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Classic Cars: Inspect Before You Buy

Buying a classic car is something that excites many people. The wonders of classic engineering and car design mean that there are some cars which can hold their value as they grow older, even if this is due to the magic of what they represent rather than anything to do with technical brilliance. Most modern day cars will be technically superior to even some of the best old cars, but the look and feel of a classic of the past make up for a lot of other considerations. Certainly as a conversation piece, a wonderful old car will make for more of an exciting investment than the vast majority of new ones on the block. However, if you have any intention of driving the vehicle, you would still be well advised to run some checks before parting with your cash. 

As a minimum, you should ask to see any paperwork connected to the car to ensure that its vehicle identification number (VIN) matches up, and ask for any pictures taken of the car before, during and after any restoration. Lost or forged paperwork can be a way of hiding irregularities with any car. Ensure that its service history tallies up with what you would expect, and find out if it has any maintenance scheduled. All classic cars have history, and you want to be sure that this car’s history is more along the lines of the moon landings than the D-Day landings. If it has been through a lot it will not hold its value. 

You should also ask to take the car for a test drive – with the vendor in the passenger seat in order to retain his confidence. By doing this you can look for any faults with its starting mechanism and engine noises, how it runs over the course of a simple journey and how it performs in general. There are several things that can make a car less of a driving experience, and you will recognise what you want from a car from having driven others. Just because it is a classic and looks the part, this does not mean you want to go for your wallet without making the necessary checks. 

Having seen how it runs it is then worth looking over the exterior of the vehicle. You need to look for rust, dents, damage to bumpers, windscreens and so forth. Any irregularities will knock a lot of money off the price – classic cars are valuable up until the point where they sustain damage, at which point they become old cars and retain very little of their value. 

The final checks you need to run are on the engine, the electrics and the detailing. Depending on your purpose for buying, each of these carries its own specific level of importance. Certainly if you wish to drive it then there are basic minimum requirements for the car to be road legal, before you even consider the finer details. Carrying out the necessary checks will satisfy you one way or the other, but do not drive it away if you are not sure you will be driving it much longer.

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What is this light for? It's a classic car torpedo light which is green?

I have this old classic car light, torpedo shaped, but the lens is green, any ideas what this would be for and from?

I have a picture of it here:

http://www.imperial-tribunal.co.uk/ebay/greenlight/1.jpg

Any ideas?

Are you sure it go to a car?
My first thought was it the port bow light for an old boat. This all I know, sorry.

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