Adore Alfas? Longing for a Lotus? Pining for a Porsche?

One clear sign of spring is the return to our roads of classic cars, emerging from a winter spent hibernating in garages and barns across the country. Such a sight often inspires enthusiasts to think of buying their own classic, but tracking down the perfect car, whether a restoration project or something in tip-top condition, isn’t always easy. Happily, buyers don’t have very far to travel to access thousands of desirable vehicles – in fact, only as far as their computer, through which they can visit the ‘virtual showroom’ of classiccarsforsale.co.uk.

Now celebrating its fifth birthday, the website regularly hits the No1 spot as the most-visited classic car industry site in Britain. It features cars for all budgets, ranging from starter classics like a Mini or Morris Minor for under £1,000, up to six-figure supercars and rare collectors’ machines. It also caters for all tastes, presenting everything from venerable veterans to popular or exotic classics from the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, up to ‘contemporary classics’ – or classics of tomorrow – from the 1990s and the present decade.

Saloons, sportscars, estates, rally machines and racers have all sold to buyers who discovered their dream classic on the site, and a ‘snapshot’ of vehicles listed there illustrates the variety on offer. Amongst the 3000+ cars that would-be buyers could browse through recently on classiccarsforsale.co.uk were: a 1904 Talbot 11hp Four-Seat Tonneau, a 1934 Alvis Speed 20SB Tourer, a 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe, an original 1966 Ford GT40 MkII, the only Jaguar SS100 FHC ever built, a 1970 Lamborghini Miura S, a 1985 Porsche 911 Cabriolet, a 1973 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I restoration project (for just £2,300) and a 1949 Willys Jeep CJ-3A.

Free for buyers and private sellers

classiccarsforsale.co.uk is free to use for buyers and private sellers alike. Would-be buyers can narrow their search down to exactly what they want, and are given a list of just what interests them. They can search by several criteria, including marque and model, year, price, LHD/RHD and even colour. Buyers can also register their requirements in the ‘Classic Cars Wanted’ section, allowing vendors to contact them should they have a suitable vehicle on offer. Or, they can use the ‘Classic Car Alert’ facility, whereby they input the make and model they are looking for, and the site will automatically email them when such a vehicle is listed for sale.

Sellers simply upload full details of their car, along with a selection of images, and it is immediately catalogued and displayed on the site, along with the vendor’s contact details. There is no charge to private vendors listing a car and no commission charged when it sells. Classic car dealers have also welcomed the immediate access to the vast audience that the site provides, so trade ads appear along with those from private sellers, giving potential buyers plenty of scope to track down the car of their dreams. Over 700 dealers are already registered with the site - including 200 from overseas - and new dealer enquiries are received every day.

An online community for classic car buffs

To mark its fifth anniversary, classiccarsforsale.co.uk has expanded its scope. As well as acting as a 24/7 online collectors’ car showroom, it is now a thriving community for classic car owners and fans. The ‘Workshop’ section carries comprehensive listings of historic motoring and motorsport events, links to a vast range of car clubs and classic dealers, and a database of marques. classiccarsforsale.co.uk issues a regular e-newsletter, keeping its visitors up to date on the classic car scene, and hosts a lively online forum for enthusiasts to discuss all manner of things classic motoring-related, from environmental and government or financial issues to where to source elusive spares, how to find a specialist restorer, or even debates about which is the best looking car or which are the best watering holes on scenic driving routes.

So, whether you’re dying for a Daimler, are feverish for Ferraris or are mad about MGs, visit classiccarsforsale.co.uk – become part of the online community, and bring that dream of classic car ownership a little closer to reality.