650S or 570S?

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Hi All

I am here due to lots of messing about with Lotus on a new Emira order that seems still to be 6 months away after 2.5 years or waiting already. I am seriously considering taking my £85k and putting it into a McLaren. Insurance costs are similar and the McLaren is a whole league above the Lotus but I am undecided over a 650S and the 570S. I kind of prefer the looks of the 650S but £85k is sort of the bottom of the 650 market but there is some headroom in the 570 market, I could get a slightly nicer/newer car..

Any thoughts or comment welcome.

Edited by cutting42 on Monday 8th January 17:27

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Thanks all for the comments and the advice is clear. Test drive! I have driven a 570 but it was a few years ago. I was incredibly impressed with it but need a back to back test.

There is a gorgeous Mantis Green 650S on Thorney that has reduced to 87.5, might need to pop over to take a look as they are quite close.

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Just ran some insurance numbers and the 650S is under £500 which I am impressed with; over £100 less than the 570S. OK small change in the scheme of things but it all helps.

I really appreciate the postings, especially for such an oft asked question but the succinct summary really helps.

Need to get into some cars now.

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murphyaj said:

Who was that with?
I am planning on jumping into a 650S at some point this year, and the insurance quotes I am getting are around the £900 to £1000 mark. I'm in my forties, low risk postcode, low risk job, 15+ years NCB, no claims, no convictions. Figured I'd be close to as low as it gets.

I am older than you, 57, also with 15+ NCB, Herts postcode and 4000 miles with a £85k 2015 car used for the quote. Best quotes were with Admiral.

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murphyaj said:

Interesting, I think insurance must have come down a little. I was getting almost £1000 last time I got a quote from Admiral, now it's dropped to £775.
Biggest difference I can think of is that mine will be on a driveway rather than a garage, but even changing that it still comes to £700. Maybe Herts is a lower crime area than Berks.

(this is when someone comes along shocked and horrified that I would ever consider buying a McLaren without keeping it in a garage)

Not me, mine will be on a drive as well.

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Frankychops said:

not a million miles from a 720s though now.

Just what I am starting to think. Would need another £40k though, still a jump.

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I finally got around to a test drive today. A lovely 650s Spider at Thorneys. Not the greatest of weather but the grip on slippery roads on cold tyres was impressive. Loved the ride and cabin and think I can make the space work for trips away etc. Need to decide colour, spider or coupe but think I am ready to pull the trigger on a 650s. Thanks for the advice.

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samoht said:

Nice.

On the luggage space, the coupes have the 'not a luggage compartment' luggage compartment behind the seats which is probably similar in capacity to the frunk, so overall roughly twice the space as the Spiders I think. Depends how you value that vs being able to drop the top and/or rear window.

That is great info and actually makes a difference for me. Especially as I did not actually look in detail at the coupe as was just in a daze after looking at the spider. On reflection I think the Coupe has it over the Spider for me. Love the clean lines.

Just checked insurance, still stupid cheap, not sure why but £540 seems such a bargain. Might be bank account time.

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Griffith4ever said:

You and me both. Someone looking at my R8 this weekend. When that's gone it's 650 s time...

It was the Blue spider you posted about that I drove. Lovely lovely car. But coupe for me I think. I think there was a deal to be done on the blue spider. Good luck selling the R8

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Dezbo said:

Might sound like a naive question but how do negotiations work at Thorney - presumably the cars are all SOR? He says the price is fixed but surely you can always make an offer?

I'll tell you after Friday ;-)

I suspect it is down to the owner ultimately not Thorney. They will pass on an offer I suspect unless they have set a lowest offer limit. Several of the cars have been there a while but we are slowly getting out of Winter and people thoughts turn to weekend toys. I am sure the price will rise by April or so, especially spiders. As they say the price goes up when the roof goes down!

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Griffith4ever said:

Question - what was the blue like in the flesh? When I see that specific blue in auto trasder ads it look a bit "meh", but on that particular car it looks amazing, on his video and pics. I know he has great lighting there.

Very nice, I hated the stripe but it is removable but was a McLaren fitment so they left it on for now. These are the pics I took when there. Kind of a grey day but the colour pops nicely IMO. If this was a coupe I would be seriously tempted.

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To round out the topic, I picked up my Mantis Green 650s Coupe today from Thorney; even the weather was in my favour.

What a car, what a thing! Had my first petrol station comments, kids waving at me driving through towns a villages, such a sense of occasion.

I cannot wait to take it out on more trips and book some track days as well to see what it can really do. I am used to fast acceleration from my Tesla M3 performance but when those turbos spool up and you accelerate onto a dual carriage way, the pull 40 and up all the way to (ahem) 70 is extraordinary.

This is a good day!