# Mclaren itch....



## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

It might be the long nights but I'm thinking of jumping into a Mclaren of some sort alongside my GTR. I'd love a 720S spider but that's not going to happen unless I sell my GTR which I'm not inclined to do at the moment.

Any other Mclaren owners on here? I'm thinking either the 650s or 570s spyder and using it on track as well as road. I know Litchfield have recently started fettling with them which makes them even more interesting.


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## tonigmr2 (Sep 12, 2002)

I do love them I must admit have been looking very hard at a 650/570 this summer.


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

I often think about this, but depreciation and the fact they are riddled with issues (from what is said online and pistonheads etc)

not something i am willing to risk

each to their own.

shape of them is ace, just they are very difficult to sell on for the issues mentioned above.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

I think depreciation concern is understandable but I can’t imagine the 650S can drop much further as a percentage of it's current value.

Mclaren also seems to have changed course with their model volume plans after the Covid concerns which may leads to more sustainable values. 

Maybe I'm just hopeful and doing some man maths trying to justify one!

I think I might regret not going for a super series car with the active suspension and aero however the potential bills are eye watering.


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

i think you doing man maths

dont get me wrong, would l like to have one, yes, but i am always thinking of what if you have to sell it on.

they launch a new model every other week, and that is the concern with many owners. Plenty to read about (which i am sure you have done)

build quality is not great from what is also reported.

not a risk i wish to take, but now is the time of year (and c-19) to buy one.

i would just worry about how easy it is to shift on, & what cost it is hitting you each month


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

head over to Mclarenlife.com - our sister forum


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## Trev (Nov 1, 2003)

You wanna know my opinion, please feel free to PM me.


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

I keep looking at them, the 540C would be my limit on the money front. I really want to like them, but somehow I can't quite like the shape, which is very odd considering I've owned 4 Esprits and a Nob (i.e. low and pointy cars), so you'd think I would like the shape, but somehow I don't.

I know this is "a man told me down the pub" stuff, but all I ever read is about them costing an awful to maintain. I mate posted on a forum about him toying with the idea and a former owner contacted him and advised him to pay the £5k or so a year McLaren warranty because he said it would pay for itself every year. It seems that's because every part is McLaren only, so they have you over a barrel. 

But as I say, that is "a man told me down the pub" stuff, I've no first hand experience.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

I’m the same, I can’t quite come to fully commit to liking the 540/570 shape. 650s is the best looking (bar P1) IMO. Even the 720s has some really strange views.

I would be surprised if Litchfield didn’t start reverse engineering some solutions. On the whole I’ve had really good reports about mechanical reliability with the 570s and even the 650 to be fair. More electrical gremlins on the 650.

I know the modding spend into my GTR is well into 6 figures which is nuts, for less than what it costs to mod my GTR you can get a carbon tub full blown 200+ mph supercar and even if I put 5k into a piggy bank it’ll probably cost somewhere relative to my GTR taking into purchase, depreciation, modding and repairs.

Just my initial opinion at least.


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## PJB (Feb 2, 2018)

A car trader friend I know told me that you can measure how good a car is by how long the average owner keeps them and in his experience McLaren's get moved on very quickly with some eye watering sum's lost on them. He's done very well out of this BTW.

They also do not like being sat around and are more reliable when they are in daily use, if you can afford the ridiculous McLaren dealer bills


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

PJB said:


> They also do not like being sat around and are more reliable when they are in daily use, if you can afford the ridiculous McLaren dealer bills


My mate's example was that say you want a new battery, on the GT-R you can pop to Halfords and get a type 53 (because it's a standard type), but the hole where you fit a McLaren battery is star shaped (or whatever!) so you need a special star shaped battery that only McLaren supply - that will be a £1000 please sir, take it or leave it !


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## Tin (Aug 15, 2010)

Lovely cars and certainly an itch to scratch! 

However have you thought about joining one of the supercar clubs, which allocate certain number of days (for a fee) with a car of your choice, instead of owning it. You can drive it for a week or so, and then give it back and get another to try etc without worrying about all the other aspects tyres/servicing/resale etc.


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## Will64 (Jan 30, 2012)

They do look nice but there seems to be a lot about at dealers that haven’t sold. 
It is interesting that someone mentioned in an earlier post about maybe restricting numbers, that would be a good move. 
They haven’t done that in the past, it seems like they just keep bringing out new models and not making them in limited numbers. There are a few cars for sale over a year old with just a few hundred miles on them, the price has dropped considerably but they are still not moving.


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## mallockman (Mar 23, 2012)

I've also been considering a 570s after having sold my R35 after 6 years happy ownership. I've read all the forum horror stories, but am still a fan. I never buy new, preferring some other generous soul to take the first 3 year hit. With the soon to be launched 570 replacement confirmed as a V6 hybrid together with a substantial price hike, I would hope and expect the risiduals of 570 to firm a little. If I bite the bullet, I would have the pre-purchase inspection and maintenance done by Thorney Motorsport. Their website and YouTube channel is a mine of information. Annual Service £499, Warranty £2850. John Thorne obviously has good contacts at the factory, and has what he calls "work arounds" to the high parts prices.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

I know a few owners (who have never owned a GTR must add) and most of them sold purely due to depreciation fear rather than any big bills or mechanical issues. A few of them always bought them with a view of short term ownership to tick off a list and others sold when Mclaren started getting a bad name over some half truths and hyperbole. 

The rest who still have them track and drive their car really hard with zero mechanical issues. One did have electrical gremlins as he forgot to plug in a trickle charger. However this is a really small sample of owners.

Personally it takes me a few years to really bond with a car and ownership so I'm not all that bothered about depreciation as I'm not going to go for the halo model with the 650s or 570s which seems to have found their place in the market. I can only find less than 20 650s spiders for sale which is a lot less than for example a 458 spider.


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## Tekki (Feb 12, 2017)

Well I've recently scratched that itch which I've had for the last 2 years! I had a MY17 GTR from new in 2017 which I absolutely loved but did test drive a 570s Spider in March 2019. The weather was appalling so I couldn't really give it some beans, lower the roof etc...so I came away thinking that it just wasn't worth the extra money. I had the GTR stage 4.25 at Litchfields in Jan this year but still the itch wouldn't go away so I traded the GTR in for a 2018 570s Spider 3 weeks ago. Having done a shed load of research and watched possibly every YouTube video I went in to the purchase with my eyes open. So my car has had 2 owners with 3400 miles and is mint. The 2 owners have lost £75k between them which is ridiculous considering how little they used it.
I'll start with the positives....the car gets twice the attention the GTR used to get, and that got a lot, all be it the McLaren is bright orange opposed to the black GTR. The mclaren is slightly quicker to 60mph at 2.76secs opposed to 4.25GTR at 2.91secs. The handling and grip of the McLaren is absolutely phenominal, you can definitely feel the car is a lot lighter. Most of all though the McLaren is much more exciting to drive and has the option of lowering the roof. Insurance and road tax is cheaper on the McLaren.
So onto the negatives.....the mclaren is under warranty until next April at which time I will take out 2 years extended warranty at a cost of £5600. This warranty covers everything, apart from wear items, and has no max limit. Thorney warranty has £10k limit. Servicing costs are very similar to GTR.
Common issues with car are entertainment system does random things like rebooting itself for no reason! The windows drop to halfway down on occasions when closing the door for no reason. Clicking from front wheels on full lock, similar to GTR known issue. My car is booked into McLaren to hopefully sort the above issues. It's strange because I should be annoyed with the problems but I'm just not and I think that they don't detract from the thrill of driving the car. If depreciation is a concern then my guess would be that a GTR will hold its value better than a McLaren.


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## archan (Apr 25, 2019)

I understand your itch! I'm trying to resist the urge and wait for the 720s to come down a bit in price. It looks soooo good.
Not heard of many quality complaints here in Sweden but the deprication seems steep. Lamborghini and Ferrari are very solid bets in that category.


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## NICKH (Mar 4, 2004)

My 2p worth.

The various web forums relating to reliability on Mac's is (in the main) absolute rubbish!

Don't get me wrong, there have been a few "lemons" (but there are with any manufacturer) but having done many UK and European road trips with up to 22 McLarens at a time, I can honestly say that I have only seen 1 puncture on a 650S (entering a hotel entrance!) and some front undertray damage on a 650S Spider (driver hit a rock in the road) and NO OTHER mechanical issues / failures. This has covered 5 or 6 trips over the last 2 years (between 3 and 10 days each) where over 50,000 miles has been covered by the attendees, all driving McLarens of every model excluding P1 and Senna.

Having previously had 630bhp Tomei 2.7L R32 GTR, 750bhp OSG RB30 R34 GTR, brand new MY09 R35 GTR (standard), MY10 R35 GTR (LM750R spec) + currently still owning 2 highly modified R32 GTR's (I did have a 3rd which was full blown ex touring car but sold recently) and can vouch first hand for any McLaren as I have had my 2012 McLaren 12C from being 750 miles old and she has now covered nearly 9,000 miles (almost all at safe "fast road" pace on a multitude of UK and European roads).

On top of my GTR ownership experience, I have owner more than 80 other "performance" cars over the last 30 years including 911 Turbo's, 996 GT2, Nobles, 6 x Lotus's, R8 (supercharged V8 manual), NSX, RS4, RS6, M5's, M3's etc etc (nearly all modified) so I am speaking from experience.

Depreciation is an issue (especially if you buy new) but use your head and buy a FULLY WARRANTIED 2 year old car with over 5,000 miles on the clock (all niggles will have been sorted under warranty by then) and simply enjoy!

My car was actually 6 years old when I purchased her but had only done 750 miles so McLaren had to sort out a few niggles early in my ownership but all were under warranty and hassle free.

The original owner (who never drove the car!) paid £216,000 for her and he took a MASSIVE hit as I only paid £100,000 for the car with full service, fresh MP4SS's (old P-Zeros were cracking with age and are crap anyway) and FULL McLaren extended warranty (an expensive but ESSENTIAL option in my mind).

Yes, my 2 1/2 years ownership (no plans to sell unless I upgrade to a 720S) have cost me a few quid on servicing (not excessive if you have a good relationship with your dealer and barter on price!), insurance (VERY cheap), fuel (they are surprisingly economical), another set of rubber (they are very light on their tyres), warranty renewal (£4,891 per annum as over 5 years old) plus I would say around £28,000 in depreciation and THAT IS IT!

The car has been back in to McLaren Manchester (excellent dealership) on 3 occasions for warranty work (but twice this was dovetailed with a service) without issue and the car has always been returned to me sorted and cleaned.

The £28,000 sounds like a big figure but I have lost more on previous "new" cars (D4 Audi S8 anyone!) over the same time scale so you pays your money and makes your choice!

My other main point here is that I have spent NOTHING on modifying the car away from the manufacturers specification as McLaren get almost everything right out of the box (P-Zeros are crap though!). Over the years I have spent £20k+, £30k+ and much more on modifying individual cars (Skyline GTR's, R35's, Porsches, Audi's etc) and NONE of them would see which way my McLaren went on a day out driving!

When you add up ALL OF THE ABOVE - I consider the McLaren ownership experience as very good VFM based on the bigger picture and I can't think of any other manufacturer that would come close (maybe a 997 GT3 RS?).

Here endeth the sermon


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

NICKH said:


> ...and FULL McLaren extended warranty (an expensive but ESSENTIAL option in my mind).
> 
> ....warranty renewal (£4,891 per annum as over 5 years old)


You seem to be saying exactly the same thing as my mate was told (as I put in my post above), that the £5k/year warranty is the thing to do. Have I read that right ?


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## NICKH (Mar 4, 2004)

There is an option to run an aftermarket warranty through Thorney Motorsport but the McLaren warranty covers everything, so I choose to run with that as my car has been covered from new (expensive to get a car back on to the warranty if it has lapsed) so YES, I recommend paying the extra and running the full blown McLaren warranty which can be renewed for 2 years before the cars 10th birthday so effectively you can run it up to the car being 12 years old.


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

I see, thanks. Maybe you are the same chap that advised my mate ? Not that he's bought one as I think his wife would divorce him if he did !


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## JohnFK (Oct 30, 2019)

NICKH said:


> There is an option to run an aftermarket warranty through Thorney Motorsport but the McLaren warranty covers everything, so I choose to run with that as my car has been covered from new (expensive to get a car back on to the warranty if it has lapsed) so YES, I recommend paying the extra and running the full blown McLaren warranty which can be renewed for 2 years before the cars 10th birthday so effectively you can run it up to the car being 12 years old.


I presume that if a previous owner has let the warranty lapse then that is when there is a (expensive?) threshold to cross to get it back on to McLaren warranty?


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

Good to hear from a couple of current Mclaren owners.

I think the 12C is ageing with class but there is barely a cost jump from 12c to 650s. 720S Spider is the car I really want so here's to supercars flooding the market post Covid winter and bringing the prices down with them.


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## Johnny R33 (Sep 11, 2020)

My McLaren Itch


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

For me, its the depreciation & TBH there are loads out there.

rumour or fact, people read what they see on the internet, and i think this puts alot of people off, or at least reconsider

i am not that cash rich so unable to loose that kind of money on a car.

i do think they will drop (early examples) to the level where they just get into the hands of those who cannot afford to run them let alone anything else.

you see this all the time with different makes and models.

finance companies are not too keen on them either from what i can gather. (due to depreciation)

think the cars look, sound and must be very special to own, but just not for me at this time.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

matty32 said:


> For me, its the depreciation & TBH there are loads out there.
> 
> rumour or fact, people read what they see on the internet, and i think this puts alot of people off, or at least reconsider
> 
> ...


I think much of what you say is perceived but reality is not quite there. Mclaren made at least 1500 cars per year since 2015, there's only 220 of all models for sale on Autotrader. The way some people rant on Youtube etc you'd think there'd be 1000s. (There are over a 100 458's for sale on AT.) 

Owners have big expectations when they're paying 200k+ (as they should) and there were niggles. I don't know any Mclaren owners who have had catastrophic failures such as drivetrain, carbon tub etc. I know friends who have had "gearbox failures" on GTR's, we all know these are likely issues that could be repaired if they really wanted to without fully replacing the gearbox but they had full replacements under warranty. I have no doubt the Iris replacements on Mclarens could and will be repaired as more aftermarket support builds.

I've been watching 12C prices for a year or so and if anything they've gone up. There were cars in the 60-70k range but now most are 70k+


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## NICKH (Mar 4, 2004)

If the warranty lapses (you have to renew the warranty 30 days before it expires) there is an inspection required by a McLaren dealer before the warranty can be renewed.

This inspection used to be £360 (and is only valid for 28 days) and EVERYTHING that the inspection picks up on HAS TO BE FIXED (at your cost) before McLaren will put the car back on the official warranty scheme.

When I bought my 12C (with 759 miles on the clock), the previous owner had let the warranty lapse so I insisted that it be inspected and placed under full official McLaren warranty - the bill was as follows (OUCH!):


Warranty inspection£360.00​Extended Warranty (12 months)£5,400.00​Full service£1,550.00​Additional works (tyres, warranty work)£5,078.85​MOT£52.00​Anticipated Mclaren Final Bill amount*£12,440.85*​

The £5,078 related to replace front crank oil seal £322.50 + replace both HIVAC screen (LCD air con screens fail after about 6 years) £1,865.00 + replace clutch oil and filter £497.93 + replace sound generator (diaphrams fail with low use) £295.60 + replace 8 spark plugs (YES - date related at 6 yrs even though car had only done 759 miles) £607.94 + replace transmission oil and filter (advised at 4 yrs) £635.28 + replacement of original P-Zero tyres (I negotiated a price of £799.50 to replace these with MPS4S's as McLaren quoted £1,457.39 for new P-Zeros!!!!!).

ALL of the above work had to be done before McLaren would agree to put the car back on to the official Warranty Scheme (at a cost of £5,400 which is more expensive than the normal renewal).

On top of the above £12,440.85 there were additional "recommended" works which I got McLaren to agree to ignore as these were not really required due to the very limited use of the car. These were A/C service £322.50 + A/C condenser inspection (due at 6yrs) £465.00 + replace wiper arms £433.61 (I kid you not).

So the first owner paid £216,000 for the car + 6 years servicing (all done at McLaren main dealers) + storage fees (he kept the car in private storage near Harrogate) + £12,440.85 as above for the pleasure of owning the car for 6 years and 759 miles of which he drove NONE of them!

Lesson to learn here - don't buy a brand new McLaren (speculator?) and NOT USE IT as you will catch a very big cold. The first owner of my car lost in excess of £133,000 on a car that he never drove!

I on the other hand I got a fully sorted, £216k (list price) near Hypercar for £100k with only 759 miles on the clock and FULL McLaren history and warranty - she has served me very well over the last 2 1/2 years and I really have no idea what could replace her other than a 720S as they are now that bargains of the century at circa £125k - £150k for a 2 year old low mileage car.

Another 2p worth!


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

NICKH said:


> If the warranty lapses (you have to renew the warranty 30 days before it expires) there is an inspection required by a McLaren dealer before the warranty can be renewed.
> 
> This inspection used to be £360 (and is only valid for 28 days) and EVERYTHING that the inspection picks up on HAS TO BE FIXED (at your cost) before McLaren will put the car back on the official warranty scheme.
> 
> ...


NickH assuming you know far more Mclaren owners than me, are you aware of major failures like engine, trick suspension, gearbox etc?

I really like the 12C, I think it's a lovely looking thing but like you the 720 is always in the back of my head.


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## mun25 (Mar 30, 2018)

I have just bought a 570s. 2 1/2 years old so the price hit to previous owners has happened. It is a fantastic car and an occasion to drive with doors etc. Handling is totally different to my GTR, it corners so flat its unreal and when you get over 3500rpm it flies really, pleased with it. Down side fit and finish is ok but not great but hey its a British supercar and try checking the engine oil level!!


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## NICKH (Mar 4, 2004)

I know many owners and have extensive experience of McLaren Manchester (excellent) and some of McLaren Leeds (not so good, but they were mid build of their new site at the time).

To be honest, I know of an early 12C that required an engine "top end" rebuild but the car had done 65k miles and the owner literally ragged the car everywhere from cold so no wonder he had issues as that level of abuse would manifest in the same way with any car. This was repaired under warranty!

Thorney Motorsport have reported several coil spring issues (broken springs) but this appears to be random and could be down to a manufacturing issue by the supplier.

I have "heard" (online or by Chinese whispers) of transmission failures BUT I can honestly say that I don't know of an actual owner that has suffered from this.

The main issue relates to Paint problems with the issue of oxidisation happening on the aluminum panels but this is widely publicised and relates to incorrect preparation of the panels before painting (although my car hasn't suffered from this) but this is usually fixed under warranty although this can take time.

My view, is to ignore the over publication of issues with a handful of "sub standard" cars that reached the market (a tiny %age of cars on the road) and actually speak to owners that have first hand experience of running McLaren's.

I even bought a ***MCL private number plate so I will always need a McLaren in my collection now or the plate will have been a waste of money


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## FRRACER (Jun 23, 2013)

NICKH said:


> There is an option to run an aftermarket warranty through Thorney Motorsport but the McLaren warranty covers everything, so I choose to run with that as my car has been covered from new (expensive to get a car back on to the warranty if it has lapsed) so YES, I recommend paying the extra and running the full blown McLaren warranty which can be renewed for 2 years before the cars 10th birthday so effectively you can run it up to the car being 12 years old.


Thanks for that, out of interest are McLaren parts (non warranty

Great explanation Nick.

On a side note a used 570s gearbox is now cheaper than a Getrag for the R34 GTR.

How are parts prices in general? Not sure if your are aware but the Nismo heritage parts prices is absolutely insane.

Makes me consider selling my R32 and lookin at something like a 570.


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## NICKH (Mar 4, 2004)

FRRACER - my 12C is probably the most "rounded" car that I ever owned (and I have owned most things) but I still prefer to take one of my R32 GTR's for a blast as yesterday's tech is safer to push to the limits than todays.

If you push a McLaren to even 6 tenths on the road, you are driving somewhat less than responsibly shall we say!

I can't really comment on parts prices as I have literally had to pay for nothing other than servicing as any parts needed (other than service items) have ALL been covered under the warranty.


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## barry P. (May 9, 2010)

snuffy said:


> My mate's example was that say you want a new battery, on the GT-R you can pop to Halfords and get a type 53 (because it's a standard type), but the hole where you fit a McLaren battery is star shaped (or whatever!) so you need a special star shaped battery that only McLaren supply - that will be a £1000 please sir, take it or leave it !


McLaren batteries are closer to £2000, one of the supercar experience companies I instruct with had to replace the lithium battery on the 570 and the cheapest we could find was £1800. I recently replaced the battery in my Ferrari 458, £53 from the local motor factor.


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

barry P. said:


> McLaren batteries are closer to £2000, one of the supercar experience companies I instruct with had to replace the lithium battery on the 570 and the chespest we could find was £1800. I recently replaced the battery in my Ferrari 458, £53 from the local motor factor.


How much ??!!!

I just made a figure up to make the point that they had you over a barrel - I didn't actually think they were £1000, let alone £2000. It must be a star-shaped one then !!


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## PJB (Feb 2, 2018)

barry P. said:


> McLaren batteries are closer to £2000, one of the supercar experience companies I instruct with had to replace the lithium battery on the 570 and the cheapest we could find was £1800. I recently replaced the battery in my Ferrari 458, £53 from the local motor factor.


I concur, a friend of mine had to fork out £2,000 for a new battery because he allowed his to run fully flat. Also the most minor accident damage costs a fortune too.


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## JohnE90M3 (May 31, 2010)

matty32 said:


> i think you doing man maths
> 
> dont get me wrong, would l like to have one, yes, but i am always thinking of what if you have to sell it on.
> 
> ...


Hold onto your hat, the extended warantee is just shy of £3K per year. Depreciation huge.


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## PJB (Feb 2, 2018)

My heart says yes but my head says no. 

About 18 months ago I was very tempted by some really good lease deals going on 600LT's, that's the only way I would ever commit to one. Takes away all the depreciation risk and you know upfront what it's going cost you. Then you can enjoy what are great pieces of engineering and amazing driving machines.


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## mun25 (Mar 30, 2018)

*Buy one 2 to 2/12 years old. Initial hit has been taken and they are reasonable money and a far more superior car to the GTR its a British super car. I bought my GTR new march 2018 for80k being realisticit its now worth 55k to trade in with 8k miles so deprectiation is relevant . Yes bits and servicing are expensive for the mclaren but its a proper super car. *


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

depreciation is completely relevant. You are talking alot more cash on top of what most peoples current 35 values are.

of course each car takes a hit. (although i think you being bit harsh on your 35 valuation)

Have you seen what your trade in, is on your mac?

The issue for me is their deprecation keeps going at a heavy rate even after 2.5 years. Given c-19, and if you bought one today. i bet come spring, there would be huge chunk of change coming off of that sale price you bought at during Nov.

If someone is in a position to drop that kind of money on a car, fair enough. 

i am sure they are awesome cars to own and drive.

My level of expenditure on a car is not in that price bracket, and therefore its a non starter for me.


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## Tekki (Feb 12, 2017)

mun25 said:


> *Buy one 2 to 2/12 years old. Initial hit has been taken and they are reasonable money and a far more superior car to the GTR its a British super car. I bought my GTR new march 2018 for80k being realisticit its now worth 55k to trade in with 8k miles so deprectiation is relevant . Yes bits and servicing are expensive for the mclaren but its a proper super car. *


So I did just that. The 2018 570s Spider with 3400miles that I recently purchased was 2 years 4 months old. The car was £185k new and I paid £110k. I part exchanged my MY17 Stage 4.25 2017 GTR with 13k miles, which I paid £72k for new, and got £57k for it. 
Thought I would just put some actual prices down which may help.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

For the money the GTR is an incredible car still after all these years.

The Mclaren is also an incredible car for the money just the next level up but relative to other cars of similar performance/engineering it’s a bargain especially the 570s.

I’ve been watching the GTR prices also and they seem to be coming down hence why I don’t know if it’s worth selling it.


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## mun25 (Mar 30, 2018)

I paid less than half of the invoice cost of the car when new .Whatever any body wants to say its superb car that costs a lot to run but it is what it is. The GTR is still a superb car but in a lower league.


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## archan (Apr 25, 2019)

These kinds of threads are almost as dangerous as the crazy build threads. Currently finding myself seriously contemplating a 720s all of a sudden lol. A bit annoying that the McLarens seem much cheaper in the UK compared to EU. A 2017/2018 cost around €190 000. My better half will probably force me to sleep in the car if I purchase one at the moment though hehe.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

Two things putting me off the 720s, the issues most seem to have noted; potential for considerable depreciation still and reliability concerns. The build quality issues with the 720s seem to be more common than the 570s etc. I spoke to a chap locally who owns a 720s and he says if he was to buy again he'd probably go for a 570s and another car but if within budget it's always difficult a pass on a faster/halo model. 

A bit like with Porsches, Cayman is a better handling and sweeter sports car but 911 is seen as benchmark purely from perception and marketing.

I'm thinking keep my GTR which is faster and build more unique than a 720s while buying a 570s Spider as a touring/summer track car. For me owning multiple cars is always more fun than owning a single car even if it is a supercar.


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## barry P. (May 9, 2010)

Build quality improved considerably on the later 720 cars. If I remember correctly there was a rear badge colour change and it is these later cars to go for. To be honest I personally think the 720 is too fast for a road car! 
They still have a few problems, electrics and breaking roof glass are quite common. A well used 570 is a more sensible option and can now be bought for £80-85k.
The 600LT is getting good reviews, I’ve not driven or been in one but I hear they are very good.


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## PJB (Feb 2, 2018)

DocT said:


> Two things putting me off the 720s, the issues most seem to have noted; potential for considerable depreciation still and reliability concerns. The build quality issues with the 720s seem to be more common than the 570s etc. I spoke to a chap locally who owns a 720s and he says if he was to buy again he'd probably go for a 570s and another car but if within budget it's always difficult a pass on a faster/halo model.
> 
> A bit like with Porsches, Cayman is a better handling and sweeter sports car but 911 is seen as benchmark purely from perception and marketing.
> 
> I'm thinking keep my GTR which is faster and build more unique than a 720s while buying a 570s Spider as a touring/summer track car. For me owning multiple cars is always more fun than owning a single car even if it is a supercar.


Have a go in a 600LT if you can, they are a bit of a half way house between the 570 and 720. Fantastic car and they seem to be holding their value a bit better.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

600LT is an option but right now it's above the 2nd fast car budget. 



barry P. said:


> Build quality improved considerably on the later 720 cars. If I remember correctly there was a rear badge colour change and it is these later cars to go for. To be honest I personally think the 720 is too fast for a road car!
> They still have a few problems, electrics and breaking roof glass are quite common. A well used 570 is a more sensible option and can now be bought for £80-85k.
> The 600LT is getting good reviews, I’ve not driven or been in one but I hear they are very good.


How fast does a 720s feel compare to a 1200bhp GTR on the road?


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## barry P. (May 9, 2010)

That brings us round to another discussion, is there any point in having a 1200 bhp GTR for just road driving? The guys running these big 950 plus builds please do some datalogs of normal road driving and let us know how often you are using full throttle.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

True but I can safely say that the few moments where I do give it full throttle, the rush is worth the ownership. Coming out of a corner - full throttle - squirm - built gearbox whine - grip - slingshot. I live in the middle of nowhere so I can enjoy some spirited road driving.

I have no doubt the 720s is more civilised while having more exotic car qualities but a big boosted GTR has that slightly unhinged feel which is very exciting.


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

Just resurrecting this thread after a busy year, I’m going to view a 650S Spider on Monday. 720s Spiders haven’t really dropped and 650S have actually risen.

Hopefully add a Mac to go alongside the GTR.


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

I’ve watched the mclaren prices over the last couple of yrs and have seen some great value cars, however these are now long gone and prices are rising and holding strong on stuff a few yrs old.

I’d imagine a new car with give a fair kick to the wallet.

If I ever try one it should’nt be too bad as I’ve a friend who was a Porsche master tech and left to join mclaren👍


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

Skint said:


> I’ve watched the mclaren prices over the last couple of yrs and have seen some great value cars, however these are now long gone and prices are rising and holding strong on stuff a few yrs old.
> 
> I’d imagine a new car with give a fair kick to the wallet.
> 
> If I ever try one it should’nt be too bad as I’ve a friend who was a Porsche master tech and left to join mclaren👍


I tried a Huracan and I felt claustrophobic, sounded good but steering etc felt very ordinary.

458 was great fun with very sharp steering but the ride wasn’t as agile or in control as the Mac. 488 was similar with more power, felt a bit disconnected somehow and also these are too pricey for what you get.

The Mclaren was subjectively so much better everytime I went in one, I’m buying a spider and the difference is even bigger.


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

That’s some Christmas present, hope it goes goes well upon viewing👍


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

Just about convinced the missus it’s one in one out as I’m selling my trusty DC2 Integra 😆


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

I think you'd find it hard to part with the 35 after spending so much to get it to a good spec.


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

DocT said:


> Just about convinced the missus it’s one in one out as I’m selling my trusty DC2 Integra 😆


The perfect exchange must be a straight swap as well so the wife won't need to know about the price difference 😀.

Keep us posted with some photos


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

You might need to remove the mclaren badges and maybe put some noble ones on to make it look like a straight swap.😊

The women are savvy these days at working things out in the car market ( mine is for definite)🙈


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

What a machine, R35 and 650S are so different with the straight line punch being the only similarity. I love the R35 but only when you drive cars like this do you really feel the weight of the R35 and how much you’re fighting physics relatively to a lower weight car. However did 500 miles in the R35 through rain, fog and snow; wouldn’t like to do that in the Mclaren.

Driving position, chassis, steering are a notch above the R35. Paid a deposit so look forward to collecting it soon. (The yellow stripes are coming off).


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

That's very pretty


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## Skint (Oct 11, 2014)

Will the 35 be staying put?


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

Yeah will be staying with me, just turned 10k miles on the trip yesterday. 

Selling the 35 and buying a 720S Spider was an initial plan but 720S still has a long way to go from depreciation I reckon.


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

Very nice. I agree about the yellow stripe though.
Does your wife like the Noble?!!😉🤭


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## Will64 (Jan 30, 2012)

I had a noble and it’s probably the car I wish I had been able to have kept hold of. Absolutely loved it!


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

Will64 said:


> I had a noble and it’s probably the car I wish I had been able to have kept hold of. Absolutely loved it!


I had mine for 6 years, sold it about 9 years ago now. It was a great car but I don't miss it. Price has probably doubled in those 9 years, but I'm still happier with my GT-R.


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## snuffy (Mar 26, 2014)

I agree that the yellow strip looks toss. What possessed a previous owner to put that on ?


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## SKNAM (Nov 30, 2018)

I've seen a few with the stripes now. Wondered if it was an option from the factory? I've seen one up close and the colour of the stitching on the seats/interior matched the colour of the stripes. 

I'd still take one though......Great cars


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Nice car 

not fan of black cars tho - stripes do make you wonder

screams suede loafers 😂


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

I've got more than one pair of suede loafers....😅

I think he/she wanted the piping to match the interior however it's just been taken way OTT. Thankfully it's just stickers, they come out of the factory with a main stripe occasionally and the calipers to match the seat piping but the stuff on the splitters etc is just cack.

I swayed between buying a really loud colour but in reality I like to go under the radar, want to park it up without having the car spotters being alerted.


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Blimey you must be old lol 

nice car just worry about the reputation;, best time of year to buy tho


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

I'm not sure about the best time, they're about 10k pricier than they were in the spring/summer however I'm hedging on them being even more expensive come next summer. There's only about 10 cars for sale in the UK.

Nah you must be old if you're worried what you wear makes you look old 😉I'm a young 34. Loafers are the business for driving.


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## Silverspeed (Nov 29, 2009)

You will lose 10bhp by removing the yellow strip .


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Yeah I’m my 30s , I did think about selling the 32 for one ( as had a healthy 6 figure offer ) but I can’t get over the image 

I think a lot of fat old men drive them lol 😂


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

😄generalisation much? If that is the case I'll be happy to be the minority.

I know a few Mclaren owners but none of them are old or fat. To be fair if you're tall or fat these aren't the cars for you.

Gratuitous pic of one without the yellow, lovely.


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Enjoy it !


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Btw its Same with r35s & fat old men, dont panic ( it’s a joke)


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

Will64 said:


> I had a noble and it’s probably the car I wish I had been able to have kept hold of. Absolutely loved it!


Love the Noble- I looked into buying one about 9 years ago but as I need it as a daily drive it just ticked too few boxes. Still like the look of them now


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

M600 would be in the dream garage. Modern day F40 to some extent IMO.


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## mun25 (Mar 30, 2018)

Looks good. I own 570s had for 15 months, as you will have noticed the turn in, handling etc of the lighter car is amazing. Regarding some of your other questions
Reliability, the drive train is basically ok but its the electrical gremlins, no key present etc. I had problems with this initially but was advised if not using the car for a couple of days put it on a maintenance charger. Since I did this very few issues. Apparently the onboard computers are very sensitive to voltage drop
Track work, not took mine yet but be aware the oem discs are crap regarding wear. A friend of mine did a set in two track days and they are 12k plus pads etc. I am looking at putting steels on for track work. Normal road work will probably last forever
Warranty give you peace of mind but at a cost. Mines under 5 years old so £3200 with Mclaren. Thorney do one but it only covers for 10k any one claim. Its one of them, do you self warranty.
Hope this helps


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## mun25 (Mar 30, 2018)

The other thing is depreciation. If you buy at the right time when the previous owner has taken the big hit they are value for money. I can't see a decent one dropping below 80k ever. They will part out for 50/60k. Engine 25k, gearbox 15k etc
Enjoy it, I know i enjoy mine. 
Still love the GTR its just a different car


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## DocT (Dec 17, 2014)

Thanks for the input, always good to hear from owners. The car only has 7k miles on it and has a full Mclaren warranty, I'm hoping the lack of use doesn't show up any issues. I'm having a full pre purchase inspection done at Thorney before parting with my cash. Hopefully that will reveal any issues.

As I've mentioned in another thread, CCM/CCB certainly have issues on track. I know the Akebono have more track tolerance but those discs are about 8k each from Mclaren and I would also rather go steels than get some gravel in there on track (as happened to a friend with an R8 V10 plus).


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## Tin (Aug 15, 2010)

Congrats, lovely start to the new with a new car


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