cheap track car for next year

R90 STL

R90 STL

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Hi Folks,

My friends and I come up with weird and wonderful ideas to keep us busy every now and again. This time it is a track car that we are discussing. There are 3 of us looking to buy a cheap hatch back for tracking next year. We have spoke about buying a vw polo gti. more specifically this little guy ..Volkswagen Polo 1.6 GTi 3dr (which I have noticed is actually cheaper on the gumtree ad haha)

I have owned several polos in my relatively short time of driving and they truly are cracking little cars that give you little or no problems. We are looking for a project for the winter. Something that is relatively cheap for us to insure too as we are still young and all have our own car as well so don't wont to spend TOO much on it. Has anyone got any experience at doing something like this or any advice that you could offer with regards to the polo gti as none of us are very mechanically minded however we are eager to learn

thanks
 
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That is cheap! But I'd rather go for a mk2 golf 8v/16v. Why? Because you can insure it under a cheap as chips classic policy, my 16v is around £200 a year to insure. One of you needs to be over 21 or 25 to get such a policy, depending on which insurance company you use. Engines are basic, so easy to learn, and if it blows up, replacement engines are cheap and generally easy to source.
 
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jojo said:
That is cheap! But I'd rather go for a mk2 golf 8v/16v. Why? Because you can insure it under a cheap as chips classic policy, my 16v is around £200 a year to insure. One of you needs to be over 21 or 25 to get such a policy, depending on which insurance company you use. Engines are basic, so easy to learn, and if it blows up, replacement engines are cheap and generally easy to source.
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i would absolotely love a mk2 gti but the problem with that is I would want it for myself and not sure I would want to track it as it is one of my favourite cars of all time haha. Id probably track my a3 before that :p in all seriousness that isnt a bad shout although the polo is a lot more modern and presumably more reliable
 
Me and some mates decided to do the same thing a couple of years ago..

I ended up with a renaultsport clio 172 cup (bit more insurance I know)..It was fast enough,cheap to buy and theres loads of bits out there if it no doubt went wrong.One of the biggest things was I knew I wouldnt become too attached to it as its still french..lol

My mate Andy ended up with a 106 GTI..Which was dead cheap to insure and on a twisty track not that much slower than the clio..

Maybe a couple of alternatives?

They were short lived as normal day to day duties took over and we didnt do many track days so no issues with reliability..

If you wanted a longer term project then the mk2 or mk3 golf would defo give you the reliability factor..and maybe a 20v Turbo conversion in the future when insurance wouldnt be an issue??

The Polo looks like a bargain though, I dont seem to recall many with full leather, Maybe strip it and sell the bits for track day goodies like shockers and brake upgrades??

Tough call..
 
I'd be looking at something rear wheel drive personally, far more rewarding to drive. Plenty of cheap MX5's and Mr2s to choose from.
 
R90 STL said:
i would absolotely love a mk2 gti but the problem with that is I would want it for myself and not sure I would want to track it as it is one of my favourite cars of all time haha. Id probably track my a3 before that :p in all seriousness that isnt a bad shout although the polo is a lot more modern and presumably more reliable
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It's ok, I've always wanted a mk2 16v long before I passed my driving test, I owned a mk2 1.3 GTI replica(including badges and all) as I went through Uni, best car eveeeer at the time! Owned my current 16v since 2007, not a mint example by any means, but unfortunately, it just sits outside my house unloved! I've done 14k miles in 6 years, 100 of them in the last month. I want to track it though! I stuck a set of G60 brakes and Koni Top adjustable on it, so might aswell try it out, it handles better than my S3 anyways, but only half as quick in a straight line!

Head(and other half) says sell it, heart says keep it, the heart is winning the battle for the last 3 years! :laugh:
 
Civic type r, get one for like 1.5-2k for a poor bodywork one, but its great fun! vtecccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc
 
Just a thought since none of you are mechanically minded like you say. Stuff the insurance and spend the cash on a trailer test and trailer if youve not got one already. You then have zero hassle of if you have an issue your not stuck in the middle of nowhere which most tracks are, they act as perfect inspection ramps and you can take your time with fixing repairs.

Also insurance is useless for the track as its void or have to pay £££ so unless you want to drag the car to the roadside and hope you get a sound repair guy then your wasting your cash.

This is what i did with my other car i used to track.
 
jojo said:
It's ok, I've always wanted a mk2 16v long before I passed my driving test, I owned a mk2 1.3 GTI replica(including badges and all) as I went through Uni, best car eveeeer at the time! Owned my current 16v since 2007, not a mint example by any means, but unfortunately, it just sits outside my house unloved! I've done 14k miles in 6 years, 100 of them in the last month. I want to track it though! I stuck a set of G60 brakes and Koni Top adjustable on it, so might aswell try it out, it handles better than my S3 anyways, but only half as quick in a straight line!

Head(and other half) says sell it, heart says keep it, the heart is winning the battle for the last 3 years! :laugh:
Click to expand...

haha well when the head and another half get the better of you then you know where I am :p haha. I will give her the love she deserves
 
sumerz said:
Just a thought since none of you are mechanically minded like you say. Stuff the insurance and spend the cash on a trailer test and trailer if youve not got one already. You then have zero hassle of if you have an issue your not stuck in the middle of nowhere which most tracks are, they act as perfect inspection ramps and you can take your time with fixing repairs.

Also insurance is useless for the track as its void or have to pay £££ so unless you want to drag the car to the roadside and hope you get a sound repair guy then your wasting your cash.

This is what i did with my other car i used to track.
Click to expand...

I wonder how much a trailer would be. I could use my dads jeep to tow it as my mum uses it all the time for her horse trailer. Good points you have made. I will bring them up to the guys and see what they thing but that would be a lot better than paying tax insurance etc every year
 
R90 STL said:
I wonder how much a trailer would be. I could use my dads jeep to tow it as my mum uses it all the time for her horse trailer. Good points you have made. I will bring them up to the guys and see what they thing but that would be a lot better than paying tax insurance etc every year
Click to expand...

You can hire trailers for about £20 a day
 
CTR is the way to go :)
 
What about a Clio 172, they are cheap. I had one up for 850 a couple of weeks back but it sold quickly.
 
You could get a N/A MR2 for less than £1k and it will be a decent track toy. Not too bad straight out of the box but with some suspension work they are meant to be a lot better still.
 
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