Supercar clubs

[sng45]

Just been looking at Ecurie 25 Supercar club website, and the package looks quite appealing as they now have a branch in Yorkshire. From what I gather on their website a £10,000 annual membership can give a diversity of cars to drive throughout the year without the issues of insurance,tax and the real killer depreciation !
I suppose my main concern would be if they were to go bust after I'd just given them ten grand ! however I believe if this is paid on my credit card my money will be protected.
Does anyone have any experience of this club or any others which they are willing to share ?

[ineedagallardo]

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

[sng45]

Thanks for your reply - I've had 3 Ferraris, 35 Porsches and R8/RS4, cobra etc etc etc previously - still have another five cars - so had/have the "pleasure of ownership" and was looking at this as a way of using something different alongside my own cars. Appreciate what you say about ten grand Wasted - but it's certainly very easy to lost ten grand + on supercar ownership in a very short space of time.

[Harsh]

sng45 said:

Thanks for your reply - I've had 3 Ferraris, 35 Porsches and R8/RS4, cobra etc etc etc previously - still have another five cars - so had/have the "pleasure of ownership" and was looking at this as a way of using something different alongside my own cars. Appreciate what you say about ten grand Wasted - but it's certainly very easy to lost ten grand + on supercar ownership in a very short space of time.

In which case, Ecurie makes a lot of sense.
The guys there (well the ones i know in London) are very friendly and helpful.

the fact that they were the only high profile club to survive and indeed expand during the credit crunch speaks volumes.

[Mattymouse33]

sng45 said:

Thanks for your reply - I've had 3 Ferraris, 35 Porsches and R8/RS4, cobra etc etc etc previously - still have another five cars - so had/have the "pleasure of ownership" and was looking at this as a way of using something different alongside my own cars. Appreciate what you say about ten grand Wasted - but it's certainly very easy to lost ten grand + on supercar ownership in a very short space of time.

Class reply. I had a Cobra, only a Chevy 5.7 V8 but it was good fun, about 35k's worth. Was your own a genuine one? A Lambo fan?

[trackdemon]

ineedagallardo said:

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

Rubbish.

What about insurance & maintainance costs? What about a garage to keep it in? 10k might just about get you a years motoring in a used Cayman or 997 assuming you dont do too many miles and it consequently doesn't depreciate too much.... No way you can get access to stuff like GT3, Gran Turismo, California, DBS, LP560 etc. any other way for that much cash.

[sng45]

Mattymouse33 said:

sng45 said:

Thanks for your reply - I've had 3 Ferraris, 35 Porsches and R8/RS4, cobra etc etc etc previously - still have another five cars - so had/have the "pleasure of ownership" and was looking at this as a way of using something different alongside my own cars. Appreciate what you say about ten grand Wasted - but it's certainly very easy to lost ten grand + on supercar ownership in a very short space of time.

Class reply. I had a Cobra, only a Chevy 5.7 V8 but it was good fun, about 35k's worth. Was your own a genuine one? A Lambo fan?

I've had 3 Cobras - two replicas and the last one was an AC Carbon Road Series so you might say a "semi" genuine one ! all of them excellent in a straight line but a little interesting/different in corners compared to a 360, Elise or R8 !!
Certainly a Lambo fan - perhaps held off on buying one because of the sizeable "hit" one is likely to take on depreciation and my feeling was a Supercar club was a less expensive way "to scratch that itch" for want of a better expression !

[Shmee150]

Just seen a paper ad for P1. I thought they disappeared and became GP1, but apparently P1 has been born again, although the website makes it look like most of their cars are on order.

With the markets moving the way they seem to be moving, these companies will probably only grow again.

Edited by Shmee150 on Wednesday 16th December 10:00

[Beefmeister]

trackdemon said:

ineedagallardo said:

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

Rubbish.

What about insurance & maintainance costs? What about a garage to keep it in? 10k might just about get you a years motoring in a used Cayman or 997 assuming you dont do too many miles and it consequently doesn't depreciate too much.... No way you can get access to stuff like GT3, Gran Turismo, California, DBS, LP560 etc. any other way for that much cash.

Exactly. 4yrs running in ecurie25 for me, and I will continue until someone tells me to stop!

I know - i'll go out and buy a Gallardo for £80k, then insure it for £5k, maintain it for a year for another £3k, and then lose £10k in depreciation.

I work away a lot, so my weekend time is sparse to say the least, so i would get to drive 'my' Gallardo infrequently.

Or i just pays my £10k to e25, and get to drive LP560's, F430s, DBS, Cali etc etc etc hassle free.

Bingo.

[ineedagallardo]

trackdemon said:

ineedagallardo said:

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

Rubbish.

What about insurance & maintainance costs? What about a garage to keep it in? 10k might just about get you a years motoring in a used Cayman or 997 assuming you dont do too many miles and it consequently doesn't depreciate too much.... No way you can get access to stuff like GT3, Gran Turismo, California, DBS, LP560 etc. any other way for that much cash.

Please dont rubbish my opinion - as thats what it was after all "an opinion".

And i think if you check your figures - with a deposit you could easily get into a Gt3 for that money - in fact I ran a Gt2 for over 4 years for under that and were not talking about a Cayman

This was a car that performance wise would have wiped the floor with about 95% of Ecuries stock

And as for the used comment - How many different owners has one of Ecuries cars gone through - It's the equivalant of taking a Hooker away for a romantic weekend in Paris

[WCZ]

My only issue with Ecurie would be the lack of 'hypercars' on their fleet, otherwise I can definately see the attraction.

[kryten22uk]

I looked at clubs for a while, but in the end they didn’t suit my lifestyle. It’s too constricted, as you need to be very organised and know exactly when you want it. Then you have it for a full day and you feel like you need to spend all day in it to get your value. Whereas I have a family, so my joy of ownership comes from popping out in the car on spur of the moment, or meeting up for a blast early morning before getting back to help out with the kids etc.

[Jules360]

Beefmeister said:

trackdemon said:

ineedagallardo said:

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

Rubbish.

What about insurance & maintainance costs? What about a garage to keep it in? 10k might just about get you a years motoring in a used Cayman or 997 assuming you dont do too many miles and it consequently doesn't depreciate too much.... No way you can get access to stuff like GT3, Gran Turismo, California, DBS, LP560 etc. any other way for that much cash.

Exactly. 4yrs running in ecurie25 for me, and I will continue until someone tells me to stop!

I know - i'll go out and buy a Gallardo for £80k, then insure it for £5k, maintain it for a year for another £3k, and then lose £10k in depreciation.

I work away a lot, so my weekend time is sparse to say the least, so i would get to drive 'my' Gallardo infrequently.

Or i just pays my £10k to e25, and get to drive LP560's, F430s, DBS, Cali etc etc etc hassle free.

Bingo.

may i question your maths? I bough a Gallardo 3 years ago for £77k,. To date have spent £850 per year insuring it, £4k servicing it and £800 on a set of lambda sensors. It's probably worth £55k now. So overall costs are £8k per year. If i joined E25, i would also need another car for the commute etc. I'm not gonna buy a £2k snotter, cos i need it to be reliable. So i need to insure, tax and service a £10k car, which will also depreciate. Assume that to be another £3k per year. Add to this the fact that despite my working hard and being able to afford a Lambo, i spend most of my time driving a crap car - and the availability of a supercar is limited and needs to be planned in advance. As someone said, its like marrying an ugly bird because she doesn't shop in Gucci, then spend the cash saved on high class hookers. The cost is the same, but you still spend most of your time with the minger.

[Shmee150]

Jules360 said:

may i question your maths? I bough a Gallardo 3 years ago for £77k,. To date have spent £850 per year insuring it, £4k servicing it and £800 on a set of lambda sensors. It's probably worth £55k now. So overall costs are £8k per year. If i joined E25, i would also need another car for the commute etc. I'm not gonna buy a £2k snotter, cos i need it to be reliable. So i need to insure, tax and service a £10k car, which will also depreciate. Assume that to be another £3k per year. Add to this the fact that despite my working hard and being able to afford a Lambo, i spend most of my time driving a crap car - and the availability of a supercar is limited and needs to be planned in advance. As someone said, its like marrying an ugly bird because she doesn't shop in Gucci, then spend the cash saved on high class hookers. The cost is the same, but you still spend most of your time with the minger.

I love that comparison!

[Gibson70]

Jules360 said:

Beefmeister said:

trackdemon said:

ineedagallardo said:

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

Rubbish.

What about insurance & maintainance costs? What about a garage to keep it in? 10k might just about get you a years motoring in a used Cayman or 997 assuming you dont do too many miles and it consequently doesn't depreciate too much.... No way you can get access to stuff like GT3, Gran Turismo, California, DBS, LP560 etc. any other way for that much cash.

Exactly. 4yrs running in ecurie25 for me, and I will continue until someone tells me to stop!

I know - i'll go out and buy a Gallardo for £80k, then insure it for £5k, maintain it for a year for another £3k, and then lose £10k in depreciation.

I work away a lot, so my weekend time is sparse to say the least, so i would get to drive 'my' Gallardo infrequently.

Or i just pays my £10k to e25, and get to drive LP560's, F430s, DBS, Cali etc etc etc hassle free.

Bingo.

may i question your maths? I bough a Gallardo 3 years ago for £77k,. To date have spent £850 per year insuring it, £4k servicing it and £800 on a set of lambda sensors. It's probably worth £55k now. So overall costs are £8k per year. If i joined E25, i would also need another car for the commute etc. I'm not gonna buy a £2k snotter, cos i need it to be reliable. So i need to insure, tax and service a £10k car, which will also depreciate. Assume that to be another £3k per year. Add to this the fact that despite my working hard and being able to afford a Lambo, i spend most of my time driving a crap car - and the availability of a supercar is limited and needs to be planned in advance. As someone said, its like marrying an ugly bird because she doesn't shop in Gucci, then spend the cash saved on high class hookers. The cost is the same, but you still spend most of your time with the minger.

Well said

Supercar clubs won't survive within 2/3 years, that is my opinion. Group 20 went bust 2 years ago.

[adam24]

Hi there,i am organising a meet for sports/supercars in Sheffield in jan. E25 are coming along with their new lp560 so you should come and join us as it will be a good opportunity to meet them in an informal way and you can also bend the ears of some current supercar owners.. Pm me for more details. By the way,i am too looking to join e25 but on the half membership. Personally I think it's an excellent package,they have access to great cars and they're a nice bunch of people at the leeds branch...

[Beefmeister]

Gibson70 said:

Supercar clubs won't survive within 2/3 years, that is my opinion. Group 20 went bust 2 years ago.

e25 have been around for over 4 years, and have weathered the storm of the credit crunch much better than others.

Like I said, i like being a member of the club - there is a decent social aspect to it as well with events and special offers.

But if others don't like it, that's your opinion but i wouldn't knock it until you've tried it...

[trackdemon]

ineedagallardo said:

trackdemon said:

ineedagallardo said:

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

Rubbish.

What about insurance & maintainance costs? What about a garage to keep it in? 10k might just about get you a years motoring in a used Cayman or 997 assuming you dont do too many miles and it consequently doesn't depreciate too much.... No way you can get access to stuff like GT3, Gran Turismo, California, DBS, LP560 etc. any other way for that much cash.

Please dont rubbish my opinion - as thats what it was after all "an opinion".

And i think if you check your figures - with a deposit you could easily get into a Gt3 for that money - in fact I ran a Gt2 for over 4 years for under that and were not talking about a Cayman

This was a car that performance wise would have wiped the floor with about 95% of Ecuries stock

And as for the used comment - How many different owners has one of Ecuries cars gone through - It's the equivalant of taking a Hooker away for a romantic weekend in Paris

Sorry chap,

But your 'opinion' was written more like a statement of fact.... I beg to differ, as I just don't believe its possible to get into such stuff as California, DBS, LP560 (as well as more 'sensible' R8's & GT3's) with 10k once you factor in total running costs. We're talking 140k+ vehicles at the upper end.
'With a deposit' would instantly disqualify me from GT3 - unless it was a loan, which would need to be financed, at a cost. It probably cost me 1-2k+ to insure one, then 1k for tyres & a 1k service.... and I severly doubt that in todays market I could do a year with less than 5k depreciation unless I've been lucky on the buy/sell ratio - most people aren't, hence the existance of dealers. And all the while I need somewhere to keep it, and do not have the option to decide to use something different which suits my purpose that day - Bentley to take mates out for dinner, LP560 for 'show', California for.... well to see what its like tbh!?
I'm not saying clubs work for everyone, but there are clearly people out there who they do work for - if I was in a position to, I probably would if only to scratch the itch of giving the latest metal a 'proper' drive for a relatively low (and crucially, fixed) cost.
Cool that you ran a GT2 for less over 4 years, but for me there's more to a car than just performance - variety is great too ;-) And I wonder what it'd have cost if you bailed after one year instead?
Finally, having had a little experience of both - imho e25's cars are generally in pretty good shape. Better in fact than many 2-3 year old 'supercars' which might be in mind for a punter looking at ownership as an alternative........

End of the day, its all about exchaning cash for fun/experience - and for some people being able to get into the top end stuff is where its at. The lack of hassle for many adds to the 'fun' whereas for others being able to say 'its mine' & having it on the driveway 24/7 is part of the fun.... Personally I couldn't care less if I'm getting the requisite smiles per mile

[ineedagallardo]

trackdemon said:

ineedagallardo said:

trackdemon said:

ineedagallardo said:

Supercar clubs are a complete waste of time and money IMO.

For around ten grand anually you can find a decent supercar on finance.

With ballon figures currently set so low by the finance companys it's hard to go into negative equity and you dont just have it a for a few weekends in the year - You own it and can do as you please knowing you OWN a supercar and down rely on borrowing one here and there .

Rubbish.

What about insurance & maintainance costs? What about a garage to keep it in? 10k might just about get you a years motoring in a used Cayman or 997 assuming you dont do too many miles and it consequently doesn't depreciate too much.... No way you can get access to stuff like GT3, Gran Turismo, California, DBS, LP560 etc. any other way for that much cash.

Please dont rubbish my opinion - as thats what it was after all "an opinion".

And i think if you check your figures - with a deposit you could easily get into a Gt3 for that money - in fact I ran a Gt2 for over 4 years for under that and were not talking about a Cayman

This was a car that performance wise would have wiped the floor with about 95% of Ecuries stock

And as for the used comment - How many different owners has one of Ecuries cars gone through - It's the equivalant of taking a Hooker away for a romantic weekend in Paris

Stuff

It's ok no harm done.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree here.

Although I can appreciate the fact that it gives the varety to drive different cars without the hassle and added expense of ownership they are just rentals.

£10k is a hell of a lot of money for what you get - and if you can afford to stump up 10 grand to use one of these guys for a year - im sure the extra few grand to have your own Supercar wouldn't hurt the bank too much?

Also - I'm not to sure about you but I know if I used one of these companies for 5 - 6 years and had bugger all to show for it when I could of had a Gallardo sitting in the garage paid for - I know what I'd go for .

[trackdemon]

ineedagallardo said:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree here.

Fair enough

ineedagallardo said:

Also - I'm not to sure about you but I know if I used one of these companies for 5 - 6 years and had bugger all to show for it when I could of had a Gallardo sitting in the garage paid for - I know what I'd go for .

Think I'd have to agree with that really, personally I'd see it more as a one year thing, just to satisfy my curiosity and create some memorable experiences. I think a fair amount of longer term members already own a toy or two, and just like the options membership gives them....