Antique Plates: Advantages/Disadvantages

[jgillott]

I have a 1979 Chevy C10 truck that my father gave me a couple of years ago. The truck was purchased new by my dad, but was never really used. It is completely original and in immaculate condition. It currently has standard Pennsylvania Truck class 1 truck plates which cost roughly $60 per year (give or take a few bucks). It will be eligible for Antique plates in Pennsylvania beginning in 2004. The PA application for the permanent Antique plates and title change will come to a one time payment of approximately $100. It will also exempt the truck from the annual safety inspection. So in less than 2 years I will already be saving on registration and inspection fees. I understand that there are usage limitations on "Antique Vehicles", but I don't really intend on using this truck for anything, other than the occasional show.



Now for my questions. Do any of you have vehicles with antique plates? If so, have you experienced any difficulties with insurance issues? What insurance company do you use? Are the insurance premiums much higher than with a standard plate? I currently pay $360/year for a 9 month policy with a 3 month lay off (Dec 1- Mar 1) from Erie Insurance.



Thanks in advance for your help.



Justin

 

[MFalkinham]

Here in Wisconsin, I have a '72 Buick Skylark convertible with "Collector" plates, which is similar to antique plates, but is used when the vehicle is over 20 years old. There was a one time license/title charge of around $150, and nothing after that. The only month of the year I can't drive it is January, but it's in storage all winter anyway. It is definitely much cheaper than the $45 annual fee for a normal car, plus I keep the plate if I sell the car.



Regarding insurance, I have American Family for all of my vehicles, and they don't care at all about how it is licensed. However, in order to get comprehensive coverage, I had to have the car "appraised" by a local body shop of their choosing. Basically, the body shop guy walked around the car, asked me what I felt it was worth, wrote that number down on his company's form, and gave it to me. He didn't charge me for this service, but asked me to remember his shop the next time I needed work done. Insurance for my Skylark at American Family is no more expensive than for any of my other vehicles.



There are also companies that specialize in collectible vehicle insurance, like www.hagerty.com. I've never used one of these companies, but maybe someone else could comment on them.



- Mike

 

[rmrc]

Vintage Plates

I have a 57 Chevy and have had antique (Vintage) plates on her for well over ten years. I've had no problems with any type of insurance issues and the yearly permium is extremely cheap compared to regular insurance. My insurance carrier is Saint Paul's. There are quite a few insurance companies that cover antique autos. Pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News. They always advertize many of those insurance companies.



The only disadvantage would be the limited use clause that I believe all antique coverage specifies. By your statement of how little you plan to drive your vehicle, you really have no problem. I use my Chevy for weekend trips around the general area, club functions and car shows.

 

[Jeff Clark]

I have Vintage tags on my 69 Camaro. They are leftovers from back when Texas issued new plates every year when the date was stamped into them. There are stipulations for those tags and I can't run them on my 32 Ford. The car has to appear original and my Ford obviously doesn't. There is no mileage restriction with these that I know of. The only mileage restriction I have is through my insurance. I can only drive 1000 miles a year in the Camaro (no problem, I've only put 2500 miles on it in the 13 years I've owned it) and 3000 miles a year on my 32. The insurance costs me 400 a year for both vehicles.

 

[TowPro]

It took an while to find it, but here is the form, and all your answers (and there requirements)!

One thing of interest I saw, its these tags are on a truck, you must not haul a load with it!



PENNDOT

 

[Sled Puller]

The First Gen guys should eligible now, forget the age requirement!

 

[JR2]

My Dad and I have a 1959 Lincoln and it came with historical plates. The only problem with that is you are only allowed to go to car shows or club functions with it. We swapped back over to regular plates.



For insurance my Dad contacted his (and my) insurance carrier, State Farm. They first quoted us $600 a year. My Dad told them he had been a customer for 35 years and that I had been with them for 20 and if they could not do better than that we would both take our business else ware (both of us have Home and Auto, rec vechs etc through the same office). They said give us a day and call back. When we called back they said, how about $135 a year for "occasional use". We asked what that meant and they said, as long as it was not a daily driver it was occasional. Good enough for us. We had to get an appraisal, but we just used the bill of sale and they where fine with that.



In your case I think historical plates will be fine. You don't drive it much. For insurance, ask about occasional use.



JR2

 

[jgillott]

I just wanted to send a thank you out to those of you who gave me information a few months ago.



I finally got everything completed for the antique plates on my Chevy C10. The title transfer was no problem at all. I sent the application with the needed pictures in, and received the plates in less than 2 weeks. My insurance agent also moved the coverage from Erie insurance to a company called American Collectors Insurance. The annual premium dropped from $360/year down to $139 for what looks to be better coverage.



Thanks again for your help.



Justin