Classic car fans opting for new wheels instead of holidays

Motoring enthusiasts would rather a new car to a trip away.

Classic car fans are planning to treat themselves to a new car instead of a dream holiday, according to a new survey.

New research by Car & Classic found that 93 per cent of 2,000 respondents were planning to shell out for a dream classic car instead of a holiday this year. And with users flocking to classifieds during the lockdown – 3.6m visited Car & Classic’s site in April alone – it would appear that many people are choosing to research their next vehicle instead of browsing holidays.

Tom Wood, CEO of Car & Classic, said: “While we appreciate users of Car & Classic are among the biggest classic car fans around, it’s still very telling that our users are ditching their holiday plans and deciding to invest in a classic car to use closer to home instead.

“During the lockdown we’ve seen millions more users searching the site with many planning carefully where to spend their money next. While foreign holidays may be on hold, it’s clear that classic car buying is not.

“Many people still want to treat themselves after the lockdown and with trips abroad being harder for the foreseeable future, classic cars look likely to be one way our users at least will be cheering themselves up.”

Search characteristics have shown a love for Ford products, with some of the Blue Oval’s most iconic models making it into the top ten of the most-searched for classics. In fact, five models in the top ten were from Ford.

Other classics in the list included the MG B GT, Triumph Stag and Rover P6.