Thinking about the future

[woodman]

Hello, I'd like to start a discussion about what the future holds, for my Amazon ownership and more generally.....

I use Magnus as a daily driver and do about 3,000 miles a year these days. After 7.5 years of ownership, the car is actually in about the best condition it's been in for a very long time. The bodywork is great, everything works fine mechanically, and there are just a few internal trim jobs to do following last year's theft and vandalism, ie some bits of chrome and some carpets. I've also done small but important upgrades for a daily, year-round car, like front and rear automatic seatbelts, halogen headlights, front and rear foglights, intermittent wipers. It's a great, practical, enjoyable car.

I'm now reaching a point where I'm thinking, what's the best future for the car? This is partly about the likelihood of future restrictions in my usage. When the MOT exemption takes effect, will this be followed by tighter mileage restrictions? As the national/international issue of vehicle emissions grows, will I be prevented from using Magnus around town? Linked to this, bearing in mind all the money and love that has gone into this rolling restoration, do I make the best of that by selling it to someone who will keep it in a garage, keep it clean and use it on sunny Sundays, or do I use the hell out of it until either it dies or legislation makes it too hard to use any more? With all that in mind, where do I go next in terms of improvements/modifications etc?

I think I've got three general options:

1. Keep the car ticking over as an everyday car, don't 'invest' in it, just use it and do general maintenance for the foreseeable future, and don't worry about the economics of selling on a car in less that tip-top condition;

2. Sell it now while it's in great (but everyday) condition;

3. Spend more time and money making it even better, particularly thinking about conversion from auto to man o/d, and possibly an LPG conversion if this will cut any ice in terms of future emissions regs.

I'm not expecting that you folks will give me any definitive answers, but I'd welcome your thoughts and it would be great to discuss it.

Cheers.

[Groundes-Peace]

What you have aired here is what many classic car owners will be thinking about.
I believe one perspective that may be worth considering is the very wide ownership of veteran, vintage, classic and "super cars here. I haven't tried to research what the numbers are, but assume it is very large and also provides a considerable amount of employment.
When it comes down to it, this subject is more about emotion than economics. Sometimes it may not be best to over rationalise ones plans and intentions when it comes to cars......
Good luck what ever you decide!

[P1800Ray]

A long time ago, I sold my MGB as the scare merchants predicted the doom that would follow the introduction of unleaded petrol (I said it was a long time ago !) including engine failures and falling resale prices.

I hear about the relaxation of MOT rules and, balanced against this, a mate of mine with a Chevy Bel Air heard a rumour that 'modified' cars will have to display Q plates.

Consolation may be taken in the fact that those making the laws probably have rather nice classic cars and they will not want the sort of restrictions that we are worrying about.

[Faust]

Only you can decide how much time and money you want to invest in your car. I’ve gone down a similar route and tried to improve the everyday expereince of driving a classic: heated rear window, hazard lights, better headlights, uprated blower motor for demisting, uprated alternator, more supportive seats, uprated suspension… the list goes on!

Put simply, my car owes me over 14 grand and there is no way on earth it is ‘worth’ that much to someone else, but who cares? It’s my baby!

Personally, I tend not to worry too much about future restrictions which haven’t even been announced (if indeed they exist at all). Why stress about future ‘maybes’? Don’t get me wrong, I believe some form of ‘restriction’ will probably happen, but why stress over something in the future?

I’ve been saying for a while that we are living in a golden age of classic ownership: parts available on the ‘net, videos on youtube showing how to tackle tricky jobs, forums offering an excellent level of support, help and advice…but most importantly, we are able to drive our cars whenever we like.

Bet this won’t be the case in 20 years’ time – so get out there and enjoy your cars!

[Ron Kwas]

Forum;

I'm with Faust on this!

Cheers

[woodman]

Generally I agree with you Mike. I'm not suggesting that any car of any age is anything other than a money-pit, and when I talk about investing I mean in making it a better, more enjoyable car rather: the return on the investment is in enjoyment, not money. But I do worry a bit about the future, in that I have no interest in owning a car that sits in a garage and comes out on bank holidays, and I am concerned that honing my car so that it's the thing I most enjoy driving only be told I can't use it would be pretty frustrating.

I'm also an environmentalist (and a hypocrite!) and I know that reducing people's usage of dirty cars - and cars in general, if we're honest - is the right thing to do. I have a rare old car that runs as well as it possibly can, and I'd much rather do 3,000 miles a year in that than 10,000 miles a year in anything. But if the law or insurance limited me to 1,000 miles a year, I'd have to sell.

[P1800Ray]

We could always get the better half to tow us in the daily driver :-)

[Underdrive]

Not suggesting anyone should be dishonest with their insurers but I can't see mileage restrictions being very easy to impose by any authority or insurer when without the need for an MOT there will be no official record of the odometer reading.

[123GT-AMAZON]

Originally Posted by Underdrive

Not suggesting anyone should be dishonest with their insurers but I can't see mileage restrictions being very easy to impose by any authority or insurer when without the need for an MOT there will be no official record of the odometer reading.

Or having a spare speedo one for rules and one for enjoying the car 🚗

[classicswede]

Or a speedo that sometimes does not work.