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Dealer's Wives | Horse Thieves, Smugglers & My Mum

Dealer's Wives | Horse Thieves, Smugglers & My Mum

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This week on Wheels & Deals, I’m joined by a very special guest Pat Grange - My Mum! She was the woman behind the man, the dealer's wife who saw it all. From a respectable job in a bank to being told she was dating a "horse thief," her life was turned upside down by the charismatic car dealer Ian Grange.

We drive back to the hilarious and sometimes hair-raising stories of their life together. We talk about the glamour of driving Facel Vegas and the grit of having to clean 40 cars on a Saturday morning. From disastrous first dates in leaky Corvettes to crashing a Bentley Continental on Christmas Eve, my mum shares what it was really like to be married to the motor trade. It was a world of mink coats and midnight deliveries, where cash flow was king and you never knew what the next day would bring.

Pitstops:

  • From banking to Bentley Continentals: Mum’s journey into the motor trade.
  • The infamous Christmas Eve incident involving a Bentley, a brand-new garage door, and half a bottle of whiskey.
  • The art of the deal: How a crashed Bentley was legally transformed into a Rolls-Royce Cloud III Continental Chinese Eye.
  • The reality behind the glamour: Juggling cash flow, raising kids, and driving across the country to make mortgage payments.
  • A dealer's wife's duties: The endless cycle of cleaning cars with T-Cut, doing the books, and being on call 24/7.
  • Star-studded Christmas parties with Matt Monro, Bernard Manning, and scandalous strippers.
  • Celebrity cars and dodgy deals: Stories of Rod Stewart’s Lamborghini Miura, King Hussein of Jordan’s bulletproof Lincoln, and questionable bodywork repairs.

A Nod to:

  • Frank Dale & Stepsons
  • Red Line Autos (Cheadle)
  • The Piccadilly Hotel & The Midland Hotel (Manchester)

If we've mentioned you but missed you here, drop me a line at grangebaileys@gmail.com

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