McLaren Dealers Buying Up Pre-owned Vehicles

McLaren Dealers Buying Up Pre-owned Vehicles

Author
Discussion

Rocketreid

619 posts

71 months

Thursday 7th November 2019
quotequote all
Matty3 said:
Don't quite understand your post there RR?
No didn’t make much sense to me either , it does happen after a couple of glasses of Malbec!!

The point I tried to make, was having been over 200mph in a McLaren myself does confirm they really are 200mph supercars and my future Grandchildren can always checkout my Video when they poodle around in hairdryers saving the planet 🌍 !!

LooneyTunes

6,743 posts

157 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Chrism355 said:
About time
People who can afford these cars got their money by not giving it away, taking massive hits on new cars is not sustainable, the belts are tightening and the queue at the dealers doors is dwindling, massive discounts will kill the brand. Support the owners and they will come back, treat them like McLaren have to date and they won’t, dump and run, back to the other brands who give the perception that they care.
The contrarian view would be that those who have money and think we're at the top/starting to slide down the other side of the positive side of the economic cycle won't buy at present without significant discounts. Last downturn there were some very interesting offers to take stock vehicles...

Remember, contrary to what we sometimes like to think, prospective customers don't actually need these vehicles and/or some could well be facing issues selling other high end vehicles if they're looking to change. If you're adding to a fleet of cars there's got to be a strong emotional pull and/or the overall economics have to be right.

Of course the sales situation isn't helped by a lack of demonstrators. When I turned up at a dealer a month or two back, never having driven a McLaren, I was told they didn't have a demonstrator and that I could only have a test drive of a used car if it was to confirm a deal agreed in principle (on that vehicle). Compare and contrast to the local Bentley dealer who, when we went in to rule out a Conti from my wife's car search, was falling over himself to offer a test drive and sold a car on the spot as a result.

davek_964

8,783 posts

174 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
LooneyTunes said:
...When I turned up at a dealer a month or two back, never having driven a McLaren, I was told they didn't have a demonstrator and that I could only have a test drive of a used car if it was to confirm a deal agreed in principle (on that vehicle)......
That sounds pretty crap, but I don't think most McLaren dealers behave that way. I had two test drives in my (used) car before we even discussed what the deal was going to be.

CTE

1,488 posts

239 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
I got a bit further with the conversation and essentially they were offering an additional £10k against my 12c if I bought a new super series, with an attractive pcp deal...

Basically they are discounting new cars a bit more. Not sure how a pcp deal can mitigate against depreciation...at the end of the day you are paying interest on top of the loan amount and currently a new car will take a significant hit when it leaves the showroom. The only justification is if you really want a new car...


Candellara

1,876 posts

181 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
2 5HAN said:
or just offering you money on your existing vehicle if you spend more money to buy stock they have lying around? Of which there is a LOT?
Exactly this

Candellara

1,876 posts

181 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
davek_964 said:
That sounds pretty crap, but I don't think most McLaren dealers behave that way. I had two test drives in my (used) car before we even discussed what the deal was going to be.
It's fairly normal. If you have a shiny Supercar in your showroom and someone wants a "test drive", i'd want to validate a deal in principle first. Otherwise, all your sales guys would be doing is pulling cars in and out of the showroom and you'd have the not insignificant cost of re-valeting the cars continuously.

Obafemi09

155 posts

98 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Very different to the experience I had when I bought mine; I had 2 different test drives the day I turned up. I even told the salesman I was there on a whim and was unlikely to buy one at that point. It was a wet and windy Tuesday and I happened to be driving back to London on the M3 and knew I wasn't too far from McLaren Ascot so thought I would pop in and wanted to have a look at them as actually hadn't seen many about and knew very little about the different models, e.g. 540C, 570S, 570GT - within minutes I was out in new GT and then an S after that before going back a few days later to test drive the S that I ended up buying.

Having "popped" in for 20mins on my way past, I was there about 3 1/2 hrs! I genuinely had no preconceptions that I was going there that day to buy a car and thought it might be something to consider for 6-12 months down the road if I did like them...

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
No issues with a test drive. Within 30 minutes of walking in was out test driving a 570 Spyder. Then took a 720S for a drive. Bought the 720S.

LooneyTunes

6,743 posts

157 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Candellara said:
davek_964 said:
That sounds pretty crap, but I don't think most McLaren dealers behave that way. I had two test drives in my (used) car before we even discussed what the deal was going to be.
It's fairly normal. If you have a shiny Supercar in your showroom and someone wants a "test drive", i'd want to validate a deal in principle first. Otherwise, all your sales guys would be doing is pulling cars in and out of the showroom and you'd have the not insignificant cost of re-valeting the cars continuously.
I understand the point, but I usually qualify pretty well as a prospect, even to the extent that a dealer I’ve never dealt with turned up at my office a couple of times with a car to see if they could persuade me to have a look/drive.

I may yet have a chat with McLaren HQ to see if they can sort a run in one.

davek_964

8,783 posts

174 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Candellara said:
It's fairly normal. If you have a shiny Supercar in your showroom and someone wants a "test drive", i'd want to validate a deal in principle first. Otherwise, all your sales guys would be doing is pulling cars in and out of the showroom and you'd have the not insignificant cost of re-valeting the cars continuously.
Surely that's part of the job description?

If I'd been told I had to agree to a deal in principle before I could have a test drive, I think I would have walked to be honest. They need my business more than I needed their car.

MDL111

6,882 posts

176 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
dealer asked me quite often if I wanted to test drive a 720S when they were launched. I haven't even set foot in their showroom yet - mainly as I did not have time, but also because I wouldn't want to waste their time as I was unlikely to buy one at the time. Seemed like a good approach to get people to consider the car though as I am sure I would have loved it, had I gone to see them

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
davek_964 said:
Surely that's part of the job description?

If I'd been told I had to agree to a deal in principle before I could have a test drive, I think I would have walked to be honest. They need my business more than I needed their car.
I walked out from Hilmoren / Hello Luxury when they asked me the same thing when I was looking to buy a Range Rover last year. Bought one a week later from somewhere else. I think the general view these days is that because people are already so pre-qualified by reading reviews and research on the internet, they have already made their mind up on what they are going to buy and are well informed if pricing is correct. Sales guys these day's are literally order takers. It's a shame because the flip side is that people tend to buy on service / if they like the seller. They need to sell themselves, not just the vehicle. This 'deal in principle' malarky is nonesense.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 8th November 12:15

tyrrell

1,669 posts

207 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Ordered 570 Coupe no test drive, PX for 570S Spider no test drive, PX for 720S coupe no test drive.

They have all been utterly fantastic to drive, each to their own & all that.

Taffy66

5,964 posts

101 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Until McLaren sort their build numbers to match demand they'll need to underwrite their own cars when new..By this i mean offering generous GFV on all their new cars to show confidence in their cars..Couple this with only allowing cars to be built when they have a firm deposit from an actual buyer will restore a lot of confidence..
As Einstein's definition of stupidity points out, to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result each time..

Candellara

1,876 posts

181 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
tyrrell said:
Ordered 570 Coupe no test drive, PX for 570S Spider no test drive, PX for 720S coupe no test drive.

They have all been utterly fantastic to drive, each to their own & all that.
Likewise. with the exception of my first Ferrari in 2005 - i don't think i've test driven anything before buying it. Most transactions i've done have been on the phone and agreed a collection date. Only once have i had to renege on a purchase as the car wasn't as described (Mercedes AMG GT from a main dealer)

davek_964

8,783 posts

174 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Candellara said:
tyrrell said:
Ordered 570 Coupe no test drive, PX for 570S Spider no test drive, PX for 720S coupe no test drive.

They have all been utterly fantastic to drive, each to their own & all that.
Likewise. with the exception of my first Ferrari in 2005 - i don't think i've test driven anything before buying it. Most transactions i've done have been on the phone and agreed a collection date. Only once have i had to renege on a purchase as the car wasn't as described (Mercedes AMG GT from a main dealer)
The McLaren was very different than I expected. Although I did buy it, my view changed significantly and it didn't replace the car I had planned to replace. Much as I like it, if I'd gone in blind by ditching my 360 and buying the 650 without a test drive - I would have been very very disappointed.

Ferruccio

1,832 posts

118 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Taffy66 said:
Until McLaren sort their build numbers to match demand they'll need to underwrite their own cars when new..By this i mean offering generous GFV on all their new cars to show confidence in their cars..Couple this with only allowing cars to be built when they have a firm deposit from an actual buyer will restore a lot of confidence..
As Einstein's definition of stupidity points out, to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result each time..
Just because the various shareholders are rich, doesn’t necessarily make them good at running a sports car business.

Candellara

1,876 posts

181 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Taffy66 said:
Until McLaren sort their build numbers to match demand they'll need to underwrite their own cars when new..By this i mean offering generous GFV on all their new cars to show confidence in their cars..Couple this with only allowing cars to be built when they have a firm deposit from an actual buyer will restore a lot of confidence..
As Einstein's definition of stupidity points out, to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result each time..
and exactly the reason the industry has the problems it current has. Shareholders demand growth and continued growth in such a niche sector isn't truly sustainable (hence you have the likes of Ferrari and Lambo needing to build SUV's). The sheer volume of production and pre-reg's as an example provides good insight into the workings of the current industry.

McLaren like many other high end manufacturers have built their cost model around producing X number of cars. They have to produce these cars or the production numbers & costs don't stack up. Great when the global economy is good. Not so when you introduce factors such as China, the B word, climate change, taxation, electrification etc. I personally think the automotive sector is going to see it's largest change in decades.

One things for certain in my opinion (aside of the very best blue chip collector grade cars), the sportscar and modern classic market is in for a pretty bumpy ride now.

Juno

4,481 posts

248 months

Friday 8th November 2019
quotequote all
Candellara said:
tyrrell said:
Ordered 570 Coupe no test drive, PX for 570S Spider no test drive, PX for 720S coupe no test drive.

They have all been utterly fantastic to drive, each to their own & all that.
Likewise. with the exception of my first Ferrari in 2005 - i don't think i've test driven anything before buying it. Most transactions i've done have been on the phone and agreed a collection date. Only once have i had to renege on a purchase as the car wasn't as described (Mercedes AMG GT from a main dealer)
Same with me I'm not a great test driver either,its more about getting the car home and adapting to it in the real World. Surprised to hear the AMG GT from a main dealer wasn't up to scratch!

12pack

1,533 posts

167 months

Saturday 9th November 2019
quotequote all
A bit surprised about the posts about not doing a test drive. Do the posters mean they’d already tested another car of the same model?

Turned down several cars, usually for a another model, after disappointing test drives. In the past,’90 911 (FD RX7 instead), Aston Gaydon DBS, 570s, all based on a preferring another model after test drives.