Long-term autocross co-drivers: What do ya'll charge?

So, I let a guy I've been autocrossing with for 9 years codrive my MR2 Spyder at the first event this season, and during the event he expressed interest in co-driving the car with me for the entirety of the season. He lives 150 miles from our closest venue and while he's purchased an NB2 to prepare for E/Street he did point out that it'd be a lot easier to drive his regular daily driver Chevy Volt down and hop in my Spyder with me. I understand that and I'm okay with him as a codriver; he's very fast but he doesn't really abuse cars and I've never seen him even put a car in the grass. Now I've only ever had codrivers for a single event, and usually I just have them pay for my entry fee. But I feel like if I had a codriver for an entire season, that's a different story. So, any of you have full season codrivers and what do you do for a deal? Right now I'm thinking that he cover my entry fees and chip in half of a set of fresh tires. 

If it's a one time thing, I'll pay the ax entry fee.  Whole season, (which I've done), offered to split the cost of 275/35/15 hoosiers which the owner declined.  Paid our own entry to events, helped out on the car when needed, agreed if you stuffed it into a wall, that person is responsible for a new car.  Pretty much kept my wallet open for expenses for him but he was a tad too nice so I offered my labor instead.  In your scenario, split the tires with the guy.  Don't make him pay your entry fee ALL season.  Half jokingly say get you a case of your favorite cold beverage.

My co-driver is my daughter... I pay for everything. 

I might need to rethink that deal! 

I've driven a whole season with a few different people, generally I paid for most/all of a set of tires and also had a lot of sweat equity in the cars.

Id expect half the cost of tires and to split any mechanical issues not the result of an off, etc. crashes, off tracks, etc are the responsibility of the driver. Id write up a contact for whatever you agree. Maybe cover what happens for events you both can't make, events outside of your codrive agreement. Etc. there are some good samples out there if you google. 

The biggest expense is tires, either split the cost of a set or figure out a reasonable life expectancy, divide the cost by the number of runs, and that's the cost, probably plus a few bucks for fuel, consumables, general wear and tear. That usually ends up in the $20-30 per run range but for an ES car with small tires that's probably generally easy on consumables it'll probably be less.

Side note: if you want to continue enjoying the sport don't actually do that math 😂

What are you getting out of it? 

Is his speed/technique something you can learn from? Is your day to day a real bummer, does hanging out with someone you don't see every day make you happier? 

If you're getting a lot and the minor extended wear doesn't break you beer and driving lessons. 

If you're getting by on a shoestring ask but be mindful how business deals between friends usually go. 

My co driver is my best friend always has been we don't pay attention I turn the wrenches, he writes most of the checks. We're not wasteful but we don't struggle or rough it either. We drive completely differently and we always "download" after an event making one another faster. 

Casual co-drives are reciprocal - if I drive your car you have an open invitation to drive mine anytime.

Otherwise anything beyond that I'm paying for the equivalent of tires for both drivers, at least.  Supplying the car is a significant contribution.  I'm flying to Lincoln like a rock star and driving the car you towed 1200 miles? 4 Hoosiers is the least I can do.  Local event, 6 runs 2 drivers- $100 and I buy lunch. Or maybe I pick up the hotel for a weekend event.   Sometimes co-driving arrangements are equally shared but I don't really think 50/50 is fair in every case and usually the car owner is getting the short end. 

I did it many years ago when a friend had his engine go bad. We each paid our own entry and he supplied the tires, I paid the other expenses for the car maintenance. Damage costs never came up as there wasn't any.

In reply to theruleslawyer :

If you need a legal document to codrive for an autocross, find a different codriver.  You should have enough trust at that point to offer a season long codrive that a contract isn't necessary.

camopaint0707 said:

In reply to theruleslawyer :

If you need a legal document to codrive for an autocross, find a different codriver.  You should have enough trust at that point to offer a season long codrive that a contract isn't necessary.

I wouldn't let someone I didn't trust drive it in the first place. Its better to write down expectations before something goes sideways. That way everyone is on the same page instead of assuming. That way to don't get halfway through the season and when something comes up you don't get a "I thought" or a possibly misremembered "You said". Let alone if they wrap your car around a light pole a lot of people will just disappear. Countless stories of long time friends ghosting over something like that. 

I think not writing something down you are much more likely to run into frustration points over who should pay for what. Its less about trust than making sure everyone's expectations are aligned ahead of time. You can make that less formal, but having a discussion and writing everything down is a solid idea.

Maybe it doesn't need to be written down per se, but definitely discussed before hand so everyone is on the same page. I know of at least one person who ended a long term codrive situation because at the end of last season they found out by surprise that they were expected to be financially responsible for some mechanical failures that they had zero involvement in causing. Which probably could have been a total non issue if they'd discussed it ahead of time and both of them knew the other's expectations.

It’s been a stated understanding with anyone who uses my car even casually that they will be paying the deductible in case of a wreck.

Since I routinely drive my cars hard, I wouldn’t blame anyone else for mechanical failure. But with a friend with a newer Shelby Mustang we agreed on splitting the mechanical repair costs. 

It wouldn’t hurt to have it in writing anyway, if for no other reason than to not sour the friendship. Have something simple written up with the terms. It’s not like you’re taking them to small claims court, right? Just a lock on a screen door— something to keep honest people honest. 

The aspects of the discussion about wrecking the car makes me wonder if track insurance split with or fully paid by the co-driver could be considered. I've heard of people doing things like trailering a wrecked car to somewhere on the street, then claiming it on their regular insurance.

Not something I would consider.  Personally, I don't want to commit a crime in the course of an already bad day.

Well, he messaged me and asked, before he spent money on getting his Miata ready, if I was still interested in having a co-driver and offered to cover entry fees and pay half towards a set of tires, which was what I was thinking, so I guess I was in the right ballpark.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

The aspects of the discussion about wrecking the car makes me wonder if track insurance split with or fully paid by the co-driver could be considered. I've heard of people doing things like trailering a wrecked car to somewhere on the street, then claiming it on their regular insurance.

Not something I would consider.  Personally, I don't want to commit a crime in the course of an already bad day.

I mean autocross insurance is basically free and covers a codriver, so I don't see a reason not to have it.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

The aspects of the discussion about wrecking the car makes me wonder if track insurance split with or fully paid by the co-driver could be considered. I've heard of people doing things like trailering a wrecked car to somewhere on the street, then claiming it on their regular insurance.

Not something I would consider.  Personally, I don't want to commit a crime in the course of an already bad day.

Seems like a no brainer to get insurance. Two drivers for the whole season is so cheap and it means nobody gets put in a really bad position. 
 

I think the hardest thing to deal with is major mechanical issues. What if an engine or transmission pops? It's probably not that single day that did it. However it is going to be hard to prove it was or was not abuse like a money shift, etc. A lot of cars can be well into the 10's of thousands for a new engine. That would ruin a lot of people.