jcs_911

Is there a story here worth telling? That's beyond words.

pcarGTS4.0

I worked as a valet at country clubs in high school and college - amazing job for a kid driving cool cars. Knowing the crap I pulled I pay the attendants 20 dollars to park my own car.

Yc911Kid

I switch cars with my driving buddies a lot. One of my dreams is to co-own a fleet of cool cars with a group of similarly minded buddies but I don't think it's very realistic, yet.....

autoxerGT3RS

only if they have provided me with a bank letter of credit for $125k. So far no takers lol

Aronis

Yikes.

Mike

Zhao

That sucks hard. It should be extremely rare for an instructor to damage a vehicle, and it sounds like that wasn't an instructor but an ‘instructor’ (using it to joy ride beyond his limits for his own experience, lame…) who might have little or no racing experience and no formal instructor credentials.

I instruct a fair bit (it’s been weekly this race season), and I drive student cars every event. Having an instructor drive a car should be pretty much the safest thing ever on a race track and is often how people learn the quickest. Most of what we end up teaching is very basic and doesn’t require driving hard to demonstrate. The more advanced stuff that requires being on the edge of adhesion can be demonstrated in specific corners. An example would be when we teach throttle steering/ braking induced rotation, we use a corner that has no walls and flat grass runoff to teach and demonstrate it. Instructors should also be paired up with what cars they know. A guy racing fwd shouldn’t get paired with a vette. If you show up in a Ferrari you’re likely getting an instructor who owns a Ferrari or at least a mclaren or cup car or something in the ballpark; you should not be paired with a kid with a miata who the fastest car he’s driven is another Miata.


I wouldn't let someone drive my gt4 either, but if someone ever goes to a school I recommend bringing a car you're not on super edge to damage and are comfortable having the instructor drive, or go to a school where the instructors bring their own cars to demonstrate with (which is what I usually do incase a student wants to ride with me doing hot laps (which is pretty much every student I've had). unless the student has a $2000 car, then I'm totally up for doing hot laps in their 2001 accord or whatever lol. I love driving the worst car on the track, but I won't cry if I have to pay for a $2000 car).

40th Mike

Agreed. No valet. Most don’t really want stick cars anyway so they are generally just happy to get the tip.

Last time my wife had to move the 84 Cab to get another car out she got the linkage jammed. At least I knew how to get it loose. She hasn’t tried again.

sanderabernathy

I have let people drive my car years ago and they proceeded to thrash it in a way I never would. I’m much more selective in who I will let drive my car. If they don’t have a comparable car to get all that pent up energy out and driving my car is a peak experience, then no. They aren’t driving my car.

If I could retell the OP’s story the way I read it, I’d tell it as follows.

I picked up my buddy the sonographer, who makes the national average of $66,000 for that position. I put him in the driver seat of my $100,000 car and taught him fast starts with launch control. Sure he’s never driven such a car and YouTube is full of launch control starts going very badly, but YOLO.

clutchplate

The coach tried to deny it was him but luckily we had some cameras set up that caught a few good shots of his face.

smilin

i’ve gotten great joy from letting others drive my cars. and i’ve driven other people’s cars too, which is great fun even though i keep it at 3/10ths. but i think i’m done with that. when the spyder arrives (1 month!!!), nobody but me drives it. my wife won’t want to, so that’s easy. i’m thinking that nobody rides in it either. just me. and the dog. she is a german shepherd after all.

HenryPcar

I taught my daughter and son to drive on a manual transmission and they insisted their first car being a manual. When my daughter went to college I told her not to let anybody on campus drive her car. Her response was a relief on my part : She told me, don't worry, none of her friends know how to drive a stick. Boy that was a blessing !

40th Mike

My oldest learned on a 99 BMW 540I Sport then she moved to the 84 Cab for stick.

My son learned on the 84 Cab then took the BMW school in Spartanburg, SC. He became very capable in the 40th Anniversary car. Then I built him a really nice 1998 E36 M3. He is the only person that I would let drive the CGTS 4.0 & he even declined this spring when he was here from CO. Felt like he was out of practice.

I believe very strongly in getting your kids the proper training. Neither one has ever had a wreck. My son did massacre a deer in an H3 but he knew enough to not avoid it & just let it happen.

JohnC4S

Yesterday I had an "acquaintance" messaged me wanting to meet to check out my GT4 and I can check out his Alfa Stelvio Quad. I politely declined and told him I will call when I have time. I only allow immediate family members to drive my GT4 and secondly I don't give a rats *** for Alfa especially for its dismal reliability.

John

smilin

i also taught both of my kids to drive manual…in our ‘98 boxster. they can borrow it at anytime. but the spyder???

HenryPcar

Alfa Romeo lost their mojo a long time ago.