Thinking of buying 540

[MadMacMcMad]

The Surveyor said:

Sorry to hear you had issues, but why did you have to pay £4,000 for an extended warranty on an 18 month old car?

I didn't have to have the extended warranty as my car did not reach 3 years with me owning it, but if you intend to own a car outside the initial warranty period you must buy the extended or you could be into massive bills. I did not want to keep the car into that period as I refuse to pay £4K per year to McLaren just because they cannot build a car properly!
As long as you are prepared for the additional running cost and the inevitable remedial period without your car, then there is very little on the roads that comes close.
Unfortunately there was every chance my constant problems would not go away and sooner or later I would have to put my hand in my pocket again.

[TheKC]

I’m in the same situation. I turn 30 next August (2019) and was thinking of a entry car, either a Mclaren of some sort of a Ferrari California?

I’m not sure how much the Mclaren will fall? There’s a few for around £115k. I want to use it for a couple of years before I have any children. But the depreciation is putting me off! That’s why I was thinking of a lower prices California for around £85/90k as I believe they probably won’t fall much lower within that time period.

[Nomal]

MadMacMcMad said:

The Surveyor said:

Sorry to hear you had issues, but why did you have to pay £4,000 for an extended warranty on an 18 month old car?

I didn't have to have the extended warranty as my car did not reach 3 years with me owning it, but if you intend to own a car outside the initial warranty period you must buy the extended or you could be into massive bills. I did not want to keep the car into that period as I refuse to pay £4K per year to McLaren just because they cannot build a car properly!
As long as you are prepared for the additional running cost and the inevitable remedial period without your car, then there is very little on the roads that comes close.
Unfortunately there was every chance my constant problems would not go away and sooner or later I would have to put my hand in my pocket again.

I have just bought a 12 month old 570S, I asked about the warranty and was quoted by McBrum between £1500.00 - £2000.00 per annum for a warranty. Are you correct or have I been mislead?

[The Surveyor]

Nomal said:

MadMacMcMad said:

The Surveyor said:

Sorry to hear you had issues, but why did you have to pay £4,000 for an extended warranty on an 18 month old car?

I didn't have to have the extended warranty as my car did not reach 3 years with me owning it, but if you intend to own a car outside the initial warranty period you must buy the extended or you could be into massive bills. I did not want to keep the car into that period as I refuse to pay £4K per year to McLaren just because they cannot build a car properly!
As long as you are prepared for the additional running cost and the inevitable remedial period without your car, then there is very little on the roads that comes close.
Unfortunately there was every chance my constant problems would not go away and sooner or later I would have to put my hand in my pocket again.

I have just bought a 12 month old 570S, I asked about the warranty and was quoted by McBrum between £1500.00 - £2000.00 per annum for a warranty. Are you correct or have I been mislead?

The point I was making is that until the car is 3 years old, the warranty comes with the car, at no extra cost. Yes, once the factory warranty drops away you have to factor that into the ownership cost (just like every other car on the road) and that's something I'm comfortable to do if I keep my 570s longer than that.

You don't need to pay for a £4,000 warranty on an 18 moth old 540c.

Again, another sports series owner who's car hasn't been any trouble at all

[RamboLambo]

Another Sport and super series owner here with no issues to report ?!
The power of the internet I guess and not always factually accurate or representative of reality.

Edited by RamboLambo on Tuesday 10th July 21:00

[Mr Cod]

TheKC said:

I’m in the same situation. I turn 30 next August (2019) and was thinking of a entry car, either a Mclaren of some sort of a Ferrari California?

I’m not sure how much the Mclaren will fall? There’s a few for around £115k. I want to use it for a couple of years before I have any children. But the depreciation is putting me off! That’s why I was thinking of a lower prices California for around £85/90k as I believe they probably won’t fall much lower within that time period.

I was in a very similar position to you. Same age, thinking about a Cali. Drive both. If this is your "now or never" car, you need to get the one that excites you properly - no compromises. In the end I stretched myself to a 12c spider. Beautiful car, just a beautiful thing. I can't imagine feeling the same way about an 11 plate Cali.

I don't think the Cali will mirror the mid engine v8s price wise. I really can see them down to 60k cars. This is total crystal ball gazing of course. But my reckoning is that the potential for loss in percentage terms at least was the same.

[Targarama]

Nomal said:

MadMacMcMad said:

The Surveyor said:

Sorry to hear you had issues, but why did you have to pay £4,000 for an extended warranty on an 18 month old car?

I didn't have to have the extended warranty as my car did not reach 3 years with me owning it, but if you intend to own a car outside the initial warranty period you must buy the extended or you could be into massive bills. I did not want to keep the car into that period as I refuse to pay £4K per year to McLaren just because they cannot build a car properly!
As long as you are prepared for the additional running cost and the inevitable remedial period without your car, then there is very little on the roads that comes close.
Unfortunately there was every chance my constant problems would not go away and sooner or later I would have to put my hand in my pocket again.

I have just bought a 12 month old 570S, I asked about the warranty and was quoted by McBrum between £1500.00 - £2000.00 per annum for a warranty. Are you correct or have I been mislead?

I suggest you have been lied to by the salesperson. They know damn well what a warranty costs, unless it was the salesperson's first day at work?

[pete]

I've been told that a McLaren extended warranty would cost a whisker under £4000 per year for a car between 3-5 years old, rising to almost £5000 for a car over 5 years old. I think you can save about £500 per year if you buy 24 months up front.

There are 3rd party options for about half that, but they typically have £10k claim limits.

[TheKC]

Mr Cod said:

TheKC said:

I’m in the same situation. I turn 30 next August (2019) and was thinking of a entry car, either a Mclaren of some sort of a Ferrari California?

I’m not sure how much the Mclaren will fall? There’s a few for around £115k. I want to use it for a couple of years before I have any children. But the depreciation is putting me off! That’s why I was thinking of a lower prices California for around £85/90k as I believe they probably won’t fall much lower within that time period.

I was in a very similar position to you. Same age, thinking about a Cali. Drive both. If this is your "now or never" car, you need to get the one that excites you properly - no compromises. In the end I stretched myself to a 12c spider. Beautiful car, just a beautiful thing. I can't imagine feeling the same way about an 11 plate Cali.

I don't think the Cali will mirror the mid engine v8s price wise. I really can see them down to 60k cars. This is total crystal ball gazing of course. But my reckoning is that the potential for loss in percentage terms at least was the same.

Thanks for the input. Yeah I’m leaning way more towards a Mclaren. Just the problem is depreciation for me over a couple of years. Especially with the release of some of the new Mclarens too. There’s still over a year till I’d actually get one, so who knows what will happen in the coming year on the prices. I’m guessing they’ll follow the 12c prices and go down to £80/90k?

[Mr Cod]

There is a lot of talk about 80 to 90k 12Cs. Yes they exist. But none are examples Id consider buying. Silver, lo spec, high mileage or some combination of all 3. There is huge variation. Options on my spider went to over 70k new. Huge difference between that and a base spec car - though of course nobody is going to see much of that back on resale- but some!

[Targarama]

TheKC said:

Mr Cod said:

TheKC said:

I’m in the same situation. I turn 30 next August (2019) and was thinking of a entry car, either a Mclaren of some sort of a Ferrari California?

I’m not sure how much the Mclaren will fall? There’s a few for around £115k. I want to use it for a couple of years before I have any children. But the depreciation is putting me off! That’s why I was thinking of a lower prices California for around £85/90k as I believe they probably won’t fall much lower within that time period.

I was in a very similar position to you. Same age, thinking about a Cali. Drive both. If this is your "now or never" car, you need to get the one that excites you properly - no compromises. In the end I stretched myself to a 12c spider. Beautiful car, just a beautiful thing. I can't imagine feeling the same way about an 11 plate Cali.

I don't think the Cali will mirror the mid engine v8s price wise. I really can see them down to 60k cars. This is total crystal ball gazing of course. But my reckoning is that the potential for loss in percentage terms at least was the same.

Thanks for the input. Yeah I’m leaning way more towards a Mclaren. Just the problem is depreciation for me over a couple of years. Especially with the release of some of the new Mclarens too. There’s still over a year till I’d actually get one, so who knows what will happen in the coming year on the prices. I’m guessing they’ll follow the 12c prices and go down to £80/90k?

Depreciation is only an issue if you sell. Also, an early 570S/GT won't be far off a slightly newer 540C price in the secondhand market. Warranty cost is not a major issue if you budget for it. Early 12Cs are a bargain if you get a warranty.

Next step is to drive one and report back

[Sarnie]

My car is twelve months old now......................ZERO issues. One lemon doesn't apply to all cars!!

I bought a Gallardo ten years ago when the clutches were made of chocolate and Lambo were charging £5k to change them......still bought one, still loved it, never had a problem with it......

From this thread we had one person who had issues and 5 or 6 with none..........bad news travels faster and all that.........

[tyrrell]

I've had two new 570's the first one had a cracked washer fluid reservoir and alarm sensor issue, the second one has been fault less so far, as in life there are always two sides to any story, they are absolutely fantastic cars and bring so much pleasure to the owner and admirers alike.

[Jon666]

This forum is slightly bizarre - why does everyone get so defensive of Mclaren? I’m delighted there are faultless cars but there are also many common faults. I’ve done 15k miles in my 650s so have encountered most of them...clunky front struts (3 times), stress fractured windscreen, uneven brakepad wear destroying discs (twice), rusty radiators, 3 rusty body panels, worn out wheel arch lining, indicator stalk failure, car dropping it’s coolant as inadequate heat protection next to oil sump. None of these faults are unique to me...I know other people personally and Mclaren have also confirmed. All fixed under warranty but the car spends a lot of time at Mclaren who generally take a month to even look at the car. You have to swallow 3.9k a year warranty (the cost of which alone demonstrates the extent of maintenance these cars require).

I love the car and still drive it a lot...but from my personal experience I would say that if you run a 650s, put some miles on it, do some track days...you will get to know your local Mclaren garage very well.

I respect everyones elses comments on their experiences but these are mine. I am not “scaremongering”, I am stating the facts of my Mclaren ownership.

[RobDown]

Can I just point out the bleedin' obvious here to all those saying the stories of lemons etc are overdone:

McLaren CHARGE £4K A YEAR FOR A WARRANTY!!!

You can tell a lot from this. A warranty is an insurance product. Now unless the company are trying to gouge the customer base (possible) this is telling you one thing - McLaren know there are going to be lots of expensive claims

Maybe I'll look again when McLaren feel confident enough to halve the cost of that warranty....

[johnnyreggae]

Is it possible McLaren charge double (for example) Aston because the cars actually get used ?

The former might be based on 5 000 mile average whereas the latter is probably far lower - in this scenario it is inevitable the claim costs could be higher

[RobDown]

johnnyreggae said:

Is it possible McLaren charge double (for example) Aston because the cars actually get used ?

The former might be based on 5 000 mile average whereas the latter is probably far lower - in this scenario it is inevitable the claim costs could be higher

It's possible. But as both will be primarily weekend cars I can't see any reason why McLarens would naturally see much bigger mileages than Aston Martins

It just feels like McLaren, as still a relatively new car producer need some time to work out what's reliable and what isn't. Sure they will get there. But in the meantime being told that you really need to spend £4K a year on a warranty is going to hurt residuals

[Ferruccio]

RobDown said:

Can I just point out the bleedin' obvious here to all those saying the stories of lemons etc are overdone:

McLaren CHARGE £4K A YEAR FOR A WARRANTY!!!

You can tell a lot from this. A warranty is an insurance product. Now unless the company are trying to gouge the customer base (possible) this is telling you one thing - McLaren know there are going to be lots of expensive claims

Maybe I'll look again when McLaren feel confident enough to halve the cost of that warranty....

Quite.
Let’s assume that they sell the insurance at breakeven and make the margin on the work.
Say half the cars need no work, then the other half need £8k p.a., which on a new/newish cars seems a lot to me.
If it’s one in three cars that need work, that’s £12k.
If it’s one in five+, as some would seem to indicate, then it’s £20k+, which if that’s your car is a meaningful percentage of the value of the car.

[Ferruccio]

johnnyreggae said:

Is it possible McLaren charge double (for example) Aston because the cars actually get used ?

The former might be based on 5 000 mile average whereas the latter is probably far lower - in this scenario it is inevitable the claim costs could be higher

An Aston dealer was telling me recently that his cars average c.6k miles a years.

[RamboLambo]

If and when a component goes wrong they are expensive as they are bespoke McLaren parts only and not borrowed from Fiat, Merc's or VAG's parts bin.
There is also limited claim history and the insurance/warranty company actually wants to make a profit and most definitely not a loss.
This combined with the fact that its easy to fleece wealthy McLaren owners due to all the scaremongering is a perfect storm.

Thorney motorsport can do it for half and still make a profit. IMHO Mclarens reliability is far better than Astons but the replacement parts are not as cheap.

You gets what you pays for 9 times out of 10 and McLaren is a premium product. Don't drink champagne if you are relying on beer money