McLaren GT

Felonious Crud

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Clearly things have improved with the latest generation, no doubt with the benefit of Mercedes technology.
The reason for my comments were based on bodyshops and detailers who heavily criticised the paintwork as being well below standard, although they were equally critical of Ferrari. And the ownership experience of a client who bought a Vantage from new:-
The brake discs needed to be continually skimmed to stop them from squealing like you were dragging an unfortunate pedestrian underneath the car. AM told him it was a sports car and unless you drive aggressively this can be expected.
The rear diff also made some terrible sounds when the car was driven slowly on full lock.
Various electrical gremlins including inoperative Sat Nav.
Then, when as a courtesy to him, I would arrange the garage visits - from memory possibly Stratstones ( you had to do anything you could to keep your clients happy as a Currency Broker ), I questioned the cost of the service when the car was a month old, as so little work was being done, and the advisor agreed and said but we can charge that because our customers can afford it!!
Perhaps to put some clarity into what I said, AM is by its nature not a company with the resources to thoroughly develop out all the little issues that one of the big boys VAG or BMW with Bentley Lamborghini or Rolls Royce can afford to do. This is why previous gen AM's would rely on out of date switchgear and controls from say a Jaguar. Thankfully as I say with Mercedes input these issues are clearly being sorted.
I think Aston's are great British cars, and can definitely take the fight to Ferrari as is the case with McLaren, but when I looked at a Rapids (IMO one of the most stunning four door cars on the road) and discovered a Manuel fly off hand brake and an ex Jaguar Manuel steering wheel adjustment lever I realized they simply didn't have the money behind them to make something truly modern and competitive. But from what your saying it appears they have turned a corner.
Whilst criticised heavily in the U.S the latest Maserati s benefit from the thoroughly developed tech of Chrysler, which is maybe why in my case in nearly four years my Ghibli has remained pretty much fault free.
In summary a small manufacturer needs the benefit of big producer and deep pockets to get all the details right.

For me, the fly-off handbrake next to the driver’s side door, as well well as the reverse rev counter, adds to the charisma and ‘analogue’ feel of the car.
 
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outrun

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If embarrassing F1 results drive your purchasing decision, you should be buying a dull old mans Mercedes!

The 650S is one of the most capable and surprising cars I have ever driven. Spookily natural (that seems to scare some away, which I can understand). If money had not been invented, removing depreciation, I'd have a 650s over a Pista. (I have driven both). The depreciation is the killer though, I agree!

And that’s why we’re not all driving the same cars! Of course, I can appreciate they are fast and well set up etc however they’re just not for me. There is no way on earth I’d have any McLaren except an f1 over a Pista. But really what I’d like the best is if Maserati can pull their fingers out of their arses and build a Pista competitor with 4 seats, over 600bhp, no turbos and looks like the Alfieri concept and costs less than my FF. oh and preferably that doesn’t cheapen classic names any more like using Gransport for a seat trim.

But that’s just me.
 

Andyk

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If I was in the right league I would have a McLaren in the blink of an eye, I love there understated design but this one is not, IMO, their best.

A 570GT or an MP4 12C would do me just fine

Still maintain that the 12C Spyder is the best car I have ever driven. Bonkers fast, handled like a dream and gave me the biggest smile. Same day I drove a Lambo and Ferrari and the McLaren was more fun.....Well for me it was. I'm with you ....570GT......Oh and a V12V and I would be one happy man.
 

Wattie

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After owning 2 Ferrari’s recently I am horrified how reliable the aston is. Is totally boring. Everything works as it should , no engine lights ever come on, it’s packed to the teeth with high tech safety and audio visual equipment and the first free service (with a comprehensive video emailed to me) threw up no problems. I am considering going back to ferrari as I quite liked the excitement of never knowing when I would see ‘stop the car immediately and send to dealer’ sign or when I would smell something burning and wonder how long I had to live...

And yes, occasionally if it is wet and you drive over some dirt the great looking air vents in the front get splattered. But I am too busy looking at the beauty of the rest of the car to notice. When it’s sunny it’s not a problem
I’m a little surprised by your Ferrari reliability comments. I thought they were up to scratch nowadays. Can you give an insight into the problems you experienced?
 

rockits

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Didn't Hoovie buy one on his You Tube channel for $105k that the previous owner had circa $100k of warranty work over its first two years?

With the depreciation the first 2 years could have been quite horrific financially.
 

Felonious Crud

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Gees.... interesting watch!


That 12C has been a right pita for him. Even with the warranty, you want more reliability than that in a car. That said, I can only imagine that his was an extremely unfortunate sample. They can’t all be that bad.

Anyway, Hoovie’s videos are very enjoyable. I like how candid he is about his cars and their challenges.
 

rockits

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Agreed....I'm sure later cars are.much better now. Early 12c's were Guinea Pig cars I guess. Shows the need for a warranty as a given on any of these high end cars.
 

rockits

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I do also enjoy Hoovie's video for entertainment value alone. Tavarish I find better for useful mechanical stuff but less entertaining.

Amazing how many basic faux pas's even Tavarish does. Was watching him take the Bentley engine out and doing things like levering off the faces of a mated gasket surface with a large flat blade is a real no no.

I'm even more of an amateur mechanic than Tavarish but would never do anything like this for obvious reasons.
 

dickygrace

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I’d have a Mclaren in a heartbeat; just make sure you buy a good one. £75-80k for a £200k new MP4 with 20k on the clock. Get a Mclaren warranty and what’s there to worry about? 0-60 in under 3 seconds, power just keeps on coming, great ride, great gearbox. Every journey is an event; any better car out there for the cash? I can’t think of one.
 

dickygrace

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agreed, but you must admit that is a sh1t load of major component failure on what is a fairly expensive motor

Didn’t watch the clip; but do know from personal experience that they’re well built and no more unreliable than any other super car. The last one I had in for service at McLaren needed an oil pipe, an AC regas and a set of pads, was given a clean bill of health and eligible for a full Mclaren warranty. There’s horror stories out there about all cars. People think IMS issues affect every Porsche, in fact it’s around 5% of the 996/997.1 cars; internet blows it all out of proportion.
 

Felonious Crud

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agreed, but you must admit that is a sh1t load of major component failure on what is a fairly expensive motor

From memory, the warranty is around £4k pa and McLaren won’t renew it when cars get beyond a certain age. But I could be wrong. Eyes wide open and all that. I’d like a 600LT or a 720, but there are many more prioritised wants on the list above them. I love my Vantage and can’t imagine a Macca would be better enough to justify the sparse dealer network, lack of indie support and £££ warranty.

By the way, I was chatting to a Macca owner and he said Mac don’t ‘allow’ anyone else to even open the engine cover. Only they can’t work on these things. Could be BS, but that’d annoy me. And a race team owner in The Gulf who’s sick of reliability issues. Sure, his are getting hammered but it didn’t endear me to the brand.
 

dickygrace

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From memory, the warranty is around £4k pa and McLaren won’t renew it when cars get beyond a certain age. But I could be wrong. Eyes wide open and all that. I’d like a 600LT or a 720, but there are many more prioritised wants on the list above them. I love my Vantage and can’t imagine a Macca would be better enough to justify the sparse dealer network, lack of indie support and £££ warranty.

By the way, I was chatting to a Macca owner and he said Mac don’t ‘allow’ anyone else to even open the engine cover. Only they can’t work on these things. Could be BS, but that’d annoy me. And a race team owner in The Gulf who’s sick of reliability issues. Sure, his are getting hammered but it didn’t endear me to the brand.

Warranty £3450 pa, worth it for peace of mind caused by all the negativity. If they were that unreliable there’s no chance that’s all the warranty would cost. You can put it on up to 12 years old, so another 5 years yet. McLaren will make money out of extended warranties so surely they average £2-3k max of repairs per annum. Pretty good for a £200k supercar.
 

lifes2short

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Didn’t watch the clip; but do know from personal experience that they’re well built and no more unreliable than any other super car. The last one I had in for service at McLaren needed an oil pipe, an AC regas and a set of pads, was given a clean bill of health and eligible for a full Mclaren warranty. There’s horror stories out there about all cars. People think IMS issues affect every Porsche, in fact it’s around 5% of the 996/997.1 cars; internet blows it all out of proportion.

100,000 dollars of warranty work:eek:
 

zagatoes30

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I’d have a Mclaren in a heartbeat; just make sure you buy a good one. £75-80k for a £200k new MP4 with 20k on the clock. Get a Mclaren warranty and what’s there to worry about? 0-60 in under 3 seconds, power just keeps on coming, great ride, great gearbox. Every journey is an event; any better car out there for the cash? I can’t think of one.

OK Dicky you have got the job, when my elusive lottery win comes in you will be one of the first people I ring to source me that perfect McLaren ;)