I'm considering renting my Civic to a friend of a friend for an HPDE at the Glen. I will already be there for the road race the day before. I'm interested in renting him the car in an arrive and drive style, where he pays a flat rate for the day (I pay for everything else). I'm somewhat worried about liability issues. I'm a lawyer, but American laws are foreign to me. I would need there to be a clause that says he is satisfied with the safety equipment and the general safety of the car so that if he rolls the car and the cage punches through the floor or something, I am not responsible. Would such a clause hold up in court if he sued me?

Also, I'm assuming we'd have to agree on a value for the car if he writes it off.

I'm also wondering how much to charge. I don't want to rip him off. It's my 1988 Civic with D16Z6 (EMRA road race car). I was thinking 250-300 for the day?

Does anyone have a contract that they have used before in a similar situation which I can "borrow"? Thanks all.

 

If you'll rent it out for $300/race and I were in your area, I'd take the entire season. You are LOW, unless you are interested in taking a loss on the entire effort to be a good guy

Kirk

 

I would be renting for an EMRA Time Trial, not wheel-to-wheel. Is 300 too low even for a TT?

 

it seems low to me, and i am a "el cheapo"

you need to figure the following:

- tire wear $$$
- brake wear $$$
- rotors $$$
- oil and filter change $$$
- gas $$$
- "general" wear and tear; tie rod ends, bushings, shocks, wheel bearings, etc. $$$
- labor for maintanence, setup, etc.... $$$


i'd gladly rent from you every weekend instead of doing all that to my car....


yep; $300 per day seems low. i'd think $500 to $600 would be more in line...

 

I am running a low budget operation though, it's not like the guy is renting the finest equipment. Just to give you an example:
tire wear: these are tires I bought for 20$ each (Hankook Z2000)
brake wear: pads are Hawk HPS, 40$ from my sponsor
rotors: generic blanks: 13$ each from my sponsor
oil and filter: regular oil, usually done by my mechanic for 15$
general wear: I have ot agree with you there
setup: there is nothing adjustable except tire pressure. shocks are KYB non adjutable, no camber kit, no sway bars...

Basically, the guy would be renting a second rate car (that is still fast and fun, but hardly the "best of everything"

Also, as I stated, i will already be there myself, so transportation is not an issue. I am however considering asking for more now that you bring up these points, although even at 300, there would be profit for me.

 

$500 makes more sense. Don't forget that part of what he is paying is the risk of balling up the car. Even if he pays the value, you would be without a car for a period of time.

Matt

 

From a long history of renting race cars.

If you think he won't pay you if he crashes it DON'T RENT to him.

Paper doesn't mean anything!

Don't make a contract if you are worried about your liability. NO contract, NO proof, NO lawsuit. Right?

 

Having said that, I used to rent out racing cars regularly and generated some useful $$. It was however one BIG reason that I incorporated, to protect my (albeit limited) assets - and *** - from liability exposure. I had a friend with a business who I paid $20 to run a preapproval on the renter's credit card, in the amount of whatever we agreed would be held against potential damage. If a problem ocurred, actually running that amount was just a phone call away. Now, if someone REALLY doesn't want to pay you, they won't...

K

 

Even more complicated is the damage that may not result from a crash...

What if the engine drops a valve on the first lap? Does he pay for the "damage" or do you refund his rental $$ cause of the car's failure to preform?

Seriously, I had this happen to me in a rental MG when I first started. A contract was signed noting value of the car and each parties responsibilities, including the "ball-it-up" clause.

Well, a rod lets loose on the start of the second session - clearly a mechanical failure not caused by the Rook, but the immediate thought was: Who's gonna pay?

After diagnosing the problem as mechanical, and verifying that with my instructor, he agreed to waive my rental fee and not charge me for repairs...

I don't think I'll ever rent my car out. There are too many pitfalls to that game.

 

Vince,

There are some interesting points here and I don't think you want to have a good deal go bad.
let me tell you about the one time I rented a ride.
A guy with a seriously prepped CRX approached me while i was instructing at a local track. At the time I was a pretty quick TT and autocrosser in my street CRX and I was runner up in the regional championship road race series in my GT CRX.

He asked me if I was interested in sharing a ride at the Montreal GP in the Enduroseries support event. He claimed his car was competitive and the engine was fresh. This was on tuesday nite and he asked $4000 CDN for all inclusive ( registration, gas tires etc). Basically an arrive and drive deal at Canada's most prestigous event in a winning car. ...How could I refuse????
Anyways, my sponsors came up with $2900 overnite and the guy accepted anyways. Great.
Friday morning was qualifying......30mins on a 2 1/2 min circuit, split by both drivers including the driver change.....6 laps to familiarize myself with his setup, scuff the tires, bed the brakes and learn the track. ..fun fun fun......everything was good until I gave him the car.
he went out and hot lapped the car until he blew the motor skyhigh ......inboard footage later showed his miss shifts and major overrevs and over driving the car. ......

What could I do? My race was at 4pm that afternoon and a spare motor was 2 hrs away. This is where it went sour. .......he offered to replace the motor overnight, but HE would drive the final saturday and he would cash my cheque and apply it for the next race at Three Rivers ( another major in Quebec but far from the glory of canadian GP). The kicker was that he wanted me to pay also for his tire and brake wear and fuel consumption at this race....... Basically, 2900 + $$$$$ and another registration at the next event....
I disagree and offered 1500$ to call it quits right there...... he reluctantly agreed and then proceeded to line the car up for saturdays final in front of many spectators and sponsors.....and blacked out with crosses....my Sponsors on the car...aaaarrrgggghhhhhhhh!!!!! I could of killed him......

Final deal was that i stopped payment on the check and he raced with his car with my logos X-ed out and promptly blew the new motor skyhigh again after 6 laps.

Moral of the story, put the deal in writing, think of all that can happen that could be bad and spend your money wisely. In racing, nothing is for sure and you usually get for what you pay. however, from time to time there are some good deals to find.

Good luck, and cover your ***!!!!

BBQman

 

I think if done right it can be beneficial for both parties. However I would avoid borrowing, lending, and renting to or from, friends or acquaintances.