Auto Trader

I'm addicted to the Auto Trader website... and I'll always prefer cars to dancing!

Dominic Sacco talks to Dom about his time on the popular BBC One dancing show, brushes with death, and why haggling is like asking a woman to marry you.

I’m waiting outside Dom Littlewood’s house, wondering where the energetic ex-car salesman might be. I ring the bell, but there’s no answer.

A short, stocky figure darts around the corner towards me – it’s Dom Littlewood carrying his shopping home with a bright, cheeky smile on his face.

He shakes my hand firmly, shows me into his sleek new London home and puts the kettle on.

Four year-old deal maker

We sit down in a spacious room containing a classic American jukebox and set of electric guitars. Dom recalls growing up in sunny Southend, with one memory standing out in particular.

“I was four years old and it was my first day at school,” says Dom. “I was a complete nightmare child, running around, being a nuisance, when I tripped over a chair and cut my chin.”

“After having stitches in hospital, a nurse offered me a cuddly toy to play with – but I’d set my sights on an 18 inch dumpster truck,” says Dom. “She wouldn’t let me have it but I kept on and on.”

“And yes – I eventually got the truck. That’s the day I learnt never to give up in a haggle,” he grins.

More haggling tips

Last month Dom gave us some exclusive tips on haggling – but he’s got some more advice up his sleeve.

“Be silent after asking for a discount,” says Dom. “Otherwise it’s like asking your girlfriend to marry you, then afterwards saying ‘oh I’ve got Arsenal to watch on the TV on Saturday though,” he laughs.

“Don’t ruin the moment. Just be quiet and let the right answer come.”

Selling cars and dancing stars

Dom was a manager of an electrical shop in Essex, before taking the plunge into car sales. He says working on 99 per cent commission and one per cent wage while selling used cars made him a better salesman.

“It made me brave enough to get better deals and make more money,” says Dom. “I was very passionate about selling cars and always wanted to be the best.”

His first TV appearance came on Channel 4’s Faking It, where he taught a vicar how to sell a used car.

But his big break came in an episode of The Other Half, a show where a couple had to guess which of four women was Dom’s real girlfriend.

Dom has since presented Wrong Car Right Car, Beat the Burglar, To Buy or Not to Buy, Don’t get done get Dom and The One Show.

The night before I speak to Dom, he’s voted off BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing. I ask him about the experience.

“It was very good fun, but labour intensive,” says Dom. “I don’t think people realise how much so!”

“I’ll always prefer cars to dancing though,” he assures me, smiling.

But there is one celebrity show he would never do.

“I’d never go on celebrity Big Brother – I’m way too energetic and hyper,” says Dom. “I’d be climbing the walls with frustration, driving myself and my housemates mad!” he laughs.

Breakneck lifestyle

Dom learnt to drive at 17 and passed first time after four lessons in a Citröen 2CV. He had a near miss when driving his dad to work.

“I was driving down the A130 bypass to Southend,” says Dom. “I was leading the traffic with my L-plates, when a car suddenly swerved out of the other single lane towards us.”

“I kept my calm and he completely veered off the road into an embankment. He must have fallen asleep at the wheel or had a heart attack.”

“We didn’t have mobile phones in those days so we couldn’t call until we’d stopped,” he explains.

This wasn’t his only brush with death.

“I was larking around on an island in Australia, when a big built friend tossed me into the air and I landed on my head,” says Dom. “I had to have an operation on my spine.”

“I still have a lot of fun though – if you’re an adventurous person, things will go wrong.”

“It brought me down to earth a little bit too; it was a wake up call, like someone telling me to get on with my life and stop being such a wild child!”

Classic American

Dom’s taste for American gear doesn’t end with his vintage jukebox.

“My passion is for classic American cars,” says Dom. “It developed from movies like Grease, American Graffiti and Hot Rod.”

We go outside to take a closer look at Dom’s 2004 Chevrolet SSR convertible with pearlescent paintwork. He explains how his car collection had more humble beginnings.

“My first car was a Mk 2 Ford Cortina 1600e,” says Dom. “Complete with a red light over the back axle and a furry dashboard!”

“My favourite car has to be the Plymouth Prowler though, which I actually just sold. I want a vintage Mk 1 Capri next, but I’d love a 1958 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray.”

And where does the pint-sized presenter do all this shopping?

“I’m addicted to the Auto Trader website,” says Dom. “I’m on the site at least once a week being nosy, although I shouldn’t because I’m a very compulsive buyer!”
 
“But it’s not always the money side of things – where do you park the cars once you’ve bought them?”

What’s next?

Dom is currently working on The One Show and the next series of Don’t get done get Dom, which goes on air in spring 2008.

And it looks as if his love of things made in America will grow even stronger:

“American TV channels are talking about doing some shows with me which I’m excited about,” says Dom.

“The world is my oyster at the moment so let’s wait and see what comes in!”