My 650s jounrey - The Start!

[Paza3]

Well guys as ever the forum has been great source of knowledge and without I'd never of found my unicorn 650s! I'm now a member on the Mclaren Owners Club which I'd highly recommend.

I want to share my journey of ownership in the hope it may help others, in the same way other forum user helped me warts and all about their ownership journey! Apologises to the guys who have already seen my waffley post! at MOCUK.

So after 2 year break am back!

So wind back to 2019, I made the decision I would need to sell my original Mac as I decided I wanted to take a new path in my career. It was after much deliberation I decided to set up my own company after years of employment in the same field.

It was a huge decision for us as I was comfortable and well paid, everyone thought I was mad, we had 3 young mouths to feed and the bills that come with it, why leave all that security eh?

So decisions were made and after setting up our firm and selling the 12c I decided to stick a picture of my dream spec 650s spider in tarocco orange on my target and MI board along with a property I’d like to purchase, which I looked at every day for the last two years. I know it sounds a bit sad but I did day dream about this first post when I eventually got back in a Mac as it would be such a milestone of how far we have come in our journey.

This was the car :

https://www.astonmartinlongisland.com/used-vehicle...

Goal one was achieved, as we moved last September to a new dream family home and the time had come to get myself back into super car ownership!

After looking for a while I was starting to give up hope of finding a 650s. I’d built up a build sheet in my head that was quite hard to obtain , so much so I’d decided on proceeding with a 458 I found it felt like a “sensible choice” last N/a and all that jazz ...

Anyway, I was up later than usual a few weeks ago and spotted a Pistonheads thread and someone mentioned that they knew someone was trading their 650s in, it was almost midnight and I thought why not send a message! I woke to a response from davek_964 saying he’s passed my details on.(22nd March)

At this stage I did not really think anything of it I mean who knew what the spec would be like? Fast forward to later that day and an email arrives ... I start to read and read this detailed description of my perfect unicorn spec tarocco orange 650s spider, I could not believe it. I was literally about to pull the trigger on the 458!

A frantic email was sent back to the seller who duly responded with his phone number ... an hour later I was blown away ... I could barely contain my excitement after discovering it also had the factory bucket seats and full body Xpel and more carbon goodies than should be legally allowed!

Communication continued and I pulled out of the 458 knowing deep down it was always the 650s in my sights, I also knew I’d never get a chance to get such a highly spec 650s again having literally every option ticked! with a crazy £298k list I did discover she wore the Y222 MCL plate hence the insane spec as it was an original factory car which just adds to her provenance for me! some awesome google images!

So that’s my wee story! Sorry to bore you all but it’s amazing how things work out sometimes.

As of April 2nd 2021.







10th April

So the car has now gone to Guildford after being collected from Ascot to get some small jobs done along with a full service and new MOT, Damian I must say has been great to deal with and I am pretty certain I am going to continue the relationship with Guildford Mclaren as the service has been great. They also spotted the recent paintwork was not quite right by Mclaren so I am waiting for the new paint work to be completed and I am hopefully that I get the car end of next week! subject to the PPF being complete.

Its already been a long wait as I paid for the car at the start of April and I am yet to take actual ownership or even drive it yet! lol so I can't wait to get my hands on her, but good things come to those who wait and I rather everything be right, then rushing her back.

I have already pre purchased some carbon extended paddles and some Ultra Superlight wheels that need a refurb as I prefer them over the diamond cut wheels. So a couple of pre planned mods! so will update with the results!

Thanks for taking the time to read

Paza

[Paza3]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

I went down at M&A Coachworks this morning and they have done a stellar job on respraying the car. They did the bonnet, wings, bumper and roof lines and doors blended into the rear, literally looks brand new. They asked me to come down and check before the PPF was to be fitted. Estimated delivery end of next week can't wait for that first drive!

[Paza3]

Well guys I am very glad to say at 3:00 pm she was delivered today! all I can say is WOW it's incredible to drive and to look at.

I've done half a tank of fuel very quickly and one very happy chap! I think what has surprised me the most is how much it had improved over the 12c coupe I had before (it feels more "engaged" from suspension, exhaust note and performance). A big factor is probably the fact this is a spider and with the roof down it was making some wonderful noises!!

Sorry some 650s picture/delivery Spam hahahaha

Planning to update with its first mod in the next day or two!

[Paza3]

Thanks guys for the kind words.

Well its been a super start with the car and am absolutely loving it, the speed is actually quite ridiculous its so quick! Not had a proper drive in her yet in a "dawn raid sense" but it keeps surprising me. I keep finding reasons to go into the garage , then lose 5 minutes looking at it and wonder out... then forgot I needed frozen peas from the chest freezer!

Well I've done two changes to date, the first one is a simple one I hard wired to trickle charge to the battery as opposed to using the cigarette lighter in the boot. Speaking to a few purist this appears to be the fail safe approach as the batteries seem to be one of the biggest cause of complaint for niggling issues and keeping the voltage spot on seems a cause in a lot of cases.

Pretty simple job a 1/10 skill level, I took my time and watched a useful McLaren Ascot video on YouTube to tackle it prior. I tucked the worse under the metal section and kept it neat to the side so it still fitted flush.





Then it was time to tackle another job, I had wanted the carbon paddles for my 650s however MSO parts second hand were circ 1-1.5k which seemed a bit punchy for some tiny carbon parts. So I took a chance and ordered a set from the US which came to about £180 all in. The fitment is pretty good and felt the carbon weave was close too so have been please with this first modification and for me really transforms the wheel! no more mice ears!

|https://thumbsnap.com/W1xU2jNM[/url]

[Paza3]

Jim82 & macdeb

These are the guys I used, for the money am very happy gents.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284124357488

"Carbon Fibre racing", pretty decent delivery time

[Paza3]

Well guys it's about time for an update:

So, I decided that when I bought the car as much as I liked the 5 spoke design, I adore the super light wheels. I knew it was a "must have" for myself so started the search for a set of alloys. They are trading at quite strong money but a member on the MOC said he had a set for sale at a very reasonable price.

They were in need of a refurbishment which was of no concern, platinum alloys in Swindon did a great job giving a factory OEM match and I would always recommend these guys if anyone was in the market for a refurb.

I took the opportunity to change the TPMS sensors as the original ones were still working but reaching the end of the life cycle. I decided to try an after market solution and opted for Euro car parts who have a subsidiary, UK Car parts direct. The long and short of it was these did not work very well at all and I think Thorney is right when he said he's tried every after market part and none seem to work that well. I might have just been unlucky but I did not take a second chance I popped the original OEM ones back in and it worked a treat. Platinum advised they looked like a generic part and advised as well against use of non OEM parts. So now in the process of getting this refunded, I felt it was worth a punt, however, on this occasion it did not pay off.

I decided that I wanted to fit spacers at the same time, and after speaking to a number of owners it appears that the Mac runs a basic Audi fitment. There are plenty of reports this improves the 650/12c and Thorney also has his own version, there maybe some weight benefits but not enough to justify the price difference was my feeling.

Did this mean no Mac tax? well I can happily report this is the case, I purchased a set of 12mm front and rear spacers with additional longer bolts from Bimecc and they worked a treat! At £129.99 I am very happy with the change and they sit lovely and flush at the front and the rear is a vast improvement too. Not sure I can feel any obvious handling improvements but visually it's a win.

I also took the opportunity to use some Gtechniq C5 on the alloys wheels while it was convenient to do so, a 15ml bottle was sufficient for all 4 wheels, however, you do need to be frugal.

Link to the place I ordered from:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323982223725














However not all is golden in Mclaren ownership world... my first issue has happened which I was epexcting as these first few hundred miles were going to be the shake down after limited use 12 months prior. It's going in next week hopefully it's a minor issue but I will know more in the next week.. wish me luck! :/ as I took the decision to self warrant.

[Paza3]

macdeb said:

^^^^ agree.
PS; I got the paddle extenders thanks, though I had to pay import tax on delivery which took them nearer £240, but really good quality and the weave and finish matches perfectly.

Ahh nooo I never paid any? ... hmm I say nothing!

Thanks for the advice and kind words guys.

So gents,

I have the prognosis back from the garage!, overall not a bad outcome. Ricky at REperformance is a pretty handy chap and diagnose both issues quickly and efficiently as ever and has yet to let me down. They were mapping a stunning 720s that made an incredible 870 on the dyno!

Anyway back to the issues, issue one was a TPMS sensor came loose in my wheel, so it was making a terrible noise at slow speeds as naturally everything was wizzing around inside the wheel nut and TPMS! Lucky it’s still working fine and was an easy fix.

I was deeply worried something terrible had gone wrong. So it was a relief when the issue was explained by Ricky, I was a bit frustrated with Platinum Alloys, but these things can happen it’s a fact of life. Although charging me labour to resolve it did not seem the fairest outcome all things considered in my view. (As I initially provided the TPMS+values)

However, this was nothing compared to the second issue, I periodically check under the car when I go into the garage, I could see spots of oil under the diffuser and on the garage floor. I wiped these up and more came back the next day, my immediate thought was that the gearbox had exploded or something equally terrible.

So it was explained late last night that the left drive shaft seal on the gearbox was weeping, thus spraying gearbox oil around as it rotated. The Tiger king meme came to mind "I will never financially recover from this" every gearbox rebuild thread I'd read came flooding back too, I was about to put it on collecting cars and cut my losses!! Ahahahaha

This morning was much better when I found out it was a serviceable item and a gearbox rebuild was not required! and it’s actually quite common to weep and need replacing. Furthermore the seal is £43.67 + VAT to replace. The labour time seems to be reasonable too (2-4hrs depending who you speak too) so should be a sub £500 job to resolve!

So it appears that it should be a simple fix, however I still be a bit happier when it’s all fixed and I don’t have a leaky 650s.

Interesting point to mention, Guildford McLaren suggested that putting the spacers on might have contributed to the failing of the seal. As the wheels would be at a slightly different angle as a result of the further distance. Who knows? A worthy point to consider especially if it was already weak.

I report back once its complete!

[Paza3]

Hi guys

Well good news the leaky 650s is no more! The leaking drive shaft seal has now been replaced and theirs is no longer gearbox oil on my garage floor!

I spoke to the usual options to do the job, however the house favourites we're exceptionally busy due to the time of year it was and in some cases I will be looking at mid-August before the work could be completed, which makes complete sense due to the time of the year.

So, I decided I would call V Engineering who had just started out in the supercar maintenance arena. I remember reading a number of posts recently about their experience and offerings on the owners club as a new option. They are so new that I was officially there first retail paying customer!. One of the reasons why I wanted to explore what they could do was their positioning along the M4 motorway meant that they were only around 40 minutes or so away and would be a convenient future option for other maintenance or service requirements. I also felt as this was a relatively straight forward replacement job this would be a really good test without taking too much risk.

The facilities themselves are very modern and fresh in appearance and there was a nice collection of P1’s and Ferraris including an Enzo in for work which of course is always a reassuring sign when you're bringing your own pride and joy to an untested independent. Throughout the process both Paul and Steve were very professional and polite, and you got a real sense that working on supercars or hypercars really was a vocation for them and it simply was not just another drive shaft seal on a car.

Within a short period of time the knowledge and experience that both men had really was obvious there was a deep understanding of the cars and their history. This is backed up of course as both guys worked for McLaren for over 10 years so I suppose that USP is the fact that they have 20 years combined Mac knowledge. I was lucky to be showing the whole process and appreciate in normal trading conditions this almost one on one experience won't be replicated however the fact Paul and Steve generally enjoyed the process was great to see and I wanted to take a moment out to recognise good work a newcomer is bringing to the Mac Indy family.

I suppose the $1,000,000 question is would I go back? The answer is yes without hesitation.

Whilst in for the drive shaft seal Steve recommended that we do a complete gearbox oil change at the same time which we completed normally due at 30k miles , mine had done 21k. I also notice on the way down that my air con did not seem that cool and asked if they could test it, and thankfully they had a brand new machine that had the ability to test the whole system and top it up as it dropped around 200 grammes I believe.

So to the costs, I felt that the costings were very reasonable for the amount of work that was completed. I was originally quoted 2 hours to complete the drive shaft seal plus parts was about £360 ish. This ended up taking closer to three hours due to some stubborn bolts. the guys obviously completed the gearbox oil change and the air conditioning which took around about an hour (So around 4hrs all in). The gearbox oil is not a cheap product so I believe this was a roundabout 70 pounds inclusive of VAT, and we agreed on three hours labour at 120 pounds plus VAT. So labour was £360 and parts £140 so plus vat £601.34 all in.

I hope this helps anyone with a similar fault in the future, until the next update.

[Paza3]

GT3Mark said:

With regards to your wheel spacers (which make the car stand even better!) did it come with the correct type of bolts? I ordered a set based on the link but they've come with tapered bolts instead of the radiused seat on the McL bolts? TIA

Hmmmm I can't remember now, when in the garage recently there were no concerns about the bolts, same steel construction too. I need to check and let you know.

[Paza3]

Abacus21 said:

What colour was the gearbox oil?

Manuals suggest 40k to change rather then 30k but I think 20k is probably best or sooner.

What came out or went in?