Walk around a car show or club display day next weekend and a worrying trend will become apparent.
Unless the club caters specifically to later models, there will still be row upon row of older models; maintained just as they were when new. However, what will be noticeably older are the owners, with younger people failing to take up ownership of ‘classic’ cars in the way they did during the 1970s-90s.
That isn’t to say older cars have lost their on-going appeal. If you look at music video channels, cars built before most of the viewers were born are everywhere. The problem comes when desire for something finned and fabulous doesn’t shape up as a practical purchase and it is left to older, often existing ‘classic’ owners to add yet another car to their collection.
Not everyone can afford to own or house vehicles that have come to be known as ‘hobby cars’. You might need a car but not use it every day or drive very far when you do. Enthusiast Insurance clients typically use their vehicles a lot less than average and will already know the benefits available if you leave the car locked up and get a train to work.
However, for getting around on the weekend or for pure enjoyment, younger owners are giving the same weight to practicality and economy as their parents did performance and style.
Many of the brands that brought the world some of its mot significant and ‘collectible’ cars are still in business. Some have been making vehicles for over 100 years so the chances of acquiring a recent relative of those glorious old cars displayed down in the park are high.
Brands like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and BMW have left huge trails of ‘heritage’ vehicles in their wake; some valuable, others not expensive at all. A classy open-top BMW as a new car in the late-1990s cost $100,000 but today sells for a tenth of that amount.
If that one practical bone in your body is saying ‘buy a new, $25,000 hatchback’ but you fear that in 20 years it will be worthless and fodder for a metal recycler’s shredder then trust your own judgement.
Instead, how about a Porsche Boxster with 1999 on its build plate and under 100,000 kilometres on the odometer? There is a car that’s going to turn heads for the next couple of decades and today easily slips under the $25K budget barrier.
Low-slung sporty cars aren’t all that practical of course, but that is where the short-term ownership market comes into its own. Should half a dozen interstate relatives suddenly invade your peace or a trip into the wilds beckon, renting a people mover or 4WD for a week or a month is going to solve the problem and at a realistic cost.
Owning a vehicle that travels minimal distance each year brings a range of benefits. Its value diminishes at a lower rate, maintenance costs are lower and it is eligible for a lower-cost insurance under Enthusiast’s Drive Less….Spend Less criteria.
When calculating your insurance premium on vehicles of any age and type, Enthusiast will look primarily at the risk posed by listed drivers, how it is housed and also the annual distance you travel.
Monitoring your kilometres and extending cover if needed ensures you are always protected but also saving considerable money.
Just another way that Enthusiast’s new approach to motor insurance can work for you. Check out what Enthusiast has to offer by visiting www.enthusiast.com.au