I am a new c7 owner who will be attending the Ron Fellows Driving school at Spring Mountain, Nv in January. How many of you out there who have either attended or plan to attend have purchased additional insurance coverage for the program? Most personal insurance policies do not cover these type programs. I have been informed that my liability if I damage one of their corvettes is $8000.00. If I want to spend $200.00 (which seems pretty steep to me) it brings my liability down to $2000.00 which does not appeal to me. The school tells me most people do not bother with the insurance and accidents "rarely" happen. I have been through an open wheel track program several years ago and I feel the format is reasonably safe. Any feedback from forum members would be helpful.

 

I was just there. I paid the $200 to reduce my liability. To $2,000 instead of the $8000. However now that I have been there and seen how safety conscious They are I will not upgrade the coverage when I return for the level 2 school.

 

safety is their number 1 priority ,they do car control exercises ,and show you the proper line around the track ,with lead, follow sessions ,the main thing is not to drive above your comfort level , before you know it ,with their coaching and encouragement , you will be going faster and safer than you would imagine ,make sure you spring for the 3rd day it is mostly opening lapping , it is a first class operation ,from the girls that handle the booking to the instructors ,you will be delighted that you went it truly is a memorable experience .

 

I was just there for the level 2 class and they charged $300 for the
reduction from 8000 down to 2000 I asked how many cars they have
wrecked in 10 years, answer none. They have never had two cars
touch each other. Now as for some damage due to off track excursions, not sure what their damage experience is.

 

My feeling is it is not needed. I didn't buy it and they told us you really don't need it. They are very safety conscious but if the $200 gives you more peace of mind that is your decision.

 

At registration they told me only had one car has ever received damaged and that was off the track gravel damage and the cost to fix was right at 2000. They did not tell me not to take it but said it probably was not needed. After attending the class there is no way your going to wreck a car or leave the track without a total brain meltdown. It is going to take an extremely qualified driver with racing experience to drive these cars to their limits.

 

They offer it but didn't promote buying it during the registration. They said it had been some time since a car was damaged to the point the insurance was used. No one in our class bought it, no one needed it or came close from what I could tell. And we drove HARD, the majority of us for three days.

If you scare yourself frequently, then maybe you should consider it.

 

At the 3 day school 2 years ago I did purchase the $300 package but I will not do that again. It certainly is a personal choice and while it seemed sound at the time I will decline it when I return for the C7 class.

 

Don't waste your money especially if you are in the Level 1 class. The bulk of your faster driving is lead follow and obviously the same car that you are in is in front of you and if it can make it around the corners so can you. I don't know of anyone that has even gone off the track at these classes. I would have been more concerned if you were liable for clutches and tires as those suffer the most abuse. Great instructors, safe track, incredible experience, save your money for shirts, souvenirs or photos and especially to tip out the instructors at the end of the session.

 

Many thanks for all the above information. I will not be purchasing the insurance. I find this forum to be very informative and helpful. Thanks to everyone.

 

None of the 19 participants during our 3 day session in early June bought it. There were no problems/incidents.

 

I was curious about the tipping situation as well. What's the general appropriate amount and how do you go about handing it out? I've never done a racing school but have done other training type situations where it's difficult to find everyone involved at the end to properly tip them.

 

One driver made an excursion into the sand on day 3 when I was there and I agree with all the safety comments. I bought it though and probably would again just for the peace of mind. With my luck if I didn't get it I'd be the first person to ever total a car on their track.

 

I had planned on buy the deductible reduction insurance. Then when they said one car in over ten years had more than 2K damaged. They again asked if I was sure I wanted it, and I said no. Glad I did, between the wife and I that is 400 dollars more left in my pocket.

We had one car drop a tire of track twice, and one car leave the track. No damages.

Plan to take level two, I again will not get the extra insurance now that I see how it is all run.

 

I remember them leaving a pail in the classroom so you could put your tip in there and it would be distributed to all the instructors. There was also a time at the end of the 3-day session where you'd say goodbye to all the instructors, shake hands, etc. So if you wanted to leave a tip for a particular instructor there was a clear opportunity.

I left a tip in the pail but don't remember how much.

Also, I did not spend the extra on the insurance. I do have quite a few track days under my belt, so I have a pretty good idea of what to do at the track, but no experience in a car as powerful as the Vette. I wasn't quite sure if my track days would make me over confident, or if they would help. In the end I found the vette to be very controllable, even during the handling excercises when traction control was turned off. For the track work they had us put the car in track mode, with the PTM at "sport 1" I believe (I still don't own a C7, so I'm going from memory). I only had the car intervene once (and even then I'm not sure if it was the car or if it was me - I just had a very nice, controllable drift coming out of one of the corners). There was one guy in my class who did find his way into the dirt, but I don't think any real damage was done. Maybe some small chips on the paint and wheels.

-T