981 Boxster S to a McLaren 570/540 ? Feasible ??

981 Boxster S to a McLaren 570/540 ? Feasible ??

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Discussion

carspath

Original Poster:

832 posts

176 months

Wednesday 14th August 2019
quotequote all
Some help with hard facts would be greatly appreciated .


I have the last 981 Boxster S PDK in Racing Yellow that was imported into the UK .
Fully loaded to and beyond the GTS spec , except that it doesn't have Alcantara as I prefer smooth black leather .
It has now done almost 30,000 miles , and has another 2 years of the extended Porsche warranty left . FPMDSH. Featured in a Supercar book .
Fitted with X-PEL protection before I picked it up from Porsche Reading , so it is genuinely unmarked .
It is only used for 7 weeks a year , and has hardly done 2000 miles in the UK - only to get from home to the Channel Ports .


It has been a superb sportscar -- absolutely fit for the purpose it was originally bought for-- to take us and the kitchen sink on holiday to the Continent .


But it is not a junior supercar .
I have never had a useable supercar .

It crossed my mind that I might just be able to trade up from the Boxster S to a McLaren 540/570

But price to change is a very real issue for me , and I don't do Man Maths .

Hence starting this thread , as I need some information about purchase , warranty and maintenance costs , and also information about just how much difference there is between the Boxster S and the 540 , and also between the 540 and the 570 .

I appreciate that the only way to get absolutely hard information will be to contact dealers and to go on test drives , but if the preliminary information from PH'ers tells me that this idea is not financially viable , then I will abort the idea , and will not waste other people's time .


As you have gathered , money is a major factor here , indeed probably the main factor .


So , onto the main questions :


1) Who should I approach for part-exchanging the Porsche against the McLaren .
Alaister Bols ? Do you think the Main Dealers would be even vaguely interested ? Anyone else ?


2) The next question might be impossible to answer without identifying and examining individual cars , but what sort of price to change should be expected , given the limited information that I have provided above . I am not interested in anything other than an immaculate McLaren , but am not worried about its age or mileage ( unless you PH'ers tell me that I should be !) , as I expect that I will continue to put just under 10,000 miles per year on the car .

3) Touching a lot of wood , the Boxster has been faultless , and I need a reliable car for use abroad .
The forums are littered with stories of major/ minor and corrosion problems with McLarens
What are PH'ers direct experience re reliability of the 540/570
Although this car would also only be used for 7 weeks/ year - my wife would be totally unforgiving if it ' failed to progress ' during this time .


4) Please could you tell me about :
- routine maintenance costs and intervals
- how much to plan on spending on unscheduled maintainance
- warranty costs , and in particular how the warranty costs increase as the car gets older
- I met the gentleman who runs Thorney at Beaulieu a couple of weekends ago , and he said that the Mclarens were inherently strong -- but would you run a 540/570 without a warranty , or do you think that doing 10 ,000 miles a year without a warranty would be one risk too far ? .
-Porsche's warranty can be exteneded to 125,000 miles, and/or 15 years-- what is the McLaren equivalent ?


5) How much more special would the 540 be to drive vs the Boxster IN THE REAL WORLD with the Police/speed cameras / unmarked cars around ?
I would not be using either car as a daily driver ( I have a 146,000 mile , 26 year old Series 1 MX5 for that ) , so no stop-start traffic- laden , winter use .
It will be used mainly on A and B roads (50% mileage : 75% time )) and motorways (50% mileage : 25% time )
How much more special would the 570 be vs the 540 ?

6) Any other relevant information / relevant points that I have missed out -- please give your input .


Thank-you








RBT0

1,476 posts

118 months

Wednesday 14th August 2019
quotequote all
Hello there.

Have you ever driven one? Really suggest to pop in to your nearest Mclaren dealer and ask for a test drive and a chat for px.

See what they have in stock as pre owned, have a look, it will give you an idea, come back here with any questions.

Also have a look at pistonheads classified, you’ll see quite a big spread of price depending on mileage and year.

I was in a similar situation years ago, step by step you can increase your knowledge and understand if it’s your next car.

All I can say, it’s a big step from your start point, in terms of pure performance and stance, design.

What about sound? Try one and compare it with your 981 NA.

smile





Edited by RBT0 on Wednesday 14th August 23:07

andrew

9,952 posts

191 months

Wednesday 14th August 2019
quotequote all
quite a big trade down tbh

carspath

Original Poster:

832 posts

176 months

Wednesday 14th August 2019
quotequote all
Thank you both.

The Gallardo is the other option . Comments Andrew ?

Sarnie

8,025 posts

208 months

Wednesday 14th August 2019
quotequote all
carspath said:
Some help with hard facts would be greatly appreciated .


I have the last 981 Boxster S PDK in Racing Yellow that was imported into the UK .
Fully loaded to and beyond the GTS spec , except that it doesn't have Alcantara as I prefer smooth black leather .
It has now done almost 30,000 miles , and has another 2 years of the extended Porsche warranty left . FPMDSH. Featured in a Supercar book .
Fitted with X-PEL protection before I picked it up from Porsche Reading , so it is genuinely unmarked .
It is only used for 7 weeks a year , and has hardly done 2000 miles in the UK - only to get from home to the Channel Ports .


It has been a superb sportscar -- absolutely fit for the purpose it was originally bought for-- to take us and the kitchen sink on holiday to the Continent .


But it is not a junior supercar .
I have never had a useable supercar .

It crossed my mind that I might just be able to trade up from the Boxster S to a McLaren 540/570

But price to change is a very real issue for me , and I don't do Man Maths .

Hence starting this thread , as I need some information about purchase , warranty and maintenance costs , and also information about just how much difference there is between the Boxster S and the 540 , and also between the 540 and the 570 .

I appreciate that the only way to get absolutely hard information will be to contact dealers and to go on test drives , but if the preliminary information from PH'ers tells me that this idea is not financially viable , then I will abort the idea , and will not waste other people's time .


As you have gathered , money is a major factor here , indeed probably the main factor .


So , onto the main questions :


1) Who should I approach for part-exchanging the Porsche against the McLaren .
Alaister Bols ? Do you think the Main Dealers would be even vaguely interested ? Anyone else ?


2) The next question might be impossible to answer without identifying and examining individual cars , but what sort of price to change should be expected , given the limited information that I have provided above . I am not interested in anything other than an immaculate McLaren , but am not worried about its age or mileage ( unless you PH'ers tell me that I should be !) , as I expect that I will continue to put just under 10,000 miles per year on the car .

3) Touching a lot of wood , the Boxster has been faultless , and I need a reliable car for use abroad .
The forums are littered with stories of major/ minor and corrosion problems with McLarens
What are PH'ers direct experience re reliability of the 540/570
Although this car would also only be used for 7 weeks/ year - my wife would be totally unforgiving if it ' failed to progress ' during this time .


4) Please could you tell me about :
- routine maintenance costs and intervals
- how much to plan on spending on unscheduled maintainance
- warranty costs , and in particular how the warranty costs increase as the car gets older
- I met the gentleman who runs Thorney at Beaulieu a couple of weekends ago , and he said that the Mclarens were inherently strong -- but would you run a 540/570 without a warranty , or do you think that doing 10 ,000 miles a year without a warranty would be one risk too far ? .
-Porsche's warranty can be exteneded to 125,000 miles, and/or 15 years-- what is the McLaren equivalent ?


5) How much more special would the 540 be to drive vs the Boxster IN THE REAL WORLD with the Police/speed cameras / unmarked cars around ?
I would not be using either car as a daily driver ( I have a 146,000 mile , 26 year old Series 1 MX5 for that ) , so no stop-start traffic- laden , winter use .
It will be used mainly on A and B roads (50% mileage : 75% time )) and motorways (50% mileage : 25% time )
How much more special would the 570 be vs the 540 ?

6) Any other relevant information / relevant points that I have missed out -- please give your input .


Thank-you
I'll try to answer your questions based on solely my own personal experience, not what other owners have experienced or what gets posted on the 'net;

- 3.5 years into McLaren Ownership, used 12c for 1.5years and brand new 570s ordered directly from the factory.
- You are correct, Boxster S is not a supercar.
- You've mentioned money quite a lot, I wouldn't buy ANY supercar if the money is such a huge consideration.....they cost money, lose money and cost money to run!
- 100% speak to AB, bought my 12c via him......he will give you straight up advice and info
- No idea on cost to change, McLarens are good for 10k per year though
- Neither of my cars has had ANY corrosion, nor spent any time at all at the dealership for any reliability issues.
- Service every 12 months, just had my second year service.......£550 first year, £950 for second year last week.
- Nothing spent on unscheduled maintenance.....new rear tyres needed shortly but not unexpected.
- No idea on warranty....circa £2.7k IIRC...........I won't be taking the warranty out on my car. The Sports Series is a simpler car than the Super Series.......it was specifically designed to be more usable, used more and more often and do more mileage.....hence less to go wrong with it........I would however (and did) ensure I have/had a warranty on a 12c/650s/675LT.
- No idea on the max mileage/age of the McLaren warranty.
- If you drive a 570s for a few hours.........you won't even look back at your Porsche when you swap over........the difference is HUGE.......IMO.

drcarrera

791 posts

224 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
Nothing helpful to add , but I'm looking at making a very similar change - 981 Boxster GTS to 570 Spyder. Biggest issue for me isn't the Boxster trade-in but having to sell my classic to fund the change - it's not a sellers market at the moment!

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
Take one for a test drive before relying on PH to make your decision. In many ways, the difference between Boxster and any McLaren is significant.

The hard fact is: A move into supercar territory will cost you significantly more than you are currently spending. That’s not a McLaren thing, it’s a supercar thing. The reason to buy a supercar is not based on common sense, logic or necessity - It is simply “I want”.

Unless you have a lot of disposable income and comfortable with spending it on a supercar which you will DEFINITELY lose money on, don’t do it.

How much is your budget?










anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
drcarrera said:
Nothing helpful to add , but I'm looking at making a very similar change - 981 Boxster GTS to 570 Spyder. Biggest issue for me isn't the Boxster trade-in but having to sell my classic to fund the change - it's not a sellers market at the moment!
The E Type?

davek_964

8,795 posts

174 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
I've just been through the buying process - although I won't collect the car until the 24th - so here's my experience.

1) McLaren would take your car as p-ex, but of course you're going to get p-ex price which is unlikely to be what you'd see privately. I part ex'd - and was reasonably happy with the values I was given - however, I'm aware that's against the screen price of the car, and walking in with cash would probably have seen that reduced. It is a lot simpler though, and to be honest - if I'd had to go through the hassle of selling the cars I part ex'd I probably wouldn't have bothered.

2) Impossible to say

3) I've seen comments that would make you think they fall apart within a few weeks, and comments saying they're practically faultless. It's hard to judge the reality, especially since people rarely clarify how many miles they do. I spoke to one (previous) owner who'd owned a car for 4 years, but done under 1k miles - so you'd expect the car to be pretty faultless in that time. I guess I'll find out the reality soon.

4) Despite agreeing to buy one, I am aware that I've bought a car which is going to be expensive to run. I've bought a Super series car (650 Spider) which is about to hit 5 years old - I bought from a McLaren dealer, so first year warranty is thrown in and I've agreed to pay for the second year. Super series warranty is more than sports, but I'm aware that from 2021 it will be costing me £5k a year for a warranty - and that's assuming the prices don't go up. On the other hand, everything I've seen suggests that the warranty is pretty comprehensive so at least there should be relatively few nasty surprises. It will be very expensive - but at least I know how expensive it's likely to be (one of my other cars had an unexpected £6.5k bill this year, and with other bits and pieces + servicing has cost me £9-10k I think).

5) This is a tricky one, and I guess I don't really know until I get mine - but here's what I found from the test drives:
First test drive : Not what I was expecting. I was initially planning to part ex my Ferrari 360 - but the McLaren just wasn't that kind of car. It felt very very easy to drive, very composed - in fact, it reminded me of the 911 turbo I had a few years back so you may find it very familiar coming from a Boxster. The whole test drive was such a surprise, I really didn't know what I wanted to do when it ended. It felt very "sensible" - despite being ridiculously fast - it felt like your gran would have no problem nipping to Tesco's in it. Bizarre, and not what I was looking for - at least not to replace the 360.
A few days later, I had another test drive on roads I knew - which included a nice twisty road I use on the way to work. It was stunning. It went from sensible / trundle around town in relative comfort / a car your nan could drive - to an absolutely awesome sports car (this was something my 911 turbo didn't manage). Considering it's a car I don't know (and I was still using auto gear changes) I was blown away - and when I got back to the dealer, was 100% sure I wanted to buy it. (It's still not replacing the 360 but it might in time).

From my (very limited) experience - I'd say that for 90% of "real world" driving it will be just as good as the Boxster (although I suspect it's got less luggage space) - but it will look a lot better. For the other 10% - it will blow the Boxster - and pretty much anything else - out of the water, and it will feel like you're driving a completely different car in a completely different league.

6) Decisions like this are never easy - mine is still stressing me out. Although I can "afford it" (I still have some investments, and I still have a Ferrari in the garage) - it's a massive chunk of my capital and it leaves me cash broke for a little while. But I'm looking at it like this :
I nearly bought my first Ferrari about 5 years before I actually did - but I was put off my all the internet stories that it would break every 5 minutes. When I finally did buy one - it didn't. It was ~20 years old, and obviously had niggles - but they were all pretty minor and fixed easily - and I wished I'd done it years before.
I have the same concerns about McLaren as I had then - and maybe a few more thrown in due to the logistics of being such a new company. But every time I see one of their cars, I want one - and if I drop dead in a month I'd rather have been driving around in a McLaren for a month than with ~£100k sitting in the bank.
If I buy it, and it does turn out to be an unreliable pile of junk - then I'll sell it (at a huge loss no doubt) - but currently, I think it's going to be amazing.
(The other issue to consider is attention it gets - I hate getting attention, it's why my current Ferrari is not red - and it is something I am very concerned about in the McLaren. You will definitely find it a different experience than a Boxster).

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
To answer your question 1: The main dealers would be interested in your car as a part-ex. McLaren Bristol recently took a 7 year old Jaguar XKR-S. They have a ‘specialist cars’ sales department for things like that. Ask for Steve Toomer.

Crazy4557

671 posts

193 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
My advice would be to sell the Boxster privately at a better price than you’ll see in part ex and then as a cash buyer you’ll likely get £4-5k off the screen price.
As you are very sensitive to the cost to change then this would be the most cost efficient way albeit some hassle but you could be several £000’s better off.

I bought a 570s and got £4K off and a mate of mine bought with £5k off sticker price all in the last 4-5 months. 540’s are better value for less outlay and minimal performance difference in real world conditions so you’re cost to change will be lower.

In terms of ownership experience the McLaren is in a different league to the Porsche, get one and you’ll never look back. As a car to travel abroad they really come alive with the better quality roads in Europe and are surprisingly quiet and comfortable in a nice way when you want but ballistic when making progress.
Good luck whichever one you choose and when you do be sure to join the Owners club on Facebook for great info and events.

drcarrera

791 posts

224 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
MAC 720S said:
drcarrera said:
Nothing helpful to add , but I'm looking at making a very similar change - 981 Boxster GTS to 570 Spyder. Biggest issue for me isn't the Boxster trade-in but having to sell my classic to fund the change - it's not a sellers market at the moment!
The E Type?
<offtopic> Yep - just tweaking a couple of things before I list it. I simply don't use it enough anymore. I only tend to drive it when the weather's nice but then often feel I'd rather be in the Boxster, roof down. It's modded to "fast road spec" and it's still amusing blasting past modern machinery in a 50 year old car but it would probably be even more amusing in a Mclaren! </offtopic>.

isaldiri

18,407 posts

167 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
OP - weren't you going on and on (and on) last year about how 'supercars' were pointless and any owners were buying them just to pose and refusing to accept anyone else saying that 'yes it was possible to enjoy driving a high powered sports car'?

PompeyReece

1,484 posts

88 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
isaldiri said:
OP - weren't you going on and on (and on) last year about how 'supercars' were pointless and any owners were buying them just to pose and refusing to accept anyone else saying that 'yes it was possible to enjoy driving a high powered sports car'?
Don't care. Doesn't help the thread or improve the forum. Next.

justin220

5,331 posts

203 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
carspath said:
Some help with hard facts would be greatly appreciated .


I have the last 981 Boxster S PDK in Racing Yellow that was imported into the UK .
Fully loaded to and beyond the GTS spec , except that it doesn't have Alcantara as I prefer smooth black leather .
It has now done almost 30,000 miles , and has another 2 years of the extended Porsche warranty left . FPMDSH. Featured in a Supercar book .
Fitted with X-PEL protection before I picked it up from Porsche Reading , so it is genuinely unmarked .
It is only used for 7 weeks a year , and has hardly done 2000 miles in the UK - only to get from home to the Channel Ports .


It has been a superb sportscar -- absolutely fit for the purpose it was originally bought for-- to take us and the kitchen sink on holiday to the Continent .


But it is not a junior supercar .
I have never had a useable supercar .

It crossed my mind that I might just be able to trade up from the Boxster S to a McLaren 540/570

But price to change is a very real issue for me , and I don't do Man Maths .

Hence starting this thread , as I need some information about purchase , warranty and maintenance costs , and also information about just how much difference there is between the Boxster S and the 540 , and also between the 540 and the 570 .

I appreciate that the only way to get absolutely hard information will be to contact dealers and to go on test drives , but if the preliminary information from PH'ers tells me that this idea is not financially viable , then I will abort the idea , and will not waste other people's time .


As you have gathered , money is a major factor here , indeed probably the main factor .


So , onto the main questions :


1) Who should I approach for part-exchanging the Porsche against the McLaren .
Alaister Bols ? Do you think the Main Dealers would be even vaguely interested ? Anyone else ?


2) The next question might be impossible to answer without identifying and examining individual cars , but what sort of price to change should be expected , given the limited information that I have provided above . I am not interested in anything other than an immaculate McLaren , but am not worried about its age or mileage ( unless you PH'ers tell me that I should be !) , as I expect that I will continue to put just under 10,000 miles per year on the car .

3) Touching a lot of wood , the Boxster has been faultless , and I need a reliable car for use abroad .
The forums are littered with stories of major/ minor and corrosion problems with McLarens
What are PH'ers direct experience re reliability of the 540/570
Although this car would also only be used for 7 weeks/ year - my wife would be totally unforgiving if it ' failed to progress ' during this time .


4) Please could you tell me about :
- routine maintenance costs and intervals
- how much to plan on spending on unscheduled maintainance
- warranty costs , and in particular how the warranty costs increase as the car gets older
- I met the gentleman who runs Thorney at Beaulieu a couple of weekends ago , and he said that the Mclarens were inherently strong -- but would you run a 540/570 without a warranty , or do you think that doing 10 ,000 miles a year without a warranty would be one risk too far ? .
-Porsche's warranty can be exteneded to 125,000 miles, and/or 15 years-- what is the McLaren equivalent ?


5) How much more special would the 540 be to drive vs the Boxster IN THE REAL WORLD with the Police/speed cameras / unmarked cars around ?
I would not be using either car as a daily driver ( I have a 146,000 mile , 26 year old Series 1 MX5 for that ) , so no stop-start traffic- laden , winter use .
It will be used mainly on A and B roads (50% mileage : 75% time )) and motorways (50% mileage : 25% time )
How much more special would the 570 be vs the 540 ?

6) Any other relevant information / relevant points that I have missed out -- please give your input .


Thank-you
I'll try and back up some of the already excellent advice posted above.

I own a 540C and have driven a few boxsters and Caymans (not owned though)

1. Most dealers will just 'go to market' and get you a trade price, then probably massage it a bit depending on the car you are trading in against. I traded a V8 Vantage in against mine, mclaren dealt with it all but it was an independent garage down south who actually bid and bought it.

2. No idea

3. Difficult to say but most of the issues with these cars won't actually stop you driving it, more just niggles like the sat nav not working, poor radio etc. Some people have had issues with keys not being recognised but this is often due to the key battery which are replaced every service. Corrosion is a pain, but you can get this sorted when it suits you. No major issues on my car, but I'd also advise going in with the right expectations. Don't plan for it to be perfect all the time.

4. I've been £410 and £1260 for a minor and major service, which alternate each year. Tyres around £230 each, rears have lasted 8k miles but they are not quite done. No unscheduled costs yet. But I'm still under warranty. I believe year 4 will cost around £3k and I'll be paying it, I like the peace of mind.

5. This is where the Mclarens shine. The boxster is a very very good sports car (sound great to) but the 540/570 is a real step into a proper supercar with the performance to match. The boxster will feel quite gutless after a drive in one. The amount of useable day to day performance is awesome. Almost nothing is as quick on the road day to day. Even most motorbikes. I'd liken it to a very very fast lotus with handling to match. To own, it's a proper supercar. Everyone wants to talk about it and take pictures. So if you don't like attention I'd stay away hehe every drive feels special.

I'd say the difference between the 540 and 570 is almost negligible on the road. The 570 looks better (brakes and painted splitters) but in isolation the 540C looks every bit as good. Mine was delivered (driven) yesterday and the guy who drives to deliver for a living said it's the first 540 he's driven, and couldn't tell the difference. I'd personally pick a car based on colour and spec, rather than focusing on 570 over 540. Or should I say, I'd take a well spec 540 over a less spec 570.

isaldiri

18,407 posts

167 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
PompeyReece said:
Don't care. Doesn't help the thread or improve the forum. Next.
Feel free to report me to the mods given that seems to be the default position by some on the Mclaren forum then.... wink

ferdi p

1,519 posts

171 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
PompeyReece said:
isaldiri said:
OP - weren't you going on and on (and on) last year about how 'supercars' were pointless and any owners were buying them just to pose and refusing to accept anyone else saying that 'yes it was possible to enjoy driving a high powered sports car'?
Don't care. Doesn't help the thread or improve the forum. Next.
Seems a reasonable question to me?

Would be interesting to know what made him change his opinion on this matter...

PompeyReece

1,484 posts

88 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
ferdi p said:
Seems a reasonable question to me?

Would be interesting to know what made him change his opinion on this matter...
A perfectly reasonable question... worded in a provocative, unreasonable, baiting way.

ferdi p

1,519 posts

171 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
PompeyReece said:
A perfectly reasonable question... worded in a provocative, unreasonable, baiting way.
Fair comment...

RBT0

1,476 posts

118 months

Thursday 15th August 2019
quotequote all
To be fair, based on my experience, you may want to try a 911 GT3 as well. As you may find 570 too refined. But still a huge leap forward and will make feel a 981 like a Hothatch in comparison.

I went for a 600LT which thicks all my boxes and beats GT3.