650S or 570S?

[Davyt]

The current warranty offer is only for cars coming out of their 3 year factory warranty, obviously any P11 cars or anything registered before March 2021 won’t qualify

[samoht]

Dezbo said:

I’m still torn between 650S and 570S. Generally prefer the 650S but the main dealer warranty costs at over £5k per year now are extortionate and jumps for cars over 10 years old. Thorney and V are both hours away from me whereas main stealer is on my doorstep. Also assume that these cars are often in for best part or more than a day at a time so would be multiple round trips or overnight stays with the indies - my time is important to me. Thorney also seems to be incredibly busy so likely 1-2 month wait to get any work done. Don’t think I’m brave enough to self warranty. Any suggestions?

FWIW my 2019 570GT has had three day trips to V, one for MoT and alignment and two for annual services. At the initial visit there were a couple of minor things (present when I bought the car) which had to wait to the next visit due to needing to order the parts, but didn't stop me enjoying the car. This year it was just a service, no other issues found. So far for me the car hasn't had issues which have required return visits or multi-day stays (touch carbon fibre!). I asked Paul at V about booking lead times and he said a month is fine.

As far as I see it you have two options
a) buy a 570 approved used with warranty (1, possibly 2 years). Get it serviced at the nearby dealer. After ~18 months you'll be in a better position to decide if you want to keep the car and if so if you want to keep up the warranty / main dealer servicing. Some people have had positive experiences with main dealers, they do vary, and being nearby is useful. Worst case you sell it on after 18 months with some warranty remaining and at least you've had the experience of ownership.
b) buy a 650S (since that's what you prefer) and take it to V Engineering, put up with the trek or cost of transporting the car (hopefully only once or twice a year) in exchange for the triple benefit of not having to pay warranty, not paying main dealer service prices, and having real experts with a decade of Mac experience crawl all over your car and get it spot on.

For me as an enthusiast, the opportunity to drive a McLaren is well worth it

[Wheelspinning]

Frankychops said:

Dezbo said:

Congratulations - looks stunning and making me green with envy ;-) . I’m still torn between 650S and 570S. Generally prefer the 650S but the main dealer warranty costs at over £5k per year now are extortionate and jumps for cars over 10 years old. Thorney and V are both hours away from me whereas main stealer is on my doorstep. Also assume that these cars are often in for best part or more than a day at a time so would be multiple round trips or overnight stays with the indies - my time is important to me. Thorney also seems to be incredibly busy so likely 1-2 month wait to get any work done. Don’t think I’m brave enough to self warranty. Any suggestions?

I was at the same point. 650s is just a bit more 'special'. V will transport your car and still charge less than a main dealer. also having spoken to Thorney and V, the 650s is just a more reliable/better built car than the 570s.

I found V to be easier to talk to and deal with out of the 2 main specailsts. They'd get my work.

I cannot comment on the 570, but I cannot recommend the 650 enough, especially in spider form.

The game has moved on dramatically when I stuck my toe in the McLaren water, and do not feel as though the warranty is a massive factor now.

Whereas before a broken coil spring or faulty accumulators meant a £5k replacement, V can repair the faulty bits at an absolute fraction of the cost, likewise with other suspension components that couldnt be split previously and only available as complete units.

As has been mentioned, their service costs are very cheap and will collect and return at a very reasonable cost also.

They know McLarens inside out.

I made a post the other day about seeing a VY 650spider the other day, and it was just stunning and whilst it looks as fresh today as it did 10yrs ago and could easily still be mistaken as a new supercar, the performance is still as quick or in most cases quicker than current 'supercars'.

An absolute bargain 'proper' supercar.

Edited by Wheelspinning on Saturday 13th April 11:05

[Dezbo]

samoht said:

FWIW my 2019 570GT has had three day trips to V, one for MoT and alignment and two for annual services. At the initial visit there were a couple of minor things (present when I bought the car) which had to wait to the next visit due to needing to order the parts, but didn't stop me enjoying the car. This year it was just a service, no other issues found. So far for me the car hasn't had issues which have required return visits or multi-day stays (touch carbon fibre!). I asked Paul at V about booking lead times and he said a month is fine.

As far as I see it you have two options
a) buy a 570 approved used with warranty (1, possibly 2 years). Get it serviced at the nearby dealer. After ~18 months you'll be in a better position to decide if you want to keep the car and if so if you want to keep up the warranty / main dealer servicing. Some people have had positive experiences with main dealers, they do vary, and being nearby is useful. Worst case you sell it on after 18 months with some warranty remaining and at least you've had the experience of ownership.
b) buy a 650S (since that's what you prefer) and take it to V Engineering, put up with the trek or cost of transporting the car (hopefully only once or twice a year) in exchange for the triple benefit of not having to pay warranty, not paying main dealer service prices, and having real experts with a decade of Mac experience crawl all over your car and get it spot on.

For me as an enthusiast, the opportunity to drive a McLaren is well worth it

Really helpful (and others) - thanks. You’ve summed up my current thinking nicely. There’s also a roughly 10k price differential between 650 and 570 spiders which would cover some bills (and likely depreciation). Big factor for me is not driving the wife mad with multiple trips away from family duty so if V can collect this could be a game changer!

[akadk]

Had my 650 a year / 3k. Bought from Al Bols, had a 1yr warranty

Zero issues

Service last month at V, no issues found.

Proper supercar

By that point, the 650 was a properly engineered car.

I’ve got no warranty and don’t intend to

[12pack]

Wheelspinning said:

I cannot comment on the 570, but I cannot recommend the 650 enough, especially in spider form.

The game has moved on dramatically when I stuck my toe in the McLaren water, and do not feel as though the warranty is a massive factor now.

Whereas before a broken coil spring or faulty accumulators meant a £5k replacement, V can repair the faulty bits at an absolute fraction of the cost, likewise with other suspension components that couldnt be split previously and only available as complete units.

As has been mentioned, their service costs are very cheap and will collect and return at a very reasonable cost also.

They know McLarens inside out.

I made a post the other day about seeing a VY 650spider the other day, and it was just stunning and whilst it looks as fresh today as it did 10yrs ago and could easily still be mistaken as a new supercar, the performance is still as quick or in most cases quicker than current 'supercars'.

An absolute bargain 'proper' supercar.

Edited by Wheelspinning on Saturday 13th April 11:05

Well put. Fully agree. Plus the active aero and super series suspension add to the exoticness of the car - and they actually work.