Hiring a GTR for my 25th?

[Tuvra]

I turn 25 in November and if I win a potential new contract I am hoping to celebrate by purchasing a used GTR. Despite sitting in a new model in Geneva I have not driven or even sat in the previous shape.

Therefore I would like to try the car for a day or two and get a feel for what its like to live with (it will be my only car, the other half only has a mini cooper s), trivial things like overall size, bootspace, ground clearance, rear seat room, parking round town etc would need to be tried out in real world scenario's. I also want to feel how "tame" the car can be whilst driving round town.

I have thought about arranging an extended test drive through Nissan UK, however, even if I could somehow manage to get this out of them, I am sure it would be the latest model and therefore not the exact car im after. I also fear going down this road would railroad me in to buying from Nissan direct therefore restricting my choice of spec, price & mileage.

So my final option seems the most sensible/obvious, find a company that hires out GTR's, arrange it for my birthday and then purchase my own shortly after IF I am in a position to do so. Trouble is I am struggling to find companies willing to hire these cars out to 25 yo's, most are 28+. I dont want to sound like a time waster on the phone so would appreciate if someone here can offer any advice on hiring such cars and give me an idea of cost? Im sure someone out there hires to under 28's?

I am based in South Wales with 7 years NCB and experience in driving/owning powerful cars if that makes any difference.

[McSam]

28 seems a ridiculous age to restrict to for a car like that.. How many current F1 drivers does that exclude?

If you talk to them on the phone then you might make progess, particularly given your excellent driving history, and the cars you've spent years driving without killing yourself should help. Any man who can drive a 4.5 Cerb is not going to total a GT-R..

[Tuvra]

McSam said:

28 seems a ridiculous age to restrict to for a car like that.. How many current F1 drivers does that exclude?

If you talk to them on the phone then you might make progess, particularly given your excellent driving history, and the cars you've spent years driving without killing yourself should help. Any man who can drive a 4.5 Cerb is not going to total a GT-R..

Yeah it does seem a bit strong at 28. I mean I would have had 8 years experience and no claims by the age of 25, surely thats better than someone who passed their test at 25 & has 3 years experience aged 28?

TBH the telephone thing is daunting me a little bit, Its hard enough getting genuine test drives without someone blabbing on about "company policy" etc. I dont fancy having my pants pulled down for being under their minimum age either. A company with a bit of common sense willing to create a unique one off hire would be ideal! Ferrari's, Lambo's & Aston's seem pretty popular, the choice of companies offering GTR's seems restrictive. The fear is also finding the MKI GTR35 rather than the MKII, I should imagine most fleets will be updating in September to the latest car?

[McSam]

Your point about the age versus experience thing is exactly right. They might go down the road of "maturity" but I know as many 28-year-old dheads as I do sensible 19-year-olds, so there you go..

Honestly, when you pick up the phone you might be pleasantly surprised last time I was daunted by a car-related age restriction it was needing a special review because I'm under 21. Got on the phone and discovered that it's a mere formality. If you find a human on the other end rather than an automated jobsworth then I think you might do okay. You are, after all, trying to give them quite a lot of money!

[Durzel]

Age vs maturity doesn't really make a jot of difference when it comes to insurance risk though.

I'd hate to think what the short-term insurance premium on a GTR or any equivalent supercar would be on someone who is 25 but I'd suspect it would be ridiculous. The whole "what cars have you driven before" thing would presumably only really fly with a specialist insurance broker anyway, and on a case-by-case basis, which doesn't work for a traders policy.

That doesn't mean of course that there isn't some way of making it happen but the dealers trade policy would presumably have these exclusions to make their premium sensible.

All of the above is conjecture, however as a frame of reference I couldn't get an extended test drive on a VX220 Turbo for love nor money when I was in my mid-twenties despite driving into the forecourt in a ~£40k R34 GT-R.

[frosted]

I don't understand , you actually think you would get behind the wheel of a gtr and think it's not fast enough or it doesn't handle properly ?

[SMcP114]

frosted said:

I don't understand , you actually think you would get behind the wheel of a gtr and think it's not fast enough or it doesn't handle properly ?

Did you read what he wrote at all?

Tuvra said:

Therefore I would like to try the car for a day or two and get a feel for what its like to live with (it will be my only car, the other half only has a mini cooper s), trivial things like overall size, bootspace, ground clearance, rear seat room, parking round town etc would need to be tried out in real world scenario's. I also want to feel how "tame" the car can be whilst driving round town.

[Tuvra]

frosted said:

I don't understand , you actually think you would get behind the wheel of a gtr and think it's not fast enough or it doesn't handle properly ?

No the exact opposite, performance cars can be tedious when you are just commuting etc (The Cerbera's clutch pedal for example), I want to know how tame the GTR can be whilst driving at walking speeds around town etc. I am fully aware of how quick and how capable the car is, its the trivial day to day things like boot space, ground clearance etc I need to try out.

If it was speed/handling I was worried about, a driving day would sort that with little or no fuss...

I didn't think my car history would have stood me in good favor as you could easily lie about such things. I have been refused multiple test drives, including an RS4 despite pulling up in a 4.5 Cerb.

I was hoping a fellow PH was/knew of someone in the trade

[Durzel]

As above, it's a perfectly legitimate request and essentially the entire purpose of an extended test drive.

[frosted]

My mistake , thought we were talking about a supercar

[Jgtv]

frosted said:

I don't understand , you actually think you would get behind the wheel of a gtr and think it's not fast enough or it doesn't handle properly ?

Probably not but he could get behind the wheel to find he cant get comfortable, doesn't like the general feel of it, might find that while its an incredible track weapon it makes a rubbish daily car as its not right for the roads near him, maybe he just wont like it enough to part with the cash.

Plenty of reasons not to like a car in the real world that the professionals rave about on the track.

[Justices]

You could offer to increase the deposit perhaps. Some companies are always willing to work out a deal if you approach them and explain your needs.

Failing that, a dealer demo or one that's available for a track day?

[mikeyr]

frosted said:

My mistake , thought we were talking about a supercar

Frosted - are you being deliberately obtuse or am I missing a hidden smiley here?

The OP is looking at GTRs for a useable "supercar" (and to be fair that's what many people would class them as) and therefore needs to see if it's a viable day to day runner and worth spending his hard earned cash on. So just being a great drive isn't enough, it's got to work for him.

Anyhooooows, back on topic - hopefully you'll find a suitable lender but I wouldn't rule out a test drive at a main dealers as I can't imagine the dimensions/overall experience have altered much in the phase 2?

[CampDavid]

If insurance is the only issue then, subject to it being under £40k in value, I believe DayInsure will cover it. They would cover me on a Ferrari 456 years back when I was 25 (I wantedto see, out of interest) so why not you now?

[jdw1234]

Which of these things can you not test on a normal testdrive?

Just drive in traffic, park it, sit in the back, open the boot.

[Jasandjules]

Durzel said:

Age vs maturity doesn't really make a jot of difference when it comes to insurance risk though.

It just depends on how sensible the insurer is.

I've had a company refuse to give me a quote on a volvo 850 when I was 29 as their policy was 30+ - now, the fact I'd had TVRs since I was 22 did not matter to them.....

OP, good luck - I wonder if a dealer who knows you are serious might let you try one for a day i.e. the one you would buy from him all being well?

[sjg]

jdw1234 said:

Which of these things can you not test on a normal testdrive?

Just drive in traffic, park it, sit in the back, open the boot.

I was thinking that too. Rear seat room, boot space, etc - assess in the showroom. Other things - a 20 min test drive through town will show you what that's like. Park it up at the end to see how hard it is. Quite what extra you'd get from 2 days with one is a mystery.

[frosted]

I'm not trying to be rude at all , the gtr is a supercar , it's very large, probably big as a rr sport so parking would be difficult but you get that for buying a supercar no ?

[Mattt]

sjg said:

I was thinking that too. Rear seat room, boot space, etc - assess in the showroom. Other things - a 20 min test drive through town will show you what that's like. Park it up at the end to see how hard it is. Quite what extra you'd get from 2 days with one is a mystery.

Indeed, and hiring one will probably use up the price differential anyway between a Nissan AUC and a generic used car.

[Durzel]

jdw1234 said:

Which of these things can you not test on a normal testdrive?

Just drive in traffic, park it, sit in the back, open the boot.

Maybe you want to see how the other half handles it (being a passenger, driving it themselves - if this is allowed), and maybe the other half isn't available during the 20 minute window the salesman is sat in the car with you.

Maybe you want to see what it's like on the daily commute in the morning, having started it up from cold and found out whether it hunts and the exhaust would likely irritate your neighbours.

Maybe you want to get a better handle on what sort of reaction you get from other road users & pedestrians? Obviously that shouldn't be a prime concern but it could be something to consider.

If you're already set on buying the car and just want to see whether that specific car is the right one for you then I'd agree a 20-min test drive is probably sufficient. If you are going into it completely blind, and the dealer has no objections to an extended test drive, then what's the problem?