I've been contacted by a company wishing to sponsor my car.

Here's what the sponsorship would require:
- They want to put the full GT Competition Carbon Body Kit from Carbon Creations, Carbon Fiber Hood and Carbon Fiber Trunk on it. http://www.carbon-creations.com/shopexd.asp?id=4692

- I'd have to attend a local car show

- I'd have to participate in a photoshoot and be featured in Performance Auto & Sound Magazine

- Afterwards, I can either pay for the aftermarket parts (at their cost), or have them put my OEM parts back on

Now I've never been sponsored before and really have no experience with this.

Some questions for the experts:
- Would you want that kit on your car?
- What are the advantages/disadvantages to being sponsored? ....any negative experiences would be helpful...

Thanks!

 

Pay for the parts at their cost... hmmm... that's not great. I would try to work a better deal than that. Basically you are buying the parts, have to use your time to take it to the car show... or let one of them do it, and take more of your time to be in a photoshoot... which you don't know whether it's going to be the cover car, or just a tiny mention.

Perhaps they can throw in 'some' free parts, and you pay for 'some' parts.. then ya it would be cool.

 

I heard that kit sucks ***

 

I see what you mean, cgrx. I think you're talking about this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...rbon+Creations

Hmmm....that's kinda scary, but at least I would't be the one paying for the installation and worrying if everything fit.

 

^^exactly that thread^^

 

Yeah, I guess the kit would look like this:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...rbon+Creations

Not the same color, though.

 

damn, it fits like **** on the show car too


if it fit PERFECTLY it wouldn't be that bad on a black 8

 

Yeah, too bad my car's titanium, too...

 

walk away.....

 

Advantage: You get parts cheaper, having some exposure that will also help you on your next car's sponsorship which you should get a better deal

Disadvantage: You will be under contract of some sort & have obligation to meet it to it's expectations. Also that makes it feel like your sponsors kinda partially own your car now because they tell you where you need to be at with your car to car shows or whatever it might be.

It's a okay deal in my opinion, not great & not horrible.Make sure you get all the prices down before answering. Sponsors won't give you any free parts unless you know somebody in the industry,you work in the industry, or you been in the scene on your own before & have a lot of exposure. It's really up to you if it's a good deal or not. If you can afford to get the parts without the sponsorship, I wouldn't get the sponsorship if I was you. I was offered a sponsorship from Vividracing but it was a raw deal because I don't know anyone major in the industry so I turned it down.I turned it down because it wasn't a great deal & the fact that I could get the parts for similar price from local shops I know that hook it up on parts.

 

um i dont even get what ur getting out of this? seems like ur just advertising there stuff...
THEY get your advertisement
-car shows
-photoshoot

what YOU lose...
-time
-money for gas attending the shows...

plus them giving u a body kit then them taking it back?
i really dont get what YOU get out of THEM advertising... am i misssing something?

 

Hey thanks for your comments, guys. I'm definitely leaning towards the NO side of this deal.

 

Do it only if you can pay for the parts at there cost only and not the paint and endless hours of bodywork to get the kit to fit right. Id do that

 

that company stuffed up the procedures to start with....
with sponsorship, you dont go and find ppl and offer him/her a sponsorship.
get the words out and let the owner get in touch with you, that way you know he/she is interested in your product, not the other way round.

so..... khtm, you are pretty much in total control here (until them find another 8 owner who is keen).
no one is going to do something for nothing, so if i were you, i'd find out what the rrp of the kit, and whats the cost price. divide both in half (ie. 50% off) and pick the cheapest one, and thats with fitting etc.
when attend shows/photoshots, get them to organise detailer and if an interstate show is required, ask for a transporter.

 

Hey I got contacted by the same guy ... I think that he contacted every 8 owner in Calgary! I spoke to the guy and he said the same thing about putting on the kit, etc etc. I asked for free stuff but he gave me the "buy parts at cost", etc etc. Lame! At least give me rims or something.

Besides, they're planning on putting stickers and the such. Yucky! The spoiler looks alright though. Ehhh ... it's not my style ... my patients wouldn't trust me if they saw me driving up to the clinic like that.

 

That is not being sponsored at all. That is using you to their advantage! Walk away unless you get something for free or half price.

 

Exactly! When I spoke to the guy, it just seemed like he wanted to use my car as a template so he can get all Fast and Furious on it.

Advertising should warrant some sort of reward in the end, right?