Auto Express – August 20, 2019

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk SpecialIssue 47

MODERN

CLASSICS

buyers

guide

YOU’VEsavedsomemoney,foundabitofspacein

yourgarageandfinallyreachedanagewhereinsurance

isn’tabigissue.Nowisthetimetotreatyourselftothat

caryoualwayswantedwhenyouwereyounger.We’re

notnecessarilytalkingaboutJaguarE-Typesorpriceless

Ferraris;insteadwearegoingtotakeacloserlookatthe

emergingclassicsthatcostlessthan£10,000,willbefun

toown,andmightevenprovetobeabitofaninvestment.

Beforeyoutaketheleap,makesureyouknowwhatyou

aregettingyourselfinto.Anddon’thurry;researchwillsave

youalotofheartache–andmoney–inthelongrun.

Thebestplacetostartisbyreadingbuyingguidesonline,

andaskingforadviceonforums.It’salsoworthtryingto

visitafewcarshowsandchattoownersabouttheircars.

Ifyoucan’tmakeittoanyshows,tryspeakingtoowners

incarparksandpetrolstations;mostwillbeenthusiasts

andwilllovetalkingabouttheirprideandjoy.

Youcanalsolearnalotfromreadingadverts.Online

listingshavenolimittothenumberofwordsanownercan

post,somanypeoplewillgointogreatdetail,describing

thecommonbadpointsforthemodelandwhetherthey’ve

beenfixedontheonethatthey’reselling.

Whileyouarebrowsingtheadverts,typetheregistration

numbersofthecarsyouhavespottedintothegovernment’s

freeMoThistorycheck(www.gov.uk/check-mot-history).

Thisonlinetoolwillgiveyouanideaofhowwellthat

specificcarhasbeenmaintained,butyoucanalso

getafeelforanyfrequentfaultsonthemodel.

Ifyouareconfidentenoughafterallthatresearch,then

gotoviewcarswithyoureyesopen.Don’tbefobbedoff

withphraseslike:“WilleasilypassMoT”or“Simplefix,

partsjust£20oneBay”.Therewillusuallybeareason

whytheownerhasn’tdonethejobthemselves.

Ifyou’renotconfidentinspectingacaronyourown,take

anexperttoaviewing.Askonforumsandseeifsomeone

whoknowsthecarswellwillcomewithyou.Aspecialist

The best wayto

keep your classic in

good condition is to

drive it and enjoyit

mechanicwillonlychargeyouforlabourtime,whilean

enthusiastmightdoitforthepriceofapint.

Onceyouhaveyourcar,youneedtogetitlegal.Roadtax

onpre-2001carsisn’temissions-based,soyou’llpayjust

£160ifit’sunder1,549cc,and£265ifithasalargermotor.

Thatcouldbequiteasavingovernewercarswithbigengines.

Don’tforgetthatyoucanalsodeclareacarofftheroad–

orSORN–andclaimbackthevehicleexciseduty(VED)for

unusedmonths.Thatwillbeworthwhileifyouknowthecar

won’tbeusedforthewintermonthsorneedsrepairing.

Insurancepremiumscouldalsoturnouttobecheaper

thanyouexpect.Mostdedicated‘classic’policiesstart

whenthecarsare20yearsold,butyoungermodelscould

alsobecoveredonaspecialistpolicyiftheyareyour

secondcarandnotusedforcommutingorbusiness.

AndrewEvansonfromclassiccarinsurancespecialist

Lancastersays:“Myadviceistotalktoabroker.Anonline

comparisontoolwon’trecogniseaclassic.Forthese

policies,weneedtobuildupaprofileoftheperson,not

thecar.Ifsomeoneisobviouslyanenthusiastwhouses

theircarforpleasure,theninsurerslikeit.”

Havingagarageisn’tessentialforinsurance,butithelps,

anditwillkeepyournewprideandjoyingoodcondition,so

longasitisleak-freeandsecure.Ifyoudon’thaveagarage,

consideracarcover,butbecareful,becausemanycheaper

onescancausedamagetothepaintbytrappingmoisture.

AutoExpresshasalistofitspreferredchoicesonline.

Agaragewillalsogiveyousomewheretoworkonthe

car,ifyoufancyabitofDIY.Workshopmanuals,online

videosandstep-by-stepinstructionsonforumswillhelp

youcompletemostcommontasks,andpartsneedn’tbe

expensiveeither.Bitsfor‘modernclassics’aremostly

availableeitherfromcarssettobescrapped,orevenfrom

franchiseddealerswhowanttoclearoutoldstock.Many

aftermarketmakersprovidenon-originalspareparts,too.

Butthebestwaytokeepyourclassicingoodcondition

istodriveitandenjoyit.Keepingacarwellexercised

willensurethemechanicalpartsdon’tseize,thebattery

ischargedandtheinteriorwellventilated.Itwillalso

remindyouwhyyouboughtitinthefirstplaceandlet

otherenthusiastsseeandenjoyyourmodernclassic.

Double check

Neverbuyaclassicwithout

givingitafullinspection,

possiblywiththehelpofan

expert.Takeatestdrive,too,

andscanonlineforumsto

discovercommonissues