Classic cars have proved a great investment – better than ploughing your money into FTSE 100 shares, art, wine and jewellery, according to the latest Frank Knight wealth report.
And it seems people in the South are the ones pumping their money into classic vehicles, with new research showing Kent, Essex and Surrey are the three counties with the highest number of classic-car owners.
But they’re not throwing their money at Ferraris, Porsches or Lamborghinis; the most common classic is actually the VW Camper.
The data has been pulled together by insurer Carole Nash’s ‘Cherished vehicle division’, which identifies a classic car as any model that is at least 15 years old, is not the owner’s main car and has a low yearly mileage.
It used all 13,650 cars that are currently covered by its classic car insurance policy to work out which models and manufacturers are most common, and which regions have the highest number of vintage vehicles.
Carole Nash found six per cent of all UK-based classics resided in Kent, with 5.4 per cent kept in Essex and another 4.8 per cent owned by people in Surrey.
Despite the stats showing a southern-UK domination for classic-car ownership, it was Nottinghamshire that took fourth spot with Norfolk a close fifth.
Many of these classic car enthusiasts are buying British brands, too. Of the most common carmakers, MG, Triumph and Land Rover all placed in the top five.
But collectible Volkswagens are the most owned classics in the UK — a flicker of light for the German carmaker that’s still embroiled in its emissions-test cheating scandal.
Carole Nash says in Kent alone, 142 out of its 827 classic cars were Volkswagens. The next most-owned vintage was MG, making up just 77 of the total count.
The insurance firm said VWs made up 15.2 per cent of the classic-car market share.
The T2 Campervan is the model most are opting for.
The study discovered that 78 per cent of all Nottinghamshire classics are second-generation Campers, while 74 per cent of vintage-car collectors in Lancashire have the mk2 VW bus.
Experts in the classic-car division of Carole Nash said it was easy to see why the Campervan was so popular.
Their enduring appeal has been highlighted by the fact that renting them out is a business in itself. In recent years, companies have been able to profit on the growing demand for these iconic motors,’ it said.
‘By offering fully restored and serviced Campers to the general public, companies such as Old School Camper Hire in Leeds and South West Camper Hire in Devon have flourished as more and more people opt for something a little bit different when booking their summer holidays or countryside retreats.’