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Paying to exhibit at classic car shows.

A lovely rural scene, a lush green empty field, but not so nice if there is supposedly a show booked for this field and no-one turned up. If all the owners of old cars and other vehicles declined to pay to show their car, this is the scene that some show organisers would be left with.

Not all shows charge exhibitors to show off their car, but some do, and I do have doubts about whether this is really cricket or not...?

I am not a show organiser by the way, in case anyone wonders.

I'm sure that there are plenty of overheads when it comes to putting on a show, what with renting land to hold a show on, and the ever impinging bureaucracy provided by reams of insurance paperwork and other red tape. It isn't going to go away, and someone needs to foot the bill up front - ie the organiser. If the heavens open and the show flops, as can happen, then the organiser is left with a hefty bill and little chance of public entrance fees covering it all. So charging exhibitors goes some way in offsetting some if not all of these upfront costs I imagine.

However, if it wasn't for people bringing their cars along, at expense to themselves, the organisers wouldn't have a show at all, and at least the opportunity to earn a crust.

The costs of running a hobby car can be considerable - insurance, maintenance and the old chestnut of fuel all add up, and I'm not convinced that being charged to submit your car to an organiser's event, for them to then charge the public to view your car, is right. If your chosen vehicle is an old lorry, especially those still running their original petrol engines, the fuel costs with attending even a local-ish show will definitely be felt in the wallet. One event not far from here provides coal to those who bring along steam powered vehicles, recognising the costs involved in getting these venerable old machines to the display field.

Shows that allow the entrant and one passenger to get in at no charge, so long as they bring a suitably aged vehicle to display, are at least recognising the efforts that the owner has gone to in providing their exhibit, and often in weather that normally would see the car tucked away in a warm garage, til the elements become more favourable. I will continue to support these free-to-enter shows whenever I can, either by attending in person, or giving them a plug on this site's press release section.

If you take a car to an event, you run the risk of it being damaged, either intentionally or by accident. Members of the public get up close to your car, opening up opportunities for zips, bags and wristwatches to scratch your paint, all of which costs money and/or time to put right. Whose insurance would pay up in the event of damage like this? the organiser's or the owner's? Worse, the light-fingered brigade will try to steal anything that isn't permanently bolted down - I was with a friend at a show when someone walked off with the brass radiator cap from their old lorry. Fortunately the latter bunch of toe-rags are in the minority, but they do exist.

Speaking to friends in America, and they say that most shows charge an entrant's fee. However in return they get a worthwhile goodie bag, often comprising automotive-related products provided by event sponsors. In the UK, we get a brass plaque. Nice little souvenir, but a little bag of properly handy things would be better IMHO.

At the end of the day, exhibitors don't have to attend these shows, although most will because the day out is usually enjoyable, and may have been on the enthusiast's calendar for many years - perhaps from a time when entry fees were unheard of.

Agree or disagree? have your say on the Classic Car Forum!

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