Is McLaren the modern day TVR?
Discussion
This may seem an odd question given that the two companies are very different in terms of the cars they have produced, the era in which most of their vehicles have been made, or their ability to stir the senses.
It would be fair to say that new TVR's had a proven record for breaking down and from what I know, that was in many ways was due to poor quality components and a limited budget with which to fully test new models before getting the customers to do the job for them. Fast forward 20 years and McLaren, a company that looks on itself as technology driven business, makes cars with outstanding looks and performance but in my view has used the same methodology as TVR e.g. poor quality components.
Why do I say this? I have an 18 plate 720 owned from new that's covered 3,500 miles. Last year it needed a complete set of accumulators (£1,747 charged by Rybrook Bristol), a known problem where the diaphragms in the original units were of poor quality and have now been replaced by a better version ....
The car has been in storage over the winter and covered less than 100 miles since it was serviced a few weeks before the accumulators had to be done. Went to use it last week and there was what looked like a small pool of oil inside the rear offside wheel. Got the car on a ramp, wheel off and the shock absorber is leaking probably from 2 separate areas.
With my limited mechanical knowledge I know that pressurised fluid flows from each shock absorber to the other with the accumulators as part of the set up. How then does a shock absorber fail after 3,500 of wear and tear? The most likely result will be a replacement and another circa £2k bill.
McLaren of course are not at all interested as the vehicle is out of warranty. Compare that to an R8 I owned years ago which started to spray oil over the engine but the car was out of warranty. Audi picked up a considerable bill to have it put right as they said that's shouldn't happen with one of their top brands.
It would be fair to say that new TVR's had a proven record for breaking down and from what I know, that was in many ways was due to poor quality components and a limited budget with which to fully test new models before getting the customers to do the job for them. Fast forward 20 years and McLaren, a company that looks on itself as technology driven business, makes cars with outstanding looks and performance but in my view has used the same methodology as TVR e.g. poor quality components.
Why do I say this? I have an 18 plate 720 owned from new that's covered 3,500 miles. Last year it needed a complete set of accumulators (£1,747 charged by Rybrook Bristol), a known problem where the diaphragms in the original units were of poor quality and have now been replaced by a better version ....
The car has been in storage over the winter and covered less than 100 miles since it was serviced a few weeks before the accumulators had to be done. Went to use it last week and there was what looked like a small pool of oil inside the rear offside wheel. Got the car on a ramp, wheel off and the shock absorber is leaking probably from 2 separate areas.
With my limited mechanical knowledge I know that pressurised fluid flows from each shock absorber to the other with the accumulators as part of the set up. How then does a shock absorber fail after 3,500 of wear and tear? The most likely result will be a replacement and another circa £2k bill.
McLaren of course are not at all interested as the vehicle is out of warranty. Compare that to an R8 I owned years ago which started to spray oil over the engine but the car was out of warranty. Audi picked up a considerable bill to have it put right as they said that's shouldn't happen with one of their top brands.
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