Thinking of viewing this - thoughts?
Discussion
Bit of background : Had a 650 Spider for 3 years, which was written off in August last year. I am not sure I want a replacement supercar, but the g/f does think I should buy one - and her choice is another 650 Spider. I do think they're the sensible bargain McLaren, so it's tempting - although none of the ones for sale currently meet my requirements. Plus - much as I thought it was a brilliant car - I'm not sure I want to spend ~£100k on something I've already had.
The other option is 720. There are many things I prefer in the 650 to 720 - so spending twice the cost of a 650 spider for a 720 spider doesn't interest me. I considered it, but it just doesn't add up - even with man maths - plus, although the g/f is pushing for another 650 spider, she's rather less enthusiastic about me spending twice as much.
720 coupes are approaching the point where they are not too much more than a 650 spider, which makes them tempting. Particularly this one :
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211221...
This is the lowest priced available - clearly due to the mileage - but it ticks most of my boxes. Right colour, McLaren warranty (although only until end of April), good spec - and more importantly seems to have all consumables just replaced : Tyres, brakes and accumulators. Plus just had glass, presumably due to the problem 720s have with cracking glass.
It seems like a car that really shouldn't need money spent on it for a while (I would want the price reduced at least enough for another year warranty).
My reservations are basically this :
1) My current feeling is that another car would be a "nice to have" rather than I really want one. However, I suspect that will change as we get closer to Spring
2) Buying a car that's higher mileage will make it much harder to sell when I want to (although my recent experience suggests that an total loss accident is an easy exit!).
I tend to use my nice cars as mostly dailys - which means the mileage will clock up - although I'm in the process of moving so close to work that it wouldn't really get any commuting mileage which would help I guess. The mileage doesn't bother me as an owner - it's similar to what my 650 reached and it proves it hasn't spent all its time at a dealer having things fixed.
3) Spider -> Coupe - this is a concern (especially when the 650 spider is cheaper!) but actually bothers me less than I expected.
Any thoughts? Would I be mad to buy the cheapest 720 on the market?
I could go higher, but - other than lower mileage - I'm not sure I'd be getting much more for the money and as it gets more expensive, the 650 becomes more appealing again.
ETA : Just to head off some predictable replies, I'm not interested in LTs or 540 / 570s.
The other option is 720. There are many things I prefer in the 650 to 720 - so spending twice the cost of a 650 spider for a 720 spider doesn't interest me. I considered it, but it just doesn't add up - even with man maths - plus, although the g/f is pushing for another 650 spider, she's rather less enthusiastic about me spending twice as much.
720 coupes are approaching the point where they are not too much more than a 650 spider, which makes them tempting. Particularly this one :
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211221...
This is the lowest priced available - clearly due to the mileage - but it ticks most of my boxes. Right colour, McLaren warranty (although only until end of April), good spec - and more importantly seems to have all consumables just replaced : Tyres, brakes and accumulators. Plus just had glass, presumably due to the problem 720s have with cracking glass.
It seems like a car that really shouldn't need money spent on it for a while (I would want the price reduced at least enough for another year warranty).
My reservations are basically this :
1) My current feeling is that another car would be a "nice to have" rather than I really want one. However, I suspect that will change as we get closer to Spring
2) Buying a car that's higher mileage will make it much harder to sell when I want to (although my recent experience suggests that an total loss accident is an easy exit!).
I tend to use my nice cars as mostly dailys - which means the mileage will clock up - although I'm in the process of moving so close to work that it wouldn't really get any commuting mileage which would help I guess. The mileage doesn't bother me as an owner - it's similar to what my 650 reached and it proves it hasn't spent all its time at a dealer having things fixed.
3) Spider -> Coupe - this is a concern (especially when the 650 spider is cheaper!) but actually bothers me less than I expected.
Any thoughts? Would I be mad to buy the cheapest 720 on the market?
I could go higher, but - other than lower mileage - I'm not sure I'd be getting much more for the money and as it gets more expensive, the 650 becomes more appealing again.
ETA : Just to head off some predictable replies, I'm not interested in LTs or 540 / 570s.
Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 11th January 13:38
, it looks a really nice car with no expense spared on its upkeep, not sure why but when a Mc gets to the 20K miles number they tend to sit about for a while, it’s not like it’s high mileage in the real world is it ,,justin220 said:
What sort of mileage are you doing and how long would you tend to keep it for?
Mileage is hard to estimate right now. In the 650, I did about 19k in 3 years, and that included 2 years of the pandemic. At the time, I had a ~15 mile round trip to work (and used it most days) but that has dropped to almost zero - close enough in fact that I'd very very rarely use it for that.I reckon it would probably do about 5k a year but that's a rough guess and it might be more - it's surprising how many unnecessary journeys I found when I had the 650..........
I usually keep my cars for a fairly long time, but I think realistically this one would be a couple of years - probably 3 at most.
davek_964 said:
My reservations are basically this :
1) My current feeling is that another car would be a "nice to have" rather than I really want one. However, I suspect that will change as we get closer to Spring
2) Buying a car that's higher mileage will make it much harder to sell when I want to (although my recent experience suggests that an total loss accident is an easy exit!).
I tend to use my nice cars as mostly dailys - which means the mileage will clock up - although I'm in the process of moving so close to work that it wouldn't really get any commuting mileage which would help I guess. The mileage doesn't bother me as an owner - it's similar to what my 650 reached and it proves it hasn't spent all its time at a dealer having things fixed.
3) Spider -> Coupe - this is a concern (especially when the 650 spider is cheaper!) but actually bothers me less than I expected.
1) If you have the money sitting round with nothing else to use it for then why not.1) My current feeling is that another car would be a "nice to have" rather than I really want one. However, I suspect that will change as we get closer to Spring
2) Buying a car that's higher mileage will make it much harder to sell when I want to (although my recent experience suggests that an total loss accident is an easy exit!).
I tend to use my nice cars as mostly dailys - which means the mileage will clock up - although I'm in the process of moving so close to work that it wouldn't really get any commuting mileage which would help I guess. The mileage doesn't bother me as an owner - it's similar to what my 650 reached and it proves it hasn't spent all its time at a dealer having things fixed.
3) Spider -> Coupe - this is a concern (especially when the 650 spider is cheaper!) but actually bothers me less than I expected.
2) Its quid pro quo - proportionally a higher priced lower miles car will lose a lot more money if you use it, unless you set yourself a target mileage, the same can be said of a high miles car too. Or just keep it then it doesn't matter.
3) Coupe looks better and has the massive rear shelf for coats / bags / percy pigs etc. You can always roll the windows down anyway.
Just assume you will lose around £1.00 mile in depreciation for any McLaren over 3 years but more for a hyper low miles car. The higher the miles on a McLaren usually the more reliable it will be. Also put on 2 years of warranty just before its 5 years old. That way it will cost you under £7k instead of over £10k. Run it on the warranty for 2 years, sort out anything that comes up then self warrant.
And just to add personally I would prefer a 650S or 12C, they are fast enough and have analogue dials and a single wiper, that does it for me ;-)
Bispal said:
And just to add personally I would prefer a 650S or 12C, they are fast enough and have analogue dials and a single wiper, that does it for me ;-)
Yep - both of those are things I prefer in the 650 - plus a few other things too (dedicated climate controls vs IRIS etc).Your other points are good ones, including the 2 year option - hadn't thought of that (although it's exactly what I did when I had the 650).
That's a fairly strong mileage if you keep it three years and do similar miles.
Saying that, the mileage wouldn't put me off at all, I'd actually look at it as a positive as these cars prefer to be used. I'd personally avoid a 3 year old 1k mile car for example.
Fantastic looking car though.
And you make a good point about it being a nice to have, but come spring and summer you'll be missing your 650S being on the driveway
Saying that, the mileage wouldn't put me off at all, I'd actually look at it as a positive as these cars prefer to be used. I'd personally avoid a 3 year old 1k mile car for example.
Fantastic looking car though.
And you make a good point about it being a nice to have, but come spring and summer you'll be missing your 650S being on the driveway
Taken at face value that car looks lovely and those new discs will last a v long time if you're not planning on hammering it around a track frequently. Sure the mileage is on the higher side so maybe so room to haggle there, I sold my 570s late last yr with over 30k miles so they'll always find a buyer just have to be realistic on price.
davek_964 said:
Bit of background : Had a 650 Spider for 3 years, which was written off in August last year. I am not sure I want a replacement supercar, but the g/f does think I should buy one - and her choice is another 650 Spider. I do think they're the sensible bargain McLaren, so it's tempting - although none of the ones for sale currently meet my requirements. Plus - much as I thought it was a brilliant car - I'm not sure I want to spend ~£100k on something I've already had.
The other option is 720. There are many things I prefer in the 650 to 720 - so spending twice the cost of a 650 spider for a 720 spider doesn't interest me. I considered it, but it just doesn't add up - even with man maths - plus, although the g/f is pushing for another 650 spider, she's rather less enthusiastic about me spending twice as much.
720 coupes are approaching the point where they are not too much more than a 650 spider, which makes them tempting. Particularly this one :
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211221...
This is the lowest priced available - clearly due to the mileage - but it ticks most of my boxes. Right colour, McLaren warranty (although only until end of April), good spec - and more importantly seems to have all consumables just replaced : Tyres, brakes and accumulators. Plus just had glass, presumably due to the problem 720s have with cracking glass.
It seems like a car that really shouldn't need money spent on it for a while (I would want the price reduced at least enough for another year warranty).
My reservations are basically this :
1) My current feeling is that another car would be a "nice to have" rather than I really want one. However, I suspect that will change as we get closer to Spring
2) Buying a car that's higher mileage will make it much harder to sell when I want to (although my recent experience suggests that an total loss accident is an easy exit!).
I tend to use my nice cars as mostly dailys - which means the mileage will clock up - although I'm in the process of moving so close to work that it wouldn't really get any commuting mileage which would help I guess. The mileage doesn't bother me as an owner - it's similar to what my 650 reached and it proves it hasn't spent all its time at a dealer having things fixed.
3) Spider -> Coupe - this is a concern (especially when the 650 spider is cheaper!) but actually bothers me less than I expected.
Any thoughts? Would I be mad to buy the cheapest 720 on the market?
I could go higher, but - other than lower mileage - I'm not sure I'd be getting much more for the money and as it gets more expensive, the 650 becomes more appealing again.
ETA : Just to head off some predictable replies, I'm not interested in LTs or 540 / 570s.
Could be a bonus being higher mileage than you would normally associate with these McLarens,at least it shows it's been reliableThe other option is 720. There are many things I prefer in the 650 to 720 - so spending twice the cost of a 650 spider for a 720 spider doesn't interest me. I considered it, but it just doesn't add up - even with man maths - plus, although the g/f is pushing for another 650 spider, she's rather less enthusiastic about me spending twice as much.
720 coupes are approaching the point where they are not too much more than a 650 spider, which makes them tempting. Particularly this one :
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211221...
This is the lowest priced available - clearly due to the mileage - but it ticks most of my boxes. Right colour, McLaren warranty (although only until end of April), good spec - and more importantly seems to have all consumables just replaced : Tyres, brakes and accumulators. Plus just had glass, presumably due to the problem 720s have with cracking glass.
It seems like a car that really shouldn't need money spent on it for a while (I would want the price reduced at least enough for another year warranty).
My reservations are basically this :
1) My current feeling is that another car would be a "nice to have" rather than I really want one. However, I suspect that will change as we get closer to Spring
2) Buying a car that's higher mileage will make it much harder to sell when I want to (although my recent experience suggests that an total loss accident is an easy exit!).
I tend to use my nice cars as mostly dailys - which means the mileage will clock up - although I'm in the process of moving so close to work that it wouldn't really get any commuting mileage which would help I guess. The mileage doesn't bother me as an owner - it's similar to what my 650 reached and it proves it hasn't spent all its time at a dealer having things fixed.
3) Spider -> Coupe - this is a concern (especially when the 650 spider is cheaper!) but actually bothers me less than I expected.
Any thoughts? Would I be mad to buy the cheapest 720 on the market?
I could go higher, but - other than lower mileage - I'm not sure I'd be getting much more for the money and as it gets more expensive, the 650 becomes more appealing again.
ETA : Just to head off some predictable replies, I'm not interested in LTs or 540 / 570s.
Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 11th January 13:38
and it won't turn into a garage queen like a low mileage car that you are frightened to put miles on it .
As long as the priced right can't see a problem.
TBCTBC said:
Fairly sure the early models had an older software varsion - the newer cars with the white logo had newer software that resolved some gremlins.
All cars from all years get all required software updates every time they go into McLaren for a service. For example, early cars with the "flame start" Easter egg have had that feature removed quietly when serviced to protect the cats etc.As I understand it, the very early cars have some hardware differences particularly in the infotainment and dash areas which does introduce some differences. McLaren had two different suppliers work on the two independent systems for the central screen and the dash which resulted in some integration problems which were resolved over time.
I would personally be very apprehensive buying a 2017 or early 2018 built car from my lengthy chats with McLaren when investigating a 720S purchase - except if the car had racked up a decent number of miles and had clearly been used and maintained properly.
DRZ said:
I would personally be very apprehensive buying a 2017 or early 2018 built car from my lengthy chats with McLaren when investigating a 720S purchase - except if the car had racked up a decent number of miles and had clearly been used and maintained properly.
I must admit, when I've been browsing 720s I have mostly been looking at later years. I do also keep remembering the conversation I had with the McLaren service manager when I was considering letting my warranty expire (which I did) - and what their thoughts on that were. His answer was basically : On a 650, I think you'll be fine. On a 720 I'd tell you to buy the warranty.I'll give it some more thought over the weekend, but I suspect I'll go back to my original plan : If a 650 spider comes up that ticks all the boxes (which isn't all that likely, since one of the boxes is leather interior which is not common), then I'll almost certainly buy. If one doesn't - then I may not bother.
Although I have found the side effect of supercar fund sitting in a bank doing nothing is that I p*ss my money away on other stuff!
davek_964 said:
I must admit, when I've been browsing 720s I have mostly been looking at later years. I do also keep remembering the conversation I had with the McLaren service manager when I was considering letting my warranty expire (which I did) - and what their thoughts on that were. His answer was basically : On a 650, I think you'll be fine. On a 720 I'd tell you to buy the warranty.
I'll give it some more thought over the weekend, but I suspect I'll go back to my original plan : If a 650 spider comes up that ticks all the boxes (which isn't all that likely, since one of the boxes is leather interior which is not common), then I'll almost certainly buy. If one doesn't - then I may not bother.
Although I have found the side effect of supercar fund sitting in a bank doing nothing is that I p*ss my money away on other stuff!
Many buyers have re trimmed theiir cars. I have a friend who his having his maclaren seats re trimmed leather to alcantara right now at D Class, they are offical mclaren trimmers. £1800. I would find the spec you want then change the seats as its easy. I'll give it some more thought over the weekend, but I suspect I'll go back to my original plan : If a 650 spider comes up that ticks all the boxes (which isn't all that likely, since one of the boxes is leather interior which is not common), then I'll almost certainly buy. If one doesn't - then I may not bother.
Although I have found the side effect of supercar fund sitting in a bank doing nothing is that I p*ss my money away on other stuff!
Bispal said:
Many buyers have re trimmed theiir cars. I have a friend who his having his maclaren seats re trimmed leather to alcantara right now at D Class, they are offical mclaren trimmers. £1800. I would find the spec you want then change the seats as its easy.
That's not a bad price, and D-Class are not far from me. It's not really just the seats though - I think a swathe of alcantara dashboard etc. is horrible, so a fully alcantara car would need pretty much everything changing. My 650 was leather, and I was comparing it side by side to a yellow one when I bought. The yellow one was a better buy (higher spec, newer, lower mileage for just £3k more) - but I much preferred the VO, and leather interior so went for that car.
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