1994: secrets of the company car men

[Metal Guru]

4 hours ago, Marm Toastsmith said:

Obviously things have changed, but I’m not sure they’ve changed all that much. People hate getting overtaken by an old banger, and it seems to me that the more prestigious the car, the greater the resentment having to sit behind (e.g.) one of my cars.

If anything I feel like the perception has shifted as the wealth divide in society has grown. The badge on your Vauxhall is irrelevant, but a new Range Rover, Tesla, Porsche, or high spec Audi/BMW/Mercedes still counts for something and most people in that sort of stuff don’t like it much if the car in front is an ancient base model 1 litre Peugeot.

Things haven’t  changed a bit. Just read the thread about Motability and whether BMWs and Mercs  should be allowed rather than Kias and Vauxhalls.

[Asimo]

2 hours ago, Peter C said:

Only winners drive base model rep cars in 2026.

If only I could buy a base-model anything!

Every cheap new car is loaded with Ghia / Vanden Plas / CD / Executive  tat.

[goosey]

I hate to say it but having a base model rep car would mean your not very good at your job or to your competitors the company you work for is weak 

unfortunately first impressions is everything, 

[Dobloseven]

Are there many "reps" on the road,these days,a la Finchy? Or are they all sat in their pyjama bottoms,WFH?

[Wibble]

43 minutes ago, goosey said:

I hate to say it but having a base model rep car would mean your not very good at your job or to your competitors the company you work for is weak 

unfortunately first impressions is everything, 

Can’t all start at the top.

[Asimo]

1984

I was never a "rep", but I was a service tech.. 

You know, the chap who has to convince the customer he made a good purchase, even though it is now broken.

The job "entitled" me to a GL (Cavalier mk2 hatchback or Sierra. Nobody ever chose the Ford).

There was an option of paying the firm £850 or so and getting an SRi. 

Some colleagues paid the money and got the flash. A Cavalier SRi was a bloody special car then, so it was worth it to some.

I asked for an "L",  plus options-to-the-value-of.   Auto, rear belts,  DIGITAL radio.

There was a lot of discussion about image, status, projection etc.

I did get what I asked for, but I was amazed that people took this nonsense seriously. 

Hyacinth Bouquet is real.

F.F.S.!

[goosey]

1 hour ago, Wibble said:

Can’t all start at the top.

Things are never easy 

[georgeinabz]

When I was a yoof, my mate Dave worked for a company selling printers, fax machines, that sort of stuff. 
All the sales team had company VW Polos but the top salesman that month got the Corrado for the month. This particular month Dave had the Corrado! A nearly new, deep metallic red thing. 
We had tickets to see the Charlatans in Glasgow, purchased before Dave managed to fluke the 'Top monthly sales' award, we were going! (I'm really revealling my age here, Charlatans and a Corrado, lol!)
Dave decided he would drive us through and not drink. When we got there we couldnt get parked. I suggested a well lit bit of wasteground where flats had been demolished. 'Its well lit, no-one for miles!' I offered. 
Gig was great! Love the Barrowlands! 
Walking back to the car it appeared untouched, all 4 wheels, aerial and mirrors intact.
Then we realised 'CFC' had been scraped into the bonnet with some force. This, I think was more of a reference to the local football team rather than concern about climate change!
We had to drive home buzzing about the great gig with Dave wiping away the tears! 

You ignored the wee scrotes the" 2 quid to look after your care mate" always paid them when coming down to the fitba from Aberdeen in the 90s , seemed to work but the cars were neutral in colour

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

[sierraman]

3 hours ago, goosey said:

I hate to say it but having a base model rep car would mean your not very good at your job or to your competitors the company you work for is weak 

unfortunately first impressions is everything, 

Could be they’ve only just started out at the firm but if they’ve been there a long time and knocking about in the Maestro they’re a PIP away from the door. 😂

 

[Wibble]

5 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Could be they’ve only just started out at the firm but if they’ve been there a long time and knocking about in the Maestro they’re a PIP away from the door. 😂

 

That was my point. Just because you’re driving a “base”, doesn’t mean you’re shit at your job. Outside of sales jobs, some were quite happy with their base models, as they liked their job and weren’t interested in climbing the ladder, as it would take them away from what they enjoyed, being hands on. I knew plenty in my utility days.

[sierraman]

Just now, Wibble said:

That was my point. Just because you’re driving a “base”, doesn’t mean you’re shit at your job. Outside of sales jobs, some were quite happy with their base models, as they liked their job and weren’t interested in climbing the ladder, as it would take them away from what they enjoyed, being hands on. I knew plenty in my utility days.

There’s a lot to be said for being a value producer in a firm, the folks that get the sales. Middle management is the first to go. I’m not saying you should never progress yourself but there becomes a point where you are doing it because you feel like you should do and you end up hour for hour working for less and more pressure. Not a universal truth but something I’ve seen a lot. 
 

Being a salesman, I think it’s something you can naturally be good at or not. You can’t really teach someone to have the gift of the gab. It’s a job as well I’d expect is tougher than ever, people are far more educated and have information to hand these days, they can find out if it’s a good deal or not whereas years ago they could rely on someone’s naivety or lack of knowledge. 

[Six-cylinder]

Ok I own up to be shallow and grasping when it comes to company cars!

In 1991 I was given a new MK3 Cavalier SRi 8v hatchback as my new car with a new job as Sales Manager for a Vauxhall dealer. When it was due for change, I was asked if I would take a CDi instead as we had one that was brand new, but older stock. I took the CDi, but preferred the SRi with 15bhp more, shorter gearing and more sporting suspension. I moaned about the slower, floppier CDi.

When the CDi came up for renewal a couple of months later I was told I could have a SRi or have another CDi. A SRi cost £14,325 and a CDi £15 735. I am so vain and shallow I took another CDi because it was significantly more expensive than a SRi!

Today I would choose a CDi, but for different reasons. The CDi was a more comfortable and relaxed car.

 

For a different boss negotiating the model of company car I could have, he accused me of negotiating very hard. My reply was is that not what you want from a salesman. He gave in and gave me the car I requested.

[Wibble]

25 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Ok I own up to be shallow and grasping when it comes to company cars!

In 1991 I was given a new MK3 Cavalier SRi 8v hatchback as my new car with a new job as Sales Manager for a Vauxhall dealer. When it was due for change, I was asked if I would take a CDi instead as we had one that was brand new, but older stock. I took the CDi, but preferred the SRi with 15bhp more, shorter gearing and more sporting suspension. I moaned about the slower, floppier CDi.

When the CDi came up for renewal a couple of months later I was told I could have a SRi or have another CDi. A SRi cost £14,325 and a CDi £15 735. I am so vain and shallow I took another CDi because it was significantly more expensive than a SRi!

Today I would choose a CDi, but for different reasons. The CDi was a more comfortable and relaxed car.

 

For a different boss negotiating the model of company car I could have, he accused me of negotiating very hard. My reply was is that not what you want from a salesman. He gave in and gave me the car I requested.

But didn’t you then have an “off”, resulting in you getting a very unsporting, but nonetheless glorious Carlton estate?😂

[AnthonyG]

SRI = Sales Rep Inside!

Like @Dobloseven says, is there even such a thing as a sales rep any more? In this day of Zoom meetings and suchlike, driving up and down the M6 selling office machines or the like seems as antiquated as tin mining!

I guess the reppers car of choice, if they still exist, would be the Tesla Model 3. 

[Wibble]

4 minutes ago, AnthonyG said:

SRI = sales rep inside

I was never a rep but got to enjoy all the cars of that era when new. Happy days for sure and I felt the bollocks in my Sierra 2.0GLSi, briefly😆

[Metal Guru]

5 hours ago, georgeinabz said:

You ignored the wee scrotes the" 2 quid to look after your care mate" always paid them when coming down to the fitba from Aberdeen in the 90s , seemed to work but the cars were neutral in colour

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
 

We had to pay the weggie scrotes £5 when seeing Rod Stewart at Ibrox in 1994. They must be charging £20 by now.

[chadders]

13 hours ago, Asimo said:

1984

I was never a "rep", but I was a service tech.. 

You know, the chap who has to convince the customer he made a good purchase, even though it is now broken.

The job "entitled" me to a GL (Cavalier mk2 hatchback or Sierra. Nobody ever chose the Ford).

There was an option of paying the firm £850 or so and getting an SRi. 

Some colleagues paid the money and got the flash. A Cavalier SRi was a bloody special car then, so it was worth it to some.

I asked for an "L",  plus options-to-the-value-of.   Auto, rear belts,  DIGITAL radio.

There was a lot of discussion about image, status, projection etc.

I did get what I asked for, but I was amazed that people took this nonsense seriously. 

Hyacinth Bouquet is real.

F.F.S.!

I agree about the SRi, especially when the 130 came out.

They were apparently 'needed' by all by all the staff, who had company cars, for when they might have to go from the Stevenage Head Office to Dumfries, considered by most* to be a return day trip, even after innumerable meetings.

* mainly those with SAAB 900 16v Turbos.

[Six-cylinder]

10 hours ago, Wibble said:

But didn’t you then have an “off”, resulting in you getting a very unsporting, but nonetheless glorious Carlton estate?😂

Yes, but I had 5 Cavaliers MK3s before that happened.

[sierraman]

10 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

SRI = Sales Rep Inside!

Like @Dobloseven says, is there even such a thing as a sales rep any more? In this day of Zoom meetings and suchlike, driving up and down the M6 selling office machines or the like seems as antiquated as tin mining!

I guess the reppers car of choice, if they still exist, would be the Tesla Model 3. 

There are in some industries yes, account managers for building firms etc. The guy in the Cavalier still selling industrial packaging machines by the way. So they are out there and no they weren’t actors. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

My dad had his first company car in 1987. His choice was between a Ford Onion Ghia or a Vauxhall Belmont SRi. I remember looking at both when we visited the Motorshow that year and 12 year old me telling him that the Belmont was nicer (and sportier) than the Ford. Vauxhall were nailing the interior game at the time and the SRi Recaro seats were a different level to the offerings in the Onion. 

He was a proper Ford man at the time though, and he reckoned the cabin space of the Ford felt bigger. I think the rear roofline in the Belmont was a bit lower, from memory. 

The irony was that the Ford rotted like there was no tomorrow and within a few years pretty much the whole front end was replaced by the local Ford dealership, under the anti-corrosion warranty. Mum bought the car after four years and ran it for a few more. When she eventually came to chop it in at an independent sales forecourt, the fella was convinced it had been in a front end shunt as the repairs completed by the dealer were so rough. 

[Six-cylinder]

Company cars were an emotive subject, which I often saw with our customers in the Volvo, Citroen and Vauxhall dealers I worked in for 11 years. 

The boss who gave me the Carlton after my mishap understood cars were important. Before the off I was choosing my next car, another Cavalier CDi and he asked me what colour, I said Satin red and he said you have had that before how about the new Lagoon blue. With that the Dealer Principal and me the Sales Manager took off for 40 mins to visit our compound to select a colour for my new car. 

 

[cobblers]

We still get sales reps turning up out of the blue wasting their time (and ours). South African guy turned up to try and flog us a industrial wash tank in a red Peugeot 107 that looked like it'd done LE-JOG on it's side.

[Mr Livered]

25 minutes ago, sierraman said:

So they are out there and no they weren’t actors. 

No, however extreme the personalities may seem they did exist at the time. There's another documentary from the same year about first cars, which I remember watching at the time, because I knew one of the participants. The young lady with the 2cv who said, "the only thing wrong with this car is that it is French" was a contemporary of mine from my home town.

 

[sierraman]

2 minutes ago, Mr Livered said:

No, however extreme the personalities may seem they did exist at the time. There's another documentary from the same year about first cars, which I remember watching at the time, because I knew one of the participants. The young lady with the 2cv who said, "the only thing wrong with this car is that it is French" was a contemporary of mine from my home town.

 

What became of her? 

[Mr Livered]

Just now, sierraman said:

What became of her? 

I was wondering the same thing, but women are harder than men to look for online because I expect she's had a different surname for many years!

[sierraman]

6 minutes ago, cobblers said:

We still get sales reps turning up out of the blue wasting their time (and ours). South African guy turned up to try and flog us an industrial wash tank in a red Peugeot 107 that looked like it'd done LE-JOG on its side.

I will say this, if you were representing the company and you turned up in an old nail, prospective customers are going to run a mile because it looks like you’ve no money and thus a chance you’ll not be in a fiscal position to be dealing with. 

[chadders]

31 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I will say this, if you were representing the company and you turned up in an old nail, prospective customers are going to run a mile because it looks like you’ve no money and thus a chance you’ll not be in a fiscal position to be dealing with. 

I was entitled to a ML270 as a company car but took the monthly allowance instead and ran a several year old Punto 55SX that was my wife's car until we replaced it with a disaster of an A140.

I made damn sure the project directors and partners never saw it never mind the clients, it was worth less than my daily charge out rate. Fortunately I could go by train or plane to most of my projects.

[Volksy]

I always ended up with end of lease/cast offs/sackings vehicles.

I was a junior designer for a laboratory design place so did have to attend site meetings and client visits. 

Started off with a:

1991 Sierra Sapphire GLX 2.0i. Originally the Sales Managers, till he got fired.

 

This was replaced by:

Nissan Primera SGX 2.0i

I absolutely loved this. The difference between it and the preceding Sierra was immense. Pretty much in everything!

 

Following on from the Primera, an accountant quit so I ended up with:

 

Rover 220 SDi 
After the Nissan this felt almost almost agricultural. However the 2.0 Diesel was really grunty.

Seats were absolutely terrible though, and used to give me serious butt cramp after an hour or so behind the wheel.

 

The Rover went back, and handily a senior Accountant got the boot (I should have realised at this point that the company was in trouble) so it was replaced by:

Mercedes C180 Esprit

It was a manual, so had the added fun of a foot operated parking brake. Which took some getting used to. The gearchange was pretty horrid, rubbery and notchy at the same time. 

It almost put me off Mercs. 

 

The company went belly up soon after I got the Mercedes. 

 

Changing jobs meant that I actually got my own company car. However, I didn't get to decide what I got. 

The new company was an advertising agency, we did press advertising for motor dealers, so to gain favour with the Clients, the MD used to buy us all cars to use. Generally when they were first released and we kept them for 6 months max.

So a another random selection of vehicles followed:

Micra 1.0 16v 'Shape'

Loved this, brand new, thrashed everywhere.

 

Replaced with:

Saab 9-3 2.0 S Convertible

Super wobbly. Did feel like the back end wasn't connected to the front at times!

Ended up with three of the things in a row. In various colours. I think Saab had imported a glut of these to the UK as they seemed to be everywhere. 

[Metal Guru]

All this went out the window when BIK was based on emissions. Everyone had to have a BMW320d. 
Then hybrids were briefly favoured. I’m guessing the company car of choice is a Tesla 3? 

[sierraman]

5 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

All this went out the window when BIK was based on emissions. Everyone had to have a BMW320d. 
Then hybrids were briefly favoured. I’m guessing the company car of choice is a Tesla 3? 

I think company cars are out now in general, not really needed for a lot of jobs. The norm now seems to be car allowance, which sounds great if you work for a company that couldn’t give a shit what you drive.
 

Otherwise for a lot of people it means financing and taking responsibility for a vehicle to make your employer look good if they specify certain makes/no older than 5 years old etc. Fine if you were going to do that anyway but if you don’t want to/can’t finance another car then why should you have all the agg? What if you are laid off etc?