McLaren 720s thoughts/pricing

[sleazius]

Anyone been watching pricing on these for any length of time?

Thinking of heading to the McLaren  dark side for 6-12 months. Very sick of the Porsche run around.

I'm aware of the build quality issue - frankly it doesn't bother me as I'm a Lotus fan from way back so I know the drill.

Any other thoughts?

I'm going to consolidate a few cars as I'm sick of paying rego on 10ish cars. Also gets me out of yet another garage extension so I'll be saving money right? 😛

The p-cars are staying in the garage so that isn't a factor to consider either.

[MFX]

I have a couple of mates who have 12C's and they love them. One has had his for several years and the only issue he had was the wipers (known problem), the rest is fine. Less issues than his F12.

[sleazius]

6 minutes ago, MFX said:

I have a couple of mates who have 12C's and they love them. One has had his for several years and the only issue he had was the wipers (known problem), the rest is fine. Less issues than his F12.

My current daIly is an American car. Each week or so I find something else not working right. It has given me a healthy appreciation for European cars .. even those with foibles.

[ArthurK]

Im getting itchy feet to get into something too. The 720 was an option I looked at but was put off with potential issues and the level of depreciation on the car. I dont know how bad the hit will be but in this market all cars are still crazy priced. Been keeping a keen eye on the 488 situation and they are just crazy priced still. Better off ordering a new 296 with no option and it would be cheaper (have no clue what a car without options looks like).

I think I will keep my powder dry for the moment and see what next year brings. This cannot continue forever. I might just go out and put myself into debt elsewhere to divert my attention from cars for a while. I am still a sucker for the property market.

As a side note I walked into Porsche Centre Brighton and they will be delivering 8 cars next year with the first on in March. 67 have expressed interest at Brighton alone. No chance of getting a GT3 RS so it will be a different marque once I am ready to pull the trigger. 

[sleazius]

I'm not sure Ferrari would let you order a 296 with no options to be honest. I'm not a customer so I can't confirm first hand but the grapevine word is they expect you to spend minimum $50k. The average car has $100k plus on it.

The Artura has been getting good reviews if you're going new, but personally I'm not prepared to eat the depreciation at this point.

If the MC20 was a few years old I'd give one of those a go, but buying one new right now will likely result in the biggest money bonfire ever.

Values are definitely insane across the board and should turn down but persistent high levels of inflation might put paid to that idea. Especially for high end toys. Big end of town never suffers in high inflationary periods.

Back to the cars, I was going to see if I could jump into something with warranty to alleviate any concerns about that fancy suspension going kaput on the 720s. I can't imagine that is a cheap fix if the worst happens.

 

[Mike-S]

Friend in the U.K. has a 570GT as his only car, has done 12,000 miles in it since collecting it in April. Lives in Northern Ireland but regularly drives to Scotland and London and has done the London -Scotland run in one go several times. Absolutely loves the car and is determined to chop it in for a 720S next, such is the breadth of abilities in them. Proper all weather cross country fun. It’s just had the first service under his ownership, service cost itself wasn’t too bad but a couple of items needed fixing that thankfully were covered by the warranty. One was a minor oil leak on something that to get at is 20hrs labour, so circa £8k to fix a dodgy seal. Suffice to say he’ll be keeping it fully serviced by McLaren and paying for the warranty in future, it was a no quibble repair. They did sting him for a new tyre as one of the rears had a nail in it, gave him some story that if he didn’t let them replace it then it would affect the warranty going forward. I’ll see if I can track down the video sent to him by McLaren Glasgow detailing everything found, 5 minutes long but very interesting to watch.

His only beef with McLaren is some issues with corrosion under the paint that they’re not keen to address under the factory warranty. Wouldn’t be an issue here I’m guessing…

[donR]

IMO McLarens get an unfair wrap. Worth watching Robert Mitchell from Apex cars who has run a few McLarens at Nürburgring over the years. I think they are a great mid-engine supercar with power and balance to match but don't have the subtlety of Porsche. 

I remember a while back a guy ran a 720s at the local Porsche Supersprint on SMSP GP circuit and he was faster than all of the street Porsches, although very good driver. The closest Porsche was 0.2 s behind in a 991.2 GT3 RS on Cup 2Rs, also reasonably experienced driver. But I guess a bit of an unfair advantage with 720hp vs 500hp.

[sleazius]

There is a lot of speculation that McLaren are being modest with the "720" moniker.

The performance difference between a GT3 RS and a 720s is such that I'm surpised the Porsche driver was within cooee of the 720s. 0-200km/hr is 7.1s (720s) vs 10.5s (GT3 RS) for comparison. 720s is stupidly fast in a straight line.

*had wrong time for GT3 RS

[ArthurK]

Spent some time at the McLaren dealership on Saturday just chewing the fat with the sales consultant who was quite down to earth and easy to talk to. They had a newly delivered GT which was gorgeous plus some older cars. In our talks we get onto the topic of depreciation, maintenance and costs in general. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you can warrant a McLaren for 10 years. As long as the car is under warranty it can be extended to 10. Makes the decision to look into the 720s a bit more palatable. Not cheap but 5K a year is decent insurance. 500K on a new GT vs a 4 year old 720s makes an easy decision.

He also mentioned they are getting their first Artura next month.

[Carrera28]

29 minutes ago, ArthurK said:

Spent some time at the McLaren dealership on Saturday just chewing the fat with the sales consultant who was quite down to earth and easy to talk to. They had a newly delivered GT which was gorgeous plus some older cars. In our talks we get onto the topic of depreciation, maintenance and costs in general. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you can warrant a McLaren for 10 years. As long as the car is under warranty it can be extended to 10. Makes the decision to look into the 720s a bit more palatable. Not cheap but 5K a year is decent insurance. 500K on a new GT vs a 4 year old 720s makes an easy decision.

He also mentioned they are getting their first Artura next month.

I also think if you ever travel to England you can probably get them to give you a factory tour as well.

[WGA]

True Story...

When I was living in Belgium I got the urge to mix up my garage. Based on reviews, I decided to get a 570S.

I went to my nearest dealer 50km away in Brussels to test drive a 570S. The test drive went fantastically well to the extent I had internally decided to buy it....then about 800m from the dealer, the car stopped and could not be restarted. Car had to be trailered back to showroom.

Ok, I thought, not a good start but I was still reasonably keen so I drove up to my next closest dealer in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Again test drive went well, loved it...but as we got back to the dealers car park and put the car in reverse, the reversing camera was black. Hopped out the car to inspect the rear only to find that the camera had somehow magically disappeared on the test drive. There was only a hole!

The following week I decided to give the brand one more try so I went out to the dealer in Frankfurt Germany...they had a beautiful silver grey one on showroom floor. They opened up the doors of the showroom to give me a test drive....and they could not get it started...the battery was ok, the engine cranked but nothing fired. They were terribly apologetic and asked me to wait an hour while they got it fixed. They never did. I went back to Belgium and swore that I would never waste my time on a Maclaren ever again. They lost me forever. 3 strikes and your out.

[ArthurK]

1 hour ago, WGA said:

True Story...

Well thats one way to burst the bubble of getting into a 720S!!!

Prior to going to McLaren we were in the Ferrari dealership. Cannot bring myself to drop 980K on a F8 Spider...........

[hugh]

17 minutes ago, ArthurK said:

Well thats one way to burst the bubble of getting into a 720S!!!

Prior to going to McLaren we were in the Ferrari dealership. Cannot bring myself to drop 980K on a F8 Spider...........

Cough* GT3. 

[sleazius]

Nothing i haven't heard before. The build quality is shithouse. Panel gaps are atrocious. Sat nav / radio works when it wants to. But the engine is a peach. I can't buy a new (desirable) Porsche if I wanted to so what difference does it make?

 

[sjm]

9 hours ago, WGA said:

True Story...

When I was living in Belgium I got the urge to mix up my garage. Based on reviews, I decided to get a 570S.

I went to my nearest dealer 50km away in Brussels to test drive a 570S. The test drive went fantastically well to the extent I had internally decided to buy it....then about 800m from the dealer, the car stopped and could not be restarted. Car had to be trailered back to showroom.

Ok, I thought, not a good start but I was still reasonably keen so I drove up to my next closest dealer in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Again test drive went well, loved it...but as we got back to the dealers car park and put the car in reverse, the reversing camera was black. Hopped out the car to inspect the rear only to find that the camera had somehow magically disappeared on the test drive. There was only a hole!

The following week I decided to give the brand one more try so I went out to the dealer in Frankfurt Germany...they had a beautiful silver grey one on showroom floor. They opened up the doors of the showroom to give me a test drive....and they could not get it started...the battery was ok, the engine cranked but nothing fired. They were terribly apologetic and asked me to wait an hour while they got it fixed. They never did. I went back to Belgium and swore that I would never waste my time on a Maclaren ever again. They lost me forever. 3 strikes and your out.

Friday builds😅

[OBRUT]

Always liked the 12C - especially in orange (well only in orange). 
 

A strong contender if I can bring myself to sell something special in the current fleet. 
 

Ps. I inspected a 720 for a mate interstate last year. I honestly thought the rear bodywork was incorrectly assembled (flap B over tab A deal). Sales person calmly told me it was bespoke build quality. 

[sleazius]

4 hours ago, OBRUT said:

Always liked the 12C - especially in orange (well only in orange). 
 

A strong contender if I can bring myself to sell something special in the current fleet. 
 

Ps. I inspected a 720 for a mate interstate last year. I honestly thought the rear bodywork was incorrectly assembled (flap B over tab A deal). Sales person calmly told me it was bespoke build quality. 

Supposedly their new bodywork process is miles better on the Artura. I wonder if this will translate to the 720 replacement?

This is funny ... watch about the next minute of it and he discusses some of the problems on this two week old car - he also talks about how the entertainment system just randomly won't work at times at another point in the vid:

 

[LeeM]

 All I seem to read or see videos about McLaren's is the lack of build quality, stuff that doesn't work, or the spontaneous combustion.

 

[sleazius]

1 hour ago, LeeM said:

 All I seem to read or see videos about McLaren's is the lack of build quality, stuff that doesn't work, or the spontaneous combustion.

 

You're thinking Fezzas with the fire stuff mate 😎

 

[ArthurK]

21 hours ago, hugh said:

Cough* GT3. 

Yep cant get one till 2025.

[hugh]

1 hour ago, ArthurK said:

Yep cant get one till 2025.

Plenty available today, no need to wait until 2025. I can think of several ways to burn a couple of hundred K without the bitter disappointment of buying a McLaren. Have you guys seriously got that much coin burning a hole in your pockets that you need an underwhelming supercar NOW! 

😂

[sleazius]

4 minutes ago, hugh said:

Plenty available today, no need to wait until 2025. I can think of several ways to burn a couple of hundred K without the bitter disappointment of buying a McLaren. Have you guys seriously got that much coin burning a hole in your pockets that you need an underwhelming supercar NOW! 

😂

What part of a McLaren 720s is underwhelming other than the build quality? And who said anything about buying a new one when there are 25 on the market already depreciated?

Goes like stink, rides amazingly, and has hydraulic steering. Sounds like it has three things over a 992 GT3 for road use at least (track use no contest obviously).

Money isn’t burning a hole in my pocket but was thinking about rotating some cars to try a different experience. Emira is weeks away now so It would be nice to amalgamate some garage space.

[ArthurK]

39 minutes ago, hugh said:

Plenty available today, no need to wait until 2025. I can think of several ways to burn a couple of hundred K without the bitter disappointment of buying a McLaren. Have you guys seriously got that much coin burning a hole in your pockets that you need an underwhelming supercar NOW! 

😂

I get bored very quickly with cars. I do flip them very quickly and indiscriminately. One car that I dont do that with is the Porsche. Do I need or want a McLaren? Nope but would like to experience it good or bad one day or another. Do I like to burn cash nope and that is the main reason why I havent jumped on it. I look at everything and always come back to Porsche regardless. That said its a shit show in Porscheland if you want anything new. Sure I can order a GT4RS but not really interested, Jake said I can get a build slot in 8 months. GT3RS is a no chance so getting on the GT3 list was the best I could do. In the mean time it will be a toss over up of a 488 or McLaren. Most likely a 488 as I cannot stomach the sledgehammer of the McLaren hit. 

Not a great time to be buying, prices need to ease off in the second hand market and they are coming down as I have noticed a number of 488 have shaved 30-40k off their price since I started looking. Life is too short and you just dont know what is coming around the corner. Any purchase is financially irresponsible, but if I wait to enjoy it when I cannot climb into the cars, whats the point.

 

Edit: Not interested in new, both the 488 and 720S can be had for similar money around 450-550K. It would be dumb to take a new McLaren GT vs a 2/3 year old 720S for the same money. F8s vs 488 is at another level those sellers are more deluded than the current crop of 992 GT3 sellers 

[hugh]

20 minutes ago, sleazius said:

What part of a McLaren 720s is underwhelming other than the build quality? And who said anything about buying a new one when there are 25 on the market already depreciated?

Goes like stink, rides amazingly, and has hydraulic steering. Sounds like it has three things over a 992 GT3 for road use at least (track use no contest obviously).

Money isn’t burning a hole in my pocket but was thinking about rotating some cars to try a different experience. Emira is weeks away now so It would be nice to amalgamate some garage space.

The Emira isn’t enough? The McKaren may go like ‘stink’ but that’s useless on the road and as you say, they are rubbish on track so really what’s the point? 
 

I’m honestly trying to do you a favour here, you can thank me later! 

8 minutes ago, ArthurK said:

I get bored very quickly with cars. I do flip them very quickly and indiscriminately. One car that I dont do that with is the Porsche. Do I need or want a McLaren? Nope but would like to experience it good or bad one day or another. Do I like to burn cash nope and that is the main reason why I havent jumped on it. I look at everything and always come back to Porsche regardless. That said its a shit show in Porscheland if you want anything new. Sure I can order a GT4RS but not really interested, Jake said I can get a build slot in 8 months. GT3RS is a no chance so getting on the GT3 list was the best I could do. In the mean time it will be a toss over up of a 488 or McLaren. Most likely a 488 as I cannot stomach the sledgehammer of the McLaren hit. 

Not a great time to be buying, prices need to ease off in the second hand market and they are coming down as I have noticed a number of 488 have shaved 30-40k off their price since I started looking. Life is too short and you just dont know what is coming around the corner. Any purchase is financially irresponsible, but if I wait to enjoy it when I cannot climb into the cars, whats the point.

 

 

In my experience, people who get bored of cars are generally looking for ownership fulfilment in the wrong places - they are all boring if only driven around town and the odd C&C outing. I’d bet that if you bought a 991 GT3 and came out to the track you’d be hooked and never look at CS again as you’ll be too busy stripping out weight and analysing lap data! 

[ArthurK]

42 minutes ago, hugh said:

In my experience, people who get bored of cars are generally looking for ownership fulfilment in the wrong places - they are all boring if only driven around town and the odd C&C outing. I’d bet that if you bought a 991 GT3 and came out to the track you’d be hooked and never look at CS again as you’ll be too busy stripping out weight and analysing lap data! 

Very true! But I also find that I get a rush in buying and selling cars. That aside, I didnt really appreciate the Porsche ownership till I did take them on the track. My first two never saw a track but my 991.1 did and I was addicted. Granted I didnt do enough of it (roughly 10 track days)  but the car did shine when taken to Sandown and Philip Island. Its been way too long since I have had a car on track and the last event I had the modified Commodore which was way too scary on track (too much power and not enough protection). 

I see cars as memory makers. My girls (15 and 17) are into cars simply because I am. My nephew, who is a dying breed of 16 year old kids that are interested in cars has the same desires as me when it comes to cars. No different to seeing you and your son going to track events. My 15 year old wanted to come to the drags just to check out the "scene". My 17 year old as a 4 year old cried because we loaned a mate our green ute at the time. We are leaving his house and she was howling in the back seat tears and all "NOT THE UTE!!! DONT LEAVE THE UTE" or when she cried thinking we bought the 991 to make her happy and didnt want dad to spend money on a car just to make her happy. Even when my youngest ran into PCM and hugged a white GT3 as her favourite car in the place, she couldnt have been more than 5 at the time. Taking the above collective to Duttons on Saturday morning for breakfast and then doing the dealership walk on Saturday is a bonding session. Seeing all the different cars and making future dreams about ownership puts a smile on my face. To top it off the McLaren dealership popped the doors open to the brandnew GT and all got to sit in it. Woopy doo you might say but it creates memories for them and me. Their smiles showed how much they enjoyed the simple act. 

I just need to finish up working and drive more  My wife has banned me from taking the girls and getting them addicted to tracking cars, my nephew is getting his hit by karting and I enjoy turning a wrench for him when I can