MP4 12C questions
Discussion
My quest for my next super car continues and I am now looking once again at 12c’s - I have a few questions....
1. The McLaren warranty is only for cars 10 years old, with no limit per claim, does the Thorney warranty only apply to cars up to 10 years old as well, or will it still be ok in years to come when the 12c is 15 years old etc. I am thinking for resale, if the car can’t be warrantied this might put off anyone buying it?
2. What price is annual servicing, I have seen £1500 per year, is that correct ?
3. Is there a sports exhaust option from factory. Some cars seem louder than others I have seen??
4. When driving, especially in comfort mode, ( probably not called comfort I know ) - the upshifts don’t seem razor sharp, once you click the paddle, there’s a tiny pause before it goes into gear, is this normal? Also, the paddles seem to require a much more precise press in the centre, rather than the top or bottom of the paddle, when I drove the 570S it didn’t feel like this, you could change gear much quicker, and not have to firmly press the center of the paddle... is this normal on a 12c, part of it’s character ?
5. Coming from a 996 turbo - the 12c doesn’t feel massively quick, isn’t the 0-60 time 2.9 for the 12C, really didn’t feel like this at all, didn’t feel a fast as the 911, certainly louder and more visceral, but the 911 picks up pace immediately, the 12c seems to require revving it out in the gears.
6. I don’t have a garage to keep the car overnight on a battery conditioner, would a weekly drive or every w weeks be enough to keep the battery ok, I see the replacements are £3k - does the battery need replacing after one flat battery, or is this of the battery keeps being drained flat?
Thanks for your help
1. The McLaren warranty is only for cars 10 years old, with no limit per claim, does the Thorney warranty only apply to cars up to 10 years old as well, or will it still be ok in years to come when the 12c is 15 years old etc. I am thinking for resale, if the car can’t be warrantied this might put off anyone buying it?
2. What price is annual servicing, I have seen £1500 per year, is that correct ?
3. Is there a sports exhaust option from factory. Some cars seem louder than others I have seen??
4. When driving, especially in comfort mode, ( probably not called comfort I know ) - the upshifts don’t seem razor sharp, once you click the paddle, there’s a tiny pause before it goes into gear, is this normal? Also, the paddles seem to require a much more precise press in the centre, rather than the top or bottom of the paddle, when I drove the 570S it didn’t feel like this, you could change gear much quicker, and not have to firmly press the center of the paddle... is this normal on a 12c, part of it’s character ?
5. Coming from a 996 turbo - the 12c doesn’t feel massively quick, isn’t the 0-60 time 2.9 for the 12C, really didn’t feel like this at all, didn’t feel a fast as the 911, certainly louder and more visceral, but the 911 picks up pace immediately, the 12c seems to require revving it out in the gears.
6. I don’t have a garage to keep the car overnight on a battery conditioner, would a weekly drive or every w weeks be enough to keep the battery ok, I see the replacements are £3k - does the battery need replacing after one flat battery, or is this of the battery keeps being drained flat?
Thanks for your help
Thanks everyone for the replies, few more questions then....
So does that mean I can warranty the car via non main McLaren route, when the car is over 10 years old? Would any future buyer risk buying a 12C without a warranty is what I am worrying about. £25k engine and gearbox potential issues out of warranty scares the daylights out of me, and would a future purchaser?
The leisure battery in the front trunk, what exactly is this, a stand-alone battery that gives some charge to the main cars between drives, but not as effective as connecting the car to a mains powered battery conditioner ?
I did notice small bubbles of corrosion of the air brake, rear wing struts, just under the actual deck of the wing itself. On the silver part. The rest of the car didn’t have any corrosion, bubbling at all - assume it’s been sorted by McLaren. But is the struts bubbling an issue, could it cause failure of the air brake over time? Or should this not be a worry?
Also underneath the car, either side are chunks of rubber?? Some kind of underbody protection? One side looked like it had been hit by a speed bump and was torn, damaged - is that normal, easy and cheap to replace?
I am not sure when I drove it I really relaxed and fully explored the car. It was fast, and sounded great, but I was reluctant on a test drive to rag the thing to bits, power delivery seems very different to the 911, so I am guessing it’s just a case of getting used to how the car drives. 911’s power seems immediate, the 12c you need some revs, speed first before it turns into the rocket ship mentioned .
Thanks
So does that mean I can warranty the car via non main McLaren route, when the car is over 10 years old? Would any future buyer risk buying a 12C without a warranty is what I am worrying about. £25k engine and gearbox potential issues out of warranty scares the daylights out of me, and would a future purchaser?
The leisure battery in the front trunk, what exactly is this, a stand-alone battery that gives some charge to the main cars between drives, but not as effective as connecting the car to a mains powered battery conditioner ?
I did notice small bubbles of corrosion of the air brake, rear wing struts, just under the actual deck of the wing itself. On the silver part. The rest of the car didn’t have any corrosion, bubbling at all - assume it’s been sorted by McLaren. But is the struts bubbling an issue, could it cause failure of the air brake over time? Or should this not be a worry?
Also underneath the car, either side are chunks of rubber?? Some kind of underbody protection? One side looked like it had been hit by a speed bump and was torn, damaged - is that normal, easy and cheap to replace?
I am not sure when I drove it I really relaxed and fully explored the car. It was fast, and sounded great, but I was reluctant on a test drive to rag the thing to bits, power delivery seems very different to the 911, so I am guessing it’s just a case of getting used to how the car drives. 911’s power seems immediate, the 12c you need some revs, speed first before it turns into the rocket ship mentioned .
Thanks
I spoke to a very helpful and knowledgeable Tom at Thorney and has assured me the warranty can be put on the car over 10 years old! So looks like it’s all systems go with the purchase!!! To say I am excited about getting a 12c is an understatement !!!!!! 😀😀😀😀😀
update:
Finally the day came, yesterday i picked up the 12C, to say i was excited was an understatement, literally shaking with adrenaline! I'll post full first impressions, and pics asap, but all i can say is WOW, what a car, and how wrong i was about it being slower tan my 911...goodness me it's fast, and the sound it makes with sports exhaust, through a tunnel, like an F1 car..... still can't believe I own such a thing!
Finally the day came, yesterday i picked up the 12C, to say i was excited was an understatement, literally shaking with adrenaline! I'll post full first impressions, and pics asap, but all i can say is WOW, what a car, and how wrong i was about it being slower tan my 911...goodness me it's fast, and the sound it makes with sports exhaust, through a tunnel, like an F1 car..... still can't believe I own such a thing!
So after taking her out today i have to say how incredible a car it is. I also have no idea why people say Iris2 is bad, it seems to work very well indeed, streaming audio from my iphone, phone calls etc, haven't tried the navi, all seems very clear and easy to use. I am sure it will crash occasionally, but thats when trying to do more than one thing at a time?
Driving: The suspension is pretty hard even on softest setting, and the pot holed roads don't help, but once on smoother dual carriage ways it feel super comfortable. I am addicted already to the howl the engine makes in track mode, it's phenomenal. Coming from my 911 turbo which was very very quiet, this truly feels like a real supercar. Acceleration is brutal, and you do have to watch yourself as the numbers leap up in a blur, easy to get to silly speeds. The steering is just sublime, reminds me of an Exige, but larger, more powerful and more comfortable, like a grown up Lotus ( no offence to Lotuses meant ) - so direct and so much feedback, the steering wheel also feels amazing, and the whole instrument panel, dash layout, such an amazing car!!!!!!
Still can't believe it's mine!
Driving: The suspension is pretty hard even on softest setting, and the pot holed roads don't help, but once on smoother dual carriage ways it feel super comfortable. I am addicted already to the howl the engine makes in track mode, it's phenomenal. Coming from my 911 turbo which was very very quiet, this truly feels like a real supercar. Acceleration is brutal, and you do have to watch yourself as the numbers leap up in a blur, easy to get to silly speeds. The steering is just sublime, reminds me of an Exige, but larger, more powerful and more comfortable, like a grown up Lotus ( no offence to Lotuses meant ) - so direct and so much feedback, the steering wheel also feels amazing, and the whole instrument panel, dash layout, such an amazing car!!!!!!
Still can't believe it's mine!
Project 4 said:
Congratulations, it does look great in black! 
What is the spec on the car?
thank you! It's so stunning in the flesh, pics don't show how large, low and menacing it looks, especially in blackWhat is the spec on the car?
spec is sports exhaust, carbon diffuser, carbon interior pack, carbon engine cover, leather with orange seat inserts....stunning machine!!!!
the sports exhaust sounds incredible in track mode, real supercar sounds
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