why buy a classic vehicle
TRANSCRIPT
Why Buy a Classic Vehicle?
Owning a classic vehicle of any sort is a relation-
ship. It may be a lifelong love or a short affair. You
may have full involvement with every aspect of
your vehicle’s wellbeing or you may have a distant
relationship where you get together on a few sun-
ny Sunday afternoons in the year. It may be an
exclusive arrangement or involve more than one
vehicle. You will have ups and downs.
Classic vehicles have a unique beauty in them, in
some cases apparent to only a select few, some-
thing you don’t see in today’s equivalents. Mod-
ern day vehicles may be more comfortable and
reliable however often lack the character of the
classic, even if that character sometimes has you
standing by the side of the road in the pouring
rain waiting for a recovery vehicle.
Sometimes prospective owners look for a specific
make or model; maybe it has special memories
from childhood or they simply always liked that
particular vehicle. Others are looking for some-
thing a bit different and fall into a certain vehicle.
Maybe you just prefer to only drive or ride the
vehicle, in which case, if you have the money,
there are companies that will store and look after
the car keeping it in top condition. Not every own-
er has the desire, space, time or ability to restore
or maintain their vehicle and they shouldn’t feel
guilty if this is the case. They are keeping a piece
of history for all to see and that is to be commend-
ed.
If you like wielding a spanner or welder then it’s
likely you will want to be fully involved in keeping
your classic on the road. Maybe you’ve bought a
restoration project that’s going to take many
hours toiling in the garage to bring it back to its
former glory. Or you’re carrying out a rolling res-
toration, when small parts of the vehicle are re-
stored, so that the vehicle can continue to be used
in-between bouts of work.
The question of space is raised at this point. Un-
less your classic vehicle is a daily runner—and
many are– you are going to need somewhere to
keep it. On the driveway under a cover is fine,
however this can attract the dreaded tin worm
and the even more dreaded car thief. Not every-
body has a garage let alone space in a garage for a
car, so give some consideration to secure storage.
Your vehicle will be dry, the battery will be on
trickle charge and when the sun shines and it’s
time to turn some heads, it will be as clean as the
day you put it away.
Storage companies, such as Jordan’s, one of our
show sponsors, offer flexible services, even taking
care of the mundane tasks such as MOT tests, ser-
vicing and valet cleaning. If you are tight on space
or worried about keeping your classic outside,
storage companies are worth investigating.
As specific models become rarer, appear in TV
series, such as Life on Mars , or simply become
more popular, prices rise as we’ve seen over the
last few years. Classic vehicle prices tend to be
cyclic this
year’s high
could be fol-
lowed by a sud-
den decline so
there’s no guar-
antee of mak-
ing money.
That said, look-
ing at the auc-
tions prices of
top quality
MGB Mk IIIs
between 2004
and 2015
shows a rise
from £6,500 to £13,570, which is the sort of return
that makes classic cars attractive to investors, re-
grettably pricing them out of the reach of vehicle
enthusiasts.
The strong rise in the value of classic vehicles over
the last few years means your vehicle’s value
could increase significantly over the period your
insurance runs for. This presents a problem for
agreed value policies and one that must be dis-
cussed with a broker or insurance company that
understands the classic vehicle market. Coops In-
surance, one of our show sponsors, is one such
specialist and is on the showground today offering
friendly advice on all vehicle insurance matters.
Clubs give you the opportunity to join like-minded
people who will be able to offer advice, help and
social activities. Some clubs are make or model
specific, others aren’t. We’ve always had a strong
club support of both types at our car show and
some clubs have been returning for many years.
Bringing your classic vehicle to a show like today’s
gives you the opportunity to meet new people,
sometimes people interested in owning a vehicle
like yours or maybe it brings back childhood mem-
ories. Sometimes they just like the colour!
You may notice I’ve used the word vehicle, and
that’s because the classic vehicle world is a broad
church. Look
around the
showground
today and you’ll
see a variety of
vehicles of all
shapes and sizes.
Whether it’s a
classic motorcy-
cle, car, tractor,
commercial, mili-
tary or steam
driven vehicle
the relationship
and passion is
the same it’s only the number of wheels and the
size that’s different.
So if you’re thinking about a classic vehicle, to-
day’s show is a good place to start. If you know
what make and model you desire you’re off to a
flying start. If not, you have a wide variety to look
at today before choosing.
Whatever stage you are at with purchasing your
first classic, classic vehicle owners are a friendly lot
and like people taking an interest in their vehicles.
So talk to them, find out about the vehicle, parts
supply and specialists, take photographs and make
contacts so when you’re ready to take on that
relationship you can make it work.
Classics don’t always need to be large! Fully working scale model
of a steam driven traction engine.