GOT a 30-year-old car that does not yet qualify as a classic? Now you can pay for a five-year COE in the interim, and then re-register the car as a classic when it turns 35 - the minimum age for keeping cars with minimal taxes.

Previously, owners of old cars that were not yet 35 years had only one option if they wanted to keep their vehicles: pay for a full 10-year certificate of entitlement, which is double the cost of a five-year COE.

Announcing the new rule on Monday, the Land Transport Authority said it 'provides flexibility', and allows enthusiasts 'to bridge the gap' before their cars reach 35 years.

Owners of vehicles registered under the classic car scheme need only to pay 10 per cent of the prevailing COE quota premium. They pay an annual road tax of only $280, regardless of the car's engine size.

Classic car fans welcome the new rule.

Medical doctor Ivor Thevathasan, 67, said: 'The door is opening up. Now is perhaps the time to lobby for more.'

Dr Ivor said the 28 days that classic cars can be used in a year are too few. He would like it stretched to at least '52 Sundays a year'.

Another enthusiast, retired lawyer Q K Chia, 63, said the new rule is a welcome change.

'I know of people who have lost cars because this rule came a bit too late,' he said.

Like Dr Ivor, Mr Chia said rules regarding classic cars - which number only around 150 and identified by their red-and-yellow number plates - should be further eased. He said once a car is converted to a classic car, it cannot be reverted to a normal car.

'It is a dead-end road,' he said. 'Nothing in life should be irreversible.'

The LTA had explained that this rule was to prevent people from using the scheme as a loophole to wait for a cheap COE to come around.

Mr Chia said 'there are many ways you can prevent people from taking advantage of the system', such as requiring them to pay the COE premium at the time of their car's conversion.