Owning a classic car: what it is really like

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs surveyed nearly 20,000 owners in 2025. The average owner spends £4,567 a year maintaining and enjoying their historic vehicles, and the average historic vehicle covers 837 miles a year. There are 1,934,178 historic vehicles on DVLA records, owned by about 690,000 people whose average age is 66, and more than a third of them earn under £35,000 a year. Classic ownership is not a rich person's hobby; it is a modest one that adds up.

Specialist insurers offer agreed-value cover, which fixes what they pay if the car is written off, and mileage-limited policies; Everywhen offers bands from 1,000 to 10,000 miles, and Hagerty's classic policy is for cars covering no more than 5,000 miles a year. Owners' club members often get a discount, and Everywhen notes that many policies require the car to be garaged overnight.

Most classics should run on E5 super unleaded rather than the standard E10, which carries more ethanol. The Federation advises E5 for every vehicle built before 2000, because ethanol attacks old rubber fuel hoses and seals and draws water into a tank that stands for weeks. Since 2021, filling stations in Great Britain that sell two grades of petrol and at least a million litres a year must keep one as E5. The government was due to review that rule in 2026 and we have not seen the outcome, so the Federation's website is the place to check. Fit ethanol-safe hoses when old ones are changed.

A 1960s or 1970s car was designed to be serviced every 3,000 or 6,000 miles, with grease points to attend to at the shorter interval. Owners who cover 800 miles a year tend to service by the calendar instead, once a year before the season. Older engines with flat tappets need oil with enough zinc additive, known as ZDDP; classic oil makers recommend 1,000 to 1,400 parts per million. Michelin advises replacing tyres at ten years old whatever the tread, and RoSPA has advised against fitting unused tyres more than six years old. Brake fluid absorbs water and is usually changed every two years.

The best thing for an old car is to use it. A proper run, long enough to bring everything up to full temperature, does more good than starting it in the garage and switching off.

Triumph built 25,939 Stags between 1970 and 1977, and about 8,500 are still on DVLA records, around 6,000 taxed and 2,500 declared off the road. The car's reputation comes from its V8. The alloy cylinder heads corrode if the coolant lacks corrosion inhibitor, which leads to overheating and failed head gaskets; the original water pump was undersized; the timing chains need replacing at around 30,000 miles; and poor earths cause electrical faults. Rust gathers in the sills, wings, scuttle and the A-posts. Most surviving cars have had the cooling system improved, often with an uprated radiator and electric fans, and electronic ignition is a common fit.

Mine is KKH 295N, a 1974 car in French Blue with tan leather, bought from Classic & Sportscar Centre of Malton. It had a mechanical refresh in 2020, including a new water pump and timing chains and skimmed heads. From November 2025 to March 2026 Malton Coachworks restored it, with a return in June 2026 to repaint part of the top: the underside was taken back to bare metal and protected, the top half was resprayed, and a worn second-gear synchromesh meant the engine and gearbox came out, so the gearbox and overdrive were overhauled and the clutch, carburettors, steering rack, suspension, brake lines and fuel tank were done while it was apart. Reassembly found a seized brake valve and a fractured overdrive solenoid, the kind of thing no viewing would ever reveal. The whole job is documented on the Stag Archive; the costs are not published.

A car in the historic tax class pays nothing but must still be taxed every year, and the MOT exemption is declared at the same time; it does not mean the car can be unroadworthy. The historic class also exempts the car from London's ULEZ, unless it is used commercially, and from the English clean air zones, though not from the London Congestion Charge. Oxford's traffic filters do not exempt historic vehicles, and Scotland's low emission zones use their own rule, exempting vehicles over 30 years old that have not been changed from original. A car that has been substantially altered can lose its MOT exemption, and in extreme cases its identity, so keep records of any changes. If you own a car that has lost its original number, you can apply on form V765 to reclaim it, with old documents and an owners' club's backing; if granted, the number is non-transferable.

Do not buy a classic to make money. In December 2025 Hagerty's UK price guide editor wrote that "the boom times of the post-Covid era are now firmly over", with nearly 80 per cent of values dropping or flat, "but there hasn't been a crash". Buy a car you want to drive, and treat any rise in value as a bonus.

The Federation represents more than 550 clubs, museums and other organisations with over 250,000 members between them, and the owners' club for your model is the best money you will spend. The Stag Owners Club was founded in 1979 and offers a members' insurance scheme, valuations and expert advice. Drive It Day, the Federation's national day for taking historic vehicles out, was on 26 April in 2026 and is held each April.