second hand car dealer neil tuckett has turned his back on the modern vehicle and only sells henry ford's famous model t despite his newest models being nearly 90 years old, the businessman, from buckinghamshire, is selling one every week, including to the tv and film industry who have used then in shows such as downton abbey mr tuckett says his customers love the model t   the first affordable mass produced car   because they don't require need road tax or an mot and are cheaper to maintain than a modern car, with each one selling for  around £10,000 scroll down for video  toot: second hand car dealer neil tuckett (pictured) has turned his back on the modern vehicle and only sells henry ford's famous model t  top of the range: this 1914 model is £24,750 and is one of around one a week sold by the buckinghamshire dealer  yours for £13,500: this 1917 model t is on the market and like all the classic cars they don't require road tax or a mot  back to basics: some of the vehicles need to have their headlamps lit by match, left, and right are the rudimentary pedals for braking, accelerating and changing gear  but with a top speed of 45mph   if going downhill with a following wind   drivers cannot get anywhere very fast and some of his pre 1915 model have gas headlights still lit by a match mr tuckett, 58, has customers who use them as wedding cars and even one that is used as a hearse he discovered his passion for the model when he got a call from his great uncle, john brazil, asking him to accompany him on the london to brighton commercial run   an event for historic commercial vehicles he had a model t van, previously used for transporting sausages and pies to london, and neil had driven it once in a field before he got behind the wheel in hyde park for the event he continued maintaining the vehicle afterwards and his great uncle left the van to him when he died the agricultural engineer started his own business in 1984 but when the work dried up a few years later, his team turned their attention to model ts now they struggle to keep up with the demand at his garage in north marston, buckinghamshire, and sell the cars for around £10,000 each neil has about six himself and goes touring in them with other fans of the car model t  made  1908 1927  price (from) £125  top speed  45mph (if going downhill with a following wind) acceleration (0 60) not possible  number of gears  3 (2 forward, 1 reverse) added features  none  seating capacity  2 7  wheelbase  100' engine type  4 cylinder, 4 cycle, internal combustion gasoline engine  horsepower  20  steering  not power assisted  mpg (miles per gallon) 20 25  fuel tank capacity  10 gallons  weight  1,200lbs  2015 ford fiesta  made  2015  price (from) £13,965  top speed  120mph  acceleration (0 60) 93 seconds  number of gears  6 (5 forward, 1 reverse) added features  air conditioning; beverage holders; cd player; am/fm radio; rear window defroster; mp3 decoder  seating capacity  5  wheelbase  98' engine type  16l  horsepower  120  steering  power assisted  mpg (miles per gallon) 28  fuel tank capacity  124 gallons  weight  2,578lbs  neil said: 'we're a niche market specialist and i've got about 100 years of man experience of model ts with my team 'we do about one a week, 50 a year they're coming in here as fast as i can fix them there's about 3,000 in the uk and we look after a good proportion of those 'it was a very popular car at one point, half the cars in the world were model ts they're affordable, usable and repairable, even though they are 100 years old 'it's more leisurely than a modern car its cruising speed is 30mph, at 40mph you're starting to rattle and to hit 45mph you'd have to be going downhill with the wind behind you 'but it's cheaper to maintain than a modern car the insurance costs about £50 a year, you don't need road tax or an mot and there are no major expenses alternative forecourt: business is booming at neil tuckett's time warp garage in the heart of rural buckinghamshire  meticulous: mr tuckett sources his ford spares from all over the globe and carefully puts the machines back together again behind the wheel: the second hand car dealer says that beauty of the model is how simple and enjoyable it is to drive  sales pitch: mr tuckett says: 'they're like a giant meccano set really, and so beautifully simple and reliable they just won't let you down you also don't require road tax or and mot' 'there's probably 20 companies in the world making new parts for the model t and about 80 per cent of model ts are new parts now, but they don't make new chassis 'the main source of original parts is america, 14million were built there the parts are all affordable and there's no electrics so little to go wrong 'and everyone seems to remember them, they know what a model t is that's quite surprising after 100 years, it's an iconic car 'they're lots of fun i'm about to go to scotland with a model t4 group   there's ten of us touring for a week in the outer hebrides 'i've seen a lot of the uk that i would never have seen if i wasn't driving an old car' thing of beauty: the model t is an icon, but with a top speed of 45mph   if going downhill with a following wind   drivers cannot get anywhere very fast  germans may have invented the petrol engine, but it was henry ford, a michigan irish farmer used his genius to realise its social potential ford said he had to invent his ‘gasoline buggy’ to escape the crushing boredom of his own life on the farm in the united states the model t was made from 1908 to 1927 and is generally regarded as the first affordable car in total more than 15million were made the first model ts were fairly expensive, about £500 but by the early 1920s, when millions were being produced, the price had dropped to about £125, which was roughly equivalent to the average annual wage ford was obsessed with efficiency: his production lines were inspired by the meat packing yards of chicago and it became the first mass produced car in the united states  his famous decree that customers could choose ‘any colour so long as it is black’ was not to limit consumer choice, but to reduce costs in ford’s day, freshly painted cars were left in the sun to dry black dried more quickly and was thus cheaper by 1914, a model t could be manufactured in 93 minutes and spare parts were all available through the sears roebuck mail order catalogue for drivers to install themselves
90 years old neil tuckett's downton abbey meccano
neil tuckett's  newest model on his forecourt is  90 years old   but he is still selling one model t every week  his cars are popular with the public as well as the tv and film industry, including the makers of downton abbey  customers love the model t because they don't require need road tax or an mot and are cheap to  maintain  he said: 'they're like a giant meccano set really, and so beautifully simple and reliable they just won't let you down'