“READ THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS.
I booked the Car Chase Heroes experience through Virgin Experiences. Their website does not provide all the information you should know before purchasing a Car Chase Heroes Experience. These experiences need to be booked well in advance due to limited spaces which means you go past the 30day Virgin refund policy.
The "Italian Job Experience" was a gift for my husband’s Christmas 2021. This consisted of driving: an E-Type Jag, a Harrington Bus and a Mini Cooper. The finale was with an instructor driving him onto the back of the moving Harington bus - just like in the movie! Cost £199.00.
Nothing like it happened on the day.
Despite the advertised racetrack options, be aware that not all experiences are available at all Racetracks. We wanted Sunderland, but had to go to Tockwith (about 2 hours drive each way.) We drove to York the day before (as the booking was for 10.30am) and stayed in a hotel.
We arrived only to find that the drive onto the moving bus was not available as the bus was not working, but my husband was offered a drive onto the back of the stationary bus or drive a lorry instead. We declined. What they offered on the day was not what was advertised and paid for. I accept that mechanical breakdowns happen, but I do not accept that in the event they cannot fulfil the contract, that there are no refunds.
There is no seating or shelter so take your own chair/s. You stand in a communal area and wait for your name to be called. If the bus had been working, we would have been there for over 3 hours. It just happened to be a very hot day, the place was dusty and humid and stank of exhaust fumes and it was very noisy. The track is only a go-kart track and a large number of vehicles are on the small track at the same time. You are accompanied by an instructor in the passenger seat who can wave other cars past and you have to slow down and move out the way when he tells you to. You are on the track with children driving cars such as “The Batmobile”.
As other people comment, the sight lap is a waste of time. My husband was offered this as a ‘sorry’ on the day, having travelled a reasonable distance and booked overnight accommodation. The lap is over very quickly.
Once you have booked this experience with Car Chase, you cannot get any of your money back, despite the fact they may not fulfil their side of the contract. If the car you booked isn't available, you either go back another time or you are offered a drive in a different car.
You should also note that you have to pay an additional amount for Insurance on the day.
There is nowhere for friends to film or photograph you in or by your chosen car. The Company do all that, which then costs £25+ on top of what you have already paid out.
We re-booked for the end of May 2023. However, we have decided not to go as there is no guarantee that all the cars or bus experience will be available on the day, so we could be disappointed again and the cost of yet another full tank of petrol and overnight stay wasted!
I believe this is a matter for trading standards.”
“I booked the experience through The Daily Mail last summer for my husband to drive a Harrington bus. When we arrived on 1st May at Elvington this year there was no bus! We were told that an email had been sent to tell us that the bus wouldn’t be available. I re ran email on 27th April stating that they were looking forward to seeing us but there was also a second email in my junk mail telling us that unfortunately the bus was not available! We were told that the bus would be available for two days in early August snd then possibly end of October. My husband had a drive instead in a transporter but not what we had planned. Very disappointed!!!”
“Couldn't book the original cars on the voucher, had to change for just one car, just 3 laps of very short track at Ipswich, expensive insurance and photos/video.
Never again, total waste of time and money.”
“Visited York on bank hol monday, arrived at time requested, pressured into taking damage waiver and extras which wasn't appreciated, then waited for 2 1/2 hours to find out i wasn't on the list to drive a car even though was booked 7 months beforehand. Too many cars on the very short track at the same time so could not enjoy driving the car. The track itself is just a airport runway with cones on it, not an actual track sadly. £2 to park which isn't mentioned anywhere, burger van insanely expensive, £4 for a small ice cream, 1 photo was £25, video of lap was £50. Booking states 3 miles, but did 2 laps and i cannot accept the track is 1.5 miles, i had high speed passenger ride included in my virgin experience but they wouldn't let me have it. Cars are in extremely poor condition, i drove standard nissan GTR and seats were falling to pieces, whole interior was filthy. Would not recommend to anyone”
“I had 3 Aston Martins booked with high speed lap & Bat Mobile booked with high speed lap.
The day started with a DB5 which I’ve always been a fan from a kid due to James Bond, unfortunately this wasn’t a DB5 as advertised & was a kit car that however was pretty good based on a Honda I was told.
2nd was a V8 Vantage, this was a fantastic drive & staff member in the car was brilliant.
3rd was a V12 This experience started with the staff member telling me “today is an experience day & not a day to drive this car fast” he kept telling me to slow down when I was going 1/2 the speed I was doing in the V8. The V12 was in a tidied condition however was still an experience.
The Bat mobile was definitely an experience & I feel sorry for anyone else that had paid money for this experience.
I knew the Bat Mobile was going to be a kit car as Iv seen many before however this one was built by a man in shed a long time ago & was falling apart.
It had no bubble windscreens which had clearly been removed at some point so I was told to put their helmet on that other people had been wearing which wasn’t a
good start. I wasn’t bothered that it was left hand drive as I suspected it would be however it should be stated before booking. The staff member took a few attempts to close the drivers door as it wouldn’t catch properly & was hanging off. There were loose screws hanging out which I made a joke to the staff member & started winding them in with my fingers. It took 5-6 attempts for the staff member & myself to engage drive but finally got there.
It drove awful & didn’t have enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding & had the turn circle of an ocean liner whist the steering didn’t feel connected to the wheels as you could steer side to side without the wheels going anywhere.
This was certainly “an experience” which I never want to experience again even it was offered free.
Finally was my high speed passenger rides. I had 2 separate ones booked as the Aston Martin experience came with one & the Bat Mobile did however I was only offered 1 lap in a BMW which the first corner was very fast but that was it as we were stuck behind other drivers on the Elvington track. The driver did proceed to pass them on the far right on a short straight only to catch up with other slow drivers, the driver did apologise saying that wasn’t really a high speed ride.
This was the only high speed ride I was given despite booking & paying for 2.
We then went to see the photos & videos that were taken as each car recorded using a card I was given except for the Bat Mobile.
I wanted to purchase the full video & photo pack of the day which from memory was about £45. I was mostly looking forward to the video of the V8 Vantage as that was the best experience of the day but surprise surprise the camera didn’t record any of it. I was offered to buy the other 2 videos which I watched showing the staff member in the V12 continuously telling me to slow down.
The lad behind the desk offered me a free photo if I bought the video footage but I declined.
Left that morning with mixed feelings, mainly disappointed as we had booked several nice cars. I won’t be spending money on these again as my previous Lamborghini experiences I’d had was much different with another company.
Scored 2 as the DB5 however was a kit car wasn’t a bad experience & the V8 Vantage put a huge smile on my face however everything else was disappointing. The waiting times I felt was good as we got there at 8.30am & was busy.”
“I bought my partner a 4 car experience. She was fine driving the Mini but when she got in the Caterham and the Supercharged Atom 3 she couldn’t reach the pedals. She had to sit with loads of dirty pillows behind her to push her forward and even then she couldn’t push the accelerator to the floor. Meaning she didn’t get a comfortable drive. There should be height limits on the booking system. Also when we booked we had to pay a booking fee £35 and then we when arrived we were advised to book a test lap to get a view of the course and a damage waiver. Another £39. So all in all we nearly paid £200 for the experience. And then there was a massive long queue to collect videos and pictures. And they were charging £2 to get into the carpark. While it is a good experience I wouldn’t say it is good value for money. Not after paying all the additional fees and the fact that my partner didn’t get to drive the cars comfortably.”
“I paid extra for my grandson aged 14 could drive a Lamborghini and a McLaren.
However, at Elvington he was not allowed to drive on the proper track but just on a very small circuit with bollards.
It did say he would get three miles for each car but he did not get the full experience.
He did enjoy driving the two special cars but we felt it was a rather a waste of the extra I had paid. Why was I charged this money when he was not given the full experience?
I do feel now that I could not recommend this to others.”
“Day was at an airfield near Ipswich. Parking was good , plenty of spaces. Directions rather vague on site , many customers including me not quite sure where to go. No signage that I saw saying where the toilets were located. Very limited catering facilities considering the very large number of people there . Paid extra for an escorted lap that I never got . One chosen car unavailable , replacement was a very modern Mustang , hardly a classic . Main complaint is just how short each lap was , not laps of the main track but a short side arm . Disappointed customer.”
“When it’s raining maybe think about the paying customers not getting wet waiting for a car to drive !!!! All staff were under built awnings for the day !!!! I wouldn’t recommend this birthday present to my worst enemy !!!”
“I had a great day however there was a couple members of staff that told me to be in one queue and then after waiting 25mins in the queue to be told I was in the wrong queue. So me point is why isn’t there more signage to you where you need to be. But overall the staff were friendly. Improvement needed ***”
“Great day.Freezing cold.Great staff. Great cars.Toilets nearer pits would help. Better road signage at village would help. A most enjoyable experience. Five stars.”
“I had the 3 Mustang experience last Friday 14th, absolutely great. I already own a GT500. I missed the experience last year and couldn't resist buying a Mustang, not so much as being on my bucket list as buying the whole bucket!
The organisation at Perranprorth was fantastic when you got over the scale of the setup.
I had the pre drive run in a driven car to familiarise the track, recommended.
The cars you have selected to drive are printed on the chairs in the waiting area where you sit and are collected when your drive is available. Little waiting time between drives.
Overall these experiences are probably a once in a life time must do experience.
One thing I would suggest is a weatherproof, just in case.
I can't leave a photo below as I have not yet received my photos.”
“Nice to see all the cars, was excited for it to come to perranporth as it’s near my home, the track was shortend for the final day so less than 1 mile long, promised 3 laps and got 2, the track also has so many potholes etc, not your fault but would mention that money needs to be spent on the surface if you are to return, minimal straights to put the power down, couldn’t fault the people that ran it though, very polite and efficient”
“Lots of queues and sitting about without any shelter from the elements. Once on the track in the main good experience but frustraited by slow traffic. Not everyone driving had Road licences so litte or no driving experience.”
