High miles 570 Spider or low miles 650s Coupe?

[Smooth Smith]

Hi

I have been following the market for a while now and am now in a position to buy my first McLaren. I was open to most models, if the spec was right, but my preference was a 650s Spider in a brighter colour. There are very few around now and these are getting snapped up as soon as they hit the market, or even before they are listed.

I actually prefer the look of the 650 coupe personally, but again, not many of these around unless in Storm Grey. I have noticed a few more 570 Spiders coming to the market but some of these are high ish miles at 38/40k but in decent colours. Prices are also punchier than they were 6 months ago, considering the miles.

So my question, with one eye on future depreciation and saleability, what is a safer bet, a low miles 650 coupe in a sedate colour, or a higher miles 570 Spider in a decent spec and popular colour?

Baytree have a 46k mile Spider for £85k, in Vega blue, but that isn’t selling and that mileage is likely were mine would be in a couple of years if I went for one with higher miles.

Thanks

[TTB]

Thorney have 2 lovely higher mileage 570 spiders in at present and both fully sorted...

[davek_964]

Have you let Alistair Bols know you're looking? I'd be doing that if I was ready to buy

[Smooth Smith]

TTB said:

Thorney have 2 lovely higher mileage 570 spiders in at present and both fully sorted...

Yes I’ve seen those. Good colours, both of them. Prices seem high to me for the mileage. Appreciate that they will be as good as they’re going to get coming from Thorney.

I think the car you were looking at is a good buy at the price. I was half tempted but my other half is not as keen on the colour.

[interstellar]

Also speak to Thorney as can source off market too.

Bright colour here but 570s

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603230...

Are you in the Facebook McLaren group?

[Smooth Smith]

davek_964 said:

Have you let Alistair Bols know you're looking? I'd be doing that if I was ready to buy

I think I will do that in case he is aware of anything off market. I’m constantly checking his stock but he hasn’t had any 570’s or 650’s advertised for a while. Maybe struggling to get stock.

[Smooth Smith]

interstellar said:

Also speak to Thorney as can source off market too.

Bright colour here but 570s

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603230...

Are you in the Facebook McLaren group?

This car seems to be the pick of what’s available at the moment, and can’t believe it’s not sold yet. My other half isn’t keen on yellow though.

Yes, in all the FB groups so always keeping an eye open.

Need to get in one before summer ideally.

Thanks

[TTB]

interstellar said:

Also speak to Thorney as can source off market too.

Bright colour here but 570s

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603230...

Are you in the Facebook McLaren group?

That one is pretty much sold

[macdeb]

650, all day. Why settle for less?

[samoht]

I don't think there's a huge gap in saleability between the options you describe. The 650 Spider seems to be on the up currently, but unsure about Coupes which were always 'too close' to Spider values vs other Macs previously. I think there'll be a market for either in future. Maybe slightly lean towards a 650S Coupe for holding value, but a bright coloured 570S Spider might have a more liquid market and a quicker sale?

Mileages will creep up across the 'fleet' over time, in a few years 46k won't be so 'high' mileage I think. I think people are still buying these cars to drive them, not to put away in cellars like wine. And generally better a higher mileage car that's remained in use than a lower mileage one that's been laid up for a couple of years, as long as it checks out at inspection.

I would try and decide what you want and get that, the joy of driving will far outweigh any success you may have second-guessing the market

macdeb said:

650, all day. Why settle for less?

Since you're asking, reasons could include:

• Newer car
• Easier to get in and out
• Shape is an original design rather than a restyling of another car
• Halfway house ESC Reduced mode
• Simpler suspension system that's won more critical praise
• More in-cabin stowage for those road trips
• Maybe less lag in the midrange

I think in general there are good reasons to go for either option, ideally OP would get the 650S Spider in a nice colour that they really want (?) but seems that's maybe sliding slightly beyond budget.

[TTB]

Smooth Smith said:

davek_964 said:

Have you let Alistair Bols know you're looking? I'd be doing that if I was ready to buy

I think I will do that in case he is aware of anything off market. I m constantly checking his stock but he hasn t had any 570 s or 650 s advertised for a while. Maybe struggling to get stock.

I've already asked and nothing coming. Same for Thorney, nothing they are aware of.

[Smooth Smith]

samoht said:

I don't think there's a huge gap in saleability between the options you describe. The 650 Spider seems to be on the up currently, but unsure about Coupes which were always 'too close' to Spider values vs other Macs previously. I think there'll be a market for either in future. Maybe slightly lean towards a 650S Coupe for holding value, but a bright coloured 570S Spider might have a more liquid market and a quicker sale?

Mileages will creep up across the 'fleet' over time, in a few years 46k won't be so 'high' mileage I think. I think people are still buying these cars to drive them, not to put away in cellars like wine. And generally better a higher mileage car that's remained in use than a lower mileage one that's been laid up for a couple of years, as long as it checks out at inspection.

I would try and decide what you want and get that, the joy of driving will far outweigh any success you may have second-guessing the market

macdeb said:

650, all day. Why settle for less?

Since you're asking, reasons could include:

• Newer car
• Easier to get in and out
• Shape is an original design rather than a restyling of another car
• Halfway house ESC Reduced mode
• Simpler suspension system that's won more critical praise
• More in-cabin stowage for those road trips
• Maybe less lag in the midrange

I think in general there are good reasons to go for either option, ideally OP would get the 650S Spider in a nice colour that they really want (?) but seems that's maybe sliding slightly beyond budget.

Good points. Thanks for your input. There’s now certainly some budget creep. My budget was £85k which would have got me close to a 650 spider last year, and comfortably a good 570 spider, but not now. £90k to £100k would seem to be more realistic for a 570 spider and I can see 650 spiders going beyond this. There’s just not the choice anymore.

Thorney is usually a safe bet for decent examples but I’m unsure of nearly £100k for a 570 that has 38/39k miles. I can’t see those values holding in a couple of years once they hit 46k plus miles.

[interstellar]

This might be worth considering. I know it’s not the bright colour but the colour combination is excellent and the mileage is low plus it’s from a McLaren dealer.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604021...

[cutting42]

I made this choice a couple of years ago and went 650s as it was the car that gave me the biggest fizz. No regrets and still prefer the looks over the 570.

I’d move now if I were you as with no Sport series replacements and the future being hybrid, the older cars will be more and more desirable. Buy the best you can find. Dont sweat the mileage too much - mine is about to hit 40k and prices are above what I paid.

I don’t think they will ever be investment cars but I believe the prices will rise and as soon as they regularly break £100 they will climb higher quite fast.

[Fessia fancier]

The car mentioned above looks a good deal.
(For full disclosure we bought a 570 spider a few months go but not selling so not trying to talk up the market!)

[Smooth Smith]

Fessia fancier said:

The car mentioned above looks a good deal.
(For full disclosure we bought a 570 spider a few months go but not selling so not trying to talk up the market!)

I agree. A reasonable price and low mileage, but unfortunately not the spec that I'm looking for.

The ones at Thorney are more tempting in terms of spec, but the miles are quite high.

[TTB]

Smooth Smith said:

I agree. A reasonable price and low mileage, but unfortunately not the spec that I'm looking for.

The ones at Thorney are more tempting in terms of spec, but the miles are quite high.

Buy on condition not miles on the clock, though I am inclined to agree they are on the high side price wise for the miles.
The yellow one mentioned earlier is now sold () and has been meticulously owned/maintained.

There is a Curacao blue private sale on AT, Mc Hatfield know the car and say it's a good one but I cancelled the inspection I had booked on that one for this Saturday because I went yellow. It also can have a continuation warranty added as current runs out end this month. Seller will take 90k (Offered to me at) and is also very keen to get out - he also has 80k finance o/s on it.

As you say, theres very little choice at present. Alastair Bols doesn't have any coming his way, dealer cars are all pretty much black or Grey and not perfect specs. The 2 green cars for sale are top end for non-specialist or private sales. The Orange one in St Albans has been for sale for a looooong time.

If you like Curacao (It is stunning in the flesh) it would be worth a look at the London car BUT get it inspected at a very good independant (V, XP1 or Rennworks would be closest). The seller is very young and IMHO doesn't know a huge amount about the cars. The white pinstripe on the bottom is wrap and can come off.

Edited by TTB on Thursday 7th May 14:33

[Smooth Smith]

TTB said:

Buy on condition not miles on the clock, though I am inclined to agree they are on the high side price wise for the miles.
The yellow one mentioned earlier is now sold () and has been meticulously owned/maintained.

There is a Curacao blue private sale on AT, Mc Hatfield know the car and say it's a good one but I cancelled the inspection I had booked on that one for this Saturday because I went yellow. It also can have a continuation warranty added as current runs out end this month. Seller will take 90k (Offered to me at) and is also very keen to get out - he also has 80k finance o/s on it.

As you say, theres very little choice at present. Alastair Bols doesn't have any coming his way, dealer cars are all pretty much black or Grey and not perfect specs. The 2 green cars for sale are top end for non-specialist or private sales. The Orange one in St Albans has been for sale for a looooong time.

If you like Curacao (It is stunning in the flesh) it would be worth a look at the London car BUT get it inspected at a very good independant (V, XP1 or Rennworks would be closest). The seller is very young and IMHO doesn't know a huge amount about the cars. The white pinstripe on the bottom is wrap and can come off.

Edited by TTB on Thursday 7th May 14:33

Thanks for the info. I agree about buying on condition with a Mclaren, rather than mileage, but both the Thorney ones are closer to 40k and psychologically, in my head anyway, that would be a barrier on resale as there would still be lower mileage cars around. I think that will have an effect on price when I came to sell.

I saw the Curacao one and I do like the colour. The advert and the photo's are terrible so that put me off a bit. I also can't get down to London for the foreseeable due to family commitments. Ironically, I was in London last weekend but the advert hadn't appeared then. Thorney had a Curacao one in recently, and a Volcano Orange one, but both sold before being advertised.

I am going to contact both Thorney and Alastair Bols for anything that comes in.

[TTB]

Smooth Smith said:

Thanks for the info. I agree about buying on condition with a Mclaren, rather than mileage, but both the Thorney ones are closer to 40k and psychologically, in my head anyway, that would be a barrier on resale as there would still be lower mileage cars around. I think that will have an effect on price when I came to sell.

I saw the Curacao one and I do like the colour. The advert and the photo's are terrible so that put me off a bit. I also can't get down to London for the foreseeable due to family commitments. Ironically, I was in London last weekend but the advert hadn't appeared then. Thorney had a Curacao one in recently, and a Volcano Orange one, but both sold before being advertised.

I am going to contact both Thorney and Alastair Bols for anything that comes in.

Yeah his advert is appalling. I was only interested as Mc Hatfield head tech knew the car and said it was very good. Had 8 new coil packs recently and I believe shocks about a year ago. No corrosion that he could recall.
No way was I buying without an inspection though.

I really wanted the Curacao Thorney had but it didn't even hit their sales list. The purple one at the same time needed a lot of work and the owner went quiet.
What spec are you after? Ideally I wanted Security and Lux packs along with carbon and a bright colour. The only thing I compromised on in the end was carbon.
The black one at Ascot has soft close and electric seats but not elec steering column and the 8 speaker system but does have full interior carbon.
The black one at Ventura is very nice, Sec and Lux plus carbon but IMHO is overpriced by about 10k at 105k
Storm Grey at Gkirby is lovely, Sec pack and lots of carbon plus recent hinges and corrosion just done but no soft close, manual seats and the 4 speaker audio.

You can tell I've been looking
If the Muriawai (sp?) white one at Thorney was 8 k less or had 15k less miles at 98k price then I'd have had that, I share your views on the high price and high miles. Mine has 28k on it but 10 grand less than Thorney

[ex-devonpaul]

TTB said:

There is a Curacao blue private sale on AT, Mc Hatfield know the car and say it's a good one but I cancelled the inspection I had booked on that one for this Saturday because I went yellow. It also can have a continuation warranty added as current runs out end this month. Seller will take 90k (Offered to me at) and is also very keen to get out - he also has 80k finance o/s on it.

If the car is under McWarranty and it can be extended, is it that essential to get an inspection or could you just extend the warranty and then go to V etc and get it looked over? From what I've seen on here you are safer buying Private with the McW as going to most non specialists.

Edit to add - that advert really does look like they don't want to sell the car.

Edited by ex-devonpaul on Thursday 7th May 17:09