Residuals, Man Maths and a 540C

Residuals, Man Maths and a 540C

Author
Discussion

Penrhyn

658 posts

97 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
Justin220, does seem bad to me that a 4 year old motor with such little mileage would have corrosion.

Might be worth having the underside covered with Bilt-Hamber Hydrate-80 or similar.

bertie

8,545 posts

283 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
fridaypassion said:
Please re read the post

Oh it was a 991 RS FWIW
I can read fine, I still can’t get a service and tyres up to £5k

targarama

14,635 posts

282 months

Monday 15th August 2022
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Sorry to hear about these costs. Always good to ask the forum when dealers report issues like this. Thorney's spring replacement offer has only just been announced, but they may have mentioned it allowing you to hold off.

I had my 5 year service/20,000 miles at Thorney Motorsport ast month, all fine but 3 things reported:

- Slight cracking on some suspension bushes, seems fine and not even an MOT advisory.
- Slight weep from a front low temp radiator pipe which has a little corrosion on it too. McLaren suggested I part with £1,600 to replace it, Thorney quoted £575 + VAT (or something close to that). Since I just had the 20k service with coolant change I elected to wait and see, I wil get it done next time the car goes in for anything else.
- Corrosion on lower driver's door. This will be the last panel except the roof to have been 'attended to'. I'm keeping a watch out for 'round 2'. Just caught and inspected by McLaren within the 5 year limit. The car is going into MrBrum's bodyshop in September for replacement while I'm on holiday so no issue for me.

Oh, and tyres reported as 2017 date codes (even though rears were replaced in 2019 at Pirelli Performance themselves grr). I will change these for Michelins at the end of the year. Will change all the sensors at the same time.

TR4man

5,207 posts

173 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
I can only dream about owning such a car, but I wouldn’t expect those repeated corrosion issues on a four year old car the fraction of the price of your McLaren regardless as to whether it has a low mileage or not.

I admire your patience.

justin220

Original Poster:

5,331 posts

203 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
AyBee said:
Were none of those issues in year 4 when the warranty wasn't renewed? Seems convenient that all that happened in the year that you didn't renew the warranty.
No apparently not, although I don't doubt McGlasgows honesty. I doubt a lot of it would have been covered anyways. I don't think the warranty would cover corroded pipes and springs?

fridaypassion said:
What was the actual bill then? If you remove the tyres and servicing from this bill was it actually all that bad? I know its a bugger but TBH I went into Porsche and got rinsed £5000 for a service and tyres on one of their yawn machines that's with no faults or issues!

It would be interesting to know if all the issues would have been done under warranty I would say the AC pipe and coolant hose corrosion wouldn't be covered on an extended warranty would they?

I have certainly just accepted that the warranty is a fact of ownership. I haven't heard of any engine replacements on the 600 I have but have heard that the gearboxes are one that's been swapped out a fair bit.

Sounds like you have a had a decent run with nothing major for 4 years or more. I would imagine you'll probably get another 4 after this pain!
The work is really only half done but have already paid similar to you for the 'must dos' such as suspension, service etc.

Tyres I'm going to be swapping all four to MPS4s soon so haven't changed them yet. 3mm so will see me to winter then change.

Pipework has been cleaned up and will get rechecked when it's back in for the paintwork corrosion next month. Looks ok so far. No pools of coolant in the garage!

Wheelspinning

1,149 posts

29 months

Monday 15th August 2022
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Real kick in the nuts there Justin.

I'm still gobsmacked how they could get that total up to £13k for such a small amount of work.

Everytime my car goes into Glasgow, it gets the free health check video sent out to me.

All of that would of been pointed out, and when the quote of £13k came back, that would be good enough for me to say park it up and I shall have it collected.

The 5yr service last month for my 675 at Glasgow was £1600.

A 540 has to be a decent bit cheaper.

A set of P4S tyres for my car can be had for £900.

So at £2500, I genuinely cannot see where they arrive at over £10k for the other bits and pieces.

That could of been professionally delivered to Thorney and you still would of had about £5k change after all the works and adding his warranty.

I have always flown the flag for McLaren Glasgow but this does not make them look good at all.

Its almost like they are taking the piss as they are the only dealer in Scotland.

justin220

Original Poster:

5,331 posts

203 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
Penrhyn said:
Justin220, does seem bad to me that a 4 year old motor with such little mileage would have corrosion.

Might be worth having the underside covered with Bilt-Hamber Hydrate-80 or similar.
That's a great call.

targarama said:
Sorry to hear about these costs. Always good to ask the forum when dealers report issues like this. Thorney's spring replacement offer has only just been announced, but they may have mentioned it allowing you to hold off.

I had my 5 year service/20,000 miles at Thorney Motorsport ast month, all fine but 3 things reported:

- Slight cracking on some suspension bushes, seems fine and not even an MOT advisory.
- Slight weep from a front low temp radiator pipe which has a little corrosion on it too. McLaren suggested I part with £1,600 to replace it, Thorney quoted £575 + VAT (or something close to that). Since I just had the 20k service with coolant change I elected to wait and see, I wil get it done next time the car goes in for anything else.
- Corrosion on lower driver's door. This will be the last panel except the roof to have been 'attended to'. I'm keeping a watch out for 'round 2'. Just caught and inspected by McLaren within the 5 year limit. The car is going into MrBrum's bodyshop in September for replacement while I'm on holiday so no issue for me.

Oh, and tyres reported as 2017 date codes (even though rears were replaced in 2019 at Pirelli Performance themselves grr). I will change these for Michelins at the end of the year. Will change all the sensors at the same time.
That's reassuring to read, at least it's not just me. Although I wish I'd known about the spring option a few weeks ago.. smile

Same thing on the tyres. 2017 code for the fronts for me.

TR4man said:
I can only dream about owning such a car, but I wouldn’t expect those repeated corrosion issues on a four year old car the fraction of the price of your McLaren regardless as to whether it has a low mileage or not.

I admire your patience.
I'm in the same boat. This is a dream car for me and still feels a real event to drive. The novelty just doesn't wear off. I only managed to justify it by the reasonable running costs (until now) and predicted depreciation..

justin220

Original Poster:

5,331 posts

203 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
Wheelspinning said:
Real kick in the nuts there Justin.

I'm still gobsmacked how they could get that total up to £13k for such a small amount of work.

Everytime my car goes into Glasgow, it gets the free health check video sent out to me.

All of that would of been pointed out, and when the quote of £13k came back, that would be good enough for me to say park it up and I shall have it collected.

The 5yr service last month for my 675 at Glasgow was £1600.

A 540 has to be a decent bit cheaper.

A set of P4S tyres for my car can be had for £900.

So at £2500, I genuinely cannot see where they arrive at over £10k for the other bits and pieces.

That could of been professionally delivered to Thorney and you still would of had about £5k change after all the works and adding his warranty.

I have always flown the flag for McLaren Glasgow but this does not make them look good at all.

Its almost like they are taking the piss as they are the only dealer in Scotland.
I can't quite remember the individual costs but it was something like

Dampers £1800 each
Wiper motor £1500
Rear tyres £420 plus vat each
Front tyres £320 each plus vat
Brakes discs and pads etc..
Service
Labour


Adds up quickly!

Gibbo205

3,527 posts

206 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
justin220 said:
I can't quite remember the individual costs but it was something like

Dampers £1800 each
Wiper motor £1500
Rear tyres £420 plus vat each
Front tyres £320 each plus vat
Brakes discs and pads etc..
Service
Labour


Adds up quickly!
I'd love to see Mclaren margins on parts because it looks like a total pee take.

Dampers OK if they are adjustable electronically then £1800 I guess is plausible.
Wiper motor, well it will be similar to any other wiper motor, surely it should be £300 max not £1500
Rear tyres are a joke as are the front tyres. Check www.tyreleader.co.uk for pricing, be half that then add £20 a tyre fitted.
540C is steel disc so should be no more than 2k for disc and pads all round, but ideally less.

Some silly pricing, I want a 600LT but some of the running and parts cost come across as somewhat daylight robbery.

RSbandit

2,590 posts

131 months

Monday 15th August 2022
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Recently had front tyres replaced and was quoted £375 each which was ludicrous given they’re half the price on black circles …pointed that out and chiselled them down some. I think keeping the car serviced and warranty work done at McLaren makes sense just to have stamps in the book etc but any other consumable items or non warranty stuff an indie is the way forward …need more of them .

targarama

14,635 posts

282 months

Monday 15th August 2022
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I'm going to remove my wiper motor and put it in storage, must be made of some precious metal smile

Puzzles

1,784 posts

110 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
I imagine the wiper motor is a standard part?

mOrtt

397 posts

151 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
Puzzles said:
I imagine the wiper motor is a standard part?
Surely it can't be much different from what Thorney sell - https://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/product/mclare...

Streetbeat

859 posts

75 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
I dount any main supercar dealer (Porsche, Ferarri etc) would be charging any less for such parts, inc tyres that we all know you can get cheaper at any of the internet.

I have also just had a air con hose split on my 2017 570s, it wasnt done at a main dealer, no idea why it had split.

I am afraid i would have been like most others replying on sourcing elsewhere, dare i say even 2nd hand parts of ebay breakers where alternatives are not an option i.e wiper motor.

Good to hear you still love the car though, i think thats where many non owners run for the hills with the usual tales of Mclaren reliability and how they wouldnt buy one as it just shouldnt happen, they are probably right, but such a great car to drive a few hiccups can be glossed over.

Penrhyn

658 posts

97 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
It’s a supercar , they are not cheap to buy because it’s a supercar. So parts are going to be expensive, BUT dealers of all makes charge silly money for tyres etc.

The problem for Justin220 is that in Scotland there is only MC Scotland.

Tbh when the car is due its next service l would book it into Thorney and enjoy the drive there and back.

Thorney tbf are really decent people who are not in the business of ripping you off so that’s my recommendation.

Love you car btw enjoy.

samoht

5,632 posts

145 months

Monday 15th August 2022
quotequote all
justin220 said:
Some great points there but don't agree on the running costs being regular. For me suspension, air con, coolant pipework and wiper motors shouldn't be failing after 5 years or 15k miles. The car is garaged at all times.
Fair point, you wouldn't expect so many issues at this age.

It may to some extent reflect McLaren's relative inexperience in building durable cars back in c.2015 when they were engineering the Sports Series, they wouldn't have had five years experience yet of with the 12C on the road. It seems like the Nissan/Ricardo developed engine and Graziano gearbox are pretty solid, and the basic structure obviously won't rot being CF, so you're just left with these "minor" failures that add up to major bills at McDealer rates. At least these kinds of issues feel unlikely to presage bigger failures down the line if you keep the car.

Smoothound

148 posts

45 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
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I'm told of one engine part that is 1000% more expensive to an owner than the engine builder and it regularly fails...

justin220

Original Poster:

5,331 posts

203 months

Wednesday 17th August 2022
quotequote all
Penrhyn said:
It’s a supercar , they are not cheap to buy because it’s a supercar. So parts are going to be expensive, BUT dealers of all makes charge silly money for tyres etc.

The problem for Justin220 is that in Scotland there is only MC Scotland.

Tbh when the car is due its next service l would book it into Thorney and enjoy the drive there and back.

Thorney tbf are really decent people who are not in the business of ripping you off so that’s my recommendation.

Love you car btw enjoy.
I think my issue is not so much with the cost, its more the fact the car has corroded underneath in the first place. It just shouldn't be happening on a well maintained, garaged, 5 year old car.

Can you imagine a 5 year old VW Golf needing suspension, air con and coolant pipework replacing after only 15k miles?

Ferruccio

1,832 posts

118 months

Wednesday 17th August 2022
quotequote all
justin220 said:
I think my issue is not so much with the cost, its more the fact the car has corroded underneath in the first place. It just shouldn't be happening on a well maintained, garaged, 5 year old car.

Can you imagine a 5 year old VW Golf needing suspension, air con and coolant pipework replacing after only 15k miles?

Of course it shouldn’t; but what is the humidity level in your garage?
Key to have a dehumidifier running as appropriate.

Penrhyn

658 posts

97 months

Wednesday 17th August 2022
quotequote all
After treating the underbody l suggest something like this Carcoon would ensure no further damage.
https://www.carcoon.com/product-range/vehicle/

Somewhat surprised and disappointed Mclaren did not talk to you about the problem, they no doubt were thinking that you expect Mclaren to cover the damage and tbh l think they should have put a contribution towards the cost.

Live and learn , I’d go elsewhere for service.