Only buy from Thorney Motorsport?

[T5GRF]

200Plus Club said:

Did you look at the Muriwai car (duck egg blue) at a McLaren dealer I linked? Something like that is probably £10k over private purchase at least, but comes with full mclaren history and a warranty with them so your first year would be risk free. You could then get it inspected at a later date with V Engineering to see what might be looming etc.
Muriwai is rare and it's got masses of carbon spec, might be worth arranging a test drive perhaps and see if you like a 570 to sit in. I test drove a 650 and a 570 before going looking seriously. (Also Gibbo generously took me out in his 600LT as well)

I very nearly bought the Hatfield car, I just couldn’t gel with the colour in the end but it was otherwise a lovely car that they sold very easily. My search continues..

[br d]

A lot of sense being talked here.

I did think the 570 was the most fun, the handling was sublime ("Darting" is a very good description) and it feels like it's egging you on all the time to take the next bend quicker.
It's an absolute joy on curvy country lanes and you'll grin a lot.
However, the Super Sports do have something extra. The 570 is certainly no slouch, it's kinda "fun fast", but the 650 or 720 can be queasy quick! I mean you still have a great time but there's a bit more straight out awe, it's a bit more "Jesus fking Christ!".

If you are indeed going to stick to the Surrey Hills a 570 will be a blast, if you want to take any Euro trips or just longer jaunts in the UK I think I'd look at the 650.
The power is intoxicating, habit forming.

But whatever you go for you're not going to be disappointed.

[Nero77]

I went from 650 to 570. Did close to 15k miles in under 2 years in the 650 and on 9k in 9 months in the 570.

The 650 is ballistic in a straight line and the suspension is magic. Wonderful B-road blaster and long distance cruiser. Was looked after by V and only a fuel filler latch failed. Did have all the V accumulators fitted pre purchased, and these needed to be topped up as well as a cracked spring on sale.

I love the 570 though. It has the MSO titanium exhaust which makes a massive difference and the interior is a nicer place (though do miss the analogue tacho), tech is more modern, I prefer the looks and is just as comfortable re ride. I have tinkered though....Novitec rear wing, interior carbon upgrade (and alcantara wheel), concaver wheels and am about to have it wrapped in Crystal Blue Pearl (have a look at a 600LT in this colour, it's amazing - and very similar to an MSO colour Veridian Snow). And will fit 600LT front blades and side skirts. And maybe a DMS tune to 700hp to bring it back to 650 power.

Had a few issues but I am relaxed - it's a supercar not a Fiesta. New steering pump, windsreen wiper motor and front bonnet sensor as well as the door hinge. All replaced under warranty.

I would heartily recommend V - amazing guys. The downside to being so good is that they are now in such high demand....I would have not bothered with warranty and just used the V saving but not easy to get quick appointment if need urgent repair. So I may continue with official warranty.

Have to say McLaren Ascot have been amazing. I go there rather than Guildford despite being much closer to B&C. Not sure I can go into reasons here. But very very happy with Ascot.

Given the choice I'd go 570 over 650 mainly for looks, noise and ease of use. The back end of the 570 to me is design perfection. Never got on with the rear of the 650, always preferred the 12C styling over 650.

Only thing I miss is watching the rear air brake deploy!

[Pouhon]

I think its great to get the opinions from serial owners.
We will all have different experiences and preferences. I think phrases like "go-kart" "darty" and "fun" are definitely what I would associate my 570s spyder with.
I do think I loved it more than the current 720. Not yet convinced on the 720s , it needs a good stretch of its legs for me to make a valid judgement. I've got Silverstone and a euro trip in it later in the year so will see then. Hopefully it will come good, I'd like it to be a keeper. If not I am really not sure where to go next. Unfortunately I'm not in the T50 league. Maybe older and some considered modification/modern-ification are the future.

[200Plus Club]

Have had a lot of cars and the 570s is definitely one I miss.

[12pack]

Just as a gentle counterpoint to the darty 570s comments, is that I indeed found it to almost as twitchy as a 348 which in my humble opinion was designed as such to give punters a raw feel. I much prefer the unique road feel of the Super Series, where the hydraulics keep all corners planted on bumpy roads and filter out the noise so you get the actual signal from the rubber. But it s a subtle thing and I can imagine preferences can be different.

Edited by 12pack on Tuesday 17th June 13:18

[davek_964]

When I drove a 540 for a couple of weeks, I noticed a number of differences - but not in the steering / go cart type behaviour. Maybe I'm not sensitive enough to that sort of thing but it didn't feel much different to me. I probably didn't drive it particularly hard though.

[Bispal]

davek_964 said:

When I drove a 540 for a couple of weeks, I noticed a number of differences - but not in the steering / go cart type behaviour. Maybe I'm not sensitive enough to that sort of thing but it didn't feel much different to me. I probably didn't drive it particularly hard though.

Its been said a few times on the internet (oracle of truth) that the 570s is more connected / dialled in than the 540. The 570 has sharper responses due to suspension differences & throttle response. I've never driven a 540 so can't comment. But perhaps that's why the 570s feels very 'go karty' up to 40mph. I think 540 has steel brakes, not ceramic as well?

[Smoothound]

I found or it appeared to me when I was looking that Mclaren dealers massively underbid on cars offered or PX's because they need to sell on with a warranty. So a lot of the cars and the better specced cars end up at independants with no warranty or a mickey mouse one slapped on by the dealer. I looked for ages trying to find something I wanted/liked. In the end I took a punt and got something OK but needed a bit of sorting but got for the right price for me. All services done at Mclaren, last one I had done and a couple of flags that were done at Guildford and another couple being done by Thorney soon. There are a few other things I'd like to get fixed but cosmetic and I can live with for now, mostly age related and I guess it just depends how fussy/anal you are! Car drives great and thats the important thing for me and I'd rather concentrate on that than worry about a tiny bit of lifting PPF or a scratch here or there. YMMV but just my 2p worth

[Benmac]

Yep, it's tricky.I'm after a 720s at the moment. Annoyingly missed one that was just right as I hadn't quite decided to go for it until too late then there's precious little in either the main dealers, Thorney, V Engineering or Alistair Bols that fits my requirements.

There are 2 or 3 in generic "prestige" dealers that fit the spec, miles, price etc requirements I have but I'm just really, really reluctant to buy one via that route (general reasons for Mclarens as discussed here and having got slightly burned on a Maserati bought via that route a few years ago).

[jamesgareth]

Benmac said:

Yep, it's tricky.I'm after a 720s at the moment. Annoyingly missed one that was just right as I hadn't quite decided to go for it until too late then there's precious little in either the main dealers, Thorney, V Engineering or Alistair Bols that fits my requirements.

There are 2 or 3 in generic "prestige" dealers that fit the spec, miles, price etc requirements I have but I'm just really, really reluctant to buy one via that route (general reasons for Mclarens as discussed here and having got slightly burned on a Maserati bought via that route a few years ago).

I took a look at this one yesterday, They seemed quite sure that if I wanted to get it checked out at V. Engineering before the sale they could have it over to them to do that. I said but I hear they've got quite a wait for such checks but they assured me they could get them to 'jump the queue' so that this could happen.

Food for thought.

Here's the car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501158...

[Benmac]

Lovely car but it's a 720 I'm after. Would be interesting to know though if any non specialist independents can indeed jump the queue as with all the sage advice to get them inspected by someone who knows their stuff if they have 3 month lead times you can't ask a dealer to just hang on to the car.

[jamesgareth]

Benmac said:

Lovely car but it's a 720 I'm after. Would be interesting to know though if any non specialist independents can indeed jump the queue as with all the sage advice to get them inspected by someone who knows their stuff if they have 3 month lead times you can't ask a dealer to just hang on to the car.

Oh sorry - I misread your post.

[ex-devonpaul]

Smoothound said:

All services done at Mclaren, last one I had done and a couple of flags that were done at Guildford and another couple being done by Thorney soon. There are a few other things I'd like to get fixed but cosmetic and I can live with for now, mostly age related and I guess it just depends how fussy/anal you are! Car drives great and thats the important thing for me and I'd rather concentrate on that than worry about a tiny bit of lifting PPF or a scratch here or there. YMMV but just my 2p worth

This is one of the things that spoilt (probably slightly too strong a word) maserati ownership and put me off a Ferrari. People are quite happy to overlook a couple of cosmetic blemishes when getting a Porsche or BMW or Audi for 1/2 or 1/3 of the list price, but when it comes to some makes it has to be pristine.

Sure, you don't want a fist sized dent in the door, but at the end of the day when you're buying a 7-10 year old car surely it should show some signs of use. These are drivers' cars, not museum pieces. Even had people complaining the wifes Z4MC has stone chips - well it's 19 years old and got miles on it, what do you expect?

Annnndd breathe,

[Smooth Smith]

Smoothound said:

I found or it appeared to me when I was looking that Mclaren dealers massively underbid on cars offered or PX's because they need to sell on with a warranty:

I've often wondered what they are paying for their stock. Take the Hatfield 570 Spider for example, up for sale at £92,950. It is a nice looking thing, in a good colour, but it seems pricey for a 67 plate car. What are they offering for that as a px, £70k ish? They will have big overheads, and have to make a decent profit, but is that the norm for a main dealer, a margin of £20k plus on a car?

[RTPT]

Smooth Smith said:

I've often wondered what they are paying for their stock. Take the Hatfield 570 Spider for example, up for sale at £92,950. It is a nice looking thing, in a good colour, but it seems pricey for a 67 plate car. What are they offering for that as a px, £70k ish? They will have big overheads, and have to make a decent profit, but is that the norm for a main dealer, a margin of £20k plus on a car?

It does seem like quite a steep margin looking at the headline figures. I would imagine a reasonable amount in prep, warranty, overheads and also VAT on the margin, that 20k soon becomes ~12-14k, minus corp tax on any profits...

[jamesgareth]

Smooth Smith said:

I've often wondered what they are paying for their stock. Take the Hatfield 570 Spider for example, up for sale at £92,950. It is a nice looking thing, in a good colour, but it seems pricey for a 67 plate car. What are they offering for that as a px, £70k ish? They will have big overheads, and have to make a decent profit, but is that the norm for a main dealer, a margin of £20k plus on a car?

It's up at £97,900 if you mean the same as this one:

https://preowned.mclaren.com/eu/gb/en/vehicles/mcl...

[200Plus Club]

Smooth Smith said:

I've often wondered what they are paying for their stock. Take the Hatfield 570 Spider for example, up for sale at £92,950. It is a nice looking thing, in a good colour, but it seems pricey for a 67 plate car. What are they offering for that as a px, £70k ish? They will have big overheads, and have to make a decent profit, but is that the norm for a main dealer, a margin of £20k plus on a car?

I was offered £13k less at trade to buy mine than what I got privately, so theres going to be something £10k plus margin generally as a min I guess.

[Smooth Smith]

jamesgareth said:

Smooth Smith said:

I've often wondered what they are paying for their stock. Take the Hatfield 570 Spider for example, up for sale at £92,950. It is a nice looking thing, in a good colour, but it seems pricey for a 67 plate car. What are they offering for that as a px, £70k ish? They will have big overheads, and have to make a decent profit, but is that the norm for a main dealer, a margin of £20k plus on a car?

It's up at £97,900 if you mean the same as this one:

https://preowned.mclaren.com/eu/gb/en/vehicles/mcl...

It was this one I was referring to. Not sure if it’s sold now. Lovely car, just seems pricey.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18640163?u...

[mikey k]

Bispal said:

Re. build quality. My 675LT feel much better than my Porsche 718 Spyder. After 10 years my 675LT has no rattles and the interior is still like new with no wear. The Spyder rattles and a few bits of interior trim are flaky. Contrary to what some others above have said I find the build quality of McLaren's top notch and better than Porsche. Most of my car mates have had Porsche issues recently with build quality. All is not what is used to be at Porsche.

Re getting in and out. The decision McLaren made to lower the tub from the P11 cars to the super series cars came at the expense of a higher tub by the B pillar., it sweeps up quite steeply. Personally I find the P11 cars easier to enter and egress than the super series car. I guess it may differ with body type / height etc. With the P11 I go in sideways, arse on seat and swivel. Same to exit. easy peasy. That's harder in the super series as the higher tub by the B pillar makes 'arse first' difficult.

I will jump in with the P11 v 570 debate. While I agree all McLaren's are 10/10 cars there are differences. Driving 650s & 570s back to back on the same day for quite a few hours my take-away was this. The 570s is more alert and darty with faster 'feeling' steering and responses up to around 40mph (more go-kart like). After 40mph the 650s and even 12c take over. The are quicker with more accelerative 'shove', plus the active aero drama. This means on an urban test drive the 570s feels great, responsive and alert. possibly even quicker than the P11 cars. When you get onto faster flowing B roads the P11 cars take over. There is not a lot in it, but its there.

Edited by Bispal on Monday 16th June 08:08

Agreed on all counts having also had a 650S spider, a 718 Spyder and now a 675LT Spider.
I'm in no hurry to go back to Porsche, they have been an utter let down on the 3 I've had