Track Rentals

[crikett]

Just a bit of a question here to gauge the interest level from other drivers... in short, I've seen plenty of cases of track events happening too far away to drive, and it always leaves a case of needing a rental car. Which often means whatever Hertz/Alamo/Avis/etc has, or playing out the money for an actual race car rental (or something exotic if that is available in the area).

So, with that said, if you had the option to rent something short of a full race car, but better suited than the V6 Mustang, would you be interested? If yes, what kind of safety features would you want so see (again, not for racing, but with DE/Open Tracks in mind)? And if such a rental was available in the SF Bay Area (Laguna Seca, Sear's, or even Thunder Hill), do you think you might use it? And what would you consider a fair rental price?

And lol if you're still reading, maybe comments on a few more specific possibilities? The good ol' basic Miata (with some kind of rollover protection added); 2.5L Boxster (Possibly tiptronic); Porsche 944; BMW E36 M3?

This is just something that I've been mulling over with someone in conjunction with another possibile business opertunity and just wondering if there would be enough interest from the driving community to justify a small number of cars for something like this.

Thanks in advance for any comments

I don't have many answers for your questions but this past weekend at Streets of Willow a regular showed up with a new Corvette convertible rental. He usually drives a very prepped Miata. He was much slower in the Vette. By Sunday mid day it was puking power steering fluid. I'm not sure if he felt he got his money's worth or not but I guess it was better than sitting home.

Im thinking of renting a car for the 19th as my car is not ready yet. Im considering a mustang also.

[MMARSH]

Hey Joe

For a little more money, there is a place in Santa Monica that rents Mini Coppers, The "S" model no less. That would probably be alot more fun then the Mustang. Just a Thought.

[Zeke]

Yeah, didn't Chris S. show up with a rental at Willow OTR? I think he was out in it once and parked it. The guys were super and offered him a ride. I had that in mind as well, but we all know that my car (914) didn't quite make the track.

Hey Mike,
Ill look into it. I might come out with Tyson. A Mini Cooper S sounds alot more fun that a Mustang. Are you going out? I would love to see you kick the crap out of those viper guys in your volvo wagon. With a baby seat no less. Everyone was in shock! Anway, I hope to see you soon.

Zeke,
I felt your pain that day! It was not a good day for pelicanites. Tyson blowing up his motor. Or was it Jack blowing up Tysons motor (just kidding Jack) Its all good. You take the defeats with the victories...
Joe
PS
Mike,
How is the wagon doing?

[rich22]

Crikett, I live in the bay area, and yes, I'd be very interested in something like that. As far as safety equipment, a simple roll bar would be nice, but it should be well-padded. An extinguisher too. Ideally it would have a shell seat and 5 or 6 point belts. Obviously the seat would have to be on tracks. If you keep the stock seat or any reclinable seat, and have a roll bar, the seat should have a back brace. Just about every sanctioning body requires this, and for good reason.

As far as what kind of cars, your list is pretty good except for the Boxster. I wouldn't be interested in one of those, and for what it costs, you could get a nice 911 variant. On the other hand, people driving a 911 hard that aren't experienced with them is maybe not a great idea. The only other car I might suggest would be some American v8 powered car like a Camaro or Corvette. I've seen theft-recovery and salvage titled cars at good prices. They are prime theft targets.

A couple of major concerns would be insurance. I'd sure hate to pay for crashing someone else's car, so whether insurance was included or I had to pay for it, I'd certainly want it. Whether you want to self-insure or find a policy that allows rental drivers, it's important, imo. I wouldn't rent without it. Similarly, you'd want to figure out what you'd do about mechanical damage. If it's not the drivers fault I don't think you could charge him for it. If it is his fault, like a blown shift or something, you will want to have a company policy up front stating who's responsible for what. For example, if I do a "money shift" on an M3, I wouldn't expect to get off scott-free but I wouldn't be happy with a $4000 bill for a complete used engine either.

I wouldn't know what to suggest for rental rates. I know bigger, heavier, faster cars are going to go through consumables faster and the rates would be higher. I don't think many people would want to pay 4 digits because they can get an actual race day in a wheel-to-wheel race for that.

I think you'd have the most appeal if you set it up as "arrive and drive", which means you'd have to provide a certain amount of support. Air for tires, torque wrench for wheel bolts, etc.

[MMARSH]

Originally posted by joseph herreros
Hey Mike,
Ill look into it. I might come out with Tyson. A Mini Cooper S sounds alot more fun that a Mustang. Are you going out? I would love to see you kick the crap out of those viper guys in your volvo wagon. With a baby seat no less. Everyone was in shock! Anway, I hope to see you soon.

Zeke,
I felt your pain that day! It was not a good day for pelicanites. Tyson blowing up his motor. Or was it Jack blowing up Tysons motor (just kidding Jack) Its all good. You take the defeats with the victories...
Joe
PS
Mike,
How is the wagon doing?

Nah, No Volvo this time. The Volvo is great, runs like a champ. But I probably won't take it to the track again intil I put a tranny cooler on it.

The Porsche is up and running so I might be there in that instead. I'm doing the Alfa event at the end of the month, but I need to order some tires. Anybody else doing the Alfa Event at the end of the month at Buttonwillow?