Demand for sports car club in the Southwest?

[MrH]

I posted last week about plans to add a yearly membership sports car club to what i already do (as we're 75% there already), but there was too much detail in the post about cars and prices so it was removed - sorry to those who thought i was trying to promote, genuinely wasn't, was just trying to research demand.

So, take 2, with less detail and solely so i can see if there may be demand for it.....

A sports car club (like the supercar clubs, but affordable), with a varied selection of sports cars to drive as your own fleet, varied membership levels, and other perks for being in said club.

Would it be of interest to start one as i'm not aware of one that exists currently in the area? I'd told there was once one in Bristol which went a while ago.

As above, simply trying to research at the moment and value PH'ers feedback, so wont go into detail on cars or prices. I had a loooong thread 2 years back before i started what i do now, and it was really helpful, so hence asking about this.

Cheers, Mark

[wilfandrowlf]

I would definitely be interested.

I used to belong to the Bristol Classic Car Club based off Silverthorn Lane, which was fine for a bit but then it started going downhill, the cars would be off the road which limited availability and booking what and when you wanted was sometimes tricky.

It was run by an ex Merchant Banker IIRC, which ironically is exactly what he turned out to be!!!

Incidentally when the Bristol branch folded the London club allowed me to use my remaining points on their fleet but getting to London was a right royal PITA so I didn't use all my allocation.

I think it really depends how its run. It’s obviously a business to make money but the choice of cars is crucial IMHO as I guess some could be total and utter money pits if not looked after and maintained properly.

Be interesting to see a set of accounts from the London club (if it’s a limited company) to see how the figures stack up.

Good luck with your potential venture……

[MrH]

Good to hear, thanks! Is the company you mention 'Classic Car Club' who have a branch in London and one in Manhattan? And their fleet is divided into 'Modern', 'Classics', 'Utility' and 'Bikes'?

If so, the types of car they have would be along the same lines as i was thinking.

Ive been doing sports car hire for just over 2 years and learning all the time, hopefully we do it right!

Mark

[LancerG]

Interesting idea, i'm in 2 minds about it.
As I run a weekend car, i wouldnt have the money to put into a club like this, however I am also aware that many people in the SW cannot afford to run a car for the weekend, so they would have an outlet for there petrolhead ambitions through the club. There would also be alot of retired and semi-retired that like to take out a morgan on their birthday if you get what i mean.

So i'm torn, it probably wouldnt work for those who have their own sportscars, but for those that dont it could be a better idea than doing it in London.

Either way, I wish you luck and will happily come along to your opening event !

[MrH]

For sure, it's well suited to those who would like sports car ownership but don't want the hassle. A couple of grand can easily be spent keeping an occasionally used sports car on the road each year, or a similar amount could give access to a fleet of cars without any of the ties.

I've got a couple of venues in mind for an opening/intro event :-) just need to make it happen first!