After-sales service 1960's BMC style

[moffspeed]

In 1963 H. Stevenson Esq of Lewes was encountering steering issues with his pre-war (1938) Riley Adelphi "Big Four". Obviously pre-war Coventry-built Rileys were a different breed of cars from the post-war Nuffield/BMC generation but in slightly forlorn hope he sent a letter regarding his 25 year-old car to to the Riley technical bods at BMC Abingdon.

By return of post :



Impressive.

Edited by moffspeed on Saturday 8th March 07:30

[TarquinMX5]

How times change ; nowadays you'd be lucky to receive an email telling you to 'contact your dealer', and that's if the car's 3-years old, not 25.

[Ardennes92]

I think dealer & manufacture engagement is pretty much non existent now, customer service disappeared some time ago☹️

[coppice]

Hmmm.. that is nice letter , but from my recollections you certainly didn't get anything more than denial and disinterest from BL dealers . The 'service' my late father received from Triumph dealers in the 70s was so appalling , as was their product, that he bought a Honda ,and drove them for the next 30 years .

The service I've had from VAG and Skoda dealers in the last 30 years has been exemplary. Just don't ask me about Ford or Caterham .

[moffspeed]

coppice said:

Hmmm.. that is nice letter , but from my recollections you certainly didn't get anything more than denial and disinterest from BL dealers . The 'service' my late father received from Triumph dealers in the 70s was so appalling , as was their product, that he bought a Honda ,and drove them for the next 30 years .

The service I've had from VAG and Skoda dealers in the last 30 years has been exemplary. Just don't ask me about Ford or Caterham .

Quite agree. Back in ‘63 BMC had reached a zenith that lasted through until ‘66.

In ‘63 the MGB had just been announced along with the 1100/1300 range. Demand for the latter was enormous because it was a truly very good car. Even the old Minor was being knocked out at (appropriately) 1000 a week. Not forgetting the Mini which was still the small car to own. BMC held 46% of the domestic market and made a decent profit on each car.

Then along came de Gaulle’s “non” (so ongoing EEC import tariffs), long waiting lists, poor spares availability, industrial unrest and the formation of British Motor Holdings in 1966.

The 1800 turned out to be a relative failure and the development pipeline was devoid of innovation and excitement.

The rot had set in…

[SS427 Camaro]

Wonderful stuff !
How did you come by this letter ?

[moffspeed]

SS427 Camaro said:

Wonderful stuff !
How did you come by this letter ?

I cruise the provincial Auction Houses with the remit of buying/selling antique clocks but will always keep an eye out for motoring/motor sport ephemera/memorobilia. I avoid the specialised Houses for the latter as prices are generally inflated and there always seems to be a whiff of arrogance in the air.

The Riley letter was part of a large collection of pre-war Riley ephemera that cost me the princely sum of £20 a couple of weeks ago. Some of the ads were interesting also :




Just a taster (with prices) of some other won lots recently :

.







Sometimes you get tripped up when fellow bidders know the true worth of items. I put an optimistic absentee bid of £150 on these last week :




The steering wheel was described by the auctioneer as a "tractor" wheel but was clearly marked "Bluemels" and was from a 50's sports racing Jaguar or similar.The Brooklands catalogues would have cost the buyer approx. £1365 with commission.

If you fancy giving it a go head to the “Easy Live Auctions” website - you can browse the forthcoming catalogues for most U.K. Auction Houses and there is a search facility and the option to bid online.

Edited by moffspeed on Tuesday 11th March 11:42

[Riley Blue]

Such items usually go to auction after the demise of someone who treasured them and whose family just see them as something to be 'cashed in' - which is what will happen to my collection of automotive odds and ends even though some are unique.

[Turbobanana]

moffspeed said:

Fascinating stuff, moffspeed, thanks for posting.

Seeing the Turner prints above, reminds me that I own this (well, this one is somebody else's but you know what I mean):



Bought as a present for my brother after we went to Le Mans together, 1989, but abandoned by him when my mum died and he had to move out of the family home. I bought it mail order (no internet in 1989!) and paid a little extra for the artist to sign and number it. Imagine my surprise when it arrived and turned out to be #2 of 850! It now hangs on my car-mad 17 year old son's bedroom wall.

[moffspeed]

…then there are the near misses, the ones that got away. “Maybe I should have bid another tenner” etc - but that’s what auctions are all about.















..and to show how flat the clock market is - a quality mid 19th C long case clock for less than a meal out for 2 at Wetherspoon’s :

Edited by moffspeed on Tuesday 11th March 15:20

[SS427 Camaro]

moffspeed said:

I cruise the provincial Auction Houses with the remit of buying/selling antique clocks but will always keep an eye out for motoring/motor sport ephemera/memorobilia. I avoid the specialised Houses for the latter as prices are generally inflated and there always seems to be a whiff of arrogance in the air.

The Riley letter was part of a large collection of pre-war Riley ephemera that cost me the princely sum of £20 a couple of weeks ago. Some of the ads were interesting also :




Just a taster (with prices) of some other won lots recently :

.







Sometimes you get tripped up when fellow bidders know the true worth of items. I put an optimistic absentee bid of £150 on these last week :




The steering wheel was described by the auctioneer as a "tractor" wheel but was clearly marked "Bluemels" and was from a 50's sports racing Jaguar or similar.The Brooklands catalogues would have cost the buyer approx. £1365 with commission.

If you fancy giving it a go head to the “Easy Live Auctions” website - you can browse the forthcoming catalogues for most U.K. Auction Houses and there is a search facility and the option to bid online.

Edited by moffspeed on Tuesday 11th March 11:42

Thanks for the heads up. Love that key that Earl Howe was presented with,

[SS427 Camaro]

moffspeed said:

In 1963 H. Stevenson Esq of Lewes was encountering steering issues with his pre-war (1938) Riley Adelphi "Big Four". Obviously pre-war Coventry-built Rileys were a different breed of cars from the post-war Nuffield/BMC generation but in slightly forlorn hope he sent a letter regarding his 25 year-old car to to the Riley technical bods at BMC Abingdon.

By return of post :



Impressive.

Edited by moffspeed on Saturday 8th March 07:30

Wonder if Mr. H. Stevenson Esq of Lewis 1939 Riley “ Adelphi “ Big Four has survived ?
Have you anything with its registration number ?

[moffspeed]

SS427 Camaro said:

moffspeed said:

In 1963 H. Stevenson Esq of Lewes was encountering steering issues with his pre-war (1938) Riley Adelphi "Big Four". Obviously pre-war Coventry-built Rileys were a different breed of cars from the post-war Nuffield/BMC generation but in slightly forlorn hope he sent a letter regarding his 25 year-old car to to the Riley technical bods at BMC Abingdon.

By return of post :



Impressive.

Edited by moffspeed on Saturday 8th March 07:30

Wonder if Mr. H. Stevenson Esq of Lewis 1939 Riley “ Adelphi “ Big Four has survived ?
Have you anything with its registration number ?

I don't have the reg. for this Adelphi but its survival is doubtful. In the early 60's pre-war road/racing cars were of limited value* and once your old Riley broke its crankshaft (a regular occurrence) the scrappy beckoned.

Somewhere I have an old Motor Sport advert with a guy offering his Blower Bentley in exchange for a "small family car" - cash either way. Patrick Lindsay bought "Remus" (ex-Bira ERA) for £695 in 1959. OK that's about £20 grand in today's money - still a good deal though.

Thoughtfully the Riley Register produced an annual members' list which provided names, addresses, model and reg. number. I'm not sure folk would be quite so carefree with their personal details these days. This is from 1961.

[CKY]

moffspeed said:

Great buys Moff, the above in particular - wanted a copy of 'Mon Ami, Mate' for years but never got around to picking one up! Thanks for sharing.