Has anyone joined? http://www.p1international.com/flash.htm I'm interested to here what people think? Is it worth the money? I wonder if the Murcielago is ever available....
We had one of the sales team from P1 come down to my office for a chat a while back .I thought it was pricey and didn't really see the point of spending £12k a yr on a car when my dream car was already in my garage ! That said, if you're wealthy enough, live in Central London without a car and garage and love your motors, why not? ! I know a bloke who fits this critera and who is a member, and he's very happy with the set-up. I can imagine it's a bit of a bugger trying to book the convertables in the all -too- brief 3 months we call summer. Tony
Anyone know how it works? £15,000 for the monaco membership, I wonder what this means in actual time behind the wheel?
Points system. a la Classic Car Club and the like. Except the fleet is a LOT more expensive... They're the best our there at what type of thing. Though www.kudoscars.com are new on the scene. £12k pa... Tuan
Can't remember exact details, but from their figs you get 70 days per yr depending on mileage etc, or 0.729 of a w-end x 4 a month ! T
My brother was in it last year. Good news was that the cars were predominantly there when he wanted. I can only remember once when the car he really wanted wasn't available for his use. He really enjoyed it and used it to decide which fast car to buy - 996 turbo cabriolet (oh well). He also found the points system gave him enough times - had to have a 360 spider for 10 days at the end just to use his allotment up. If you compare to ownership - servicing, tyres and depreciation cost is quite reasonable. Bad news - the Murcielago and the Vanquish broke down so often that P1 sold them on as 'they were off the road more than they were on it". Each respective dealer stated the problems were 'normal' for the cars. I am surprised if they are still showing a murcielago. Gossip - they did look into a premier/elite membership with cars such as Enzo, Carrera GT, etc. I don't know if they are still intending to do this but cost was up near £40k per year.
Hve spoken to a P1 member this morning and the Murcielago has been replaced with a newer version to help with reliability issues.
Cheers guys, Interesting about the Murcielago being unreliable (I though Audi had sorted this for Lambo?). Thanks Tuan for the link to Kudos, I hadn't heard of them before.
hum... all the F1 drivers are trying it!! Good to here some people are pleased with the service from these places. I guess most people on this forum would not be interested, considering most own there own F-cars.
Looks like Kudos Cars (an P1 international type affair) have gone bust now...... anyone lose their money?
That's interesting news. Where did you hear that? Their site doesn't mention anything, but I guess it wouldn't! ( www.kudoscars.co.uk NOT .com as stated above) I wrote an article for Car magazine that is due out in the next week about private members car clubs and I knew about Kudos, but hadn't made contact with them. I know they were based near Manchester; anyone know any more?
I've been a P1 member since last year, as some will have read ad nauseam on here. Cost: £2.5k to join and either £10k or £12.5k a year. I was "on sabbatical" last year so used them mid-week and it was a bargain (other than the 355 I dented on a gate post). I have had: 550 - Great long distance, crap when the tyre blows out near a speed bump and fetches off the front spoiler! Not my fault, P1 paid. 575 - Nanny traction control really annoying, too much power for a wet autumn road without it. Having a laugh for £175k. GT3RS - F'ing awesome and I hate Porsches. Oliver Reed reincarnated as a car. 911 Turbo Cab - silly gear ratios mean you change gear all time. Felt embarrassed. 360CS - No way to get over any speed bumps without scraping the car, but what-the-hell it wasn't mine. Say it quietly, but I think the GT3RS was more fun. Murceillago - See post elsewhere on driving in automotive pornography - probably the funniest car to borrow - had it a week and laughed out loud most of the time. Want it again, soon. 355 Spider - hit a gate post, cost £2k to fix - I really thought about buying one, but realised that was folly. Vanquish - took three goes to get it because it kept breaking. Silly gearbox, great sound, prefer my own DB7 when it comes to buying one. Overall: if you can take cars in the week (Mon-Thurs) you can pretty much always get a what you want with a week's notice (other than the DB9 that's booked out for ever) and it's great value. Weekends are trickier and cost much more. The people are great, and I guess it's saved me from wasting money on cars I might have bought if I couldn't have borrowed them. PM for an intro. jg
What sort of insurance do they have if hitting a gatepost isn't covered? Interesting comment ref GT3RS and 360CS. Have yet to drive a 911 - have always said I will one day and would add to the collection. But it'd be a 993 or a really early RS.
You are bound to get the odd bad apple - Martin Shaw who has one at Thruxton was telling me their Murcie has been hammered round the track virtually every day for the last year since new & he's had no problems apart from new discs (unsurprisingly). Mines done 9000 in 4 months and has never broken down. In fact ive got to use it today cos my Grand Cherokee would'nt start this morning.
£5k excess? That's interesting; I was a member until recently and I was told there was a £1k excess on every car bar the Vanquish and Murcielago where it was £2k... Still at least you don't lose your no claims bonus. I really hated the GT3 RS (despite Evo colleagues describing it as "the perfect car") and loved the Stradale. It's how the 360 should be! I couldn't believe how much faster the 575 was over the 550. Cheap interior and dodgy build quality, but what a driver's car! Murcielago was fab although brakes and idling were poor and I just loved the Vanquish despite the gearbox. Dose anyone know anything more about Kudos and whether they are still running?
I actually have dealings with two, unconnected, P1 members who have never said anything but Wow, Fantastic and Great about the P1 experience. They pretty much back up the positive comments on here. Only wish I could afford to join myself......actually I don't think I'm old enough...do you have to be 30 +? I know someone who contacted Kudos recently and they recieved info on the company from a guy called Anthony. They didn't speak to him directly, they thought their phone call went through to one of these answering services for businesses. He didn't join as they were based in Manchester and spends most of his time commuting between London and the West country.
The brakes were indeed frightening (but it gets driven like a hire car) at high speed and the idling apparently totally random (one day 1000rpm, next day 3000rpm in Central London). The anti-stall software sometimes blips the throttle for absolutely no apparent reason too. Some chap on here says it's to do with the sensors in the exhaust (but I'm already way beyond my technical knowledge when I write that!). I can't believe Lamborghini can't put a ceramic disk set on the option list. But as I said, it was a hell-of-a-laugh. jg