Opinions on renting out cars for track days.

[kazste]

Would really like to do a trackday but too concerned about pranging my car, as would probably have to sell it due to it being right at the top of my budget so if combined with increased insurance costs would probably have to sell.

so i have been looking into renting a car to do a trackday in, but they all appear to be elises,caterhams or race tuned hatches all around the £500-600 price mark.

Am therefore wondering about buying something along the lines of a tatty standard 106 gti for around £1000 and when not using it renting it outfor around £150-200 with a £2000 excess.

any thoughts as to whether you would consider such a car for the price would be welcomed.

thanks for reading have a good day.

[kazste]

all good points that i hadnt thought about, was thinking there must be a reason why its all so expensive. did assume that as long as the car had an MOT i would be covered for faults causing accidents alongside a friends public liability insurance (for DJ work).

guess it's a non starter really must grow some balls and take the elise out on track, just not sure i'd enjoy it.

[kazste]

Stephanie Plum said:

Unsure as to why you wouldn't think you'd enjoy a Lotus on track?

my reason is that it is my dream car that i have saved up in order to own and is right at the top of what i can afford comfortably, therefore i couldnt afford to crash it as it would mean i'd need to sell it which makes me think i'd be going too slow and having to move over all the time making it unenjoyable for both me and other track users.

really would like to get some driver training in the car and keep looking at the walshy days but just a bit too far away, and do plan on doing the lotus academy days so i can use their cars.

i would just hate to prang the car and have to sell it due to costs increasing beyond a comfortable level. to make it even worse i have free track day cover through my insurance!

[kazste]

thanks for that, i do need to go over and do a day with walshy.
bought the car new last year and starting to get used to what its telling me, the plan is to have it as a keeper and when its four years old having saved up some more buy a 2nd car to use daily and then with the lower value of the car will probably look at taking it out.

other benefit of course of a 2nd car include not having to put 3 bags full of books in the boot when it snows, weighed them to check under the 50kg limit and they came in at 46kg last winter!!!

[kazste]

i agree with the sentiment that i should just man up and take the elise on track, but my theory is this.
if i crash it i have a £2000 excess on the car, thats half of my allocated running costs. my insurance will go up considerably eating further into my running costs. more things are likely to need replacing earlier again increasing my running costs.

whilst unlikely that all of this would happen i have to protect myself as if it did i really would be into the realm of having to sell it.

[kazste]

To be honest I really have made my mind up, its not going near a track yet. As stated I plan on keeping it for a very long time and will start to take it on track when it is older (5 ish years), I will take it on driver training days, and I will try to buy something cheap to take on trackdays such as a saxo or quite interested in one of the talons 100r's.

I do understand why people are telling me to take it on track but its an easy thing to say when it is hypothetical.

[kazste]

Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong then but this is my possibly flawed logic.
Saxo £1000 already have a tow vehicle and place to store it. If it gets written off I lose £1000
Year old elise s guessing around £23k. If I crash it £2k on insurance and car worth about £2k less so would be difference of £3k.
Maybe I'm wrong just my thinking.

[kazste]

idea was to rent the car out for shared track days so i would be taking the car and sharing the time. the idea around the £2k excess was to basically never trigger the insurance in order to keep costs minimal ie i worst case and new car needed charge customer £1200 ish £200 costs and £1k replacement (i will assume the mention of me being a con artist was in jest).

as for liability insurance already have this so would be a small increase rather than a new policy.

I agree it is looking like a non starter, but then better i asked on here than had a crack at it and waste my money! will probably go down my other train of thought which is buy something, share it with a mate on the assumption that they pay a proportion of my trackday costs.