Video:How to Choose a Classic Car

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Transcript:How to Choose a Classic Car

I am Zac Moseley, Director of the Classic Car Club of Manhattan, here for About.com. Now that you have decided to take the plunge and buy a classic car, here are some tips on finding the right car for you.

What Constitutes a Classic Car?

Here at the Classic Car Club of Manhattan, we have a pretty broad definition of what makes a classic car. We are really looking for anything that set a benchmark in automotive history. For example, people often come to us for the big, iconic cars, muscle cars, classic European sports cars, but there is often under-the-radar iconic classics most people do not necessarily know about. Something like the BMW 2002 -- to most people it looks like a quirky, fun little car. But that car defined the modern sports sedan.

If you have a few favorites, here are some factors you might want to consider to help narrow down your choice.

Classic Cars for Driving or Showing

First, you want to decide whether you are looking for a driver, a car that you can get out and drive on the weekends and not be worried about stone chips, or a true collector car, something that you are going to take to shows and want in perfect original condition.

Classic Car Maintenance

You also want to consider maintenance costs. While a lot of people will look at something like a mid-year Ferrari and say, Wow, I can own a Ferrari for thirty thousand dollars, the maintenance costs for that car could easily be ten thousand dollars a year. Whereas by comparison, if you look at a classic muscle car that seems expensive compared to a Ferrari, maybe forty or fifty thousand dollars, they are quite simple cars and the maintenance can be relatively cheap.

There are great resources out there. If you go to wikipedia or any of the owners' forums for those cars, you can often find the history and the range of models, and what changed over the years.

Classic Car Modifications

You also want to look at what has been done to the car -- if it has any modifications, are they modifications that are tasteful, and improve the value of the car and improve the drivability. This is a great example. This is a 1973 Bronco, and we restored this car and went through everything. We painted it, we went through the drive train, we upgraded the brakes, wheels and tires. And we did a lot of things that are period-correct upgrades that people did back in the time, but still look really cool today.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the Web at About.com.