Are our cars Vintage?

[Ayeobe]

Im lookin at all these sites, and they all have diffrent definitions. So, what do you guys think? My car's bone stock, not a single thing has been replaced with Aftermarket parts.. its got some dents, but that's just cosmetic, and will be fixed.. The point is, its gona turn 23 in september, but im not sure if it is considerd as an antique or vintage or whatrever, even after doing research. No one had the same definition, so it tends to be hard to get a good answer.

What do you guys think (those of you who roll stock, i guess?) Do you feel your car is a Vintage/antique vehicle? Any official info on this, for that matter, would be cool.

[Warren 88 Accord]

Modern classics:
These vehicles are generally older, anywhere from 15–25 years, but are not accepted as classics according to the Antique Automobile Club of America. In the UK the Modern Classic definition is open to the discretion often by Insurance Brokers and Insurance Companies who regard a Modern Classic as a vehicle that is considered collectible regardless of age

[Ayeobe]

Cool. I wonder what that means for us who own them?

[DBMaster]

In good old Texas a car becomes "antique" when it is 25 years old. You can then get special license plates and only have to get the safety inspection done - no more emission testing.

[w261w261]

In CT having an antique plate means that the value of the car is set at $500 for personal property tax purposes. With those running at about 2%, it can make a difference, particularly if you have a megabuck vehicle like an old Ferrari.

[car6289]

In BC at 15 to 25 years you can apply for "Collector" plates and at 30 years you can apply for "Vintage" plates. Each of these plates comes with it's own set of restrictions as to what constitutes a Collector or Vintage vehicle and how the vehicle can be used.

A couple of quotes from the ICBC website,
For "Collector" plates the vehicle must be:
"* at least 25 years old, or
* at least 15 years old and a limited-production model (1500 or fewer manufactured worldwide for that model year), or
* at least 15 years old, with no vehicles of any kind built by its manufacturer for at least five years."

"Vehicles with vintage plates may only be used for special occasions (for example: exhibitions, parades, car club activities, community events, weddings and graduations). Everyday pleasure driving is not permitted."

With either of these plates your vehicle can no longer legally be a daily driver for commuting to work or school.

[lostforawhile]

sure they are, I have the plate here, lets see they are getting old enough to be hard to fix, parts to keep then running are being discontinued, factory support is drying up, yep, I would say so. Just look at this old honda.org

[Dr_Snooz]

Im lookin at all these sites, and they all have diffrent definitions. So, what do you guys think? My car's bone stock, not a single thing has been replaced with Aftermarket parts.. its got some dents, but that's just cosmetic, and will be fixed.. The point is, its gona turn 23 in september, but im not sure if it is considerd as an antique or vintage or whatrever, even after doing research. No one had the same definition, so it tends to be hard to get a good answer.

What do you guys think (those of you who roll stock, i guess?) Do you feel your car is a Vintage/antique vehicle? Any official info on this, for that matter, would be cool.

The qualifications for vintage plates vary by state and are easy to look up. I don't think that's the question you're asking though. You're asking more about the status of these cars as collector items. That's a more difficult question. Some cars are collector cars before they even roll off the assembly line. Typically, its because they are made by very prestigious makers, are unimaginably expensive and have very limited production runs. The iconic Mercedes Benz 300SL gullwing cars were highly desirable from day one. Same with Ferrari Enzos or Bugatti Veyrons. Other cars have to earn their collector status by being greatly beloved by a lot of people willing to spend a lot of money buying and restoring them. The '57 Chevy is a great example. Many Detroit muscle cars from the '60s are also collectors for this reason. Still other cars become collectors because they are rare and strange, like the Amphicar.

The 3g doesn't fit into the first or last categories, so it won't be a collector until enough people decide to start restoring them. I think they stand a good chance of becoming collectors after enough of them have been crushed to make them rare. They are exceptional cars and were very popular. Right now, they are pretty much just beaters, but at some point, the collectors will wake up to them and their values will start to rise again.

[lostforawhile]

The qualifications for vintage plates vary by state and are easy to look up. I don't think that's the question you're asking though. You're asking more about the status of these cars as collector items. That's a more difficult question. Some cars are collector cars before they even roll off the assembly line. Typically, its because they are made by very prestigious makers, are unimaginably expensive and have very limited production runs. The iconic Mercedes Benz 300SL gullwing cars were highly desirable from day one. Same with Ferrari Enzos or Bugatti Veyrons. Other cars have to earn their collector status by being greatly beloved by a lot of people willing to spend a lot of money buying and restoring them. The '57 Chevy is a great example. Many Detroit muscle cars from the '60s are also collectors for this reason. Still other cars become collectors because they are rare and strange, like the Amphicar.

The 3g doesn't fit into the first or last categories, so it won't be a collector until enough people decide to start restoring them. I think they stand a good chance of becoming collectors after enough of them have been crushed to make them rare. They are exceptional cars and were very popular. Right now, they are pretty much just beaters, but at some point, the collectors will wake up to them and their values will start to rise again.

the same thing happened with early civics, they were just scrap then out of the blue someone discovered you could drop larger fuel injected engines in them, and they became collectors items overnight to many people