Wheels & Deals with The Old Car Lady
Wheels & Deals with The Old Car Lady, the UK's classic car podcast for people who love the stories behind the cars.
Sam Grange-Bailey isn't a presenter. She's a classic car dealer and a car dealer's daughter who grew up in the Manchester motor trade. She lived through the golden era of the British car business — the 1960s, '70s, '80s, and early '90s — when deals were done on a handshake, the cars had genuine personality, and the dealers who sold them were larger-than-life characters.
This podcast preserves those stories before they're lost.
Each episode brings honest, unfiltered conversations with the people who lived it: dealers, auctioneers, journalists, mechanics, and collectors. Expect tales of dodgy deals, auction house drama, barn finds, family businesses, cars that got away, and the ones that probably should have.
If you've ever wondered what it was really like inside a British car dealership before the internet changed everything or you just love hearing proper stories about proper cars ➙ this is the podcast for you.
Featured guests include Bond car specialists, Rolls-Royce dealers, senior motoring journalists, auction house insiders, and the characters who built the Manchester and UK classic car scene.
Topics: classic cars, motor trade history, buying and selling at auction, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, MG, Porsche, barn finds, modern classics, showroom stories, car dealer life, classic car values, and the unwritten rules of the trade.
New episodes every week.
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Wheels & Deals with The Old Car Lady
Albert Walsh | 55 Years in Prestige Cars, Racing E-Types & The Motor Trade Prostitute
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Join Sam Grange-Bailey (The Old Car Lady) for a conversation with Albert Walsh, a veteran of the motor trade with over 55 years' experience. Albert is a well-respected member of Porsche Club GB, regularly consulted for pre-purchase inspections, and a consultant for Manor Park Classics Auctions.
This episode takes you through Albert's journey from driving at 13 in his dad's garage to working for the northwest's most prestigious dealers including Ian Anthony's Porsche Centre, Mercedes-Benz, Bauer Millet, and Bentley Ribble Valley. Albert shares stories about the glory days when customers paid in briefcases full of cash and Friday lunchtimes meant racing E-Types down the East Lancs Road.
From his first car (a sit-up-and-beg Ford Pop) to his beloved 1986 Porsche 911 Super Sport Targa, Albert's collection includes British, French, and German classics. We discuss dodgy dealers, celebrity car deals gone wrong (including David Beckham's TVR Cerbera), and why the 1980s were the heyday of the independent motor trade.
Featured Cars
1968 Volkswagen Beetle 1500 - Albert's first legal car, written off on Cross Ply’s in the snow
1986 Porsche 911 Super Sport Targa - Bought for £11,750 in 2000, sold for £16,000
2CV - Red one-owner example bought from Ian Anthony's for £1,200
Mercedes-Benz W124 estate in Red - Albert's favourite Mercedes, "the fire engine"
Citroën SM - Fastest front-wheel-drive production car of its time
Lotus Elise - Albert's speciality, ran his own Lotus repair business
What You'll Learn
Why the 1980s were the heyday of the independent motor trade
How Ian Anthony's operated waiting lists over a year for new Porsches
The truth about pre-purchase inspections and spotting cut-and-shut cars
Why customers who "need to check with the wife" never come back
How Martin Inghams’s Autotrader adverts became legendary
The art of "borrowing" stock cars for classic car shows
Key Questions
What makes a good pre-purchase inspection?
Albert uses paint depth gauges, axle stands, and decades of experience to spot welded repairs and hidden damage. The best dealers have nothing to hide. Trust your instincts - if something feels wrong, it usually is.
Who were the big characters in the northwest motor trade?
Martin Ingram (legendary adverts), Lawrence Millet (gentleman dealer), Ian of Ian Anthony's fame (forward-thinking Porsche dealer), Len Taylor (threw rude customers out), and mechanics like Albert's dad who could diagnose faults by ear alone.
What was the worst car you've inspected?
A Porsche Boxster that had been cut-and-shut with welded inner wings, a 997 with piston slap the dealer claimed was "just a lazy tappet," and cars with missing spare wheels and keys the owners swore were "in the garage somewhere."
A Nod to
Ian Anthony's Porsche Centre - Premier Porsche and BMW dealer Mercedes-Benz - Where Albert learned the W124 inside out. Bauer Millets - Lawrence Millet and Chris Bauer's exotic dealership. Bentley Ribble Valley - John Ashworth's Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Lotus dealership - his son Stephen Ashworth is the founder and Chairman of Manor Park Classics. Kinsey Jones - Top Lotus dealer in Europe. Martin Ingram - Independent dealer with legendary Autotrader adverts. Porsche Club GB - Albert served as Register Director and Chairman of Motorsport.
Get in Touch
💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554
📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady
🎬 TikTok, Facebook & YouTube: The Old Car Lady
#MotorTradeStories #PorscheClubGB #EnsorMercedes #BaronMillet #MartinHam #ClassicCarInspections #Porsche911 #LotusElise #MercedesW124 #CitroenSM #2CV #1980sMotorTrade #NorthwestDealers #TheOldCarLady #ClassicCarDealer
Produced By Worth A Listen Production