Living with a McLaren 650s Spider as an (almost) daily
Discussion
I collected my 650S Spider yesterday - it has replaced a couple of other cars and I plan to use it as a semi-daily car. I kept a running report of my Aston (one of the cars it replaced) and thought I'd do the same thing for the Spider. Similar to Justins 540 thread - however, I don't have his camera skills, a drone, or such stunning scenery nearby so mine is likely to be a tad less picture rich!
Before I give my first impressions of owning the car, I think it's worth summarising how I got here, what my expectations are etc. Some of this is mentioned on another thread but I'll repeat it here for completeness.
So - until yesterday I owned 4 cars. A Ferrari 360, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, an old Porsche Cayenne and an Alfa Romeo Spider. Each has their strengths, but the car that really makes me smile on a bad day is the Ferrari - down a twisty road, it's magical - despite its age and (these days) relative lack of power. For me, it has the perfect balance of power / weight.
However, the g/f was less impressed with my car choices - or more particularly, the fact that when it's sunny I want to use the Aston or Ferrari, not the convertible Alfa. So a few months ago she suggested I should look at replacing the Ferrari or Aston with a convertible. My initial "no" gradually eroded and I started considering 458 Spiders or McLarens.
I have wanted a McLaren since the 12C came out - I still remember the first one I saw in the flesh, I thought it was amazing - although it never occurred to me that I'd ever own one.
I also think that the 458 is the first Ferrari in years where they've managed to make it as beautiful as the 355 - and they are supposed to be very good cars to drive as well (although I've never liked the styling of the centre vents).
In the end, I didn't look seriously at 458s though. The increased cost (Spider would be £40k more than I paid for the McLaren, and that would be for an older car) combined with the fact that I WANTED a McLaren meant I had to follow my heart. There is very little logic to it - it really is the kid in me thinking "those doors are so cool, and it's got an air brake!!!!!".
Initially, I intended to replace the 360. However, my initial test drive in the 650 threw me completely. The 360 feels like a pretty raw sports car - at lease compared to the 650. The 650 just felt very composed - it really did feel like a car your gran could drive to the shops - albeit very quickly. It reminded me very much of the 996 turbo I owned a few years back - very fast, but not very exciting.
However the kid in me still wanted one, and some interesting man maths meant that a deal was struck to part ex my Aston and Alfa for the McLaren. A second test drive down a twisty road I knew convinced me it was a good idea - and that maybe (in time) the McLaren could replace the 360,
I think it's important to clarify that I'm not going into this as a McLaren fanboy, You know all those people who say "I love the cars, but I'm not willing to buy one yet because they depreciate so fast / they don't have the dealer backup / they don't have the build quality" etc. etc? I am one of those people - I have even made similar comments in the past. £5k for a warranty????? £3k for a battery???? You must be kidding me.
I do have concerns about buying this car - not least that I've just wiped out a large amount of capital! I don't like the fact that everything is McLaren - I know Thorney exist, but that's hardly the same as a network of indies. On my Ferrari (and the Aston) - you could often find the part was the same as another much cheaper car and save yourself a fortune. With McLaren, you can't.
The consumables are likely to be eye watering. I mentioned batteries, but I've never ever wanted a car with carbon discs - but now I own one. On the other hand, I suppose they are supposed to last a long time......
Depreciation is (very) often mentioned with McLarens, and - in a time when other exotic cars were increasing in value - it clearly has been a problem. And I do think a lot of that is over supply - I did get the impression McLaren Ascot really were keen to shift some cars! On the other hand, my Spider cost me ~50% of its new price, maybe slightly more - and for a car approaching 5 years old that doesn't seem so bad. Obviously, considering the cost of these cars that's a lot of cash, and I no doubt lost money driving it off the forecourt - but on the other hand, this car really should be out of my league and the depreciation means I now own it!
So, I am going into this with eyes open. I've bought a car which I know won't be that easy to sell - on the other hand, people aren't exactly queueing around the block to buy Astons or Ferrari's either. I know that there will be costs which make my eyes water, and I may decide they are simply too high, I may decide it's an unreliable pile of junk and decide to ditch it - although if that's the case, at least I have a warranty until 2021.
Over the last few years, I have felt I spent too much on cars - especially when the Ferrari spends a lot of the year tucked up in the garage. So part of the thinking when buying this was that if I am going to start being more sensible with my money - I'd like to go out on a high! Plus - since I plan to use the car pretty much daily - at least until proper winter - it's a much more sensible use of money since it's not costing me money to service a car I rarely use. Obviously I still own the Ferrari, which does make that argument rather senseless - but I'm sticking to it.
I think that summarises my thoughts going into this. I have probably just made the worst financial decision of my life - but if I die next week, I'd rather have spent it driving a 650 Spider than checking my bank balance. Lets see how ownership actually goes.
Before I give my first impressions of owning the car, I think it's worth summarising how I got here, what my expectations are etc. Some of this is mentioned on another thread but I'll repeat it here for completeness.
So - until yesterday I owned 4 cars. A Ferrari 360, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, an old Porsche Cayenne and an Alfa Romeo Spider. Each has their strengths, but the car that really makes me smile on a bad day is the Ferrari - down a twisty road, it's magical - despite its age and (these days) relative lack of power. For me, it has the perfect balance of power / weight.
However, the g/f was less impressed with my car choices - or more particularly, the fact that when it's sunny I want to use the Aston or Ferrari, not the convertible Alfa. So a few months ago she suggested I should look at replacing the Ferrari or Aston with a convertible. My initial "no" gradually eroded and I started considering 458 Spiders or McLarens.
I have wanted a McLaren since the 12C came out - I still remember the first one I saw in the flesh, I thought it was amazing - although it never occurred to me that I'd ever own one.
I also think that the 458 is the first Ferrari in years where they've managed to make it as beautiful as the 355 - and they are supposed to be very good cars to drive as well (although I've never liked the styling of the centre vents).
In the end, I didn't look seriously at 458s though. The increased cost (Spider would be £40k more than I paid for the McLaren, and that would be for an older car) combined with the fact that I WANTED a McLaren meant I had to follow my heart. There is very little logic to it - it really is the kid in me thinking "those doors are so cool, and it's got an air brake!!!!!".
Initially, I intended to replace the 360. However, my initial test drive in the 650 threw me completely. The 360 feels like a pretty raw sports car - at lease compared to the 650. The 650 just felt very composed - it really did feel like a car your gran could drive to the shops - albeit very quickly. It reminded me very much of the 996 turbo I owned a few years back - very fast, but not very exciting.
However the kid in me still wanted one, and some interesting man maths meant that a deal was struck to part ex my Aston and Alfa for the McLaren. A second test drive down a twisty road I knew convinced me it was a good idea - and that maybe (in time) the McLaren could replace the 360,
I think it's important to clarify that I'm not going into this as a McLaren fanboy, You know all those people who say "I love the cars, but I'm not willing to buy one yet because they depreciate so fast / they don't have the dealer backup / they don't have the build quality" etc. etc? I am one of those people - I have even made similar comments in the past. £5k for a warranty????? £3k for a battery???? You must be kidding me.
I do have concerns about buying this car - not least that I've just wiped out a large amount of capital! I don't like the fact that everything is McLaren - I know Thorney exist, but that's hardly the same as a network of indies. On my Ferrari (and the Aston) - you could often find the part was the same as another much cheaper car and save yourself a fortune. With McLaren, you can't.
The consumables are likely to be eye watering. I mentioned batteries, but I've never ever wanted a car with carbon discs - but now I own one. On the other hand, I suppose they are supposed to last a long time......
Depreciation is (very) often mentioned with McLarens, and - in a time when other exotic cars were increasing in value - it clearly has been a problem. And I do think a lot of that is over supply - I did get the impression McLaren Ascot really were keen to shift some cars! On the other hand, my Spider cost me ~50% of its new price, maybe slightly more - and for a car approaching 5 years old that doesn't seem so bad. Obviously, considering the cost of these cars that's a lot of cash, and I no doubt lost money driving it off the forecourt - but on the other hand, this car really should be out of my league and the depreciation means I now own it!
So, I am going into this with eyes open. I've bought a car which I know won't be that easy to sell - on the other hand, people aren't exactly queueing around the block to buy Astons or Ferrari's either. I know that there will be costs which make my eyes water, and I may decide they are simply too high, I may decide it's an unreliable pile of junk and decide to ditch it - although if that's the case, at least I have a warranty until 2021.
Over the last few years, I have felt I spent too much on cars - especially when the Ferrari spends a lot of the year tucked up in the garage. So part of the thinking when buying this was that if I am going to start being more sensible with my money - I'd like to go out on a high! Plus - since I plan to use the car pretty much daily - at least until proper winter - it's a much more sensible use of money since it's not costing me money to service a car I rarely use. Obviously I still own the Ferrari, which does make that argument rather senseless - but I'm sticking to it.
I think that summarises my thoughts going into this. I have probably just made the worst financial decision of my life - but if I die next week, I'd rather have spent it driving a 650 Spider than checking my bank balance. Lets see how ownership actually goes.
So, yesterday I collected this :
I think we only covered 100-150 miles yesterday, because although the weather was perfect I've got a stinking cold at the moment. Even so, it was enough for some first impressions.
The initial impressions were not positive actually. When I got it home, I'm sure the reversing sensors were not working - front clearly were and are very obvious - but the rears didn't. Fortunately, no damage to the car when I touched the fence..... They did start working later in the day, so I will keep an eye on them.
Other negative was noticing this when I got the car home. I don't remember this when I viewed the car - and I did check the wheels. This is by far the worst (driver side rear) but one or two of the others are showing signs too :
So, not a great start. I sent a photo to McLaren Ascot and will visit them on Tuesday to see what they say.
Apart from that the car is in amazing condition. In the bright sunlight the paint sparkles -- far more than I realised it did when I viewed the car. It really is absolutely gorgeous.
I don't like cars that get attention, but I was aware this would. And it does - a lot. We stopped at a pub, and as we were paying the waiter asked about the car. I filled up with petrol and the cashier asked about the car. Driving through Tesco car park and a kid shouted out "is that a McLaren?". Kids at the house opposite mine came and stared at the car when they arrived home - and then sat in it and started it up. Was slightly concerned with the "how do I turn it off" while hovering his hand over the drive button!
When I test drove the car, I kept it in Auto mode and thought it was very good. But getting used to the manual changes yesterday, I then found it pretty annoying going back to auto. If you want to trundle around it's fine. If you want to go ballistically fast, it's fine. But anything in between doesn't work quite so well because it sits in such a high gear - although using Sport does help that.
Having said that, even in manual mode I'm not sure it's easy to avoid ballistic. There were a few times when I pulled out on a short dual carriageway to overtake somebody "normally". The problem is, "normally" still means speed builds very fast - it clearly takes some practice!
We took the car down a mix of roads yesterday, including a fast run down a twisty part of the A272, The car was amazing down that stretch of road - although I confess I found it slightly disappointing.
It was very impressive. Very very quick, and incredible brakes when braking from high speed. It literally cornered on rails - I'm sure I was cornering faster than I would have in the 360, and yet it really felt like the car could have done it much much faster. And I'm not sure that's actually a good thing - it might simply be too damn good for the road. And perhaps it lacks the drama that an old Ferrari does - which was my concern on my first test drive.
It's not to say I'm unhappy with the car - I'm very impressed with it and it will take me time to gel with it properly - it always does, But I felt that at the end of that run, my smile would have been bigger in the Ferrari.
Interestingly though - my g/f's reaction was different from mine. Although we do go quickly in the 360, she's never been a big fan of going fast down a twisty road. We do - but it's clearly not her favourite thing - and when I took for around Rockingham on the Supercar weekend she made me go back to the pits after one lap.
At the end of the run in the McLaren, she said : "That was amazing!", She says she feels much safer in it, and although it's much faster it feels much more controlled.
For a passenger, that's obviously a good thing - as a driver, I'm not sure yet if it is. It does confirm that the McLaren lacks the drama my 360 has.
But again, that's not to say I'm disappointed. This is exactly the reason the 650 didn't replace the Ferrari. And it's very early days - I need to get used to the car and what it can do
The suspension is amazing, it really does work very well on crap English roads in Normal. My only complaint - and it is an odd one when you consider the car - is that if you're really not in the mood, and just want to trundle along in auto / normal then it can't quite manage it - because it's a bit loud. It never quite lets you forget that it's kind of pretending to be normal.....
Overall, I'm very happy with the car. I'm disappointed with the wheels - I'm sure they weren't like that when I viewed the car - but hopefully that can be sorted
The car will be living outside - it won't fit in my garage, and although it would be lovely to build a much bigger garage or move to a mansion with a 6 car garage - if I did that, I couldn't afford the cars to put in it!
I intend to update this thread regularly - especially in the beginning. Hopefully, it will tend more towards the "it's still amazing" than "bloody hell, something else has broken". Time will tell.
Oh - and I must confess, the novelty of the doors might wear off. They are soooooo cool, But I'm already thinking it would be easier to get in with normal doors! On the other hand - I can see my brake pads are going to last 5 minutes. It is actually worth going fast with Aero engaged just so I can brake hard and watch the air brake flip up. I really am a child - I do have cool toys though.
I think we only covered 100-150 miles yesterday, because although the weather was perfect I've got a stinking cold at the moment. Even so, it was enough for some first impressions.
The initial impressions were not positive actually. When I got it home, I'm sure the reversing sensors were not working - front clearly were and are very obvious - but the rears didn't. Fortunately, no damage to the car when I touched the fence..... They did start working later in the day, so I will keep an eye on them.
Other negative was noticing this when I got the car home. I don't remember this when I viewed the car - and I did check the wheels. This is by far the worst (driver side rear) but one or two of the others are showing signs too :
So, not a great start. I sent a photo to McLaren Ascot and will visit them on Tuesday to see what they say.
Apart from that the car is in amazing condition. In the bright sunlight the paint sparkles -- far more than I realised it did when I viewed the car. It really is absolutely gorgeous.
I don't like cars that get attention, but I was aware this would. And it does - a lot. We stopped at a pub, and as we were paying the waiter asked about the car. I filled up with petrol and the cashier asked about the car. Driving through Tesco car park and a kid shouted out "is that a McLaren?". Kids at the house opposite mine came and stared at the car when they arrived home - and then sat in it and started it up. Was slightly concerned with the "how do I turn it off" while hovering his hand over the drive button!
When I test drove the car, I kept it in Auto mode and thought it was very good. But getting used to the manual changes yesterday, I then found it pretty annoying going back to auto. If you want to trundle around it's fine. If you want to go ballistically fast, it's fine. But anything in between doesn't work quite so well because it sits in such a high gear - although using Sport does help that.
Having said that, even in manual mode I'm not sure it's easy to avoid ballistic. There were a few times when I pulled out on a short dual carriageway to overtake somebody "normally". The problem is, "normally" still means speed builds very fast - it clearly takes some practice!
We took the car down a mix of roads yesterday, including a fast run down a twisty part of the A272, The car was amazing down that stretch of road - although I confess I found it slightly disappointing.
It was very impressive. Very very quick, and incredible brakes when braking from high speed. It literally cornered on rails - I'm sure I was cornering faster than I would have in the 360, and yet it really felt like the car could have done it much much faster. And I'm not sure that's actually a good thing - it might simply be too damn good for the road. And perhaps it lacks the drama that an old Ferrari does - which was my concern on my first test drive.
It's not to say I'm unhappy with the car - I'm very impressed with it and it will take me time to gel with it properly - it always does, But I felt that at the end of that run, my smile would have been bigger in the Ferrari.
Interestingly though - my g/f's reaction was different from mine. Although we do go quickly in the 360, she's never been a big fan of going fast down a twisty road. We do - but it's clearly not her favourite thing - and when I took for around Rockingham on the Supercar weekend she made me go back to the pits after one lap.
At the end of the run in the McLaren, she said : "That was amazing!", She says she feels much safer in it, and although it's much faster it feels much more controlled.
For a passenger, that's obviously a good thing - as a driver, I'm not sure yet if it is. It does confirm that the McLaren lacks the drama my 360 has.
But again, that's not to say I'm disappointed. This is exactly the reason the 650 didn't replace the Ferrari. And it's very early days - I need to get used to the car and what it can do
The suspension is amazing, it really does work very well on crap English roads in Normal. My only complaint - and it is an odd one when you consider the car - is that if you're really not in the mood, and just want to trundle along in auto / normal then it can't quite manage it - because it's a bit loud. It never quite lets you forget that it's kind of pretending to be normal.....
Overall, I'm very happy with the car. I'm disappointed with the wheels - I'm sure they weren't like that when I viewed the car - but hopefully that can be sorted
The car will be living outside - it won't fit in my garage, and although it would be lovely to build a much bigger garage or move to a mansion with a 6 car garage - if I did that, I couldn't afford the cars to put in it!
I intend to update this thread regularly - especially in the beginning. Hopefully, it will tend more towards the "it's still amazing" than "bloody hell, something else has broken". Time will tell.
Oh - and I must confess, the novelty of the doors might wear off. They are soooooo cool, But I'm already thinking it would be easier to get in with normal doors! On the other hand - I can see my brake pads are going to last 5 minutes. It is actually worth going fast with Aero engaged just so I can brake hard and watch the air brake flip up. I really am a child - I do have cool toys though.
I need to build up to McLaren owners club - I'm not on Facebook and don't really want to be. But can't do much until I have the V5 anyway, so we'll see.
Thanks for the advice on the wheels.
First fault today! I've been going in and out of the car to play with the audio stuff and one time it refused to unlock by touch. When I opened with the key fob, the window dropped much further than usual and didn't go up when I closed the door. Had to do it with the window switch, and now seems happy again.
However, although that's obviously not a great start on day 2 - my 360 sometimes gets confused about what the windows should do. So I'm not really counting that as concern.
Incidentally - maybe because I'm a bit unwell, I didn't really get an 'Oh my god' moment when I collected the car yesterday. But this morning, when I opened the bedroom curtains and saw it on the drive - and even more when I walked out to it - I really did. That is one damn good looking car.
Thanks for the advice on the wheels.
First fault today! I've been going in and out of the car to play with the audio stuff and one time it refused to unlock by touch. When I opened with the key fob, the window dropped much further than usual and didn't go up when I closed the door. Had to do it with the window switch, and now seems happy again.
However, although that's obviously not a great start on day 2 - my 360 sometimes gets confused about what the windows should do. So I'm not really counting that as concern.
Incidentally - maybe because I'm a bit unwell, I didn't really get an 'Oh my god' moment when I collected the car yesterday. But this morning, when I opened the bedroom curtains and saw it on the drive - and even more when I walked out to it - I really did. That is one damn good looking car.
justin220 said:
Great thread, and looking forward to the updates. Must admit I'm surprised at your disappointment. Are you comparing it to the Aston it replaced, or the 360?
I liked the Aston a lot. But there isn't really a comparison - the McLaren is far better at what I used the Aston for (although the sound system in the Aston was awesome).I meant the Ferrari. I think it's probably an unfair comparison - I've owned the Ferrari for 6 years and at that point hadn't even owned the McLaren for 6 hours. But the Ferrari has 'something' when you're thrashing it down a twisty road and I haven't found it in the McLaren yet. But - I remember that I only really found that in the Ferrari after my first supercar weekend - using it on the track really showed me what it could do, and I have enjoyed the car much more since then. I suspect the same is probably true of the 650 - but I also think it's partly because it is so amazingly capable. It literally feels glued to the road around the bends and made me feel quite inadequate!
Obviously I'm not going to update this thread daily - but since I've had it a couple of days now I thought I'd add a few more thoughts.
The paintwork really is stunning - the weather has been perfect for showing that, and in direct sunlight it's stunning. Volcano Orange seems to be about 4 different colours depending how the light is falling.
IRIS is crap. I'd heard it was in the 12Cs, and thought it was better - but I'm not sure it is. It's crashed on me once when I entered the car and couldn't even play the radio. It was fine once the car was locked / used later.
Actually - the sound quality is crap too - at least it is with the roof down. I think I tried it on the test drive (with the roof on) and thought it was pretty good but I'm not impressed with it so far. To be fair, the Aston had a superb sound system - and I think I only have the basic Meridian package in the car - but I think it should be better.
Since I'm mentioning the negatives - most of the interior is pretty nice - carbon, leather etc. However - while routing the cable from the USB port to the front of the car for the dash cam etc - it was clear that some parts (e.g. the sides of the centre tunnel) are cheap plastic - pretty poor on a car that expensive. I think the Aston interior was better quality.
But - that's certainly enough of the negatives.
Today, I got my first drive without g/f in the passenger seat. Not all that long - 20 mins - but it was a chance to have a bit more fun. Traffic limited it somewhat, but even so it was very very good. Cornering really was amazing - not a twisty road this time, but out of town roundabouts.
In fact, although one of the most obvious things about the car is its acceleration (and I suppose top speed) - that's not really what impresses me the most - it is all the other stuff (the suspension, cornering and brakes).
I'm sitting here now, feeling pretty unhealthy due to the cold I've had all week and glad I can just do nothing for the rest of the day. And yet, I'm thinking - the g/f isn't around, I could take the car on a 100 mile run...... That has to be a good sign!
Gratuitous pic
The paintwork really is stunning - the weather has been perfect for showing that, and in direct sunlight it's stunning. Volcano Orange seems to be about 4 different colours depending how the light is falling.
IRIS is crap. I'd heard it was in the 12Cs, and thought it was better - but I'm not sure it is. It's crashed on me once when I entered the car and couldn't even play the radio. It was fine once the car was locked / used later.
Actually - the sound quality is crap too - at least it is with the roof down. I think I tried it on the test drive (with the roof on) and thought it was pretty good but I'm not impressed with it so far. To be fair, the Aston had a superb sound system - and I think I only have the basic Meridian package in the car - but I think it should be better.
Since I'm mentioning the negatives - most of the interior is pretty nice - carbon, leather etc. However - while routing the cable from the USB port to the front of the car for the dash cam etc - it was clear that some parts (e.g. the sides of the centre tunnel) are cheap plastic - pretty poor on a car that expensive. I think the Aston interior was better quality.
But - that's certainly enough of the negatives.
Today, I got my first drive without g/f in the passenger seat. Not all that long - 20 mins - but it was a chance to have a bit more fun. Traffic limited it somewhat, but even so it was very very good. Cornering really was amazing - not a twisty road this time, but out of town roundabouts.
In fact, although one of the most obvious things about the car is its acceleration (and I suppose top speed) - that's not really what impresses me the most - it is all the other stuff (the suspension, cornering and brakes).
I'm sitting here now, feeling pretty unhealthy due to the cold I've had all week and glad I can just do nothing for the rest of the day. And yet, I'm thinking - the g/f isn't around, I could take the car on a 100 mile run...... That has to be a good sign!
Gratuitous pic
Edited by davek_964 on Monday 26th August 15:38
Well, I did go for a drive - my favourite route, which is usually ~100 miles but in this case was just over 50 because they'd closed a road and the diversion signs took me back to the start of the diversion.....It was the best drive I've had in the car though - I've got used to manual gear changes and the way the car behaves a bit more already so it was a good chance to really see what it could do.
Sadly, on the first part of the best road - I was half a dozen cars back from a very big horse lorry. It took a few miles, but eventually I did get past - and since that had been going slowly and keeping the traffic behind it, it meant I had a pretty clear run.
The car was amazing - the steering is so precise, and it really does inspire confidence. On one of the bends, I thought I was going very slightly too fast - not an "I'm going to end up in the hedge" fast, but definitely a bit quicker than I should be - but slightly increasing the turn in, and the car tightened up instantly.
The car really was superb and I really enjoyed it. This time, I'm not sure I would have been smiling more if I'd been using the Ferrari (in fact, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have got past the horse box) - which is not to say the Ferrari is going anywhere. But it did begin to show me just how good the 650 can be.
On the way back, the lack of sleep for the past few nights really did kick in - stuck it in auto / normal / normal and it's suddenly such a nice relaxing car to drive.
At one point, I thought even the stereo sounded better - however, I seem to be having an issue with it - both radio and USB flash drive. Sometimes it seems to play fine, but often I keep getting gaps of a second or two in the sound. It's pretty annoying.
Also not sure about the oil level check. I checked it on Saturday when I got home - obviously the oil level should be fine having collected it that day - it was green / OK, but was a few blocks below the line on the level display which made me wonder if it was slightly low. However - my driveway isn't completely flat so I didn't add any oil.
Tested it again on the way home in Tesco car park - and all blocks were filled, and it's telling me it's overfilled! Obviously it was a spirited drive - but I'd been driving pretty slowly for about 15 mins.
So not sure whether I believe the oil reading.
Still very glad I bought it - the more I use it, the more it impresses me.
Sadly, on the first part of the best road - I was half a dozen cars back from a very big horse lorry. It took a few miles, but eventually I did get past - and since that had been going slowly and keeping the traffic behind it, it meant I had a pretty clear run.
The car was amazing - the steering is so precise, and it really does inspire confidence. On one of the bends, I thought I was going very slightly too fast - not an "I'm going to end up in the hedge" fast, but definitely a bit quicker than I should be - but slightly increasing the turn in, and the car tightened up instantly.
The car really was superb and I really enjoyed it. This time, I'm not sure I would have been smiling more if I'd been using the Ferrari (in fact, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have got past the horse box) - which is not to say the Ferrari is going anywhere. But it did begin to show me just how good the 650 can be.
On the way back, the lack of sleep for the past few nights really did kick in - stuck it in auto / normal / normal and it's suddenly such a nice relaxing car to drive.
At one point, I thought even the stereo sounded better - however, I seem to be having an issue with it - both radio and USB flash drive. Sometimes it seems to play fine, but often I keep getting gaps of a second or two in the sound. It's pretty annoying.
Also not sure about the oil level check. I checked it on Saturday when I got home - obviously the oil level should be fine having collected it that day - it was green / OK, but was a few blocks below the line on the level display which made me wonder if it was slightly low. However - my driveway isn't completely flat so I didn't add any oil.
Tested it again on the way home in Tesco car park - and all blocks were filled, and it's telling me it's overfilled! Obviously it was a spirited drive - but I'd been driving pretty slowly for about 15 mins.
So not sure whether I believe the oil reading.
Still very glad I bought it - the more I use it, the more it impresses me.
jeremyc said:
Thanks - that's what I did, although my oil temp was slightly over 100 which might explain why it said it was over filled. I'll check it again tomorrow before going to the dealer.
crimbo said:
How wide is your garage inside?
About 2340mm inside, which is too narrow to get the doors open. Even if it wasn't - because I kept my 360, it's better to keep that in the garage as an occasional car rather than the 650 which I plan to use much more often.justin220 said:
I think it'll grow slowly on you. They really have a massive breadth of ability. A proper do everything car.
Once you get a bit more used to the performance etc, it'll be interesting to see what you think of the 360
Yes, I'm interested to see that myself. At the moment, I'm still glad I kept the 360 - but years ago, I bought a 911 turbo and kept my older 911. Eventually it became clear I'd stopped using the older 911 so it's possible that will happen with the 360. At the moment, I don't think it will - but we'll see.Once you get a bit more used to the performance etc, it'll be interesting to see what you think of the 360
Today, I think I've hit my first serious fault.
I've mentioned on another thread that I had an annoying issue with the (music) sound briefly cutting out for a second or two at a time. Somebody suggested that it may be because speed warnings were enabled on the sat nav, but with the navigation volume turned right down. That was the case, so probably is the cause - however, to prove that I needed to put a destination into the sat nav and drive around the block.
Reversing off my drive, the steering felt very odd - quite jerky, and before I got properly onto the road I got a fairly horrible alerting sound and a warning on the dash - didn't have my glasses on but I believe it said 'POC failure, stop engine immediately'. Pulled back onto the drive and stopped the car.
Started it a few seconds later and it was error free (and isn't showing anything on the error screen). No idea what 'POC' is - can't find it with a search - buy given how odd the steering felt I guess it might be related to that.
A bit disappointing that a proper serious fault has occurred so soon. I didn't have my phone on me but will see if it happens again and will get a picture of the error message if it does.
I've mentioned on another thread that I had an annoying issue with the (music) sound briefly cutting out for a second or two at a time. Somebody suggested that it may be because speed warnings were enabled on the sat nav, but with the navigation volume turned right down. That was the case, so probably is the cause - however, to prove that I needed to put a destination into the sat nav and drive around the block.
Reversing off my drive, the steering felt very odd - quite jerky, and before I got properly onto the road I got a fairly horrible alerting sound and a warning on the dash - didn't have my glasses on but I believe it said 'POC failure, stop engine immediately'. Pulled back onto the drive and stopped the car.
Started it a few seconds later and it was error free (and isn't showing anything on the error screen). No idea what 'POC' is - can't find it with a search - buy given how odd the steering felt I guess it might be related to that.
A bit disappointing that a proper serious fault has occurred so soon. I didn't have my phone on me but will see if it happens again and will get a picture of the error message if it does.
Edited by davek_964 on Thursday 29th August 07:01
MAC 720S said:
I have had two power steering failures in the 720S. The car has been in for some work to be done, including a software update which should hopefully address the issue. I think a lot of faults are not really faults, they are over sensitive sensors with very fine margin for error.
Don’t forget that you have a fall-back position to reject the vehicle within 30 days from point of sale for serious faults if the supplying dealer is unable to fix them. The time in the dealership for repair is added to the 30 days. It would be diligent to put in writing all issues you have experienced and send to the dealership so there is an audit trail.
I've been mailing the dealer and they've been very helpful so far. I mailed them about the issue this morning, but obviously it's too early for them to answer yet.Don’t forget that you have a fall-back position to reject the vehicle within 30 days from point of sale for serious faults if the supplying dealer is unable to fix them. The time in the dealership for repair is added to the 30 days. It would be diligent to put in writing all issues you have experienced and send to the dealership so there is an audit trail.
So far, I'm still happy with the car - and the warranty means I'm not too worried anyway, although I will be very unhappy if the car does have regular faults.
Once the service department confirm today that the error message doesn't mean the engine is about to self destruct, I plan to go on a long drive today and really see how the car behaves.
PCC makes more sense - next time will put my glasses on!
This morning's highlight is.... I stole my car. I had a text from Tracker this morning saying that the battery in the Tracker fob was getting low. Looked up the instructions and changed the battery.
However, the instructions I found said that after the changing the battery I should switch it on - hold the button, the LED would flash and when it stopped flashing I should release the button.
My LED came on constantly when I held the button, but after about 6s went out. Job done I thought.
What I didn't check is that the LED was now flashing. What I'd actually done was switch it off. Lesson learned, and for anybody else who needs to do it - 4s seems to be the right time, and release the button before the LED goes out. And make sure it's flashing!
Apart from that, it was a decent drive although not the long drive I had planned. No problems with audio, so think that's solved - and no error messages.
I am slightly concerned that I've had the car since Saturday and just filled up for the 3rd time - and think I've only done 300-400 miles. Guess it's got a small tank - although I haven't been letting it get too low.
This morning's highlight is.... I stole my car. I had a text from Tracker this morning saying that the battery in the Tracker fob was getting low. Looked up the instructions and changed the battery.
However, the instructions I found said that after the changing the battery I should switch it on - hold the button, the LED would flash and when it stopped flashing I should release the button.
My LED came on constantly when I held the button, but after about 6s went out. Job done I thought.
What I didn't check is that the LED was now flashing. What I'd actually done was switch it off. Lesson learned, and for anybody else who needs to do it - 4s seems to be the right time, and release the button before the LED goes out. And make sure it's flashing!
Apart from that, it was a decent drive although not the long drive I had planned. No problems with audio, so think that's solved - and no error messages.
I am slightly concerned that I've had the car since Saturday and just filled up for the 3rd time - and think I've only done 300-400 miles. Guess it's got a small tank - although I haven't been letting it get too low.
justin220 said:
What mpg are you seeing, calculated and indicated?
Not sure how the fuel tanks compare to the sport series but I usually get 250-300 miles per tank
When I filled up today, it was indicating 13.4 I think - and I did zero it last time I filled up. But there has been a fair amount of seeing how fast it goes some collection, and that's reducing now.Not sure how the fuel tanks compare to the sport series but I usually get 250-300 miles per tank
I'd be happy with 250 miles from a tank although the amount of petrol it took today makes me doubt that. I had about 1/4 tank left on the fuel gauge, and it only took ~£65 of V Power.
I didn't pay attention to how many miles I'd actually done.
12pack said:
Well, its a 72 litre fuel tank - how many miles you get will depend how you drive it. Doubt you'll get 200 miles if you drive it like it was meant to be driven...
I think I'm doing it right then 
McLaren say the fault is most likely due to low suspension fluid - monitor it, and if it does it again, take it in.
Desert Dragon said:
355spiderguy said:
Desert Dragon said:
This glitchy stuff would drive me nuts. If you were doing 150mph on the autobahn and you lost your power steering through a turn its could be curtains. Really don't know how this can be happening on a 720s let alone a 650s. So off putting. Embarrassing in a £265k car.
Only 'glitch' i have had on my mac was a temperamental airbrake and requiring reset...no issues with iris, sat nav, dab power steering etc..all have performed as they should and sound from upgraded meriden is outstanding.A few years back, I overtook somebody in my reliable Cayenne - on a short straight before a tight bend. When I got to the bend, I had no PAS and the car did not want to go around the bend. AUX belt had snapped and that drove the power steering pump.
I certainly don't feel that I'm driving a fragile death trap in the 650.
Desert Dragon said:
I remember the OP thread 458 or 650s. In his shoes all IMO of course the correct move would have been to sell all 4 cars inc 360 and buy a 458 italia/Spyder. I know its hard to sell 360 having just had engine rebuilt and rawness etc but 458 would have done everything without the hassle of emails to dealers etc etc. Life too short to be a development driver for Mcl.
We all have different opinions - but when I thought about it, I really wasn't tempted to go the 458 route. Even if I decide I don't like the 650, I won't go the 458 route any time soon.A lot of 'issues' I've had are simply getting familiar with the car. The audio issue was user error. The error message was a concern, but it's a warrantied car and I've really not lost any sleep over it.
The steering issue I felt I had at the same time doesn't seem to be related to that - I use full lock reversing out of my driveway and the front end does feel a bit odd when reversing slowly on full lock. Might be a fault I guess, and I will question it when I'm next at McLaren - however it's not the only car I've had that feels odd reversing on full lock. My Alfa and 911 turbo felt similar.
It's not that I think the 458 would be a bad car. I'm sure it's a much (much) better version of my 360. Originally, that's the car I was intending to replace.
However, I still think the 360 is great at what I use it for - and good enough that I have no reason to spend £100k more to replace it with a 458.
I like that the McLaren is a useable daily. The 360 is pretty single purpose for me and I think the 458 would be similar. Being able to stick the McLaren in Auto / Normal and trundle through town in comfort is a big plus for me.
It clearly is also pretty special out of town. I haven't had it long enough to know whether it will replace the 360 yet. My gut feeling is still no - but that may change.
However, I still think the 360 is great at what I use it for - and good enough that I have no reason to spend £100k more to replace it with a 458.
I like that the McLaren is a useable daily. The 360 is pretty single purpose for me and I think the 458 would be similar. Being able to stick the McLaren in Auto / Normal and trundle through town in comfort is a big plus for me.
It clearly is also pretty special out of town. I haven't had it long enough to know whether it will replace the 360 yet. My gut feeling is still no - but that may change.
My 996 turbo lived outside for over 5 years, and my Aston for 4. Neither had and particular issues - Aston dash leather suffered slightly from the summer last year in one corner, but that was it. Not near any trees.
I'm not really expecting any particular issues from storing it outside. It's going to be a semi daily car anyway so at least 5 days a week would be outside at work.
I'm not really expecting any particular issues from storing it outside. It's going to be a semi daily car anyway so at least 5 days a week would be outside at work.
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