There's a surprising number of Irish collectors of cars and interest in the hobby is increasing all the time, according to Mr Tom O'Neill, director of the Irish Veteran Vintage Car Club (IVVCC).

The IVVCC has up to 600 members - cars from the 1963-founded club were most recently seen in the St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin. A further 33 clubs are affiliated to the IVVCC, each with an average of 90 members.

Many members have several vintage cars. "I often think it's like a disease. Most people start with one and end up with three or four," says Mr O'Neill.

Collectors tend to be good mechanically and are often drawn to collecting cars because of their "mechanical appreciation", their interest in the history of cars and it's a great way of having fun, he says.

There are more collectors' cars in the Republic than ever because of the free movement of cars in the European Union. Many of these cars are in excellent condition. For instance, he speaks of a 1961 2.4 litre Jaguar purchased by a member some years ago which had only 16,000 miles on the clock. The car was advertised in a newspaper and the collector who acquired it believed the low mileage must have been a misprint. But it wasn't. And the car came with all its original documentation. Cars exchange hands at auctions, through newspaper advertisements or "word gets around", he says.

Irish people are not as disposed towards paying many times' the real value of a car due to a particular car's provenance whereas British collectors tend to be more swayed by a famous previous owner, he says.

Cars over 30 years old have a reduced rate of road tax of £26 (€33) a year in the Republic.

Next Monday, Christie's in London is holding an auction of collectors' cars. A 1973 McLaren M23 with a race history including third at Brands Hatch, "Race of Champions", in 1974 and first in the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix carries an estimate of £230,000-£260,000 sterling (€342,000-€387,000).

Another car, OSCA 1600GT is one of only two known Zagato aluminium bodied examples (estimate: £40,000 to £45,000). A 1960 AC Ace, a British sports car, is estimated at £28,000 to £32,000. There is also a 1934 MG K3 Magnette, described by Christie's as "the choice of contemporary racing drivers" - a car type which had numerous successes including winning the Mille Miglia in 1933. (Estimate: £200,000 to £250,000.)

A 1931 Bentley 8-litre Tourer Le Mans Replica was sold in 1938 by The Irish Times and in 1956 moved to Co Down. From there, it went to Middlesborough and was bought in the mid-1960s by one Keith Schellenberg Snr and subsequently by David Black in 1986 who stripped and partly overhauled it. His son-in-law and present owner completed the overhaul and it has since been used for continental tours and in vintage sprints and hillclimbing. Its estimate is £250,000 to £300,000.

Mr Rupert Banner of Christie's says vehicles which fetch the highest prices are "generally cars that were limited in production or the cars are in particularly good quality for that year or they have an interesting history".

The Irish Veteran Vintage Car Club meets at the Goat Inn in Goatstown, Dublin at 8.30 p.m. on the first Monday of every month.