My New McLaren 12C Coupe (The Shmeemobile)
Discussion
Great car Schmee.
I recently changed from an R8 V10 coupe (beautiful car but something missing) to a F430 F1 coupe and I'm really loving it. Much louder and more of an event every time I step in.
I am planning to keep it for a year and then get into something else. I'm considering the 458 but a little concerned that there seems to be so many around. I will therefore most probably shortlist an 11 or 12 reg 12c. I love the modern clean look of the car and the fact that there are fewer on the roads than the 458.
Should I expect it to be similar to the R8 v10 or will it be closer in character to the Ferrari? I hav'nt driven a 458.
Enjoy your car BTW and my 17 year old son is a fan of yours and always shows me your vids.
Thanks
I recently changed from an R8 V10 coupe (beautiful car but something missing) to a F430 F1 coupe and I'm really loving it. Much louder and more of an event every time I step in.
I am planning to keep it for a year and then get into something else. I'm considering the 458 but a little concerned that there seems to be so many around. I will therefore most probably shortlist an 11 or 12 reg 12c. I love the modern clean look of the car and the fact that there are fewer on the roads than the 458.
Should I expect it to be similar to the R8 v10 or will it be closer in character to the Ferrari? I hav'nt driven a 458.
Enjoy your car BTW and my 17 year old son is a fan of yours and always shows me your vids.
Thanks
I'd say the 12C is more akin to the F430 to drive than the R8, certainly in terms of the experience and overall feel. At the end of the day I think my view with the R8 is that it's a brilliant car but it's too much like a normal Audi and that takes away from the enjoyment of it.
What I love the most about the 12C is how versatile it is; at one end you leave it in full auto and turn the wheel in traffic with a finger, at the other you dial it up and hit the Nurburgring and it's something else.
So the short answer is that I think it will be as usable as your R8 was, with the excitement you get from the F430, and that's why it's so good and many people like myself are happily putting big miles on them.
What I love the most about the 12C is how versatile it is; at one end you leave it in full auto and turn the wheel in traffic with a finger, at the other you dial it up and hit the Nurburgring and it's something else.
So the short answer is that I think it will be as usable as your R8 was, with the excitement you get from the F430, and that's why it's so good and many people like myself are happily putting big miles on them.
Shmee said:
I'd say the 12C is more akin to the F430 to drive than the R8, certainly in terms of the experience and overall feel. At the end of the day I think my view with the R8 is that it's a brilliant car but it's too much like a normal Audi and that takes away from the enjoyment of it.
What I love the most about the 12C is how versatile it is; at one end you leave it in full auto and turn the wheel in traffic with a finger, at the other you dial it up and hit the Nurburgring and it's something else.
So the short answer is that I think it will be as usable as your R8 was, with the excitement you get from the F430, and that's why it's so good and many people like myself are happily putting big miles on them.
Fantastic! that's what I wanted to hear. Thank you for your reply and keep up the great posts. It would be interesting, as you spend more time with the car, to find out your experiences in regard to overall reliability, running costs (compared to other relative cars) and the experience with the dealers.What I love the most about the 12C is how versatile it is; at one end you leave it in full auto and turn the wheel in traffic with a finger, at the other you dial it up and hit the Nurburgring and it's something else.
So the short answer is that I think it will be as usable as your R8 was, with the excitement you get from the F430, and that's why it's so good and many people like myself are happily putting big miles on them.
Many thanks in advance.
Well I'm 11,000 miles down in 6 months! The one service I've had wasn't cheap where the 458 admittedly would include the 7 year service pack on a like-for-like 2012 car, but again that's reflected in the market prices of the cars.
I can safely say to date that I have had far less problems with the McLaren than I did with my R8, it's a different league of reliability - in the good way!
I can safely say to date that I have had far less problems with the McLaren than I did with my R8, it's a different league of reliability - in the good way!
For my take on this is similar to shmee.. I owned a 430 when they first came out.. Great car & amazing sound & drive.. Then had a R8 spider.. Good car but just didn't feel special enough although major advantage was that it was less in your face than the 430.. The 12C is similar in this aspect in that it is less in your face than s 458 but made the driver feel really special! The performance and dynamics is just amazing. Test drive a 458 and really after driving the two back to back, opted for the 12C spider!! It really is a special car!! Plus driving the 12C means people letting you out of junctions and more respect.. Maybe because British?? Also there are so few on the roads unlike the 458!!
You won't go wrong with the 12C..
You won't go wrong with the 12C..
Shmee said:
Well I'm 11,000 miles down in 6 months! The one service I've had wasn't cheap where the 458 admittedly would include the 7 year service pack on a like-for-like 2012 car, but again that's reflected in the market prices of the cars.
I can safely say to date that I have had far less problems with the McLaren than I did with my R8, it's a different league of reliability - in the good way!
Thank you very much for the info. Sounds like the type of car I will be looking for. I can safely say to date that I have had far less problems with the McLaren than I did with my R8, it's a different league of reliability - in the good way!
giggsy said:
For my take on this is similar to shmee.. I owned a 430 when they first came out.. Great car & amazing sound & drive.. Then had a R8 spider.. Good car but just didn't feel special enough although major advantage was that it was less in your face than the 430.. The 12C is similar in this aspect in that it is less in your face than s 458 but made the driver feel really special! The performance and dynamics is just amazing. Test drive a 458 and really after driving the two back to back, opted for the 12C spider!! It really is a special car!! Plus driving the 12C means people letting you out of junctions and more respect.. Maybe because British?? Also there are so few on the roads unlike the 458!!
You won't go wrong with the 12C..
Thanks for the info. Do you have any idea on how residual values are performing and also what type of discounts the dealers will do on new cars?You won't go wrong with the 12C..
Residuals seem to be stable for the past 6months or the asking price of the vehicles seem stable anyway, not sure about the trade in price. Obviously there are discount for the remaining unregistered 12C and they are around £170-175K..
Mine is a 13 year so not sure about the reliability of the earlier cars.... But do try to buy one with the latest IRIS 2 upgrade..
Mine is a 13 year so not sure about the reliability of the earlier cars.... But do try to buy one with the latest IRIS 2 upgrade..
430 is a great car - very Ferrari, which means sonorous V8, delicate handling and very tactile. The car works in quite a traditional way though (a good thing I think).
The 12C is about three generations ahead and has been a revelation to me. It has some minuses, such as lag under 3k and not quite the same instantaneous throttle response as a 430 but we are only talking degrees here.
Th 12C can do things the 430 can't even think about though. The chassis electronics are amazing and help you to go faster while still being very intuitive. It has plenty of feel and its own 'special' box of tricks to help you go faster and better.
The performance is other wordly so rather than being a retrograde step, the 'clever help' is, well, very clever indeed.
I love the looks, the performance, the feel, the incredible grip and handling, the interior, the sound (don't believe what some say, it has its own unique and enthralling sound with the sports exhaust installed), the super fast and slick gearbox and so many other small details too.
A brilliant, brilliant car and far ahead of the 430. IMO.
The 12C is about three generations ahead and has been a revelation to me. It has some minuses, such as lag under 3k and not quite the same instantaneous throttle response as a 430 but we are only talking degrees here.
Th 12C can do things the 430 can't even think about though. The chassis electronics are amazing and help you to go faster while still being very intuitive. It has plenty of feel and its own 'special' box of tricks to help you go faster and better.
The performance is other wordly so rather than being a retrograde step, the 'clever help' is, well, very clever indeed.
I love the looks, the performance, the feel, the incredible grip and handling, the interior, the sound (don't believe what some say, it has its own unique and enthralling sound with the sports exhaust installed), the super fast and slick gearbox and so many other small details too.
A brilliant, brilliant car and far ahead of the 430. IMO.
Question for you guys. With a ferrari (or Porsche, Aston, Lambo etc) there is quite a lot of competition and choice in the independent maintenance space. Whilst I would get servicing done at ferrari, I might choose to replace consumables at a specialist (eg brake changes) as there really is no special skill or tools needed that only ferrari might have, this helps to keep ownership costs down and also means that I reality ferrari are more likely to do a deal on sundry work to your car knowing you may just got to the independent. Somebody mentioned that Maclaren mechanics are too sophisticated or black boxed for this to be the case I.e. Not only do you need to go to them for servicing (fine) but you also need to go to them for all the other stuff to; therefore expensive. Is this the case?
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