Trevor Nelson reveals the only reason he’d sell his dream car - and it’s to help his daughter

The BBC Radio 2 DJ has owned his dream car, a Mercedes-Benz 280SL ‘Pagoda’, since the late 1990s. Some versions of the classic motor are now valued at more than £200,000 but the 61-year-old isn’t in a rush to cash in.

It would take one big decision from his daughter Mali Larrington-Nelson to sell the iconic vehicle, as he explained to an award-winning motoring podcast.

“I’ve decided I will sell it, but only for one reason,” Nelson told Fuelling Around.

“When my daughter finally backs down and says ‘Dad, I need some help to buy somewhere’, that’ll be her deposit money. She’s out there DJing, doing her thing but always moans ‘our generation will never be able to get property’. That’s my only reason to get rid of it.

“It’s the most beautiful car. It’s aspirational because it’s out of the reach of most people now because they’ve really gone up in value. If you’ve got a good one you can get six figures plus for it.”

Nelson, a dad of two from his first marriage, waxed lyrical about the silver Pagoda on the show but didn’t reveal how much he paid to buy it. It’s likely to have been around £20,000 to £30,000.

The weekday 2-4pm host joked that he’d wanted the car since he saw Jamiroquai driving it after he played his record first on national radio while working for KISS FM. But did concede not everyone in his life has been a fan.

“My ex wife hated the car and I always used to say: ‘That car is going nowhere’,” he laughed during the episode which saw him discuss a host of non-related motoring topics including his career and love of music.

“I didn’t have a garage so wherever we lived the car was either on the front of the house or on my sister’s drive. It’s been everywhere, it’s been in lock ups. I can’t get rid of it. I drive the car about five times a year.

“At one point I was in central London, speedhumpville. It’s not a place for classic cars, you’re sitting in traffic and it’s not getting a run and I thought I’d sell it at one point. But I didn’t. It’s beautiful.”