Biography of Malcolm Archbald Smith - Rover 3500

Malcolm Smith's Family History Archive

Vehicles of

Malcolm Archbald SMITH

[Ref. S.1]

Rover SD1 3500

Registration number SOJ 610 Y

This Rover was bought to replace the similar model that Malcolm had been driving but it proved not to be a good purchase even though he had looked at it beforehand and was impressed by the on-board computer and the cruise control feature. The seller was a car valetter and was making this sale as a sideline.

The transaction was arranged to take place in the car park of Southampotn railway station on a Saturday morning and the day that the family were to go on holiday in Devon. Malcolm and his son James took the bus to Southampton then went to the bank to collect the cash. Hehad previously checked with the bank that he could draw the money from bank on Saturday, but, when he got there he was told that it would have to be given as a Banker's Draft as the amount exceeded the limit of cash that could be issued. This threw Malcolm at first as the bank had previously confirmed that cash would be issued also the seller had requested cash and, if the car was not bought then, he was stuck in Southampton and would not be going on holiday. As it happened, the seller accepted the payment as given.

When they got to the car, Malcolm noticed that there was a leak of fresh oil on the ground underneath the car but was aware that he had to go through with the purchase in order to get off on holiday. To add insult to injury, the cruise control stopped working soon afterwards. Malcolm found that it had been broken and bodged back together and his attempts to fix it were not successful. Some months later the on-board computer also stopped working.

After Malcolm and James got back home, the car was packed and they set off on holiday. They were on a narrow land just past Wichampton, about five miles into their journey, when an oncoming car clipped the wing mirror and knocked the glass out. Malcolm stopped and had an altercation with the driver which achieved nothing then, back in the car, was told by his sons that they had seen the driver before when he'd had a small collision with the school bus.

This Rover was never as good as the previous one and not such a pleasure to drive. It was the best that he could find at the time. He really wanted a Vitesse model but the only one that Malcolm tested was so delapidated that it was barely fit to drive although the owner was desperate to get rid of it.