Classic Car Value Conference To Kick Off Concours South Africa 2017
The hosting of the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) conference at Concours South Africa on Friday, 4 August 2017, at Sun City will see the first such conference on International Classic Car Values to be hosted on African soil.
The conference, which will focus on investment values in classic and vintage and veteran cars, will be the opening event of Concours South Africa 2017, South Africa’s only multi-marque classic car concours event, run at Sun City from 4-6 August.
This year’s Concours South Africa is expected to draw close to 100 entries for the three-day event, with the 2017 judging panel including internationally renowned classic car experts who are being flown to Sun City from the UK specially for this prestigious event.
The HAGI conference will be a half-day event on Friday morning at Sun city. Heading up the star line-up of speakers will be Dietrich Hatlapa, who founded the London-based HAGI organisation a decade ago. HAGI is a research company that provides its members with monthly indices on international sales trends and prices in rare, collectible and historic motorcars.
“We initially wanted to host the HAG conference as a stand-alone event,” says Paul Kennard, organiser of Concours South Africa.
“Then we realised that it made perfect sense to combine it with Concours South Africa, as most of the top car collectors in South Africa would be at Concours South Africa anyway. And out Concours event has also attracted some key players in the financial world in South Africa.”
Kennard explains that the conference will address the unique situation of the South African classic car market as well as international value trends in the world of collectible automobiles.
“The Historic Automobile Group International monitors actual sales and pricing trends in the classic car world on an international basis. At our conference we will focus on the unique situation in South Africa, where we have high import duties, and a limited pool of classic cars available for trading.
“Until now, it has been a bit of a minefield, buying a classic or vintage car here, as an investment. This is because there is no book as regards to values, as there has traditionally been in the conventional used car market here, for decades.”
A key speaker at the conference will be a member of Chrome Strategies, a New York investment company that sells shares in collectible, historically valuable motorcars. And there is a strong possibility that another US-based expert attending the conference, and the Concours South Africa weekend, will be internationally acclaimed Porsche expert, Magnus Walker.
“We will also address the business of car restoration in South Africa. One of our top restorers, Johan Krause, will tackle issues on the viability of restoring a collectible car, on when a car is best left in original condition, and on levels of restoration once a decision has been made to restore a classic or vintage car.
“From a pure financial aspect, we have also invited the well-known South African political analyst and economist, JP Landman, to address the conference. He will be speaking pretty much on the simple, but ever-intriguing subject of Wealth, with a capital W.”
Kennard explains that until now, investing in a classic car here has been a ride into the unknown.
“Locally we were put in touch with the HAGI organisation through our Concours associate Tommy Roes, who runs a Johannesburg-based company. The Carfinders International, which courses exotic and collectible cars for local clients.
There are various ways of bringing in collectible cars to South Africa, as far as the paying of import duties is concerned, and we will be examining these at the conference. Broadly speaking, it is better to source a classic or collectible car locally, but there has been little reliable data on real international values. This is where the HAGI index comes in.
“On sheer investment terms, the growth in values of classic cars over the past decade has been phenomenal. Property value growth has been sluggish, while the antique market has seen growth of 80 per cent. If you look at the classic car market, the growth in monetary value has been in the region of some 300 per cent.
“Obviously this has tapered off as more people become aware of the value in these cars, but the trend is that it’s going to keep going, although probably not to the extent that it has been in the past decade.”
Another subject that will be addressed at the conference will be the question of classic cars insurance, with SELA Brokers providing attendees with information on the different options available to people who own classic cars, specifically targeting owners of large car collections.
Also read: Concours South Africa 2017: Raising the bar for classic car restoration and preservation
While the HAGI Conference on International Values in Classic Cars will be targeted at car collectors entering their cars in Concours South Africa 2017, obviously the conference will be open to anyone interested in the values of classic cars from an investment point of view.
For more information on how to sign up for the HAGI conference, and the pricing for attendance, as well as information the 2017 Concours South Africa event, visit the website on www.concourssa.co.za. Or e-mail Paul Kennard on [email protected] or call Paul on 082 851 3300