Only buy from Thorney Motorsport?
Discussion
Alastair Bols, V Engineering and Thorney
All very good, all very different. All of them have pros and cons, everyone will have happy and diss happy customers
I would have confidence buying from all of them, all 3 of them are the go to McLaren Indy's and I know many satisfied clients of all of them
If one of them has a car that fits your want list, none should disappoint as they all as already mentioned are all about their reputations
All very good, all very different. All of them have pros and cons, everyone will have happy and diss happy customers
I would have confidence buying from all of them, all 3 of them are the go to McLaren Indy's and I know many satisfied clients of all of them
If one of them has a car that fits your want list, none should disappoint as they all as already mentioned are all about their reputations
murphyaj said:
V engineering don't offer their own warranty.
I don't have a warranty. There are plenty of threads on here about warranties that run for pages and pages, everyone has their opinion on that subject. Some think you'd be mad not to have one, others think they are a waste of time. Personally I don't have one, as I know that I have plenty in my emergency fund to cover pretty much everything up to and including an engine rebuild. I have had high end cars for most of the last 15 years and if I add up all the money I have spent on repairs in that time (some of them fairly expensive) it would probably come to about 20 grand less than I would have spent on warranties, so I take the long view.
In my opinion what you are buying with a warranty is peace of mind. If you are the kind of person that can relax and enjoy a car that doesn't have a warranty, and not freak out and break out in a cold sweat as soon as you see a warning light, then financially speaking, in the long run, the maths says you are better off not getting one (on average). But if you are not that kind of person and a warranty means you can get out and enjoy the car more then it is worth it for that.
Thanks. I tend towards not having one and just making sure the car is super-well serviced and looked after. Like you say I think in the long run you lose money (otherwise how do they MAKE money?). I don't have a warranty. There are plenty of threads on here about warranties that run for pages and pages, everyone has their opinion on that subject. Some think you'd be mad not to have one, others think they are a waste of time. Personally I don't have one, as I know that I have plenty in my emergency fund to cover pretty much everything up to and including an engine rebuild. I have had high end cars for most of the last 15 years and if I add up all the money I have spent on repairs in that time (some of them fairly expensive) it would probably come to about 20 grand less than I would have spent on warranties, so I take the long view.
In my opinion what you are buying with a warranty is peace of mind. If you are the kind of person that can relax and enjoy a car that doesn't have a warranty, and not freak out and break out in a cold sweat as soon as you see a warning light, then financially speaking, in the long run, the maths says you are better off not getting one (on average). But if you are not that kind of person and a warranty means you can get out and enjoy the car more then it is worth it for that.
For me the main thing right now is will a 570GT really provide £30k more value/fun/etc than that Lotus already does?
We shall see.
A dangerous sign is the child in my head is very excited about all this.
cutting42 said:
I bought from Thorney last April as a first supercar purchase. I was on the list for an Emira and got fed up waiting for the turbo version so cancelled and switched to McLaren.
I was looking for security and a warranty as a nervous purchaser and Thorney had several cars to pick from. I selected a 650s in Mantis Green with a ton of carbon
I have had it 14 months now and apart from a water temp sensor 2 weeks after purchase it has been perfect. Just done the service (Thorney) and MOT (local) and a recharge of the AC gas (Renn Works). I did not renew the first year warranty either now my confidence is up.
I had a great experience with Thorney and am happy to use them again.
Thanks - good to hear that.I was looking for security and a warranty as a nervous purchaser and Thorney had several cars to pick from. I selected a 650s in Mantis Green with a ton of carbon
I have had it 14 months now and apart from a water temp sensor 2 weeks after purchase it has been perfect. Just done the service (Thorney) and MOT (local) and a recharge of the AC gas (Renn Works). I did not renew the first year warranty either now my confidence is up.
I had a great experience with Thorney and am happy to use them again.
andy_ran said:
Alastair Bols, V Engineering and Thorney
All very good, all very different. All of them have pros and cons, everyone will have happy and diss happy customers
I would have confidence buying from all of them, all 3 of them are the go to McLaren Indy's and I know many satisfied clients of all of them
If one of them has a car that fits your want list, none should disappoint as they all as already mentioned are all about their reputations
Thanks. Those three certainly seem to be the stand out candidates.All very good, all very different. All of them have pros and cons, everyone will have happy and diss happy customers
I would have confidence buying from all of them, all 3 of them are the go to McLaren Indy's and I know many satisfied clients of all of them
If one of them has a car that fits your want list, none should disappoint as they all as already mentioned are all about their reputations
From my perspective having recently bought a 540C I went with a main dealer, not least I wanted a px for less hassle.
I've no doubt that cars sold by Thorney are very good and the service and warranty that he and V Eng provide will be excellent. The problem is I live over 3hrs away from one and 4hrs from the other so any warranty 'issue' will rely on me getting the car there whereas my main dealer is 10 miles away. On my first McLaren I wanted a warranty and perhaps not helped by the alarmist internet posts about poor reliability and 'issues'.
Given the distance Thorney and V Eng were not in the mix for me, plus a number of cars I'd looked at with non-franchised dealers led me to the conclusion only a main dealer was where to buy, this being my entry into McLaren ownership. The bonus is a 1yr main dealer warranty with AA cover that opens up access to the main dealer network albeit McLaren Manchester is my nearest. And, so far their support, honesty about the car/brand and knowledge has been excellent. I had a couple of glitches in the first few weeks and whilst I was expecting a delay to have the car looked at by the service centre, the response was could I bring it in that day!
If you wanted 'belt and braces' you could buy from a dealer then have it inspected by Thorney/V Eng and then rely on the warranty provided to fix any issues as I doubt you'd get it inspected before a purchase given their lead times.
I've no doubt that cars sold by Thorney are very good and the service and warranty that he and V Eng provide will be excellent. The problem is I live over 3hrs away from one and 4hrs from the other so any warranty 'issue' will rely on me getting the car there whereas my main dealer is 10 miles away. On my first McLaren I wanted a warranty and perhaps not helped by the alarmist internet posts about poor reliability and 'issues'.
Given the distance Thorney and V Eng were not in the mix for me, plus a number of cars I'd looked at with non-franchised dealers led me to the conclusion only a main dealer was where to buy, this being my entry into McLaren ownership. The bonus is a 1yr main dealer warranty with AA cover that opens up access to the main dealer network albeit McLaren Manchester is my nearest. And, so far their support, honesty about the car/brand and knowledge has been excellent. I had a couple of glitches in the first few weeks and whilst I was expecting a delay to have the car looked at by the service centre, the response was could I bring it in that day!
If you wanted 'belt and braces' you could buy from a dealer then have it inspected by Thorney/V Eng and then rely on the warranty provided to fix any issues as I doubt you'd get it inspected before a purchase given their lead times.
jamesgareth said:
Thanks. I tend towards not having one and just making sure the car is super-well serviced and looked after. Like you say I think in the long run you lose money (otherwise how do they MAKE money?).
Absolutely agree with this, they won't be selling their waranties without a 30-40% markup. It's about trading off the knoweldge that if you keep the car for 5 years that's £15k+ in warranties, versus the peace of mind (hope!) that that's all you'll pay. But as stated, these warranties don't cover lots of things so it's not as simple as that.Warranty values tend to be inflated by owners who exclusively use main dealers, who only replace parts, never repair. Bit of a gearbox problem? New gearbox. Engine problem? New engine. Etc.
jamesgareth said:
For me the main thing right now is will a 570GT really provide £30k more value/fun/etc than that Lotus already does?
I think until you've driven one you can't possibly compute that. They drive as well as a Lotus but the performance is a couple of levels up. I wouldn't restrict yourself to a 570GT, on the basis of wanting a more useable car. I think once you've been in one you'll be surprised at the ride quality of a 570S. Mine's a 600LT, and when I take friends out in it, first of all they're blown away by the performance, it's faster and more visceral than anyone expects. Secondly they are also always surprised about the ride quality and comfort. And the third thing they comment on is that it contradicts their expectations of it being somewhat 'kitcar', the interior always impresses. All that alcantara, carbon fibre, very little exposed hard plastic. It's a really nice car to be in.My wife isn't a petrolhead but vastly prefers travelling in the 600LT to the Cayman 718 GT4 I had before it.
Go and look at some, get some test drives.
Zingari said:
From my perspective having recently bought a 540C I went with a main dealer, not least I wanted a px for less hassle.
I've no doubt that cars sold by Thorney are very good and the service and warranty that he and V Eng provide will be excellent. The problem is I live over 3hrs away from one and 4hrs from the other so any warranty 'issue' will rely on me getting the car there whereas my main dealer is 10 miles away. On my first McLaren I wanted a warranty and perhaps not helped by the alarmist internet posts about poor reliability and 'issues'.
Given the distance Thorney and V Eng were not in the mix for me, plus a number of cars I'd looked at with non-franchised dealers led me to the conclusion only a main dealer was where to buy, this being my entry into McLaren ownership. The bonus is a 1yr main dealer warranty with AA cover that opens up access to the main dealer network albeit McLaren Manchester is my nearest. And, so far their support, honesty about the car/brand and knowledge has been excellent. I had a couple of glitches in the first few weeks and whilst I was expecting a delay to have the car looked at by the service centre, the response was could I bring it in that day!
If you wanted 'belt and braces' you could buy from a dealer then have it inspected by Thorney/V Eng and then rely on the warranty provided to fix any issues as I doubt you'd get it inspected before a purchase given their lead times.
Excellent info - thanks.I've no doubt that cars sold by Thorney are very good and the service and warranty that he and V Eng provide will be excellent. The problem is I live over 3hrs away from one and 4hrs from the other so any warranty 'issue' will rely on me getting the car there whereas my main dealer is 10 miles away. On my first McLaren I wanted a warranty and perhaps not helped by the alarmist internet posts about poor reliability and 'issues'.
Given the distance Thorney and V Eng were not in the mix for me, plus a number of cars I'd looked at with non-franchised dealers led me to the conclusion only a main dealer was where to buy, this being my entry into McLaren ownership. The bonus is a 1yr main dealer warranty with AA cover that opens up access to the main dealer network albeit McLaren Manchester is my nearest. And, so far their support, honesty about the car/brand and knowledge has been excellent. I had a couple of glitches in the first few weeks and whilst I was expecting a delay to have the car looked at by the service centre, the response was could I bring it in that day!
If you wanted 'belt and braces' you could buy from a dealer then have it inspected by Thorney/V Eng and then rely on the warranty provided to fix any issues as I doubt you'd get it inspected before a purchase given their lead times.
BobM said:
I think until you've driven one you can't possibly compute that. They drive as well as a Lotus but the performance is a couple of levels up. I wouldn't restrict yourself to a 570GT, on the basis of wanting a more useable car. I think once you've been in one you'll be surprised at the ride quality of a 570S. Mine's a 600LT, and when I take friends out in it, first of all they're blown away by the performance, it's faster and more visceral than anyone expects. Secondly they are also always surprised about the ride quality and comfort. And the third thing they comment on is that it contradicts their expectations of it being somewhat 'kitcar', the interior always impresses. All that alcantara, carbon fibre, very little exposed hard plastic. It's a really nice car to be in.
My wife isn't a petrolhead but vastly prefers travelling in the 600LT to the Cayman 718 GT4 I had before it.
Go and look at some, get some test drives.
Very helpful - thanks.My wife isn't a petrolhead but vastly prefers travelling in the 600LT to the Cayman 718 GT4 I had before it.
Go and look at some, get some test drives.
Plenty of good comments as above. My only concern is your use as a "daily" , what sort of annual mileage are you talking as people unfortunately are wary of perceived "high mileage " mclarens and it will to some extent affect your future value, if that's a concern.
Zingari makes a valid point around location, if you are nowhere near V or Thorney then perhaps peace of mind paying £10k more at Mclaren themselves. Certainly I'd avoid any other 2nd hand car retailers who have the odd Mclaren in stock alongside other makes, purely because you could be buying something that needs a fair chunk of cash to fix it soon after.
Alaister Bols would be my preference if buying outside of Mclaren. Thorney you are paying Mclaren retail prices for a car 1-2yrs older that are SOR cars (he charges £5k fee plus makes the seller get all the work done) but in theory you are getting a car that's been gone over.
The Emira is a pretty car with sporty performance and handling, the Mclaren will drive like an Emira on steroids, its another level. Definitely a great ownership experience.
Zingari makes a valid point around location, if you are nowhere near V or Thorney then perhaps peace of mind paying £10k more at Mclaren themselves. Certainly I'd avoid any other 2nd hand car retailers who have the odd Mclaren in stock alongside other makes, purely because you could be buying something that needs a fair chunk of cash to fix it soon after.
Alaister Bols would be my preference if buying outside of Mclaren. Thorney you are paying Mclaren retail prices for a car 1-2yrs older that are SOR cars (he charges £5k fee plus makes the seller get all the work done) but in theory you are getting a car that's been gone over.
The Emira is a pretty car with sporty performance and handling, the Mclaren will drive like an Emira on steroids, its another level. Definitely a great ownership experience.
jamesgareth said:
andy_ran said:
Alastair Bols, V Engineering and Thorney
All very good, all very different. All of them have pros and cons, everyone will have happy and diss happy customers
I would have confidence buying from all of them, all 3 of them are the go to McLaren Indy's and I know many satisfied clients of all of them
If one of them has a car that fits your want list, none should disappoint as they all as already mentioned are all about their reputations
Thanks. Those three certainly seem to be the stand out candidates.All very good, all very different. All of them have pros and cons, everyone will have happy and diss happy customers
I would have confidence buying from all of them, all 3 of them are the go to McLaren Indy's and I know many satisfied clients of all of them
If one of them has a car that fits your want list, none should disappoint as they all as already mentioned are all about their reputations
200Plus Club said:
Plenty of good comments as above. My only concern is your use as a "daily" , what sort of annual mileage are you talking as people unfortunately are wary of perceived "high mileage " mclarens and it will to some extent affect your future value, if that's a concern.
Zingari makes a valid point around location, if you are nowhere near V or Thorney then perhaps peace of mind paying £10k more at Mclaren themselves. Certainly I'd avoid any other 2nd hand car retailers who have the odd Mclaren in stock alongside other makes, purely because you could be buying something that needs a fair chunk of cash to fix it soon after.
Alaister Bols would be my preference if buying outside of Mclaren. Thorney you are paying Mclaren retail prices for a car 1-2yrs older that are SOR cars (he charges £5k fee plus makes the seller get all the work done) but in theory you are getting a car that's been gone over.
The Emira is a pretty car with sporty performance and handling, the Mclaren will drive like an Emira on steroids, its another level. Definitely a great ownership experience.
I do about 6000 miles a year. Which I know is quite a lot for these kinds of cars.....Zingari makes a valid point around location, if you are nowhere near V or Thorney then perhaps peace of mind paying £10k more at Mclaren themselves. Certainly I'd avoid any other 2nd hand car retailers who have the odd Mclaren in stock alongside other makes, purely because you could be buying something that needs a fair chunk of cash to fix it soon after.
Alaister Bols would be my preference if buying outside of Mclaren. Thorney you are paying Mclaren retail prices for a car 1-2yrs older that are SOR cars (he charges £5k fee plus makes the seller get all the work done) but in theory you are getting a car that's been gone over.
The Emira is a pretty car with sporty performance and handling, the Mclaren will drive like an Emira on steroids, its another level. Definitely a great ownership experience.
jamesgareth said:
I should add that Bell and Colvill currently look after my Emira - and they work with McLaren's too. So I'm imagining they would be able to check a car out before I bought it - and if they did they could look after it too. They've been excellent with my Lotus.
Fair comment, but also bear in mind if/when you come to sell, buyers will be expecting mclaren service history or one of the known specialists already mentioned. No disrespect to Bell & Colvill, I have heard good things about them for Lotus cars.
MclaesLaren said:
Well, you only live once.
What will you remember best sitting in a wheelchair at the elderly home?
Go for it and enjoy, thats my recmmendation.
And never look back. Its only money.
That's exactly the attitude that had me splash out £62k on the Lotus in the first place.What will you remember best sitting in a wheelchair at the elderly home?
Go for it and enjoy, thats my recmmendation.
And never look back. Its only money.
jamesgareth said:
I do about 6000 miles a year. Which I know is quite a lot for these kinds of cars.....
Personally I'd be doing 3k a year in a snotter and 3k a year in the mclaren in decent weather lol. Its such a special car with a lot of power, I wouldn't want one that had been daily driven through winter/salt etc. If your budget is £90k you'll be buying a 15-20k mile mclaren roughly, stick 4yrs on it and it's getting on for 50k miles. Saying that I did 7k miles in 7 months of good weather in mine, mainly by thrashing it round Europe and then Scotland, loved every minute using it for fast roads.
I used my first 650 as a daily about 90% of the time. In 3 years it went from 7k to 25k miles. I'm sure it went down in value but it was written off so who knows.
Second one is used less but that's just due to life changes.
I can't see the point of buying something and then not using it so that it's easier to sell.
Buy it, enjoy it
Second one is used less but that's just due to life changes.
I can't see the point of buying something and then not using it so that it's easier to sell.
Buy it, enjoy it
BobM said:
Warranty values tend to be inflated by owners who exclusively use main dealers, who only replace parts, never repair. Bit of a gearbox problem? New gearbox. Engine problem? New engine. Etc.
100% agree with this. I recently had a problem with my steering system, McLaren wanted to replace the entire steering column module at a cost of almost £4000. V Engineering just swapped out the failed component, which cost more like £300. The McLaren warranty will be priced on the assumption that you're doing repairs their way.On the mileage question I am very firmly in the "use it as much as you can" camp. Once you pay for servicing, tax, insurance, MOT, tyres, (warranty?), and the baseline depreciation of just owning the thing, then the cost per mile is astronomical if you only do a couple of thousand miles a year. Even if it means a bit more depreciation, the more miles you do the better value the car becomes. And honestly, in 20 years time are you really, REALLY, going to look back and think to yourself "I'm so glad I didn't drive my McLaren very often so I could save a few grand when I sold it.". If it worries you that much just buy a fairly high mile one to begin with.
Thorney is a good guy to deal with, very knowledgeable and you can be sure that the cars he stocks and sells on behalf of customers are inspected, well prepared and will be as good as you can get. Sure he might not be an ex McLaren tech, but he has years of experience and enthusiasm. A thumbs up from me.
jamesgareth said:
I should add that Bell and Colvill currently look after my Emira - and they work with McLaren's too. So I'm imagining they would be able to check a car out before I bought it - and if they did they could look after it too. They've been excellent with my Lotus.
I bought my 570s from B&C in February, been great so far. It did need a lot of prep but they dealt with it, seat stopped working a few weeks after I picked it up which is bad luck but they collected the car fixed it and got it back to me pretty quick.200Plus Club said:
Fair comment, but also bear in mind if/when you come to sell, buyers will be expecting mclaren service history or one of the known specialists already mentioned.
No disrespect to Bell & Colvill, I have heard good things about them for Lotus cars.
Bell & Colvill ARE McLaren Guildford, an official Service centre and approved used dealer (but not new dealer).No disrespect to Bell & Colvill, I have heard good things about them for Lotus cars.
https://guildford.mclaren.com/
https://www.am-online.com/news/dealer-news/2020/07...
Edited by Chrisatronic on Wednesday 11th June 10:42
Mileage is always an issue with UK car buyers, you're almost programmed to look at the odometer and ask how many owners it's had before actually looking at the car properly 
A lot of McLarens cover very few miles a year so it brings the average annual mileage down across all the models. Older cars with low miles seem more suspectible to issues arising. I went with a higher mileage car that had been used by the previous two owners as a daily driver who had bought it and then traded up through the same dealership. You'll pay a bit less but the higher miles (32k) didn't put me off. I'm now 3,500 in after 4-months ownership including over 2,000 on a recent EU roadtrip where it never missed a beat. When you're in the seat for 6+hrs a day with some 'spirited' driving you get a good idea of the cars abilities and whether you made the right decision. Like you I wanted a 570GT but couldn't find one and when I called into McLaren on the off chance saw the 540C and then drove it my mind was made up.
What I've found with main dealers is their availability of secondhand stock, they get very few cars in despite being active to purchase. Some get rejected if they don't reach the standard to go in the showroom. Manchester have a nice 570GT currently in stock, the interior colour may divide opinion but I've seen the car and whilst I'm not a fan of silver cars this looks a beaut. Had it been available at the time I was looking I'd have probably bought it.
I don't know how well Lotus are built but I will say coming from being a long term Porsche owner with McLaren you have to 'lower your sights' given they are hand built small volume production so fit and finish along with the odd quirk is never going to be to German standards. For the most I can forgive them but I just wished they'd turned the volume of the rear parking sensors up and the instrument warning alarm down
A lot of McLarens cover very few miles a year so it brings the average annual mileage down across all the models. Older cars with low miles seem more suspectible to issues arising. I went with a higher mileage car that had been used by the previous two owners as a daily driver who had bought it and then traded up through the same dealership. You'll pay a bit less but the higher miles (32k) didn't put me off. I'm now 3,500 in after 4-months ownership including over 2,000 on a recent EU roadtrip where it never missed a beat. When you're in the seat for 6+hrs a day with some 'spirited' driving you get a good idea of the cars abilities and whether you made the right decision. Like you I wanted a 570GT but couldn't find one and when I called into McLaren on the off chance saw the 540C and then drove it my mind was made up.
What I've found with main dealers is their availability of secondhand stock, they get very few cars in despite being active to purchase. Some get rejected if they don't reach the standard to go in the showroom. Manchester have a nice 570GT currently in stock, the interior colour may divide opinion but I've seen the car and whilst I'm not a fan of silver cars this looks a beaut. Had it been available at the time I was looking I'd have probably bought it.
I don't know how well Lotus are built but I will say coming from being a long term Porsche owner with McLaren you have to 'lower your sights' given they are hand built small volume production so fit and finish along with the odd quirk is never going to be to German standards. For the most I can forgive them but I just wished they'd turned the volume of the rear parking sensors up and the instrument warning alarm down
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