MP4-12C - latest situation and owners' opinions
Discussion
jandrews said:
Finally, the very positive attention you get from the public is something I just didn't experience with previous cars. I am getting used to people photographing the car whenever I refuel and wandering over to ask questions.
How many years is the warranty?
BelfastBoy said:
What is the issue with the IRIS system? I don't want to be negative and am glad to hear that, generally, Mclaren ownership is more good than bad. But, it seems a bit ridiculous that a key feature of the car, much trumpeted in pre-release hype, is still yet to make an appearance.
Indeed. Out of interest, if you spec'd IRIS did they still charge you for it or was payment deferred until installation?kryten22uk said:
Indeed. Out of interest, if you spec'd IRIS did they still charge you for it or was payment deferred until installation?
Well I have to say I have had my MP4 for a few weeks now and this car blows the competition out of the water, and not only the car but the dealers too. The car is a game changer and the journos did get it wrong, as some are admiting now, the paddles are different as they require more effort and unlike any other, are fixed to the wheel but they are more involving. I disliked the Ferrari and Lambo paddle change as it felt more like and automatic and uninvolving ( just a flick of tghe little finger )but this feels more like I am doing the changing and a bit mechanical a la the old open gate manual Ferrari.To answer the question above Iris is being given FOC to all owners up until the system is ready which whilst not being ideal as I would prefer a functioning system from the off, is more than fair.
pushing 5000 miles,no issues since the electronics upgrade,very very happy and the milage that these cars are doing shows its difficult to keep out of them imop,even through the winter,some people would say that means its not special,but i would rather get the milage out of a car than it being a garage queen,you are going to loose money anyway.
Oh,and the journos did get it hopelessly wrong,but pistonheads did do it justice as well as Monkey
Oh,and the journos did get it hopelessly wrong,but pistonheads did do it justice as well as Monkey
Edited by ANDYCLAX on Monday 19th March 09:24
cc8s said:
Anyone else find the doors hard to close? I was afraid I was breaking the car because you have to slam the door so hard.
They're not at all difficult to close but yes, you need to use more force than with conventional doors. For opening, the new key fobs have a button to release the door so you don't have to stroke the door & get all dirty - or worse still, stand in a car park in front of a crowd of onlookers stroking the door of your new McLaren endlessly, because you haven't yet figured out how to do it first time every time.& don't worry. The doors are not going to break - it's not a Ferrari.
tony993 said:
They're not at all difficult to close.
You must be lucky, as mine certainly are and why have the hand swipe in the first place, if it is so inconsistent and you have to fall back on the key fob?That said, I am confident that McLaren will re-work the door design and solve this annoying (for me) issue.
coyft said:
Do you have to be careful where you park it because of the space needed to open the door? Can you park it in a normal space with a car either side?
You have to be careful but is generally ok in most places. Mine sits at station car park most days and haven't had a problem yet.
traxx said:
coyft said:
Do you have to be careful where you park it because of the space needed to open the door? Can you park it in a normal space with a car either side?
yes, first day I had my car I got stuck in a Waitrose car park because I couldn't get the doors open
We took delivery of ours last Wednesday - http://gallery.me.com/paulbrown#100192 (along with the lovely XKR-S in the gallery!).
The build and material quality is significantly better than the 458. I am told Iris will be working by the end of April / early May.
I have not had chance to really push her yet as we are just completing the running in and unfortunately a fault developed in the vacuum seal of one of the air intakes for the turbo. McLaren Birmingham were very good, the car was picked up and taken for repairs on Monday and should be back later today - time for a bit more running in!!
As I have driven a couple of demo's both on the road and at Dunsfold, I do not think the Mp4 is better than the 458, just different. It is faster and feels it, more usable and makes you feel more able to exploit the performance. Grip, turn in and steering are exceptional and the (carbon ceramic) brakes are superb. The ride quality is very, very good and the noise is lovely (we have the sports exhaust).
Whilst we have had to wait a long time due to the problems with the production cars, and despite the fault developing within a few hours, I am still very impressed. Bearing in mind our 458 has not been a paragon of reliability or build quality - it has just returned yet again from the frankly shocking JCT 600 in Leeds after 2 weeks of waiting for Ferrari to confirm the latest faults are covered by warranty - failed exhaust silencer and parking sensors. Ferrari seem to have a real downer on Car Clubs and appear to try and make life difficult at every opportunity, despite our efforts to build a relationship with them.
As the miles roll on and members get to use the car I will post updates on progress and feedback.
The build and material quality is significantly better than the 458. I am told Iris will be working by the end of April / early May.
I have not had chance to really push her yet as we are just completing the running in and unfortunately a fault developed in the vacuum seal of one of the air intakes for the turbo. McLaren Birmingham were very good, the car was picked up and taken for repairs on Monday and should be back later today - time for a bit more running in!!
As I have driven a couple of demo's both on the road and at Dunsfold, I do not think the Mp4 is better than the 458, just different. It is faster and feels it, more usable and makes you feel more able to exploit the performance. Grip, turn in and steering are exceptional and the (carbon ceramic) brakes are superb. The ride quality is very, very good and the noise is lovely (we have the sports exhaust).
Whilst we have had to wait a long time due to the problems with the production cars, and despite the fault developing within a few hours, I am still very impressed. Bearing in mind our 458 has not been a paragon of reliability or build quality - it has just returned yet again from the frankly shocking JCT 600 in Leeds after 2 weeks of waiting for Ferrari to confirm the latest faults are covered by warranty - failed exhaust silencer and parking sensors. Ferrari seem to have a real downer on Car Clubs and appear to try and make life difficult at every opportunity, despite our efforts to build a relationship with them.
As the miles roll on and members get to use the car I will post updates on progress and feedback.
It is amazing that faults are still developing on new cars. You would have thought that any niggles would have been out by now - it inspires no confidence at all...
To draw a comparison (yes shoot me down if you want) but the GTR was a totally new car and that has had next to no faults (bar the 3 early cars which had transmission failures). If Nissan can do it why can't Macca?
To draw a comparison (yes shoot me down if you want) but the GTR was a totally new car and that has had next to no faults (bar the 3 early cars which had transmission failures). If Nissan can do it why can't Macca?
I do not want to excuse McLaren however to develop a totally new car from scratch is not an easy task - especially when the whole architecture of the car is unique and shares no parts with other cars.
The Nissan GTR is a phenomenal achievement, Nissan however have the advantage of producing millions of cars and sharing components that have been in use for many years. It would be a surprise therefore if the GTR had numerous faults from launch as most parts are proven.
Given a little more time I am sure McLaren will be building cars significantly better than any of their peers!
The Nissan GTR is a phenomenal achievement, Nissan however have the advantage of producing millions of cars and sharing components that have been in use for many years. It would be a surprise therefore if the GTR had numerous faults from launch as most parts are proven.
Given a little more time I am sure McLaren will be building cars significantly better than any of their peers!
pb1695 said:
The Nissan GTR is a phenomenal achievement, Nissan however have the advantage of producing millions of cars and sharing components that have been in use for many years. It would be a surprise therefore if the GTR had numerous faults from launch as most parts are proven.
At the risk of going off-topic, that statement is completely incorrect. The GTR shares almost no components with any other Nissan. Please list the parts you know to be the same, I've seen the car in cross-section and owned one. The entire drivetrain/bodyshell/interior/displays etc are unique. There are perhaps a few sub-components from the parts bin that aren't seen, maybe a washer-motor or a heater motor heere and there but thats all.pb1695 said:
I do not want to excuse McLaren however to develop a totally new car from scratch is not an easy task - especially when the whole architecture of the car is unique and shares no parts with other cars.
The Nissan GTR is a phenomenal achievement, Nissan however have the advantage of producing millions of cars and sharing components that have been in use for many years. It would be a surprise therefore if the GTR had numerous faults from launch as most parts are proven.
Given a little more time I am sure McLaren will be building cars significantly better than any of their peers!
The difference here is that Mclaren released these cars KNOWING that there were problems, knowing that they would need to be recalled more than once to rectify and knowing they had no solutions to those problems or even an accurate time line in which they would be able to deliver those solutions, whilst they continued to deliver customer cars.The Nissan GTR is a phenomenal achievement, Nissan however have the advantage of producing millions of cars and sharing components that have been in use for many years. It would be a surprise therefore if the GTR had numerous faults from launch as most parts are proven.
Given a little more time I am sure McLaren will be building cars significantly better than any of their peers!
I'm sure it is incredibly difficult to think of everything and that often excessive road use throws up issue that engineers and testers are unable to find during R & D but that is not what happened here. They made an informed management decision to release a car that they knew was incomplete and that they had no means to complete. I cannot think of another car in history that has been released in this way
This isn't speculation, this is what owners (including me) were told by dealers.
I have documented here that I had a very early car (number 3 I think) and had so many problems. Mclaren came to my house 3 times and it went back to the dealership twice in the first month of ownership before I decided enough was enough and told them to keep it.
For those of you who have been promised IRIS in April, whilst this may be true, remember it was promised 4-6 weeks after first cars in August then again in later October, then again in early January then again beginning of March to other owners so I wouldn't hold your breath.
All in all, one of the most disappointing ownership experiences I have had with a new car.
Rant over.
I did say components i.e. door locks, electric motors, electronic components such as sensors, wiring etc. I know the engine / drivetrain are unique however whilst I do not have exact parts details I would expect some component parts - pipes, connectors, solenoids etc are shared. I am not critiscising the GTR which is a truly great achievement, just pointing out that a major motor manufacturer with access to many tried and tested components albeit being designed from the ground up has a better chance of developing a more reliable car from scratch than a new start up company doing the same and developing virtually every component from scratch.
quote=Guyr]
At the risk of going off-topic, that statement is completely incorrect. The GTR shares almost no components with any other Nissan. Please list the parts you know to be the same, I've seen the car in cross-section and owned one. The entire drivetrain/bodyshell/interior/displays etc are unique. There are perhaps a few sub-components from the parts bin that aren't seen, maybe a washer-motor or a heater motor heere and there but thats all.[/quot
quote=Guyr]
At the risk of going off-topic, that statement is completely incorrect. The GTR shares almost no components with any other Nissan. Please list the parts you know to be the same, I've seen the car in cross-section and owned one. The entire drivetrain/bodyshell/interior/displays etc are unique. There are perhaps a few sub-components from the parts bin that aren't seen, maybe a washer-motor or a heater motor heere and there but thats all.[/quot
I agree with all of your points here - they should not have over promised and under delivered. My experience of our 458 which was an early car was also very poor with numerous faults, recalls, failures etc and a manufacturer who seemed not to care one iota about customer care. McLaren would have been better to delay the launch until development was fully finished as this would have saved a great deal of embarrassment and customer dissatisfaction.
They have however produced a totally amazing car in terms of performance and handling..
They have however produced a totally amazing car in terms of performance and handling..
Lambo FirstBlood said:
The difference here is that Mclaren released these cars KNOWING that there were problems, knowing that they would need to be recalled more than once to rectify and knowing they had no solutions to those problems or even an accurate time line in which they would be able to deliver those solutions, whilst they continued to deliver customer cars.
I'm sure it is incredibly difficult to think of everything and that often excessive road use throws up issue that engineers and testers are unable to find during R & D but that is not what happened here. They made an informed management decision to release a car that they knew was incomplete and that they had no means to complete. I cannot think of another car in history that has been released in this way
This isn't speculation, this is what owners (including me) were told by dealers.
I have documented here that I had a very early car (number 3 I think) and had so many problems. Mclaren came to my house 3 times and it went back to the dealership twice in the first month of ownership before I decided enough was enough and told them to keep it.
For those of you who have been promised IRIS in April, whilst this may be true, remember it was promised 4-6 weeks after first cars in August then again in later October, then again in early January then again beginning of March to other owners so I wouldn't hold your breath.
All in all, one of the most disappointing ownership experiences I have had with a new car.
Rant over.
I'm sure it is incredibly difficult to think of everything and that often excessive road use throws up issue that engineers and testers are unable to find during R & D but that is not what happened here. They made an informed management decision to release a car that they knew was incomplete and that they had no means to complete. I cannot think of another car in history that has been released in this way
This isn't speculation, this is what owners (including me) were told by dealers.
I have documented here that I had a very early car (number 3 I think) and had so many problems. Mclaren came to my house 3 times and it went back to the dealership twice in the first month of ownership before I decided enough was enough and told them to keep it.
For those of you who have been promised IRIS in April, whilst this may be true, remember it was promised 4-6 weeks after first cars in August then again in later October, then again in early January then again beginning of March to other owners so I wouldn't hold your breath.
All in all, one of the most disappointing ownership experiences I have had with a new car.
Rant over.
[quote=Lambo
I'm sure it is incredibly difficult to think of everything and that often excessive road use throws up issue that engineers and testers are unable to find during R & D but that is not what happened here. They made an informed management decision to release a car that they knew was incomplete and that they had no means to complete. I cannot think of another car in history that has been released in this way
I take it you never bought a new TVR ???
I'm sure it is incredibly difficult to think of everything and that often excessive road use throws up issue that engineers and testers are unable to find during R & D but that is not what happened here. They made an informed management decision to release a car that they knew was incomplete and that they had no means to complete. I cannot think of another car in history that has been released in this way
I take it you never bought a new TVR ???
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