchmakers for Classic Cars: Paul Gardner and his wife manage private treaty sales without the car leaving the owner. No dealer risk, no auction floor. Full photography, storytelling, negotiation and handover for a commission. The car stays in the owner’s garage until it is sold to the right person.
One in, One Out and the Cars You Regret: Paul has owned close to 400 personal cars. Both he and Sam have sold things they wish they hadn’t. Paul’s approach was to own everything he had an opinion about so he could form that opinion himself. His conclusion: brilliant strategy, terrible financial plan.
Square Pegs in Square Holes: The best deals Paul does are the ones where he already knows the buyer before the car comes to him. Building the community, running the events, staying in the room: all of it means that when a 70s Aston or a flat-floor E-Type needs a home, he usually knows exactly whose home it should be.
A Nod To
Speed Broker, Paul’s private treaty sales business. Find them on Instagram. The restoration centre in Essex where The Beatles’ E-Type was rebuilt. Ivor Arbiter and the Coys auction where it was found. And the man in North London with the De Tomaso Pantera who will never know what he started.
📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎦 TikTok, Facebook and YouTube: The Old Car Lady
👍 The Old Car Lady Classic Car Community on Facebook
🔔 Subscribe: @Theoldcarlady on YouTube
This has been a Worth A Listen Production.

“Being There: Stories from the Road Where We Keep the Rubber Side Down”
Award-winning motorcycle stories from a father, brought to life by his son.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
I hope you enjoy this episode, if you do I’d be grateful if you could like, subscribe, review and pass it on to anyone else that might enjoy it too. You can see what’s going on in my old car garage by following The Old Car Lady on all the usual social media channels and please get in touch with any questions or to discuss collaborations.
📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com
📞 Tel: 07851 694637
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎦 TikTok, Facebook and YouTube: The Old Car Lady
👍 The Old Car Lady Classic Car Community on Facebook
🔔 Subscribe: @Theoldcarlady on YouTube