Looking for my first supercar

[Graveworm]

jayemm89 said:

I know B&C from my time with Lotus and had my Saab worked on by them. Very good people and I think they have just had, or are having built, a brand new service facility?

Thanks, reassuring to hear.

[RBT0]

Graveworm said:

Just jumping on the bandwagon here. Was about to post a similar question as the OP, despite my promise to myself this period has made me realise that life is fleeting and I am probably going to let my heart rule my head.
I have found what is probably as close to an ideal spec car, for me, as I will find, for sale at Rybrook Birmingham. I am based roughly equidistant from Ascott and Bell and Colville in Guildford.
So looking for any experiences regarding Birmingham, as somewhere to buy from (And deal with if there are any immediate issues) and similarly anything about Ascott or Bell and Colville for service and, if needed, warranty work.

Edited by Graveworm on Sunday 19th April 13:15

I am close to them and I know few people there.

Yes they have a new service facility in operation for 2 yrs now.

Suggest you book an apptm (when possible), have a chat, have a look at the cars upstairs (Qualified cars) or in the showroom for any delivery mileage / stock.

Which car are you interested in? I saw a nice orange 570 on the showroom during a fly by a week ago, but no idea what they have upstairs (Qualified), sure they all are on the website although during normal operations it’s better to have a f2f meeting as they’ll tell you all the upcoming cars potentially not listed yet on the website.

[Graveworm]

RBT0 said:

Graveworm said:

Just jumping on the bandwagon here. Was about to post a similar question as the OP, despite my promise to myself this period has made me realise that life is fleeting and I am probably going to let my heart rule my head.
I have found what is probably as close to an ideal spec car, for me, as I will find, for sale at Rybrook Birmingham. I am based roughly equidistant from Ascott and Bell and Colville in Guildford.
So looking for any experiences regarding Birmingham, as somewhere to buy from (And deal with if there are any immediate issues) and similarly anything about Ascott or Bell and Colville for service and, if needed, warranty work.

Edited by Graveworm on Sunday 19th April 13:15

I am close to them and I know few people there.

Yes they have a new service facility in operation for 2 yrs now.

Suggest you book an apptm (when possible), have a chat, have a look at the cars upstairs (Qualified cars) or in the showroom for any delivery mileage / stock.

Which car are you interested in? I saw a nice orange 570 on the showroom during a fly by a week ago, but no idea what they have upstairs (Qualified), sure they all are on the website although during normal operations it’s better to have a f2f meeting as they’ll tell you all the upcoming cars potentially not listed yet on the website.

Thanks I assume you mean Birmingham?
I am looking at This one but no realistic chance of seeing it or F2F at the moment, so it's added to the list of things to do when and if.

[anonymous-user]

Graveworm said:

Just jumping on the bandwagon here. Was about to post a similar question as the OP, despite my promise to myself this period has made me realise that life is fleeting and I am probably going to let my heart rule my head.
I have found what is probably as close to an ideal spec car, for me, as I will find, for sale at Rybrook Birmingham. I am based roughly equidistant from Ascott and Bell and Colville in Guildford.
So looking for any experiences regarding Birmingham, as somewhere to buy from (And deal with if there are any immediate issues) and similarly anything about Ascott or Bell and Colville for service and, if needed, warranty work.

Edited by Graveworm on Sunday 19th April 13:15

I'm onto my 2nd 720S supplied by Rybrook. Went from early 2018 to the later 'face-lift' 2019 model. The 720S was recently in with McLaren Birmingham for some minor warranty work. The after sales service was excellent with continuous updates from Ian Roberts, their Aftersales Manager. Car was collected and returned by covered transporter. I was also supplied with a loan RR Evoque. left me a small gift of a McLaren Umbrella on the passenger seat when returned to me – nice touch. Excellent customer service.

[Graveworm]

MAC 720S said:

I'm onto my 2nd 720S supplied by Rybrook. Went from early 2018 to the later 'face-lift' 2019 model. The 720S was recently in with McLaren Birmingham for some minor warranty work. The after sales service was excellent with continuous updates from Ian Roberts, their Aftersales Manager. Car was collected and returned by covered transporter. I was also supplied with a loan RR Evoque. left me a small gift of a McLaren Umbrella on the passenger seat when returned to me – nice touch. Excellent customer service.

It's good to get some reassurance, much appreciated.

[SELON]

chrisbell08 said:

Hey Guys,

New to this forum and after reading through a lot of the McLaren buyer posts here there are a few questions I'm hoping you guys will be able to help out with,

My budget is around £90k and after hours and hours of research I'm pretty sure I've settled on a sports series McLaren, 540c, 570s, 570gt all seem to be in the price range.

The question of reliability comes up again and again with McLarens, is there any differences in the 3 sports series models when it comes to reliability?

I've read a few posts about only buying from McLaren dealer to get the main dealer warranty but also some horror stories about them, particularly Manchester.

Unfortunately, Manchester is my closest but Birmingham and Leeds are similar distance but I can't find many experiences of these. Does anyone have any good or bad experiences with these dealers? If I was to buy a car from Leeds would it always need to go back to Leeds if it had an issue or could it go to any McLaren dealer?

Any other help or advice would be appreciated, buying your first supercar is both exciting and intimidating at the same time lol

Give Alistair Bols a call. A dealer with great knowledge of the cars. Worked for McLaren In London and there at the start. Passionate, but objective, about them. Has helped many people to find a car that he didn’t sell them. Great guy.

Personally I have had good experience from all the Mclaren dealers I’ve had any direct dealings with: Birmingham, Ascot and Manchester.

McLaren are very special cars. In my experience, If you need your car to be near faultless, buy a Honda or Nissan.

[carspath]

Re Bell and Colvill ...... they have been excellent .

I don’t have a McLaren , but considered a 570S , and ended up with a 10 year old Elise R from Jamie . The buying experience was great .

There was a tiny problem with the soft top and the steering alignment , and Phil Marking who runs the service dept sent a covered trailer and sorted out the issue within 24 hours .

Phil is also looking to sort out a sidelight issue with the warranty company once the dealership reopens .

I have been impressed by B&C .

[Calculator]

MAC 720S said:

I'm onto my 2nd 720S supplied by Rybrook. Went from early 2018 to the later 'face-lift' 2019 model. The 720S was recently in with McLaren Birmingham for some minor warranty work. The after sales service was excellent with continuous updates from Ian Roberts, their Aftersales Manager. Car was collected and returned by covered transporter. I was also supplied with a loan RR Evoque. left me a small gift of a McLaren Umbrella on the passenger seat when returned to me – nice touch. Excellent customer service.

Apologies for the thread hijack, but what made you trade out of the 2018 into the 2019 at what I guess must have been a reasonable cost? Is it a noticeably different experience?

[RBT0]

Graveworm said:

RBT0 said:

Graveworm said:

Just jumping on the bandwagon here. Was about to post a similar question as the OP, despite my promise to myself this period has made me realise that life is fleeting and I am probably going to let my heart rule my head.
I have found what is probably as close to an ideal spec car, for me, as I will find, for sale at Rybrook Birmingham. I am based roughly equidistant from Ascott and Bell and Colville in Guildford.
So looking for any experiences regarding Birmingham, as somewhere to buy from (And deal with if there are any immediate issues) and similarly anything about Ascott or Bell and Colville for service and, if needed, warranty work.

Edited by Graveworm on Sunday 19th April 13:15

I am close to them and I know few people there.

Yes they have a new service facility in operation for 2 yrs now.

Suggest you book an apptm (when possible), have a chat, have a look at the cars upstairs (Qualified cars) or in the showroom for any delivery mileage / stock.

Which car are you interested in? I saw a nice orange 570 on the showroom during a fly by a week ago, but no idea what they have upstairs (Qualified), sure they all are on the website although during normal operations it’s better to have a f2f meeting as they’ll tell you all the upcoming cars potentially not listed yet on the website.

Thanks I assume you mean Birmingham?
I am looking at This one but no realistic chance of seeing it or F2F at the moment, so it's added to the list of things to do when and if.

Yes Birmingham.

Nice 720S, they had a very similar demonstrator back in end 2018 but this one is 2019 reg, not sure if it’s the same.

Yes lovely chaps, I know Ben which deals with Qualified (or used to less than a yr ago), then been in touch with Ian Groves as well.

Again, best thing is a f2f.

[Nomal]

Graveworm said:

Just jumping on the bandwagon here. Was about to post a similar question as the OP, despite my promise to myself this period has made me realise that life is fleeting and I am probably going to let my heart rule my head.
I have found what is probably as close to an ideal spec car, for me, as I will find, for sale at Rybrook Birmingham. I am based roughly equidistant from Ascott and Bell and Colville in Guildford.
So looking for any experiences regarding Birmingham, as somewhere to buy from (And deal with if there are any immediate issues) and similarly anything about Ascott or Bell and Colville for service and, if needed, warranty work.

Edited by Graveworm on Sunday 19th April 13:15

Can recommend McBrum , I have purchased two cars from them. Speak to Gary Pugh he is most helpful.

[The Surveyor]

OP, I bought my 570s from McManchester new in May 2017 and have had nothing but exemplary service from them, both with the initial purchase and with servicing. Leeds has a great set-up and they are pleasant and welcoming on the occasions I've called in, Glasgow let me down when I was looking to buy, it just felt like a chore trying to buy a car from them where Manchester were very active in trying to sell me one, I just felt they wanted my trade more.

Manchester isn't the closest dealer to me but the service and support (for me) is worth the extra distance.

I think I've also been very lucky with the car, it was new when I bought it and other than a failed DAB radio, occasional window-dropping problems, and door re-alignment, all of which were sorted at the first service. I've (so far) avoided any of the corrosion issues other have experience, and the whole purchase and ownership experience has been a joy.

There seems to be a real pick-up in interest in the Sports Series, both on here and generally, even Harry Metcalf suggested them as a good future buy in his latest 'Harrys Garage' blog, they'll never be the safest place to put your money but hopefully the depreciation curve is flattening... hopefully lol.

[Buster73]

The Surveyor said:

OP, I bought my 570s from McManchester new in May 2017 and have had nothing but exemplary service from them, both with the initial purchase and with servicing. Leeds has a great set-up and they are pleasant and welcoming on the occasions I've called in, Glasgow let me down when I was looking to buy, it just felt like a chore trying to buy a car from them where Manchester were very active in trying to sell me one, I just felt they wanted my trade more.

Manchester isn't the closest dealer to me but the service and support (for me) is worth the extra distance.

I think I've also been very lucky with the car, it was new when I bought it and other than a failed DAB radio, occasional window-dropping problems, and door re-alignment, all of which were sorted at the first service. I've (so far) avoided any of the corrosion issues other have experience, and the whole purchase and ownership experience has been a joy.

There seems to be a real pick-up in interest in the Sports Series, both on here and generally, even Harry Metcalf suggested them as a good future buy in his latest 'Harrys Garage' blog, they'll never be the safest place to put your money but hopefully the depreciation curve is flattening... hopefully lol.

How many miles have you done in it now Paul ?

[The Surveyor]

Buster73 said:

How many miles have you done in it now Paul ?

Just getting upto 10k and it's certainly a keeper Neil. Still absolutely adore it.

I've just paid to extent the warranty for 12 months now it's just shy of 3 years old which cost £2,950 although by renewing early you avoid having to pay for the inspection, and put a full set of new tyres on it dropping the Pirelli P-Zero and going with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. Just need a little freedom to start using it again although I fear it's next run out will be down to McManchester for its service and MOT.

[Buster73]

The Surveyor said:

Just getting upto 10k and it's certainly a keeper Neil. Still absolutely adore it.

I've just paid to extent the warranty for 12 months now it's just shy of 3 years old which cost £2,950 although by renewing early you avoid having to pay for the inspection, and put a full set of new tyres on it dropping the Pirelli P-Zero and going with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. Just need a little freedom to start using it again although I fear it's next run out will be down to McManchester for its service and MOT.

Keep an eye open on the NE run out thread on the Aston Martin section, everyone is desperate for a run out the first free Sunday, be good to see you join up with us.

[Bispal]

I purchased my 2nd McLaren, a 675LT, form Manchester in January (3 months go) and they were great to deal with. I then drove it 2,200 miles in 6 weeks prior to lockdown with no issues. I did take it to Bell & Covill for some new tyres (MPS4S a bit safer than Trefeo's) and B&C will be servicing my car as they also look after my Exige 430 CUP and they are just awesome! I wish I could take my other cars to B&C as well.

I bought my 1st McLaren, an early 12C, from Birmingham and I kept using the service dept. there for 2.5 years even though it was 150 miles away. They always came to pick my car up and left me with various interesting loan cars (570 GT / RR Autobiography / 530D)

The most important thing is to buy the car you want from either a respected McDealer, Alistair Bolls or an private enthusiast with a transferable factory warranty. If you buy from a dealer you should be able to negotiate 2 years warranty in the deal. You can then get it serviced by them or at Manchester.

Having driven every mainstream McLaren at your budget I would be going for a late 12C with 2 years warranty and spare money to enjoy it or a 650S with 2 years warranty. Its down to looks and active aero / suspension for me. If you like the look of the 570 then go for it, its a brilliant drive but for me I prefer the P11 cars. The 570S is a lot sharper to drive than the GT but you can only tell back to back. The GT looks better though IMHO and there are some GT's with an 'S' pack (if you can find one) that would be a great car.

Whatever you get if you buy with a factory warranty you WILL BE LOOKED AFTER it won't cost you a penny other than servicing. My 12C cost me nothing in 2.5 years apart from a set of tyres and 2 x £1k services. Everything else was included and potential owners need to bear that in mind when reading the nonsense of some of non-owning keyboard warriors and YouTubers.

[andyvdg]

Another thumbs up for Birmingham, bought new, excellent experience and 1 service so far.

[Graveworm]

andyvdg said:

Another thumbs up for Birmingham, bought new, excellent experience and 1 service so far.

Thanks Looks like I am all out of excuses..

[marky7seven]

Desert Dragon said:

Think big - you're not a million miles away and these will be held in very high regard in a few years - much more so than at the moment

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/2018-mclaren-7...

Can you seen these dropping to around £110-120k in the Autumn? Or is that just pipe dreams?

[anonymous-user]

marky7seven said:

Can you seen these dropping to around £110-120k in the Autumn? Or is that just pipe dreams?

12 months time possibly.

[chrisbell08]

So after a few phone calls and lots of time on AutoTrader it looks like it's best to sit tight and wait to test drive some cars when life goes back to normal,

Even though Magnitude Finance did say now is a great time to buy from independent dealers as they're desperate to do deals it seems unwise to rush it.

Somebody commented about other cars / brands, I do have a list:

Aston Martin DB11
BMW M8
Porsche 911
Mclaren 540c / s / gt
Ferrari California

From looking at photos and YT videos my hearts with the McLarens but going to at least give the others a try, my budget is around £90k (BMW offering PCP deals right now so that brings the M8 into the price range) I'm open to suggestions if I've missed anything.

This is my favorite so far: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Something about the pinstripe / Novitec exhaust and black roof just looks so cool.

Is it possible to contact McLaren and find out what work has been carried out on a car under its warranty? It seems that some 570s are fine and some seem to be "bad eggs" I'm guessing checking through things like how much work it's had done or how many owners would be a good way of finding a bad egg?

Any other buyer advice you guys could offer would be appreciated, buying a supercar is a little scary I couldn't imagine doing it with PH to research and get advice