Ring weekend car 4-5k budget

[phucks1976]

Hi , me and my brothers are looking to do a weekend trip to the ring in October , we have a budget of 4-5k as we don’t want to take our own cars on track. Drive to the ring do some hot laps come home and sell the car accepting the loss as the cost of rental. Has anyone done something like this before.

So are there any obvious pitfalls in this plan ie do we need third party insurance whilst on track to cover closure / damage in that unfortunate event?

What’s the best way to travel there and where to stay ?

And finally the fun bit car recommendations please (must be fairly easy to sell after)

Thanks for your help

[E-bmw]

phucks1976 said:

Hi , me and my brothers are looking to do a weekend trip to the ring in October , we have a budget of 4-5k as we don’t want to take our own cars on track. Drive to the ring do some hot laps come home and sell the car accepting the loss as the cost of rental. Has anyone done something like this before.

Did a few "scumball" runs in the early 00's on a £1k budget for the car, it was fun.

phucks1976 said:

So are there any obvious pitfalls in this plan ie do we need third party insurance whilst on track to cover closure / damage in that unfortunate event?

Forget about having insurance as it is a minefield & basically you won't have insurance on track, so just expect to go for the experience & drive like Miss Daisy is in the back.

phucks1976 said:

What’s the best way to travel there and where to stay ?

Drive in the car & stay in a hotel.

phucks1976 said:

And finally the fun bit car recommendations please (must be fairly easy to sell after)

Well just chose a car that is easy to sell as you say, its performance is irrelevant as you won't be driving fast anyway.

[braddo]

How come you don’t want to hire a car there?

[thelostboy]

A Clio 172/182 that isn't overdue a cambelt change.

[phucks1976]

Thanks for the replies do t want to hire as buying something will be half the fun , I’ll look at the clios

[Hugo Stiglitz]

1.8T Audi TT?

[ridds]

Having done both routes, unless you are going to keep the car, renting is a much better option.

You'd have 10x more fun in a Swift from Rent4Ring than a £4-5k car that you would have to pile more money into to get it up to a spec that you would enjoy.

The Swifts are an absolute hoot and the all inclusive deal they offer takes all the worry away.

Plus, you actually have proper insurance and if the worst were to happen (as I have experienced) you still have transport home!

[SlowWinter]

Can't really comment as I havent personally used a rental company, but I second the comment for that Rent4Ring company. A friend of mine has done that, had an amazing time. I think buying a cheap car and trying not to lose money sounds smart on paper but the ring is special and is better in a car set up just for that. I'm semi tempted to do the same thing now I've looked at it. Have fun whatever you decide

[JoeyMc]

Clio 172/ 182
EP3 Civic R
BMW 330i
MX5 with money left for upgrades
206 gti (180hp)
Old Volvo estate, sleep in it and lap in it 🤣🤣

[VTECMatt]

5k would be better spent on renting, most likely able to get something nice for that, in total could possibly do the whole trip and rent, admittedly you won’t get anything back but what if it breaks down? You would be gutted, also something cheap, dropping its fluid on track could end up being very expensive.

[phucks1976]

Thanks for all your help so far, renting looks like it is charged per lap , how many laps would be reasonable in a day ?

[braddo]

phucks1976 said:

Thanks for all your help so far, renting looks like it is charged per lap , how many laps would be reasonable in a day ?

10 laps would be 120 miles of circuit driving which is a reasonable amount for a typical track day.

i've rented a couple of times, I think I did 9 laps in half a day the first time (quiet track), and maybe 12 over a whole day (busy, a couple of track closures).

If buying something I would be looking at RX8s (with a rebuild).

[Kswap]

Don’t think you’re above renting something slow either. I got a rent4ring Suzuki Swift and it was plenty of fun on a track I didn’t know.