High mileage 650S
Discussion
I'm about to pick up a 650S, and have got a shortlist of cars - the plan is to get one for about £170k, drive it over the first half of the summer, and sell in July. This worked pretty well for me last year with my Hurcan Spyder, but that was the first in the country and there were none on Autotrader when I sold it, so it took one day. Obviously things will go very differently with the 650S, so the goal here is to get one which will sell quickly, and make sure I buy for the right price. Basically it doesn't matter how much it actually costs, the only thing I'm optimising for is the total depreciation between purchase and sale.
There are quite a few that fit the bill. However the problem is that many of them have 6k+ miles on them. I typically do 4-5k miles over the summer, so I'm worried that if I get one of those I'll cross the 10k threshold when I come to sell it.
The only 10k+ mile car has been sitting on autotrader, for £155k, for almost a year, and no one wants it.
What's the general consensus on this - is over 10k miles on a 650S basically game over for resale? Am I better off paying more for a lower mileage version, say £180k?
There are quite a few that fit the bill. However the problem is that many of them have 6k+ miles on them. I typically do 4-5k miles over the summer, so I'm worried that if I get one of those I'll cross the 10k threshold when I come to sell it.
The only 10k+ mile car has been sitting on autotrader, for £155k, for almost a year, and no one wants it.
What's the general consensus on this - is over 10k miles on a 650S basically game over for resale? Am I better off paying more for a lower mileage version, say £180k?
Resale value is very difficult to predict but when I bought mine 2 months ago it already had 12k miles on it and now has 14k. For me the options on the car were the biggest factors in deciding which one to buy (colour, carbon fibre options, bucket seats, lightweight wheels, vehicle lift, sports exhaust and the list goes on).
I know from owner forums after buying it that a few other people wanted it.
There is a 12C in Switzerland with over 80k miles on it so personally I'm not worried about the mileage, more the service record, warranty and options.
It's worth buying one that still has the factory warranty or a used approved with a years warranty.
Also think the 720s will have the most unpredictable effect on the 650s depreciation.
Not sure it helps you much but for me at least, mileage made no difference in my choice.
Forgot to add that I think the one on Autotrader is sitting there because of the colour, not the mileage.
I know from owner forums after buying it that a few other people wanted it.
There is a 12C in Switzerland with over 80k miles on it so personally I'm not worried about the mileage, more the service record, warranty and options.
It's worth buying one that still has the factory warranty or a used approved with a years warranty.
Also think the 720s will have the most unpredictable effect on the 650s depreciation.
Not sure it helps you much but for me at least, mileage made no difference in my choice.
Forgot to add that I think the one on Autotrader is sitting there because of the colour, not the mileage.
Edited by 20vet00 on Saturday 22 April 11:50
20vet00 said:
Forgot to add that I think the one on Autotrader is sitting there because of the colour, not the mileage.
THIS I don't think values are particularly mileage sensitive.
I sold my 12c sypder with 14k miles, no issues -
I then bought the silver 650s with sub 2k miles (that was with the dealer for couple of months with little interest).
If you want to run one for 3 months / 4K miles and are are williing to pay £10k, that doesn't seem unachievable.
Wilmslowboy said:
If you want to run one for 3 months / 4K miles and are are williing to pay £10k, that doesn't seem unachievable.
Exactly - if I could get to a £10k hit, including the cost of SOR at the end (assuming I go back to the same dealer and they give me good terms), then I'm good with that.Ok so the consensus is that the mileage isn't as important as colour and spec, and that if you saw a great one that matched everything you wanted, still a couple of years of warranty, but it happened to have 12k miles, you'd still buy.
As above really, each to there own and all that but that car is probably the most hideous exterior and interior colour going.
Its also got 16k miles not "just over 10k"
it is cheap for a spider but think your better off with a lower mileage car in better resale colour.
even then can't see you getting in and out at £10k ... warranty alone is £3.5k
Its also got 16k miles not "just over 10k"
it is cheap for a spider but think your better off with a lower mileage car in better resale colour.
even then can't see you getting in and out at £10k ... warranty alone is £3.5k
Just reading your post again, i think your best option for what you want to achieve is to speak with Alastair Bols, buy a car from him, negotiate resale SOR cost through him for July time at the time you purchase the car, in theory could cost you just the SOR fee at this / that time of year.
Slightly off topic but the current market in top end sports cars is crazy regarding mileage sensitivity. 10K on a modern car really is nothing and yet it seems to have a huge impact on price. Far too many garage queen cars being bought as investments and never being driven. I jumped in a Taxi at Milan airport last week, a Fiat of some description, I was staggered to see 400K on the clock, the interior was as new and it seemed to ride pretty well. The only signs of wear and tear were the steering wheel and gear lever. If a £15K Fiat can do 400K miles then a car costing >£150K should be good for a few miles. I fully appreciate that it is built for a different purpose but at the end of the day its 4 wheels a body shell and an engine, if anything the high end car should be build to a far higher standard and be capable of doing >200K miles with ease.
How's yellow as a colour? There are two good cars at the moment - an 8k miles one with Alastair Bolls in Orange, and a 3k miles one with McLaren in Yellow, for the same price. Now my instinct is to go for the official dealer, in part because I'm tempted to try and get myself a 720LT/750LT when they get released, and that involves building some sort of relationship with a formal dealer, so buying this one from them, then maybe buying a 720S spider and then finally the LT. I don't mind the yellow, and colour choice isn't a big deal - the lifter and Meridian are my must haves - but I don't know if there's much demand for yellow Mclarens. Seems bright, but in the wrong way..
Yellow is a marmite colour. You either love it or loathe it and it will definitely narrow your market on disposal. Its not for the shy either.
Personally I like it and nearly bought a volcano yellow 12 C spider which had sat unsold for 6 months and because they wouldn't budge on the price I didn't buy and it then sat for a further 6 months and probably eventually sold for less than my reasonable offer of £5k under asking price.
You will be hard pushed to buy and sell adding 4k in miles for £10k IMHO. More like £15k is realistic in a static market on McLarens but if you want a quick sale you will have to strike lucky with a yellow car
Would take spec over mileage and McLarens are built to be driven and only get better with miles under their belts. They are not nearly as mileage sensitive as Ferrari's.
Fantastic car and I doubt you will want to sell it after 4 months as nothing gets remotely close at the price point. Bargain supercar of the moment
Personally I like it and nearly bought a volcano yellow 12 C spider which had sat unsold for 6 months and because they wouldn't budge on the price I didn't buy and it then sat for a further 6 months and probably eventually sold for less than my reasonable offer of £5k under asking price.
You will be hard pushed to buy and sell adding 4k in miles for £10k IMHO. More like £15k is realistic in a static market on McLarens but if you want a quick sale you will have to strike lucky with a yellow car
Would take spec over mileage and McLarens are built to be driven and only get better with miles under their belts. They are not nearly as mileage sensitive as Ferrari's.
Fantastic car and I doubt you will want to sell it after 4 months as nothing gets remotely close at the price point. Bargain supercar of the moment
Edited by RamboLambo on Saturday 22 April 14:45
RS61 said:
I'm about to pick up a 650S, and have got a shortlist of cars - the plan is to get one for about £170k, drive it over the first half of the summer, and sell in July. This worked pretty well for me last year with my Hurcan Spyder, but that was the first in the country and there were none on Autotrader when I sold it, so it took one day. Obviously things will go very differently with the 650S, so the goal here is to get one which will sell quickly, and make sure I buy for the right price. Basically it doesn't matter how much it actually costs, the only thing I'm optimising for is the total depreciation between purchase and sale.
There are quite a few that fit the bill. However the problem is that many of them have 6k+ miles on them. I typically do 4-5k miles over the summer, so I'm worried that if I get one of those I'll cross the 10k threshold when I come to sell it.
The only 10k+ mile car has been sitting on autotrader, for £155k, for almost a year, and no one wants it.
What's the general consensus on this - is over 10k miles on a 650S basically game over for resale? Am I better off paying more for a lower mileage version, say £180k?
Too many for sale now, so if you want a quick sale you will have to price it cheap. Which means you will have to buy cheap to begin with. Bearing in mind that SOR commissions are £4-5k per time, I don't see how you will get away with anything less than £15-20k hit, and likely to be stuck with it for much longer than you expect. There are quite a few that fit the bill. However the problem is that many of them have 6k+ miles on them. I typically do 4-5k miles over the summer, so I'm worried that if I get one of those I'll cross the 10k threshold when I come to sell it.
The only 10k+ mile car has been sitting on autotrader, for £155k, for almost a year, and no one wants it.
What's the general consensus on this - is over 10k miles on a 650S basically game over for resale? Am I better off paying more for a lower mileage version, say £180k?
Won't work
As a few others have said above it's all in the buying.....
However I think £15k in 4 months/4K miles is a bit pessimistic - unless you buy retail and then trade it in..or need to add a warranty, pay for a service and a SOR fee (£8k for these 3 items).
Late (2015) decent spec, low mile cars can be had for £160k, £15k loss means these will be £145k early summer....sounds too cheap.
However I think £15k in 4 months/4K miles is a bit pessimistic - unless you buy retail and then trade it in..or need to add a warranty, pay for a service and a SOR fee (£8k for these 3 items).
Late (2015) decent spec, low mile cars can be had for £160k, £15k loss means these will be £145k early summer....sounds too cheap.
I really don't understand how people can do so few miles in these cars? They are so usable and incredible to drive.
Mine has 24K miles and I put it up for sale a few days ago:
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
Mine has 24K miles and I put it up for sale a few days ago:
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
20vet00 said:
Forgot to add that I think the one on Autotrader is sitting there because of the colour, not the mileage.
I was just looking at this, it's also the lowest priced Spider (in RHD). I was thinking the colour's not a problem, it can be wrapped. Then I looked at the interior. I'm not a fan of black interiors. I like a nice cream or tan. But I'd describe this one as pooh brown. Is that why it's not selling? The car is described as 1 of 1 but it looks like a #2 to me!The 4k miles one doesn't have the Meridian upgrade. Shame as otherwise it would be perfect.
Yeah the poo brown one is otherwise tempting as you can wrap and reupholster and still get it all in for under 165k I reckon. But the mileage together with the hassle isn't worth it.
I agree that a 15k loss seems a bit much. No warranty costs as they're all under original. So you're paying one SOR fee, and mileage depreciation (as the plan is to sell well before end of summer). I had a 3k all in loss on the Huracan last year. But this year huracans don't seem to be shifting at all.
Yeah the poo brown one is otherwise tempting as you can wrap and reupholster and still get it all in for under 165k I reckon. But the mileage together with the hassle isn't worth it.
I agree that a 15k loss seems a bit much. No warranty costs as they're all under original. So you're paying one SOR fee, and mileage depreciation (as the plan is to sell well before end of summer). I had a 3k all in loss on the Huracan last year. But this year huracans don't seem to be shifting at all.
m33ufo said:
I really don't understand how people can do so few miles in these cars? They are so usable and incredible to drive...
We're in a minority, I also like driving a nice car. It's for me to enjoy, not for others to look at. Mostly the owners of these cars get them to pose in. Which is a shame given the huge capability. I don't really feel at home in a car until I've done 10k miles in it, so if someone is selling after a few hundred miles, I don't think they have a clue what they have actually missed out on. (OP, sorry if this went a bit OT.)RS61 said:
//Yeah the poo brown one is otherwise tempting as you can wrap and reupholster and still get it all in for under 165k I reckon. But the mileage together with the hassle isn't worth it.
If it were reupholstered, how would this affect the resale value? It would effectively become modified, no longer matching it's spec sheet. Could the work be done at McLaren so it was 'official'? I think this would be a huge risk if resale value was important.I don't like the wheels either, I know that style is used on other 650's, but something about the colour of them against the body isn't right. Looks aftermarket.
RS61 said:
The 4k miles one doesn't have the Meridian upgrade. Shame as otherwise it would be perfect.
Yeah the poo brown one is otherwise tempting as you can wrap and reupholster and still get it all in for under 165k I reckon. But the mileage together with the hassle isn't worth it.
I agree that a 15k loss seems a bit much. No warranty costs as they're all under original. So you're paying one SOR fee, and mileage depreciation (as the plan is to sell well before end of summer). I had a 3k all in loss on the Huracan last year. But this year huracans don't seem to be shifting at all.
Wouldn't worry about the Meridian SURROUND sound upgrade. Its only 3 additional speakers, 1 in centre of dash and 2 behind the seats and below the rear window. Yeah the poo brown one is otherwise tempting as you can wrap and reupholster and still get it all in for under 165k I reckon. But the mileage together with the hassle isn't worth it.
I agree that a 15k loss seems a bit much. No warranty costs as they're all under original. So you're paying one SOR fee, and mileage depreciation (as the plan is to sell well before end of summer). I had a 3k all in loss on the Huracan last year. But this year huracans don't seem to be shifting at all.
Ok it was a £3000 option which would cost £100 on the aftermarket but personally I rather drop the rear window and hear the engine rather than having it compete with kylie minogue coming from the rear speakers.
Standard Meridian stereo is plenty loud enough and more than adequate IMHO.
Definitely would not turn down the car only on that basis.
Buying used is always a compromise and I am extremely fussy and pernickety but that has to be one of the most ridiculous reasons to not buy.
You would have to be barking mad to miss out on it and then wait another 3 months for one with it to come up
Edited by RamboLambo on Saturday 22 April 21:24
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