MP4-12C photos and review/comparison
Discussion
isuk said:
ANDYCLAX said:
I would be interested if LDM of ferrari has ever written to a customer about his odd fires
Ferrari spa did write out to all early 458 owners apologising for the fire issues and sent us out a gift to make up for the single workshop recall visit necessary to address the issue.. HTH clarify this for you.Edited by isuk on Saturday 15th October 16:51
AngryApples said:
(genuine question and not a dig BTW)
Was it a hand written letter then?
No, just his signature at the bottom. I've also sent emails to the management of McLaren and as yet they have not responded to me, which I find a little poor. Was it a hand written letter then?
And for what its worth I've had two letters from Ferrari signed by LDM, and when I went to pickup my GTO from the factory he stopped off to see whoever it was picking up their new car.
McLaren have a big issue on their hands and they know it, a car manufacturer does not freeze delivering cars at any old whim, they know that the risk of releasing more cars with faults is worse than upsetting future customers by delivering their cars even later than planned - and they must be under massive pressure from those waiting for their cars all this time. The fact they are not delivering any cars worldwide should hint at the magnitude of the faults on the cars, 95% software related, from minor water level sensor issues to possible traction control systems not working (in my case).
Another thing that also bugs me a little (pardon the pun!), is the lack of clarity of information regarding fixes of these bugs. My car has just come back from the workshop for the traction control issue amongst others, and I have been told 3 different dates from 3 different people regarding the new software update from 1 week to 4 weeks away, which doesn't give me much confidence. It is also not a simple software update, each car delivered so far will need to go back to the dealer for both software and hardware updates which will be delivered as a combined package to each car.
However, as I have stated before it is a wonderful car to drive, and it really has blown me away in every performance area. It might not be the best drivers car out there, but it is pretty darn good. Once they have fixed these issues it will be a truly epic car for its segment. The problem is my car will be 6 months old by the time they have all been fixed, (including IRIS which I have been told is Jan/Feb next year) and I don't tend to keep my cars very long.... Maybe my next McLarne, the MP4-12C 'R' version will be perfect.
Edited by Maff on Saturday 15th October 20:09
This continues to be a disaster for McLaren which is a real shame but in today's competitive market there is simply no excuse (not even a written letter from RD). We are probably entering onto another recession and MacLarens timing could not be worse. Waiting lists will be pushed into 2013-14 and then you end up having paid a full price for a car that has lost its novelty value and where second hand ones will trade at significant discounts. I cancelled my place on the waiting list for the same reason. Great shame but i completely agree with you lot here that it is simply not good enough and i would return the car and move on.
ANDYCLAX said:
Not quite the personal letter from Ron is it!
I was merely trying to be helpful and answer the question you raised earlier asking if Ferrari had written to their customers regarding the potential fire issue. I didn't remember who it had come from but have since looked it out and it came from the Commercial and Marketing Director, Enrico Galliera. I personally was simply happy to have the recall carried out promptly and efficiently with no real inconvenience caused knowing that the factory had quickly identified the cause of the issue. Who wrote the letter was of far less importance to me than getting the issue resolved. I doubt I'd have been happy if I'd had a hand written apology from LDM in which he couldn't give a date on when the car would be fixed or even that the fix had still to be found.As Maff says LDM signs a personally addressed letter thanking you for buying a new car and also like Maff I've met LDM at the factory as well as the CEO and they both stop to say hello to customers.
I must confess to being somewhat bemused by your response to LFB regarding his stance on returning his 12C.
ANDYCLAX said:
IF you have bought into this for the Brand and what they are capable of you will understand and give them some slack,and that will pay dividends being a first adopter,if you have done so because you can and want the next new car on your drive,then you will be badly dissapointed
So effectively you are saying it's not a fully functioning new car he should have expected but instead should simply be satisfied with the priviledge of buying into the brand? What are the dividends he should expect to receive for being an early adopter - preferential future treatment, jump the queue in terms of future allocation etc etc perhaps? Is this not the sort of thing people accussed Ferrari of and said Mclaren would change.......ANDYCLAX said:
If you have an order for a P12,as i do ,please dont burn your bridges, and look at the big picture,as you know that will be a limited production.
That would imply that if he returns the 12C he won't get the P12. Why would selling a car he owns but is not 100% satified with preclude him from being allocated a P12? No-one is criticising the car merely the lack of prelaunch testing that is now evident amongst these issues. As you say it is predominantly software related so that should have been thoroughly debugged before launch surely. It's not as though it's breaking new ground to have computer controlled interfaces in a modern car after all. If the Italians can get the electrics right (and I say that tongue in cheek due to the age old reputation they had for being defficient in that department
) surely it should not have been beyond the wit of the front grid racing team at Woking to get it right before release. The poor results of the press launch test cars, and the failures some of them suffered, was blamed by Mclaren on their hurried use of preproduction examples to meet publishing deadlines. As I recall from various threads at the time promises were made then that customer cars would be fully functional in all respects by the time of launch.coyft said:
isuk said:
I've met LDM at the factory as well as the CEO and they both stop to say hello to customers.
Anyone met Ron Dennis at the MTC? When I was there, Ron was "in residence" and the PR bloke form McLaren was in contact with his office because he didn't want to bump into customers. 
Came across as a really nice chap toocoyft said:
Anyone met Ron Dennis at the MTC? When I was there, Ron was "in residence" and the PR bloke form McLaren was in contact with his office because he didn't want to bump into customers.
Nope.Nothing to do with your post, but it has just reminded me of a strange encounter with Luca at the factory... I was there for the FF launch where we all had dinner on the V12 production line, along with Massa, Alonso and Piero Ferrari (I stood next to Massa in the toilet BTW
) and I happened to find myself stood next to Luca who then started shouting at the top of his voice to the waiters and caterers making sure his demands were met exactly. It made made me chuckle as it really was the 'Italian' way of doing things, but blimey does he know how to run a company! (BTW he is the longest serving automotive chairman/CEO in history)
torquespeak said:
Did he use IRIS to find his way there?
JADF said:
I can't wait to get my hands on DCHs McLaren MP4.. tho' I am guessing it will now be a lot later then I first thought. Hey ho.
Similarly I can't wait to drive ecurie25's MP4, but i'm not back from India until April '12. Should be just about right for a fully sorted car then eh? Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff