Classic Car Club
Simon Rockman reveals the secret of how he made his fantasy garage a reality
Last week I did a thousand miles in a BMW ZM Coupe. The week before that I pottered round in fantastically sweet 1968 Lancia Fulvia. Before that it was an M3, and before that a Rolls Royce Mulliner Park Ward. The list goes on from the flash to the regal. When I wanted to go on a family outing in style there was a Mercedes S class.
Some of my neighbours think I’ve a secret stash of cars, but most neighbours know my secret. Anyone who stands still for 90 seconds is told about my new addiction - the Classic Car Club.
For around £2,500 a year I have access to a collection of cars that would more rightly be called ‘interesting’ than classic. Some, like the 911 Cabrio have proved to be a bit of a disappointment. Some like the Alfa Sprint an unexpected pleasure. A lot of miles in two BMW M cars has shed me of my German-Sierra Cosworth preconceptions.
I joined the club because I wanted an NSX. I’d done my homework and it was the right car for the mix of interesting roads and motorways that are my regular driving. Unfortunately I’d also done enough homework to know that the NSX is something not many people know about and I’d face massive depreciation if I had to sell it in a hurry. Since emigrating to the US is on the cards I, for once, let my sensible head rule my heart and I didn’t buy Honda’s Ferrari.
In the same way as my wife buys two pairs of half price shoes in a sale to save money I joined the Classic Car Club on the basis that a year’s membership of the club was less than a year’s depreciation on an NSX. On reflection it's actually saved me more since the club membership includes insurance, tax, maintenance, indeed everything other than fuel. Cars even get washed and vacuumed before each booking, saving me the trouble of car cleaning too!
I’m also living my childhood fantasies through my children. I loved it when I was given a lift in a friend’s father’s Fulvia (and driving it was just as I remembered it). Being collected from school by my uncle in his E-type was serious kudos. I always wanted to be taken to school in a Ferrari. My sons will be.
Reality Check
You do however have to have the right mindset to be a member. This isn’t bulk-buying supercar rental. If you pay £500 a day for a 355 you expect it to be new and there when you want it. With the Classic Car Club there is a real co-operative element, that’s what ‘club’ means. So you won’t always get what you want when you want it, but you usually will get something interesting when you want it and this is what leads to unexpected pleasures.
I would never have asked for the BMW M3, but when my first few choices (Mitsubishi GTO, 996 and Mondial) were all unavailable I ‘settled’ for the BMW. And loved it which is why I chose the ZM Coupe for a longer stint.
One other thing to realise with this timeshare system on cars is that many are not mint. If you owned an old car you’d know that there was a long list of things that needed doing and had not got around to. It’s the same with the club and some of the more exotic cars, the Astons and Ferraris, are a little down at heel.
I’m more interested in the driving dynamics but if it’s something you want to pass off as yours at the school reunion then pick carefully.
The car which has the busiest appointment diary is the E-type convertible, and the club has just bought one which looks to be in fine shape.
Your membership isn’t just a timeshare on the stable of 20 or so cars, there are three full-time mechanics to look after the fleet. The cars have a hard life and rack up mileages which eclipse most cocooned classics but they are all fastidiously maintained. There is a feeling that everyone at the club treasures their cars.
The Scheme
Obviously you can’t have an Aston Martin Virage for a year for two grand. There is a system. Your membership buys you 750 points. These are spent on a multiplier.
Cars range from Band 1 (Frog-Eyed sprite)
to Band 6 (308GTS), at 1 to 6 points respectively.
Different times of the year attract different multipliers and weekends are four times as expensive as weekdays. So a the Morris Oxford (Band 1) for a week (1 point a day) in January (2 points) will cost 1 x 5
x 1 x 2, or 10 points.
The Mercedes E55 (Band 6) for a weekend (4 points a day) in June (times 4 again) will cost 6
(band) x 2 (days)
x 4 (weekend days) x 4 (June) or 192 points.
You need to balance your cars, time of year and weekends. Worst case you get four weekends, as I tend to take the car on weekdays I think I’ll get about 50 days this year. That’s still £50 a day but next year will be cheaper. The first year includes a £500 joining fee.
On Reflection
Joining the club started as an indulgence. I'd sold my business and taken up a good new job and I decided that I could afford to treat myself. Now it's something I regret not having done years ago!
I enjoy the anticipation of what I'll get next almost as much as the thrill of picking up the car. My next booking? I've got the lightweight
911 RS 2.7 lined up, and I'm grinning already!
Link
: www.classiccarclub.co.uk
Edited to add: If I owned a 365BB I would not hesitate, and would indeed keep it however unsensible that was.
>> Edited by kevinday on Monday 21st July 15:40
If you're in the Essex area it gets even better.
They've just opened a branch in Essex and for the first 50 persons who join up they're offering free membership (saves £500.00), 1,000 points to use on cars and three jokers (basically allow you to book the car of your choice months in advance).
They're based on the Southend Road in Southend, Essex - don't have the number to hand but can get it if anyone's interested.
PG
>> Edited by Pork Girl on Monday 21st July 16:35
I'd just been given a report on my 105k mile Mondial, and was looking at an engine rebuild in the next few years. Not worth the investment in a car only just worth 5 figures. I looked around for a suitable replacement for an occasional-use fun car. This was great value and you get the chance to try everything from a Cinquecento Abarth to a 996.
Well worth it: they are opening branches in various other parts of the country: just look at the website for where, or just give them a ring - they're all petrolheads anyway. Sadly they're not opening one in Yorkshire where I now live
The cars are not mint, and I've twice been stranded on the A1 (by a Mustang and a Virage), but this is no worse than my other classics. The fact that they are used means fewer long-term problems with seals, etc.
Talk to them - there's no hidden catch and it's great fun to take out a variety of cars: if you don't like your choice, you always give it back anyway.
Great choice of cars, not all mint but well looked after mechanically, and all the people there are car nuts too.
I'd join if I didn't need the £2500 a year to keep my Cerbera on the road!!
cheers
sean
I had arranged to go to lunch with my boss this week and refused to take her it in on the grounds that if I did she'd never go in a car with me again. She's more of a Merc SL girl.
The Clubroom is really relaxed and the Staff are so friendly. I regularly pop in for a chat and a drink..
they've even got Jamie Oliver's camper van, complete with Porsche engine (featured on Top Gear and driven round the track by the Stig)in the Clubroom.
Everybody on a budget who wants to drive some genuine supercars should talk with these guys.
I think they're approaching membership capacity, but you never know.
Downsides? one or two:
You book a car in advance, and hope the weather is going to be ok. I had an e-type jag on a weekend where it never stopped raining - points wasted.
You also hope some other member doesn't damage the thing - I missed 3 bookings because cars were broken - not just wear and tear broken but damaged by stupid members who knackered them... like the man who drove a Ferrari 308 back to the garage with no water in it and welded the heads to the block... the thing was off the road for over a year...
For me, tinkering and fixing is part of the experience - so when renewl time came up, I bought an old TVR instead.
The club is great, but this way I can use the car when I want to, (or more importantly, when the weather is ok) and leave it alone when I don't...
Pork Girl said:
Just booked my Fiat Dino for the w/e of 22nd August.
I've had that recently. Hmm, a Fiat Spider, didn't think it had a Dino engine. It was great. A wonderful drive. You feel like someone famous out of a black and white film in it.
The Stag is good too. Sounds better than the Fiat.
I agree about the weather thing. My next booking is the Primrose E-type. They've a shut-down coming soon where they won't let anything in or out during the week so that they can work on a number of cars that are in need of attention. That should increase the choice.
I have an unusual problem in that I only use the cars during the week and so my points go a very long way. I've driven pretty much everything at the club. It's so much cheaper than owning most of the things I get to drive.
Simon
You get so many looks off M3 drivers - look and weep guys.
Bit concerned the type of drivers I'm seeing in M3's these days....young boyracers, spose they're cheap enough now.
Comments???
There are far more cars available to the PH fraternity than the classis car club has to offer. All you would need would be a decent insurance policy and a reliable breakdown service, which understands the requirements of the club.
If owners organised servicing as they normally would, it should be possible to for owners to receive a premium for the loan of their cars, once suitable insurance had been arranged.
Just a thought.
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