pondering a mclaren
Discussion
Tthinking of changing my car again in the autumn and after a 430, a lotus and an F type I am wondering if a McLaren would be a good choice . But I have heard horror stories about reliability and running costs, and am concerned about the availability of indies to do any work needed. Didnt help that the Bristol dealer not only didnt inspire me but was open enough to indicate that reliability wasnt a strong point of the brand.
I love open cars so with my £100 k or thereabouts budget, that implies a 12C. Cant afford the 570S. The 12C was the beginning of the McLaren road car story and a car that wasnt universally accepted as brilliant. I have tested the 570s - how does the 12C compare with this.
So how reliable are they and what are the typical annual maintenance costs, Comments from long term owners appreciated - anyone can own for just 12 months and get lucky.
I love open cars so with my £100 k or thereabouts budget, that implies a 12C. Cant afford the 570S. The 12C was the beginning of the McLaren road car story and a car that wasnt universally accepted as brilliant. I have tested the 570s - how does the 12C compare with this.
So how reliable are they and what are the typical annual maintenance costs, Comments from long term owners appreciated - anyone can own for just 12 months and get lucky.
Wonderful cars that will change your perception of fast. I had a F430 and have had a 12c for the last 24 months. The ownership experience has been my favourite by far.
Buy from an owner that has loved the car and is still in warranty. You will be able to check the history of any problems.
The owners group is great and very knowledgable and you will get early notification of good cars before they hit the dealers or classifieds.
In 2 years my car has been very reliable bar a faulty horn, some suspension items/bushes that were changed at a service and a small coolant leak from a hose clamp.
Ah also door latches that were replaced with the later soft close items.
You won't look back!
Buy from an owner that has loved the car and is still in warranty. You will be able to check the history of any problems.
The owners group is great and very knowledgable and you will get early notification of good cars before they hit the dealers or classifieds.
In 2 years my car has been very reliable bar a faulty horn, some suspension items/bushes that were changed at a service and a small coolant leak from a hose clamp.
Ah also door latches that were replaced with the later soft close items.
You won't look back!
Consensus seems to be a warranty is needed for the best part of five grand a year and there's no option currently for servicing outside the very small network (certainly nothing near Wales...) - your previous threads suggest you might need slightly more of a comfort zone
You might want spend some time looking at other threads in this section - in particular the recent one on servicing
You might want spend some time looking at other threads in this section - in particular the recent one on servicing
bordseye said:
The 12C was the beginning of the McLaren road car story and a car that wasnt universally accepted as brilliant. I have tested the 570s - how does the 12C compare with this.
So how reliable are they and what are the typical annual maintenance costs, Comments from long term owners appreciated - anyone can own for just 12 months and get lucky.
The 12c is quite different to drive than the 570, moves around less and is somewhat less 'playful' feeling on normal driving. Gearbox is definitely less slick as well. Overall i liked the 12c more but I accept it might more have been due to familiarity. So how reliable are they and what are the typical annual maintenance costs, Comments from long term owners appreciated - anyone can own for just 12 months and get lucky.
Owned my 12c for almost 6 years (35k miles, good chunk of track miles). Excluding consumables like tyres brakes, annual maintenance was £~1500 on servicing (i had extra gearbox/clutch/various fluid changes that I'm excluding) and whatever the extended warranty cost and I very strongly advise costing that into the running cost of the car. My 12c was reliable, make that very reliable for 5 years, but the last year was let's just say, very trying. I couldn't say if it was just unlucky or something to do with the longevity or lack of engineered into the cars which I had heard something about years ago but never believed till my last year of ownership...
The car was an absolute blast to drive though, no real regrets owning the car but I'd personally not be stepping back into any kind of Mclaren ownership any time soon.
isaldiri said:
My 12c was reliable, make that very reliable for 5 years, but the last year was let's just say, very trying. I couldn't say if it was just unlucky or something to do with the longevity or lack of engineered into the cars
This is the problem - all new components specific to the 2011 12C which have not been tested beforehand and can just go at any moment. Make sure you pay the £5k McLaren Warranty and the £1.5-2k service every year. There are no cheap ways around running one of these. I have heard many gearbox seals going, turbos, and also problems with the hydraulic suspension, so beware...TP321 said:
isaldiri said:
My 12c was reliable, make that very reliable for 5 years, but the last year was let's just say, very trying. I couldn't say if it was just unlucky or something to do with the longevity or lack of engineered into the cars
This is the problem - all new components specific to the 2011 12C which have not been tested beforehand and can just go at any moment. Make sure you pay the £5k McLaren Warranty and the £1.5-2k service every year. There are no cheap ways around running one of these. I have heard many gearbox seals going, turbos, and also problems with the hydraulic suspension, so beware...There are more positive stories than negative imo. The cars also seem to get much higher use than the comparable Ferrari or Lambo. I regularly see Macs on track, rarely do I see a Lambo or Ferrari’s there.
When I’d ‘boot’ my f430, I spent more time looking in the rear view awaiting a cog to fly out the rear lid than I did looking ahead and enjoying the drive. The McLaren seems very solid in comparison.
I’m only a short stint into Mac ownership but my car has been faultless and it’s the quickest thing I’ve ever been behind the wheel of!
The gearbox issue is very real but not not every single 12c or 650 has had the issue, it seems about 10-15% of them have had it. There is now also a fix via Thorney motorsport for about 3k (not sure on the exact number).
Pretty much every f430 owner had a manifold and ball joints every service!
I’ve also not seen more than one reported fault with the suspension system? People have had bushes but that’s about it.
The lack of Indy’s is an issue but they will come with time. My car is in for its first service (with me) at McManchester so I’m happy to report back next week (probably with egg of my face and a 10k bill)
I’m running my car with no warranty too. Gearbox issue seems the major reason people have the warranty. The fix is now less than the warranty so I’m happy to run the risk and put the 4K in a gamble pot.
Also, the Facebook forum is the best place for real life running costs, reported faults and advice. Problem is, you need to prove ownership before you can join (and pay £50)
Finally, In my opinion, pound for pound they are untouchable, especially used! I’m in a 2013, 15k high spec 12c for less than 100k.
My 2008 430 was the same price ...
There seems a lot of negative press from people who have never owned one (or probably driven one).
Take the plunge!!
Finally, In my opinion, pound for pound they are untouchable, especially used! I’m in a 2013, 15k high spec 12c for less than 100k.
My 2008 430 was the same price ...
There seems a lot of negative press from people who have never owned one (or probably driven one).
Take the plunge!!
pilotprice said:
I’ve also not seen more than one reported fault with the suspension system? People have had bushes but that’s about it.
Hydraulic accumulators replaced under warranty. A good number of 12c's and 650s have had that. To be fair though, imo that should probably be considered in some respects a consumable item. isaldiri said:
pilotprice said:
I’ve also not seen more than one reported fault with the suspension system? People have had bushes but that’s about it.
Hydraulic accumulators replaced under warranty. A good number of 12c's and 650s have had that. To be fair though, imo that should probably be considered in some respects a consumable item. I don’t think I’ve seen more than one entire shock failure though and that was a guy in the states who’d done 30+ track days
Suggest you watch this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpaRb_4G7Lo
and make up your own mind. Lots of McLaren scaremongering on the internet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpaRb_4G7Lo
and make up your own mind. Lots of McLaren scaremongering on the internet
TP321 said:
This is the problem - all new components specific to the 2011 12C which have not been tested beforehand and can just go at any moment. Make sure you pay the £5k McLaren Warranty and the £1.5-2k service every year. There are no cheap ways around running one of these. I have heard many gearbox seals going, turbos, and also problems with the hydraulic suspension, so beware...
First rule Ignore this clown.
This is in fact one of his better efforts in that includes certain elements of truth albeit with liberal dollops of negative hyperbole.
Second rule,
If you are going for an older car I would strongly recommend asking John at Thorney Motorsport or Mark at Backdraft Motorsport for advice and possibly an inspection first.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 28th August 07:13
[quote=pilotprice]
Pretty much every f430 owner had a manifold and ball joints every service!
[quote]
In a way this illustrates the problem with asking on the net. My 430 at 10 years old had never had a balljoint replacement and didnt need one and was still on the original Mk2 manifolds. On the other hand the clutch was gone at 11000 miles
Its difficult to get a picture of the average - the net either yields horror stories or the opposite.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the responses. In my dotage I have turned into a bit of a worryer and the idea that an annual £4k warranty is recommended by almost everyone suggests unreliability and cost to me. I can afford the cost but dont want the worry so I think I will give McLaren a miss this time round even if its by some margin the best supercar I have driven.
Pretty much every f430 owner had a manifold and ball joints every service!
[quote]
In a way this illustrates the problem with asking on the net. My 430 at 10 years old had never had a balljoint replacement and didnt need one and was still on the original Mk2 manifolds. On the other hand the clutch was gone at 11000 miles
Its difficult to get a picture of the average - the net either yields horror stories or the opposite.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the responses. In my dotage I have turned into a bit of a worryer and the idea that an annual £4k warranty is recommended by almost everyone suggests unreliability and cost to me. I can afford the cost but dont want the worry so I think I will give McLaren a miss this time round even if its by some margin the best supercar I have driven.
Brooking10 said:
First rule
Ignore this clown.
This is in fact one of his better efforts in that includes certain elements of truth albeit with liberal dollops of negative hyperbole.
Second rule,
If you are going for an older car I would strongly recommend asking John at Thorney Motorsport or Mark at Backdraft Motorsport for advice and possibly an inspection first.
No, do not ignore the clown, he's talking sense..Ignore this clown.
This is in fact one of his better efforts in that includes certain elements of truth albeit with liberal dollops of negative hyperbole.
Second rule,
If you are going for an older car I would strongly recommend asking John at Thorney Motorsport or Mark at Backdraft Motorsport for advice and possibly an inspection first.
Edited by Brooking10 on Tuesday 28th August 07:13
If you are buying used, you MUST have extended warranty. Unless you have very deep pockets. I had a 540C from new and it spent a third of it's first 2 years at McLaren having remedial work. Some issues rendered the car unusable.
If you can accept £6K per annum running cost (warranty/service) then there is very little on the road to compare. Fantastic machines, but have your eyes open, as you will be lucky not to experience a few issues and without any independants to look after it, it will be expensive.
MadMacMcMad said:
No, do not ignore the clown, he's talking sense..
If you are buying used, you MUST have extended warranty. Unless you have very deep pockets. I had a 540C from new and it spent a third of it's first 2 years at McLaren having remedial work. Some issues rendered the car unusable.
If you can accept £6K per annum running cost (warranty/service) then there is very little on the road to compare. Fantastic machines, but have your eyes open, as you will be lucky not to experience a few issues and without any independants to look after it, it will be expensive.
If you are buying used, you MUST have extended warranty. Unless you have very deep pockets. I had a 540C from new and it spent a third of it's first 2 years at McLaren having remedial work. Some issues rendered the car unusable.
If you can accept £6K per annum running cost (warranty/service) then there is very little on the road to compare. Fantastic machines, but have your eyes open, as you will be lucky not to experience a few issues and without any independants to look after it, it will be expensive.
Nobody disagrees with the need for a warranty.
Most people on this forum agree that TP321 has a long standing antagonistic and negative posting style backed by zero evidence of first hand experience thus making it difficult to separate constructive posting from trolling.
Note in my post I also reference two very well regarded independents, one of whom offers a warranty scheme on older cars.
The other problem here is that with an £80k older car, no one really can accept paying £5k warranty and £1.5k servicing every year. Ok on a £200k car, but way too steep for someone who only has £80k to spend. This will lead to even more depreciation ...
There are far safer alternatives.
There are far safer alternatives.
TP321 said:
The other problem here is that with an £80k older car, no one really can accept paying £5k warranty and £1.5k servicing every year. Ok on a £200k car, but way too steep for someone who only has £80k to spend. This will lead to even more depreciation ...
There are far safer alternatives.
I agree, they'll be on AutoTrader at £39,950 by the end of the year. There are far safer alternatives.
Would you buy one at that price?
Since when was safe a prerequisite for purchasing a super car you fun sponge.
Buy the car that excites you, sets your pants on fire. Its going to depreciate & cost money to run it properly, if that's your number one prerequisite best not to purchase one, if you love how it drives / looks & makes you feel then do buy one you never know you may just absolutely love it, I do!
Buy the car that excites you, sets your pants on fire. Its going to depreciate & cost money to run it properly, if that's your number one prerequisite best not to purchase one, if you love how it drives / looks & makes you feel then do buy one you never know you may just absolutely love it, I do!
bordseye]ilotprice said:
Anyway, thanks everyone for the responses. In my dotage I have turned into a bit of a worryer and the idea that an annual £4k warranty is recommended by almost everyone suggests unreliability and cost to me. I can afford the cost but dont want the worry so I think I will give McLaren a miss this time round even if its by some margin the best supercar I have driven.
I can only go by my own experience, but in 2 years of ownership my 540's been pretty much faultless, the dealer's been fine too, probably overworked but they're doing a good job! I hear you on the warranty cost, I'd say it's more a reflection of the cost of labour and parts, I really wouldn't want to own any supercar without some sort of backup. The car's are utterly amazing though, might be worth chatting to a dealer before you pass, Dotage or not, you only live once! ferdi p said:
TP321 said:
The other problem here is that with an £80k older car, no one really can accept paying £5k warranty and £1.5k servicing every year. Ok on a £200k car, but way too steep for someone who only has £80k to spend. This will lead to even more depreciation ...
There are far safer alternatives.
I agree, they'll be on AutoTrader at £39,950 by the end of the year. There are far safer alternatives.
Would you buy one at that price?
Never will.
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