Market view

What’s more important: the pleasure you get from driving your classic or the pleasure you get from its increase in value?

This hobby wasn’t built on how much a car would appreciate. In many cases those post-war enthusiasts picking up bomb-site Austin 7s, Rolls-Royces and even the occasional Bugatti didn’t do it to make money – they bought the cars because they liked them.

Then there was the spike in interest in 1950s American cars in the mid-1970s – again, not bought because people thought it was better than money in the bank – far from it in many cases.

I’m not especially keen on investors crowding out the real enthusiasts, and sometimes cringe when I hear people talking about increasing values. Ask the former what their classic’s like to drive or

‘This hobby wasn’t built on how much a car would appreciate’

what mods they’d add to improve it, and they probably will look at you in slack-jawed amazement.

Classics should be about enjoyment – that means driving them, not leaving them in a garage in a bid to escalate their value.