HOW COVID-19 HAS AFFECTED YOUR CLASSIC HOBBY
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world in an endless number of ways. This virus has had a heartbreaking cost to human life nationally with the restrictions and guidelines in place to help reduce this, touching almost every aspect of society.
At Footman James, they wanted to find out how COVID-19 has affected you – classic vehicle owners. At the end of July, Footman James sent their clients a short survey to find out exactly how the pandemic has impacted the sale and purchase of classics, shows & events, essential maintenance and, of course, insurance. Over 1,000 people responded from across the country, providing us with a snapshot of how the hobby we share, and love is currently fairing in 2020.
PURCHASING
From the respondents, 10.6% of people said that they had purchased a classic vehicle during lockdown. From these, the vast majority purchased their vehicle using online marketplaces such as Facebook and eBay (42.6%), with only 21.8% of people using a traditional dealer. With many businesses forced to close during lockdown, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the majority of people turned to the internet to sell or purchase their pride and joy. However, only 34.7% of people said that lockdown affected how they decided to purchase their vehicle – demonstrating that online marketplaces are proving to be a popular way to sell vehicles despite the pandemic. Furthermore, those who indicated that lockdown did affect how they purchased their vehicle went on to say that this mainly took the form of a less thorough or absent, vehicle inspection before purchase rather than a change of method altogether. Another interesting result of the survey was that over three-quarters of people, 84.2%, purchased their vehicle purely for the pleasure of it rather than for any type of investment opportunity.
SHOWS & EVENTS
When asked “Are you planning on attending any classic vehicle shows this year?”, only 31.4% of people responded “Yes” – with 27.6% saying “No” and 40.9% saying that they were unsure. As expected, a large majority (76%) indicated that COVID-19 had affected this decision. The most popular reasons behind this were: • Worries about other attendees’ behaviour (e.g. social distancing) • Not wanting to attend any indoor events at all due to COVID-19 • Worries that the events would not be properly organised to accommodate COVID-19 regulations However, it isn’t all bad news for classic events, as 60% of those who said they would attend events this year, are hoping to attend club events and rallies. For many classic vehicle clubs, events and rallies provide an essential source of income to keep the club going, so this is certainly an encouraging sign for clubs who are the undeniable heartbeat of the classic vehicle industry.
MAINTENANCE & INSURANCE
When it comes to maintenance, 46.3% said that they used a mixture of at home and professional maintenance for their vehicle with 53.7% saying that lockdown had provided them with the opportunity to work more on their vehicle than usual. With travel severely restricted during lockdown, 32.1% of owners took their vehicle completely off the road. However, 91.7% of people did not allow their insurance policy to lapse demonstrating that owners were eager to get their car or bike back on the road as soon as they possibly could and without interruption. It also indicates that owners saw value in their insurance policy outside of the purely on-road risks, such as theft. When looking at all these results together, it’s clear to see that COVID-19 has affected our classic vehicle hobby substantially this year. However, it also shows that the dedication to our hobby hasn’t waivered and that we’ll be enjoying our classics for many years to come – no matter what life may throw at us.