12C / 650s Spiders - where are they all??

[V10vroom]

Well, been watching 12C spiders and 650S spiders like a hawk last few months waiting for my Gallardo to sell (which is taking a while!!)... it seems 650S Spiders are few and far between... very few made indeed... a good friend enjoyed a 12C Spider for many years before upgrading to a Fistral Blue 720S (you know who you are if you're reading this!!) and I've always been extremely tempted by a McLaren Super Series.... with everything else going on I am not sure about wanting to use Finance and Balloon payments etc so 600LT / 720S out of reach but I can stretch to maybe £90K with a Hire Purchase option...... thing is my head says a 650S is rarer and therefore a special place to be and of course newer car... but I did test drive a 12C spider back in 2013 and they were / are awesome bits of kit... with a Thorney Warranty for peace of mind it is surely unlikely to depreciate more than 10% a year or may even appreciate with its classic styling and again limited numbers..... everything seems to be otherwise good... insurance around £500 from Admiral, Servicing at Thorney very reasonable indeed compared to the Gallardo (which cost £2500 every other year)..... so my head is now say MCLAREN very loudly..... another part of me is saying BORROW BORROW BORROW and get a 458 spider (I had a 360 a few years back which was a fantastic first supercar) but I can't really afford the 458 Spider without BIG finance and likely some decent depreciation and finance Balloon etc etc so head still saying McLaren.... bit of a rant but after 20 years of PISTONHEADS it's good to air ones thoughts as you guys are usually fab at helping my decisions haha
I do like the look of the Purple 12C Spider at Tom Hartleys......

[123RY]

V10vroom said:

Well, been watching 12C spiders and 650S spiders like a hawk last few months waiting for my Gallardo to sell (which is taking a while!!)... it seems 650S Spiders are few and far between... very few made indeed... a good friend enjoyed a 12C Spider for many years before upgrading to a Fistral Blue 720S (you know who you are if you're reading this!!) and I've always been extremely tempted by a McLaren Super Series.... with everything else going on I am not sure about wanting to use Finance and Balloon payments etc so 600LT / 720S out of reach but I can stretch to maybe £90K with a Hire Purchase option...... thing is my head says a 650S is rarer and therefore a special place to be and of course newer car... but I did test drive a 12C spider back in 2013 and they were / are awesome bits of kit... with a Thorney Warranty for peace of mind it is surely unlikely to depreciate more than 10% a year or may even appreciate with its classic styling and again limited numbers..... everything seems to be otherwise good... insurance around £500 from Admiral, Servicing at Thorney very reasonable indeed compared to the Gallardo (which cost £2500 every other year)..... so my head is now say MCLAREN very loudly..... another part of me is saying BORROW BORROW BORROW and get a 458 spider (I had a 360 a few years back which was a fantastic first supercar) but I can't really afford the 458 Spider without BIG finance and likely some decent depreciation and finance Balloon etc etc so head still saying McLaren.... bit of a rant but after 20 years of PISTONHEADS it's good to air ones thoughts as you guys are usually fab at helping my decisions haha
I do like the look of the Purple 12C Spider at Tom Hartleys......

Not 100% on build numbers but I don't think 650S spiders are rarer than 12C spiders. At launch the 650S was available in both coupe and spider form. Interiors are identical too. And they are hard to find with a good spec. 12C/650S are now in a price bracket where depreciation is minimal. And most buyers want the spider what with the minimal loss of function. I wanted a lift function and a 12C so that limited me to a late spider.
Had mine 2 years now and won't be coming market any time soon!

I know Thorney are selling theirs.... The Hartley one is definitely quite special. There's a few out there around the £90k mark. As far as I'm concerned, the 458 needs to be compared to a 720S from a price perspective. Lots of change spare if you get a 12C/650s. Many years of warranty covered!

Gratuitous photo!

[macdeb]

Even if the 458 was at the same price point, I wouldn't have one. 12c's/650's rock.

[sjc]

I really like the THJ car,been watching it for a while and the colour scheme is probably the best I’ve seen on a 12C. However, a recent experience of someone who bought a FF from his dad ( documented in the Ferrari forum, and yes I know they are different companies), made me decide to carry on looking.

[Dino550]

I emailed THJ about the purple spider at the beginning of the year. Despite getting a standard email response explaining that they offered the best customer service in the industry I didn’t hear from them at all. I googled the owner and he has previous for doing a runner after crashing his 458. Seems like a bloke you can trust......

[V10vroom]

Don’t think that’s Tom Hartley Junior ....

[sjc]

V10vroom said:

Don’t think that’s Tom Hartley Junior ....

Indeed, it was Carl.

[jtremlett]

sjc said:

V10vroom said:

Don’t think that’s Tom Hartley Junior ....

Indeed, it was Carl.

Carl works for his dad, Tom Hartley, not Tom Hartley Junior. They are separate businesses. Interestingly, Tom Hartley's recent autobiography says very little about TH Jnr and nothing at all about why they separated. I have never dealt with either but I do know people who have dealt with TH Jnr and have been satisfied (and repeat) customers.

The less said about Carl, the better.

[R8Reece]

Unsure about 12C's and 650S's but if they're like other Maclaren's, for sale numbers have dropped significantly since lockdown.

About a year ago there were 20 x 540C's available on AT, now only 11. 570S - 45 vs 30 now. 720S - 60 vs 24 now.