Dell Autos has closed

[Kathryn Almond]

On 07/11/2025 at 10:35, Penguin68 said:

I would recommend the Dulwich Test and Service centre that used to be in Hindemanns road and then moved to the little Trading Estate off Tyrrel Road. I've used them very happily for nearly 40 years. Paul and Reg Shires. 

Agreed! I have been happy with them for the last 20 years.

[kford]

Ghost sign revealed during Dell Autos demolition William S Spicer 

[Sue]

10 hours ago, kford said:

Ghost sign revealed during Dell Autos demolition William S Spicer 

Does anyone know who they were?

I googled, and nothing relevant came up except the post above!

[se22]

They were a garage before Dell Autos took over.

[teddyboy23]

Bob spicer  friend of my old man.

Edited December 17, 2025 by teddyboy23

[spider69]

Was this the mechanic with one eye

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

William S Spicer was a family-owned firm that initially made horse drawn delivery carts for breweries (especially Fullers Brewery in W London) and horse-drawn trams. With the advent of the internal combustion engine, they successfully made the transition to coachbuilding delivery vehicles London's leading department stores using German engines.

WW2 interrupted their business for obvious reasons, and their postwar attempt to become the local assembler and distributor of Bulgarian "Izmama" trucks was not blessed with good fortune. In 1953, the company pivoted to being a full-service garage, leveraging their reputation for honesty and excellence. 

In 1972, the Dulwich site was sold to its present owners. William S Spicer III (the grandson of the founder) retired to Lancashire, where he founded a sanctuary for the endangered ineptia beetle, which he had encountered in Bulgaria while travelling for business. In 1978, Spicer was awarded an OBE for conservation, and a newly-discovered  beetle was named after him by the Bulgarian People's National Academy of Sciences - Byturus Spicerius.

Edited December 17, 2025 by Dogkennelhillbilly

[CPR Dave]

Is that AI Slop? 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

I have never used AI in my life. It's just notes from my forthcoming monograph on light industry in Dulwich and Camberwell 1879-1946 (dates chosen for obvious reasons).

[CPR Dave]

Ah sorry, it was comedy. 

 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

How very dare you. Rest assured, if it were intended to be comedy, it would have been funny.

[ED4LYF]

Threads that devolve like this should be moved to the Lounge, so the 'comedy' can continue in an appropriate vacuum.

[CPR Dave]

It hasn't devolved. It's in exactly the same state it was when it started.

[rachel.mortby]

Does anyone know how to get in touch with the owners? I’ve been going there for 10+ years and have only just found out that they have closed. I have lost my service manual and am hoping they have kept their paper work…..

[Sue]

1 hour ago, rachel.mortby said:

Does anyone know how to get in touch with the owners? I’ve been going there for 10+ years and have only just found out that they have closed. I have lost my service manual and am hoping they have kept their paper work…..

Possibly one of the other local garage owners may know?

Also, it's possible if the owners and staff are still in the area that they might see your post.

They didn't post on here themselves (to the best of my knowledge) but they must have known that I did, as a couple of times the lady who worked in reception phoned me to ask me if I could  post in the "Lost" section when something dropped in Hansler Road had been handed in to them.

Unfortunately I only have their office landline  number, which presumably disappeared when they closed.

Good luck! Hopefully your service manual may turn up in an unexpected place.

Edited Monday at 11:18 by Sue
Adding info

[rachel.mortby]

Thanks, hopefully someone will know something!

[teddyboy23]

On 16/02/2026 at 09:43, rachel.mortby said:

Does anyone know how to get in touch with the owners? I’ve been going there for 10+ years and have only just found out that they have closed. I have lost my service manual and am hoping they have kept their paper work…..

Y0u c an check your sevice history on line.via car check history or gov.car history.cost under a tenner.maybe down load documents .

[ianr]

 

14 minutes ago, teddyboy23 said:

Y0u c an check your sevice history on line.via car check history or gov.car history.cost under a tenner.maybe down load documents .

The https://www.carcheck.co.uk/  history service is free, which is just as well given that it's freely available from DVSA* at https://www.gov.uk/transport/mots.  Carcheck do provide some additional general info as well, and have even beaten DVSA to getting the 2027 MOT record up.

There is a .car top-level domain  (just as this forum's top-level domain is .uk)  but any mention of gov anywhere before it -- like  mot.records.gov.car --  would suggest it's owned by someone who wants to fool users into believing that it's an official government website, which it isn't.  It doesn't end  in gov.uk

* There's also a link from a DVLA Tax/MOT check results page

[teddyboy23]

21 hours ago, ianr said:

 

The https://www.carcheck.co.uk/  history service is free, which is just as well given that it's freely available from DVSA* at https://www.gov.uk/transport/mots.  Carcheck do provide some additional general info as well, and have even beaten DVSA to getting the 2027 MOT record up.

There is a .car top-level domain  (just as this forum's top-level domain is .uk)  but any mention of gov anywhere before it -- like  mot.records.gov.car --  would suggest it's owned by someone who wants to fool users into believing that it's an official government website, which it isn't.  It doesn't end  in gov.uk

* There's also a link from a DVLA Tax/MOT check results page

Just had a look at the above web sites you listed. Mot tax look for free .but you still need to pay to get service results.sàme as the ones I liste

[ianr]

Ah, dozy me.  Thanks for pointing that out.   I was so impressed by the MOT details being there I  didn't  expect anything else could be so didn't check any further.  I've not owned anything with an internal combustion engine for decades.  Recently found a light tool that I've a dim memory of using for (??) timing checks.

[David Peckham]

That'll be a strobe gun, and yes, it is used for ignition timing.

Not so useful with modern cars because timing is done via the ECU, but you could lock yourself in your darkened garage, put on some late 80s Detroit techno - such as Derrick May's 'Strings of Life - and use the strobe light to have yourself a little rave.

The above websites are close to useless for checking the service history of older cars - there's no legal requirement to have your car serviced, let alone have it recorded somewhere.