Is a tracked vehicle a dealbreaker?

[Muligan]

Would I buy a previously tracked car? Without a doubt........

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[5.2 liters of democracy]

I’d buy a tracked car over a non-tracked car. Nothing worse than a high performance car that’s never allowed to breathe (to me at least).

This.

Track it harder than the last guy to establish dominance

 

[cheeser]

As these cars are built to be tracked, I wouldn't worry about it as the existing owner is up front about it and has the maintenance records.

 

[cerbomark]

If I was going to do a lot of tracking it myself, then yes. If I was keeping it as a street cruiser only, then NO.

 

[Rb1987]

As these cars are built to be tracked, I wouldn't worry about it as the existing owner is up front about it and has the maintenance records.

Yeah I get that. My thing is its hard to know it consumes oil or not if he changes it every 1500 miles. Said hes never had to add any. I guess you do hear people needing to add a quart every 500mi so at 1500mi I guess youd notice. Maybe not.

 

[Egparson202]

To me, buying a tracked car is like buying used underwear with the knowledge that the previous owner had crapped their pants while wearing them. I'm sure they have been washed but it's still a bit weird. Even if I was planning on crapping my own pants while wearing them in the future, the whole situation is seedy. And this is coming from someone who tracks their car a fair bit.

Funny analogy. I track my car a lot too. But I don’t crap my pants. And I do wash my underwear. But they’re not for sale.

 

[plresultsman]

I asked my car group the exact same question last night and a very very knowledgeable cat (owns multiple track, dailies and collector cars) shared that he believes tracked cars are better maintained, generally speaking, than daily drivers.

 

[ArnyFlowers]

At least the owner is honest about track use. I’m sure a huge % of “never been tracked” are complete bs anyways. But don’t buy it to expect appreciation in value. Buy it to enjoy it.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

I'd rather buy a car I knew was tracked and meticulously maintained, than not know the history or maintenance on the car; especially if I planned on tracking it more. You can assume if you're buying a Mustang that's not brand new, it's had the snot kicked out of it. Track or street, abuse is abuse.

 

[Rb1987]

I am looking a one-owner car that has obvi been tracked. State law does not allow dealer to put me in touch with original owner. I asked my car group the exact same question last night and a very very knowledgeable cat (owns multiple track, dailies and collector cars) shared that he believes tracked cars are better maintained, generally speaking, than daily drivers.

I honestly could see that. Who wants to crash going 150mph because they forgot to change the brake pads. Obviously to a point. The guy said he was forced out of novice so to me that means hes careful.

He did say he shredded a tire though. I guess thats a common occurance.

Asked how much tread was left on the other three for a gauge of how hard he rides. he said 6/32nd and the new is 7/32nd. These tires got 1200mi on them and 8/32nd is new so not too bad.

 

[Flyhalf]

Well it depends. I'd check Ig or social media to see the care for the car.
I track my car.
I change oil every 800miles. New calipers. New pads often. New fluids. Good power. Cooling in place. Scope camera every year ,compression test perfect.
12k miles in 5 years and 3k tracking it

Different would be
80kmiles. Track multiple times. No records of how the car was taking care.

 

[ajsfirehawk]

I would buy a well maintained tracked car before buying a used one blind from a dealer. One thing I would absolutely do is get the car in the air so I could inspect the undercarriage carefully. I chased C7's for most of last year trying to find the features I wanted from a private owner who could demonstrate the proper care and never got there. So my Mach 1, 6-speed is scheduled to arrive new next week.

 

[jmn444]

Right color combo. Long warranty. Has all the mods I would want to do. Price is right. Extensive paper trail over every mod and maintenance. Adult owner. Seems responsible.

if it has an extended warranty and there's no cosmetic issues or damages that turn you off, then zero reason to avoid it IMO.

 

[BryanCO]

From the add, the car had track mods. But lots of people mod cars for show and either never track or infrequently track their cars.

First, be honest with yourself. This is a big purchase. Are you going to track it? Once, often. Track driving is mega fun but is expense (check out track insurance, consumables, maintenance, fees, etc) and is hard on the car. The car can certainly handle it but it does increase the wear rate.

Track mods rarely add value to the car.

Track use never adds value to the car.

Understand the set up to ensure it’s not hindering road use.

Sounds like you would be the third owner. Think of this from the fourth owner perspective. What will they be considering when they look at your car.

Get all the records (would walk if they were not available), get a PPI (plenty of tracked cars have had off and been repaired), research the VIN, don’t overpay, if anything, underpay (there will always be comparable mileage and condition cars that weren’t tracked competing against you).

For those saying they would rather have a maintained tracked car vs one not maintained or no history, that‘s irrelevant as why would someone settle for that situation.

There are lots of GT350’s, don’t settle, especially for relatively small dollar differences.

 

[Biggsy]

Not much to add but with everything you stated about the records, its still under warranty for a good while so anything would be on Ford's dime correct?

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