Try something new today – Sainsbury’s V8 Land Rover
I’ve never been that turned on by cars that were once owned by a famous person. The fact that a chap called Kieron Dyer once owned a BMW that’s up for sale on Auto Trader doesn’t make the car more appealing to me. Quite the reverse in fact. I recently saw that Janet Street-Porter’s old Chrysler PT Cruiser was up for sale. It took all my willpower and strength not to reach for the phone to book a test drive. I also read that I could buy a BMW 5-series once owned by a young lady called Chantelle Houghton. Unfortunately I do not know who Ms Houghton is, so I can’t even judge if her being a previous owner is a good or bad thing. But without any question, it doesn’t make the car more appealing.
But maybe my viewpoint is about to change, for this weekend I have finally taken delivery of a Land Rover 110. It has been a lifelong ambition to own the iconic Defender, but I had no idea it would be so difficult to find the right one. Having started searching for a 110 back in December, I eventually had to wait six months before getting my hands on the keys. First the UK snow caused a mass panic for the purchase of 4x4s, meaning Land Rovers were in short supply. Then it became clear that the good 110s would be snapped up within hours of coming on to the market, whilst the 110s that didn’t sell within 24 hours were actually not worth buying. Patience and restraint are needed in abundance when your start searching for a used Landy.
But when a 1989 110 with just 64k miles on the clock and only two owners from new came on to the market, my eyes pricked up and my ears lit up. At least I think that’s what happened. Anyway, it looked good and furthermore, it transpired that the original owner was none other than Lord Sainsbury, or Sir Sainsbury as he was known then. OK, so Lord Sainsbury doesn’t play football and has, as far as I’m aware, never appeared in a reality TV show, but he has run one of the country’s most successful companies. So there’s a fair chance that a Land Rover that has spent the majority of its life on Sainsbury’s Preston Candover estate won’t have been neglected when it comes to servicing and repairs. A fact backed up the service history and overall condition. So maybe a celebrity owner isn’t such a bad thing?
...