Driving down classic car costs

As potential investments go, a classic car is probably second only to a house in terms of the time and personal commitment it demands from its owner.

Classic cars require more care and attention than the average modern car, which means spending more time and money.

Yet it is possible to run a classic car without losing any money.

In the Republic, there is a growing body of people in their late 20s and 30s who are snapping up classic cars of their choice as their second and sometimes their only car, thanks to the increased availability of back-up and support.

As well as making the owner look rather cool, these cars actually appreciate in value, if well maintained.

Compared to countries such as Britain and the Netherlands, where the classic car is long established, there is a relatively small amount of classic cars on the road in this State. For insurance purposes, any car built before 1981 is considered a classic car.

Mr Paul Kanters, a Dutchman who has lived in the Republic for 10 years, runs Classic Cars Ireland, which specialises in sourcing classic cars to order. While he would often look around the State for suitable cars, he ends up sourcing a lot of them from Britain or the Netherlands, where he has contacts with a number of classic car dealerships.

According to Mr Kanters, the most popular cars that customers seek include the early Porsche 911 and 912, the MGB, and the VW Beetle and Karmann Ghia. Other popular cars in the Republic include the Morris Minor, the MG Midget, the Mini Cooper, the Citroen DS, Mercedes Benz SL, Jaguar Mk2, and various 1960s Triumphs and Rovers. Prices range from £3,500 (€4,447) for a good VW Beetle, to £7,000 for a pristine MGB GT, to £13,000 for a decent early Porsche 911.

It is easy to spend a lot more than this but a Porsche for the price of a new, top-of-the-range Ford Fiesta will likely satisfy the most enthusiastic of drivers.

If your vehicle you only pay road tax of £27 a year, regardless of engine size. If you source a pre1971 car from anywhere within the EU, the vehicle registration tax payable on registering the car here is just £40.

However, what may trouble some potential buyers is that there is no national car test requirement for cars that are 30 years or older. In these cases, some insurance companies may require a classic car to be inspected by a listed garage or engineer but, according to Mr Kanters, some are less fussy about this than others.

Insurance is generally much cheaper than for modern cars because it is expected that owners will drive more carefully and look after the car. However, only a handful of companies offer classic car policies and there are some common conditions attached. The main ones are that you have to be over 25 with a full driving licence, limit your annual mileage to up to 10,000 miles and, in most cases, run your classic car as a second vehicle. (see panel).

Most insurance companies insist that classic car policyholders register as members of a classic car club, which they say is to ensure that prospective owners are genuine enthusiasts who drive and maintain their cars properly. The fuel situation for older cars has become a bit more complicated since the phasing out of leaded petrol. Depending on the make and age of car, conversions to enable a car to run on unleaded fuel (the higher 98 octane stuff) can be done but may require an engine overhaul.

However, Mr Kanters says that the difference in price between unleaded 98 and lead replacement petrol is only about five pence or so.

Therefore, it does seem possible to run a classic car every day as long as you don't incur huge mileage and budget for those inevitable times when things go wrong. Choosing a popular and reliable make and model (like an MGB or VW Beetle) with strong parts availability will make things much easier. There are companies in the European Union that manufacture parts for popular makes of classic car.

Buying the best and most original car you can afford will also help. However, even if you have an absolutely pristine car, it is still useful to have the ear of a sympathetic mechanic and to learn some DIY basics - something that is much easier to do than with modern cars.

However, there is a flip side. "These cars are lovely to look at but not necessarily fantastic to drive," says Mr Reg Plunkett, a past president of the Irish Veteran and Vintage Car Club (IVVCC), the Republic's biggest old-car club. "It is a short-term relationship for some people because they get tired of them. It becomes a love-hate relationship.

"I've come across this a lot. They look gorgeous but they're heavy to drive, heavy to steer and the braking system is a slower process.

"In truth, I think you have to be slightly eccentric to drive a classic car," he says. Mr Joe Conway, president of the MG Enthusiast's Club, runs a 1970 Porsche 911 as a company car. Interestingly, as company cars here are taxed on 30 per cent of their value when new, this means that Mr Conway pays only £1,000 in tax, because although his car is worth considerably more, it cost only £4,000 when new.

Mr Plunkett's club has more than 500 members and 26 affiliated clubs.

Last weekend marked the official start of the classic car rally season with two joint events organised by the IVVCC, one of which should have started in May but for the foot-and-mouth scare. According to Mr Plunkett, there is a rally every second week from May to September in different parts of the State, including Galway, Cork and Athlone.

However, Mr Conway of the MG Enthusiast's Club, which is the Republic's biggest one-make car club, said that, while the classic car movement in the Republic is becoming more popular, of his club's 250 members, only 60-70 turn up at the organisation's events. The rest would be members mostly for the insurance benefits.