Racing in general is a rip off! But it is fun as hell!
If you can afford it, go for it!
Yea they have a few gimicks with the neck restraint (collar bone protection) but the chassis is real, the motor, well it makes noise and moves you forward!
I have driven the CRG F1k chassis at a local track, for what it is used for, its perfect! They are going to have rock hard tires, but so what!
The motor is likely a 200-250cc Honda, making around 5hp. It may not sound like much, but it is enough to have fun with, and with hard tires, will keep you smiling.
My local track rents out karts similar to shown above except with intrepid chassis.
Every now and then, the track manager and mechanics let me come out and play with them and it is one hell of a good time! I drive 50hp, 6spd, ICC karts and even after driving that it is still fun to have a go in the rental karts.
If karting is something you are interested in, call up a local team and rent a real kart for a day and see how you like it! An arrive and drive program can be relatively inexpensive, it wont be with the top notch equipment but still fun none the less!
Regards,