Hiring a McLaren
Discussion
After uhming and ahing about a 570GT for about 18 months, and the 14-16 week building works that started last December finally coming to an end (a little bit of Mission Creep) my usually disinterested wife said last week "Well if you really want one, why not hire one for a week and we'll see how we get on with it day to day". She wanted to wait until the builders had gone so they didn't see a Mclaren on the drive.
So buoyed with enthusiasm I went to the local Supercar hire place website https://sportshire.co.uk/ to find they stopped hiring about the time the builders should have finished.
I've looked around but many of the hire places are either London based, or appear to be some kind of agencies/middlemen that don't actually have the vehicles in stock, or when you delve into the details a lot are Chauffered and many that come up on the searches don't actually have 570/GT in their lineup.
One has a "booking fee" which makes me suspect they are simply an agency renting from private owners, and they seem to have a lot of people leave them a fantastic review, but who never review anyone else, which raises a red flag with me.
Does anyone know somewhere in the Midlands that actually has a car and hires it out? I suspect the dealer doesn't do 24 hour testdrives.
So buoyed with enthusiasm I went to the local Supercar hire place website https://sportshire.co.uk/ to find they stopped hiring about the time the builders should have finished.
I've looked around but many of the hire places are either London based, or appear to be some kind of agencies/middlemen that don't actually have the vehicles in stock, or when you delve into the details a lot are Chauffered and many that come up on the searches don't actually have 570/GT in their lineup.
One has a "booking fee" which makes me suspect they are simply an agency renting from private owners, and they seem to have a lot of people leave them a fantastic review, but who never review anyone else, which raises a red flag with me.
Does anyone know somewhere in the Midlands that actually has a car and hires it out? I suspect the dealer doesn't do 24 hour testdrives.
ex-devonpaul said:
I suspect the dealer doesn't do 24 hour testdrives.
You'll never know if you don't ask. I know quite a few owners have had extended test drives, I think it's often down to your "relationship" with the dealer (i.e. how much money you've spent there!)The supercar market is very slow at present so probably worth going to look at some and expressing interest as a serious buyer. At least try a 'normal' test drive?
In reality they're really easy to live with - comfortable, incredible to drive, huge frunk for luggage.
I did so back in 2022, a couple of threads that may be of interest
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
unfortunately I used the same place you were going to use, which has now closed.
On the former thread, someone reported they'd had a satisfactory hire from Bespokes in London
https://bespokes.co.uk/marques/mclaren-hire/570s-s...
so that does look like a possibility. I found three other places when I was looking in '22 but none of them look suitable now (one had a 720S only, one no longer has any Macs, one the website is down).
Note that a week's hire is £5k, so you might consider a shorter period (and SportsHire was comparable rates when they were trading).
I would expect dealers to have demonstrators of current production models, and to be reasonably keen to give decent length test drives. And depending on how hot a prospect you seem and how much trouble they're having shifting them, that a 24 hour test drive could be possible, I've heard of people being loaned Arturas for instance.
When the 570S came out, SportsHire had an arrangement with McLaren where if you hired from them, and then bought a new car from McLaren, they'd refund the hire cost. However this was only when they were selling them new.
However my experience of buying non-current models used has been that you're lucky to get a short test drive after you've more or less set up the purchase and paid a deposit - it's just ten minutes up the road to confirm that this specific car is in working order, and that you're not desperately unhappy with the seats or how it drives. Not to put you off trying, and I'd certainly recommend having a good chat with your nearest McLaren dealer about what's available, but it seems less likely to me, especially as even as approved used cars the 570s have now almost entirely dropped out of the franchised dealer network due to being over 5 years old. I guess a dealer might try to interest you in a GT instead.
I would say that in my experience, having driven from Cambridge to Shrewsbury, paid a couple of grand, and set off towards Yorkshire - within about 20 minutes of leaving the car hire place, doing 40mph on a dual carriageway, I'd basically decided that I was going to buy a 570 just from the steering. So in a sense the time and cost of the hire could be considered superfluous, albeit I had a great drive down Blakey Ridge in it
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
unfortunately I used the same place you were going to use, which has now closed.
On the former thread, someone reported they'd had a satisfactory hire from Bespokes in London
https://bespokes.co.uk/marques/mclaren-hire/570s-s...
so that does look like a possibility. I found three other places when I was looking in '22 but none of them look suitable now (one had a 720S only, one no longer has any Macs, one the website is down).
Note that a week's hire is £5k, so you might consider a shorter period (and SportsHire was comparable rates when they were trading).
I would expect dealers to have demonstrators of current production models, and to be reasonably keen to give decent length test drives. And depending on how hot a prospect you seem and how much trouble they're having shifting them, that a 24 hour test drive could be possible, I've heard of people being loaned Arturas for instance.
When the 570S came out, SportsHire had an arrangement with McLaren where if you hired from them, and then bought a new car from McLaren, they'd refund the hire cost. However this was only when they were selling them new.
However my experience of buying non-current models used has been that you're lucky to get a short test drive after you've more or less set up the purchase and paid a deposit - it's just ten minutes up the road to confirm that this specific car is in working order, and that you're not desperately unhappy with the seats or how it drives. Not to put you off trying, and I'd certainly recommend having a good chat with your nearest McLaren dealer about what's available, but it seems less likely to me, especially as even as approved used cars the 570s have now almost entirely dropped out of the franchised dealer network due to being over 5 years old. I guess a dealer might try to interest you in a GT instead.
I would say that in my experience, having driven from Cambridge to Shrewsbury, paid a couple of grand, and set off towards Yorkshire - within about 20 minutes of leaving the car hire place, doing 40mph on a dual carriageway, I'd basically decided that I was going to buy a 570 just from the steering. So in a sense the time and cost of the hire could be considered superfluous, albeit I had a great drive down Blakey Ridge in it
Can't speak to used 570s, but my dealer lent me their Artura for a weekend (four days in all). They did have my 720 in for service at the time, but I'm sure the prospect of an imminent sale would motivate them. The issue with a used car as opposed to a demonstrator would be the mileage you would add, I suppose.
964Cup said:
Can't speak to used 570s, but my dealer lent me their Artura for a weekend (four days in all). They did have my 720 in for service at the time, but I'm sure the prospect of an imminent sale would motivate them. The issue with a used car as opposed to a demonstrator would be the mileage you would add, I suppose.
I'm guessing it varies massively by dealer or by their perception of you potentially... I was told by McBrum they weren't allowed to let me out in the Artura on my own even for a local drive, could have as much seat time with the sales chap with me but no chance of taking a friend out for 2nd opinions. Shame really as quite liked the artura but left a sour taste vs the experience at Ferrari for example (Have a 650S currently which is serviced by them, so not a case of not being a customer either)Thanks for all the input.
@Samoht - Bespokes look a good bet, but over 50% more expensive than the local place. Won't be a 4-5 day hire at those rates but realistically £3-4k is small potatoes compared to buying one and the wife hating it. She has a hankering for one of the new manual Supras, so if I factor depreciation my maths says the running costs will be similar, she says that the upfront cost is irrelevant and on-cost is what matters as I'm not working (that might have been a hint, she keeps sending me adverts for part time work as I did intimate I'd look for something after Covid )
Salesmen can usually tell tyre kickers, and in a main dealer on a 6 figure car that is what we would be. Having said that we had a very cold reception from Grange Aston in Exeter but Carrs couldn't have been more different, hence ending up with the Maser so it could be down to the salesman on the day.
I'm away for the next couple of weekends but will call McWilmslow when I'm back and see what they have.
@Samoht - Bespokes look a good bet, but over 50% more expensive than the local place. Won't be a 4-5 day hire at those rates but realistically £3-4k is small potatoes compared to buying one and the wife hating it. She has a hankering for one of the new manual Supras, so if I factor depreciation my maths says the running costs will be similar, she says that the upfront cost is irrelevant and on-cost is what matters as I'm not working (that might have been a hint, she keeps sending me adverts for part time work as I did intimate I'd look for something after Covid
)Salesmen can usually tell tyre kickers, and in a main dealer on a 6 figure car that is what we would be. Having said that we had a very cold reception from Grange Aston in Exeter but Carrs couldn't have been more different, hence ending up with the Maser so it could be down to the salesman on the day.
I'm away for the next couple of weekends but will call McWilmslow when I'm back and see what they have.
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