RE: McLaren MP4-12C: Spotted
Discussion
Below £100k or not it's quite hard going to sell the things. I had my car up on ph for considerably less for a while and didn't exactly get covered with enquiries (and yes my car is fully warrantied till nov18). Will be up again once the weather improves anyway as I can't see many being keen to jump in now.
I owned one of these early cars and used it as a daily driver. It was quicker than anything I’ve owned or driven. But with the sports exhaust, it sounded terrible. Like a turbo charged lawn mower. Plus the Iris system was faulty. Still, for a first effort, quite impressive, if not memorable.
The 12C was unmistakably McLaren when it was first released. Superior to the competition in every technical and measurable way, but lacked in all the areas that you can't measure, i.e. emotion, looks, noise, how it makes you feel etc.
The end result is that values are much lower than the 458. But it does start to make some sense at sub £100k, particularly with a warranty.
The end result is that values are much lower than the 458. But it does start to make some sense at sub £100k, particularly with a warranty.
dank said:
I wasn't referring to this specific car, but to 12C's i general, terrifying maintenance bills, rather put the money into a brand new 540C
Factoring in £5k PA of warranty for 3 or 4 years, then you are right that a new (low spec) 540 would be similar price to 2nd hand MP412C, and very similar performance, looks etc.HOWEVER the 540 will suffer depreciation, so over 3 or 4 years would still end up costing far more to own.
I dont think the MP4 12C will go down in price from this Level, whereas 540 will drop mapbe £40k in this time.
So wise Money probably still goes into the older MP4 12C car!
British Beef said:
Factoring in £5k PA of warranty for 3 or 4 years, then you are right that a new (low spec) 540 would be similar price to 2nd hand MP412C, and very similar performance, looks etc.
HOWEVER the 540 will suffer depreciation, so over 3 or 4 years would still end up costing far more to own.
I dont think the MP4 12C will go down in price from this Level, whereas 540 will drop mapbe £40k in this time.
So wise Money probably still goes into the older MP4 12C car!
Man Math - Buy a used 12c, because it saves you £40k!HOWEVER the 540 will suffer depreciation, so over 3 or 4 years would still end up costing far more to own.
I dont think the MP4 12C will go down in price from this Level, whereas 540 will drop mapbe £40k in this time.
So wise Money probably still goes into the older MP4 12C car!
Good value for money provided you have the relevant annual slush fund to properly look after it. As someone previously commented, they give less trouble when used. The design is nicely restrained and elegant too and way more special than a Turbo/Turbo S. The 911 would cost a lot less to run mind.
CTE said:
I`d also only buy one from and expert like Alistair Bols or a McLaren dealer with a warranty for the first year.
Alastair Bols has one at an almost identical price, with a much more reassuring ad, and in volcano orange - even nicer colour.Haven't owners had issues with main dealer service capacity? Not enough capacity so long wait times for service work.
The former Evo 'Secret Supercar Owner' is well impressed with the 12C as a daily driver
http://karenable.com/vintage-article-1st-impressio...
Well outside my pay league sadly!
http://karenable.com/vintage-article-1st-impressio...
Well outside my pay league sadly!
BVB said:
This article failed to mention that the 458 totally OWNED the 12C (and 650s) not just for pleasure but also round the track.
Don’t agree! I’ve had a play with one of these on a track and not only did I nail a 458 off a corner where we were both accelerating hard it then never caught back up!Car I drove was a beautiful papaya coupe! As you look out the windscreen you can see the wheel arches quite prominently and they feel like a go kart
If you want noise I’ve also driven a gallardo 6spd manual on track and that thing was sublime with a lovely gearchange and a gorgeous noise but that felt more like a cruiser than the mclaren! Only thing that got me with the lambo was how intrusive the wheel arch is for your legs and they’re very confined but once settle in it’s not too bad
The 458 was my dream car and a couple of years ago I was in a position to buy one...but came away from the test drive very disappointed...nervous twitchy steering (although some people think it is great, so everyone to their own) with no feed back, poor interior and a massive price tag. Great looking car with a superb engine, but the rest you can keep...sadly. Got back in my Evora S and thought it was the better car....less about 200hp!
Test drove a couple of other ("super") cars which were also disappointing...so ended up test driving a 12c...what a car, and on another level to anything else I had driven for the aforementioned reasons...and the cheapest! Sure the soundtrack is no Ferrari or Lambo, but it has its own distinctive tones which you love or hate...I like obviously. For me the chassis and steering is full of feel and adjustability, especially on track with the safety aids switched down to the minimum, and as for a 458 owning it...ha ha ha, no chance. Journalists are mostly very good story tellers, not motor vehicle engineers or professional test drivers.
The only slight hassle owning one is the lack of service centres and indies...however I use McLaren at Birmingham and have always found them to be spot on. In time there will be more indies and it will make running these older cars more accessible...
Test drove a couple of other ("super") cars which were also disappointing...so ended up test driving a 12c...what a car, and on another level to anything else I had driven for the aforementioned reasons...and the cheapest! Sure the soundtrack is no Ferrari or Lambo, but it has its own distinctive tones which you love or hate...I like obviously. For me the chassis and steering is full of feel and adjustability, especially on track with the safety aids switched down to the minimum, and as for a 458 owning it...ha ha ha, no chance. Journalists are mostly very good story tellers, not motor vehicle engineers or professional test drivers.
The only slight hassle owning one is the lack of service centres and indies...however I use McLaren at Birmingham and have always found them to be spot on. In time there will be more indies and it will make running these older cars more accessible...
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff