ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - Highly polished classic cars costing several million euros and former bread-and-butter cars with a personal sentimental value for less than 10,000 euros - Techno Classica, one of the world's most important classic car fairs, opened in Essen on Wednesday. More than 2700 classic cars are on display until Sunday - from top models such as the former Rolls-Royce of the Dutch royal family to the Golf 1 from the 1970s with a 70 hp petrol engine.

The Golf was celebrating its 50th anniversary, said Joachim Quednau, spokesman for the Golf 1 interest group. Many of the old Golf convertibles in particular are still on the road. The formerly legendary Golf 1 GTIs with 110 PS have increased significantly in value in recent years and are now in good condition and in some cases already in the region of 30,000 euros.

Owners can apply for registration as a classic car with an H license plate for cars that are more than 30 years old. There are around 870,000 cars on the road in Germany with an H license plate, said Ekkehard Pott from the German Oldtimer-Youngtimer Deuvet association. An estimated 100,000 vehicles change hands every year in Germany.

However, six or even seven-figure top prices for rare Ferraris, Porsches or Mercedes vehicles are absolute "outliers", emphasized Pott. The average value of the vehicles in the association is between 12,500 and 14,000 euros. For the normal classic and vintage car buyer, other points count - such as memories of vehicles from their own youth and a good supply of spare parts.

Overall, the classic car market has calmed down, according to the well-known valuation company "Classic -Analytics" from Bochum. "Stability has returned to the collectors' market and the results show a less speculative nature." The average annual price premiums have fallen from 15 percent last year to ten percent, which indicates a "return to rationality".

Many classic cars rarely see the light of day, and when they do, it is mainly on rain-free summer days: according to association spokesman Pott, the average mileage of the vehicles in the Deuvet is between 1100 and 1300 kilometers per year./rs/DP/men