John Hughes only paid £123 for his trusty van. An Austin 35 made in 1968, it has done over 97,000 miles, and he's kept it looking as good as new since he bought it thirty-seven years ago. Classic van insurance is not necessarily a widespread need for van drivers, but when someone decides to look after a piece of British car heritage, it is very useful.
In 1968 John was an Electricity Board worker and the Austin 35 was his work van.
In 1973 when his employers decided to move with the times and replace the old vans with newer Vauxhall Vivas, his bond with the little Austin was so great that he decided to buy it at British Car Auctions.
John said that he "just didn't like the idea of it being sold to someone who was going to use it for 12 months and run it into the ground."
The van is now used for the occasional short trip and Mr Hughes enters it into vintage car rallies and shows it off at fetes. He even has the old tools he used to use in the back of the van for "a bit of added interest" he says.
John may need to look a little harder than others for really cheap van insurance but with companies such as iVan selling classic van insurance cover especially for vintage vehicles, he can look forward to keeping his faithful van covered for years to come.