Join Sam Grange Bailey (The Old Car Lady) for Part 2 of her conversation with James Harding from Chop's Garage. If Part 1 was about how James got into the trade, this one is about what it's actually like to live in it.

James explains why he puts his full margin on show, what he paid, what he spent on prep, what's left in his pocket, and why that transparency has made him more trusted, not less. They get into consumer law, warranty claims on cars with 30,000 post-sale miles on them, and why the next generation of classic car buyers might be the trade's biggest headache yet.

He also lifts the lid on car raffles: no VAT, no Consumer Rights Act liability, and the potential to make four times the retail margin. He's raised over £30k for charity doing it. He thinks the window is closing.

Plus a proper nostalgia detour via Talbot Sambars, bump starts, and the lost art of caring about your key ring.

Featured Stories

The Transparent Dealer: James tells customers exactly what he paid, what prep cost and what he's pocketed. Some dealers hate it. His subscribers love it.

Consumer Law and the Classic Car Problem: A six-month implied warranty on a 40-year-old car is a recipe for misery. Sam and James ask whether the next generation of buyers will ever get why the rules need to be different.

The Raffle Loophole: No VAT, no Consumer Rights Act, four times the retail margin. James has raised over £30k for charity doing it and he's pretty sure it won't last.

First Cars and the Bump Start: A Talbot Samba’s with a brick for a handbrake. A Midget nursed along with a plank and a mallet. Two people who learned to drive in cars that genuinely hurt when they went wrong.

Mileage, Markets and the E-Type Question: James would put his money in a V10 BMW M5. Sam wonders who's queuing up for a £500k Cosworth when the people who wanted them are done with them.

What You'll Learn

Why showing your margins online can make customers trust you more, not less. How VAT on the gross works and why it still shocks people. Why a six-month consumer rights claim on a classic car is a completely different beast to the same claim on a nearly new hatchback. How car raffles work, why they're currently tax and liability free, and why that's probably on borrowed time. Why a motorway-mile 120,000-miler might be in better shape than a Devon-lanes 60,000-miler. And why the classic car market's generational problem is more urgent than most people in the trade want to admit.

Key Questions

• Does showing your margins actually help you sell cars? James says yes, unequivocally. Subscribers who've watched him buy, prep and price a car come back and buy it precisely because they trust him.
• Should a classic car buyer expect the same rights as someone buying a new TV? Legally they have them. In practice both Sam and James think applying modern consumer expectations to a 40-year-old car is a disaster for everyone.
• Is the car raffle model sustainable? James doubts it. Right now it's VAT-free and exempt from the Consumer Rights Act because it's legally a gift. He thinks that won't last, but for now the numbers are compelling.

A Nod To

Chop's Garage on YouTube, where James documents the full reality of life as a car dealer. CG Car Sales, James's retail forecourt in Devon. Next week Tim Ashworth from Stockley Classics joins Sam to talk Metros and the state of the classic trade.

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Sam heads to the NEC in Birmingham for the Classic Car & Restoration Show, joining forces with Richy Barnett — Market Editor at Classic Car Weekly — to walk the Iconic Auctioneers sale floor and put their money where their mouths are on six cars that caught their eye. From a rare lilac Morris Minor Million to a first-gen Firebird and a gorgeously sinister Daimler Sovereign, they predict the hammer prices — then go back to find out how close they got. Along the way, Sam catches up with Frank from Pegasus Classics, who's fitting a Rover V8 into a Jensen Healey live on the show stand, and bumps into returning podcast guest Anthony Kersley for a passionate case in favour of the criminally underrated Rover SD1.

FEATURED

• The Morris Minor 1 Million — One of only around 100 made to mark the millionth Morris Minor — lilac, white leather, and deeply specialist. Sam wins her bet when it sells for £12,600.
• The '69 Pontiac Firebird — A first-generation Pontiac with a full photographic restoration file on a known shunt. Big V8 energy, but it narrowly misses its guide at £19,125.
• The Daimler Sovereign 4.2 — A Juniper Green Series II coupé dripping in atmosphere — but a tough market means it comes in under estimate at £17,437.
• Frank's Jensen Healey Restomod — Frank from Pegasus Classics built his Jensen Healey from two wrecks and found a Rover V8 on a sheep farm for £350. He's fitting the cylinder head live at the show — but wisely trailering it home.
• Anthony Kersley on the Rover SD1 — Returning guest and Channel 4 Handcuffed star Anthony Kersley makes the passionate case that the Rover SD1 is a world-beater undone by industrial politics — and still extraordinary value today.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• Why the Morris Minor 1 Million is a deeply specialist buy — and who's actually likely to be bidding
• How declared saleroom notices work and why auction house transparency protects everyone
• Why the Rover SD1 is one of Britain's most underrated classics — and exactly what to look for when buying one
• How to build a Jensen Healey restomod on a genuine shoestring (£350 Rover V8 optional but recommended)
• Why the classic car demographic shift is quietly changing which cars are considered cool again
• There is no such thing as a cheap Rolls-Royce — but an SZ Series Spirit at £10–15k might be the last great bargain in prestige classics

KEY QUESTIONS

Can you predict auction hammer prices with any real accuracy?

Sometimes — Sam and Richie get a few right and call a few badly wrong. The market for specialist cars like the Morris Minor 1 Million is particularly hard to read because buyer pools are small, emotionally driven, and often invisible until the gavel falls.

Should a saleroom notice put you off bidding?

Not necessarily — but it will move the price. Transparency at auction is a positive for everyone. A declared fault protects both buyer and seller from post-sale disputes, as seen with both the Hillman Hunter Restomod and the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Spider, both of which stalled under estimate because of declared gearbox issues.

Is the Rover SD1 finally having its moment?

Anthony Kersley thinks it absolutely should be. The very best examples are touching £35k but cost £50–70k to restore properly — and most serious owners simply won't sell. A presentable driver can still be found for around £15k, representing genuine value for a car that was genuinely ahead of its time.

A NOD TO

• Richie Barnett — Market Editor, Classic Car Weekly
• Frank, Pegasus Classics — Jensen Owners Club stand, NEC
• Anthony Kersley — Auto Couture / star of Channel 4 Handcuffed (Episode 1 available now; Part 2 coming soon)
• Iconic Auctioneers — Classic car auction at the NEC
• The NEC Classic Car & Restora

Join Sam Grange Bailey (The Old Car Lady) for Part 1 of her conversation with James Harding from Chops Garage, a modern car dealer with a classic car soul. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who's ever dreamed of jacking in the corporate 9-to-5 to follow their passion. James tells the story of how, at 38, he walked away from a career as a national sales manager to start fixing and selling Fiat 500s from a rented garage bay.

James gives a brutally honest insight into the realities of being a modern car dealer, from the public's "Del Boy" perception to the nightmare of consumer law. He explains why he'd rather sell a simple £4,000 Hyundai i10 than a complex modern car with a razor-thin margin and huge potential repair bills. It's a fascinating look at the pressures and pitfalls of the modern motor trade.

Featured Stories

The Corporate Burnout - How zoning out in board meetings thinking about welding an MGB made him realise he had to quit his sales manager job.

The Leap of Faith - With a £12k payout and his wife's encouragement, he swapped his suit for a boiler suit and started his own car business.

The Fiat 500 Years - Started by buying crash-damaged Fiat 500s from Copart and doing them up himself.

The Silver Shadow Saga - Recounts the story of selling a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow to a buyer who spent an entire day inspecting it in a boiler suit, only to then demand an independent inspection.

What You'll Learn

How a childhood memory of a Citroën CX 25 GTI in France sparked a lifelong obsession with cars.

Why he believes the public's perception of car dealers is completely at odds with the reality of consumer law.

How the VAT margin scheme can leave dealers with a huge tax bill even if they make no real profit on a car.

Why he refuses to do distance sales after getting badly burned.

Why he thinks simpler, older-tech modern cars (like the Hyundai i10) are a safer bet for dealers than complex, feature-laden new models.

Key Questions

Is it possible to make a living selling cheap cars?James argues that while the margins are smaller, the risk is far lower. He focuses on simple cars that are built like older models (cable clutch, timing chain) which are cheap and easy to fix, avoiding the huge repair bills associated with modern complex cars.

How has consumer law affected the motor trade?James and Sam discuss how the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which applies the same rules to a 60-year-old classic as a new TV, puts immense pressure on dealers. The 30-day right to reject and the assumption of a fault being present at the point of sale for up to six months makes selling used cars, especially older ones, a minefield.

A Nod to

Chops Garage on YouTube - Where James documents his life as a car dealer.

Mad Mike from Wales - A classic car dealer who pre-filters customers by telling them his cars were "shit when they were new".

Get in touch

📧 grangebaileys@gmail.com

💬 WhatsApp: 07405 813554

📸 Instagram: @the_old_car_lady

🎬 TikTok, Facebook & YouTube: The Old Car Lady

#ChopsGarage #CarDealer #MotorTrade #ConsumerLaw #ClassicCars #ModernClassics #TheOldCarLady #WheelsAndDeals #CarSales

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