is the answer the answer? (groomsmen present question)

so my nuptials are approaching and I'm yet to get the groomsmen their gifts

Best Man has karted a bit, enjoys it, the first 2-3 times out got much faster, but since has plateaued. He has cited lack of seat time in anything that isn't berkleying huge as a reason (dailies an F series) only previous cars owned of interest 05 Rousch Mustang, early-mid 90s elantra, early 00's A6.

Groomsman #2, his girlfriend of 8+ years owns the answer (1.6L, several sets of tires, coilovers, harddog bar, FM chassis stiffening bits) and actively autocrosses it. He used to kart some until she started routinely stomping him. He drives and EP3 Si and actually had managed to have it fall into a state of maintenance neglect, which I thought was nearly impossible...

Groomsman #3, lives 2000 miles away (In Colorado)so I don't know he current automotive habits as much. He currently drives a 2.5 RS, has never taken part in any organized motorsports but had some raw ability 10 years ago. He's definitely a slow car fast type guy and isn't afraid to kick the back end of a car out.

So is getting each an NA a good idea, or should I look into getting us all a few days at driving school, or renting a track and getting them some rental SSM cars for the day.

WWGRMD?

Wait, are you asking if you should buy them each a miata?

The answer is yes if you mean a model of a miata.

I would go kart for a day and go drinking. Then get them a model of each of their favorite cars.

I am now one of your groomsmen. That's what I think.

If you plan on that, yes. Heck, buy 3, do a refresh, and get them out for a local track day with them.

What is your expenditure level?

Okay guys, the line to become a groomsman forms behind me!

And all I gave my groomsmen was a bottle of booze and nice simple cocktail glass each.

I'd like to keep it around $8-9K. I can rent prepped SSM cars for all of us for under $2500 with insurance, so that track rental, dinner and lodging is doable. I may be able to call in a favor with one of the track managers and get the track for EMT cost for the day and then buy the cars and get them a trackday. I normally try to those types of favors in my back pocket though.

Holy E36 M3

My wedding was about half that.

My guys are getting leather shaving kit bags; they were about $100 each. It was more than I wanted to spend.

I looked into a throwing a bachelor party at a kart track. Would've been early season in middle of nowhere wisconsin, but was looking like 100 bucks a head for a good 2-4 hours of track time, karts included. Granted this would've been like 8-10 guys.

Ended up snowing the week before so we had to just play drinking games instead. None of us had any less fun. But we were all much less poorer.

I say get 1 NA miata, and then do a fast lap competition, then re-sell the miata.

Takes the 'you're car/kart is faster than mine' complaining out of it real quick.

EDIT: see if you can get some rallycross venue... stuff like driving on frozen lakes in WI is free! (not that I suggest this unless you are pretty experienced in making sure it is safe...)

Build / buy / rent / steal demo derby cars and have at it.

tuna55 wrote: Holy E36 M3 My wedding was about half that.

Same here.

Dang! My wedding (all in - rings, dress, reception, etc) AND honeymoon to the Bahamas barely broke $8000. Buy a nice miata, thrash it with your buddies, and then keep it as a memento of a great time or sell it. Chances are if you buy each guy a car they'll be stoked until they have some reason to sell it or lose interest, either way they then have to figure out how to sell it without feeling like they let you down - even if you don't actually care.

My wedding, all in, was 1000$, and I fed 250 people. I'm a magician. But you're seriously talking about buying your groomsmen cars? Like, real with license plates and stuff? GOOD GOD.

Holy 1-percenter Batman! Like others have said, everything related to getting married didn't top that. Didn't approach it I don't think. Now, that was almost 18 years ago though.

Holy E36 M3! I am next in line as groomsmen! My nuptials are coming up and none of my groomsmen can ever hear about you. Though I am curious how you can feed 250 people for $1000. I need that kind of magic at my wedding. I am losing a lot car money on this thing.

I was thinking maybe a henna tatoo that says "Zoom Zoom" on their left butt cheek.

I'm not a very big spender.

You better be buying your wife a helluva wedding gift, or else you are going home that night with one of those groomsmen.

sanman wrote: Holy E36 M3! I am next in line as groomsmen! My nuptials are coming up and none of my groomsmen can ever hear about you. Though I am curious how you can feed 250 people for $1000. I need that kind of magic at my wedding. I am losing a lot car money on this thing.

It was actually really easy. I made all the food myself. Well, my wife made it. And we made deals with a local meat store to get a lot of the meat at wholesale- so we got butcher quality turkey, burger, etc- at cost. I think we had 400? into food total. If that. I wanna say it was less than 2 bucks a plate. And it was damn good. The rings I got one directly from the guy that brought the line stateside

if you see this ring on anyones hand, I own the prototype. The jeweler was buried in a little hole in the wall officer under where my wife used to work. Dress was a random sample we found hidden in the back of a local store- had been there for the better part of a decade, but because it was an EXTREMELY high quality dress it had no signs of fading or wear or anything- and the computer had just kept discounting it til it was damn near free- and it happened to be my wifes size. The ceremony was at the courthouse where my wifes' mother worked at the time- we actually MADE money there- they gave us a card on our way out with cash in it. The venue- Inlaws own 40 acres of land and it was Halloween. You can figure out what we did there. The rest just sort of fell into place.

I think you'd all have more fun going to a Skip Barber school or a day of renting exotics. Might cost less and would make a great memory. Giving a guy a 20 year old car is giving him responsibility. I don't like responsibility.

^I agree^

I was best man at my son's wedding. We did kart racing. It was awesome.

If you have a higher budget, fine. Race exotics. Or something else- something you will never do again.

They don't need a used car to remember you by.

Buy each groomsman a subscription to grass roots motor sports magazine.

Not to thread jack but I thought I was the only one that got married on Halloween! LOL!

This is one of the oddest things I've ever heard. $9k for groomsman gifts? You might be at the wrong forum.