How to make sure your classic car is safe

A classic car can be a person’s pride and joy. Real vehicle enthusiasts and connoisseurs of the classic design will feel a sense of panic at the thought of leaving their car alone or driving around dangerous places. A cracked mirror or crumbs on the seat can evoke a sense of horror.

Understandably, if you are that passionate about your car, you may be taking it to a Classic Car Service provider on a regular basis to have them serviced, but what if it is damaged beyond repair?

Or, what might happen if your beautiful classic car took some real issue like engine explosion? What if you were to return to where you parked it to find it missing? Well, here’s some advice on how to avoid that happening and how to protect your car if it does:

Invest in some extra security

Sometimes simply locking the door of your car isn’t enough to keep it safe. For the more tenacious car thieves, a locked door is just an inconvenience and can only delay the inevitable. So, if you’re hoping to reinforce your car’s security there are a few extra measures you can take. The market for additional security devices is vast and can suit almost any price range. You can get anything from a steering wheel clamp to an alarmed, electronic lock that can even take photos of car thieves and send them to your devices. You can never be too careful with the safety of your car and paying a little extra for good security is worth it.

Consider GPS tracking

If your car does end up getting stolen or if you can’t remember where you parked it last, a tracker could have you and your car reunited in seconds. There are all sorts of devices available to classic car drivers that can be installed and will track exactly where your car goes and give you a map of where it’s going, where it stopped, and even tell you how fast it’s going. Some of the more expensive tracking systems can also be connected to your laptop and phone. So, if your car starts and you’re not the one driving it, your tracking device will send you a text to notify you and link you to a live map of your car’s current location. When it comes to getting your classic car home safe and sound, the police will be able to work a lot faster with the knowledge of your car’s location.

But be aware that tracking systems can get hacked and used for malicious purposes. For one, hackers can gain access to the GPS device in the car and use “GPS spoofing,” i.e., falsifying your coordinates and location for their benefit. That is why it is prudent to learn if the tracker is compromised. If it is, then car sweep (bug detection solution) offered by firms like the Australian Bug Detection Group should ideally be used to remedy the problem.

Insure it

With a good quality car, normally ‘fully-comp’ insurance might not cover the cost if something were to happen to it. Most of the standard types of car insurance have a policy of paying the car’s market value, but the value of a classic car is a lot trickier to figure out. Of course, the market value of the car when it was released is going to be a lot less than it is now, but standard insurers can’t say exactly how much less it might be. You might have bought it for 26k but the insurers might only pay out 17k to cover the cost. So, the best way to make sure that your classic car is properly insured is to get it assessed by an industry expert to get an accurate value and negotiate with your insurers whether your insurance policy will change with time to match the increasing value of your car as it ages. Along with age, there might be various other problems (such as weather conditions) that could potentially decrease your car’s value. Does hail damage devalue my car? Absolutely yes it can! It could decrease your car’s value up to 90%. It is also expensive to get your dents fixed by a professional. Thus, if your car has been totaled by hail, it’s best to claim for hail damage (especially if your classic car is something you cannot part with).

If you look specifically for a company that specializes in classic car insurance you will find negotiations to be a lot easier. You can find excellent classic car insurance quotes on comparison websites that will show you exactly what your insurance will cover, which can be a great reassurance when you imagine all the sorts of damages your vehicle might incur over the years.

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