Well if iRacing had content prices on there site I could verify my claim, but seeing as there is no car and track prices, I have to go by what I'm told or read in threads like this one. If I'm mistaken on the iRacing prices of add on content, then prove to me that it isn't overpriced, show me some prices of the content, and not just the older and cheaper items.
Straight from the iRacing website, conveniently:
"If you want to buy
additional cars they cost a one-time fee of $11.95. If you want to buy
additional tracks they cost a one-time fee of either $11.95 or $14.95 depending on the track. If you buy 3 pieces of content (cars or tracks) at once you also receive a discount of 10%. If you buy 6 pieces of content at once you receive a discount of 20%. If you purchase/own any 40 pieces of content from that point forward you receive an automatic 25% discount. If you own all the cars and tracks, every new car or track you buy gets discounted at 30%."
http://www.iracing.com/membership/
The fact is, I, and possibly many others believe that content for iRacing will end up costing the average Sim enthusiast over US$1000 to maintain and keep up with new releases.
That's because some people go around spreading sour grapes. Which is a bit unfortunate, but it is what it is.
Okay, as a small exercise, lets just say each iRacing track is US$10 x 67 laser tracks that's a cool US$670.00, now lets say the cars are US$15 each x 41cars = US$615, together that's near US$1300, convert this to AUD and it's AUD$1388.34 at today's exchange rates. There is no way I would hand over this much money, for something that could disappear tomorrow and leave me without any of the content I legitimately purchased, and don't go saying iRacing wont collapse, it can happen to the strongest businesses, even banks can go belly up.
The first question is, do you want every single track and car, or just some of them? The average iRacing user does not have every piece of content. I don't think it's even average to have everything on the road or oval side.
Second, only a fool pays the retail price
At the very least, everyone should buy in packs of three for that 10% discount. So to update your numbers:
63x$14 (estimated average track price) + $5 for old Daytona + 35x$12 for cars and 3x$5 for older cars = still about $1300
-10% for 3 packs: ~$1200
-20% for 6 packs: ~$1060
If you just buy everything in one go for 30% off everything: ~$925
What helps the most is that about twice a year they have a deal for bonus credit. $75 buys $100 of credits, meaning add another 25% to the discount by planning ahead. I try to make sure every iRacing purchase I make is using those bonus credits, which are also augmented by $5 every year as an anniversary bonus (just for keeping my subscription current) and up to $10 per season for participation credits (though those more accurately can be put towards yearly subscription, which by buying during a promotion like this means your subscription can be as few as $5/year).
For reference, I have every road course and a few ovals which makes 40 tracks and 21 cars (skipping most open wheel cars and the Jetta). I'm subscribed until 10/2016, have $70 of credits left over, and spent about $750 in total for 6 years of sub + most road content. It would be cheaper to do the same purchases now because not all those discounts were around when I started and I rarely max out my participation credits.
So again, what do you want to race? I was very cost conscious when I started as well, and would be more than happy to help you plan a purchase plan to be as cost effective as possible (if indeed you plan to ask the wife about it). That's what I did for myself when I began, and I recommend it for anyone. There's a lot more good free content now as well, which helps a bunch.
