First McLaren, still lost on models

[650spider]

12pack said:

Kent Border Kenny said:

Thanks again everyone.

I think that the issue with the 650 that I saw is likely that the relatively flat black colour does it no favours.

I need to drive both, so will find which dealer can accommodate, and go there, but from what people write the 650 does sound more like what I am looking for.

A 720 Spider isn’t on the cards this year. If Tesla ever refund my £95k then I may use it to upgrade in a year.

Flat black? No such thing. Anyway you can’t put a BATMAN reg on a red car.....

Sooner rather than later, the 650 shape shall be seen as timeless rather than 'dated', as some currently see it.

That looks fantastic 12pack.

[Matty3]

650spider said:

12pack said:

Kent Border Kenny said:

Thanks again everyone.

I think that the issue with the 650 that I saw is likely that the relatively flat black colour does it no favours.

I need to drive both, so will find which dealer can accommodate, and go there, but from what people write the 650 does sound more like what I am looking for.

A 720 Spider isn’t on the cards this year. If Tesla ever refund my £95k then I may use it to upgrade in a year.

Flat black? No such thing. Anyway you can’t put a BATMAN reg on a red car.....

Sooner rather than later, the 650 shape shall be seen as timeless rather than 'dated', as some currently see it.

That looks fantastic 12pack.

'Dated' who said that? you must be joking - they look totally cutting edge in my opinion

[650spider]

Matty3 said:

'Dated' who said that? you must be joking - they look totally cutting edge in my opinion

You don't need to convince me...over 18mths in and i still love every angle.

The fact that the GT, Speedtail and spy pics of new hybrid series all resort back to the straight rear tail light bars demonstrates they nailed the original rear design of the 12c, 650 & 675.

The front of the P1, 650 & 675 is also still perfect in my opinion.

[Kent Border Kenny]

Bispal said:

https://www.alastairbols.com/cars/mclaren-650s-spi...

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/9700914

:-)

Thanks. I’ve dropped Bols a message. If I can arrange a test drive I’ll try to get up there tomorrow with a view to buying straight away.

Any views on the price / haggle room on that one?

[tyrrell]

That car is a stunner, get it bought.

[Kent Border Kenny]

tyrrell said:

That car is a stunner, get it bought.

There don’t seem to be many options listed. Is there anything that is an unusual omission?

[tyrrell]

It’s not got much exterior carbon, depends whether that’s important to you, it’s in beautiful condition though.

[Kent Border Kenny]

tyrrell said:

It’s not got much exterior carbon, depends whether that’s important to you, it’s in beautiful condition though.

No, that’s not such a concern. I’m more thinking radar cruise, electric seats, reversing camera, good stereo etc, the things that make life easier when I’m just traveling in it, as opposed to being out for a drive.

[Crazy4557]

I wouldn't worry about external carbon if I were you, if it gets damaged or scratched it's expensive to repair or replace. Plastic panels are much cheaper and you don't fret when you unexpectedly ground on a dip in the road or something.
It's more important to get lift, reversing camera that are useful for everyday driving.

If you've not driven one of these or any McLaren you're in for a treat.

[650spider]

Kent Border Kenny said:

tyrrell said:

It’s not got much exterior carbon, depends whether that’s important to you, it’s in beautiful condition though.

No, that’s not such a concern. I’m more thinking radar cruise, electric seats, reversing camera, good stereo etc, the things that make life easier when I’m just traveling in it, as opposed to being out for a drive.

You want to source the highest possible spec car that you can find as it makes it easier selling on the other side.

Even though it AB selling that one, it only has a 6 mths warranty so be prepared that in 6 months you will defo be looking for a warranty and its either going to be Thorney @ £2900, McLaren @ £4800, or warrantywise that I have no idea of cost or quality.

Its a cost to factor in that you may not be thinking about right now.

[Kent Border Kenny]

Would anyone offer an opinion on these?

https://tinyurl.com/y66j4vfn

https://tinyurl.com/y3joswyt

https://tinyurl.com/y4fhgase

[Bispal]

https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-buying-gui...

Just in time ;-)

[Kent Border Kenny]

Unfortunately, having called the independent that everyone recommends, there's no way that they can let me try the car, even if I was willing to pay for it in full before taking it out for ten minutes.

I can't buy a £100k car without so much as seeing what the model is like, so I don't think that I'm going to be able to buy one.

[TB993tt]

Kent Border Kenny said:

Unfortunately, having called the independent that everyone recommends, there's no way that they can let me try the car, even if I was willing to pay for it in full before taking it out for ten minutes.

I can't buy a £100k car without so much as seeing what the model is like, so I don't think that I'm going to be able to buy one.

There are plenty of people who buy expensive cars without testing (don't think anyone gets to test drive a 765LT before ordering) but this is obviously not the way you like to buy your cars so maybe time to move onto a brand which suits your testing criteria, please don't start slinging mud at the likes of AB plenty of customers are happy with the way he does business.

[r o n n i e]

Kent Border Kenny said:

Unfortunately, having called the independent that everyone recommends, there's no way that they can let me try the car, even if I was willing to pay for it in full before taking it out for ten minutes.

I can't buy a £100k car without so much as seeing what the model is like, so I don't think that I'm going to be able to buy one.

Try a dealer who owns their stock and has a sales team.

If you go to independents like AB, example of the recent trend of sale or return resellers (which is why their costs and fees are so competitive) unlikely you will get a test drive there.

[anonymous-user]

TB993tt said:

Kent Border Kenny said:

Unfortunately, having called the independent that everyone recommends, there's no way that they can let me try the car, even if I was willing to pay for it in full before taking it out for ten minutes.

I can't buy a £100k car without so much as seeing what the model is like, so I don't think that I'm going to be able to buy one.

There are plenty of people who buy expensive cars without testing (don't think anyone gets to test drive a 765LT before ordering) but this is obviously not the way you like to buy your cars so maybe time to move onto a brand which suits your testing criteria, please don't start slinging mud at the likes of AB plenty of customers are happy with the way he does business.

I would never buy a used car without having a test drive.

[Kent Border Kenny]

TB993tt said:

There are plenty of people who buy expensive cars without testing (don't think anyone gets to test drive a 765LT before ordering) but this is obviously not the way you like to buy your cars so maybe time to move onto a brand which suits your testing criteria, please don't start slinging mud at the likes of AB plenty of customers are happy with the way he does business.

I’m not slinging mud, and you are being ridiculous suggesting that I am.

You’re coming across here as someone trying to act as gatekeeper to the brand, I think that you need to wind your neck in.

Actually, reading some of your other posts, you come across as a real d who seems to think that owning one nice car buys you the right to talk down to people. I’ll leave you to it, everyone else here seems really nice, friendly and helpful.

Edited by Kent Border Kenny on Monday 12th October 10:29

[TB993tt]

Kent Border Kenny said:

I’m not slinging mud, and you are being ridiculous suggesting that I am.

You’re coming across here as someone trying to act as gatekeeper to the brand, I think that you need to wind your neck in.

Actually, reading some of your other posts, you come across as a real d who seems to think that owning one nice car buys you the right to talk down to people. I’ll leave you to it, everyone else here seems really nice, friendly and helpful.

Nice edit...I'm a real dick with "one nice car" WTH are you barking on about

I think you were attempting to get people to join in with your criticism of AB's policy on test driving because it doesn't suit you, why bother posting what you posted as you then tell us that you aren't going to be able to buy one.....what are you looking for, some empathy ?

You stated elsewhere that you buy cars on a whim, stop being a pussy and get it bought.

[AstonExige]

A lot of the independents that sell these high end cars don’t own them, they’re selling on behalf of people, so it’s not that uncommon to only allow test drives in very specific circumstances.

McLaren dealers own their stock and in my experience are ok with test drives.

If I hadn’t have been able to test drive the 720s that I ended up buying, I’d probably be in a Ferrari or Lambo now. I’d never driven a 720 before, looked great, but so did most super cars. But the 720’s usp, any McLaren in fact, is the way they drive and the sensation you get from that brutal acceleration. I imagine a lot of would be McLaren owners are ending up elsewhere as Ferraris, Lambo etc are a lot easier to buy on a whim, it’s less of a leap of faith.

[Kent Border Kenny]

AstonExige said:

A lot of the independents that sell these high end cars don’t own them, they’re selling on behalf of people, so it’s not that uncommon to only allow test drives in very specific circumstances.

McLaren dealers own their stock and in my experience are ok with test drives.

If I hadn’t have been able to test drive the 720s that I ended up buying, I’d probably be in a Ferrari or Lambo now. I’d never driven a 720 before, looked great, but so did most super cars. But the 720’s usp, any McLaren in fact, is the way they drive and the sensation you get from that brutal acceleration. I imagine a lot of would be McLaren owners are ending up elsewhere as Ferraris, Lambo etc are a lot easier to buy on a whim, it’s less of a leap of faith.

Yes, it'd be different had I driven any McLaren previously.

The 911 that I bought after a test drive of a couple of miles up and down the A40 in traffic showed me the dangers of not getting to feel how the car steers and feels before buying; that was £106k wasted.

I think that I'll likely still jump in, as it seems that with COVID-19 there are no 650s' available to try. I'm not criticising anyone who is uncomfortable with exposing themselves to risk, but am a little disappointed that McLaren themselves aren't able to accommodate.

I had a Ferrari dealership email me this week following a chat last year, asking if I'd like to come down and try a Portofino and a 488, so it's definitely something that could be done if a dealer wanted to.