Buying used cars ain't what it used to be! Part 10

by Paul Sweeney

The Maestro delivered on every criteria I had, really. Roomy - even for a family of five - quiet, comfortable, economical. It wasnt the best-looking car in the world, but it was perfectly acceptable - apart from one thing; rust.

The old enemy was still there and as each month passed, I noticed a little more of the crusty stuff appearing in various places. After a time, I began to feel I had better get rid of the Maestro before it started to look really bad. Had it not been for that, I would have held on to it much longer.

​And so it was that one day I was passing a local Austin-Rover dealer - Hartwells of Coalpit Heath near Bristol - and a huge banner caught my eye. No, not this one: 

It was simply some words ... and they read, "Sale - nearly new Montegos under £5000". Since I liked the Maestro and the Montego was basically a saloon version of the same design - it would have all the same plus points. And surely they would have cured the rust issue by now, I reasoned - this car would be almost five years newer than my crumbling Maestro. I went home excitedly.

Now, I knew that revealing genuine enthusiasm to Mrs S would immediately make her oppose anything I suggested.... the trick was to somehow drop it into conversation casually - as an aside, as if I weren't really interested at all. In the same tone as one might mention "I see baked beans are only 10p a tin at Tesco this week".

So, after clearing away the dinner things, doing the washing up and walking the dog I summoned my best casual voice and said, "Have you seen the price of Montegos at Hartwells? Amazing - and they're not even a year old". Then the smart bit - I stopped talking and waited. I didnt exactly hold my breath but clung to the fervent hope we wouldnt be interrupted by one of the kids or a phone call - cos that would have broken the magic spell.

After what seemed like an age - probably 30 seconds or so in reality - SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed*) replied, "Shall we go and look?" Yeeha!! .. but dont show it, you fool! I counted silently up to 30 ... then, "Oh OK if you like. Might be interesting". So SWMBO organised a babysitter and off we went the 2 miles to Hartwells.

There were half a dozen or so F reg Montegos on the forecourt - all the 1.6L model if I remember correctly. I was immediately drawn to an all-white example; it looked very smart with body-coloured bumpers.

*Thanks to 'Rumpole of the Bailey'

The interior had been restyled and was much nicer than the Maestro interior. It had a feel of quality about it. The seats were comfortable and spacious. We went for a test drive - the steering was lighter (still no power steering on these cars) and the gear change was smooth as silk. Honda or VW box, probably but I dont remember. The engine was quiet and refined - I loved it! A trade-in deal was quickly agreed and a few days later the Montego was ours.

As ever, the BL range was bewildering at the time, and Wikipedia bravely attempts to clarify as follows:

The Montego started life as a four-door notchback variant of project LC10. Development on the new model, intended to succeed both the Morris Marina and the Princess ranges by the turn of the 1980s, had begun in 1977 but ultimately the new car was not launched until seven years after development had started; in the meantime, the Marina had been updated and re badged as the Morris Ital from 1980, whilst the Princess had been updated as the Austin Ambassador in 1982.

The Honda-based Triumph Acclaim had also been introduced in 1981 largely as a stop-gap to keep potential buyers interested in BL products until both the Montego and the Rover 200-series were launched in 1984.

The Austin Maestro emerged as the five-door hatchback variant. When the designs diverged, the Montego became project LM11 (the Maestro being LM10), and remained based on a lengthened version of the LC10s Volkswagen Golf style front MacPherson strut / rear twist beam chassis.

The Montego received different front and rear styling following the replacement of designer David Bache with Roy Axe. It also featured body-coloured bumpers (as did the Maestro), and front wipers which hid themselves under the bonnet when parked.

The Montego offered many improvements over the Maestro, many of which were later incorporated into the latter, such as a new SOHC engine (the S-Series), and a more robust dashboard. As with the Maestro, there was a high-performance MG version which again used the solid-state instrument cluster, trip computer, and synthesised voice for the information and warning systems.

The dashboard fitted to the Montego was superior to that originally designed for the Maestro and featured a rally-style tachometer, a service indicator and a representation of the car showing open doors, lights left on, etc.

An estate variant, with larger luggage capacity than its competitors, two additional rear-facing child seats and self-levelling suspension, also styled by Roy Axe, followed shortly and received instant acclaim, winning the company a Design Council award.

There were originally plans to name it the Rover 400 Series, and pre–production cars in Warwickshire were seen bearing "ROVER" badges, and badged as 413i, 416i, 420 and 420i. From 1995, a decade after the Montego was introduced, the 416i and 420i names would be used, but on the unrelated Rover 400 Series.

Around this time, my then mother-in-law purchased a used trailer caravan and invited us to use it.

​As we couldnt afford anything better, we gratefully accepted and so began a period of absolute purgatory towing the damn thing with the Montego, parking it in god-forsaken wet fields in the back of beyond and wishing I was still at home.

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All of which brings to mind one rather memorable occasion. SWMBO's sister who I will refer to as TTO (The Talkative One - as she rarely stopped speaking) suggested a joint caravanning holiday.

​It would be TTO with her remarkably dreary husband and 2 young boys in a caravan owned by TTO's mother in law, plus us in my mother in law's van, which I think may have been an Elldis. Don't ask me which model it was, but it looked very similar to this one:

Looking back now, I can see how that holiday marked something of a pivotal moment in our lives - but for that and the long-term verdict on the Montego, you must await the next instalment, dear reader.

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