Living with a McLaren 650s Spider as an (almost) daily
Discussion
Car was at McLaren Ascot all week, to get the wheels refurbed + stick the LHS rear bumper cheek on properly + check the suspension warning. Was hoping to get it back Friday afternoon, but it wasn't ready until mid-morning Saturday. Wheels look great - they actually look darker to me, but I don't think they can be - diamond cut can't really be darker given that it's basically just the alloy. In any case, they look good.
Rear bumper cheek seems firmly attached now.
Suspension fluid was apparently a little low - they think that is probably the cause of the error message (especially since the two times it's happened was when the car was re-lifting as I reversed off the drive) so they topped it up.
All done at no cost to me.
I REALLY missed the car last week. Initially, this made me think that meant I'd reached the point where I'd decided this is definitely the car for me - which I hadn't reached when I dropped it off. But absence makes the heart etc. etc. However, I later realised this wasn't really the case. If I drop the Ferrari off for a service, I still had the Aston / Alfa. If I dropped the Aston off for a service, I still had the Alfa.
Without the McLaren, I had........ the Cayenne (it really wasn't Ferrari weather last week) - and I really didn't want to be using it even though it was the right weather for it. Partly, I think that's because I haven't cleaned it in a long time, and it really did feel like a skip inside - really needed a hoover! I eventually gave it a clean this weekend, so it is at least a slightly more pleasant place to be. I am debating whether I need a cheap smaller car though, for days I don't have / don't want to use the 650.
I had been looking forward to getting the car back all week - but when I did, it was a bit of an anti-climax. I had a few things to do Sat morning, so was mostly running around town - the fact that the car is so good as a useable daily counts against it a bit I think. It is brilliant at it - one of the best daily cars I've ever owned - but it's a very expensive way of driving to the shops, and I have a nagging thought that it's massive overkill and I should simply buy a Ford Fiesta......
My best friend has been busy with various things since I bought the car and he finally saw it on Saturday - we went out for a brief run. Apparently, he hasn't ever been in my 360 - although I think both his kids have - but he did go in my (mapped) 996 turbo several times. We only accelerated briefly up a dual carriageway, but suffice to say he was amazed. Much much quicker than the 911 turbo (as you'd expect) and "proper proper fast - it's a proper supercar".
This morning, I really am beginning to doubt the build quality of these cars. I stopped at Tesco on the way to work. Opened the bonnet with the keyfob, and loaded the shopping in.
Opened the door, and a high pitched whine started - there was a couple getting into the car in front of mine, so at that point I wasn't sure if it was my car. Got in, closed the door (window went up) - and it's dead. No dash display, nothing. Got the key out of my pocket (although I know it tells me if it can't find it) but that made no difference.
Tried to open the door - nothing. Completely dead - I thought I may have to use the strap.
Pressed the start button to try and wake the car up - and the alarm sounded. Stopped it with the keyfob and then it was back to normal, and I drove to work with the roof down.
It may never do it again - but it was pretty annoying. It seems the car let me in, but then behaved as if it was completely off. Not good.
I do really like the car - but I am beginning to think that the stories of McLaren (un)reliability may be true. I've owned the car about 5 weeks - one week of which I didn't have it - and I've had suspension warnings twice, climate control going into calibration mode, bodywork coming loose, a dead car when I get into it followed by an alarm..........
My 18 year old 360 - with Italian electrics - has far less issues than this, as did the Vantage.
The car needs to start behaving itself. They may simply be niggles - but this is (by far) the most expensive car I've ever bought, and it is the car I will lose the most money on. I don't expect it to behave as if I'm a Beta tester - or if it does, it needs to be rare.
Rear bumper cheek seems firmly attached now.
Suspension fluid was apparently a little low - they think that is probably the cause of the error message (especially since the two times it's happened was when the car was re-lifting as I reversed off the drive) so they topped it up.
All done at no cost to me.
I REALLY missed the car last week. Initially, this made me think that meant I'd reached the point where I'd decided this is definitely the car for me - which I hadn't reached when I dropped it off. But absence makes the heart etc. etc. However, I later realised this wasn't really the case. If I drop the Ferrari off for a service, I still had the Aston / Alfa. If I dropped the Aston off for a service, I still had the Alfa.
Without the McLaren, I had........ the Cayenne (it really wasn't Ferrari weather last week) - and I really didn't want to be using it even though it was the right weather for it. Partly, I think that's because I haven't cleaned it in a long time, and it really did feel like a skip inside - really needed a hoover! I eventually gave it a clean this weekend, so it is at least a slightly more pleasant place to be. I am debating whether I need a cheap smaller car though, for days I don't have / don't want to use the 650.
I had been looking forward to getting the car back all week - but when I did, it was a bit of an anti-climax. I had a few things to do Sat morning, so was mostly running around town - the fact that the car is so good as a useable daily counts against it a bit I think. It is brilliant at it - one of the best daily cars I've ever owned - but it's a very expensive way of driving to the shops, and I have a nagging thought that it's massive overkill and I should simply buy a Ford Fiesta......
My best friend has been busy with various things since I bought the car and he finally saw it on Saturday - we went out for a brief run. Apparently, he hasn't ever been in my 360 - although I think both his kids have - but he did go in my (mapped) 996 turbo several times. We only accelerated briefly up a dual carriageway, but suffice to say he was amazed. Much much quicker than the 911 turbo (as you'd expect) and "proper proper fast - it's a proper supercar".
This morning, I really am beginning to doubt the build quality of these cars. I stopped at Tesco on the way to work. Opened the bonnet with the keyfob, and loaded the shopping in.
Opened the door, and a high pitched whine started - there was a couple getting into the car in front of mine, so at that point I wasn't sure if it was my car. Got in, closed the door (window went up) - and it's dead. No dash display, nothing. Got the key out of my pocket (although I know it tells me if it can't find it) but that made no difference.
Tried to open the door - nothing. Completely dead - I thought I may have to use the strap.
Pressed the start button to try and wake the car up - and the alarm sounded. Stopped it with the keyfob and then it was back to normal, and I drove to work with the roof down.
It may never do it again - but it was pretty annoying. It seems the car let me in, but then behaved as if it was completely off. Not good.
I do really like the car - but I am beginning to think that the stories of McLaren (un)reliability may be true. I've owned the car about 5 weeks - one week of which I didn't have it - and I've had suspension warnings twice, climate control going into calibration mode, bodywork coming loose, a dead car when I get into it followed by an alarm..........
My 18 year old 360 - with Italian electrics - has far less issues than this, as did the Vantage.
The car needs to start behaving itself. They may simply be niggles - but this is (by far) the most expensive car I've ever bought, and it is the car I will lose the most money on. I don't expect it to behave as if I'm a Beta tester - or if it does, it needs to be rare.
Edited by davek_964 on Monday 30th September 07:04
12pack said:
DaveK, are you actually using the car daily - or using a battery conditioner? This is the sort of issue one associates with low battery voltage. Perhaps get the battery checked?
Car is used pretty much every day - and I do check the battery indicator when I use the car, it always looks full. In fact, I went into the battery info page while I was waiting for somebody on Saturday and it said 97%.If I don't use the car for more than a day, I plug the conditioner in.
As far as I can tell, the battery is fine and is always at least 95% (although I guess the car did sit at Ascot for a few months, so don't know if it went flat there).
Despite the negative issue this morning, the journey home turned an important corner for me.
The one thing the Ferrari has always been able to do - and only the Ferrari has been able to do - is make me smile at the end of a journey, even when I started the journey in a bad mood.
Today, that's exactly what the 650 did. It's a major milestone.
The one thing the Ferrari has always been able to do - and only the Ferrari has been able to do - is make me smile at the end of a journey, even when I started the journey in a bad mood.
Today, that's exactly what the 650 did. It's a major milestone.
I am actually pretty happy with it now - although the main problem is I simply want to drive it all the time. Had to use the Cayenne yesterday because my mate needed a lift to the station on the way to work - and although I did take him out in the 650 at the weekend, let's say that his entry and exit from the car was...... challenging. And that was with the roof down. It wasn't worth the effort yesterday.
That meant I felt I'd missed my 650 fix by the evening - so despite fairly torrential rain, I decided I needed a run to the supermarket.
Actually - having said there are no disadvantages to a Spider - it seems my roof leaks slightly in torrential rain. There were a couple of drips on the back of the passenger seat. It's not something I'm too worried about - the rain has been very heavy, and it was only a couple of drips - but it is something they need to check at the service in December, particularly since the car lives outside. In fact, I'm not sure it's that surprising - with the roof closed, you can see that the seal between the front / rear roof panels is not even - as you face the front of the car, on the driver side the seal is sitting slightly proud of the roof. About half way across the car, it suddenly dips down and is no longer proud - it's actually slightly below the roof panels. I guess it's probably not supposed to be, but they can sort it out in December - if I find anything is getting damp inside, I'll take it back sooner.
Joined MOC a few days ago - still reluctant since I despise FB. But at least if there are local events, I'll know about them (I actually joined the day after a Surrey breakfast run which is a shame!).
Also ordered a private plate, so I guess I'm keeping it for a while yet!
That meant I felt I'd missed my 650 fix by the evening - so despite fairly torrential rain, I decided I needed a run to the supermarket.
Actually - having said there are no disadvantages to a Spider - it seems my roof leaks slightly in torrential rain. There were a couple of drips on the back of the passenger seat. It's not something I'm too worried about - the rain has been very heavy, and it was only a couple of drips - but it is something they need to check at the service in December, particularly since the car lives outside. In fact, I'm not sure it's that surprising - with the roof closed, you can see that the seal between the front / rear roof panels is not even - as you face the front of the car, on the driver side the seal is sitting slightly proud of the roof. About half way across the car, it suddenly dips down and is no longer proud - it's actually slightly below the roof panels. I guess it's probably not supposed to be, but they can sort it out in December - if I find anything is getting damp inside, I'll take it back sooner.
Joined MOC a few days ago - still reluctant since I despise FB. But at least if there are local events, I'll know about them (I actually joined the day after a Surrey breakfast run which is a shame!).
Also ordered a private plate, so I guess I'm keeping it for a while yet!
At this rate, mine will have been sold by Spring 
Today's niggle....... no sound. Reboot of IRIS solved it.
I still love the car, and still look forward to driving it all the time - and after years of having a sunny day only Ferrari it's kind of nice that I can drive it regardless of what the weather is doing. It would be quite nice to get through a whole week without some kind of niggling failure though.
Today's niggle....... no sound. Reboot of IRIS solved it.
I still love the car, and still look forward to driving it all the time - and after years of having a sunny day only Ferrari it's kind of nice that I can drive it regardless of what the weather is doing. It would be quite nice to get through a whole week without some kind of niggling failure though.
Car has behaved perfectly since the last update - no strange behaviour.
McLaren mailed me saying the car was due a service - which is a little premature. Both the service history and the car think it's due mid-December. Went to see them on Saturday to check that (just an excuse for a drive) and they had a lovely 720 Spider in the showroom. A tad out of my price range though...... Also had a gorgeous red 720 in their outside storage area - no price on it, so maybe a customer car.
Checked the oil again at the weekend, and it's still dead on - clearly doesn't use any oil.
The biggest problem I have with the car is that I am using it too much. I've owned it just over 6 weeks - a week of which it was at McLaren - and based on the miles over 5 weeks, I'm potentially looking at about 13.5k miles a year.
Given that it replaced the Aston and Alfa - which averaged under 2.5k miles a year each - it shows how many excuses I'm finding to drive somewhere.
Although it's great to have a car you want to drive all the time - it's a genuine problem. The insurance is only for 8k miles a year (which I thought was massively over-estimating!) - and although I can obviously increase that, there is another problem : The extended warranty is mileage limited, to 12k miles a year.
Curiously - the paperwork I have suggests it's cumulative - i.e. the certificate says mine is warrantied as long as it's under 60k / 72k miles for the next 2 years. But it also says 12k miles a year, which means I need to reduce my mileage unless I want to void my warranty.
I must admit, I was a tad surprised to find that a warranty costing as much as the McLaren one does is limited to 12k miles a year.
I guess when it's proper winter (Jan / Feb) the car will get used less - but I want more miles "available" in the summer, so I think I need to start using the Cayenne more for running around - maybe to work a bit more at least. I intended to start this morning, but.... er........ didn't.
I'm thinking that I will probably work on the rough principle that if it's wet on a weekday morning, I'll use the Cayenne - if it's dry, I'll use the 650. Given the recent weather, that suggests the 650 won't get nearly so much use!
Oh - and one final point. Car is tramlining quite badly. I know the tyres will need replacing in a couple of thousand miles, so I'm sure that's part of it - may get the alignment done as part of the service (although may also wait for new tyres, which might be later).
McLaren mailed me saying the car was due a service - which is a little premature. Both the service history and the car think it's due mid-December. Went to see them on Saturday to check that (just an excuse for a drive) and they had a lovely 720 Spider in the showroom. A tad out of my price range though...... Also had a gorgeous red 720 in their outside storage area - no price on it, so maybe a customer car.
Checked the oil again at the weekend, and it's still dead on - clearly doesn't use any oil.
The biggest problem I have with the car is that I am using it too much. I've owned it just over 6 weeks - a week of which it was at McLaren - and based on the miles over 5 weeks, I'm potentially looking at about 13.5k miles a year.
Given that it replaced the Aston and Alfa - which averaged under 2.5k miles a year each - it shows how many excuses I'm finding to drive somewhere.
Although it's great to have a car you want to drive all the time - it's a genuine problem. The insurance is only for 8k miles a year (which I thought was massively over-estimating!) - and although I can obviously increase that, there is another problem : The extended warranty is mileage limited, to 12k miles a year.
Curiously - the paperwork I have suggests it's cumulative - i.e. the certificate says mine is warrantied as long as it's under 60k / 72k miles for the next 2 years. But it also says 12k miles a year, which means I need to reduce my mileage unless I want to void my warranty.
I must admit, I was a tad surprised to find that a warranty costing as much as the McLaren one does is limited to 12k miles a year.
I guess when it's proper winter (Jan / Feb) the car will get used less - but I want more miles "available" in the summer, so I think I need to start using the Cayenne more for running around - maybe to work a bit more at least. I intended to start this morning, but.... er........ didn't.
I'm thinking that I will probably work on the rough principle that if it's wet on a weekday morning, I'll use the Cayenne - if it's dry, I'll use the 650. Given the recent weather, that suggests the 650 won't get nearly so much use!
Oh - and one final point. Car is tramlining quite badly. I know the tyres will need replacing in a couple of thousand miles, so I'm sure that's part of it - may get the alignment done as part of the service (although may also wait for new tyres, which might be later).
Oh well, haven't made it a week without a gremlin. Car always seems to have a new trick up its sleeve.
It's a very minor one - started reversing out of my drive this morning and noticed that the driver side mirror was mostly pointing at the car. Seems it had only partically folded out.
Stopped the car, opened / closed / locked the door, opened it again and this time it folded out correctly.
As of today, I've started a spreadsheet of problems with the car. Stuff like this is obviously not particularly major - but every few days there are issues like this, and it's simply not good enough. Maybe it's just software glitches and it will all go away if I make sure everything is updated when it's serviced.
The roof is still leaking - not by much, a few drips - but it's very annoying. I can see where it's dripping from - what I can't figure out is how the water is getting to that point because everything above it seems bone dry. Here's a picture - this is the passenger side of where the front and rear roof panels join. You can see water is collecting on the flat bit of the seal at the bottom - but I haven't figured out yet how. I'd like to - because I don't want the car back at McLaren before December, and I don't want the car leaking until then - it lives outside after all!
Maybe I'll try testing it with a hose tonight and see if I can figure out how the water is getting in
It's a very minor one - started reversing out of my drive this morning and noticed that the driver side mirror was mostly pointing at the car. Seems it had only partically folded out.
Stopped the car, opened / closed / locked the door, opened it again and this time it folded out correctly.
As of today, I've started a spreadsheet of problems with the car. Stuff like this is obviously not particularly major - but every few days there are issues like this, and it's simply not good enough. Maybe it's just software glitches and it will all go away if I make sure everything is updated when it's serviced.
The roof is still leaking - not by much, a few drips - but it's very annoying. I can see where it's dripping from - what I can't figure out is how the water is getting to that point because everything above it seems bone dry. Here's a picture - this is the passenger side of where the front and rear roof panels join. You can see water is collecting on the flat bit of the seal at the bottom - but I haven't figured out yet how. I'd like to - because I don't want the car back at McLaren before December, and I don't want the car leaking until then - it lives outside after all!
Maybe I'll try testing it with a hose tonight and see if I can figure out how the water is getting in
Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 9th October 06:53
justin220 said:
On fairness, none of those issues albeit minor ones should be happening. That's the sort of issues I had on my Evora and Lotus were great at sorting them.
The 650S is meant to be the 12C 'without the issues' so it seems you may have been unlucky.
What are McLaren saying?
I haven't mentioned most of them, because they seem to be one-off things that don't happen again. I am going to book the car in for the leaking roof - and I will mention all the other issues when I do that, and say that I want all modules up to date (if they're not already) when the roof is fixed.The 650S is meant to be the 12C 'without the issues' so it seems you may have been unlucky.
What are McLaren saying?
paulmnz said:
I was in at Thorney Motorsport on Monday picking up some parts for something else and was asking about their McLaren warranty business and what the cars have been like. They mentioned leaks are one of the biggest recurring issues they see with the cars.
Makes sense - the leak does seem to be the only recurring issue I have.s
t loads of other issues that only happen once, but the leaking roof is the only one that keeps happening I really did intend to use the Cayenne for work today - but I park it on the road, and it was boxed in by a neighbour who usually leaves for work at 5:45 - but for some reason, today she still hadn't left by 6am. Ironically, she came out as I was getting into the 650 but I couldn't be bothered to go back into the house and swap keys.
Driver side mirror failed to fold out again this morning, so that's twice in 3 days. I mailed McLaren first thing Weds morning to say that I wanted the car booked in but they still haven't got back to me so I will call them today. All of the issues I've had are minor (and in fact, compared to the list I've seen from some owners it seems I should be grateful!) - but the frequency makes it very annoying. I could wait until the service in December to get it all sorted - but that's only going to be about a week before Christmas, so I'm pretty sure that if I have a list of issues I won't see the car for weeks after I drop it off for the service........
I tried an experiment today. Winter mode is - as the name suggests - for slippery conditions. It was very wet when I was driving this morning - and although I was driving slowly (in auto mode, so the revs were sitting at under 2k), I decided to see just how good winter mode was. According to the manual, as well as reducing power (although quite how much difference a reduction to 500bhp is really supposed to make I'm not sure) - it "sets the traction control to its most sensitive" (or something like that) - so I thought, let's see then.
I was doing about 5mph - and as I said, I was in auto mode which probably wasn't the best idea, because when you put your foot down it changes down so the revs are pretty much at maximum power - rather than the more linear approach you'd get from manual mode.
I was a bit surprised at the result. If that's the traction control at its most sensitive then frankly, it's a bit crap! Car went a tad sideways, which gave me a bit of a shock - I won't be trying that again! Clearly driver error - but if the car is still putting out 500bhp and spinning the wheels enough to launch the car sideways I'm kind of thinking they could have used that button for something a tad more useful..........
Anyway - bottom line this morning is that I'm feeling a tad disillusioned with the car. The niggles are annoying me, the crap headlights on main beam mean that I'm probably going to start using the Cayenne more simply so I can see where I'm going in the dark, it annoys me every time I get in after it's rained and I see drips on the passenger seat and I'm surprised McLaren haven't replied to my email (I know I can phone them, but I've used email successfully up until now). I actually think that if it was a different time of year, I'd be thinking about putting it back up for sale - but I think that would be an over-reaction. McLaren need to fix these niggling problems - especially the roof - and the headlights are a major issue for me, because at this time of year it really is making the car unsuitable for road use. I'm sure that's a fairly simple fix - they just need to point higher - but it's probably the thing that is making me feel most negative about the car because I'm hesitating about using it each evening.
Let's hope that when it does finally go back into McLaren they can sort some of these issues out.
Driver side mirror failed to fold out again this morning, so that's twice in 3 days. I mailed McLaren first thing Weds morning to say that I wanted the car booked in but they still haven't got back to me so I will call them today. All of the issues I've had are minor (and in fact, compared to the list I've seen from some owners it seems I should be grateful!) - but the frequency makes it very annoying. I could wait until the service in December to get it all sorted - but that's only going to be about a week before Christmas, so I'm pretty sure that if I have a list of issues I won't see the car for weeks after I drop it off for the service........
I tried an experiment today. Winter mode is - as the name suggests - for slippery conditions. It was very wet when I was driving this morning - and although I was driving slowly (in auto mode, so the revs were sitting at under 2k), I decided to see just how good winter mode was. According to the manual, as well as reducing power (although quite how much difference a reduction to 500bhp is really supposed to make I'm not sure) - it "sets the traction control to its most sensitive" (or something like that) - so I thought, let's see then.
I was doing about 5mph - and as I said, I was in auto mode which probably wasn't the best idea, because when you put your foot down it changes down so the revs are pretty much at maximum power - rather than the more linear approach you'd get from manual mode.
I was a bit surprised at the result. If that's the traction control at its most sensitive then frankly, it's a bit crap! Car went a tad sideways, which gave me a bit of a shock - I won't be trying that again! Clearly driver error - but if the car is still putting out 500bhp and spinning the wheels enough to launch the car sideways I'm kind of thinking they could have used that button for something a tad more useful..........
Anyway - bottom line this morning is that I'm feeling a tad disillusioned with the car. The niggles are annoying me, the crap headlights on main beam mean that I'm probably going to start using the Cayenne more simply so I can see where I'm going in the dark, it annoys me every time I get in after it's rained and I see drips on the passenger seat and I'm surprised McLaren haven't replied to my email (I know I can phone them, but I've used email successfully up until now). I actually think that if it was a different time of year, I'd be thinking about putting it back up for sale - but I think that would be an over-reaction. McLaren need to fix these niggling problems - especially the roof - and the headlights are a major issue for me, because at this time of year it really is making the car unsuitable for road use. I'm sure that's a fairly simple fix - they just need to point higher - but it's probably the thing that is making me feel most negative about the car because I'm hesitating about using it each evening.
Let's hope that when it does finally go back into McLaren they can sort some of these issues out.
355spiderguy said:
Regards to your thoughts about your headlights, i watched an old mr jww youtube video with regards to 'the 5 things i dislike about my 675LT'
No2 on the list was poor headlights that did not have much 'throw'. He had it back to McLaren to rectify and it seems as though no matter how much tweaking they did it was about as good as these lights get.
To be fair i don't do the commutes you do, so my experience with the lights is only really in areas with streetlighting...so i cannot comment as to if they are crap or not.
I did a search myself a while back, and found the opposite. A few people complaining that the lights had no range, but after a visit to the dealer and adjustment they seemed to be fixed. No2 on the list was poor headlights that did not have much 'throw'. He had it back to McLaren to rectify and it seems as though no matter how much tweaking they did it was about as good as these lights get.
To be fair i don't do the commutes you do, so my experience with the lights is only really in areas with streetlighting...so i cannot comment as to if they are crap or not.
They don't seem to lack brightness - they just don't point far enough away - so hopefully it can be sorted out.
I didn't use the car all weekend, so was looking forward to using it this morning - however, it was raining as usual and as well as the drips on the passenger seat, it seems that it must drip on the driver side too, because I realised I had a slightly wet back on the way to work.
When I read about other owners issues - here and on the owners group - it actually makes me feel I've got one of the good ones. There are certainly owners who seem to have the perfect / nothing is ever wrong ones, but there are also cars which are a lot worse than mine!
I am hoping that Ascot will fix the leaking roof, adjust the headlights and update any out of date software (although I'd expect that to be done as part of sale for a qualified car, so either I'm expecting too much or the software should be pretty up to date). In reality - although it's annoying - if I get a car back that doesn't leak in the rain, and I can see where I'm going in the dark - I can probably live with the other niggles I've had so far (although actually, they do need to fix the mirror problem too, since that happened twice in 3 days).
One very odd side effect of owning the 650 : My Cayenne has always been the most comfortable car I've owned. Not surprising really, the seats are big - it's a bit like sitting on a sofa - loads of leg space, and really all about being a comfortable car.
Now that the 650 is my mostly-daily - I find the Cayenne pretty uncomfortable in comparison - I look forward to getting back in the 650. Bizarre given the type of car it is - for all it's apparent issues, there are definitely some things about the car they got right!
EK993 said:
Davek, hopefully this will make you feel a little better - another day another problem for me:
Went to open door today, button on door wouldn't work. Had to double tap the remote to pop the door. The window rolled all the way down. Now it won't stay up, just rolls straight back down again - and the drivers door button has completely stopped working.
Drove to my service center and dropped it off. Told them I didn't want the car back unless they can fix it. List as follows:
Engine system fault
Drivers door won't open / window won't close
Air conditioning only works some of the time
Comfort access does not work reliably
Cracked windshield due to manufacturing defect - been waiting almost 5 weeks for a replacement
The 570 is supposed to be their daily driver. What a joke. McLaren cars are total junk as far as I am concerned.
To be honest, stuff like this worries me more. Most of my issues are fairly minor niggles - a leaking roof is a big problem for a car that lives outside, but mostly it's just annoying that it has a problem so often. But when I see stuff like this I just think I've got a whole lot more grief coming that I didn't know about!Went to open door today, button on door wouldn't work. Had to double tap the remote to pop the door. The window rolled all the way down. Now it won't stay up, just rolls straight back down again - and the drivers door button has completely stopped working.
Drove to my service center and dropped it off. Told them I didn't want the car back unless they can fix it. List as follows:
Engine system fault
Drivers door won't open / window won't close
Air conditioning only works some of the time
Comfort access does not work reliably
Cracked windshield due to manufacturing defect - been waiting almost 5 weeks for a replacement
The 570 is supposed to be their daily driver. What a joke. McLaren cars are total junk as far as I am concerned.
I do like my car though, and I do want to keep it for a few years. I'm hoping it will start behaving enough that I can....
Car was dropped at Ascot yesterday - expecting a phone call by the end of today with an estimate of how long they'll have it.
This morning, I used my Cayenne and paid a lot of attention to the headlights to see just how they compare to the 650 (I don't even know what type of lights the Cayenne has - but it's 16 years old, so whatever was hi-tech in 2003).
The 650 lights are much brighter, and much more white - Cayenne lights are pretty yellow and compared to the 650 quite a lot dimmer. The issue with the 650 is clearly just the adjustment - if I left the Cayenne on low beam, I'd say that was very very close to how far ahead I can see in the 650 when it's on main beam. Switch the Cayenne to main beam and there is no comparison.
I'm pretty sure they should be able to adjust the lights to solve my problem - they are definitely brighter than the Cayenne so they really should be able to point a lot further forward! (And it did also show that even when the 650 is on low beam, it's not pointing as far ahead as the Cayenne does on low beam).
This morning, I used my Cayenne and paid a lot of attention to the headlights to see just how they compare to the 650 (I don't even know what type of lights the Cayenne has - but it's 16 years old, so whatever was hi-tech in 2003).
The 650 lights are much brighter, and much more white - Cayenne lights are pretty yellow and compared to the 650 quite a lot dimmer. The issue with the 650 is clearly just the adjustment - if I left the Cayenne on low beam, I'd say that was very very close to how far ahead I can see in the 650 when it's on main beam. Switch the Cayenne to main beam and there is no comparison.
I'm pretty sure they should be able to adjust the lights to solve my problem - they are definitely brighter than the Cayenne so they really should be able to point a lot further forward! (And it did also show that even when the 650 is on low beam, it's not pointing as far ahead as the Cayenne does on low beam).
Even with the niggling faults - it's difficult to think of anything that could replace it. I was thinking about it this morning - if I get to the Spring and am still annoyed by problems, what would I replace it with?
It replaced an Aston Vantage - and although I liked that car and will probably own one again - the McLaren is better at just about everything, including GT stuff like motorway cruising that suits the Aston.
Ignoring luggage space, mpg and that kind of thing, it's the best daily car I've owned.
It looks amazing and is ballistic if you want it to be.
Wouldn't be easy to find an alternative I don't think - not in a single car anyway.
It replaced an Aston Vantage - and although I liked that car and will probably own one again - the McLaren is better at just about everything, including GT stuff like motorway cruising that suits the Aston.
Ignoring luggage space, mpg and that kind of thing, it's the best daily car I've owned.
It looks amazing and is ballistic if you want it to be.
Wouldn't be easy to find an alternative I don't think - not in a single car anyway.
TobyTR said:
Sounds like pound-for-pound your Ferrari 360 offers 90% of what the 650S does, but for half the price... and with (surprisingly) better steering feel, better throttle response and (unsurprisingly!) better vocals
Yes and no.If you're going out for a blast down a twisty road, then my feeling at the moment is that's probably mostly true. The 360 seems easier to pilot quickly down a road I know - because I can floor it out of a bend without worrying too much that the wheels will spin - the 650 either needs the revs keeping way down (which it's actually as fast as the 360 anyway), or a lot more control of the accelerator.
360 definitely does sound better - although I guess it's an unfair comparison (NA vs turbo).
I'm not entirely happy with how the 650 turns into bends - not only did the 360 feel much quicker when I used it a few weeks ago - but it does feel like the 650 wants to run wide. However, it may be an unfair comparison - the 650 may well need the alignment doing. I'm put off a little by that at the moment having been told by another owner that a McLaren dealer will charge me £750+vat to do the alignment, unless I can negotiate a discount........ that seems a tad expensive. I think the indy (Thorney) probably charges much less - so when I get my car back from McLaren (hopefully with non-leaking roof and headlights that point the right way) I may look into that.
Having said all that - much as I love the 360 - I have only used it one single time since buying the 650 on 24th August. Partly that's due to the fact that it's rained ever since - but it's also because there is one area the 650 scores that the 360 doesn't. The McLaren is useable in just about every situation - it's very very comfortable, the suspension is brilliant (I almost always use the 360 in sport mode, but I've started leaving the 650 in normal because it soaks up bumps and is firm enough for going quickly). It is the best daily car I've ever had - whereas the 360 can be a bit tiring to use daily - it's not a car I'd enjoy doing that in.
Since I don't have the 650 this week - and it seems it will be longer than that, since I dropped the car off at the end of Monday (wrongly) expecting it to be looked at on Tuesday - I had intended to use the 360 a couple of times, but so far I've not seen a dry morning! (Although at least the 360 doesn't leak when it rains........)
Edited by davek_964 on Thursday 17th October 07:21
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