Buying a McLaren - WARNING!
Discussion
Having seen a McLaren for sale privately that i was interested in, i spoke to the dealer who had last serviced it to verify its history and to check that i'd be able to extend its warranty when it ran out. (The car's 2nd annual service had been carried out 5 months late)
The dealer obviously needed the car's details and said he'd need to check before releasing any history, which is understandable.
What i had not expected was for the dealer to contact the seller and buy the car themselves, literally within a couple of hours.
Yes with hindsight maybe i should have put a deposit on the car, but i didn't for 1 minute think a McLaren dealer would act in this manner.
Having raised a complaint with the General Manager he has investigated and confirmed in writing that his group buyer acted as a direct result of information passed to him by the person i spoke to. He hasn't made any comment as to whether he agrees or disagrees with what happened, just that they did contact the owner and buy the car as a result of my request to verify its history.
With various owners being less than impressed with how McLaren treat their customers by 'only building x examples' and then finding a way of building more, or by not releasing paint codes so cars have to go back to the dealership for stone chip or alloy refurbishment, this is just another example of McLaren alienating customers.
The experience has left a bitter taste, not just in connection with the dealer but sadly the brand as a whole............what's the rhyming slang for 'Main Dealer' again?
The dealer obviously needed the car's details and said he'd need to check before releasing any history, which is understandable.
What i had not expected was for the dealer to contact the seller and buy the car themselves, literally within a couple of hours.
Yes with hindsight maybe i should have put a deposit on the car, but i didn't for 1 minute think a McLaren dealer would act in this manner.
Having raised a complaint with the General Manager he has investigated and confirmed in writing that his group buyer acted as a direct result of information passed to him by the person i spoke to. He hasn't made any comment as to whether he agrees or disagrees with what happened, just that they did contact the owner and buy the car as a result of my request to verify its history.
With various owners being less than impressed with how McLaren treat their customers by 'only building x examples' and then finding a way of building more, or by not releasing paint codes so cars have to go back to the dealership for stone chip or alloy refurbishment, this is just another example of McLaren alienating customers.
The experience has left a bitter taste, not just in connection with the dealer but sadly the brand as a whole............what's the rhyming slang for 'Main Dealer' again?
Having literally just posted the above i get an email from McLaren Automotive saying
"Firstly thank you for making us aware of your discussions and communication with McLaren ***** since we spoke yesterday.
We can assure you that as a brand we in no way condone this type of practice and we are in contact with the retailer to discuss and address the issue."
Whilst its too late to be of benefit to me, hopefully by rapping their knuckles it'll stop anyone else being taken advantage of by the dealer in question.
"Firstly thank you for making us aware of your discussions and communication with McLaren ***** since we spoke yesterday.
We can assure you that as a brand we in no way condone this type of practice and we are in contact with the retailer to discuss and address the issue."
Whilst its too late to be of benefit to me, hopefully by rapping their knuckles it'll stop anyone else being taken advantage of by the dealer in question.
RamboLambo said:
Harsh but surprised trade bid is higher than private offer. Its a bit underhand but all fair in love and war and shows there is a demand for the car.
£15k trade to Retail is about the norm for all £100k supercars by the time they prep and warrant it etc,..
have to disagree, it's the equivalent of insider trading.£15k trade to Retail is about the norm for all £100k supercars by the time they prep and warrant it etc,..
completely anti-trust and screwing your customer over.
McLaren Automotive should throw the book at this dealer.
jasonwdh said:
RamboLambo said:
Harsh but surprised trade bid is higher than private offer. Its a bit underhand but all fair in love and war and shows there is a demand for the car.
£15k trade to Retail is about the norm for all £100k supercars by the time they prep and warrant it etc,..
have to disagree, it's the equivalent of insider trading.£15k trade to Retail is about the norm for all £100k supercars by the time they prep and warrant it etc,..
completely anti-trust and screwing your customer over.
McLaren Automotive should throw the book at this dealer.
I hope McLaren do something very positive about this and to be honest they really should urgently!
Edited by V8A*ndy on Wednesday 6th January 13:51
tuffer said:
I have been considering buying a 570S but based on various comments and feedback on here as well as my own experience of visiting a main dealer I am currently sat on the fence. I am also looking at a new Turbo S but have been told Sept delivery so looks like no imminent change.
It had been on my mind for some time that I would some day travel from Belfast and visit a dealer.I've read some of the comments from others and thought it might just be a poor experience overall.
Reading the above doesn't do much to change that thought.
RamboLambo said:
Its a bit underhand but all fair in love and war
That's absolute b
ks. The dealer's job should be to check history for the OP in the hope of getting an inspection role prior to sale or in the hope of keeping the car as a customer for servicing should the OP have bought said car - not to go behind his back and buy the car! It must have been extremely keenly priced for the seller to part to a main dealer without giving you a chance to top the dealer bid though.RamboLambo said:
Harsh but surprised trade bid is higher than private offer. Its a bit underhand but all fair in love and war and shows there is a demand for the car.
£15k trade to Retail is about the norm for all £100k supercars by the time they prep and warrant it etc,..
No, totally ungentlemanly conduct. Simply underhand behaviour.£15k trade to Retail is about the norm for all £100k supercars by the time they prep and warrant it etc,..
jasonwdh said:
it's the equivalent of insider trading.
Not unless the OP was the only person privvy to the fact that the car was for sale. If it was on PH/AT etc then who's to say that the dealer wasn't already on to it?
(For the record, I think it was underhand of the dealer to do it but just trying to play devils advocate)
V8A*ndy said:
It had been on my mind for some time that I would some day travel from Belfast and visit a dealer.
I've read some of the comments from others and thought it might just be a poor experience overall.
Reading the above doesn't do much to change that thought.
I was massively unimpressed with the main dealer visit, even less so when I caught the sales guy pulling faces to his colleague behind my back. I obviously had the wrong watch on.I've read some of the comments from others and thought it might just be a poor experience overall.
Reading the above doesn't do much to change that thought.
pincher said:
If it was on PH/AT etc then who's to say that the dealer wasn't already on to it?
That was the General Manager's stance when i first spoke to him yesterday.Following 'an investigation' when he spoke to the salesman and group buyer, he then emailed me this morning acknowledging that the buyer had been informed by the salesman after i had told him about the car.
I respect the General Manager acknowledging that they acted as a result of my conversation with them (he could have covered up for his colleagues) but he hasn't apologised, and has stated that anyone 'could' have bought the car and he doesn't think they acted unethically - well I do, as do many others here.
WARNING - When a sales person is building a rapport with you he may not be acting in your best interest, but his own!
Acting in your own short-term interest at the expense of building a long-term relationship with a client is more the practice of back-street 2nd hand car dealership than a reputable high end brand.
I certainly hope that the salesman doesn't get any 'referral bonus' for passing leads onto the buyer, as this is in effect encouraging this to happen again.
The manager is correct in saying that anyone could have bought the car but is incorrect in using it as justification for his staff stealing it from under your nose as they didn't come across the car themselves either through the seller contacting them or anyone from the dealership seeing an advert. The only explanation is that most dealers look out for themselves rather than the customer. Just didn't expect Mclaren to go down that road so quickly
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