Czecheap Bnager Challenge.

[Inspector Morose]

Why not? Can't hurt to look.

[burraston2006]

Sounds a laugh so I'd be interested. As left hookers are cheaper on flea bay would that be considered bad form ? After all if you're going to the forn lands these would be ideal!

[dollywobbler]

When I did the BXagon challenge in 2009, it was tainted for me by the charity angle. We covered 3000 miles in two weeks. Didn't touch a Peage and barely went near an autoroute. Wonderful. Found some ace mountain passes too and we hardly left France.

If folk car share then I think costs do come down a lot. Probably not enough for me these days sadly. The fuel and hotel bill on that trip was terrifying!

[Partridge]

A friend and I were interested in buying a shagged XJ to do something like this. He wanted to go silly on it and do daft mods, but I wanted to keep it pretty much standard because there was no way I could bear to wreck one! Maybe that's why we didn't do it? Oh, and the lack of money.

[garethj]

I wouldn't want to spend a week with a bunch of "crazy" guys who think that a car costing a grand (because no way were some of those under £400) is to be sneered at as a banger.

 

I didn't see a mention of charity on that ebay ad, probably because the ones that used to collect for charity had web pages so you could see a load of £0.00, probably a good thing to abandon that pretence.

[dave21478]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Czecheap-Challenge-Banger-Car-Rally-from-the-makers-of-Barcelona-Bangers-/201473912750?hash=item2ee8c7efae:g:x6MAAOSw7FRWVykt

Anyone here done it or even doing it next year. I really like the sound of it and I'm going to speak to the boss about seeing if he want's to give it a go.

 

 

These things massively chaff my piss-tube. In fact I will go as far as saying the organisers can FROAD.

 

225 quid for two people plus 45 per passenger. Thats just for the fucking ENTRY!  It doesnt include ferry tickets, fuel, accomodation or any kind of backup or support......for your entry fee you get absolutely fuck all apart from a route map with some "wacky" challenges and a single meal on the last night.

All you achieve by entering this pish is helping to make the organisers several thousand pounds richer. 50 teams? thats nigh on twelve grand!

 

Yes people raise money for charity through sponsorship, but if it was REALLY about the charity the guy sitting at home getting paid 12k to draw a route with google maps would do that for nothing and the entry fee would go to a good cause instead of his bank account.

[garbaldy]

When I did the BXagon challenge in 2009, it was tainted for me by the charity angle. We covered 3000 miles in two weeks. Didn't touch a Peage and barely went near an autoroute. Wonderful. Found some ace mountain passes too and we hardly left France.

If folk car share then I think costs do come down a lot. Probably not enough for me these days sadly. The fuel and hotel bill on that trip was terrifying!

 

You could of course scrap the cost of hotel bills if a summer trip was the case,

[Cheggers]

You could of course scrap the cost of hotel bills if a summer trip was the case,

Good plan, or maybe a round Britain jaunt relying on the goodwill & hospitality of fellow 'shiters

[dollywobbler]

You could of course scrap the cost of hotel bills if a summer trip was the case,

Indeed. When we did a 3500-mile adventure around the UK the previous year, in the 2CV and also in a fortnight, that's largely what we did - just the occasional hotel when a proper bed seemed desirable. Or it was pouring down.

 

Gosh I love road trips.

That trip certainly demonstrated that you can have huge fun without heading overseas. The Scottish part was just superb.

[dome]

My mates are all keen to do one of these and automatically assume I'd be up for it cos I'm into old cars. To them an old car is a novelty, to me it's just how I roll. i also strongly suspect I'd end up wanting to kill all of the other "wacky" people who are doing it too. 

 

My mates are less keen when I suggest booking a flight to Eastern Europe, buying a car and bringing it back to the UK. To me that's more of a challenge.

 

I'm undecided on the charity thing too. I get what others are saying about the charity thing being an excuse, however my girlfriends brother and his team really got behind the charity thing and raised £1500+ doing one of these last year so it can do some good. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

These things massively chaff my piss-tube. In fact I will go as far as saying the organisers can FROAD.

 

225 quid for two people plus 45 per passenger. Thats just for the fucking ENTRY!  It doesnt include ferry tickets, fuel, accomodation or any kind of backup or support......for your entry fee you get absolutely fuck all apart from a route map with some "wacky" challenges and a single meal on the last night.

All you achieve by entering this pish is helping to make the organisers several thousand pounds richer. 50 teams? thats nigh on twelve grand!

 

Yes people raise money for charity through sponsorship, but if it was REALLY about the charity the guy sitting at home getting paid 12k to draw a route with google maps would do that for nothing and the entry fee would go to a good cause instead of his bank account.

I automatically assumed the entry fees covered basic costs, then the remaining 95% went to charidee. Seems pretty poor that something which gives the impression of a money raiser doubles as an annual fat pay cheque for the organiser(s).

[dollywobbler]

Thing is, if I'm raising money for charity, I feel I should be doing something either useful (flogging a Volvo) or challenging. Enjoying a two week soiree around France didn't feel like a challenge to me. I felt bloody terrible trying to ask for donations and it really marred the event for me. I just wanted to buy a cheap car and enjoy driving it lots and lots. I enjoyed it so much that I kept that car for 18 months. 

[MarvinsMom]

isn't that how most chritees work?

 

cannot remember if it was Oxfam or Save the Children, but 85% of the money raised gets spent covering "overheads" or salaries if you prefer the real term of the charitees staff.

[Jimmycrackcorn]

I automatically assumed the entry fees covered basic costs, then the remaining 95% went to charidee. Seems pretty poor that something which gives the impression of a money raiser doubles as an annual fat pay cheque for the organiser(s).

I did actually, I don't want to do it for the crazy adventure and wacky people aspect as that would just fucking annoy me I  generally find people who believe themselves to be entertaining to be twats. Good stories etc that's another thing.

For me it's purely for the fact that I'd get to see and do stuff I wouldn't normally get to to on a break with the wife and kids. 

I wouldn't do it for charidee and digs wise either kip in the car or pack a tent, I would want to do it in the summer to try and get the best weather conditions to avoid spending money on accommodation if at all possible (other than maybe a cheap campsite or motel el a F1 mid trip.

[Jimmycrackcorn]

Just had a reply from them regarding costs.

 

Hi there. Thanks for your interest. The ferry is approximately £170 including your cabin for the night. For the other nights a budget of about £50 for a twin room in the hotels and about a tank of fuel- depending on fuel choice and motor chosen are to be considered. I hope that helps.

 

That'll explain the short route then, me I'd go via Dover Dunkirk and save a shitload, I doubt the extra miles and fuel would add up to £130~

[Craig the Princess]

I've been on both UK and European banger rallies from 2006 - 2011. We have had some really good adventures we otherwise wouldn't have done and met some good friends through it. Like any event with 80 odd teams and around 150 people some were twats but most were normal people just having a holiday, most were a bit car savvy but not all.

 

We did all bar one in allegros, drove back etc (the other was in a Sherpa Camper van) and yes 4,000 miles in 7 days does take its toll on proper shite, yes some people had a 12 year old Mondeo and no problems but I'm sure they had less fun* than us when I snapped the only thermostat plug in Southern Spain and we had to bodge ourselves back on the road with a wine bottle cork and gaffer tape before out teammate who was flying back from Morrocco got a lift in another team's Corsa B to make sure he made the flight. Also Norfolk, Lands End to John O'Groats then back to Norfolk in an Allegro with a caravan is a test of an old car, I don't understand this 4,000 miles without a breakdown not being an acheivement, I'm impressed if my car gets 8 miles to the train station in one piece.

 

The first two we did were for charity but after that it didn't seem right to keep asking people when we just having fun. The orgaisation was a bit pants and the costs for what they did were very high but it was still fun.

 

 

 

 

 

[Skizzer]

isn't that how most chritees work?

 

cannot remember if it was Oxfam or Save the Children, but 85% of the money raised gets spent covering "overheads" or salaries if you prefer the real term of the charitees staff.

 

That's VERY untrue.  I did some work (unpaid) for the chief executive of Save the Children a few years ago, so I know a bit about this.

• 90% of what Save the Children get as income goes directly into the field.  Only 10% is spent on fundraising and overheads.  The accounts are here if you don't believe me: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/accountability-transparency

   

• In fact, three quarters of their income is 'restricted funds', which means it comes with strict rules about what it can be used for - i.e. it must go directly to a front-line purpose, not on overheads.

Of course, their front line staff do get paid a salary - it's their job.  Many of them are medical or ex-military logistics experts, and they don't piss about.  

 

I'm as cynical as anyone about these things, but I was working there at the time of the Haiti earthquake and I was astonished, impressed and actually very moved to see how well the organisation responded.  When there's an emergency like that, a fair proportion of the head office people drop everything too and get on a plane (usually an RAF one, or donated by an airline).

 

Oxfam will be the same.  Any charity with 85% overheads would be shut down by the Charity Commission before you could say 'Kids Company'.

 

 

Sorry for the slightly off-topic post, but I couldn't let that go by.

 

 

Edited to add:  what you might be thinking of is some of these 'fund-raising companies', such as the clothes collection bags and stuff that come through the letterbox.  These, like the banger rallies, are little more than a scam - with maybe 15% going to the charity.  I'm right with you on that.

[Jimmycrackcorn]

I think we can all agree if it's something that can be done it will not not be for or part of charity. If you wish to bung one some cash for whatever reason go for it but otherwise I wouldn't want to involve it in any way.

[castros_bro]

Sounds great, I would love do just do something like this on my own but I know I couldn't as I wouldn't have a clue what to see or do. I just motorway it then turn back around and head home. I would love to do a tour of Portugal, went for the first time this year to Tomar and it was amazing.

 

Fuckwit.  Here's my ex-Rusty_Rocket 106 1.5D carrying a moped as breakdown insurance on the hill by my derelict shed just north of Tomar. You could have drunk my cold beer as wages (65p a litre) for picking oranges then swimming in the lake before lobbing sardines on the barbie and dossing under the stars (no mossies).

 

 

[garbaldy]

I vote for an autoshite rally and the only rules are that you have to carry a lighting board and A frame and the entrant who brings back the best chod wins a trophy.

[Craig the Princess]

I always fancied a reverse banger rally, fly somewhere like Serbia buy a car (Yugo?) and drive back.

[brownnova]

Best holiday I ever had was the time me and Mrs nova loaded the tent up our Porsche 924 (which only had a week and a half's MOT left) and drove 1200 miles around the south coast.  It was great fun!  I do love a roadtrip!

 

But I was thinking about doing a 'banger rally' for a charity close to my heart, but the red tape, the exorbitant costs, and the fact that they all go in term time meant that I knocked that idea on the head.  But it was only then that I also heard about how much profit the organisers tend to make, and I was glad I didn't. But is it less charitable to do something you enjoy for charity???

 

Oh and as for the 924, it failed it's MOT when we returned from our trip... several fail points that had the words 'excessive corrosion' and many, many more (including that the washer jets were missing the windscreen... they didn't at 60MPH...) So I sold it to an eastern European bloke from Nottingham! And he did put it back on the road...

 

Anyway drifted off topic now.... Yes I'd be up for the AS rally!

[outlaw118]

I sold The Moose (Volvo T4 ) to a charidee banger type blokey, and his plan was to drive it somewhere foreign for shits and gigs then abandon it and fly home. 

 

Last time I looked she was on a SORN.

 

 

The limit was £500, he paid me £400, and trust me, it needed more than £100 spending on it.... (OMGHGF, Smoky Turbo).....

[Jerzy Woking]

I go to Czech Republic every year to visit some colleagues (actually more friends now than colleagues) who put on a biking event at a different location within the Republic. I have used my £400 CBR600 a couple of times and gone with a group (as few as 2, as many as . Travelling in a group whilst it was fun, has now pissed me off. So in 2016 I will be riding there and back on my own so what I do concerns only me. But shall I ride my £300 CZ250 or my £275 Suzuki Hokuto (110cc two stroke scooter)? Looking at 10 days riding, avoiding motorways, staying in nice hotels and enjoying the delights of European beer there and back on something that I will get a sense of adventure riding, even if it is just Europe.

[chaseracer]

The GSA was utterly rotten, as my arse discovered going over the Col de Vars in the rain, when the water coming up through the massive holes in the body finally soaked through the back seat cushion.

 

Amazingly, the car still exists...

 

[Jimmycrackcorn]

Fuckwit.  Here's my ex-Rusty_Rocket 106 1.5D carrying a moped as breakdown insurance on the hill by my derelict shed just north of Tomar. You could have drunk my cold beer as wages (65p a litre) for picking oranges then swimming in the lake before lobbing sardines on the barbie and dossing under the stars (no mossies).

 

IMG_0042.JP

How are you set for next year   I say Tomar it was just up the the road at Poco Redondo. 

[UltraWomble]

http://autoshite.com/topic/22693-for-sale-focus-bifuel-lpg/page-1

 

Sub £400.

Remove rear seats, insert air bed.

Jobbed.

[Jimmycrackcorn]

Something like that would be ideal.

[andy18s]

I vote for an autoshite rally and the only rules are that you have to carry a lighting board and A frame and the entrant who brings back the best chod wins a trophy.

I'd be up for this but would have to try find and drive something back.......

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Taff]

Hey an opportunity to pour scorn on something, excellent! Here we go!

 

I'd like to drive one of my sub-£400 (or even sub-£200) cars to the Czech Republic as it looks like an interesting place with nice architecture and good beer, though I wouldn't go on a charity rally as I would want to kill everybody involved. I'd just go in one of my normal reliable cars and be a nice English tourist in a smart blazer. Nothing wacky would happen at all and I'd be pretty surprised if anything went wrong mechanically either.

 

Basically I'm of the opinion that unless you're a bit useless at buying stuff, £400 would almost certainly get you a car that would drive there and back with no grief and that if you want to explore Europe there's absolutely nothing to stop you from doing that without having to stick a load of crap on your car and say you're doing it for charity. People seem to get it into their heads that it'll be a load of fun driving this car that knackers up everywhere but I suspect the reality is either that it does the trip without any drama whatsoever or develops a major problem which can't realistically be fixed or bodged at the side of the road, leaving you in a position where you have to get it looked at in a foreign garage and possibly wait several days for a part that's on back order, resulting in you having to dump the car and sit in the back of somebody else's for the rest of the trip. In any case I think if a car has real problems you're unlikely to get it as far as driving it out of the country and if it can sit on a motorway here without overheating or pissing all its oil or coolant everywhere, it's likely to stay like that.

 

In summary:

Well, the Lada 1200 from Hungary, Moskvich Aleko from Lithuania and Fiat 126 from Poland in my area all seemed to manage it the other way no bother - so yes, I imagine very easily.

 

totally agree. Additionly, I have often wondered what would happen if I just followed them, without entering. At what point would they get the arse with me for spoiling stuff?

 

Yeah.  Bollocks to the organised rallies - let's do our own thing.  Tour of European chod museums, mountain passes/bridges/tunnels/viaducts, and other stuff simply because it's there?

 

I'm in.

 

Me too. I would happily drive the F to wherever we opt for.

 

You know, you all might have an idea for 2016. Why not an Autoshite European tour? The AS calendar could cope with Shitefest AND this surely? All done the smallest budget to include as many who could afford to take a car and maybe discounted seats available in cars to those who couldn't. Take in a few motoring museums along the way. Could be good.

 

How about a trip to the old Paul Ricard track? Can we get a go on that one? I have fond memories of playing Chequred Flag on my ZX Spectrum, you see