Transport costs can be high
As confirmed by Michal Velebný, head of the ŠKODA MUSEUM restoration workshop, collectors often successfully buy cars in Serbia or France. But the cars are usually in a condition requiring extensive repair work; they often need entire components replaced and therefore considerable investment. What’s more, the cars are often incomplete and not in their original state.
The transport cost, which includes any applicable customs duty and VAT, means that buying in remoter locations pays off mainly for rare design versions, cars maintained in exceptional condition or cars with an interesting history.
The TREKKA, the New Zealand-made predecessor of modern SUVs based on ŠKODA OCTAVIA SUPER technology, was not exported to Europe, but because of its uniqueness and Czech roots the TREKKA has enriched at least seven Czech collections in the last three years, including the ŠKODA MUSEUM collection.
Demand like a roller-coaster ride
Can you already picture yourself polishing some magnificent historic specimen in your garage? Let’s come back down to earth. A complete, professional renovation of a historic vehicle involves an investment of several thousand euros. If we add to that the cost of buying the vehicle in its pre-renovation condition, the costs rise above the car’s realistic market value.
Conserving and garaging the vehicle should not be taken lightly either. Ideally, it should be kept in an air-conditioned space with constant humidity and appropriate security protection, not to mention insurance against theft.
Renovation of ŠKODA FAVORIT
As Michal Velebný points out, the market prices of recent veterans, such as thirty-year-old ŠKODA FAVORIT models, fluctuate wildly. “All it takes is for a particular model series to be celebrating a round-number anniversary or for the media to cover a specific car being offered at an unprecedentedly high price, and there is a sudden surge in demand. The demand among buyers can then collapse just as quickly,” Michal Velebný says. Over the past three years, the prices of RAPID or FAVORIT cars have resembled a roller-coaster ride.
Petr Ort sums up veterans’ overall investment potential as follows: “There is an objective expectation of constant price growth in the medium to long term, guaranteed to be greater than the value of shares or bonds. What’s more, with securities all you have to show for them is a number in an electronic account. But a historic car is also a source of considerable joy, and not just when you drive it through the countryside.”