Stepping up to a Mclaren?

[anonymous-user]

EvoSid said:

Why would you go for a 650S over a 570S . Please excuse my ignorance as I have not tried either , not for lack of trying

3 reasons mainly.

Suspension: The 650S has the Pro-Active Chassis Control, which is similar to the 720S. The dampers are automatically adjusted to the road conditions and driving style, keeping the car flat, with barely any roll. The ride quality is much better in the 650S. On uneven lumpy roads, the 570S can jump around a bit, whilst the 650S remains composed. I had a 570S for a couple of weeks and found I was using more effort when pushing on through twisty’s and challenging roads. Some people call this ‘engaging’, I call it ‘tiring’ over long distance blasts.

Engine: Pretty much the same 3.8 engine in both, with similar 0-60 times. But that’s where it ends. The mid-range torque of the 650S is relentless. The 570S needs to work harder.

Active Aero / Airbrake: Looks f’ing awesome in the rear view mirror. Nuff said.

It all depends on what you want to use it for. As a DD, chugging through town, on the motorway, with the occasional countryside blast, the 570S is easier to live with due to the lower entry level door cills and a little more storage space. But as a weekend warrior machine, I would pick the 650S. It is also an improved evolution of the 12C and is a bit of a rarity - only 19 for sale on AT.

The three points are pretty much what makes up the main difference between the 570S Sports Series and the 650S Super Series, and why it cost £80K more when new.

[RBT0]

Smoothound said:

RBT0 said:

Do it properly, go for a 570S, possibly with MSO titanium or sport exhaust. Telling you that because I know Cayman sounds nice.

That's the main draw of a new Cayman...that sound

I had to jump to a 600LT to have a better exhaust sound than my 981 GTS

[justin220]

I'd go 570/540 over a 650S. Newer, cheaper to run, and looks better IMO.

Whichever you end up getting, they are all lightning quick. Drive a few and see what you prefer. Steel brakes are good for road driving.

I'd try and get a 570S Spyder if you can stretch to it. Or go cheapest and get a 540C. Less to lose. More spare money for warranty and road trips.

[bennno]

justin220 said:

I'd go 570/540 over a 650S. Newer, cheaper to run, and looks better IMO.

Whichever you end up getting, they are all lightning quick. Drive a few and see what you prefer. Steel brakes are good for road driving.

I'd try and get a 570S Spyder if you can stretch to it. Or go cheapest and get a 540C. Less to lose. More spare money for warranty and road trips.

I was in this situation and went the 540c route, it’s still ballistically fast. Didn’t want the hassle of ceramic brakes.

Also needed nose lift as I found the 718gt4 wouldn’t go up the road to my garages due to a gulley drain, or even on to parents drive, was very impractical.

[Mr Cod]

I would get the best 12C spider you can, put a Thorney warranty on it as part of the purchase, and enjoy. Should fare better on depreciation at this point than anything in the sports series. Although an earlier car, having owned one and driven both, it is a far far better car than the sports series, with radically better technology. You won't miss the extra performance of the 650, you will save 15k(ish) over an equivalient 650 and (purely subjectively) IMHO the 12C is the more cohesive design that will stand the test of time.

[Smoothound]

Mr Cod said:

I would get the best 12C spider you can, put a Thorney warranty on it as part of the purchase, and enjoy. Should fare better on depreciation at this point than anything in the sports series. Although an earlier car, having owned one and driven both, it is a far far better car than the sports series, with radically better technology. You won't miss the extra performance of the 650, you will save 15k(ish) over an equivalient 650 and (purely subjectively) IMHO the 12C is the more cohesive design that will stand the test of time.

this sort of where I came in! I had in my head that 12C had probably hit bottom and better tech than a 540C but the 540/570 are all newer. I'm not sure on what happens warranty wise once the 12C hits 10 years old? I doubt Mclaren will still warranty it but will Thorney?

[davek_964]

Smoothound said:

this sort of where I came in! I had in my head that 12C had probably hit bottom and better tech than a 540C but the 540/570 are all newer. I'm not sure on what happens warranty wise once the 12C hits 10 years old? I doubt Mclaren will still warranty it but will Thorney?

I don't think Thorney has an age restriction.

I had a 540 for a couple of weeks as a courtesy car, and was impressed with it. Preferred the doors for getting in / out and it did make a very good daily. But, I still missed things about my 650 - not least that it's a spider, but as Mick already mentioned - seeing the air brake flip up in your mirror is surprisingly addictive.

Newer isn't always better - I don't really like all digital dash, so was happier with the nice big tacho on the 650.

I'd already put the deposit on my 650 when I saw a VR 12C Spider in the dealer showroom. If it didn't have a deposit on it already, I would have been very tempted to save myself ~£20k.

[AndyMac4000]

I have had a 12C for 5 months. The lack of nose lift I haven’t found to be much of an issue. You can get a bit of scraping of the front plastic brake guide ducts on the underside (Replaceable) but I have had no issues with the nose itself.

[anonymous-user]

Smoothound said:

this sort of where I came in! I had in my head that 12C had probably hit bottom and better tech than a 540C but the 540/570 are all newer. I'm not sure on what happens warranty wise once the 12C hits 10 years old? I doubt Mclaren will still warranty it but will Thorney?

I can’t see Thorney introducing an age restriction anytime soon. There will be a raft of cars falling out of the OEM ten year limit over the coming years which he can take advantage of. Thorney has his own FB Group “McLaren Owners Technical Group” where you can ask him questions > https://www.facebook.com/groups/979893269109920/

[justin220]

bennno said:

I was in this situation and went the 540c route, it’s still ballistically fast. Didn’t want the hassle of ceramic brakes.

Also needed nose lift as I found the 718gt4 wouldn’t go up the road to my garages due to a gulley drain, or even on to parents drive, was very impractical.

Same, I've got a 540C but would love a 720S.

I think the problem here is everyone will recommend what they ended up buying themselves. It's definitely worth trying a couple of different ones. I originally went to buy a 12C from McGlasgow, but when I saw the Sport Series my head was turned.

[Smoothound]

MAC 720S said:

I can’t see Thorney introducing an age restriction anytime soon. There will be a raft of cars falling out of the OEM ten year limit over the coming years which he can take advantage of. Thorney has his own FB Group “McLaren Owners Technical Group” where you can ask him questions > https://www.facebook.com/groups/979893269109920/

Good point! Funnily enough I joined yesterday but thanks for the pointer

Currently I'm leaning more towards a 12C apart from the age and the fact that their prices are all over the place for very similar specs and mileages

[12pack]

EvoSid said:

Why would you go for a 650S over a 570S . Please excuse my ignorance as I have not tried either , not for lack of trying

Because it’s better . Well, for me anyway. Check out the links below.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/6-ways-the-mclare...

[bennno]

justin220 said:

bennno said:

I was in this situation and went the 540c route, it’s still ballistically fast. Didn’t want the hassle of ceramic brakes.

Also needed nose lift as I found the 718gt4 wouldn’t go up the road to my garages due to a gulley drain, or even on to parents drive, was very impractical.

Same, I've got a 540C but would love a 720S.

I think the problem here is everyone will recommend what they ended up buying themselves. It's definitely worth trying a couple of different ones. I originally went to buy a 12C from McGlasgow, but when I saw the Sport Series my head was turned.

Exactly same indeed, also went to look at a 12C and for similar money thought a 7/8 year newer sport series at the same price was a better buy given its newer and much less complex. Press reviews suggest sports series is a really fun car to drive and my experience echoes that.

[woodysnr]

justin220 said:

Same, I've got a 540C but would love a 720S.

I think the problem here is everyone will recommend what they ended up buying themselves. It's definitely worth trying a couple of different ones. I originally went to buy a 12C from McGlasgow, but when I saw the Sport Series my head was turned.

I test drove both cars you looked at to see if they would fit in my garage ,I agree the Red 540C you bought has more presence ,did not like the 12c colour ..

[mk1coopers]

drcarrera said:

Smoothound said:

... My real issue is the road camber/overider at my girlfriends house ...

Easy solution to that one ...!

Yes, spend more time with the Wife

[WilliamWaiver]

Would up the budget and get a 650S spider over 12C and 540/570S. Personally I much prefer the P1 style front lights to 12C also its a far more robust and reliable car to the early 12C's and the sports series in general.
If you need anymore convincing this video spells it out

https://youtu.be/H5h8cx9BGR8

[Smoothound]

mk1coopers said:

Yes, spend more time with the Wife

She's gone luckily

[Smoothound]

WilliamWaiver said:

Would up the budget and get a 650S spider over 12C and 540/570S. Personally I much prefer the P1 style front lights to 12C also its a far more robust and reliable car to the early 12C's and the sports series in general.
If you need anymore convincing this video spells it out

https://youtu.be/H5h8cx9BGR8

I think that is a fair call but I have purposely limited my budget to allow for issues and ongoing servicing and warranties so it puts the 650S just outside my realistic budget currently looking at prices. If I hold off for 6/12 months that may change but we will see

[650spider]

bennno said:

justin220 said:

bennno said:

I was in this situation and went the 540c route, it’s still ballistically fast. Didn’t want the hassle of ceramic brakes.

Also needed nose lift as I found the 718gt4 wouldn’t go up the road to my garages due to a gulley drain, or even on to parents drive, was very impractical.

Same, I've got a 540C but would love a 720S.

I think the problem here is everyone will recommend what they ended up buying themselves. It's definitely worth trying a couple of different ones. I originally went to buy a 12C from McGlasgow, but when I saw the Sport Series my head was turned.

Exactly same indeed, also went to look at a 12C and for similar money thought a 7/8 year newer sport series at the same price was a better buy given its newer and much less complex. Press reviews suggest sports series is a really fun car to drive and my experience echoes that.

This is the current price issue...'similar money' just now.

I don't think that the numbers available for 540 & 570 variants shall see the 'similar price' remaining.

I feel as though what the perceived extra costs involved in the extended warranty shall be far less than the price difference between the asking price of a 12c / 650 compared to 540 / 570 in a few years time, so in theory, a 540 / 570 may actually cost you more in the long run.

A good 12c has seemingly settled at high £70k ...i do not think a 540 or 570 shall settle at them prices.

Regardless...they are all mind bogglingly quick cars..none are the 'wrong choice'.

[SELON]

Lovely looking 2014 12C spider just posted on AT for £85k.