When you buy a classic car, your buying so much more than just a vehicle. Classic, vintage, 
and antique cars bring a lifetime of experiences and stories along with them. From the boulevards of the 1970’s to the world war era automobiles, the possibilities are endless. Luckily for you, we’ve got a few cars with stories of their own. But with purchasing a classic car, you’re bound to have a few questions. So here are some tips, facts, and advice for classic car buying.
Understanding Vintage, Antique, and Classic Car Credentials
If you’re in the market for an older car, you might want to ask yourself what kind of older car you could be looking for. In fact, “classic” is something entirely different than “vintage” or “antique”. So, let’s clear that up first. If you’re looking for a classic car, you’ll be looking at something that is 20 to 40 years old. Those 1970’s and 80’s muscle cars will be right up your alley. Antique cars are considered to be anything older than 45 years. If you’re looking for the Vintage style, then anything from about 1919 to 1930 will be in your line of sight.
Now that we’ve cleared up the definitions, let’s talk what you can expect from them. All three of these cars tend to move the up in price points as they age. That’s right, unlike a typical car, you can expect to possibly make money off of them. That also means, insurance policies vary. As an owner, you’ll want to protect your investment as best you can, so you’ll want to shop for the best insurance possible.
Maintenance and cars go hand in hand. Especially as the car ages. With vintage, antique, and classic cars, the history of repair and maintenance is just as important as the rest of the car’s features. Classics and antiques are valued higher only if their repairs have been kept true to the original manufacturing. That means, OEM parts or other parts from similar vehicles are present. Vintage vehicles are less strict with their repair history, but the values still depend a bit on the manufacturing side of things.
Folks purchase classic cars for numerous reasons. Nostalgia, the timelessness of it all, and the unique style of each one all are legitimate. Whatever your reason, we’re convinced you can’t go wrong with a solid classic car in your garage.
It great that you elaborated on the benefits of owning a collector car. It’s cool to think that the older classic cars get, the higher in price they go, allowing the person who owns one to sell it for more money than they bought it for. With proper maintenance and insurance, owning a collector car can benefit a lot of people who own them.
Thanks for the interesting read about buying a classic car. It’s nice to know that vintage cars were usually made around 1919 to 1930. I’m interested to learn how these cars would be maintained over the years so that they still work properly.