Antique & Classic Cars Blog
Why a Classic?
Sunday, February 17th, 2008I was talking to a guy at a friend’s party last night about “fun” cars. He noted that with credit many young people today have new Audis or BMWs. He said he’d much rather have an old Porsche or a classic BMW like a 2002.
With summer coming on (hopefully), here’s a pros and cons list of classic car ownership. As always, your input is welcome.
Classic car pros:
1. Looks–daring and distinctive lines.
2. Ease of troubleshooting and repair.
3. Memories.
4. Sense of greater ownership in a car you maintain or restore.
5. Community of fellow enthusiasts with whom to trade tips, lore, parts, and an extra set of hands.
6. Greater driver involvement–fewer automated features softening and homogenizing the feel through the wheel and pedals.
7. Uniqueness.
8. Generally sustained value (over price when new).
Classic car cons:
1. Rust–the fiendishly destructive and costly old-car nemesis.
2. Storage space/cost.
3. Insurance cost beyond daily driver.
4. Parts can be hard to find, expensive.
5. May require frequent maintenance or repair.
6. No airbags; may lack headrests, seatbelts.
7. Restoration takes longer and costs more than most owners project.
8. Many older cars do not perform to modern standards.
Nice thing about sustained values is that as long as you didn’t get taken on the purchase, or go upside-down on a restoration, you can usually sell a classic for little loss or some gain.
4 Responses to "Why a Classic?"
Although you’ve noted that collectible cars do tend to hold their value, or at least don’t depreciate as much as a normal “store bought” car, I’ve had to tell people that cars make lousy investments. More than once, someone’s asked me if a certain car will be worth more in the future. I tell them that’s a lousy reason to buy a collectable. I tell them that if they’ve always liked that type of car, if they’ve always wanted to own and drive one, then fine, buy it and enjoy. If they’re looking for profit, I tell them go invest in gold, or stocks and bonds or something like that.
For me, there are a lot of cars that I admire and like looking at, but would never own. If I’m going to own a car, it’s going to be driven. That’s why an uber-restored car, with all the correct chalk markings, stickers, and correct overspray, while nice to look at, will never be seen in my garage.
They’re a unique form of collectible to be sure. You don’t need a pole barn for your stamp collection–unless you have the mother of all stamp collections.
My few friends wealthy enough to collect cars do so because they love cars, not to secure their retirement. Regardless of value, they require a lot of time and energy if you’re restoring one, and even when they’re “done,” batteries go dead, tires go flat, there’s insurance to carry and space to make; gas tanks rust, as do body panels and things unseen….
The fact that cars require some “keeping,” though, is helpful, as there are always cool cars entering the market because the current owner doesn’t want to bother with it anymore. I’ve benefitted from that twice. :^)
Hey Palmer: lots of 2002s out here on the coast. Not a fleck of rust. Buy one for a song. Gawddang, they’re sweet.
As to young folks buying very expensive cars on credit: heh. Good time to be in the repo biz!
Just to clarify for readers, Richard’s talking about BMW 2002s. Yeah, they’re among my favorites–well, that and the untouchable 507. I saw one in Massachusetts in the mid-’90s–a 507, that is. They’re big six-figure cars now.
But a 2002 will do just fine. Must admit, though, that our friend Robin has an M3 and it’s a pulse pusher. Sings a very sweet song, too.
Please leave a comment
MotorMouth Kris Palmer, freelance auto writer and editor, blogs about vintage cars, the collectible auto scene and just about anything else that goes vroom.
Your favorite: classic car blog, antique car blog, muscle car blog, vintage car blog. Antique and classic cars for sale by owner.
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