They
might be beauties of the bygone era but not one of them in his stable has lost
its charm. Pranlal Bhogilal collected his first vintage car, a Bentley, in
Kolkata when he was in his mid-20s. What started as a hobby and family tradition
of not selling off family cars has made the industrialist and renowned vintage
and classic car collector a proud owner of some 250 odd cars
today.
It might be difficult to
drive these antique cars--everything from Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Daimlers,
Maybachs and Chryslers --on crowded pot-holed streets but Bhogilal makes it a
point to get them serviced regularly and take them out on drives.
Decades ago, Bhogilal, founder
of Vintage and Classic Car Club of India (VCCI), found ir difficult to spot many
vintage car enthusiasts, but now he is happy to see increased interest among
people to own these beauties. However, he laments the lack of awareness among
the Indian buyers.
“It
feels nice to see increased interest among people. But unfortunately most of
them do not really value these cars. They find it fashionable to own such cars
or see it as status symbol,” he
says.
At present, there are
around 1000 odd vintage and classic cars in India. A majority of these cars rest
in the estates of the three renonwned collectors-- Pranlal Bhogilal, Vijay
Mallya and Sharad Sanghi. The rest are owned by few small collectors and
individuals across the country.
Apart
from their charm, the new found interest in these cars is also due to the
significant price appreciation. For instance, recently a few art deco-era
Mercedes Benz models (1930 built) were acquired by few car connoisseurs who paid
anywhere between five to ten times more.
Given that most of these cars
were acquired by paying only a few thousand rupees, everytime one fetches a
price that goes into lakhs, it attracts more investor and collector interest.
And why not? When the supply is limited, the prices should be top gear. With ban
on import or export of these cars in India, it is difficult to acquire fresh
sources.
”To preserve
such unique cars, I urged the former prime minister Late Indira Gandhi to enact
a law banning the export of pre-1940 automobiles of any kind. And soon it was
implemented. However most of the magnificent antique cars have either already
been exported or have been damaged,” informs Bhogilal.
With limited supply, he might
be finding it difficult to add more cars to his stable but he continues to work
hard to create awareness about these pieces of art among India’s gasoline
groups.Bhogilal has been using his car club and regular exhibitions to improve
awareness and increase interest in India’s vintage and classic car
heritage.
However, he is
neither keen to sell out nor rent any of his beauties. Although he is only too
willing to offer tips to would-be collectors.
The
biggest issue for antique car owners is maintenance. They find it difficult
getting the right tyres, spare parts and accessories that are necessary to keep
their cars road-worthy. “Most of these cars were not made in bulk but
designed exclusively for the royal families who would order custom-made pieces
based on their requirements. And the makers and designers of these cars are no
longer around which makes it difficult to fix any problems, mechanical or
otherwise,” says
Bhogilal.
He says there is a
distinction between vintage and classic models too. Those who own assembly line
models produced in larger numbers, normally do not have a problem sourcing
spares from the open market. But getting spares for custom-built cars is very
very difficult.
However, there
are a few experts who work exclusively on antique cars. Moreover, different car
clubs like the Bentley car club or the Rolls Royce car club too help owners of
these cars get the right spare parts. Many of these brands are now back in India
(that roster includes Daimler, BMW, Bentley and Rolls Royce) so the brands have
a greater interest in servicing existing
customers.
Most collectors say
sourcing spares is the biggest problem they have to face. Which is also why many
vintage cars take a couple of decades to be fully restored. A number of the top
brands though now offer the option of sourcing spares from their overseas
warehouses where heritage models are preserved and restored as part of the range
of services that the brand offers. As collecting vintage cars catches on in
India, these services will become more widely available and easily
accessible.