flashburn Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) Hi All, I'm thinking about fielding a RALLYCROSS car this year for a whole season. I'm hitting CL for the 1k cars that look horrible but drive well. I reached out to an actual rally car driving friend of mine and he mentioned how he got his start about 10 years ago: Renting an auto cross car. What do you all think of that? Do you think their is a possibility of pulling that off in today's climate? He said he paid 35 bucks a session to race an old Altima at each RALLYCROSS event. This allowed him to preserve his 8v GTI Slightly ironically, I'm looking at picking up an 8v GTI as well with a 5 spd manual. Do you think there is any sense in renting it out for say, 40 a session? I know my better half would love it if I wasn't completely lighting money on fire for a beater RALLYCROSS car. So picking up maybe 120 a session over the course of a whole season would about break me even. Thoughts? Mods: Feel free to move if this isn't the section for this type of talk. Edited March 20, 2012 by flashburn Sorry, meant RallyX and that changes things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeverMaker Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I have a co-worker that is into racing, went to Skip Barber, then had a baby, etc. and doesn't have a car to run... but would probably love to rent one. I am sure there are others out there. Just make sure you can make your money back on consumables + a little profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Could be done. Sounds like you are just being generous more than anything. Would it be your primary AutoX car? just let other run it when you are not? Or are you going to somehow bring 2 to each event? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashburn Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Yeah, the idea is to collect just enough money to pay my entry fee and for any minor repairs along the way. I'm not trying to make any actual money. I would only bring 1 car and everyone could use it. You only race 1 at a time so if myself and 2 other people all fielded my car we could all be able to race it - assuming it stays together. My buddy was telling me that by season 2 he had a whole bracket of guys racing his car and they all bench marked against each other for "best driver" comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1647545532 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 The problem I see is that the SCCA and it's members are constantly advocating a "run what you brung, anything with 4 wheels and a motor" attitude towards autocross. From the SCCA FAQ: What kind of car do I need? Almost any car (or truck) will do, as long as it passes the tech inspection. ... People autocross everything from modified Porsches to stock Toyota Tercels to Lincoln Town Cars! So if I just wanted to hit the lot and have a good time, I'd take my Mazda5. It'd be slow, but who cares? If I were paying money for a car I'd expect it to be class competitive, I'd be doing it because I don't have the money to build a class-competitive car, and I'd expect the builder to have some credentials in terms of winning things. I also probably wouldn't be a rookie. On the other hand, I've been offering to loan out my track car to my friends for years (free of charge), and I finally got a taker for next month, so there's definitely some interest for people who have nothing else to drive (in this case, dude drives a Silverado). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I wouldn't pay to rent something unless it was pretty damn cool and even then, I wouldn't pay much. An altima? LOL. Old GTI? Meh. Good luck, sounds kind of interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 SCCA had Dodge Neons at one of the rallycrosses I went to years ago. I think they were $20 to rent but the cars had roll cages, racing seats/harnesses, and other safety gear in them; they weren't clunkers some random guy dragged in off craigslist... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashburn Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I made a huge typo, I don't mean Autocross at all. I mean Rally Cross! A sport that people wouldn't race their MX-5 in. Otherwise I totally agree, I wouldn't pay to drive someone else's autocross car either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Its a common occurance actually.. just make sure you get the insurance... i dont recall if we have had any rentals at RallyX before though.. I know autocross its actually more common than you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I think there's a huge liability issue with that. What if someone wrecks while driving your car and claims the brakes failed, or the throttle stuck, and got seriously injured? I'd think you would be responsible for that and they could sue the hell out of you, I would think. Maybe not. I don't know. It would require more research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 That's what waivers are for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashburn Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 That's what waivers are for Yeah, there would be a waiver. I also know a lawyer who'd write it up pro-bono so it has a chance of holding up in court. I'll consult her about insurance too, I hadn't thought of that. I also think that type of crowd is generally pretty relaxed. Great point, thanks for bringing it up or I wouldn't have thought of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pat Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Chris Greenhouse is selling his Neon soon, I would contact him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashburn Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) Thanks pat, will do! EDIT: OOF, the buy in to that Neon is 9k. To rich for my blood. Edited March 21, 2012 by flashburn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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