Living with a McLaren 650s Spider as an (almost) daily
Discussion
davek_964 said:
Just by looking at it, it does look like the worst design ever.
I cannot reproduce either leak with several minutes with the hose. It's supposed to rain heavily overnight, so I'll see what happens. I would prefer to have the car over Christmas - even if they provide a McLaren courtesy car - so if it seems leak free in the morning, I'll delay taking it back.
Will stick a towel / paper on top of the door card overnight.
ETA: when sitting in the car, even in light rain I can see the drips forming at the seal. Passenger side is fine so it obviously is possible to make it leak free.
How much water has dropped near the climate controls is anybody's guess.
It will have to go back on Monday.
Clearly if the seal design is bad or it’s been poorly fitted it needs resolving but as a temporary fix if it’s a seep rather than a gap would some water repellent like silicon spray of even Vaseline grease help? I cannot reproduce either leak with several minutes with the hose. It's supposed to rain heavily overnight, so I'll see what happens. I would prefer to have the car over Christmas - even if they provide a McLaren courtesy car - so if it seems leak free in the morning, I'll delay taking it back.
Will stick a towel / paper on top of the door card overnight.
ETA: when sitting in the car, even in light rain I can see the drips forming at the seal. Passenger side is fine so it obviously is possible to make it leak free.
How much water has dropped near the climate controls is anybody's guess.
It will have to go back on Monday.
Edited by davek_964 on Saturday 21st December 14:06
When I had my 458 spider delivered the roof used to make all kinds of creaking noises. Admittedly it dident leak however some one advised me to buy a bottle of Volkswagen krytox rubber roof care and rub on all the seals, worked a treat. Found it on eBay for around £40 for a small bottle. Use it every year now on my wife’s 2011 SLK.
Can’t do it any harm giving it a go.....
Can’t do it any harm giving it a go.....
davek_964 said:
Got the 650 back at the end of last week. They replaced the seal that runs across the car above the windscreen, and then down the front on each side - i.e. where the front of the door windows would seal against.
Nice to be back in my car, but almost constant rain means I hadn't bothered using it since.
Today, the sun was shining briefly so I considered taking it out. I dried off the drivers window to check it looked leak free inside.
There is water on the inside of the glass exactly where it leaked before. There is also water on the inside of the back of the driver side glass so I guess it leaks there too. Passenger side looks bone dry - as it was before.
Car goes back to Ascot again on Monday.
I'm sick of it.
I feel your pain. My 650 spider ( I owned from new) leaked in a way that filled the passenger footwell up with water when it rained. Despite a couple of attempted fixes and replaced seals, it was never solved. Thankfully it’s long gone. Nice to be back in my car, but almost constant rain means I hadn't bothered using it since.
Today, the sun was shining briefly so I considered taking it out. I dried off the drivers window to check it looked leak free inside.
There is water on the inside of the glass exactly where it leaked before. There is also water on the inside of the back of the driver side glass so I guess it leaks there too. Passenger side looks bone dry - as it was before.
Car goes back to Ascot again on Monday.
I'm sick of it.
I will order something to treat the seals.
Having said that, it really looks like it's mostly bad design where the top of the quarter window meets the main seal on the car. This is always going to be a weak point. (Passenger side does leak here too it turns out).
Since it drips down the inside of the window, I guess it does at least stay outside the membrane in the door, and is no longer dripping on the climate unit.
I really would prefer to keep the car over Christmas, but it depends on the conversation I have with Ascot tomorrow.
Having said that, it really looks like it's mostly bad design where the top of the quarter window meets the main seal on the car. This is always going to be a weak point. (Passenger side does leak here too it turns out).
Since it drips down the inside of the window, I guess it does at least stay outside the membrane in the door, and is no longer dripping on the climate unit.
I really would prefer to keep the car over Christmas, but it depends on the conversation I have with Ascot tomorrow.
Ridiculous to have to suggest this ....... but.
Here's a trick I've learned from leaving aircraft out in the rain (the canopies ALWAYS leak)
Carry a roll of cling film. Just put a piece over the leak as you leave the car - it's quick, cheap and not very noticeable and it works a treat.
Here's a trick I've learned from leaving aircraft out in the rain (the canopies ALWAYS leak)
Carry a roll of cling film. Just put a piece over the leak as you leave the car - it's quick, cheap and not very noticeable and it works a treat.
I might try that!
I've played around with it today and warmed a couple of the seals at the point it leaks then adjusted them.
It seems much improved, but time will tell.
I've taken the car out several times today, just for the drive and enjoyed it a lot. I will talk to Ascot tomorrow but it's unlikely I'll give them the car until new year.
I've played around with it today and warmed a couple of the seals at the point it leaks then adjusted them.
It seems much improved, but time will tell.
I've taken the car out several times today, just for the drive and enjoyed it a lot. I will talk to Ascot tomorrow but it's unlikely I'll give them the car until new year.
Slight adjustment of the seals seems to have cured the leak - I'll take it back to Ascot in the new year if it doesn't last.
Chucked the turkey in the oven early today, and then took the car out for 100 mile drive. Sunny weather and virtually no cars for the entire 90 minutes. Roads were not as dry as I expected - and even if they had been, the car was telling me it was only a few degrees above freezing - but it was a fabulous drive. There are definitely worse ways to start Christmas morning.
I intended to take more photos - but was having so much fun I didn't want to stop again!
Chucked the turkey in the oven early today, and then took the car out for 100 mile drive. Sunny weather and virtually no cars for the entire 90 minutes. Roads were not as dry as I expected - and even if they had been, the car was telling me it was only a few degrees above freezing - but it was a fabulous drive. There are definitely worse ways to start Christmas morning.
I intended to take more photos - but was having so much fun I didn't want to stop again!
davek_964 said:
Slight adjustment of the seals seems to have cured the leak - I'll take it back to Ascot in the new year if it doesn't last.
Chucked the turkey in the oven early today, and then took the car out for 100 mile drive. Sunny weather and virtually no cars for the entire 90 minutes. Roads were not as dry as I expected - and even if they had been, the car was telling me it was only a few degrees above freezing - but it was a fabulous drive. There are definitely worse ways to start Christmas morning.
I intended to take more photos - but was having so much fun I didn't want to stop again!
I see the freezing weather didn’t prevent you from dropping the top. Great photo. On my 2nd week in the Central American sun in a Jeep. Could do with a Mac fix.Chucked the turkey in the oven early today, and then took the car out for 100 mile drive. Sunny weather and virtually no cars for the entire 90 minutes. Roads were not as dry as I expected - and even if they had been, the car was telling me it was only a few degrees above freezing - but it was a fabulous drive. There are definitely worse ways to start Christmas morning.
I intended to take more photos - but was having so much fun I didn't want to stop again!
A final update for this year. Car will go back to Ascot next week - although I have improved the leak, it still isn't watertight and needs to be sorted next week. There are a couple of other issues I'll get them to check while it's there, but nothing particularly serious.
I'm going to update this thread much less in the new year, and I think it's worth summarising my ownership experience so far.
It's clear from this thread that my car has had its fair share of niggling problems - mostly electrical. As an owner, it's much worse than I expected, and extremely irritating. Regardless of how technically advanced the car is, how wonderful it's supposed to be to drive, how fast it is etc etc. - expecting the windows to go up when I want them to, and not then lower themselves halfway occasionally - isn't exactly rocket science. And for me, it taints the ownership experience a bit.
That view appears not to go down well with some owners. I've certainly upset at least one on the owners group it seems. My car is apparently so wonderful at other things that I should shrug off such issues - they are trivial to the point of not worth mentioning. I'm not sure what the threshold is for problems that are not acceptable - but it seems that it's more than the issues I have.
I do accept that this is how the car is. I hope that by Spring, the car will have a few less issues - although I suspect I'll have to learn to live with some (or sell the car), I don't particularly like it, but it is what it is. I am aware that there are cars that are problem free - I am even aware of owners who've had multiple cars that are problem free - but I also know that I am not alone in having issues. What the percentage is I don't know, but my feeling is that you're lucky to get a problem free car as opposed to being unlucky to have a car with issues.
Overall though, it is still an impressive car. It's a long time since I've owned a car that I will take out simply for a drive. I did do it sometimes with the Ferrari but not as much as I do with the McLaren. And as I've mentioned before, this is a problem - in my 4 months of ownership it's spent about 1 month at Ascot but I've still done just over 3k miles. This isn't great - it's winter and I'm averaging 1k a month when the car is not at Ascot - and I can only hit 12k over the year without voiding the warranty. Somehow I need to use the car less so that I have more miles available in summer.
Ultimately I guess that's what shows I how really feel about the car - I want to keep using it. I would be much much happier if it was problem free, and I still don't know what I will decide to do in Spring. But the issues are usually fairly minor and more of an irritation than anything else.
I will still update the thread, but it will be less often. Apart from anything else, I think my new years resolution is to spend signficantly less time on here.
I'm going to update this thread much less in the new year, and I think it's worth summarising my ownership experience so far.
It's clear from this thread that my car has had its fair share of niggling problems - mostly electrical. As an owner, it's much worse than I expected, and extremely irritating. Regardless of how technically advanced the car is, how wonderful it's supposed to be to drive, how fast it is etc etc. - expecting the windows to go up when I want them to, and not then lower themselves halfway occasionally - isn't exactly rocket science. And for me, it taints the ownership experience a bit.
That view appears not to go down well with some owners. I've certainly upset at least one on the owners group it seems. My car is apparently so wonderful at other things that I should shrug off such issues - they are trivial to the point of not worth mentioning. I'm not sure what the threshold is for problems that are not acceptable - but it seems that it's more than the issues I have.
I do accept that this is how the car is. I hope that by Spring, the car will have a few less issues - although I suspect I'll have to learn to live with some (or sell the car), I don't particularly like it, but it is what it is. I am aware that there are cars that are problem free - I am even aware of owners who've had multiple cars that are problem free - but I also know that I am not alone in having issues. What the percentage is I don't know, but my feeling is that you're lucky to get a problem free car as opposed to being unlucky to have a car with issues.
Overall though, it is still an impressive car. It's a long time since I've owned a car that I will take out simply for a drive. I did do it sometimes with the Ferrari but not as much as I do with the McLaren. And as I've mentioned before, this is a problem - in my 4 months of ownership it's spent about 1 month at Ascot but I've still done just over 3k miles. This isn't great - it's winter and I'm averaging 1k a month when the car is not at Ascot - and I can only hit 12k over the year without voiding the warranty. Somehow I need to use the car less so that I have more miles available in summer.
Ultimately I guess that's what shows I how really feel about the car - I want to keep using it. I would be much much happier if it was problem free, and I still don't know what I will decide to do in Spring. But the issues are usually fairly minor and more of an irritation than anything else.
I will still update the thread, but it will be less often. Apart from anything else, I think my new years resolution is to spend signficantly less time on here.
davek_964 said:
A final update for this year. Car will go back to Ascot next week - although I have improved the leak, it still isn't watertight and needs to be sorted next week. There are a couple of other issues I'll get them to check while it's there, but nothing particularly serious.
I'm going to update this thread much less in the new year, and I think it's worth summarising my ownership experience so far.
It's clear from this thread that my car has had its fair share of niggling problems - mostly electrical. As an owner, it's much worse than I expected, and extremely irritating. Regardless of how technically advanced the car is, how wonderful it's supposed to be to drive, how fast it is etc etc. - expecting the windows to go up when I want them to, and not then lower themselves halfway occasionally - isn't exactly rocket science. And for me, it taints the ownership experience a bit.
That view appears not to go down well with some owners. I've certainly upset at least one on the owners group it seems. My car is apparently so wonderful at other things that I should shrug off such issues - they are trivial to the point of not worth mentioning. I'm not sure what the threshold is for problems that are not acceptable - but it seems that it's more than the issues I have.
I do accept that this is how the car is. I hope that by Spring, the car will have a few less issues - although I suspect I'll have to learn to live with some (or sell the car), I don't particularly like it, but it is what it is. I am aware that there are cars that are problem free - I am even aware of owners who've had multiple cars that are problem free - but I also know that I am not alone in having issues. What the percentage is I don't know, but my feeling is that you're lucky to get a problem free car as opposed to being unlucky to have a car with issues.
Overall though, it is still an impressive car. It's a long time since I've owned a car that I will take out simply for a drive. I did do it sometimes with the Ferrari but not as much as I do with the McLaren. And as I've mentioned before, this is a problem - in my 4 months of ownership it's spent about 1 month at Ascot but I've still done just over 3k miles. This isn't great - it's winter and I'm averaging 1k a month when the car is not at Ascot - and I can only hit 12k over the year without voiding the warranty. Somehow I need to use the car less so that I have more miles available in summer.
Ultimately I guess that's what shows I how really feel about the car - I want to keep using it. I would be much much happier if it was problem free, and I still don't know what I will decide to do in Spring. But the issues are usually fairly minor and more of an irritation than anything else.
I will still update the thread, but it will be less often. Apart from anything else, I think my new years resolution is to spend signficantly less time on here.
I certainly hope you don't spend less time on here. Some may not appreciate an honest and balanced account of McLaren ownership but i and probably the majority do.I'm going to update this thread much less in the new year, and I think it's worth summarising my ownership experience so far.
It's clear from this thread that my car has had its fair share of niggling problems - mostly electrical. As an owner, it's much worse than I expected, and extremely irritating. Regardless of how technically advanced the car is, how wonderful it's supposed to be to drive, how fast it is etc etc. - expecting the windows to go up when I want them to, and not then lower themselves halfway occasionally - isn't exactly rocket science. And for me, it taints the ownership experience a bit.
That view appears not to go down well with some owners. I've certainly upset at least one on the owners group it seems. My car is apparently so wonderful at other things that I should shrug off such issues - they are trivial to the point of not worth mentioning. I'm not sure what the threshold is for problems that are not acceptable - but it seems that it's more than the issues I have.
I do accept that this is how the car is. I hope that by Spring, the car will have a few less issues - although I suspect I'll have to learn to live with some (or sell the car), I don't particularly like it, but it is what it is. I am aware that there are cars that are problem free - I am even aware of owners who've had multiple cars that are problem free - but I also know that I am not alone in having issues. What the percentage is I don't know, but my feeling is that you're lucky to get a problem free car as opposed to being unlucky to have a car with issues.
Overall though, it is still an impressive car. It's a long time since I've owned a car that I will take out simply for a drive. I did do it sometimes with the Ferrari but not as much as I do with the McLaren. And as I've mentioned before, this is a problem - in my 4 months of ownership it's spent about 1 month at Ascot but I've still done just over 3k miles. This isn't great - it's winter and I'm averaging 1k a month when the car is not at Ascot - and I can only hit 12k over the year without voiding the warranty. Somehow I need to use the car less so that I have more miles available in summer.
Ultimately I guess that's what shows I how really feel about the car - I want to keep using it. I would be much much happier if it was problem free, and I still don't know what I will decide to do in Spring. But the issues are usually fairly minor and more of an irritation than anything else.
I will still update the thread, but it will be less often. Apart from anything else, I think my new years resolution is to spend signficantly less time on here.
I would dearly love to have one of these cars especially with those GFV deals but my worry is it would spend more time in the dealer, knocking a good few months out of the 24 month deal.
Is 12k miles per year a standard McLaren warranty condition?
You have done a great job with thread. My thoughts are the car sounds like a great mistress but a frustrating wife and the frustrations with it are probably bearable if you were not driving it daily and it was sitting in a garage when not in use.
Daily driving a super car seems to almost always involve compromising, either having to put up with a number of issues - McLaren- or having a car that is issue free but probably lacking the ultimate thrills - R8. Hope 2020 sees an end to the car issues!
Daily driving a super car seems to almost always involve compromising, either having to put up with a number of issues - McLaren- or having a car that is issue free but probably lacking the ultimate thrills - R8. Hope 2020 sees an end to the car issues!
davek_964 said:
...That view appears not to go down well with some owners...
Well f**k 'em! It is your car. Your money spent on it and for you and only you to determine what you find acceptable and what you don't. It is also extremely useful for others to read an honest appraisal and much more interesting than the "mine hasn't broken down for a fortnight so they're all wonderful" or "mine broke down 6 months ago so they're all rubbish" nonsense (not to mention the pages about values). Anyone reading can easily form their own view as to what they could live with and what they couldn't.
Please continue to post as you have been doing.
jtremlett said:
ell f**k 'em!
It is your car. Your money spent on it and for you and only you to determine what you find acceptable and what you don't. It is also extremely useful for others to read an honest appraisal and much more interesting than the "mine hasn't broken down for a fortnight so they're all wonderful" or "mine broke down 6 months ago so they're all rubbish" nonsense (not to mention the pages about values). Anyone reading can easily form their own view as to what they could live with and what they couldn't.
Please continue to post as you have been doing.
Totally agree. Lots of would be owners here and we’re all waiting to see how McLaren and the dealers resolve these issues; I think we all accept supercars have problems, so it’s how they’re dealt with that’s important. It is your car. Your money spent on it and for you and only you to determine what you find acceptable and what you don't. It is also extremely useful for others to read an honest appraisal and much more interesting than the "mine hasn't broken down for a fortnight so they're all wonderful" or "mine broke down 6 months ago so they're all rubbish" nonsense (not to mention the pages about values). Anyone reading can easily form their own view as to what they could live with and what they couldn't.
Please continue to post as you have been doing.
My biggest fear is that the dealer just says “they all do that sir” when it comes to sorting the leaks. In which case I’ll scratch the 650 off my wish list
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