Is your car "collectible?" Are you lusting after a car that you believe is a "Collector Car?" What exactly is a collector car? Perhaps you have struggled with these questions as you are pondering the expenditure of a sizable amount of your savings for that car you have always wanted.

According to the State of Washington, your car qualifies as a "collector vehicle" and can be licensed as such if it is thirty years old or more. The state will issue a license plate for the rear only, (no front plate required), that has a number and the inscription "collector vehicle." This is a permanent plate that does not expire. It’s an ugly looking thing. You can register your car with your own plate as long as it is a Washington plate that is correct for the year of the vehicle. For example this site: www.licenseplates.tv will custom make plates for you the are correct for any state and any year. I had them make up a plate for my 1973 Thunderbird with the number, WDM 937. This is my initials and the last three digits of my birth year. The state licensing department will caution you that the permanent collector plate is to be on a vehicle that is used for shows, club activities and pleasure driving only… not for use on a "daily driver" vehicle. That seems fair. This is a good deal for the car collector, but thirty years is a long long time.

If you consult your insurance agent, you will discover that the different companies have different ideas as to what a "collector car" is. Some require your vehicle to be 25 years old. Others are satisfied if it qualifies as a "special interest" vehicle. What that means is not clear except that they start talking about corvettes and exotic sports cars or custom built cars. In any case the insurer of your collector car will want you to show proof that you have another vehicle properly insured as your "daily driver."

Would my 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII qualify for insurance as a "collector car." Most likely it would not as I would need to convince them that I was not planing to drive it daily. But, to me it is as collectible as any car I could hope to find. Would my 1986 Fiero GT be insurable as a collector vehicle? What if I have a "youthful driver" in the family, could we still insure it as a collector car? Most likely not.

If you own a collection of automobiles you might want to do what my brother and I do with our collection of some thirty cars. Go get yourself insured with a "broad form auto liability" policy. Then you will have proof of insurance regardless of what you happen to be driving. The insurance is on you, not the car. For casualty loss coverage we are self insured. Why do you think that those special “Collector Car Insurance” plans are so inexpensive? it is because they have very low claims to cover.

Since getting the broad form liability policy several years ago I have been involved in one collision. A monster size truck ran into my car while I was waiting at a red light. The other driver was ticketed and his insurance company paid for the damage to my vehicle.

Strangely enough, you may cross trails with people who are deeply involved in the collector car hobby who have very strong opinions as to what is or is not "collectible." I had a beautiful 1977 Thunderbird with only 36K miles on the odometer in a collector car auction. The bidding did not meet my reserve and the car was a no-sale. Before moving on the auctioneer questioned whether my Thunderbird was sufficiently "collectible." Later I sold the car to a car collector in New Mexico for substantially more money. The new owner has reported to me that he recently picked up a trophy in a car show with the car.

If you check out the NADA web site or the "Old Cars Price Guide," and you will discover inconsistencies that are difficult to explain. For example the NADA site skips over the 1986 to 1991 Cadillacs and continues with the 1992 model. Apparently they think that my 1987 Eldorado and my 1990 Eldorado are not worthy of being "collectible." I strongly disagree. The Old Cars Price Guide shows ridiculously low numbers for the Pontiac Fiero. They are not even close to the prices that a 1986 to 1988 Fiero GT will bring on the market.

You will find that even major players in the old car hobby such as Hemmings Motor News may "speak with forked tongue." I am referring here to the March 2004 Special Collectors Edition of Hemmings. On page 114 they state: "Buick made a splash with the two-seat Reatta, but it was (1) ugly, (2) had a horrid interior and (3) conceptually, was a bad joke. It was gone after ‘91." Here is someone who claims authority on the subject of collector cars speaking like a complete crack-pot. I have owned two Buick Reattas and I can assure you that it is Hemmings Motor News that is the bad joke here. The only problem with the Buick Reatta was that it was priced out of the market. Not many people we willing to pay 20% more than a Riveria for a two seat sporty coupe.

Similarly, on page 136 they write: "The rush toward retro raced ahead in 2002, just about everywhere you looked: The Ford GT-40, BMW’s new Mini, and the Ford Thunderbird, although the latter quickly became an overpriced flop." What is this crackpot thinking? The 2002 Thunderbird is an overpriced flop? Nonsense! Ford stated up front that they had limited production and could only build 25,000 new T-birds per year. They have built and sold more new Thunderbirds than Corvette convertibles. More than the original "baby-birds" in 1955-56 and 57. If you conclude that the new Thunderbird is a flop, you would have to conclude also that the original ‘55 - ‘57 thunderbird was a flop. That of course is ridiculous.

We own a 2003 Thunderbird. It was purchased as a collector car. Although it is now more than two years since we took delivery, it only has a thousand miles on it. Yes, it is a collector car.

We love it!

So, what defines a "collector car?" The answer is similar to the answer to the question, "What is art?" The answer is that a collector car is defined by you. If you declare that your car is a "collector car" and if your car collection consists of only one car. Then, fine… you are correct. Enjoy.

WDM