Overhaulin'

Should I get antique tags for my vintage Volkswagens? Or should I stick with normal registration?

I'm 25yrs old and I have two classic cars: a 1973 VW Beetle and a 1976 VW Campmobile(aka "hippie van"). Both of them were taken off the road for about a year but now that summer's approaching, I'm getting them reinsured and reregistered. A lot of people keep telling me to get antique car tags, because then I won't have to put up with the hassle of paying for inspection each year and other fees. I've also heard that classic car insurance is very cheap -- only a few hundred a year for full(liability, comprehensive, collision) coverage. Last year, I had my cars on a regular insurance policy and I paid $12/mo for the Campmobile and $36/mo for the Beetle(The campmobile was cheaper because it qualified for the multicar discount). This was for state min coverage--liability only. Do you think classic car insurance would save me much money? Also--how hard is it to get approved for classic tags, and how long does it typically take? I understand I need to send in pictures. Advice? Richard, thanks for your feedback. However, do you know how much they'd cost or how long it takes to receive them after applying? I live in Pennsylvania(Bucks County) by the way. I'm still planning to keep my daily driver(Mustang). Plus I normally use mass transit to get to work or any other events downtown in the city. I'd be driving my VWs very minimally, mostly just for weekend pleasure rides or showing off to friends. So any restrictions on the antique cars' mileage or days is A-okay with me.

Public Comments

1. Get the Antique tags. That money will be blown on something else anyway. It isnt that much more, but obviously you want them or you would have asked. Enjoy them you deserve it.
2. yeah dude get em they look cool and it wont be much of a jump in price.
3. Kudos keeping the old iron (or in your engine's case, magnesium) rolling - it's a labor of love. Some municipalities might restrict when you can drive an antique ( I think Pennsylvania did this in the 70's, letting antiques out to play on Sundays only) - check into that before you accidently hobble your daily driver.
4. Antique tags are good for all the reasons you cited. As for restrictions and other special concerns, you have to check state-by-state; I'm sure you can go on-line to your state DMV and research it.
5. How's this for an idea.......not sure about PA, but here in NY, you can get a set of tags from the year your car was built, & so long as the number's not in use you can register them to your car. The real issue with Historic/Antique tags and insurance is that they usually limit how many miles you can put on the car in a year. Check with the PA DMV website for details.