MP4 12C questions

MP4 12C questions

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dank

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

251 months

Saturday 16th May 2020
quotequote all
My quest for my next super car continues and I am now looking once again at 12c’s - I have a few questions....

1. The McLaren warranty is only for cars 10 years old, with no limit per claim, does the Thorney warranty only apply to cars up to 10 years old as well, or will it still be ok in years to come when the 12c is 15 years old etc. I am thinking for resale, if the car can’t be warrantied this might put off anyone buying it?

2. What price is annual servicing, I have seen £1500 per year, is that correct ?

3. Is there a sports exhaust option from factory. Some cars seem louder than others I have seen??

4. When driving, especially in comfort mode, ( probably not called comfort I know ) - the upshifts don’t seem razor sharp, once you click the paddle, there’s a tiny pause before it goes into gear, is this normal? Also, the paddles seem to require a much more precise press in the centre, rather than the top or bottom of the paddle, when I drove the 570S it didn’t feel like this, you could change gear much quicker, and not have to firmly press the center of the paddle... is this normal on a 12c, part of it’s character ?

5. Coming from a 996 turbo - the 12c doesn’t feel massively quick, isn’t the 0-60 time 2.9 for the 12C, really didn’t feel like this at all, didn’t feel a fast as the 911, certainly louder and more visceral, but the 911 picks up pace immediately, the 12c seems to require revving it out in the gears.

6. I don’t have a garage to keep the car overnight on a battery conditioner, would a weekly drive or every w weeks be enough to keep the battery ok, I see the replacements are £3k - does the battery need replacing after one flat battery, or is this of the battery keeps being drained flat?

Thanks for your help






AndM

468 posts

194 months

Saturday 16th May 2020
quotequote all
1. Pass

2. My service this year was about £1350 with some other work done under the warranty for which obviously I wasn't charged.

3. Yes, my car has it and I understand its much better with it. Mine was added by me after I bought the car but had it fitted before I collected it.

4. You can drive the car in normal mode on the suspension but with the engine and gearbox settings at sport or track. Allows you the physical comfort but with quicker upshifts and response. I find the gear shift very quick but my previous experience came from a 997 turbo which had the last of the slush box autos and then a manual R8 v10. I believe (subject to correction) that the 570 may have a quicker shift. I've the carbon paddles which feel perfectly fine.

5. What? I've had a 996 turbo and a mapped 997 turbo and the 12c would obliterate the former and batter the latter. The turbo is a massively quick and torquey car but the 12c is a big step up in performance and feels it (to me). I haven't driven a 991 turbo but believe the 12c is quicker than it. Should be with 625 horses and less weight.

6. As I keep mine on the charger I can't really say but I'd be pretty certain one drive per week will keep it up to spec. I think they can be recharged if flat for a short time but I believe advice is to try and avoid that (not surprisingly).

Edited by AndM on Saturday 16th May 18:41

SELON

1,172 posts

128 months

Saturday 16th May 2020
quotequote all
dank said:
My quest for my next super car continues and I am now looking once again at 12c’s - I have a few questions....

1. The McLaren warranty is only for cars 10 years old, with no limit per claim, does the Thorney warranty only apply to cars up to 10 years old as well, or will it still be ok in years to come when the 12c is 15 years old etc. I am thinking for resale, if the car can’t be warrantied this might put off anyone buying it?

2. What price is annual servicing, I have seen £1500 per year, is that correct ?

3. Is there a sports exhaust option from factory. Some cars seem louder than others I have seen??

4. When driving, especially in comfort mode, ( probably not called comfort I know ) - the upshifts don’t seem razor sharp, once you click the paddle, there’s a tiny pause before it goes into gear, is this normal? Also, the paddles seem to require a much more precise press in the centre, rather than the top or bottom of the paddle, when I drove the 570S it didn’t feel like this, you could change gear much quicker, and not have to firmly press the center of the paddle... is this normal on a 12c, part of it’s character ?

5. Coming from a 996 turbo - the 12c doesn’t feel massively quick, isn’t the 0-60 time 2.9 for the 12C, really didn’t feel like this at all, didn’t feel a fast as the 911, certainly louder and more visceral, but the 911 picks up pace immediately, the 12c seems to require revving it out in the gears.

6. I don’t have a garage to keep the car overnight on a battery conditioner, would a weekly drive or every w weeks be enough to keep the battery ok, I see the replacements are £3k - does the battery need replacing after one flat battery, or is this of the battery keeps being drained flat?

Thanks for your help
Can answer a couple of the questions:
It’s fine to keep on the drive. A weekly 25 minute drive will be enough to keep it charged. As long as it’s not sat in traffic.

Many will have a sport exhaust. In my experience, the standard exhaust didn’t sound much different to me. I had standard. But we each have our preferences...

Paddles, not sure about the 570. But yes, gear changes will sharpen up as you go through the modes. As to the paddle, the 12C has a “pre-cog” system, where you can partially pull the paddle in prep for the gear change. A slight further pull will complete the gear change. It’s a neat feature, some good explanations out there of what it is and why they did it. There’s much more to the car than the carbon fibre tub and super suspension...have a read, it’s the car they threw everything at. No compromise. Lots to admire.

Can’t explain why it doesn’t feel quick as your turbo...one thing to note is that the Mclarens are very high revving turbos, so yes it loves to be revved out as well as having plenty of mid range punch. It is most definitely faster than a 996 turbo...

Ace car. Hope you find one you like.

TP321

1,475 posts

197 months

Saturday 16th May 2020
quotequote all
dank said:
5. Coming from a 996 turbo - the 12c doesn’t feel massively quick, isn’t the 0-60 time 2.9 for the 12C, really didn’t feel like this at all, didn’t feel a fast as the 911, certainly louder and more visceral, but the 911 picks up pace immediately, the 12c seems to require revving it out in the gears.
Are you serious?? It's a million miles faster than the 996TT. The 12C you must have driven must have been in "limp" mode or you had it in the wrong mode. Just set it to track and hold on for dear life...

akadk

1,477 posts

178 months

Saturday 16th May 2020
quotequote all
Yep.

Can’t have been healthy

A 600+ ps 12C is spaceship fast

speedick

138 posts

236 months

Saturday 16th May 2020
quotequote all
dank said:
My quest for my next super car continues and I am now looking once again at 12c’s - I have a few questions....

1. The McLaren warranty is only for cars 10 years old, with no limit per claim, does the Thorney warranty only apply to cars up to 10 years old as well, or will it still be ok in years to come when the 12c is 15 years old etc. I am thinking for resale, if the car can’t be warrantied this might put off anyone buying it?

2. What price is annual servicing, I have seen £1500 per year, is that correct ?

3. Is there a sports exhaust option from factory. Some cars seem louder than others I have seen??

4. When driving, especially in comfort mode, ( probably not called comfort I know ) - the upshifts don’t seem razor sharp, once you click the paddle, there’s a tiny pause before it goes into gear, is this normal? Also, the paddles seem to require a much more precise press in the centre, rather than the top or bottom of the paddle, when I drove the 570S it didn’t feel like this, you could change gear much quicker, and not have to firmly press the center of the paddle... is this normal on a 12c, part of it’s character ?

5. Coming from a 996 turbo - the 12c doesn’t feel massively quick, isn’t the 0-60 time 2.9 for the 12C, really didn’t feel like this at all, didn’t feel a fast as the 911, certainly louder and more visceral, but the 911 picks up pace immediately, the 12c seems to require revving it out in the gears.

6. I don’t have a garage to keep the car overnight on a battery conditioner, would a weekly drive or every w weeks be enough to keep the battery ok, I see the replacements are £3k - does the battery need replacing after one flat battery, or is this of the battery keeps being drained flat?

Thanks for your help
1) Warranty companies are businesses - You therefore pay them what, on their well informed and carefully calculated average the likely cost of repairs will be PLUS a good chunk to pay their admin costs AND allow them to make a profit. They will assume main dealer costs on parts and labour in making their calculation whereas you could choose to go indie if disaster strikes. Every year the warranty premium becomes a bigger percentage of the cars residual value. Every year it gets easier to avoid having to buy main dealer parts at main dealer prices. Entirely up to you, but my point is that the balance is changing in favour of not warranting

2) Service is time or miles based. Most cars almost never do the miles within the 12 months, yet the main dealer will happily change 1000 mile old oil filters etc etc. Personally I'd service on miles rather than time and even then go to an indie - That way you could expect roughly £1500 every 10,000 miles for the routine stuff. BTW - if you set the date a year out to service light never comes on !

3) Yes (I think it's the Akropovic branded one ?)

4) Sounds a fair description of the 12c (never driven a 540)

5) I thought that when I first got my 12c. 3 days later I discovered it was spinning the tyres (in 3rd !) and the electronics were holding it back (it's not obvious whats happening) Also, there seems to be a final stage in the accelerator - you really have to mash it to the floor. Try getting the tyres above 25c on a cool morning with damp air. Floor it at 4500 in 2nd and up shift at about 7600. If the car's healthy it will blow your socks off. WAY faster than a GT3 I used to drive regularly.

6) Weekly drives would work fine. If standing longer with no mains power maybe a leisure battery in the frunk to back up the lithium one ?.


indapendentlee

401 posts

98 months

Saturday 16th May 2020
quotequote all
SELON said:
Paddles, not sure about the 570. But yes, gear changes will sharpen up as you go through the modes. As to the paddle, the 12C has a “pre-cog” system, where you can partially pull the paddle in prep for the gear change. A slight further pull will complete the gear change.

I think it was only the first 1000 cars with pre-cog - roughly late 2011 and before.

dank

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

251 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
Thanks everyone for the replies, few more questions then....

So does that mean I can warranty the car via non main McLaren route, when the car is over 10 years old? Would any future buyer risk buying a 12C without a warranty is what I am worrying about. £25k engine and gearbox potential issues out of warranty scares the daylights out of me, and would a future purchaser?

The leisure battery in the front trunk, what exactly is this, a stand-alone battery that gives some charge to the main cars between drives, but not as effective as connecting the car to a mains powered battery conditioner ?

I did notice small bubbles of corrosion of the air brake, rear wing struts, just under the actual deck of the wing itself. On the silver part. The rest of the car didn’t have any corrosion, bubbling at all - assume it’s been sorted by McLaren. But is the struts bubbling an issue, could it cause failure of the air brake over time? Or should this not be a worry?

Also underneath the car, either side are chunks of rubber?? Some kind of underbody protection? One side looked like it had been hit by a speed bump and was torn, damaged - is that normal, easy and cheap to replace?

I am not sure when I drove it I really relaxed and fully explored the car. It was fast, and sounded great, but I was reluctant on a test drive to rag the thing to bits, power delivery seems very different to the 911, so I am guessing it’s just a case of getting used to how the car drives. 911’s power seems immediate, the 12c you need some revs, speed first before it turns into the rocket ship mentioned .

Thanks


hyphen

26,262 posts

89 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
dank said:
Would any future buyer risk buying a 12C without a warranty is what I am worrying about. £25k engine and gearbox potential issues out of warranty scares the daylights out of me, and would a future purchaser?
A future buyer would always risk buying any car, the market value of the car would price in the risk and appeal.

So its more a question of what it would be worth in x years time.

dank

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

251 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
i am budgeting worst case scenario, maybe the value is £40-45k in 2/3 years? or is that too low for such a car?


isaldiri

18,407 posts

167 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
dank said:
Also underneath the car, either side are chunks of rubber?? Some kind of underbody protection? One side looked like it had been hit by a speed bump and was torn, damaged - is that normal, easy and cheap to replace?
Yes those are underbody vanes supposedly for guiding airflow below the car, pretty easy to get knocked off and previously not expensive to replace.


12pack

1,533 posts

167 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
dank said:
I am not sure when I drove it I really relaxed and fully explored the car. It was fast, and sounded great, but I was reluctant on a test drive to rag the thing to bits, power delivery seems very different to the 911, so I am guessing it’s just a case of getting used to how the car drives. 911’s power seems immediate, the 12c you need some revs, speed first before it turns into the rocket ship mentioned .
I think here you are are only talking about initial throttle response. My 650s’s initial response pales compared to my Tesla or even my V12V. Also, Mac’s have linear pedal response. If you put in 20%, that’s all you’re going to get. In the V12V, at 20% you get pretty much all it’s going to do.

But that’s like Jim from American Pie’s first encounter with Nadia - it’s all over in a split second. After the first that first split second, and with a deeper pedal, the Mac just keeps going...

AndM

468 posts

194 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
It does have a very long pedal travel.

When reversing out of my steepish driveway I have to put the pedal down to a point where it feels it ought to launch across the road.

IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
Most guys have remapped their 996 and 997 turbo. Very little in it real world. Same with 650 and 570s. Love the 12c especially in Volcano Red.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFXG4WXYAis

650spider

1,476 posts

170 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
hyphen said:
dank said:
Would any future buyer risk buying a 12C without a warranty is what I am worrying about. £25k engine and gearbox potential issues out of warranty scares the daylights out of me, and would a future purchaser?
A future buyer would always risk buying any car, the market value of the car would price in the risk and appeal.

So its more a question of what it would be worth in x years time.
Great posts from others.

Warranty; i have extended the Mac warranty and almost 90% sure i shall do the same this year. Only problem is the car has been very reliable and no requirement to use the warranty. Do i self warranty? Will i spend £10k on parts if i keep it for the next 2 years? How much is a non warranty McLaren worth? Is it cost neutral the saving on a warranty compared to the lesser value at selling..all tough questions.

Regards to charger.

I now keep my 650 out on the driveway as i want to use it on every journey i can however small and regardless of the weather without the excuse of 'its packed away in the garage' and end up using something else.

Contrary to other reports, it doesn't melt in the rain or the snow. I have still never used the charger on my car; even forgetting all about it when i went away for a 20 days. Battery was still nearly full and fired up just as normal. My McLaren battery charger is still sealed in the polythene bag it was delivered new with. It has never been used in 4.5 yrs.

Performance. The latest 911 turbo has more or less finally caught up with the pace of a 650 /12c.

As a previous poster mentioned, these should all be spaceship fast. On full acceleration from 30mph it is faster than superbike fast and gives you that same internal feeling when you try to hold onto one of them. If it's not like that something is wrong.

Corrosion. If its under an extended mac warranty all these issues should be addressed with no hassle. Out of extended warranty they are still covered but maybe not as easy to get rectified? Depends on the dealer...some are wayyy more helpful than others. McLaren Glasgow- top marks.

Values. Who knows? It is certainly back to the good old days of when you buy a supercar, expect to lose a tonne of cash.

To me, a decent family holiday costs well into 5 figures for 2 or so weeks of fun. Basing on that, losing 5 figures on something that gives you a year or 2 of fun seems a total bargain.

Great cars, great brand. Go for it and avoid the doom mongers.

AndM

468 posts

194 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
IMI A said:
Most guys have remapped their 996 and 997 turbo. Very little in it real world. Same with 650 and 570s. Love the 12c especially in Volcano Red.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFXG4WXYAis
That car in that clip has GT2 RS turbos! And the 12c was puling on it after the Porsche launched like only a 911 turbo can launch.

I had a mapped 997 turbo (on standard turbos) for four years. Fantastic car. But no way is it as quick as the 12c.

dank

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

251 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
anyone know about the warranty situation from original post?

PompeyReece

1,484 posts

88 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
dank said:
anyone know about the warranty situation from original post?
No age limit mentioned on their website:

https://mclaren.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/warranty/

dank

Original Poster:

1,154 posts

251 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
Ah ok, I’ll call them tomorrow to confirm this - as feel this could be the deal breaker for me !


IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Sunday 17th May 2020
quotequote all
AndM said:
IMI A said:
Most guys have remapped their 996 and 997 turbo. Very little in it real world. Same with 650 and 570s. Love the 12c especially in Volcano Red.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFXG4WXYAis
That car in that clip has GT2 RS turbos! And the 12c was puling on it after the Porsche launched like only a 911 turbo can launch.

I had a mapped 997 turbo (on standard turbos) for four years. Fantastic car. But no way is it as quick as the 12c.
Ah yes but remember a manual 997 turbo loses boost on each gear change. Here's me vs the same manual 997 turbo that beats 12c. I'd still rather have a 12c money no object smile

Up to 150mph our GT2 VTGS don't make a difference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSPGkRvY8tE