# Time to swap the 35 for a cheap mclaren?



## paul__k (Dec 8, 2007)

Crazy cheap Mclaren 12C high miles but only £51K.



https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201912035001526?atmobcid=soc3



I know there are horror stories with the engine, gearbox and other items but £15k worst case should cover it. 
After 10.5 years and 110,000 miles in the 35 am I mad to even think about swapping my car for this?


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

I know a few of the forum owners from here have moved to those.

If you can afford it go for it as you only live once.


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

Looked at them many times myself, they seam to look value for money and they surely can’t go much lower in money, they will bust for that.


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

PistonHeads article on the 12C today as it happens:









McLaren 12C | The Brave Pill


The most extreme Pill yet is a bang-per-buck bargain




www.pistonheads.com





Interesting their article says about £170k new, then that they reported they had dropped to below £100k 2 years ago and now £70k (i.e. £100k down). So they just keep on falling.

I do really want to like them, and having had 4 low and pointy cars (Lotus Esprits) I would think I would like them, only I don't.


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

Mclarenlife.com is our sister site ?. Check it out.


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## tonigmr2 (Sep 12, 2002)

Have to say I've been wondering about this lately as well! They look fab...depends on what running costs are like I guess. Like with the GTR, I wouldn't be keen on buying at the bottom of the market.


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

I was talking about one of these with a mate the last time we were out on the pop as he was sort of thinking about one as well. The problem seems to be that every is McLaren only, so no specialists and no parts from anyone other than McLaren. So say your battery dies on you GT-R, well off you pop to Halfords and pick one up off the shelf. But if you McLaren battery dies then off you pop to McLaren as you will not get one that fits from anyone else so be prepared to be royally rogered (no doubt someone will come along and tell me Halfords do do a compatible battery but you get the idea).


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## ShadyGTR (Aug 20, 2017)

I don’t think I could sleep well knowing the glitches and well documented issues ( I guess I’m used to the gtr always being dependable) not to mention costs for parts. I don’t like the idea of paying over 4K for official warranty or closer to 3k with thorny motorsports although I prefer dealing with Indy like them. i know theres good and bad points but just look what happened to sideways Sid for his12c.


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

No probs if you have a master tech friend?


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## JoGoGTR (Sep 1, 2015)

I wouldn’t touch a McLaren the are notoriously unreliable and the service from the service centres is worse than ford or Vauxhall’s .


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## Chris**** (Apr 27, 2017)

As above, great cars, but riddled with issues it seems. 12C will always be an iconic car, but they are certainly a lot to keep running. Even the new ones seem to be a nightmare sometimes. But that's more the dealers it seems, and smaller issues.


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## SKNAM (Nov 30, 2018)

£3,500/year for the McLaren warranty seems really reasonable on such a specialised car, assuming it covers the bits you need it to. And if you kept the car for a few years I reckon it could be a sound investment, I don't ever see them going for little money, just too rare for that.


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## paul__k (Dec 8, 2007)

I was surprised a few years back when they dropped to 90k now they are at 70k with that high miler at 50k.
Some people are guessing they may drop to £35k I don’t believe that but think they will still drop.
It really is a hell of a car for the money. Have tracked the 12c GT3 and was very impressed with it. It would be ludicrous to buy one and never track it imo. 
I do think a warranty would be required ( unlike the GTR) but don’t think you would want to use it as a daily driver. 
Am starting to think a 650S or 570S may be the best value in a few years time and hopefully most of the design and QA issues resolved.


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## NICKH (Mar 4, 2004)

Warranty on a 12C is just under £5k a year (I renewed mine in August) and they are FANTASTIC cars. I also have a few GTR's (3 x R32 and an R34) and have previously had a standard MY09 R35 (from 6 months old) and later an LM750 converted car.

The Mac will cost you double to run over an R35 but you will save on fuel as the Mac's are stupidly economical due to low weight.

No GTR (of any vintage) has the same special feel as a Mac (any Mac) as they are pure theatre to drive.

My own 12C has only covered 7,500 miles (I have owned from 759 miles) and reliability has not been an issue.

Just my own 2p worth as an owner (or previous owner) of both cars.


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

NICKH said:


> Warranty on a 12C is just under £5k a year (I renewed mine in August) and they are FANTASTIC cars. I also have a few GTR's (3 x R32 and an R34) and have previously had a standard MY09 R35 (from 6 months old) and later an LM750 converted car.
> 
> The Mac will cost you double to run over an R35 but you will save on fuel as the Mac's are stupidly economical due to low weight.
> 
> ...


Any photos?


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## Papa Smurf (Sep 25, 2008)

A friend of mine has an original 12C with 112k on the clock. Although regularly serviced, he hasn't had any major problems. 

Some other friends of mine have had 570's, 650's and 720's and all have have major issues that can only be put down to build quality and then the ignorance of the McLaren network who are even worse than the GT-R Master technicians.

Tried a 570S and it went into limp mode on the test drive. In my opinion, the 600LT is the best of the bunch but you must expect problems.


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## tonigmr2 (Sep 12, 2002)

Tempted by a 570 spider, if they didnt have such a ropey rep.


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## dazzabb (Oct 29, 2016)

So with a good warranty, insurance, tax and servicing your looking at around 10 grand a year to run it?


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## Papa Smurf (Sep 25, 2008)

dazzabb said:


> So with a good warranty, insurance, tax and servicing your looking at around 10 grand a year to run it?


Plus the depreciation and the potential weeks off the road.

Great value


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## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

dazzabb said:


> So with a good warranty, insurance, tax and servicing your looking at around 10 grand a year to run it?


Don’t see how it’s £10k a year. I recently got an insurnace quote and it was £620, £200 cheaper than my M4 and £300 cheaper than my gtr. Fully comprehensive warranties can be got for £2800 a year, yet as someone said, on a 12c anything that could have gone wrong probably already has, but for peace of mind you might still fancy it, the. Tax is £500 a year, so a long way short of your £10k unless you’re including fuel etc etc, but running costs along the same lines as a gtr.


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## tonigmr2 (Sep 12, 2002)

Depreciation is fierce though.


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## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

tonigmr2 said:


> Depreciation is fierce though.


 percentage wise is it? £175k new 9 years ago. I bought my M4 a year and a half ago for £72k, it’s now prob trades at £35k, £41k retail maybe - in 7 years time I’m guessing it will be a damn site lower in percentage terms than a 12c, plus at what point does a 12c plateau?


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## borat52 (Jan 29, 2006)

MIKEGTR said:


> percentage wise is it? £175k new 9 years ago. I bought my M4 a year and a half ago for £72k, it’s now prob trades at £35k, £41k retail maybe - in 7 years time I’m guessing it will be a damn site lower in percentage terms than a 12c,* plus at what point does a 12c plateau?*


It's a tough question, on one hand there is a constant stream of newer and better Mclarens rolling off production and then ageing and depreciating which would suggest they can just keep dropping.

On the other hand, every other competent exotic past a certain age retains value.

I'm pretty shocked with Mclaren depreciation vs Ferrari. ie compare a 12C to a 458 of the same year.


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## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

borat52 said:


> It's a tough question, on one hand there is a constant stream of newer and better Mclarens rolling off production and then ageing and depreciating which would suggest they can just keep dropping.
> 
> On the other hand, every other competent exotic past a certain age retains value.
> 
> I'm pretty shocked with Mclaren depreciation vs Ferrari. ie compare a 12C to a 458 of the same year.


McLarens biggest issue imo is the dealer network. The majority of poor reviews are based upon customer experiences here. Reliability has also been an issue (let’s face it, it was for ferrari for 60 years!) but I personally believe that there’s no way a 12c could ever drop below £40k, simply because of the type of car it is. V10 R8’s are a good example of this, I can’t see them dropping below £30k ever.
I’m tempted by a 12c (not a 60,000 miler though) but it is the worry that something major could break that is the off putting feature and it end up costing me a remortgage!


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