Auto Trader

Adrian Hearn spoke to Jason about the Motor Show, why Ken Livingstone is wrong, dodgy Triumphs and his attempt to blag an MX-5.

Automotive expert Jason Dawe is a petrolhead. A petrolhead whose heart is pumping with anticipation for the British Motor Show, which starts on Thursday.

“I'm very excited about the new Jaguar, it’s just gorgeous. Hopefully it's a car that will refocus consumers on the Jaguar brand because they are making some brilliant cars at the moment,” says the Used Car Roadshow presenter.

I catch up with Jason at the end of a working day. Most people wouldn’t want the hassle of being interviewed at 5.40pm.

But not Jason. The man loves cars, and what’s more, he loves talking about cars.

He's also a man who mixes business with pleasure - spending his time buying, selling and writing about cars, along with his various presenting roles.

Jason has teamed up with Auto Trader to give visitors to the Motor Show expert advice about buying and selling their car. Jason will be giving all the essential tips on dealing with used car sales in two specially commissioned videos.

“The films are going to be giving viewers the benefit of my 20 years experience. It will hopefully give people the confidence to buy and sell their own vehicles,” says Jason.

The motoring industry excites Jason but when you mention this weeks Motor Show, he becomes even more animated.

“What I love about the Motor Show is that it is going to be a real pick-me-up for the motoring industry. We’ve seen redundancies, problems with manufacturers and all this haranguing from environmentalists.

“We should be celebrating. We’ve got a magnificent industry and some incredibly creative people,” says Jason.

Jason’s particularly looking forward to the Mazda stand, where he'll be trying to blag himself an MX-5.

“They’ve got an outside track you can drive round to win an MX-5 for the year. I’m going to be hovering round there disguising myself with a fake moustache trying to get as many goes as possible,” says Jason.

Jason is the used car expert in the UK. He’s been in the industry for over twenty years, selling and writing about cars.

Most TV personalities drive around in brand new Porsches or BMWs, but Jason drives a 19-year-old Audi Coupe GT.

“It’s the car that’s always on my drive. I drive it by choice. It does 35mpg and is still going strong. My colleague Penny Mallory drives a five-year-old Honda. We walk the walk,” say Jason.

But Jason’s not your traditional Arthur Daley or Frank Butcher – he’s much too friendly to pull a fast one. His persona has cast him into the world of TV, presenting the BBC’s flagship motoring programme Top Gear and most recently Men and Motor’s Used Car Roadshow.

Although he’s been fortunate enough to have driven some of the world’s most exotic cars, Jason’s had his fair share of lemons as well.

“I had a Triumph Vitesse which had dodgy electrics and would constantly smoke. One day I was selling insurance and a man asked if he could buy it. I promptly said yes then had to phone my dad to pick me up!” recalls Jason.

His next car was an interesting choice – a Mini 850. Anyone who has seen Jason will know he’s a big man.

“That was a comedy car for me but it was good as gold. It didn’t matter how much I put my foot down it wouldn’t really go anywhere!” says the Sunday Times columnist.

Jason is certainly a chilled out entertainer, but one thing that gets under his skin is ill-advised comments on the motoring industry. And he has this to say about Ken Livingstone’s proposal to hike up the congestion fee for 4x4s.

“It’s based on complete ignorance. When people are saying these 4x4s are killing the planet and taking up space you can easily say a BMW X5 is shorter that a Citroen C6.

“People like Ken Livingstone, who doesn’t even drive can never appreciate the pleasure of driving a car.

“They put forward a really ignorant argument. There are some fantastic 4x4s out there with very low emission charges,” says Jason.

But what does Jason think of Auto Trader?

“It’s my bible. I read the Beano when I was about nine and suddenly this car comic appeared. It had cars and pictures. I also used to buy the Sunday Times just for the prestige classifieds at the back. Now I’m involved with both - it’s a dream!”

If you want to hear Jason's invaluable advice on buying or selling cars, come along to Auto Trader's stand at the British Motor Show - at London's ExCeL from 20^th - 30^th July. There'll be fantastic offers and the winners of our 'Curves and Chrome' modded car competition.

To find out more visit http://www.autotradermotorshow.co.uk/.