Buy Vs Build

If you get anything out of this series, please get this.  

If you ever have the thought of turning a new (i.e. 3 years old or less) street car into a club racer, be sure to have your head checked!

Don’t get me wrong.  I LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEE BlueFirePony and look forward to competing with her for many years to come.

But this has, by far, been the most expensive way to get to track a car.  Remember, this is club racing and for the most part you are competing against budget racers.   In the pro ranks, “body in white” is the way to go – a brand new, purpose-built machine.  For the amateur, selecting a starting point at least one model year back is by far less expensive than starting with a current model.

You are looking at a huge difference in starting cost by selecting a new car – both in the cost of the platform as well as aftermarket parts.   Not to mention all the brand-spanking new interior you will have paid a premium for, only to toss it aside as you get the car to *fighting weight*.

If you select a 6 or 7 year old car, you are looking at a savings of thousands of dollars.  If you select a 10+ year old car, you are looking at starting with at least half the investment of a new car.

By going with a new model, you also have a smaller community of people to lean on for support.  Also, the growing pains for a new model car can be – well – painful.  By some stroke of luck, BFP had almost none of the issues that other S197 owners experienced.   Other than a catastrophic failure of the clutch at 11,900 miles that is – the thing basically detonated while I was coming off a red light in the most pedestrian way (there was a police car next to me).

Topics: BlueFirePony; Car Build