CARS AT CUT PRICES

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11835, 17 January 1933, Page 3

CARS AT CUT PRICES

'‘OLD CROCKS" THAT FUNCTIONSOLO FROM £2 TO £4. Wolverhampton (England) has the cheapest motor* mart in the count..'. It is run by a motor mechanic, who sell? cars at the tempting prices of £9 £3 rnu ] £4. The service hnsbeeu specially introduced to suit the pockets of the working-class, and to give them the benefit of the present in old. second-hand ears. Lnder tue scheme, miners, factory workers, and labourers are aide to run their nun ears at a cost of about 2s 6d a week. The man behind the idea, Mr. Gen. Betts, is an unemployed motor mechanic. How lie came to launch the scheme is told in bis own words: ‘T thought of it months ago. hr .ai t 0 an interviewer, “hut it was not until I found myself without a job that I tried it out. A man offered mo a 1925. model ear for £2. T rapped it up. It was old. hut the engine was good. and. after touching it up. T sold it two days later at n good profit. “That deeided me. I rented a patch of waste land, spent a week building shelter on it, and started t° buy as many old cars as my capital would allow. 1 overhauled them... and sold* them-la ter ■•at-*'slight"profit'. Mint to individuals, hut to groups of individuals. I advertised the fact that if three of four working men put down a pound each they could buy one of my ears and run it, at practically no cost.' The idea lias caught

“For instance, four miners came »o me yesterday and bought n ear for £f!. That is, it costs them 15s each. The license and insurance come to £2O per year—which means that to keep tlie ear running ir costs each of these miners only 2s Od a week.-Act-ually, it costs them nothing at alh because they travel to work in it eveiw morning and save Is a week i n fares. They take turns each week-end at driving their families out into the country.

•'My clients are not particular about the car's appearance, age, or make, a.s long as the engine can be made to function. And, believe mo,, some of these obi engines are every lut as reliable as your Bolls-Roveo ones!

Mr. Betts garages most of the ears himself, at a cheap rate, and is always at hand to help and advise with repairs. So far the scheme has been well supported.'and has operated successfully.