Pros and Cons of Driving a Classic Car Every Day

There are a lot of great reasons to enjoy your classic car as a daily driver.

If you’ve been thinking about using your vintage car as your daily driver, then we’ve put together this quick guide to a few of the obvious advantages as well as a couple of disadvantages.

Read on to find out if driving your classic car every day is a good option for you!

What’s Classified as a Classic Car in the UK?

First things first, let’s make sure we understand what we’re talking about when we say classic car.

Vehicles built or first registered 40 or more years ago are classed as classic vehicles in the UK, which means that they can become exempt from requiring MOT tests and paying vehicle tax.

These exemptions don’t kick in automatically, so you’ll need to apply for your classic to be registered as a historic vehicle yourself. You can find out more about how to do this here.

It’s important to make this definition clear at the start here, so that you can be sure that your vehicle counts as a classic. There are some pretty great benefits to using your classic as often as possible, so it’s important to understand whether your vehicle counts before you get swept up in the idea of driving it every day.

Ways You’ll Save Money by Driving Your Classic Car Every Day

There are a few different ways that driving a classic can save you money, and some of them are less obvious than others.

Classic Cars, Clean Air Zones, and London’s ULEZ

Most people know that once your vehicle is 40 years or older, you can apply for it to become exempt from paying road tax or needing an MOT test. Fewer people seem to know that classic cars don’t need to pay the ULEZ charge in London and other Clean Air Zones (CAZs) around the UK.

You’ll need to register your car as a historic vehicle for it to be exempt from these emission zone charges, but not being caught unawares by these low emission zones while you’re driving in your classic can definitely save you money, especially if you live near one.

As well as the London Ultra Low Emission Zone, there are currently Clean Air Zones in:

• Bath
• Birmingham
• Bradford
• Bristol
• Portsmouth
• Sheffield
• Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead)

All of these CAZs currently have exemptions for historic vehicles, and you can find out more about historic vehicles and clean air zones here.

Classic Cars and MOTs

Once you’ve registered your classic as a historic vehicle, then you won’t be required to submit it for an MOT each year.

Just because you don’t have to MOT your classic car, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t keep doing it. An annual MOT can be a great way to get an extra pair of eyes on your classic to help make sure it’s still in great shape, and an unbroken MOT history can really boost the sale price if you ever go to sell your vehicle, too.

We definitely recommend that you keep taking your classic car in for an MOT, and we’ve put together a quick guide on preparing your Volkswagen for an MOT which you can read here.

You can find out more about MOT exemption for classic cars here.

Classic Cars and Road Tax

Road tax exemptions also apply on a rolling basis once your vehicle is 40 years or older, which is another money saver once your classic is registered as a historic vehicle.

At the moment, road tax for vehicles registered before 2001 will cost between £220 and £360 a year, depending on your engine size.

It’s £220 per year if your engine is under 1549cc, and £360 per year if your engine is 1549cc or over.

This is a pretty sizeable expense that you can avoid if you’re driving your classic car every day, and definitely a selling point for a lot of people!

You can read more about road tax for pre-2001 vehicles here.

Classic Vehicle Insurance is Generally Cheaper

Generally speaking, insurance underwriters will understand that if you choose to invest in your classic vehicle financially and emotionally, you’ll be a far ‘better risk’ for them as you’re less likely to claim.

This will mean your insurance costs will generally be lower, especially if you go to a specialist like Just Kampers Insurance to get your cover.

We’ve been offering tailored insurance policies for classic cars and campers since 1998, so when you get a quote from Just Kampers Insurance we’ll search through over 300 different policy options to find you the best deal on your vehicle insurance.

In fact, we’re so confident about finding you the best price that we’ll send you a £50 Just Kampers gift voucher if we can’t beat your like-for-like quote.

Being able to spend less on insuring your classic vehicle, even if you are using it as a daily driver, is a really compelling reason for getting behind the wheel as often as you can!

Driving Your Classic Car Every Day is a Really Green Option

There’s a lot of debate both online and off about the exact figures involved, but it’s generally acknowledged that keeping an older car on the road for as long as possible is better for the environment than investing in a new vehicle.

The emissions involved in creating a brand-new car can be alarmingly high, especially when you factor in what it takes to create the batteries for electric vehicles, and so many people are arguing that we should be maintaining and repairing our existing cars to make sure they keep going for as long as possible.

This is especially true as sustainable fuels become more widely available, which further reduces the environmental effect of keeping our cars on the road.

Goodwood are encouraging the use of sustainable fuels at their motor racing and car events, which is great news and is sure to help spread the uptake of these sustainable fuels.

Drive Something Fun and Stand Out!

In a time of most cars looking like the same CAD package designed them, a classic car or camper, shows you’re an individual and able to think for yourself.

Classic cars are also generally more fun and more enjoyable to drive, with a more ‘active’ driving experience due to the lack of modern conveniences like cruise control.

Who needs aircon, when you can open up a quarter light window, or Apple car play when you can listen to the note of your classic engine?

I regularly drive my 1967 VW Beetle cabriolet, Ruby, including having driven Lands’ End to John O’Groats, the NC500, and three trips to Tuscany, Italy on holiday with her.

How to Stay Safe in Your Classic Car

If you’re going to be driving your classic car as much as possible, then it’s important to take extra steps to keep yourself and other road users safe.

While being free of modern conveniences like heated steering wheels and in-built entertainment systems can be really liberating, there are some safety features which might need improving in your classic.

It might be that your brakes need to be upgraded, or you need to alter your vehicle’s lights to help you see and be seen while driving at night. Many classics weren’t built with seatbelts in the back, which is something you’ll want to remedy if you’ll be taking your family out in your classic.

Luckily there are loads of great modifications and accessories which can help you stay safer on the roads without ruining the look and feel of your classic. I’m a big fan of these LED rear light upgrades, which I’ve fitted to all of my classic cars, as well as these convex wing mirrors which I fitted to our VW T2 Bay before driving it to Belgium and back last summer. They made a massive difference to how much I could see around me, and I wouldn’t drive a camper without them now!

Classic Cars Hold Their Money

If you look at classic cars as an investment, as well as a lifestyle, then they’re a pretty great bet.
Like all asset classes, the value of classic cars will go up and down with the market mood, but overall classics usually hold their values – or increase in value!

This is in stark contrast to most new cars on the road which on average lose 40% to 60% of their value in their first 3 years!

This article from CarWow says that over 10 years old, they barely depreciate at all if well maintained!

So, What Do You Think?

If you do less than say 10,000 miles a year and want to spot your car in the supermarket carpark from all the very similar new cars, then a classic Car or Camper could be the choice for you.