The Do’s and Don’ts of Owning a Classic Car
Owning a classic car can be both a blessing and a curse - it is a really special experience. It can either mean you have a unique car you can drive around, park, and impress your coworkers and business contacts with or it can mean a rarely used vehicle that doesn’t even look good and you sink hundreds and even thousands of dollars into its upkeep and maintenance. So, how can you handle your classic car? What can you do to make sure it always looks chic and elegant? This article will help you.
Where You Store It is Extremely Vital
Old cars are much more sensitive than new vehicles, and they react much worse to bad storage. Especially since most classic cars get rarely driven around, the place where you store it has a lot of influence on the condition of your car years down the line.
- Don’t leave the car completely sealed off for long when stored: If you leave your car completely sealed by either closing all the windows completely or covering the car with a tarpaulin sheet, you risk damaging the interior of the classic car and cause it to deteriorate. You can easily avoid this by using a sheet that allows more air to pass and leaving the windows slightly ajar.
- Don’t store it in an excessively humid place: humidity causes rust and can cause extensive damage to both the interior and the exterior of the car - in some cases, it can completely prevent the car from functioning again. It is important to make sure you don’t store the car in an excessively humid place, but sadly, if you’re storing it in a typical garage, it’ll naturally be humid in certain weathers. The only way to fight this is by buying a dehumidifier, especially if you live near the coast where it is especially humid.
- Make sure you store it with a tank full of fuel: the tank fuel is the most vulnerable to rust in most classic cars - having a full tank of fuel can delay rusting and deterioration by preventing water from condensing in the fuel tank and prevent rust.
If You Can’t Cover Its Maintenance Costs: Sell It
Your classic car will become worthless and turn into a liability if you don’t maintain it regularly. Proper maintenance doesn’t mean changing the car’s oil and dusting off the interior once a year, either, you need to spend considerable time and effort to ensure that the car is always in top condition. If you know you can’t invest that time or energy into making sure the car is properly taken care of, you are better off just selling it. If you neglect it for a few years, you would be the one paying money just for a company to come and get rid of the scraps, otherwise.
Always Keep Up with Classic Car Markets
You might not be thinking about selling your classic car right now, but it is, nevertheless, always a good idea to make sure you are keeping up with classic car markets. They are really volatile, and if you have a really coveted classic model, you might make a large profit if you decide to sell your car in a really opportune time. Because, you might not be thinking about selling your car at current market prices, but a lot of classic car owners would be open to selling if its value increased by 300%. Remember, however, that you need to make sure it goes through a classic car restoration for it to be in top conditions and be really valuable in the market. So, if you’re thinking about selling your car, you might need to look into this, as well.
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