Age is just a number, even when it comes to cars
Can I insure an old car? you ask. Of course you can. The question is do you want to (apart from 3rd party insurance). There's a difference between driving a proud antique (I picture a shiny Rolls Royce setting off smoothly for the Antique Road Show) and driving a vehicle that is begging to be put out of its misery. I've had cars like the latter; whenever you turn on the ignition you wish it wouldn't start. But it does. Damn those Krauts! Don't they know about built-in obsolescence?
Let's take a look at the silver lining on that dark grey cloud that seems to be attached to your car like a hot air balloon.
Fast and flashy fast cars are a more expensive to insure because they are expensive to maintain, riskier to drive and inevitably catch the eyes of car theft syndicates and smash and grabbers.
No, I'm not convincing myself either. I want one of those silver dream machines that go from 0 to a million in a split second, despite the fact we have speed limits even on our freeways. I want a little box next to my handbrake that keeps my water bottle cool. I want his and her heating. I want my car delivered with a big red ribbon tied around it.
But I certainly don't want to pay exorbitant insurance costs and not have the fun of going bundu-bashing because I don't want to scratch the paintwork. Ten years ago I drove through the Sahara from Cairo to Khartoum in a Landrover. We set off with a little blue beetle slipstreaming behind us but lost sight of it in the desert over the next few days. When we arrived in Khartoum, the beetle was parked outside the Khartoum Hilton and its owner was already in the swimming pool.
You wouldn't be reading this if you weren't driving, or considering buying, an older vehicle.
How cost efficient is it to keep an old car going? And can you (cost-effectively) insure it?
It all depends on what vehicle you have or intend buying and what condition it is in. Ask the two questions above considering four different vehicles, a 1976 beetle, a 1967 Ford Thunderbird, a 1995 Fiat Uno and a 1988 Golf MK1.
Setting aside the question of 3rd party insurance (non-negotiable), which of the above car(s) would you insure if they were all in the best nick for their age (i.e., the auto equivalent of Sophia Loren)? I'd definitely insure the Ford, definitely not insure the Fiat and hang a question mark on the rear view mirrors of the Golf and Beetle.
Conventional wisdom has it that maintaining a new car is cheaper than an old one because it's built into the cost. I beg to differ. Not only are you paying up to 10 times extra for parts, your insurance will be higher and if your vehicle is financed, you will be paying up to a third of its value in interest alone. Are the Jones's really worth the effort?
When you buy a new vehicle you will probably want to be covered for any eventuality but if you drive an old car you could set aside some of the money you are save on cheaper insurance and take out a bigger excess.
When you have an old car, you can easily down-grade your insurance, using the savings for a rainy day when you need to replace your car. You will not receive an adequate replacement or market value to justify the cost of the premiums.
New vehicles depreciate faster. Fast and fancy cars lose the most as depreciation dealers' biggest mark-ups are on the more expensive cars.
Remember that a car or any other product is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.
It's not in an insurer's interests to insure an old car generally but they will if your car has been well taken care of and you don't expect too much.
Chris is the owner of http://getinsurance.co.za/ where South African residents can request free car insurance quotes. |
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