540C/570S Buying Advice
Discussion
Hello chaps,
Looking for some advice from the McLaren crew. I have an itch to get into a 540C or 570S. Yes, the signs are all there, I guess you know them. Watching YouTube review videos, looking at what cars are available, checking the value of mine, doing the man maths, measuring the garage to make sure it will fit and even lurking on the forum here to glean snippets of info (who the eff is RamboLambo BTW!)
The final piece will be thinking of how I can sell it too SWMBO as to why I need to change my car...AGAIN!
I'm currently in an Aston Martin V12 Vantage S and what I'm looking for advice on is:
The Cars
I can use the Aston every day. A previous itch I scratched was an F430. To me, the F430 felt it should be left on the track! The Aston however can be used every day and be taken pretty much anywhere e.g. we can take it into Waitrose car park on a Saturday morning to pick up the weekends rations. I never felt I could do that in the F430, so she languished in the garage...a lot! I realise that might just be me! I do not track my cars BTW. What I don't want to do happen is this itch getting so strong I end up buying a 540/570 and after a few months feeling it is more like the F430 than the Aston. Can any owners give me some real world experience of driving a 540/570 in everyday circumstances?
Dealers/Discounts
I'm going to see Simon at McLaren London in the next few days for a chat and to see the cars in the flesh. Any feedback on which dealers you have had a good buying experience from would be useful. London & Ascot are 35 miles from me and Birmingham 50, so can deal with either. I'm on the lookout for a nearly new/new or dealer stock car. My last couple of cars (Aston & Bentley GT Speed) purchases have been from dealer stock as that's where I found the biggest discounts can be negotiated (up to 20%). My question is what sort of discount could I expect from a dealer stock car and do dealers have many in stock? There's a really nice example of a car at Alexander's here: http://www.alexandersprestige.co.uk/stock/6818176-... What discount would I expect on a new car, specced by me?
I'm up to speed on the spec I am looking for, but would I regret going for the 540 over the 570? Reading reviews there does not appear to be a vast amount of difference in driving the two. I also read that the 540's are more difficult to shift as the price difference between the 570 is circa £17K, would that lend dealers to do more of a discount to sell?
Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks in advance for any useful information you can supply...
Looking for some advice from the McLaren crew. I have an itch to get into a 540C or 570S. Yes, the signs are all there, I guess you know them. Watching YouTube review videos, looking at what cars are available, checking the value of mine, doing the man maths, measuring the garage to make sure it will fit and even lurking on the forum here to glean snippets of info (who the eff is RamboLambo BTW!)
The final piece will be thinking of how I can sell it too SWMBO as to why I need to change my car...AGAIN!I'm currently in an Aston Martin V12 Vantage S and what I'm looking for advice on is:
The Cars
I can use the Aston every day. A previous itch I scratched was an F430. To me, the F430 felt it should be left on the track! The Aston however can be used every day and be taken pretty much anywhere e.g. we can take it into Waitrose car park on a Saturday morning to pick up the weekends rations. I never felt I could do that in the F430, so she languished in the garage...a lot! I realise that might just be me! I do not track my cars BTW. What I don't want to do happen is this itch getting so strong I end up buying a 540/570 and after a few months feeling it is more like the F430 than the Aston. Can any owners give me some real world experience of driving a 540/570 in everyday circumstances?
Dealers/Discounts
I'm going to see Simon at McLaren London in the next few days for a chat and to see the cars in the flesh. Any feedback on which dealers you have had a good buying experience from would be useful. London & Ascot are 35 miles from me and Birmingham 50, so can deal with either. I'm on the lookout for a nearly new/new or dealer stock car. My last couple of cars (Aston & Bentley GT Speed) purchases have been from dealer stock as that's where I found the biggest discounts can be negotiated (up to 20%). My question is what sort of discount could I expect from a dealer stock car and do dealers have many in stock? There's a really nice example of a car at Alexander's here: http://www.alexandersprestige.co.uk/stock/6818176-... What discount would I expect on a new car, specced by me?
I'm up to speed on the spec I am looking for, but would I regret going for the 540 over the 570? Reading reviews there does not appear to be a vast amount of difference in driving the two. I also read that the 540's are more difficult to shift as the price difference between the 570 is circa £17K, would that lend dealers to do more of a discount to sell?
Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks in advance for any useful information you can supply...
koorby said:
SFO said:
I bet sales folks of all sorts love you
See my post above, I saved £10k using an option pack. I never haggle for anything really, can't be arsed and it's embarrassing :Dto both me and the seller.
It must be nice to be so flush that you don't need to haggle. I have had dealers falling over themselves to give discounts to sell cars.
ksocket statement. Your car sounds fabulous though RamboLambo said:
If you don't ask you don't get but it does seem a bit rude on a McLaren.
No it isn't. I know for a fact a new buyer managed to get a 20% plus discount on a brand new 650s. I was curious to see if any 540/570 owners had experience of any small discounts on their cars. I have had discounts from AM, Bentley and Ferrari. I don't see McLaren being that high up the pecking order that discounts don't apply. Anyway the discounting is my least priority... can we move on? It's the everyday use from owners that I'd like to know about. Ta
MOD500 said:
To answer your questions in order:
The cars: seems to me (10 weeks into 540 ownership) these cars have Jekyll and Hyde character. In standard modes the car drives super smooth and quickly shuffles up the gears and very pleasant to live with, and rides better than my A8 work car. Engage powertrain sport or track mode and changes into monster, bonkers quick (remember entry level 540 timed low as 6.3 to 100), go kart handing with loads of feed back, and lightning fast shifts. The car is equally at home doing the weekend shop or providing thrills during spirited driving. The car retains real sense of occasion, feels special, and is fun if pootling or at pace, this is a big thing for an ex turbo owner such as myself, don't have to drive uber quick to enjoy and have fun.
Mac's are real growers, the more seat time and miles accrued the more realise how special and capable these cars really are.
Regards must have spec there are various threads on here but usuals are: sports exhaust, front lift, security pack, nice wheels, bit of interior jazz, and soft close doors.
540 or 570 - drive them both and make your own mind up? Regards which is best value is case specific I guess dependent on spec and price of both, and what deal can be done on certain car.
The orange 570 at Glasgow (ex press car?) and 540's at London, Glasgow, and Manc look nice:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Category=us...
I would buy from McDealer if possible, they seem to offer better value than independents plus get MTC visit included and discount on MSO parts, etc.
Dealers / discounts:
As others said is doubtful would get money off new car order. Though I think would be possible to get discount on new registered zero or low miles physical car, demo's pop up at decent money (mine is ex Brum demo car), and used cars could get discount for sure. If you don't ask then don't get !
I dealt with Charles Walsey and Gary Pugh at Brum, was excellent buying experience with straight talking no nonsense approach and I was happy with deal. Brum is biggest selling McDealer in the world for good reason.
Enjoy the search and do post up your thoughts after test drive
Well done RL, congratulations and enjoy
Many thanks for taking the time to give such a detailed opinion. Exactly what I am after. Really pleased to hear that it is a grower and can be used everyday. Even more please when you change the settings it turns into a beast!!The cars: seems to me (10 weeks into 540 ownership) these cars have Jekyll and Hyde character. In standard modes the car drives super smooth and quickly shuffles up the gears and very pleasant to live with, and rides better than my A8 work car. Engage powertrain sport or track mode and changes into monster, bonkers quick (remember entry level 540 timed low as 6.3 to 100), go kart handing with loads of feed back, and lightning fast shifts. The car is equally at home doing the weekend shop or providing thrills during spirited driving. The car retains real sense of occasion, feels special, and is fun if pootling or at pace, this is a big thing for an ex turbo owner such as myself, don't have to drive uber quick to enjoy and have fun.
Mac's are real growers, the more seat time and miles accrued the more realise how special and capable these cars really are.
Regards must have spec there are various threads on here but usuals are: sports exhaust, front lift, security pack, nice wheels, bit of interior jazz, and soft close doors.
540 or 570 - drive them both and make your own mind up? Regards which is best value is case specific I guess dependent on spec and price of both, and what deal can be done on certain car.
The orange 570 at Glasgow (ex press car?) and 540's at London, Glasgow, and Manc look nice:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Category=us...
I would buy from McDealer if possible, they seem to offer better value than independents plus get MTC visit included and discount on MSO parts, etc.
Dealers / discounts:
As others said is doubtful would get money off new car order. Though I think would be possible to get discount on new registered zero or low miles physical car, demo's pop up at decent money (mine is ex Brum demo car), and used cars could get discount for sure. If you don't ask then don't get !
I dealt with Charles Walsey and Gary Pugh at Brum, was excellent buying experience with straight talking no nonsense approach and I was happy with deal. Brum is biggest selling McDealer in the world for good reason.
Enjoy the search and do post up your thoughts after test drive
Well done RL, congratulations and enjoy
Edited by MOD500 on Friday 27th January 23:09
I'm popping in to London on Monday to meet Simon and have a real good look around the cars and get a good feel of what they are like. Journey begins.
Thanks again
Wow a lot of info in that post thanks. So maybe I should go and see all the cars with an open mind? For me, thoughI love the rear of the 540/570, so cool, compared to the 650. The interior of the 650 looks better. All IMHO of course.
I should drive all three but it's how the 540/570 looks that are attracting me to buy one and I'm very sure that's the way I'll jump.
I should drive all three but it's how the 540/570 looks that are attracting me to buy one and I'm very sure that's the way I'll jump.
RSK21 said:
Frankie
I'm going through exactly the same decision making process as you.
Greatly enjoyed your former SP10 but now looking at something new.
The guys at Mac London (Simon and Zac) have been very helpful so far and interestingly both are from our neck of the woods being ex MBMK.
Hope the day goes well and let us know how you get on.
Glad you enjoyed the SP10. How far down the road are you on your decision process? I met Simon on Monday and waiting for him to come back to me with some figures on their dealer stock 570S. Off to another dealer on Wednesday to have a test drive (London's demo had a puncture!) Interestingly I have had some eye opening (in a good way) figures emailed across for a Huracan 580-2!! I'm going through exactly the same decision making process as you.
Greatly enjoyed your former SP10 but now looking at something new.
The guys at Mac London (Simon and Zac) have been very helpful so far and interestingly both are from our neck of the woods being ex MBMK.
Hope the day goes well and let us know how you get on.
RamboLambo said:
DarrenKMC said:
A stock car is a different proposition to a fresh order, Lamborghini is very strong at the moment, no discounts on new cars unless its a package purchase.
Appreciate that but if its a good spec that you like with few if any compromises its the way to go to save yourself a fortune.If you order to spec from the factory they have you over a barrel so I would be surprised if they gave you any discount at all. Why would they need to as you are desperate to have the car of your choice. Its not different to McLaren, Ferrari etc....
The car I was offered was a lovely colour combination and good spec and TBH there is no way I would of paid the difference to list to order something else. It was not a massive compromise and certainly not as big as the discount.
Finding a stock unit of your liking is my preferred way to buy
My last few purchases have been dealer stock cars with a few little compromises from what I would have ordered newifrom factory. The discounts secured were too good to ignore. Each to their own however and I totally get those that want the experience of exactly speccing their car to their wishes.
Guys, thanks for all the advice.
I have ended up buying a dealer stock 540C in blade silver. It is as close to the spec that I would have chosen if I had specced it myself for factory order as I could wish for and am therefore very happy.
Highlights are blade silver, McLaren design sports 4 interior...alcantara galore!, carbon interior components, security pack, sports exhaust, stealth wheels and exhaust finish, soft close doors. Currently very excited about picking it up.
Many thanks to all those that took time to respond to my questions.
I have ended up buying a dealer stock 540C in blade silver. It is as close to the spec that I would have chosen if I had specced it myself for factory order as I could wish for and am therefore very happy.
Highlights are blade silver, McLaren design sports 4 interior...alcantara galore!, carbon interior components, security pack, sports exhaust, stealth wheels and exhaust finish, soft close doors. Currently very excited about picking it up.
Many thanks to all those that took time to respond to my questions.
Gettoff said:
Nicely done Frankie, be interested to hear your thoughts in comparison to the V12VS. If you don't mind me asking, did you p/ex it or let Works take it off your hands?
ETA you may now have both of course!
Thanks Jeff, AM Bristol took it off my hands as they wanted stock. Works had 5 V12VS in stock so Justin and Simon didn't want another. Unfortunately not enough dough to keep both!! I'll let you know my thoughts in a month or so after some weeks in the McLaren. ETA you may now have both of course!
Yes exciting times indeed.
Both the 540 and 570 where on my radar. Like you say real world performance between the two wasn't a concern. Styling wise I think the 570 is slightly better on the eye due to the wider side strakes and front aero blades in shiny Paladium.
My budget would not stretch to a new 570 so a used one was a possibility. In the end it came down to buying a spanking brand new 540 or used 570. For the price I paid for the new 540 I could not get a used 570, not without silly miles on the clock anyway. So I opted for the new 540, saved some cash and got myself a brand new McLaren.
I am toying with painting the front aero blades to shiny Paladium which I have been told could be done...
Both the 540 and 570 where on my radar. Like you say real world performance between the two wasn't a concern. Styling wise I think the 570 is slightly better on the eye due to the wider side strakes and front aero blades in shiny Paladium.
My budget would not stretch to a new 570 so a used one was a possibility. In the end it came down to buying a spanking brand new 540 or used 570. For the price I paid for the new 540 I could not get a used 570, not without silly miles on the clock anyway. So I opted for the new 540, saved some cash and got myself a brand new McLaren.
I am toying with painting the front aero blades to shiny Paladium which I have been told could be done...
Well fellas today's the day I pick up my Blade Silver 540C from MacBrum...getting excited. Shame the weather isn't better!
One thing I had done prior to delivery was to have the front splitter and aero blades painted in dark Palladium. I wasn't that happy with the look of the standard ones.
So Ian Groves at MacBrum, who BTW has been excellent throughout my buying experience, organised MacBrum's body shop to have them painted. He sent me a "teaser" picture:
To me I think it makes the front of the car look much better...IMHO of course.
Edited to say the car in first picture is their old demo.
One thing I had done prior to delivery was to have the front splitter and aero blades painted in dark Palladium. I wasn't that happy with the look of the standard ones.
So Ian Groves at MacBrum, who BTW has been excellent throughout my buying experience, organised MacBrum's body shop to have them painted. He sent me a "teaser" picture:
To me I think it makes the front of the car look much better...IMHO of course.
Edited to say the car in first picture is their old demo.
Edited by FrankieMac on Friday 3rd March 08:00
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