10 Years with a 12c
Discussion
I don't post on here much anymore, when I was "working" I used to spend all day on here but now I'm "retired" I haven't got the time :-)
Firstly I can't believe how little activity is on here these days compared to a good few years ago, as a bit of background I along with about 10 others were one of the founder members of what has become the McLaren owners club UK, we started on here with pretty much 2 groups of people North and South and our first meeting was at Goodwood for coffee / breakfast where we had about 15 cars in 2015.
Anyway, just thought I would post with my thoughts on my ownership which is actually FACT not some bloke down the pub said.
I have recently (January) sold my 2012 12c coupe in one of the elite colours ice silver after give or take 10 years, I bought it with 5k miles and sold it with I think 27k.
It 100% was a garage queen :-) any chance of rain and it went nowhere, 2 reasons really, half hour drive for 2 hours cleaning didn't sit well with me, but the over riding reason really was risk v reward on slippery roads etc just didn't seem worth the potential outcome.
Car had no corrosion what so ever (normally under the front lip of the bonnet on a 12c) and never threw a single management or warning light, only one issue was that on one of the club euro tours we got caught in a shower and when I went to use the wipers ( probably for the first time :-) ) the motor seized up after 2 wipes which of course everyone found hilarious, replaced myself for around £175 from memory.
Oh and the air con pipe fractured around one of the joints which I had to replace.
In the early years I did a few of the McLaren Pure days, and then numerous more Trackdays after buying a spare set of wheels and fitting with track tyres, I also designed and built a set of steel brakes that used the std ceramic callipers with steel pads, so come track day all you needed to do was swap the rotors and pads the night before, in reality I didn't bother and used the steels for probably 10-15k of those miles.
I changed the road tyres once for MPS2 which were great for road use.
Car was always on trickle charge unless I knew I would be using it the next week.
Servicing was all done at McLaren Ascot / Sevenoaks and was normally around the £1500 / 1700 window, in later years maybe £1200 if a simple oil service.
I kept the swipe doors, I loved the feature, others in the car not so much lol.
Could never get the seat in the right place for me so I built a set of spacers for the pedals which allowed correct adjustment of the seat.
I kept IRIS 1.
I had the Mclaren Warranty for the first 2-3 years as I could not afford the feared £20k for a replacement gearbox (which can now be fixed not replaced) The accumulators were replaced in the 2nd or 3rd year of my ownership which I hadn't noticed, and when changed didn't notice any difference either, I was then told they needed replacement the following year until I advised they had already been done ........... read into that what you will.
Fuel consumption especially on a run was pretty good if not great compared to other cars in the sector or even performance saloons, early 30's cruising at legal limits ...... interestingly on Silverstone and Brands GP circuits its absolutely horrendous .... like 12mpg.
I did 3 fabulous Eurotours with the club, no real problems fitting enough "stuff" in the boot, met some great people which have now become friends.
For me it was a great ownership experience with the exception of the depreciation, I paid £128k for the car and sold it for £68k in the real world that's a big number, and had I gone for the 458 and stuck with Ferrari / Lamborghini I would still get that back today, the other negative is that any service centre is now 2 hours away in round numbers which is a pain.
In short and sorry for jumping all over the place I just wanted to get my thoughts down, it was and is a fantastic car that I had no dramas with, would I buy another ? ....... well I sold to fund a boat purchase ( just to see if it is possible to loose more money on anything other than a McLaren :-) ) not because I didn't like it anymore or it was causing me grief, more I wasn't using it as much as maybe I should .......
At the price a 12c is now, nothing really comes close in terms of bang per buck, and I can't ever see them dropping to being a 30k car, in fact prices seem to be firming up in recent months.
So would I do the McLaren itch again ? ...... 9 months later see my next post
Sure I have forgotten stuff but will update as and when.
Firstly I can't believe how little activity is on here these days compared to a good few years ago, as a bit of background I along with about 10 others were one of the founder members of what has become the McLaren owners club UK, we started on here with pretty much 2 groups of people North and South and our first meeting was at Goodwood for coffee / breakfast where we had about 15 cars in 2015.
Anyway, just thought I would post with my thoughts on my ownership which is actually FACT not some bloke down the pub said.
I have recently (January) sold my 2012 12c coupe in one of the elite colours ice silver after give or take 10 years, I bought it with 5k miles and sold it with I think 27k.
It 100% was a garage queen :-) any chance of rain and it went nowhere, 2 reasons really, half hour drive for 2 hours cleaning didn't sit well with me, but the over riding reason really was risk v reward on slippery roads etc just didn't seem worth the potential outcome.
Car had no corrosion what so ever (normally under the front lip of the bonnet on a 12c) and never threw a single management or warning light, only one issue was that on one of the club euro tours we got caught in a shower and when I went to use the wipers ( probably for the first time :-) ) the motor seized up after 2 wipes which of course everyone found hilarious, replaced myself for around £175 from memory.
Oh and the air con pipe fractured around one of the joints which I had to replace.
In the early years I did a few of the McLaren Pure days, and then numerous more Trackdays after buying a spare set of wheels and fitting with track tyres, I also designed and built a set of steel brakes that used the std ceramic callipers with steel pads, so come track day all you needed to do was swap the rotors and pads the night before, in reality I didn't bother and used the steels for probably 10-15k of those miles.
I changed the road tyres once for MPS2 which were great for road use.
Car was always on trickle charge unless I knew I would be using it the next week.
Servicing was all done at McLaren Ascot / Sevenoaks and was normally around the £1500 / 1700 window, in later years maybe £1200 if a simple oil service.
I kept the swipe doors, I loved the feature, others in the car not so much lol.
Could never get the seat in the right place for me so I built a set of spacers for the pedals which allowed correct adjustment of the seat.
I kept IRIS 1.
I had the Mclaren Warranty for the first 2-3 years as I could not afford the feared £20k for a replacement gearbox (which can now be fixed not replaced) The accumulators were replaced in the 2nd or 3rd year of my ownership which I hadn't noticed, and when changed didn't notice any difference either, I was then told they needed replacement the following year until I advised they had already been done ........... read into that what you will.
Fuel consumption especially on a run was pretty good if not great compared to other cars in the sector or even performance saloons, early 30's cruising at legal limits ...... interestingly on Silverstone and Brands GP circuits its absolutely horrendous .... like 12mpg.
I did 3 fabulous Eurotours with the club, no real problems fitting enough "stuff" in the boot, met some great people which have now become friends.
For me it was a great ownership experience with the exception of the depreciation, I paid £128k for the car and sold it for £68k in the real world that's a big number, and had I gone for the 458 and stuck with Ferrari / Lamborghini I would still get that back today, the other negative is that any service centre is now 2 hours away in round numbers which is a pain.
In short and sorry for jumping all over the place I just wanted to get my thoughts down, it was and is a fantastic car that I had no dramas with, would I buy another ? ....... well I sold to fund a boat purchase ( just to see if it is possible to loose more money on anything other than a McLaren :-) ) not because I didn't like it anymore or it was causing me grief, more I wasn't using it as much as maybe I should .......
At the price a 12c is now, nothing really comes close in terms of bang per buck, and I can't ever see them dropping to being a 30k car, in fact prices seem to be firming up in recent months.
So would I do the McLaren itch again ? ...... 9 months later see my next post
Sure I have forgotten stuff but will update as and when.
Sold my Volcano Orange 12C 3 or 4 years ago at 56k miles to a lovely bloke who’s still got it I think. I did 40k miles in it over 6 years, drove it all round Europe in all weathers, nothing major went wrong, nothing that left me by the side of the road anyway
Here’s that first run to Goodwood:
AndyDubbya said:
Sold my Volcano Orange 12C 3 or 4 years ago at 56k miles to a lovely bloke who s still got it I think. I did 40k miles in it over 6 years, drove it all round Europe in all weathers, nothing major went wrong, nothing that left me by the side of the road anyway
Here s that first run to Goodwood:
Hi Mate, I spend most of my time over on the classics section these days where people sometimes listen to your advice lol.
Car 65 the original German championship car hasn't been out now for 2 years from memory (which probably means 3).
Car 66 the space framed Subaru engined car gets used for the odd local car show and pub meet up but again not been on track for 2 years ?
It has had a proper ECU fitted and an electric water pump in the last year.
Plan was to get both cars out at the same time next time out .... 2026 now I guess.
Car 65 the original German championship car hasn't been out now for 2 years from memory (which probably means 3).
Car 66 the space framed Subaru engined car gets used for the odd local car show and pub meet up but again not been on track for 2 years ?
It has had a proper ECU fitted and an electric water pump in the last year.
Plan was to get both cars out at the same time next time out .... 2026 now I guess.
Its the old gang back
I remember that trip to Goodwood very well. Sorry you sold Paul, you were the first 12C I saw when I had mine, on the M25 with your shiny red wheels. I was so excited I almost veered into you. I also passed Andy once in the Alps! Such a small and happy world in the original 12C gang.
I hope you enjoy your new boat, sounds exciting, life moves on I guess. My 675LT will be with me for life, at least that my intention ATM, only 6 years in....
Feb 2016 we all went to GW, happy memories.
I remember that trip to Goodwood very well. Sorry you sold Paul, you were the first 12C I saw when I had mine, on the M25 with your shiny red wheels. I was so excited I almost veered into you. I also passed Andy once in the Alps! Such a small and happy world in the original 12C gang.
I hope you enjoy your new boat, sounds exciting, life moves on I guess. My 675LT will be with me for life, at least that my intention ATM, only 6 years in....
Feb 2016 we all went to GW, happy memories.
AndyDubbya said:
Hi Paul & Paul!
As we re reminiscing, here we all are at the dogging car park (except me, taking the photo!):
Great pic Andy As we re reminiscing, here we all are at the dogging car park (except me, taking the photo!):
As well as us that pic Includes one current BTCC driver (Nick Halstead), Mr Thorny, Joel (progressed to a P1 / F50 / T50), Clackers (the fastest man never to race pro), And Abbosh (not strictly come dancing Abbosh) but the one who is still prominent in the MoC. The very first MoC meeting
Bispal said:
Great pic Andy
As well as us that pic Includes one current BTCC driver (Nick Halstead), Mr Thorny, Joel (progressed to a P1 / F50 / T50), Clackers (the fastest man never to race pro), And Abbosh (not strictly come dancing Abbosh) but the one who is still prominent in the MoC. The very first MoC meeting
Yes Nickorangecars who also hosted the first McLaren only BBQ at his home which included Schmee 150, who should have been at the first meet but couldn't get out of bed in time.As well as us that pic Includes one current BTCC driver (Nick Halstead), Mr Thorny, Joel (progressed to a P1 / F50 / T50), Clackers (the fastest man never to race pro), And Abbosh (not strictly come dancing Abbosh) but the one who is still prominent in the MoC. The very first MoC meeting
Not forgetting 100IAN who still has his 12c I believe amongst other toys, SELON who I went with, who I think defected back to Lotus after a couple of years getting most of his money back on his car.
Gassing Station | McLaren | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff