Michael McAleer answers your queries
From Garrett Findlay, Dublin:
As a fan of classic cars and a very low annual mileage driver (under 5,000 miles), I would like to use a classic car as the main family, daily driver car.
Are you aware of an insurance company or broker which will offer a policy for a classic car as the sole car?
I have found several options when using a classic as a second or "hobby" car, but I haven't been able to find a company offering a policy for a classic used as the main and only car. One other factor is that I don't have a garage.
It's difficult to get insurance for an everyday classic without a second car in the family. One of the main firms to offer classic insurance, Carole Nash, requires you to have another car for everyday motoring and limits the mileage on the classic car to 2,000 to 4,000 miles. However, a spokesperson said the company is looking at entering the general insurance market later this year and, if it does, it would then be able to offer everyday insurance on classic cars.
Axa also offers a programme called Concours, but it also requires another insured car before you get the benefits of classic insurance.
These benefits are exemplified by studying the premium on a classic car up to 1,600cc and with a limited annual mileage of 3,500. Here the premium would be just €183.60. The premium on the same car insured normally would be many multiples of that.
However, it's worth noting that you can always insure your classic car under a normal policy; you just don't reap the benefits.
From Ann Heffernan:
Can you clarify speed limits when overtaking. Are we allowed a few extra mph when passing out that big truck that has been spattering mud on our windscreen for the past 20 miles, or are we going to incur penalty points for safely overtaking quickly as possible?
How can the speed cameras tell what is happening in this instance? Do the same rules apply on motorways as on back roads?
The law is the law, and there is no special limits or consideration given to those overtaking another vehicle.
According to the Garda, if you can't overtake the vehicle in front at an appropriate speed, and safely, then you should not attempt such a manoeuvre.
If you are unfortunate enough to be stuck behind such a truck, expect little sympathy from either speed cameras or gardaí.
From George A Reynolds, Co Wicklow:
Ciaran Canning (January 21st, 2004) frets over the depreciation on his new car. The following may help to frame the problem in a more positive way:
Depreciation is seen in accounting practice as an expense item charged on the loss in value of the asset as it is used up (i.e. wearing out the car through use).
However, economists have an alternative view of depreciation as setting aside funds for the eventual replacement of the asset, i.e. saving to buy the next car.
If Ciaran could save the amount his beloved car loses through depreciation, (he could give it to his wife for safe-keeping) he would be well-placed to buy the replacement and perhaps not feel so bad about it.
"Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists." - John Kenneth Galbraith. You can always trust economists to muddy the water and make you believe you actually benefit from the rapid decline in the value of your new car. Would these economists you mention happen to work for the car industry?
From Paul Phelan, Dublin 12:
I spotted this sign (pictured) on Grove Road, near Portobello Bridge in Dublin. As far as I know, it has not been renamed Rathmines Bridge.
There are two identical examples of this sign, several hundred yards apart.
Thinking back to Simon and Garfunkel, I seem to remember that the line "feelin' groovy" was part of the "59th Street Bridge Song". Does this mean that South Richmond Street should henceforth be called 59th Street?
• Send your queries to
Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2
- or e-mail them to motorshelp@irish-times.ie