An elderly pensioner recently had a brief reunion with his beloved vintage car at an auction, a vehicle he had owned for a remarkable 50 years. In 1961, 89-year-old Ken Hill purchased the 1932 Lagonda for 135 pounds (approximately 173 US dollars).
“I bought it in South London because it was a beautiful vintage car of that era,” said Hill, a retired journalist from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK. “I was interested in old cars at the time. A friend of mine gave it to me as a company car.”
When it seemed his friend no longer cared for the car, Mr. Hill decided to buy it from him. However, in 2011, two years after his wife Jean passed away, Hill decided it was time to part ways with the car. He ultimately sold it for 41,000 pounds (about 52,620 US dollars).
“My relationship with the car was coming to an end, and I thought making some money would be good,” he said.
An article about the car was published in the local newspaper, and the next day, four different people called him expressing interest. “I found some people who wanted that specific model and in quite original condition,” Hill said. “To my advantage, I had never restored it, just kept it running.”
Hill’s son is a car enthusiast. Last month, he saw the old Lagonda was going to be auctioned at H&H Classics at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire.
“My son took me to the auction,” Hill said. “He’s very good at giving his old father some peculiar surprises occasionally, as I haven’t been in great health lately.”
At the auction, the car was described as “rare and desirable,” having had only two owners since 1961, with a service history dating back to 1949.
Mr. Hill was delighted to see his car in better condition than when he sold it, as the last owner had installed traffic indicators and refurbished the engine. “I am very happy to see it again,” he said. “It reminds me of all the factors that initially piqued my interest in it.”
The car was sold at the auction for 33,188 pounds (approximately 42,590 US dollars). The octogenarian still keeps a spare radiator for the vehicle in his seaside residence but has no intention of buying back his old car, as he has recently given up driving.
“Who knows if I would suddenly forget that the accelerator pedal in Lagondas is in the middle,” Hill joked. “Perhaps I would revert to my old driving habits when driving modern cars.”
The original article titled “Elderly Man Reunites With the ‘Rare and Desirable’ Lagonda Car That He Owned for 50 Years” was published on the Epoch Times website.