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COMPANY CARS
After reading Mike Humble’s tales on the Montego (CM, June 2020), it brought back terrible memories of my company car - a 1986 Austin Montego 1.6L estate.
I am a retired industrial gasses services engineer, installing and maintaining industrial gas bulk vessels and associated equipment in breweries, soft drink manufacturers, foundries originally, and food factories etc. covering, mainly East, West and North Yorkshire, and the North East. During 26 years, the list of eight company cars started with a well-used Cortina 1.6 Mk4 estate through to a VW Combi van with side windows and removable rear seat. They were changed first, every 3 years/75,000 miles, and latterly 4 years/125,000 miles.
The Montego estate was certainly comfortable, drove well, (when it decided) and had a good load area with rear seat folded. However, long before its first service, it ‘died’ and had to be towed in by the AA to a local Austin Rover dealer - a free loan car being provided. After 24 hours it was returned without any fault being found. It carried on for several more weeks/months, either started misfiring, or dying altogether, having to be towed in to local A/R dealer, which eventually closed. Appleyards in Leeds, main A/R agent, becoming responsible for its maintenance. It fared no better with them, several visits being made, still under the guarantee period!
All of this was having a bad effect on my work, causing delays, missed appointments, meetings with customers, etc. Every time it failed, another car/van had to be hired and 3-4 cwt. of gear including pipe fittings, spare gear, toolboxes, screw cutting gear and pipe vice on occasions had to be transferred twice (which I really
