Mclaren GT - thoughts /experiences please…

[turboman786]

I set out looking for a 488 Ferrari, and have been looking for a main dealer car with the desired options for a while

I went to Mclaren Leeds and was smitten by a lovely 23 plate Purple Mclaren GT which I reckon could be had for £125k...strikes me as a lot of car for the money, much newer than the 488, 2 year warranty and remainder of servicing pack etc

I currently own a 19 reg Aston Vantage which I've very much enjoyed

Would any GT owners/users care to share their experiences of the car please?

I'm less interested in the "GT" side and more interested to know about the driving side of things, particularly performance, enjoyment, sound, handling, etc - of course fun!

Depreciation on such. a new car will no doubt be severe.....also is the GT a slow car to sell on ?

Many thanks in advance

Edited by turboman786 on Sunday 11th August 11:46

[neverlifted]

For that circa budget personally I would go 720S or V12 GTC4Lusso. If you want something newer, Artura is brilliant- great tech e.g. adaptive cruise etc helps with the long distance trips...14 miles electric only range- does everything the GT does in a dynamically sharper package.

[JerryEXE]

There’s a few current and former owners on here. The threads that immediately come to mind are below. Have a digest of those and then if you have any further questions I (and I’m sure others) shall try and help. Best advice anyone can give is drive the car that you are looking at as that’ll immediately determine whether on not it’s a car for you.

My thread

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

DRZ’s thread

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Ken Figenus’s thread

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Paulsd’s thread

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

There have been various other threads where the pros and cons of the GT have been discussed but I cannot find them at the moment.

[Oaky]

Why do you think you could buy it for £125k?

[turboman786]

Oaky said:

Why do you think you could buy it for £125k?

Because they said they'd sell at 125k....

[coolchris]

£900 off a 125k car is sod all the dealer will have a decent mark up on that car.If the car had been sitting around for a while I'd be starting a fair bit lower than 125k worst case scenario one has to move up

[Frankychops]

turboman786 said:

I set out looking for a 488 Ferrari, and have been looking for a main dealer car with the desired options for a while

I went to Mclaren Leeds and was smitten by a lovely 23 plate Purple Mclaren GT which I reckon could be had for £125k...strikes me as a lot of car for the money, much newer than the 488, 2 year warranty and remainder of servicing pack etc

I currently own a 19 reg Aston Vantage which I've very much enjoyed

Would any GT owners/users care to share their experiences of the car please?

I'm less interested in the "GT" side and more interested to know about the driving side of things, particularly performance, enjoyment, sound, handling, etc - of course fun!

Depreciation on such. a new car will no doubt be severe.....also is the GT a slow car to sell on ?

Many thanks in advance

Edited by turboman786 on Sunday 11th August 11:46

I've got a 650s, did drive a a GT. i think they're great cars. I actually think you'd get it for less than £125k as they're got a great seller. Theres a lovely spec artura for not much more also.

There's a reason Mclarens are in the supercar section, Vantage not so.

[HIS LM]

The GT is a great car very underrated in my opinion, looks great, sounds good (for a McLaren) and goes like stink plenty fast enough.
A very comfortable, practical car and easily usable as a daily driver, the wife prefers it to my LT as she feels safer.

[franki68]

Used McLaren’s offer fantastic value but honestly the gt cars seem like a really hard sell (having been keeping eye on McLaren market last 18 months )

[Paulsd]

Thanks to JerryEXE for sharing my thread.

I'm still having a great time with the car. Drivers Union Airfield day recently...



One thing I'm surprised about are the comments on it's noise - a few people tell me how great it sounds (especially cold start and when pushing it). I'm never sure from my perspective in the drivers seat! These are 12C, 570s and 600LT owners. Mine allegedly doesn't have the sports exhuast either.

On reliability - pretty good. It had two very small areas of corrosion sorted about a month ago and it's up for it's 3rd new ICU under warranty (but infotainment still works fine, just reboots itself very infrequenetly).

Carrying capacity - went to Le Mans with tent, luggage etc. this year. You can definitely get a week's worth of luggage in.

I've not owned anything like it (aside from the previous 992) and I still find the speed it's capable of astonishing!

Edited by Paulsd on Monday 12th August 13:11

[PinkHouse]

franki68 said:

Used McLaren’s offer fantastic value but honestly the gt cars seem like a really hard sell (having been keeping eye on McLaren market last 18 months )

Agreed, the bottom of the market has gone from £120k this time last year to around £90k this year, so if I was spending £125k on one now then at least you've got to be happy losing a similar amount in your first year Retail to Trade

[Oaky]

turboman786 said:

Oaky said:

Why do you think you could buy it for £125k?

Because they said they'd sell at 125k....

And you read between the lines - gotcha

I need you in my corner when I engage with DK about their Zonda

Edited by Oaky on Monday 12th August 16:42

[turboman786]

Many thanks to you all for your responses.

It seems that a few things are apparent

- the GT is NOT the most desirable Mclaren by a long shot probably due to limited warmth shown by reviewers

- notwithstanding the above, owners seem to rate the cars very highly

- they are a slow, hard seller - this part concerns me as I like a car that is easy to move on ,in fact Ive never had a car that's taken more than say 3 weeks to sell privately. Id hate to be stuck with a car for months and having to constantly price drop to dispose of

- they depreciate hard. If the above estinate of £30k a year is realistic (i think it wont be far off) then that presents as a very expensive ownership prospect - moreso I think than a 488

But when I look at it, I think I'll worry about all the above later!

What do you guys think the car Ive mentioned is worth..whats a 'sensible offer'? (please dont say 125k!!)

[andrew]

there's a very good reason why mclaren offered us lots of extended drives...

undoubtedly fast
but no fizz whatsoever

take a drive

Edited by andrew on Tuesday 13th August 10:34

[IMI A]

I'd hold out for a 488. They're so under rated and I think best value Ferrari out there.

[turboman786]

andrew said:

there;s a very good reason why mclaren offered us lots of extended drives...

.undoubtedly fast
but no fizz whatsoever

take a drive

I think youve made a very valid point here..having watched so many youtube reviews, they all say its fast, but hardly any describe it as exciting or even fun.

I felt this in a passenger ride - fast but not thrilling at all.

Im sure its a great car but if Im facing 20-30k a year in depreciation then it best be fun !

[Paulsd]

turboman786 said:

Many thanks to you all for your responses.

It seems that a few things are apparent

- the GT is NOT the most desirable Mclaren by a long shot probably due to limited warmth shown by reviewers

It’s a bit of a shame but reviewers compared it to traditional GT cars which it obviously isn’t. This was more than a little to do with the name and McLaren’s marketing team that went hard on the GT side. I do wonder whether this is the reason the facelift is called a GTS?

Cars depreciate, especially if you drive them which is exactly what they’re for - I did just under 10k miles in the first year (I’ve had it nearly 14 months).

Edited by Paulsd on Monday 12th August 22:52

[turboman786]

Paulsd said:

It’s a bit of a shame but reviewers compared it to traditional GT cars which it obviously isn’t. This was more than a little to do with the name and McLaren’s marketing team that went hard on the GT side. I do wonder whether this is the reason the facelift is called a GTS?

Cars depreciate, especially if you drive them which is exactly what they’re for - I did just under 10k miles in the first year (I’ve had it nearly 14 months).

Edited by Paulsd on Monday 12th August 22:52

And what was your experience of those 10k miles sir ?....

[Paulsd]

turboman786 said:

And what was your experience of those 10k miles sir ?....

I love it - it's had a couple of mini-breaks at the dealer for warranty work and one breakdown (not really a car issue as such - have a look at my thread that JerryEXE linked above).

It's faster, more practical and more comfortable (in comfort/comfort) than my previous 992 C4S. It's my only car - I can use other cars in the family (mainly the wife's GR Yaris and VW Transporter) but it'll be the Mcalren key I pick up first.

Edited by Paulsd on Tuesday 13th August 10:53

[WCZ]

neverlifted said:

For that circa budget personally I would go 720S or V12 GTC4Lusso.

this, just more car for the money and neither look dated - 488 or even save money and get a 650s would also be a shout tbh