The Garage

A Survey of Classic Auto Restorer readers.

Tech. Writer: Jack Hanbury

There are many surveys and we have all taken part in them at one time or another. This one I filled out in February for "Classic Auto Restorer" magazine. and the following results have just been released by Brian Mertz who writes the Steering Column for the same magazine. I think you may find this interesting!

Our responses to the survey provide a statistical snapshot of all Classic Auto Restorer readers.
The average age of their readers is 48.1 years. More than half of them between the age of 42 and 56 and all but 2% are males.

Nearly 60% earn annual incomes on the high side of $50,000, and 70% are self-employed or have professional, managerial or technical jobs. The average number of vehicles owned (family cars as well as collector vehicles) is about six, and a majority of the readers reported at least three. More than 80% of us prefer domestic makes.

The ages of cars collected run a wide gamut. By far the most popular era is the '60s (35%), followed by the '50s and '70s (24% each) and the '30s (7%) the '40s (6%) and pre-1930 (4%).
The survey also indicated that 45% of the CAR'S readers have restored one or two cars. 37% have restored three or more and 18% have not done one yet. A whopping 65% have been actively restoring cars for more than six years, and 45% have been at it for more than a decade. "That's a lot of collective know-how".

We are also a hands-0n bunch: 85% perform the mechanical work, 79% handle the electric's, 70% do their body work, 61% paint their cars, 49% strip them and 46% do the upholstery. In fact 40% reported doing all the restoration work ourselves and 45% have never used a professional shop. Only 2% of surveyed said restoration is their profession.

You can tell a workman by his tools, the saying goes and it certainly seems to apply to this survey. 67% value their tools more than $2,000. and 29% said their shop equipment is worth more than $5,000 and over have plan to buy more tools.

About 30% of the readers estimated the value of their most recent restoration between $5,000 and $10,000, while 20% valued their project at $10,000. to $20,000. Only about 7% reported doing an over $30,000. car.

One surprise in the survey results is that only about 37% showed their restored vehicles. Our greatest satisfaction comes from working on and driving old cars, which is another trait we have in common. From this information the magazine plans to tailor their articles for their readers and probably sell this list of surveyed to a tool company for advertising etc.