Real costs of Supercar ownership?
Discussion
I've never owned anything close to a Supercar, but always intrigued by the man maths thrown around on deprication/finance etc that can justify a Supercar without a multiple 6 figure income.
I'm sure plenty of people on here have/do own Supercars. This video was quite eye opening, a McLaren 720S over 3 years cost the owner £3400/month all in to do 12k over that time or £10/mile.
Compared to our current family car, which wasn't cheap by any means (£71k new back in 2017), but done 100k miles, worth only £15k now however the total ownership cost is around 70p/mile all in.
I would love to own a Supercar one day, but if all them cost essentially X10+ to own/run even compared to a fairly expensive 'Normal' car, than it's probably something that'll stay a dream forever
https://youtu.be/_WsnxZtEFU4?si=5lqiUIrYnwv7B09x
I'm sure plenty of people on here have/do own Supercars. This video was quite eye opening, a McLaren 720S over 3 years cost the owner £3400/month all in to do 12k over that time or £10/mile.
Compared to our current family car, which wasn't cheap by any means (£71k new back in 2017), but done 100k miles, worth only £15k now however the total ownership cost is around 70p/mile all in.
I would love to own a Supercar one day, but if all them cost essentially X10+ to own/run even compared to a fairly expensive 'Normal' car, than it's probably something that'll stay a dream forever
https://youtu.be/_WsnxZtEFU4?si=5lqiUIrYnwv7B09x
In my experience the biggest cost is usually the dealer spread over buy - sell. Generally servicing, taxing, fueling, maintaining, insuring aren't that bad. Now you can get unlucky and catch a big maintenance bill, and I know there are people on here with stories to share in that regard. So I think you have to be prepared to swallow that should it happen on the way in.
I have always viewed the buy sell spread as the price to pay for the joy the car gives you. But for me it is my passion, every individual will have a different threshold regarding this. Now the longer you keep a car the less impact full the buy sell spread amortised is. But the longer you own the car the greater the chance of getting unlucky with a big maintenance bill.
I think forums like this are absolutely fantastic as a source of general info on a cars foibles/ticking bombs across a wide spectrum of models. Here is a good place to start shortlisting possible models armed with that info on the way in. Obviously once shortlisted you can head over to a marque specific forum for detailed assemsnt.
There is a large range of truly excellent cars out there that provide great joy in owning and driving probably from about 30k to 200k (depending ones definition of supercar 🫣) , and it really is very possible on more modest incomes than the multiple 6 figures mentioned. Don't forget youtube content is all about driving traffic to the videos. It's deliberately sensationalist and polarising as that is what generates clicks. Don't be taken in by what is posted.
I have always viewed the buy sell spread as the price to pay for the joy the car gives you. But for me it is my passion, every individual will have a different threshold regarding this. Now the longer you keep a car the less impact full the buy sell spread amortised is. But the longer you own the car the greater the chance of getting unlucky with a big maintenance bill.
I think forums like this are absolutely fantastic as a source of general info on a cars foibles/ticking bombs across a wide spectrum of models. Here is a good place to start shortlisting possible models armed with that info on the way in. Obviously once shortlisted you can head over to a marque specific forum for detailed assemsnt.
There is a large range of truly excellent cars out there that provide great joy in owning and driving probably from about 30k to 200k (depending ones definition of supercar 🫣) , and it really is very possible on more modest incomes than the multiple 6 figures mentioned. Don't forget youtube content is all about driving traffic to the videos. It's deliberately sensationalist and polarising as that is what generates clicks. Don't be taken in by what is posted.
Pouhon said:
In my experience the biggest cost is usually the dealer spread over buy - sell. Generally servicing, taxing, fueling, maintaining, insuring aren't that bad. Now you can get unlucky and catch a big maintenance bill, and I know there are people on here with stories to share in that regard. So I think you have to be prepared to swallow that should it happen on the way in.
I have always viewed the buy sell spread as the price to pay for the joy the car gives you. But for me it is my passion, every individual will have a different threshold regarding this. Now the longer you keep a car the less impact full the buy sell spread amortised is. But the longer you own the car the greater the chance of getting unlucky with a big maintenance bill.
I think forums like this are absolutely fantastic as a source of general info on a cars foibles/ticking bombs across a wide spectrum of models. Here is a good place to start shortlisting possible models armed with that info on the way in. Obviously once shortlisted you can head over to a marque specific forum for detailed assemsnt.
There is a large range of truly excellent cars out there that provide great joy in owning and driving probably from about 30k to 200k (depending ones definition of supercar ?) , and it really is very possible on more modest incomes than the multiple 6 figures mentioned. Don't forget youtube content is all about driving traffic to the videos. It's deliberately sensationalist and polarising as that is what generates clicks. Don't be taken in by what is posted.
Great post. I agree with all of this.I have always viewed the buy sell spread as the price to pay for the joy the car gives you. But for me it is my passion, every individual will have a different threshold regarding this. Now the longer you keep a car the less impact full the buy sell spread amortised is. But the longer you own the car the greater the chance of getting unlucky with a big maintenance bill.
I think forums like this are absolutely fantastic as a source of general info on a cars foibles/ticking bombs across a wide spectrum of models. Here is a good place to start shortlisting possible models armed with that info on the way in. Obviously once shortlisted you can head over to a marque specific forum for detailed assemsnt.
There is a large range of truly excellent cars out there that provide great joy in owning and driving probably from about 30k to 200k (depending ones definition of supercar ?) , and it really is very possible on more modest incomes than the multiple 6 figures mentioned. Don't forget youtube content is all about driving traffic to the videos. It's deliberately sensationalist and polarising as that is what generates clicks. Don't be taken in by what is posted.
He put in what £50k ish on a £200k ish asking price? Financed £150k? Forgot what APR he paid, but really...
Then he spend all sorts of unnecessary money on expensive "upgrades" like he was an 18 year old with a copy of Max Power under his arm. God knows if he told his insurance company about these upgrades.
At least he didn't sell it after only 1 year, but yeah the McLaren dealers need to pay the bills on relatively low turnover cars so the bid-ask spread on these is tens of thousands, not thousands, when you come to sell unless you get lucky. And 720s was a relatively high volume car so not much chance of that.
Having said all of that don't let that put you off getting a supercar. Just save up beforehand so that you don't have to finance such a high proportion of the car's purchase price. And be realistic on what you can afford based on where the car is on its depreciation curve. There are many older Ferraris which will not depreciate materially. And maintenance costs should be manageable if you keep on top of it. If you eliminate finance charges and depreciation you are getting rid of the two big risks.
Then he spend all sorts of unnecessary money on expensive "upgrades" like he was an 18 year old with a copy of Max Power under his arm. God knows if he told his insurance company about these upgrades.
At least he didn't sell it after only 1 year, but yeah the McLaren dealers need to pay the bills on relatively low turnover cars so the bid-ask spread on these is tens of thousands, not thousands, when you come to sell unless you get lucky. And 720s was a relatively high volume car so not much chance of that.
Having said all of that don't let that put you off getting a supercar. Just save up beforehand so that you don't have to finance such a high proportion of the car's purchase price. And be realistic on what you can afford based on where the car is on its depreciation curve. There are many older Ferraris which will not depreciate materially. And maintenance costs should be manageable if you keep on top of it. If you eliminate finance charges and depreciation you are getting rid of the two big risks.
I don't like the way he's put together the numbers. Insurance, finance payments, fuel costs etc without watching the entire video... he needs to compartmentalise it as I wouldn't necessarily include everything he's included. Might as well include a sandwich he bought while waiting for the AA to pick him up or whatever.
Would someone like to put together what it actually cost him to run the car?
Would someone like to put together what it actually cost him to run the car?
+1 to Pouhon's post.
You might pay £1-2k pa to maintain a McLaren with V Engineering, then probably after a few years you'll get a larger bill (£5-10k) for say paint or brake discs (or roll it into the 'loss' when sold).
I would think about 'cost to own and enjoy my dream car for 1/2/3 years' rather than per mile.
Say you pay £75k for this 570GT https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508185...
In three years say you do 3k miles a year, so from 38k to 47k miles. You'd probably be able to get £60k for it in 2028?
So £15k depreciation/spread, say £5k regular maintenance, and another £5k for an unexpected extra bill. £25k over three years?
Tax is high on this one so £2k for 3y (a slightly later one would be £195). Insurance depends on you but many people are comfortably under a grand a year.
The £5k/year presumed deprecation and dealer spread is the same annual loss as your family car, and that's the biggest single item.
Then cost of capital, say you borrow £60k at 10%, £6k a year, £18k total? But not much different from financing the family car.
I don't actually think a 'Supercar' costs that much more overall than many people spend on their family car. But it's a question of spending the same amount on a car that's just for fun.
You might pay £1-2k pa to maintain a McLaren with V Engineering, then probably after a few years you'll get a larger bill (£5-10k) for say paint or brake discs (or roll it into the 'loss' when sold).
I would think about 'cost to own and enjoy my dream car for 1/2/3 years' rather than per mile.
Say you pay £75k for this 570GT https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508185...
In three years say you do 3k miles a year, so from 38k to 47k miles. You'd probably be able to get £60k for it in 2028?
So £15k depreciation/spread, say £5k regular maintenance, and another £5k for an unexpected extra bill. £25k over three years?
Tax is high on this one so £2k for 3y (a slightly later one would be £195). Insurance depends on you but many people are comfortably under a grand a year.
The £5k/year presumed deprecation and dealer spread is the same annual loss as your family car, and that's the biggest single item.
Then cost of capital, say you borrow £60k at 10%, £6k a year, £18k total? But not much different from financing the family car.
I don't actually think a 'Supercar' costs that much more overall than many people spend on their family car. But it's a question of spending the same amount on a car that's just for fun.
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