When does a banger become a classic?

[shed driver]

Some cars seem to be destined to be a classic, not always due to original cost or rarity whereas others seem to be permanent fixtures at the festival of the unexceptional.

Any ford from the 1970s and 80s seems to be a classic. The corresponding BL or Rootes offering is overlooked.

It's not even the "my dad had one of them" thing. Is it fashion? Snobbery?

SD.

[Turbobanana]

I hope you like worms, OP, because I fear you have just opened a huge can of them...

[aeropilot]

Should have done a search beforehand, this exact question usually gets posted on here at least one every year.......

[restoman]

Yawn . . . .

[T6 vanman]

When KGF advertise one for x10 the value you think you'd pay for it

[mac96]

I would say 70s BL and Rootes stuff are classics. Even a Marina is a classic car, just perhaps one that not everyone likes. I think the main difference is that (apart from Minis and various sports cars) BL, Rootes, and Vauxhall stuff from the 70s haven't survived in as large a number as say Ford Escorts, so they are not what people think of now if someone mentions 70s classic cars. A lot of that must be down to competition- especially Mk 1 and 2 Escorts which have retained a huge popularity in rallying. That kept them alive and kept parts supplies going!

[sjabrown]

Some are predictable, some less so. The K11 generation of Micra is one model I'd consider as banger but may well become a classic. There's an oddly strong following amongst younger folk, yet 10-20 years ago they were distinctly old people's cars round here.

[Escort3500]

T6 vanman said:

When KGF advertise one for x10 the value you think you'd pay for it

Their website is always worth a view/laugh

[GoodOlBoy]

restoman said:

Yawn . . . .

+1

[Riley Blue]

Mods! This thread, nuke it!! Nuke it NOW!!

[Fast and Spurious]

About a year after you sell it.

[Austin Prefect]

I remember a letter in a motoring magazine in around 1980. The writer was bemoaning the fact that 'classic' was being overused, 'at this rate, MK1 Cortinas are going to be regarded as classics'. The point was that up till then 'classic' referred to the model, a design classic, something that in important respects has never quite been matched.

Now it just means an old car which you would normally expect to have been scrapped by now.. So the banger becomes a classic when it's condition belies it's age, when someone has been prepared to put time and money into it above what can be justified as a transport option.

[Wills2]

I think 40 years is a good yard stick as per the VED rules, whether it's a "classic" in your mind is all down to your subjective view.

[Skyedriver]

Fast and Spurious said:

About a year after you sell it.

Was about to post the same response.

[//j17]

Actually this isn't the standard "What's a classic?" question and so slightly easier to answer.

A stops being "an old banger" and becomes "a classic" when people are willing to repair cars that are not economical to repair.

[bad company]

restoman said:

Yawn . . . .

Ive never understood that attitude. If you don’t like the subject matter, move on.

[Turbobanana]

Oxford English Dictionary said:

>adjective: judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind: 1 a classic novel, 2 a classic car

>noun: a work of art of recognized and established value: his books have become classics

As an academic I'm drawn to dictionary definitions, but this one's particularly vague. This is not helped by the likes of the press and insurance companies describing "old" cars as "classics", which have now entered the lexicon as a means describe anything with some age.

I have a hoodie that says "I'm not old, I'm classic", which just about sums it up.

I think if you can wrap your head around the fact that it means different things to different people, your life will be simpler.

[ARHarh]

It doesn't matter.

Cars don't need a classification. If you like it, and are willing to maintain it, that's good enough.

[Lotobear]

I've always taken the view that a classic should have been 'special' in it's day by dint of engineering excellence, performance, innovation, limited number or similar metrics.

[Huzzah]

Cars depreciate as they age. Once they've bumped along at rock bottom for a while and start to appreciate that's the point.