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Does Storing Your Classic Car in a Garage Reduce Your Insurance Premium?

Parking a car in a garage can certainly reduce the risk of theft and vandalism. As such, it seems logical that insurance companies should offer discounts to clients who use a garage to store their vehicles. Unfortunately, most insurers do not see a correlation between insurance premium and parking a car in a garage.

Insurance premiums are set based on the amount of risk that insurance companies have to take when they offer policies to their clients. It has been discovered over the years that the chances of policyholders filing a claim do not differ much whether their vehicles are parked in the garage or driveway. Therefore, insurance companies do not see any reason to give lower rates to clients who park their cars in a garage. Instead, they offer discounts to car owners who have a good driving record, safety and anti-theft devices, and good credit history.

Parking in a garage matters more if you own a classic car. In fact, some leading providers of classic car insurance only offer policies to car owners who can show proof that they are storing their cars in a lockable garage. Nonetheless, this does not mean that they will give you lower premiums. Classic car insurance usually does not cost as much as insurance for cars that are used on a daily basis, and it is affordable enough even if it does not come with a discount. Most insurers offer low premiums to classic car owners because they consider them low-risk customers.

How to Enter Your Dashing Ride in a Classic Car Show?

One of the greatest joys of owning a classic car is to see it gain the admiration of other car lovers. If you want your classic ride to get the attention it deserves, you should enter it in a classic car show. In a classic car show, participating cars are usually divided into a number of categories and judged according to certain criteria, and the winners will be awarded trophies, prizes, or cash. Here are tips on how to enter your classic ride in a car show:

First of all, you need to search for a classic car show that is suitable for your car. There are many different types of classic car shows, and their eligibility requirements can vary greatly. The best way to locate classic car shows is to do research on the Internet.
 
After you have found a suitable classic car show, you have to find out more about it. You can either get information from its official website or call the organizer. Find out the date and location of the event, entry requirements and fees, judging criteria, and others. Then, you can proceed to register your car for the show.
 
Once you have made all the necessary arrangements, start preparing your pride and joy for the car show. Make sure that it is properly cleaned, polished, and waxed, and bring some detailing supplies for last-minute touch-ups.

34th Annual Corvette Chevy Expo

The Corvette Chevy Expo is the grandest indoor event dedicated to the display of Corvette and other Chevrolet cars in the Lone Star State. The 34th edition of this annual event will be held at on the 11th and 12th of February, 2012 at the George Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, and it is expected draw thousands of Corvette and Chevrolet enthusiasts from across the United States. The event covers a total area of more than 130,000 square feet.

Attendees of the 34th Corvette Chevy Expo will get the chance to view the finest Chevrolet cars in the country. The car show will feature concours-style judging, and lots of awards will be given out to winning show cars. Besides the spectacular car show, there will also be an interesting exhibition called the Special National Corvette Restorers Society Display, and a car sales mart offering an extensive variety of classic Chevrolet cars. Another highlight of the event is the Corvette Chevy Swap Meet, which is the largest of its kind in Texas. Major vendors will be selling hard-to-find Corvette and Chevrolet parts at lowest prices. On the final day, a group of beautiful ladies will be competing in the Miss Swimsuit USA Model Search contest.
 
Admission fees for the Corvette Chevy Expo are $15.00 per day and $25.00 for a two-day pass. Those who are interested in attending the event can find more information at the Corvette Chevy Expo website.

9th San Juan Capistrano Rotary Care Car Show

If you are wondering how you can have a truly amazing Super Bowl weekend, you may want to take a trip to the beautiful city of San Juan Capistrano, California. The city will be hosting its annual Rotary Care Car Show on the 4th of February, 2012, the day before Super Bowl, and it will draw many classic car enthusiasts from across the country. This much-awaited fundraising event promises a stunning display of fine classic vehicles, as well as a wide variety of family-friendly activities.
 
The 9th San Juan Capistrano Rotary Care Car Show will feature about 400 fabulous antique and vintage automobiles and trucks from Southern California, and it is expected to be attended by more than 1,000 people. The vehicles will compete in the open-class show, and the top 15 entries will be awarded trophies. Besides classic vehicles, the car show will also present the New Car Row, which showcases the latest car models from the top auto dealers in San Juan Capistrano. A companion event called the Dr. Joe Cortese Memorial Poker Run will also be held on the same day as the car show. Additionally, there will be lots of fun and entertainment for those who are not too interested in classic cars, including performance by the Disc Dogs Demo Team, live entertainment, exhibits, vendors, delectable food, and excellent prizes.

If you want to find out more about the San Juan Capistrano Rotary Care Car Show, you can visit its official website.

Investing in Classic Cars: Better Than Gold (Part 2)

Dietrich Hatlapa sought the assistance of top-flight researchers, some of which were his former colleagues from ING Baring Securities, and he started to conduct detailed analysis on the classic car market. Together with former Baring head of research, Bruce Johnson, he found that there were indeed clear patterns in the market.

Hatlapa, who now resides in England and Spain, said that he was initially amazed to find that there was so little transparency in the classic car market, and investors and collectors had to make buying decisions mostly based on opinion and hunch. By creating the HAGI index, he has made it possible for classic car owners to get a clearer idea of the financial potential of their investments.

In the beginning, HAGI established the size of the market for the top 100 historic car models, which amounted to 10.1 billion to 12.3 billion pounds in 2008. The total turnover for the sales of these cars that year was more than 1.07 billion pounds. In comparison, the tradable part of the fine wine market was 3 billion pounds in 2010. Initially, the index covered 38 cars from 18 marques, but now, the number has risen to 50, all of which have a minimum value of 100,000 pounds, among other criteria.

By monitoring the HAGI index, experts came to the realization that a rare Ferrari, Bugatti, or Jaguar in top condition will gain more value during a downturn than most other assets, including wine, fine art, and even gold. The index also revealed that the movement of the classic car market is completely independent of other investment areas, and it provides information on how the market will move in the future.