My “high mileage” 650S
Discussion
I guess it is now officially worthless 
...
You cannot put a price on the enjoyment and memories though ...
Daily driven whether its 50 deg C and sunny or 15 deg C and raining, regularly tracked, regularly thrashed up Jebel Jais, parked at supermarkets and malls, handed to valets without a second thought, taken to the golf course with my clubs in the passenger seat etc etc.
Has never broken down and the only warranty work during my time has been replacement dampers due to a PCC fault. Anyone thinking of taking the plunge ... I’d recommend it
...You cannot put a price on the enjoyment and memories though ...
Daily driven whether its 50 deg C and sunny or 15 deg C and raining, regularly tracked, regularly thrashed up Jebel Jais, parked at supermarkets and malls, handed to valets without a second thought, taken to the golf course with my clubs in the passenger seat etc etc.
Has never broken down and the only warranty work during my time has been replacement dampers due to a PCC fault. Anyone thinking of taking the plunge ... I’d recommend it
12pack said:
Well, I do anticipate idiots to now respond in this thread regarding Mac owners posting about cars not breaking down.
You are probably correct. Up until recently I would not really have bothered with the McLaren section but Justin220 and davek_964’s threads have shown that there are probably more genuinely interested folks than trolls.A little bit of trivia about my car above, it was a film star in a previous life! It featured in the Jackie Chan film Kung Fu Yoga which was partly filmed here in Dubai ... if you can bear to watch the whole thing (and I’m absolutely not recommending you do) keep an eye out for the continuity error in the car chase.
JayK12 said:
Great stuff. Is Jebel Jais now full of speed cameras? 2 Years ago I was hooning up and down there in an R8, but last year my mate go a speeding ticket in a 458 on Jebel Jais.
The mountain road itself is still free of cameras. However they have recently put a bunch of them on the new motorway coming in/out so you need to be alert/sensible.davek_964 said:
Are you still on original discs? I've seen a few comments on forums suggesting that the discs wear very fast on track and it's making me nervous about taking mine on a track.
Yes, still on the original discs and pads. Although I’ve got to admit that my driving style is more the “lift and coast” rather than “last of the late brakers”. Always amazes me how much later Chris Goodwin and the other pros I have driven with brake than I do .I’ve found the biggest downside from track use is that the rears now squeal really, really badly. I’d happily switch back to the steel brakes from my previous 12C if I had the option.
Many thanks to everyone for the positive comments so far. Prior to the 650S, I had a 12C (2 in fact but the first one was a bit crap and wasn’t kept for long) which was also used as intended ...
It got to 38k km before being part ex’d. It liked a drink (don’t they all) and was a regular on Jebel Jais ...
It got to 38k km before being part ex’d. It liked a drink (don’t they all) and was a regular on Jebel Jais ...
As the thread is becoming the Jebel Jais appreciation thread (which I don’t mind at all) I’ll add these (I’ve got hundreds but cannot be bothered to resize them all) ...
If anyone is visiting with the intention of driving Jais then feel free to let me know if you’d like a “local” guide.
If anyone is visiting with the intention of driving Jais then feel free to let me know if you’d like a “local” guide.
davek_964 said:
I've never seen the appeal of grey cars (although it's my g/f's favourite car colour for some reason) - but that 12C looks really good in that colour.
When we spec’d the first one we narrowed it down to either Graphite Grey or Volcano Orange. I was not sure how well VO would age and it ultimately came down to the fact that we though GG was more discrete ... everyone I tell that to says “If you want discrete then don’t buy a McLaren” and they are, of course, correct.My favourite pic of the grey one ...
I did chav it up ever so slightly ...
355spiderguy said:
I see you and raise you...
Was out for a blast with the youngest of our squad yesterday and took a couple of pics when we stopped at a playpark...really havn't taken many pics of the car so apologise for lack of breathtaking scenery...
Good to see them getting used.Was out for a blast with the youngest of our squad yesterday and took a couple of pics when we stopped at a playpark...really havn't taken many pics of the car so apologise for lack of breathtaking scenery...
You needed to have done another 0.1 miles before taking that shot! I never bother with the trip option and have it set for journey instead.
My car came with the MSO shift lights integrated into a CF instrument surround. Fanatastic for night time track sessions ...
Green at just over 6k, then amber, red and the blue flash at the redline. The above taken when the lights cycle as I select manual and hence why the revs don’t match.
Green at just over 6k, then amber, red and the blue flash at the redline. The above taken when the lights cycle as I select manual and hence why the revs don’t match.
355spiderguy said:
...
Really cool bit if kit I'm guessing was a tad expensive to option?
It wasn't on the original options list here in the UK...
I didn’t spec this car (learnt my lessons on buying new McLarens with the 12C) so not sure exactly what it would have cost. I believe it came from the MSO “an arm, a leg and your first born” options list and hence was stupidly expensive ... multiple thousands GBP type expensive.Really cool bit if kit I'm guessing was a tad expensive to option?
It wasn't on the original options list here in the UK...
It did help convince me that this was the car for me though
.
)
The mileage continues to climb with 47k km likely to be passed this weekend. Warranty just extended for another year at the equivalent of approx £3700 so I’m guessing inline with the UK cost.
Jebel Jais trips with like minded individuals continue, the grey cars may as well have not existed as far as the folks queuing to get a chance to sit in and take selfies were concerned ...
Jebel Jais trips with like minded individuals continue, the grey cars may as well have not existed as far as the folks queuing to get a chance to sit in and take selfies were concerned ...
650spider said:
Fantastic winter weekend trip on roads like this...
In a car like this...
Resulted in the mileage hitting this...
Great car, which gets used in all conditions, that doesn't have any faults or niggles.
We probably should of used a 600bhp 4x4 that we have for the journey, but the Mac performed perfectly in the light snow, wet / damp roads, and below zero conditions with us cosy inside in supreme comfort.
Cannot recommend McLarens or a 650 spider enough.
Might be worth a tenner now but couldn't care less.
Looks like great fun. I’ve not put a lot of miles on mine recently as I’ve been putting miles on UK rentals instead (I found out what a Vauxhall Mokka was for the first time last week!). Hence yours in the photo above has just over 400 miles more than mine. I’ve also not got a lot to report other than it is up for sale ... If one of the 2 guys coming to view tomorrow pays what I’m asking then mine is worth the equivalent of £76k (original retail prices here are equivalent to UK prices). If they don’t (and I suspect they won’t) then I could be driving those roads above in it in the not too distant future!In a car like this...
Resulted in the mileage hitting this...
Great car, which gets used in all conditions, that doesn't have any faults or niggles.
We probably should of used a 600bhp 4x4 that we have for the journey, but the Mac performed perfectly in the light snow, wet / damp roads, and below zero conditions with us cosy inside in supreme comfort.
Cannot recommend McLarens or a 650 spider enough.
Might be worth a tenner now but couldn't care less.
650spider said:
£76k.. what a bargain!
So will you get another McLaren?
Another McLaren? I’m really not sure. The 650S has, without a doubt, been the “best”, fastest and dare I say it most fun car I’ve owned (and it’s been pretty reliable So will you get another McLaren?
) and therefore I could see another in the future. However, I do worry about how usable such a car would be around the lanes of Devon where we’ll be moving back to. You and others certainly show that the cars can be used in the UK but I’m not 100% convinced at this stage. For quite some time now I’ve had a desire to self assemble a Caterham and had convinced myself that such a car would be more usable in the aforementioned lanes ... but very, very different to a McLaren. There’s only going to be one garage space for the fun car so a decision will need to be made. I’ve started getting quotes to ship the 650S back to the UK so I’ll likely just kick such a decision down the road for 12 months or so (HMRC requirement if I want to import the car tax free is that I cannot sell it for a year).I made a head over heart decision, dropped the price and finally had a bid which I accepted. This is what the equivalent of approx £70k looks like in Dirhams ...
It’s the first and only car that I’ve sold which I felt sad doing so but it is the correct thing to do at this point in time. I didn’t make it to 50k km, the car was showing just over 48k when I passed it on to its new owner yesterday ... which means I’ve driven over 92k km in McLarens since the 12C launch!
3 cars, 9 years, 92k km, Pure events at Silverstone and Spa, numerous track days at Yas and the Dubai Autodrome and some great local drives and events .... priceless memories.
I need to do some serious thinking about what next (when we return to the UK soon). Mrs Jerry is already saying it would be nice to have another McLaren (which is always a good thing) whereas I’m still thinking self assembly Caterham (420R) ... Watch this space!
It’s the first and only car that I’ve sold which I felt sad doing so but it is the correct thing to do at this point in time. I didn’t make it to 50k km, the car was showing just over 48k when I passed it on to its new owner yesterday ... which means I’ve driven over 92k km in McLarens since the 12C launch!
3 cars, 9 years, 92k km, Pure events at Silverstone and Spa, numerous track days at Yas and the Dubai Autodrome and some great local drives and events .... priceless memories.
I need to do some serious thinking about what next (when we return to the UK soon). Mrs Jerry is already saying it would be nice to have another McLaren (which is always a good thing) whereas I’m still thinking self assembly Caterham (420R) ... Watch this space!
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