Honest John Dixon | Ford Capris, Fraud Squad Rolls-Royces & 40 Years in the Motor Trade

The Old Car Lady is joined by John Dixon, known as Honest John. He started cleaning cars at ten, bought his first banger at fourteen with no licence, and spent 40 years dealing from pitches and showrooms across South London and Kent.

This is a time capsule of the 70s and 80s motor trade: the tricks, the characters, James Hunt’s car on the forecourt, Sid James’ Rolls-Royce, the traffic warden and the bucket of water, and the fraud squad who watched him for months over a mis-typed chassis number.

Featured Stories

Cleaning Cars at Ten, Dealing at Fourteen: Too small to see over a bonnet when he turned up asking for work. By fourteen he was buying bangers from Exchange & Mart with no licence and selling them outside his house.

The Bug Under the Seat: John wired a listening device under the seats of his showroom cars. He heard exactly what customers said about price and part exchange, then used it against them before they even got to the office.

The Traffic Warden and the Bucket: A traffic warden outside the Dante Motor Company in Plumstead pushed John too far. He borrowed his car cleaner’s bucket and threw the whole lot over her. The street had a whip-round to pay his fine. He sold 50 cars that week.

James Hunt, Sid James and the Forecourt: John put James Hunt’s personal car on his forecourt to draw the crowds. He also bought and sold Sid James’ Rolls-Royce. Both photos are pinned on Sam’s Instagram.

The Fraud Squad and the Rolls-Royce: A mis-typed chassis number on a Rolls-Royce logbook had Scotland Yard convinced John was ringing cars. They watched him for months. The chief inspector eventually came down, shook his hand 

What You’ll Learn

Why you should always let an Exchange & Mart seller stew for two weeks before you call. How to clear a cheque in the same day and why that kills the buyer’s get-out. Why hiding the car after the deal stops the buyer’s mates talking them out of it. Why selling yourself before the car is the only philosophy that lasts 40 years. And why John was the poorest honest dealer in Kent and slept better for it.

A Nod To

John’s son Chris, who now runs the family business, for getting in touch with Sam. Peter Jarvis of Peter Jarvis Cars in Dartford, who John educated in the motor trade early on. And the Giles Book of Cartoons, which apparently featured a motor dealer on a wall waiting for a tractor after the traffic warden incident. 

Vintage and Classic Car Competitions: use code SAM15 for 15% off. 

Dodo Juice: use code SAM10 for 10% off.

📧 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 to our YouTube channel @Theoldcarlady

This has been a Worth A Listen Production.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Hi, I'm Sam, the old car lady. Welcome along to the Wheels and Deals podcast. So lately we've been looking at the Manchester motor trade, and I thought it was time we headed down to London to see how they did things down there. And trust me, this one is brilliant. Today I'm with Honest John, and if you think you knew how it was done in the 70s, you might be surprised, or maybe not. So, from bugging cars, keeping spare keys after selling the motors in case he had to go and get them back, selling rolls to Arabs and buying Sid James's actual shadow to ending up in court for throwing a bucket of water over a traffic warden. This is proper old school motor trading, unfiltered, almost unbelievable, and completely fascinating. So buckle up and welcome to the 70s.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Love cars, and you were just going to the pictures asking if you could clean them?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah, they need a little car cleaner. I was that small, well, I didn't even go over the top of the bonnet, but anyway, they took a liking to me and I got a job as a car cleaner. How old were you? I was only about 10 years of age. And when was this? I was born 1944, so we're talking '50s, late 50s. Okay. When there was the cars with only two colours, black and green, black and white.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

So how did you go from cleaning cars as a kid to dealing?

SPEAKER_00 1:24

I was watching the the motor dealers, how they worked, I was taking everything in, the profits, where they used to buy 'em, and I was really watching every move they made because I wanted to be a car dealer myself. So you got to start at the bottom, which I did start at the bottom. And next thing I know that as the years went past, I grew up, and then next thing I know, I'm buying little old bangers in them days for about 30 pounds, and I was cleaning them up with my little schoolmates, and I was putting them outside of my house for sale, and I always remember it. People would say to me, You're a bit young for selling cars, ain't you? And I go, Well, my dad's just died, and we got to sell our car so we can get some money to bury him. And it used to work. And people used to buy the car, no problem, give me a bit more money. But it didn't last a long time because people used to sell.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

How many times did you bury your dad that's based on that?

SPEAKER_00 2:20

That's what I'm saying. It didn't work. It lasted about a month, and then people got me, how many dates you got? But that was the cunning little brain I had at the time.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

So when you said you wanted to be a dealer, because you were watching the old the blokes that were dealing, what about them made you want to be a dealer?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Well, it's the money. They was all driving about in big fancy cars and big houses, and I love cars. I just love motor cars, and that's the avenue I wanted to take. And I did take it and I'd done well out of it. Selling them outside your house? I used to buy little old cars. I used to look at the Exchange and Mart in them days, because we didn't have computers and all the phones, and I'd go on the old Exchange of Mart, and one thing I learned about the Exchange and Mark was that the time they put it in, I had to leave them alone for a couple of weeks because when they put their advert in, they thought the world wanted their car. So I'd let them stew for about a couple of weeks, and then I'd phone them up and say, Look, this car you've got, you've had it on a couple of weeks, you haven't sold it, and I'd bid them a price on it, and they'd go, Oh, well, I don't know about that, mate. But anyway, in the end, I'd they'd say, Go on, then you can have it, like 50 quid, 75 quid, what it was, in them days, and I'd squimp the bit of that money together, and I'd go around there and get me motor. Didn't have a licence, I was still too young because I was only about 14, 15 when I was driving motor cars about. But I've got by, I've got by, and I remember these the old glasses guy in the old days. You don't see these about.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

That's an early one. I've still got boxes full of them. I've still got boxes full of them. When is that dated?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

This one's 1990. Yeah, that's nine ninety, and it's got the commercial one and all that. But we used to carry that about in the auctions with a big old telephone as big as me, but and they had only one rington. And when that ringtone went hole, the auctions had all go. Because they all thought he was with him, because we said we only had one ring tone. As life went on, I got a bit older, I got a bit more wiser in the motor tray, and saved up enough money to get myself a little car front. And a lot of demons used to say to me, John, how'd you sell so many cars? And I said, It's my personality. People used to take me under their wing. But I had a little secret, and I used to put a little bug underneath the seat of the car, and I'd go in my office and I put VHS on it and tune in, and I could hear everything they're saying. Like, how much do you went to give us for the party exchange? Did they need HP? Did they like me? A lot of them didn't like me. I didn't care about that. You don't cut your nose off the part of your face. Anyway, some of them, when they come in the office, I wanted to bash them. Swagging me off. But anyway, I knew everything about what they wanted. And it's say if they wanted, I had £1,500 in the car, because I'd like to earn a thousand pounds out of a motor car profit. So if I had £15 in it, I could write off a £500 note. So I'd bid them £500, they probably only wanted £200 or £300 for the car, because I'd hear them say, Oh, do you reckon you give us £200 for the car? Now I'm missing into all this. So when they come in the office, I'd talk to them about other things, slowly get into the car as wife and as doors and whatever. Talk about anything else but the car and about his job, etc. And then I'd slowly make my way into the part X, and I'll go, uh, the car you've got a car outside. I suppose you want to put that in part X, and they'd go at me, oh yeah. And I'd go, That car's your world, so you probably want every penny you can get. And I don't blame you. And like my car, I'll try to get as much as I can, and they're going, yeah. So it's it's you bashing him on the leg kind of thing. Do you and he give us the £200? And I'll go, the best I could do, my friend, I'll give you £500 for your motor car. Bam, that's done it, isn't it? They think I'm a madman. A motor dealer's going to give us more than we want. And the deal, I'd sign them up and then I'll talk me with a bit of HP, because I always get a bit of commission out of the HP. But I'd sign them up with HP, even if they didn't want it. Because I'll explain to them why use your money when you can use an HP. I said, Do you smoke love? And she goes, Yeah. Or peg her the cigarettes, I don't know, in them days, was like, I don't know, 30 plants and plug it up. And I'd go, the interest on that bit of money is about 15p a day. But if you work that out over the years, it will take a lot of money. And they go, Cool, yeah, I wouldn't miss that, John. 15p a day. Bang, I've got them on that and I'll sign them up on that, etc. Lovely, job done, bang, ding dong, next one. And then people come in the office and I'll go, look, I don't need cash. Give me a check. Now, no motor dealer takes a check. No way. Any of these motor dealers watching this will say, Go, he takes a cheque, no way, because if you take the check, they've got three days to stop it, and they always find something wrong with it. Any excuse to stop that check.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

We take the check, but you couldn't pick the car up until the cheque had cleared.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Yeah. I'll take the check and they said they pick the car up at five o'clock because I want my mechanic to go over it and make double sure it's perfect, because there's nothing worse. Go out there in the morning, try to start the car, and you've got that whole say you don't need that, my friend, and I'm you're such lovely people. I like ya, and I do not want you to suffer that in the morning, because as I said, it's nothing worse going out to go to work, but can't start the car. So what I say, pick the car up five now, the check. What you do, you pay the check straight into his bank, San Snack West, you take the cheque, and you're paying straight into his bank. And that means you cut out my bank, you cut out the clearing banks, you've gone straight to his bank. Now they've got up to $3.30 to either honour that check or bounce that check. He's got up to $330 to pay the money in to cover that check, etc. So then I get my bank to phone the providing bank to see if it's clear. And they'll phone me back and say, yes, John, that's cleared. No problem. All gone, can't do nothing now. I've cleared his check. Got me? So he's under the impression that he's got three days with that check, because they love that. Because when you say that, it gives them a little bit of security. Anyway, check's cleared. That's it. Can't do nothing about it. I've got his checks cleared. Take the motor away. Next day, his wife don't like it. His wife don't like it. Now me more with a car, but his wife don't oh the dog don't like the colour. Oh, John, I'm gonna have to stop the check and I'll return your car. Oh, that that's okay. No problem. No problem. I'm acting silly here. Anyway, next thing I know. Hello, John. Yeah? That check I'll give you, it's been clear. No. What do you mean it's clear? He said, yeah, I phoned my bank to stop it, and I said, they can't stop it, it's all really clear. I said, that's a good enough of me. I said, it's never unlucky here, haven't I? I said, no, I can't have the car back, mate. I said, not for them excuses, like your car if your wife don't like it, etc. That was it, I've dealt, and he bought the car. And another thing I used to do, when they used to buy a car, straight away take it off the lot and hide it. Because they'd always come back in the evening with their mates to show them the car. They're proud of the car, they love the car, but their mates will find something wrong. Look, there's a little dent here, there's a little dent, oh, I'll never see that here, go. Because he's all hyped up. He will describe that car as the most beautiful car in the world. But his mates can be a little bit envious, a little bit jealous, and they're trying to talk him out of it because of that. But no, that don't work because I've equipped the car up. Next, where's the car? Can I come down? No, mate, I put it away, cleaned it all up, and it was so shiny I didn't want to get dusty. And something you come down to pick it up was glittery. And these used to work. But as time went on, I'd go from six cars and etc., up to ten car site with a showroom, etc. Cars with a bit dearer, a bit nicer, full cortinas, Mark Vives was my killer, because I used to go to colourings and I'd give a thousand pounds room and I'd mark them up at two grand. So I was nicking a grand on a car, and I'd average on a worst week about five cars a week, so five grand. But after I paid me a bit of the in-depth revenue, my bit of tax and me a bit of that and all that, because you had to keep your books right. I still end up with about just under four grand. So I was happy with that.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

I sell a lot of money in the 70s.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Well, it was a lot of money, but as I said to one of the, I had all the tricks and people say, I'll go down and see John, he'd give you, he'd give you silly money for your part X, because I was listening to them. They all thought, oh, we found a Divo motor dealer. Sometimes their motor cars were better than the one I was selling them. And I used to go again and go and take a nice lump out of their motor car. And but I always tried to keep to bread and butter. But I tried to keep away from lumpy old motors. I used to try, see, with bread and butter motors, you got say 80% of the public will buy a bread and butter motor car to Ford, the Groxall, cars like that. Bakes and Mules Wiss's Jensen's interceptors and MGs and all that. Because only 20% of the public are on that power. But I wanted to work on the 80%, which I did. And because it all built up, it all built up lovely, and then I had a big company down in Plumpstead, South London, and that was a uh a 20-card lot. And James Hunt, the racing driver, a friend of a friend, that was a motorby, so he let me put his car on my car front to drag all the customers in to have a look at it and take pictures.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

You were downtown motors?

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Yeah, downtown motor plants and the Herbert Road Plumps did. That's where I had to walk in with a traffic warden. She, look, no disrespect. I've seen the newspaper report. Yeah, no disrespect. But she was a castawa. She had a beard, she had a big moustache, you know? And I said to her, look, I know you're doing the job, uh, sweetheart, but if you want me to take this car off the road, I'm gonna have to move that car off the lot to put that one behind that one. And she said to me, if you take that one off and put it there, I'm gonna put a ticket on it. Each then. So I had a car cleaner, because I was a posh car dealer, because I had a car cleaner. But anyway, he was washing the motor cars. And this, I think this was in November or something, it was winter time. So I said to him, Bill, I said, come here, mate, I want to borrow your bucket. So I'm hoping he didn't know what I was talking about. So he came over, give me the bucket, and I sung it over her. The whole kaboof, bang! Ice calls were coming up the nose because it was that cold, yeah? And I put wind everywhere. I said, here sweet, I'll take that, because you're talking to me mental, I'm acting mental. Anyway, I'd phoned the police, but the police were bursting their faces because they wanted to know. They really, because they got to keep a straight face and I. And they was really, but they said to this traffic book, look, the only thing we can do here, we can nick him, but all they nicked me was destroying government property, like the notebook and the pen. Because I destroyed yeah, the cleaning of the uniform and all that stupidness. They get nicked on it. And they said to you, if you want to go any further, you'll have to take the private summons out against Mr. Dixon, and you'll have to exchange names and addresses. She didn't want to give me Earl's dress. I didn't want it. The dress wouldn't fit me. Anyway, um a good friend of mine, Christopher Mitchell, QC, I phoned him up and told him all about it, and I said, Will you represent me? He said, John, I can't, I don't do magistrates' courts. I'm a QC. He said, but as it's you, I'll come down and do it for you, but I can't wear me robes or my wig or nothing. But he said, don't worry about that. You could hear me in that court, two streets down the roads, because he, when he talked in the court, it the court used to echo. Really. But anyway, he got me up with a fine, etc. I could have gone to prison for two years, they could have tried to make an example of me, because nobody messes with them traffic wardens, do they? But um, anyway, I got a fine, as it said in the paper. I was lucky. But having said that, I got letters from all over the country praising me for doing that, and the whole street Herbert Road, they had a whip round to pay my fine, and I sold over 50 cars that week because of her, and I earned a lot of money. Almost sold the whole car front, and I come a little bit of a celebrity for about four weeks. People wanted me autograph, but don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do it again. That was a one-off. She got me. I'm not a bad guy, I don't blame insulting people. That ain't my game. I'd rather give a man a pound and take the pound. And there ain't many doodlers like that.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Did she leave you alone after that?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Yeah, and all the traffic wardens. None of the traffic wardens have come near me. And some of them come and shut me out in. How about the coppers shook your hand as well, didn't they? Uh uh, they loved it. They loved it. They literally loved it. Because they were burst their face was bursting where they wanted a laugh. But that was a story. I think that that went in that book of Giles, where they'd all their cartoons. I think they had me in that as well. Yeah, they did have me in that. They in that they'd show the motor, they'd be on a wall waiting for the trapping board to come down the road and bang. But anyway, then I went to Dixon Motor Company, 30 car sales, 10, 10, 10, in Elbany Road, off the El Kent Road, next door to the Thomas Beckett, where all the boxers used to go. I used to slip in there, talking to a few of the boxes and etc. And try and nick a bit of business off of them. But that done well. But the tricks of the motor game, forget the car, you've got to get the people to like you as a person. Because if they don't like you, you've got more chance of going to the moon than selling that car. You might as well be. I used to always work on me as a person and them before I'll get into the car, selling the car. They were good days. There was a plot of people. Today, I don't know how they're doing it. And then in the 70s, late 70s, 80s, then they booked that. We'll give you £2,000 for your car regardless of the condition. Do you remember that?

SPEAKER_02 18:07

I mean, there was always a value to a car to break it. So there was always a figure, regardless of the condition, depending on the parts.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Yeah, but they booked that thing out, we'll give you £2,000 for your car another, regardless of the but what they used to do, they used to mark the car up another £2,000. Scrappy scheme, yeah. The scrappy scheme today, but years ago, it wasn't called a scrappy scheme. It was just motor dealers giving £2,000 away with the whole car regardless of the condition. It wasn't nothing to do with the scrappy scheme. But what they were doing, they were putting two grand extra on the window screen. But then we would have people driving about in cars worth £100, thinking the car's worth £2,000. And they'd come around your car, you'd have a car multed up at £2,500.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

Because that's what they'll give for it.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

Yeah, and they go, I mean, I'll give you £500. My car's worth £2,000. I said, no, mate, I that £2,000, I'll try to explain to them. It's a scam. You ain't getting £2,000 in a clerk. The £2,000 is on the window screen. I'll give you a clopper price for him, what it's probably really worth.

SPEAKER_02 19:26

I'm sure that you wouldn't have done anything godgy. But do you have any stories of other dealers that were up to no good with the bodges and the cars and I'd never do that, my sweetheart?

SPEAKER_00 19:38

Never ever know. A million years, what that they do, they live with it. But I think once a policeman came up and said, John, I want a full capri, but it's got to be a 1600. So I have a 1300 on the car phone. So I changed the three to a 1.6 on the badge. And I throw it out, I said, I've got that capri for you, that 1.6 motor. And he's took it, he's driven away, and I've been next. He said, John, that motor's a little bit underpowered. I'm going, oh God. I said, no, it shouldn't be. And he's getting me more, I don't know, mate. He said, it takes me two minutes to get away from the traffic lights. But anyway, I talked my way round it. He thought it was funny and worked his mouth a bit and kept it. But that was a really funny story. But he could have taken me to the cleaners, but he didn't. He felt that being a policeman and all that, he should have known better because it was in the logbook. But don't give him the logbook, I used to let it come through the punch. I'd hold it back so I didn't come back for about four weeks. And then I used to go to the motor auctions, and the old auctioneers down at Brentford, when I bid on a car, they'd go, How do you want to be on this? And they'd look at me and they go, bang. They wouldn't talk no more. Soon as I was bidding, they'd go, three pick, bang the ham, and I'll give them a £20 note at the end of the sale. I used to get the motors a bit quicker. And also, before the motors used to go into the auctions, we'd changed the old plugs over, so it was fighting and shitting and everything, smoking. So people, they'd go, oh, fuck that. There wasn't nothing wrong with it. We'd change the plugs over. And you have a thing about motor dealers in auctions, the public watch you because they know we're motor dealers, and we're buying it to go against, so we're earning a profit. So they watch her to make sure that they buy a car. So I'm bidding on a vehicle, they will bid against me because they know. Sometimes we put motors in there that were wronged, and we'd be bidding on that, and they'd be bidding on that because they think we're buying it. But we weren't, we were running them. So we used to cat him that way. That was quite funny. But see, the f in Brentford, it was a a a good motor seems like used to come from all over the place down there. But see the other thing about cars and that, going back a few years when I didn't have car front, guys still sell cars from outside their house. Take a tip from me. If you're selling a motor car from outside your house, the people that are coming down to buy it will go all over that car before they knock on your door. We call them tire kickers. Little mark here, little mark there, everything. And so what you've got to do, you've got to hide the car. Put the car around the corner, just give it to the car, so they've got to knock on the front door. Women knock on the front door, then you can talk to them. So the car's got a little dent, and you know they're coming up to that little den, you start talking to them. It's had a new battery and it's had this, and you take them away from that little den. And that's what I used to do. I always used to park the car up. A guy called Peter Jarvis, he's a big name in Dart, but he used to sell he's he does today. I know I can mention him, yeah. He he bought his first motor off me in the second-hand game. He sells Rolls Royce, and people go on the Google that Peter Jarvis have come up. But I educated him in the motor game in the early days. He'd see how much I was earning, but he struck lucky and great. He's such a lovely man. So you were the star of Peter Jarvis trading? Yeah, when he first started, yeah, I bought a Jensen interceptor off him in the early days. When we had green log books.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Yeah. Have you heard of Peter Jarvis? So did you have a motor house in Bromley as well? Yeah, the big showroom down. Did you prefer the pictures or the showroom?

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Showroom, because it would see open car fronts, you're vulnerable. If you upset somebody, or you sell somebody a car and they're not happy with it, they'll come back and scratch your motors of the night. With a showroom, they're behind glass. Yeah. Plus it's a bit warmer. What I used to do as well with the people, when we'd have a deal, I'd put £500 on the table, again, I have a good bit of profit, and I'll say, look, Mr. Bum Bum Bum, take this £500, and if anything goes wrong with the vehicle, a tire or a light bulb or a battery, anything you want, take it out of my £500, and in three months, bring me my £500 back because I know there's nothing gonna go wrong. Which gives them confidence and it gives them a little bit of uh, I don't know, they got a little bit of something they got £500 amount of money, which they love.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

Did they ever bring it back?

SPEAKER_00 24:48

No, I never see them again. And that that was the idea of giving them £500 to get rid of them.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

Because So you built that into the deal?

SPEAKER_00 24:56

Yeah, it closes the deal. I'd never see them again, full stop. And I used to love that. I'd have so much profit in the vehicle that I could do things like that. They could still do it today. Things like that.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Had any proper screamers come back?

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Yeah, it ain't, because sometimes I'd have real bad screamers, uh, and I'd say my because I always kept the key back. Every car I sold, I kept one of the keys. In case I'd aggravation, I'd go and get my motor back. Back in the 70s, I'd get a few screamers, and then I'd get my mate to go around and take the car when they were asleep and burn it. Right? I know I shouldn't say this, but that's what cut the motor dealers used to do. It was rife. Didn't one because they knew the man weren't losing because he was insured. And and then they'd come back to him to buy another car. And they'd phone him up and say, Oh, my car got stolen last night, and they'd buy another car off of him. Winner winner? Yeah, what a winner ain't a thing. But I never went down that avenue. I thought, no, if I would fix the car. I didn't get the name Honest John for nothing. But if people did come back to me, I I would definitely 100% put it right. To providing they weren't taking the taking the piss out of me, because people can change. They love me to your face, but as soon as something goes wrong, that's it. They completely change. But I've had Rolls Royces, etc. There was one instant where every motor dealer he has his own car. And I used to have a Rolls-Royce. And I I bought Sid James's old Rolls Royce, which is a picture of it up there, and I've done well out of that, sold it to an Arab. I bought this Rolls-Royce, and when I went to register it, I got one of the digits wrong on the chassis. And me being a motor dealer, etc., and they all think motor dealers are wrongers, but we're not, we're probably the most honest people you can come across. And but why I say that, because if Joe Public got their car repaired, the mechanics he'd say then, well, get rid of this, mate, you got troubles happening. So where does he go? Ran to the car front and puts it into us. So we become the bad person. We're not, because the public put them into us. Now, we buy that car in good faith, and we sell it in good faith to the new customer, not knowing that it's going to go wrong somewhere down the line. But you know, I think people slag off motor dealers and that, they shouldn't do that, because we get our cars from people like yourself, the public.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

I completely agree. The the general public can slot a wrong and into us in a part X. Yeah. But we have to then put that car right before it goes out again. We have to stand on for any faults on it. But just to prove a point, how long were you trading on a forecourt or a showroom? Perhaps 30, 40 years. You wouldn't have been in business for 30, 40 years, customer facing with a showroom and a pitch if you're having people over, would you? This is the thing that gets me. We all have this reputation and it's all Delboy and Alpha Daily. And you say, how if you've got traders that have been in business and second-generation traders as well, like myself and like Chris that are carrying on a family business, but if we weren't doing our job right, we wouldn't still be here, would we?

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Exactly. You know, ain't nobody out there today will put give me a bad name. Even today, they all speak very highly of me. Even people who bought cars off me years and years ago speak very highly of me because I always used to put things right. Easy life. Yeah, yeah. But back to that mistake I made on that logbook on that Rolls Royce. The Ford Squad at New Scotland Yard thought they was onto a big one. They thought I was ringing Rolls Royce's. They thought they'd hit the jackpot with me, and I was nicking Molls Royce's, ringing them, and reselling them. But I wasn't. So did you get your colourful over that? Nearly. They was what they was watching me. They didn't come down and nick me or anything like that. They was watching me for months to see what I was doing. And then all of a sudden, this guy called Dave Clinian, he's a chief inspector now, but I think he's left the force, come down, and he literally apologised to me, and he said, We got the raw impression about you, Mr. Dixon. You're not as bad as everyone's trying to make out. And he said, I'll shake your hand. You can't say care of that. No, you can't, because everybody. If you say you're an estate agent, people go, Oh, God. But motor dealers, everybody hates a motor dealer. I don't know why. Everybody's driving about in a car. But if I tell you now, if I was put into a car sales, a new car franchise sale, I'd sell any motorate that. No problem. The strength of my bow, don't sell the car, sell yourself first. Because once you've sold yourself and they bought you as a person and they like you, and you've got them to trust you, then you can take them in the office and they're yours.

SPEAKER_02 30:19

People buy from people they like. Exactly. Yeah, people buy from people they like, always have done. Big change now in today's game, John, is that a lot of people don't actually buy their car. It's just about a monthly payment.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Yeah, they sold and all that, and people don't realise how much they're paying through the nose. I ain't doing that. The same person will go and release the car and pay £200 a week. And at the end of that term, yeah, I'll get the car back. That's the difference. There ain't no difference.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

It's all up here in the mind. John, what's your happiest memories of being a trader?

SPEAKER_00 30:57

Earning a dosh, earning a bit of dos, putting a done that on the table.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

Ha ha! I've never been filthy rich?

SPEAKER_00 31:06

No. I'm the poorest multivenue in king. I'll tell you that now, mate. I'm too honest for my own good. I'd rather have nothing and sleep overnight than have 100 million pounds and not sleep, because I like my sleep. Says it all, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02 31:22

Yeah, pretty much. But if you could get if you could go back to one point in time, when was your favourite time to be a trader?

SPEAKER_00 31:29

My friend's Beaver would nightclub in in Sickup, Westwood and Georgie Greenway and all that, they won a Rolls-Royce in the raffle. Now they thought it was me woman didn't up. They thought I'd set the whole thing up just to get to them. So when they won it, they went and got it, and they come straight, they come straight down to me and said, go on, John, here's your Rolls Royce back, we know you joked. And I had nothing to do with him. I should have taken it, shouldn't I? I said, Yeah, that was me. The keys off them. When I was in the car sales, I had a nightclub as well. And when I used to sell a car, I'd go to the people, look, it's a free ticket to my club. Eat, drink, do what you want, as much as you want, on me. Now, they'd always take a friend with them, so I'd nick the money out of them, and they'd always now when I say go get, I said eat and drink, but people can only drink so much. If I sent somebody in a club drinking to it, they ain't gonna drink a bottle of vodka. A bottle of vodka in him does only cost about five pounds. I'd like to meet the man that could drink that bottle of vodka and walk out of that club. He ain't gonna, don't matter what he does. Do you get me? So when you say eat and drink as much as you want. What was the what was your club called? Johnny's in Bering Rome. We used to use the Asta Club in Vauxhall, round the way. And all the motor dealers used to go there, and I used to go, God, all these motor dealers spending fortunes. So what I did, I opened up my nightclub because I knew all the motor and they'd all come to me. It was like and spend with me. And it was grade. And that was in the 80s, and I pulled that in about 85. I I had it for about six, seven years. It was a good day.

SPEAKER_02 33:17

There's a big crossover in Manchester with the motor trade clubs and boxing promoters. It's almost there was always a big crossover there. But just to finish off, how would you describe being a trader in the 70s? If you had to sum it up in one go, how would you describe it?

SPEAKER_00 33:33

I wouldn't change it for all the money in the world. I loved it, I loved every day of it, I loved the excitement of it, I'd have the excitement of selling cars, I'd have the excitement of losing money but in a nice way, because I'd make it up in another way in the motor game. I'd earn a grand on something, and then I'd lose 500 on another one, then I'd make it on the other one. At the end of the day, always come out. Proper dealing. Proper dealer, mate. And our class myself is one of the old school motor dealers, and there ain't many of us left. And I am a proper motor dealer. And all my mates always used to say to me, John, you are the best motor dealer in Southeast London. And I I was proud of that. Honest John. Honest John.

SPEAKER_01 34:21

I really hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. And huge thanks once again to John and his son, Chris, for getting in touch. If you'd like to come on the podcast or know somebody with a story to tell, please do let me know. I'd love to hear from you. Please subscribe, leave me a review, and share it with anyone who you think would like it too. It really helps independent podcasts like mine to grow. For the chance to win a superb classic car, use code SAM15 for 15% off at Vintage and Classic Car Competitions. And you can use code SAM10 for 10% off Dodo Juice Car Care products. All the links are in the show notes below. Please do give me a follow on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. I'm at the old Carlad. And to get involved, please join the old Car Lady Classic Car Community Group on Facebook for more insider information and giveaways. Don't forget to check out earlier episodes and do join me next week for more motor trade chat. So until next time, happy motoring.