2018 McLaren 570GT
Discussion
Well yesterday I had my first flavour of McLaren aftersales, which didn't go quite to plan, but worked out okay in the end.
I had the car booked in for an inspection at McLaren Guildford (Bell & Colvill). This is a bit of a peace of mind check for me that I don't have a very expensive lemon with a load of faults lurking under the skin that I can't see... It was scheduled to be collected around 7.20am, the service advisor lives not far from me, so was going to take it into work, then deliver it on his way home - except he forgot to pick it up! s
t happens, and as it was a fairly slow day at work, I took the car over myself... Besides it was an excuse for a drive, which I never pass up.
Inspection was all clear, aside from one front tyre being down to 3.0mm (was 3.5mm when I bought it, so was expecting that) and a minor engine oil leak (more of a weep, no drip) which was flagged up on the service prior to delivery, and I'll try and get resolved via the short dealer warranty I have.
So, email sent to the supplying garage about the leak, and it's time to price up and arrange a set of Michelin PS4S's, they will need to be done before I head to Portugal next month.
Thanks to Damian at McLaren Guildford for getting the car put through while I waited.
I had the car booked in for an inspection at McLaren Guildford (Bell & Colvill). This is a bit of a peace of mind check for me that I don't have a very expensive lemon with a load of faults lurking under the skin that I can't see... It was scheduled to be collected around 7.20am, the service advisor lives not far from me, so was going to take it into work, then deliver it on his way home - except he forgot to pick it up! s
t happens, and as it was a fairly slow day at work, I took the car over myself... Besides it was an excuse for a drive, which I never pass up.Inspection was all clear, aside from one front tyre being down to 3.0mm (was 3.5mm when I bought it, so was expecting that) and a minor engine oil leak (more of a weep, no drip) which was flagged up on the service prior to delivery, and I'll try and get resolved via the short dealer warranty I have.
So, email sent to the supplying garage about the leak, and it's time to price up and arrange a set of Michelin PS4S's, they will need to be done before I head to Portugal next month.
Thanks to Damian at McLaren Guildford for getting the car put through while I waited.
Set of PS4S’s going on today. As above it was only the near side front that needed replacing, so only really needed front tyres, but I wanted to swap it on to Michelin’s before the trip to the Algarve next month.
Ferry for that is now booked, setting off on the 21st Oct to Caen and doing the full trip down.
Ferry for that is now booked, setting off on the 21st Oct to Caen and doing the full trip down.
A bit of an update on the 570...
Whenever you meet another McLaren owner, one of the first questions seems to be "Have you had any problems with it?"
Happily now, I've met a few who haven't had any at all, if you only went on the testimony of the first few owners I met, you'd never touch one in a million years!
I currently have two issues - the oil leak I mentioned above is a 'weep' from the engine Vee Module. This was supposed to be sorted by the supplying garage before I took delivery, but the inspection carried out by McLaren last month revealed it hadn't been. I've been trying to get the garage to sort it out, the service manager is supposed to be arranging for the car to be collected this week to take it in and replace the part, but now I haven't heard from him since Monday last week, and he's stopped taking my calls.
So, I'm probably going to end up booking it in with McLaren Guildford to have it resolved, and will seek recompense from the garage. The other issue I have is the tracker has stopped talking to Vodafone, apparently not uncommon, it needs removing from behind the dash, powering down for a bit and refitting.
So those are the issues covered. Fortunately neither have stopped me using the McLaren and enjoying it.
It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I gave myself the afternoon off work and headed up to Caffeine and Machine for a bit of car spotting and late lunch. Unfortunately I chose the wettest day possible, but hey, you can't move your birthday! I always think I never go to C&M often enough, but it is a 200 mile round trip. The wet weather gave a good test for the new Michelins which as predicted were spot on.
From there I went on to Gaydon for one of their evening car gatherings, saw a beautiful C7 Corvette...
Have been to a couple of 'Supercar' meets as well hosted by SurreyCarMeet, organised through Facebook. They're interesting events as they are pre-book only, you need to have an invite email to get access and the location isn't announced to the public until the day. The calibre of cars attending is exceptional, yesterdays meet had the McRae/Grist Metro 6R4 there, as well as Max Chilton and his stunning 2.7 Carrera RS.
So that's it really, a couple of small issues to sort, but on the whole, its all fantastic. On a long journey you really appreciate how the different powertrain modes work... Leave it in 'Normal' and 75mph sees around 2000rpm in 7th gear, that translates to around 33mpg, which is pretty exceptional for a car like this. Not that mpg really worries me, but when fuel has been a bit scarce round here, its good to know that you can do Lingfield and back on 1/3 of a tank.
17 days now until I head off down to Portugal... Really looking forward to the drive down there, should allow for some good photo opportunities.
Whenever you meet another McLaren owner, one of the first questions seems to be "Have you had any problems with it?"
Happily now, I've met a few who haven't had any at all, if you only went on the testimony of the first few owners I met, you'd never touch one in a million years!
I currently have two issues - the oil leak I mentioned above is a 'weep' from the engine Vee Module. This was supposed to be sorted by the supplying garage before I took delivery, but the inspection carried out by McLaren last month revealed it hadn't been. I've been trying to get the garage to sort it out, the service manager is supposed to be arranging for the car to be collected this week to take it in and replace the part, but now I haven't heard from him since Monday last week, and he's stopped taking my calls.
So, I'm probably going to end up booking it in with McLaren Guildford to have it resolved, and will seek recompense from the garage. The other issue I have is the tracker has stopped talking to Vodafone, apparently not uncommon, it needs removing from behind the dash, powering down for a bit and refitting.
So those are the issues covered. Fortunately neither have stopped me using the McLaren and enjoying it.
It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I gave myself the afternoon off work and headed up to Caffeine and Machine for a bit of car spotting and late lunch. Unfortunately I chose the wettest day possible, but hey, you can't move your birthday! I always think I never go to C&M often enough, but it is a 200 mile round trip. The wet weather gave a good test for the new Michelins which as predicted were spot on.
From there I went on to Gaydon for one of their evening car gatherings, saw a beautiful C7 Corvette...
Have been to a couple of 'Supercar' meets as well hosted by SurreyCarMeet, organised through Facebook. They're interesting events as they are pre-book only, you need to have an invite email to get access and the location isn't announced to the public until the day. The calibre of cars attending is exceptional, yesterdays meet had the McRae/Grist Metro 6R4 there, as well as Max Chilton and his stunning 2.7 Carrera RS.
So that's it really, a couple of small issues to sort, but on the whole, its all fantastic. On a long journey you really appreciate how the different powertrain modes work... Leave it in 'Normal' and 75mph sees around 2000rpm in 7th gear, that translates to around 33mpg, which is pretty exceptional for a car like this. Not that mpg really worries me, but when fuel has been a bit scarce round here, its good to know that you can do Lingfield and back on 1/3 of a tank.
17 days now until I head off down to Portugal... Really looking forward to the drive down there, should allow for some good photo opportunities.
P5BNij said:
Great car and great thread Dr, well done! I didn't realise there were evening meets at Gaydon, I'll have to nip along to one when the Maser has had its much needed tune up.
I think they call them 'Gaydon Gatherings'... 5pm onwards, car park only with the Museum closed, but external catering vans (and beer!!)... Quite an eclectic mix of old and modern...Edited to add a link: https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/gayd...
Edited by Dr Interceptor on Monday 4th October 13:00
Well I’m here on the Algarve after what was a wonderful trip down.
Arrived into Caen early Friday morning and covered 1050km stopping in Burgos on Friday night, then up early yesterday and was here on the Algarve by 2.30pm.
Just over 1400 miles in total, at very close to 30mpg!
France was taken fairly sensibly, I’ve had few gendarme experiences on previous trips so tend to stick on the side of caution. South of Poitiers though I was overtaken by a chap in a GT4 Lusso, and it would have been rude not to tuck in behind him. We had 100 miles or so sat at very old-school outside lane speeds, which was nice.
The drive through Spain was much more interesting… a cold start at just 3 degrees in Burgos, by mid morning the sun was up and starting to warm up. There are a few beautiful stretches of billiard table smooth tarmac between Salamanca, Valladolid and Caceres, and I had my first opportunity to really open the taps up.
The McLaren is so stable at high speed, and it feels so happy just sitting there for mile after mile. The engine temps stay happy, the aircon blows cold, it really just laps it up.
Then one of my favourite stretches of road, the N-523 to Badajoz, I look forward to this road on every trip down to the Algarve. The Mustang makes light work of it, but the McLaren is just something else. Chassis and powertrain set to Sport, switch to the paddles and you can really attack the corners.
The car swallowed two peoples luggage with ease, proved comfortable even with the long hours at the wheel, and even for me at 6ft5, thoroughly impressed!
Had a bit of a drama when I got here, I have no electrics at my place, so no garage to park the car in. Instead It’s parked in a ‘loading bay’ outside my cousins restaurant in Praia da Luz until the electrics are sorted tomorrow morning… he was kind enough to let me use one of the apartments above the restaurant for a couple of nights! It’s proving quite the tourist attraction
Ticked over 8000 miles on the way down, so have now covered 3100 miles in my ownership.
Here’s one of those beautiful stretches of road….
And parked up in Luz…
Looking forward to heading up into the hills around Monchique this week and driving some more of my favourite roads down here.
Arrived into Caen early Friday morning and covered 1050km stopping in Burgos on Friday night, then up early yesterday and was here on the Algarve by 2.30pm.
Just over 1400 miles in total, at very close to 30mpg!
France was taken fairly sensibly, I’ve had few gendarme experiences on previous trips so tend to stick on the side of caution. South of Poitiers though I was overtaken by a chap in a GT4 Lusso, and it would have been rude not to tuck in behind him. We had 100 miles or so sat at very old-school outside lane speeds, which was nice.
The drive through Spain was much more interesting… a cold start at just 3 degrees in Burgos, by mid morning the sun was up and starting to warm up. There are a few beautiful stretches of billiard table smooth tarmac between Salamanca, Valladolid and Caceres, and I had my first opportunity to really open the taps up.
The McLaren is so stable at high speed, and it feels so happy just sitting there for mile after mile. The engine temps stay happy, the aircon blows cold, it really just laps it up.
Then one of my favourite stretches of road, the N-523 to Badajoz, I look forward to this road on every trip down to the Algarve. The Mustang makes light work of it, but the McLaren is just something else. Chassis and powertrain set to Sport, switch to the paddles and you can really attack the corners.
The car swallowed two peoples luggage with ease, proved comfortable even with the long hours at the wheel, and even for me at 6ft5, thoroughly impressed!
Had a bit of a drama when I got here, I have no electrics at my place, so no garage to park the car in. Instead It’s parked in a ‘loading bay’ outside my cousins restaurant in Praia da Luz until the electrics are sorted tomorrow morning… he was kind enough to let me use one of the apartments above the restaurant for a couple of nights! It’s proving quite the tourist attraction
Ticked over 8000 miles on the way down, so have now covered 3100 miles in my ownership.
Here’s one of those beautiful stretches of road….
And parked up in Luz…
Looking forward to heading up into the hills around Monchique this week and driving some more of my favourite roads down here.
Great car Dr I - I'd love a 570GT to actually 'use' (as you seem to be doing) when I win the lottery.
As an aside Badajoz was the last walled town to be stormed by the British/English. The ladders they had were too short so they abandoned that attempt to climb the walls, strung the ladders together to make them longer and tried again. After that episode they never stormed another city again. (This was referenced in one of the Sharpe books/films).
Keep the updates/photos coming on the car and the trip.
As an aside Badajoz was the last walled town to be stormed by the British/English. The ladders they had were too short so they abandoned that attempt to climb the walls, strung the ladders together to make them longer and tried again. After that episode they never stormed another city again. (This was referenced in one of the Sharpe books/films).
Keep the updates/photos coming on the car and the trip.
andy43 said:
Ha! Nice one. I only looked at the thread because I’d spotted the car going down the hill, I’m assuming it’s got lift on it for the off-roading for the “car park”! The colour absolutely pops in Portuguese sunshine. Have fun 
Cheers! Yes, the nose lift comes in very handy for the Rocky car parks, even then you have to be super careful.
Dr Interceptor said:
A bit of an update on the 570...
Whenever you meet another McLaren owner, one of the first questions seems to be "Have you had any problems with it?"
Happily now, I've met a few who haven't had any at all, if you only went on the testimony of the first few owners I met, you'd never touch one in a million years!
I currently have two issues - the oil leak I mentioned above is a 'weep' from the engine Vee Module. This was supposed to be sorted by the supplying garage before I took delivery, but the inspection carried out by McLaren last month revealed it hadn't been. I've been trying to get the garage to sort it out, the service manager is supposed to be arranging for the car to be collected this week to take it in and replace the part, but now I haven't heard from him since Monday last week, and he's stopped taking my calls.
So, I'm probably going to end up booking it in with McLaren Guildford to have it resolved, and will seek recompense from the garage. The other issue I have is the tracker has stopped talking to Vodafone, apparently not uncommon, it needs removing from behind the dash, powering down for a bit and refitting.
So those are the issues covered. Fortunately neither have stopped me using the McLaren and enjoying it.
It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I gave myself the afternoon off work and headed up to Caffeine and Machine for a bit of car spotting and late lunch. Unfortunately I chose the wettest day possible, but hey, you can't move your birthday! I always think I never go to C&M often enough, but it is a 200 mile round trip. The wet weather gave a good test for the new Michelins which as predicted were spot on.
From there I went on to Gaydon for one of their evening car gatherings, saw a beautiful C7 Corvette...
Have been to a couple of 'Supercar' meets as well hosted by SurreyCarMeet, organised through Facebook. They're interesting events as they are pre-book only, you need to have an invite email to get access and the location isn't announced to the public until the day. The calibre of cars attending is exceptional, yesterdays meet had the McRae/Grist Metro 6R4 there, as well as Max Chilton and his stunning 2.7 Carrera RS.
So that's it really, a couple of small issues to sort, but on the whole, its all fantastic. On a long journey you really appreciate how the different powertrain modes work... Leave it in 'Normal' and 75mph sees around 2000rpm in 7th gear, that translates to around 33mpg, which is pretty exceptional for a car like this. Not that mpg really worries me, but when fuel has been a bit scarce round here, its good to know that you can do Lingfield and back on 1/3 of a tank.
17 days now until I head off down to Portugal... Really looking forward to the drive down there, should allow for some good photo opportunities.
just be aware that the supplying garage will not pay the bill, they have to be given the chance to fix it, hassle them first and foremostWhenever you meet another McLaren owner, one of the first questions seems to be "Have you had any problems with it?"
Happily now, I've met a few who haven't had any at all, if you only went on the testimony of the first few owners I met, you'd never touch one in a million years!
I currently have two issues - the oil leak I mentioned above is a 'weep' from the engine Vee Module. This was supposed to be sorted by the supplying garage before I took delivery, but the inspection carried out by McLaren last month revealed it hadn't been. I've been trying to get the garage to sort it out, the service manager is supposed to be arranging for the car to be collected this week to take it in and replace the part, but now I haven't heard from him since Monday last week, and he's stopped taking my calls.
So, I'm probably going to end up booking it in with McLaren Guildford to have it resolved, and will seek recompense from the garage. The other issue I have is the tracker has stopped talking to Vodafone, apparently not uncommon, it needs removing from behind the dash, powering down for a bit and refitting.
So those are the issues covered. Fortunately neither have stopped me using the McLaren and enjoying it.
It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I gave myself the afternoon off work and headed up to Caffeine and Machine for a bit of car spotting and late lunch. Unfortunately I chose the wettest day possible, but hey, you can't move your birthday! I always think I never go to C&M often enough, but it is a 200 mile round trip. The wet weather gave a good test for the new Michelins which as predicted were spot on.
From there I went on to Gaydon for one of their evening car gatherings, saw a beautiful C7 Corvette...
Have been to a couple of 'Supercar' meets as well hosted by SurreyCarMeet, organised through Facebook. They're interesting events as they are pre-book only, you need to have an invite email to get access and the location isn't announced to the public until the day. The calibre of cars attending is exceptional, yesterdays meet had the McRae/Grist Metro 6R4 there, as well as Max Chilton and his stunning 2.7 Carrera RS.
So that's it really, a couple of small issues to sort, but on the whole, its all fantastic. On a long journey you really appreciate how the different powertrain modes work... Leave it in 'Normal' and 75mph sees around 2000rpm in 7th gear, that translates to around 33mpg, which is pretty exceptional for a car like this. Not that mpg really worries me, but when fuel has been a bit scarce round here, its good to know that you can do Lingfield and back on 1/3 of a tank.
17 days now until I head off down to Portugal... Really looking forward to the drive down there, should allow for some good photo opportunities.
andymc said:
just be aware that the supplying garage will not pay the bill, they have to be given the chance to fix it, hassle them first and foremost
Ahh, I forgot to update that… all sorted. They had it in the week before I left to drive out here! New Vee module fitted (allegedly)! It was only after i sent them a moderately snotty email though. The prior slightly snotty emails had been ignored.
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