Thorney Motorsport McLaren Warranty
Discussion
At years 3 & 4, the cost difference is around £900 between Thorney and McLaren; small enough that i would stick with McLaren.
5+ years old if Thorney keeps the price less than £3k and your local it is probably worth it.
A tiny oil leak was in evidence at my recent McLaren service; they couldn't establish if it was historical or current as they couldn't determine where it was coming from.
Its going back in 3 weeks for it to be found and remedied...they actually had a 650 with a similar issue in and it was a shed load of labour as airbrake, decklid, engine covers and top of engine removed to be removed but its all covered under the bulletproof McLaren warranty.
They weren't overly concerned about it but shall rectify.
Would the same happen at Thorney or as its very minor would it be a 'keep an eye on it' type of thing?
If the car had no warranty i personally would of went with the latter as no oil in undertrays or where the car sits.
However, on that level of inspection and attention to detail, if a McLaren comes out of the extended warranty program it could be very expensive to bring it back up to the standard required for it to get back into the McLaren warranty...they would expect me to rectify this miniscule oil leak before accepting the car...so thats a £400 inspection charge, a repair charge then the warranty cost. I also had a slightly weeping damper that is also being replaced so you could throw another £3k on top of that lot.
It may be expensive but for me the McLaren warranty is worth the cost.
The car came with its £282k invoice from less than 4 yrs ago...i was under no illusions it would be cheap to run.
5+ years old if Thorney keeps the price less than £3k and your local it is probably worth it.
A tiny oil leak was in evidence at my recent McLaren service; they couldn't establish if it was historical or current as they couldn't determine where it was coming from.
Its going back in 3 weeks for it to be found and remedied...they actually had a 650 with a similar issue in and it was a shed load of labour as airbrake, decklid, engine covers and top of engine removed to be removed but its all covered under the bulletproof McLaren warranty.
They weren't overly concerned about it but shall rectify.
Would the same happen at Thorney or as its very minor would it be a 'keep an eye on it' type of thing?
If the car had no warranty i personally would of went with the latter as no oil in undertrays or where the car sits.
However, on that level of inspection and attention to detail, if a McLaren comes out of the extended warranty program it could be very expensive to bring it back up to the standard required for it to get back into the McLaren warranty...they would expect me to rectify this miniscule oil leak before accepting the car...so thats a £400 inspection charge, a repair charge then the warranty cost. I also had a slightly weeping damper that is also being replaced so you could throw another £3k on top of that lot.
It may be expensive but for me the McLaren warranty is worth the cost.
The car came with its £282k invoice from less than 4 yrs ago...i was under no illusions it would be cheap to run.
I’m pretty sure John doesn’t cut corners or handle things on the cheap. I think it’s a totally viable option.
I’ve heard of some people going with the Thorney warranty and servicing (which is likely better than at a dealer) and then doubling up with a dealer service to keep an unblemished service record and easier to bring back into McLaren warranty. Of course that would probably be the same as just servicing and warranty with McLaren, but you’re getting double amount of servicing.
I’ve heard of some people going with the Thorney warranty and servicing (which is likely better than at a dealer) and then doubling up with a dealer service to keep an unblemished service record and easier to bring back into McLaren warranty. Of course that would probably be the same as just servicing and warranty with McLaren, but you’re getting double amount of servicing.
He is very active with the McLaren Owners Club UK. He actually has his own 12C which has been modified to 700+ BHP. There is very little he doesn’t know about Macs and is well respected by MOC UK members. His company attends MOC UK organised track days and provides free pre-track inspections.
A 12C McLaren warranty is now £5k compared to £2850 with Thorney, so quite a difference on the earlier cars. I have gone the Thorney route this year after 2 years of McLaren warranty but kept McLaren servicing. So now two sets of eyes looking at the car each year for less money (annual Thorney inspection is included).
No need to call upon the warranty so far as they are far more reliable than you be lead to believe but as the leading indi I would have total confidence in Thorney to sort it with no quibble should the need arise. As has been said he certainly knows the cars inside out as well as if not better than the main dealer techies.
No need to call upon the warranty so far as they are far more reliable than you be lead to believe but as the leading indi I would have total confidence in Thorney to sort it with no quibble should the need arise. As has been said he certainly knows the cars inside out as well as if not better than the main dealer techies.
Edited by Martin-G on Wednesday 4th September 02:30
Thanks for all of the advice!
I have decided to go with the McLaren warranty for the first year for the extra piece of mind, but will likely switch to Thorney for year 2 onwards although will keep to McLaren for servicing.
The Service costs are quite reasonable (especially compared with the warranty prices!)
I have decided to go with the McLaren warranty for the first year for the extra piece of mind, but will likely switch to Thorney for year 2 onwards although will keep to McLaren for servicing.
The Service costs are quite reasonable (especially compared with the warranty prices!)
Regards to anyone buying a McLaren from a specialised dealer such as Sytner with their own warranty or indeed a McLaren without any warranty, when my 650 spider was in for a service 5 weeks ago a weeping damper was noted and a very small undetectable source oil leak discovered.
I dropped it off yesterday for the work to be carried out under warranty and it was confirmed today that its a very small leak from the crankshaft; i have no idea what the cost is but it is significant....the assessor did not bat an eyelid at the near £3500 for the damper but wants to do an inspection to sign off for the leak...apparently this is going to cost more than the damper.
If your thinking about buying a McLaren and want to put a warranty on it, the approx £400 cost for a pre warranty inspection before purchase is well worth it as these issues would be noted and would need to be addressed before the car could be considered for a McLaren extended warranty...so in this case it would be £7k minimum then the cost of the warranty and maybe even a service...so around £12k
Makes the £400 inspection cost look like best money spent as you would walk away.
Moral of the story is buy a McLaren with a McLaren warranty or go the Thorney route.
I am the other end of the country from Thorney so its McLaren for me.
The £3700 cost to extend the warranty next week seems pretty reasonable to me...its bulletproof and lets you sleep better at night.
I dropped it off yesterday for the work to be carried out under warranty and it was confirmed today that its a very small leak from the crankshaft; i have no idea what the cost is but it is significant....the assessor did not bat an eyelid at the near £3500 for the damper but wants to do an inspection to sign off for the leak...apparently this is going to cost more than the damper.
If your thinking about buying a McLaren and want to put a warranty on it, the approx £400 cost for a pre warranty inspection before purchase is well worth it as these issues would be noted and would need to be addressed before the car could be considered for a McLaren extended warranty...so in this case it would be £7k minimum then the cost of the warranty and maybe even a service...so around £12k
Makes the £400 inspection cost look like best money spent as you would walk away.
Moral of the story is buy a McLaren with a McLaren warranty or go the Thorney route.
I am the other end of the country from Thorney so its McLaren for me.
The £3700 cost to extend the warranty next week seems pretty reasonable to me...its bulletproof and lets you sleep better at night.
You have to wonder if Mc warranty dont bat an eyelid on a damper at a retail of £3500 that's because its trade to them at £500.
If a 3rd party provider is looking at a relatively simple claim like that but it wipes out their whole premium for the year there's surely going to be pushback?
Having seen some of the prices for parts the £3-5000 annual cost for McLaren looks more sustainable. It will be interesting to see a comparison on how an engine failure its dealt with in the aftermarket. It's easy to forget with PCP and depreciation masking prices but McLarens are quite complex and "meaty" cars.
Almost all the cars are still relatively new post 12c but time marches on and I would think as cars get to 5/6/7 years old the number of warranty claims will increase exponentially.
If a 3rd party provider is looking at a relatively simple claim like that but it wipes out their whole premium for the year there's surely going to be pushback?
Having seen some of the prices for parts the £3-5000 annual cost for McLaren looks more sustainable. It will be interesting to see a comparison on how an engine failure its dealt with in the aftermarket. It's easy to forget with PCP and depreciation masking prices but McLarens are quite complex and "meaty" cars.
Almost all the cars are still relatively new post 12c but time marches on and I would think as cars get to 5/6/7 years old the number of warranty claims will increase exponentially.
I got a call from my current insurer. Www.if.se
They had a option that covered all mechanical, electrical, turbos, steering rack and suspension. And ac and heating. And a lot of other stuff, engine and gearbox. I guess it was 20+ components / system.
12 month insurance for a MP4-12C is approx 2000 € including this warranty. Limit is 10 year old cars and or 150000 kms. Without extended warranty it is 1500€ / year.
So, if the stars point in my direction I will sign on Monday for a MY 2013.
Horror stories has kept my mindset to stay away, but now the insurance company will pick up the bill.
They had a option that covered all mechanical, electrical, turbos, steering rack and suspension. And ac and heating. And a lot of other stuff, engine and gearbox. I guess it was 20+ components / system.
12 month insurance for a MP4-12C is approx 2000 € including this warranty. Limit is 10 year old cars and or 150000 kms. Without extended warranty it is 1500€ / year.
So, if the stars point in my direction I will sign on Monday for a MY 2013.
Horror stories has kept my mindset to stay away, but now the insurance company will pick up the bill.
MclaesLaren said:
I got a call from my current insurer. Www.if.se
They had a option that covered all mechanical, electrical, turbos, steering rack and suspension. And ac and heating. And a lot of other stuff, engine and gearbox. I guess it was 20+ components / system.
12 month insurance for a MP4-12C is approx 2000 € including this warranty. Limit is 10 year old cars and or 150000 kms. Without extended warranty it is 1500€ / year.
So, if the stars point in my direction I will sign on Monday for a MY 2013.
Horror stories has kept my mindset to stay away, but now the insurance company will pick up the bill.
Well, they might.They had a option that covered all mechanical, electrical, turbos, steering rack and suspension. And ac and heating. And a lot of other stuff, engine and gearbox. I guess it was 20+ components / system.
12 month insurance for a MP4-12C is approx 2000 € including this warranty. Limit is 10 year old cars and or 150000 kms. Without extended warranty it is 1500€ / year.
So, if the stars point in my direction I will sign on Monday for a MY 2013.
Horror stories has kept my mindset to stay away, but now the insurance company will pick up the bill.
Lots of warranties say they cover all that stuff. Getting them to pay for it isn't always so easy though.
If they do, then that's a good price.
davek_964 said:
Well, they might.
Lots of warranties say they cover all that stuff. Getting them to pay for it isn't always so easy though.
If they do, then that's a good price.
I checked one older MY 2011 where another insurance company had paid 15k €. Suspension and steering issues. They seems to be connected via the hydrualic pump. Last 3 cars i checked had same problem. 12k - 18k bills.Lots of warranties say they cover all that stuff. Getting them to pay for it isn't always so easy though.
If they do, then that's a good price.
I guess they averaging cost on their total fleet.
If it was ML only it would not make sense.
Edited by MclaesLaren on Friday 28th May 17:32
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