Living with a McLaren 650s Spider as an (almost) daily

[snoopy25]

davek_964 said:

Well, now I know why the cilmate module got water in it.

Went to Thruxton Sunday service - and while there, it rained. After the rain, I opened the door to put something in the car and noticed water on the climate module - and evidence of where it was getting in.
Was pretty annoyed, so left at that point - came home and did a host test (with a towel and sheet of paper over the climate module). Had the hose on a spray pattern - basically like heavy rain.

The door seal leaks - exactly where the top of the front quarter window is. In fact, the top of the quarter window seal (on the door) does appear to stick out slightly which it doesn't on the passenger side. Water runs across the windscreen pillar then drips down onto the climate module.

What annoys me the most is that I specifically asked them to check that the water damage was not due to a leak. I was assured it wasn't.
I only collected it at the end of Friday. It is going back to McLaren again tomorrow.

I will never be in the position to afford a Mclaren, but i really feel for you. Have been following this thread with interest and you wouldnt expect this on a £10,000 car let alone one that costs as much as this. I would be fuming given the fact they have effectively fobbed you off over this leak and almost charged you £1300 for it if you hadnt of stood your ground on it.

[davek_964]

Well, one minor positive - I reckon the headlights are slightly better now. Not good enough to stop the brain dead Golf driver trying to overtake at the same point I was going past him - that nearly solved my McLaren problems - but slightly improved. I'd now say they're adequate - not brilliant, but I do feel I can do the speed limit on a dark A road now.

[carspath]

McLaren .... WAKE UP ,!!!
Apparently you read these threads

Your cars sound marvellous , and I would love one .

But numerous, recurring faults are just not acceptable for anyone who doesn’t live right next to a McLaren workshop .

I really feel for the OP , and for you too McLaren .

These sorts of minor but hugely disturbing ( mentally , time wise , and transportation to and from the dealership ) faults do not do justice to the dynamic prowess of your products , and will negatively impact on your business model in the long term .

Sort this , your warranty costs , and your provision of info to an Indy network , and you will be on a real winner McLaren .

[davek_964]

Stupid thing is - I had a great drive in. Roads were wet, it was dark - but the car was superb.

It could so easily be the best car I've ever bought - by some margin. Instead, given the repeated problems and the fact that it has to keep going back (my colleague said last week : they have the car more than you do!) - it currently feels like the worst. The ownership experience sucks.

I've not asked for a courtesy car the last times the car has been back, because I have another car I can use daily. But I've had enough now - and the trains are all on strike which makes it harder to get there and back anyway - so I've said I want a car this time. And it should say "McLaren" on the back of it.

Let's see how they handle this. I'm sorely tempted to park it in their showroom (after all, it needs to be kept out of the rain) - via their front window.

[650spider]

It almost seems impossible that we have near identical cars.

My ownership and dealership experience could not be any more different.

Got to hand it to you, i do not have the time nor the patience to deal with any of the issues you have had.

[12pack]

650spider said:

It almost seems impossible that we have near identical cars.

My ownership and dealership experience could not be any more different.

Got to hand it to you, i do not have the time nor the patience to deal with any of the issues you have had.

+1 about the ownership and dealer experience. Brilliant drives over the weekend. And arranged for next service and warranty extension. BTW was quoted the same number from 2x dealers for the warranty - and one moved on the service price significantly.

Edited by 12pack on Monday 9th December 08:45

[justin220]

Agree with the above. It's starting to sound like you bought a bad one unfortunately. Hopefully it's a quick fix but can understand your frustrations.

Threads like this, being so public are bound to be off-putting for people thinking about buying.

[davek_964]

justin220 said:

Threads like this, being so public are bound to be off-putting for people thinking about buying.

Yep, and that's a shame - because I can tell how brilliant it could be, and I know there are examples out there that don't have the issues I do. On the other hand, this thread could have gone one of two ways, and it's only McLaren and Ascot's fault that it's gone in this direction.

I am also sure I'm not unique - I'd seen enough internet chatter to know I might have some issues, but it has been far worse than I expected.

[cypriot]

whether or not it is specifically your car that may be troublesome, I would be sitting down with the manager at ascot and demanding an extra year warranty from them. Mainly because they clearly do not fix initial causes, which in turn cause other problems, thereby eating into your ownership time. And now you don't know what other problems have been created by their lack of attention to your car. Hope it gets sorted soon as ultimately we all just want to drive our cars!!

[Kid A]

At this stage I would be threatening legal action. Although, as a trial lawyer, that's very easy for me to say.

Here in Australia we have quite strong protections under the Australian Consumer Law (no need for extended warranty) and if anything significant, or repeated, goes wrong with my car (in a few years when I hopefully have the financial position to afford a Macca) I will be litigating. It's easy and nearly free for me to use the Court system. Not sure McLaren would feel the same.

[The Surveyor]

davek_964 said:

…….
I am also sure I'm not unique - I'd seen enough internet chatter to know I might have some issues, but it has been far worse than I expected.

I'm also sure you're not unique, sadly. I would also say that you are using your car much harder and more frequently than many of us do, and I wouldn't think most owners keep their car outside facing all weathers like you do too. That's certainly not meant to 'victim blame', but when I read your thread it does make me think whether my car has been so trouble-free because I don't use it enough, whether some cars are just better made than others, or whether I've just been lucky in the McLaren lottery

[davek_964]

The Surveyor said:

I'm also sure you're not unique, sadly. I would also say that you are using your car much harder and more frequently than many of us do, and I wouldn't think most owners keep their car outside facing all weathers like you do too. That's certainly not meant to 'victim blame', but when I read your thread it does make me think whether my car has been so trouble-free because I don't use it enough, whether some cars are just better made than others, or whether I've just been lucky in the McLaren lottery

I think there is definitely some luck involved.

I know most people don't keep the car outside - but even so, it really should be waterproof. The leak I noticed on Sunday was literally after a 15 min shower - even if the car was stored in a garage, that still would have happened - and if it was a longer shower, it would have got pretty wet.

At least Ascot have agreed to provide me with a McLaren courtesy car. I'll pick it up after work. I guess it's most likely to be a sports series - but if nothing else it will be interesting to compare some of the behaviour of mine with a different one (e.g. the headlights).

[justin220]

Of course it should be able to be sat outside.. And generally cars run better the more they are used.

It'll be interesting to see what you get. I'd imagine a 570S..

The headlights in my 540C are great. I'd say the projection is fine. Full beam is superb.

[davek_964]

justin220 said:

Of course it should be able to be sat outside.. And generally cars run better the more they are used.

It'll be interesting to see what you get. I'd imagine a 570S..

The headlights in my 540C are great. I'd say the projection is fine. Full beam is superb.

Yeah - which I think is how most of them are. It will be a useful comparison.

I reckon 570S too. Although I'm hoping for a Senna

[The Surveyor]

davek_964 said:

…….., it really should be waterproof. The leak I noticed on Sunday was literally after a 15 min shower - even if the car was stored in a garage, that still would have happened - and if it was a longer shower, it would have got pretty wet.
……....

Absolutely right, of course it should be waterproof and as you say whether the leak is due to rain when parked outside or due to a strong hose when washing, it should not get in, and it certainly should not get in in sufficient quantity to cause the damage you've experienced.

What I was suggesting is that you use yours very differently to how I use mine. Mine lives under it's cover in a bone-dry garage and usually only gets used every other week during the summer months, and rarely ventures out through the winter. It's been a month since it last turned a wheel and whilst that may create it's own issues, its been fine so far (touch wood). Yours is getting a proper every-day any weather test, and that 'test' is starting to show the weaknesses. Weaknesses and defects that are maybe manifesting more frequently simply because you are using it more frequently.

davek_964 said:

…...
At least Ascot have agreed to provide me with a McLaren courtesy car. I'll pick it up after work. I guess it's most likely to be a sports series - but if nothing else it will be interesting to compare some of the behaviour of mine with a different one (e.g. the headlights).

They sold the Sports Series cars as being their 'everyday' usable car so it would be interesting to see if they live up to that billing, and see how it compares to their more premium product.

[isaldiri]

The Surveyor said:

I'm also sure you're not unique, sadly. I would also say that you are using your car much harder and more frequently than many of us do, and I wouldn't think most owners keep their car outside facing all weathers like you do too. That's certainly not meant to 'victim blame', but when I read your thread it does make me think whether my car has been so trouble-free because I don't use it enough, whether some cars are just better made than others, or whether I've just been lucky in the McLaren lottery

Well in the earlier days of the P11 cars, it almost always was the case the cars that were regularly used had the least problems.....apart from the odd stubbornly problematic ones that kept on having issues. Although those earlier problem cars were generally showing more serious issues than davek has been having too so hopefully after ironing out these minor but understandably bloody annoying issues, his car will turn out ok sooner than later.

[davek_964]

isaldiri said:

Well in the earlier days of the P11 cars, it almost always was the case the cars that were regularly used had the least problems.....apart from the odd stubbornly problematic ones that kept on having issues. Although those earlier problem cars were generally showing more serious issues than davek has been having too so hopefully after ironing out these minor but understandably bloody annoying issues, his car will turn out ok sooner than later.

That's kind of what I'm counting on. I'm aware that - in isolation - the issues are pretty trivial. The climate was the most serious, and that's hardly an engine going bang type problem. It's just the frequency - and this last thing was particularly annoying. Having found water ingress, they should have been 1000000000% sure it wasn't due to a leak, even without me saying : Have you checked it's not due to a leak?

[NotNormal]

Not a Mac owner but have been following this thread avidly (like many others with regard to maybe a car to look at in the future). With all these re-occurring issues it does beg the question as to whether the car is the one at fault or the dealership entrusted to rectify them?
I'm starting to get the impression that your dealership potentially are not rectifying any faults correctly and hence they keep popping back up as ongoing issues. Either way it's a poor show, but interested to know your thoughts as to whether it's the Product or the Service or maybe just a bit of both?

[davek_964]

NotNormal said:

Not a Mac owner but have been following this thread avidly (like many others with regard to maybe a car to look at in the future). With all these re-occurring issues it does beg the question as to whether the car is the one at fault or the dealership entrusted to rectify them?
I'm starting to get the impression that your dealership potentially are not rectifying any faults correctly and hence they keep popping back up as ongoing issues. Either way it's a poor show, but interested to know your thoughts as to whether it's the Product or the Service or maybe just a bit of both?

For the most part, I don't think it's because the dealer has failed to fix things. They have rectified some problems, and some that they've failed to fix they've not been able to reproduce - and I appreciate they can't start replacing components just because I say so.
The leak above the climate module is particularly annoying, because I really don't think they checked for a leak properly. I think they didn't believe me when I said the battery has never gone flat, and I think they considered they did me a favour by replacing the module at their cost.

[jtremlett]

davek_964 said:

NotNormal said:

Not a Mac owner but have been following this thread avidly (like many others with regard to maybe a car to look at in the future). With all these re-occurring issues it does beg the question as to whether the car is the one at fault or the dealership entrusted to rectify them?
I'm starting to get the impression that your dealership potentially are not rectifying any faults correctly and hence they keep popping back up as ongoing issues. Either way it's a poor show, but interested to know your thoughts as to whether it's the Product or the Service or maybe just a bit of both?

For the most part, I don't think it's because the dealer has failed to fix things. They have rectified some problems, and some that they've failed to fix they've not been able to reproduce - and I appreciate they can't start replacing components just because I say so.
The leak above the climate module is particularly annoying, because I really don't think they checked for a leak properly. I think they didn't believe me when I said the battery has never gone flat, and I think they considered they did me a favour by replacing the module at their cost.

Clearly, not identifying the leak is sloppy work by the dealer. I get the impression (just as an interested observer) that the issues are reflective of poor quality control at McLaren. Purely anecdotally there appear to be owners, like some of those who've posted above, who have pretty much no issues and others, as this thread testifies, who have lots of niggles (and sometimes more than that) but they don't appear, from my admittedly limited knowledge, to be one or two things that happen a lot but rather a number of different things - which again points to quality control - and they don't seem to be related to type of frequency usage.