Classic Maintenance & Tyre Survey Results

This month we asked our clients to complete a short vehicle maintenance survey so that we could see how owners are looking after and storing their classic vehicles. We received almost 900 entries (a big thank you to all of you who completed the survey) and gathered some very interesting results!

First of all, how would you rate your classic vehicle maintenance knowledge? Over 78% of people rated their knowledge as 7 out of 10 or above, with 21% giving themselves top marks. At FJ we're very tempted to pop these respondents on speed dial for our future classic trips!

The 'charm' (or should that read curse?!) of classic ownership is certainly the fact that you often need to get your hands dirty to keep the vehicle going - and the majority of people who answered our survey own one classic vehicle and maintain it themselves at home. Of these, 55% of people are very organised and have a routine for maintenance at home with the remainder saying that they mainly maintain their classic ‘on the go’, ‘constantly’ or that they ‘check every time before they go out’.

When it comes to storage, 77% of people keep their vehicle tucked up safely in a garage at home. Also, 66% of people responded to say that they do not SORN their vehicle in winter, with 16% selecting sometimes and 17% selecting that they do. If you do store your classic vehicle short term, it may be worth taking a look at our Top Short-Term Storage Tips blog.

When it came to tyres, 32% of people thought that you should change them every 4-6 years after the manufacture date, followed by 24% at 8-10 years and 15% at 6-8 years. There is some debate about the length of time you should keep the tyres on your classic vehicle, but it's very important not to just use tread depth as a guide. In fact, most respondents did know that you could tell the age of a tyre by a date stamp and 61% of people answered that they do a visual check to see if their tyres are safe.

In addition, 75% of people responded to say that they didn’t think it was important to have original tyres on their vehicle. But those who said it was important cited size, manufacture recommendation, good quality, and fit as the reasoning behind their choice.

How do you maintain your classic vehicle? If you have any stories, top tips or opinions on maintenance - let us know in the comments.