| Kippreport.com

Old car rules will create new money-making opportunities

August 31, 2008 1:35 by kippreport

Old cars cause pollution and are more likely to break down. So says the RTA, and from January 2009 vehicles more than 20 years old will be denied registration and licenses won’t be renewed.

There will be exceptions. The RTA says it has created a department to decide whether a vehicle is ‘classic’. Nice work if you can get it. The 1960s Mercs, pre-War Rolls Royces and 1970s Ferraris might be a straightforward tick, but what of the less celebrated classics? Will the Datsun 240Z, the VW Bug, or an Audi Quattro pass muster? Expect some frustrating negotiations and plenty of paperwork.

The clever money must surely be buying into recognized classics. If it’s harder to register older cars, the price of confirmed classics must rise.

But what of the rump of the market? The RTA says motorists with 10-year-old vehicles will not be able to transfer ownership, but they will be able to renew it in their names. If you have a seven-year old, non-classic car it might be very hard to shift. The next owner is probably buying it for life. Or buying it cheap to ship off to countries with less strict ownership rules.

Tags: car, classics, Dubai, ferrari, new rule, old car, rolls royce, RTA, UAE, vehicle, Yemen