Buying a McLaren - WARNING!
Discussion
magnum555 said:
Dealers are vultures, they dont care about you all they are interested is the money nothing else.
Thats why they are in business. Its why every businessman is in business. There is a lot of naivety in this thread - salesmen are there to sell cars and make money doing so. They arent there to look after the customers interest but their employers interest, and their own.Sure what happened here is not good but presumably the dealer simply took the view that keeping happy someone who wasnt going to buy from him anyway wasnt worth 15k. At worst this is a bit shortsighted.
We all know that if you tell a dealer for anything what discounted price his competitor is offering, all thats likely to happen is a phone call from one dealer to another however illegal it is. This is simply a parallel situation.
Happened when I sold my Bentley supersport but this was between dealers gazumping each other. Actually, the dealer I left the car with lied and said he was going to contact the dealer who was interested as he originally said he wasn't interested in part-exing. Anyway, in this case the dealer didn't do his job as it was supposed to be verifying details for the op.
bordseye said:
magnum555 said:
Dealers are vultures, they dont care about you all they are interested is the money nothing else.
Thats why they are in business. Its why every businessman is in business. There is a lot of naivety in this thread - salesmen are there to sell cars and make money doing so. They arent there to look after the customers interest but their employers interest, and their own.Sure what happened here is not good but presumably the dealer simply took the view that keeping happy someone who wasnt going to buy from him anyway wasnt worth 15k. At worst this is a bit shortsighted.
We all know that if you tell a dealer for anything what discounted price his competitor is offering, all thats likely to happen is a phone call from one dealer to another however illegal it is. This is simply a parallel situation.
bordseye said:
They arent there to look after the customers interest but their employers interest, and their own.
I'll bet a McClaren dealer would argue they were there precisely to look after their customer's interest... .bordseye said:
Sure what happened here is not good but presumably the dealer simply took the view that keeping happy someone who wasnt going to buy from him anyway wasnt worth 15k. leapt at the chance to make a quick buck by using information given to him in confidence in a private conversation by a member of the public who he knew was interested in buying the car.
I've edited the above to reflect a more balanced ethical view.bordseye said:
At worst this is a bit shortsighted.
Next time I stab someone in the back using information I knew damn well wasn't for my usage I'll remember I was only being "shortsighted". 
bordseye said:
magnum555 said:
Dealers are vultures, they dont care about you all they are interested is the money nothing else.
Thats why they are in business. Its why every businessman is in business. There is a lot of naivety in this thread - salesmen are there to sell cars and make money doing so. They arent there to look after the customers interest but their employers interest, and their own.Sure what happened here is not good but presumably the dealer simply took the view that keeping happy someone who wasnt going to buy from him anyway wasnt worth 15k. At worst this is a bit shortsighted.
We all know that if you tell a dealer for anything what discounted price his competitor is offering, all thats likely to happen is a phone call from one dealer to another however illegal it is. This is simply a parallel situation.
Alpinestars said:
bordseye said:
magnum555 said:
Dealers are vultures, they dont care about you all they are interested is the money nothing else.
Thats why they are in business. Its why every businessman is in business. There is a lot of naivety in this thread - salesmen are there to sell cars and make money doing so. They arent there to look after the customers interest but their employers interest, and their own.Sure what happened here is not good but presumably the dealer simply took the view that keeping happy someone who wasnt going to buy from him anyway wasnt worth 15k. At worst this is a bit shortsighted.
We all know that if you tell a dealer for anything what discounted price his competitor is offering, all thats likely to happen is a phone call from one dealer to another however illegal it is. This is simply a parallel situation.
I have to say this thread has contributed to me losing interest in buying a 570S. I'd shown interest with the dealer in question including a test drive, but zero follow-up, or response to email / tweets. Shame as it's a nice car, but for that amount of money there are plenty of nice cars out there, and they need to come with top class customer service.
OP here. An update for those that are following this thread.
My wife and I have just returned from a very enjoyable day at McLaren. We were given a private tour of both the Technical and Production Centres followed by lunch and 2 hours with two senior Director's keen to both listen and learn from the dealership treatment we had experienced.
McLaren as we all know are fanatical [in a good way] about the engineering and attention to detail employed within the cars they make, but they also conveyed to us their resolve to ensure this quality goes beyond the product and extends to the buying experience and relationship that we as car enthusiasts experience within their dealership network.
They strongly conveyed that this shouldn't be reserved only for people that have already bought a McLaren, but should equally apply to those that are considering buying one, or indeed those that may have ambitions to buy one in the future.
It was interesting to hear that they have read and are following this thread, and together with other customer experiences and mystery shopper feedback measure & rate individual dealers against their piers. Dealership performance/rating is strongly based on customer experience, not merely on number of units sold.
It was very gratifying to see that McLaren have taken seriously the 'issue' I encountered, and to have been treated to such special day. A big "Thank You" to those that spent time with us today and to the other people that i have been in correspondence with and who set things up.
p.s. Having been a McLaren owner for 10 days now, I can wholeheartedly recommend the product and McLaren Birmingham to anyone that might be considering a purchase.
My wife and I have just returned from a very enjoyable day at McLaren. We were given a private tour of both the Technical and Production Centres followed by lunch and 2 hours with two senior Director's keen to both listen and learn from the dealership treatment we had experienced.
McLaren as we all know are fanatical [in a good way] about the engineering and attention to detail employed within the cars they make, but they also conveyed to us their resolve to ensure this quality goes beyond the product and extends to the buying experience and relationship that we as car enthusiasts experience within their dealership network.
They strongly conveyed that this shouldn't be reserved only for people that have already bought a McLaren, but should equally apply to those that are considering buying one, or indeed those that may have ambitions to buy one in the future.
It was interesting to hear that they have read and are following this thread, and together with other customer experiences and mystery shopper feedback measure & rate individual dealers against their piers. Dealership performance/rating is strongly based on customer experience, not merely on number of units sold.
It was very gratifying to see that McLaren have taken seriously the 'issue' I encountered, and to have been treated to such special day. A big "Thank You" to those that spent time with us today and to the other people that i have been in correspondence with and who set things up.
p.s. Having been a McLaren owner for 10 days now, I can wholeheartedly recommend the product and McLaren Birmingham to anyone that might be considering a purchase.
Glad you had an enjoyable Day Ian, getting a look around the MTC and the opportunity to speak to someone in management should help conclude what was very shabby behavior by the dealer.
Hopefully they took on board your comments about the experience for existing and potential owners and try to improve what from my visits and dealings with two Mc dealers can only described as arrogance and indifference at both sales and service dept levels.
I'm sure in the main, many have had a great experience, I can only speak of my recent personal one in trying to buy a 12C. (And obviously yours!)
Gents if you're reading this, it seriously does need improving in some areas, just my opinion...
Hopefully they took on board your comments about the experience for existing and potential owners and try to improve what from my visits and dealings with two Mc dealers can only described as arrogance and indifference at both sales and service dept levels.
I'm sure in the main, many have had a great experience, I can only speak of my recent personal one in trying to buy a 12C. (And obviously yours!)
Gents if you're reading this, it seriously does need improving in some areas, just my opinion...
Edited by V8FSI on Thursday 11th February 12:47
100 IAN said:
OP here. An update for those that are following this thread.
My wife and I have just returned from a very enjoyable day at McLaren. We were given a private tour of both the Technical and Production Centres followed by lunch and 2 hours with two senior Director's keen to both listen and learn from the dealership treatment we had experienced.
McLaren as we all know are fanatical [in a good way] about the engineering and attention to detail employed within the cars they make, but they also conveyed to us their resolve to ensure this quality goes beyond the product and extends to the buying experience and relationship that we as car enthusiasts experience within their dealership network.
They strongly conveyed that this shouldn't be reserved only for people that have already bought a McLaren, but should equally apply to those that are considering buying one, or indeed those that may have ambitions to buy one in the future.
It was interesting to hear that they have read and are following this thread, and together with other customer experiences and mystery shopper feedback measure & rate individual dealers against their piers. Dealership performance/rating is strongly based on customer experience, not merely on number of units sold.
It was very gratifying to see that McLaren have taken seriously the 'issue' I encountered, and to have been treated to such special day. A big "Thank You" to those that spent time with us today and to the other people that i have been in correspondence with and who set things up.
p.s. Having been a McLaren owner for 10 days now, I can wholeheartedly recommend the product and McLaren Birmingham to anyone that might be considering a purchase.
Like Ian I have been a 12C owner for 10 days and my initial review of choosing the car and the car itself is on the 'pushed the button' thread. I just want to echo Ian's view, I had a less than favourable experience with one dealer but then switched and bought my McLaren from Birmingham who were brilliant. If you are looking for a McLaren I would start at Birmingham where the dealer matches the excellence of the car.My wife and I have just returned from a very enjoyable day at McLaren. We were given a private tour of both the Technical and Production Centres followed by lunch and 2 hours with two senior Director's keen to both listen and learn from the dealership treatment we had experienced.
McLaren as we all know are fanatical [in a good way] about the engineering and attention to detail employed within the cars they make, but they also conveyed to us their resolve to ensure this quality goes beyond the product and extends to the buying experience and relationship that we as car enthusiasts experience within their dealership network.
They strongly conveyed that this shouldn't be reserved only for people that have already bought a McLaren, but should equally apply to those that are considering buying one, or indeed those that may have ambitions to buy one in the future.
It was interesting to hear that they have read and are following this thread, and together with other customer experiences and mystery shopper feedback measure & rate individual dealers against their piers. Dealership performance/rating is strongly based on customer experience, not merely on number of units sold.
It was very gratifying to see that McLaren have taken seriously the 'issue' I encountered, and to have been treated to such special day. A big "Thank You" to those that spent time with us today and to the other people that i have been in correspondence with and who set things up.
p.s. Having been a McLaren owner for 10 days now, I can wholeheartedly recommend the product and McLaren Birmingham to anyone that might be considering a purchase.
Edited by Bispal on Thursday 11th February 07:03
Top marks to McLaren here, speaking as someone who had a Porsche GT4 deposit and confirmed order returned due to supply issues it is nice that a manufacturer still cares. I have been watching this thread as I am thinking of heading this way as well. Plus as it said in the seventies, Buy British.
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