Cars and Technology

The definition of what makes a car a classic is a little confining in the UK. In the USA a classic car is defined as a car that is at least 20 years old and that conforms to the original specification and is of a condition that is similar to that when it was manufactures. In terms of road taxation, the UK government allows company cars that are over 15 years old and that are worth over £15,000 a tax break and defines them as classic cars. Cars made before 1973 are not liable for tax duty.

One of the most popular classic cars in the UK is the Vauxhall Cavalier which was first manufactured in 1975, It became a very popular fleet car and the three door hatch version looked quite sporty. However the real gem of that era was the Ford Cortina. The car was produced from 1962 until 1982, and there were a number of different generations and levels of performance. The Cortina GT was really quite sporty for its time, but there was nothing to touch the wonderful Lotus Cortina which was both a road car and on the track was raced by such talented drivers as the late great Jim Clark.

The Morris Minor is one of the cheapest classic cars to own and excellent examples of this iconic vehicle can be found for as little as £5,000. You need to be careful though that the front wheels don’t fall off as they had a notoriously weak stub axle. Pay a little more and you could get a classic Morgan convertible for around £10,000 or so and there are Porsche 911 models manufactured before 1973 for as little as £30,000 or so, though if you can afford a cool £100,000 you could buy a 1974 Lamborghini Countach Coupe.

You need to be a little careful when Insuring classic cars and it pays to use a classic car specialist insurer. The difficult bit is agreeing how much the car really is worth and it is advisable to obtain a valuation certificate from your insurance company so that they don’t quibble about value in the future.

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