McLaren Depreciation 12-C: a nightmare- werewolf?

Expect the comparison to make would be 5 of my friends who have seen the whole thing, or Roger Ebert having only watched 7 minutes starting from the 57 minute mark.

Critics have been giving rave reviews to Gravity and George Clooney, yet he's only in the movie for 15 minutes in a very unmemorable role. All he does is act like George Clooney. George Clooney has the Ferrari brand effect going for him it seems.

 

Does Clooney drive a 458 or 12c?

 

wonder why 12c owners sold after one year.

Understand why 458 owners sell. Some always have to have the lastest newest Fcar be it a spider or F12. and some just want to avoid the depreciation hit by waiting longer.

Some 458 spider owners sell after a few months and only 500 miles.

 

I also wonder why 12C owners sold so quickly and in such relatively large numbers. A similar thing happened to the Lotus Elise after the 2005 introduction. The Elise promptly dropped from the mid-$40K range to under $35K in less than a year, a drop of around 25%.

The Elise did so, IMO, because it was too expensive and the poseurs bought it and turns out it is for the hard core enthusiast, with almost no poseur value at all. It is hard to get in, noisy, and all kind of impractical. But a 2005 Elise will cost you a solid $30K today, since the second wave of adopters were the right people, willing to pay the right price for the car.

I think some of the same things happened with the McLaren. Poseurs who wanted a 458 equivalent and were willing to pay 458 money found out it's not like a 458. Some of the comments above bear that out:

1. No one knows what it is! How am I going to impress anyone if they don't know its as expensive and prestigious as a Ferrari?

2. The infotainment system is pathetic (and it really is). A more hard core person like me is at most mildly irritated. But the guy buying a toy wants the nav to work properly and to have Bluetooth function like an Audi.

3. It's a pain to get in. The "swipe" for the doors is hard to get right and the dihedral door requires a limbo dance for me (and my passenger). And if someone parks right next to you, you can't get the damn door open. Not too much fun long term if you're not sufficiently enthused about the car.

4. It does not make the same sounds as a Ferrari - and any turbo car suffers from that ailment.

5. No one likes it as much as the Ferrari. Look above for all the people who want to own the car that the press likes better.

6. The car came to market with too many early bugs. The doors were balky, the engine software lacked a bit of power, the infotainment system needed to be updated.

7. The car was too expensive - you want to break into the market with Ferrari, you have to either make a car that is MUCH better at the same price or offer at least an introductory discount. The 12C is not MUCH better than a 458, on that I suspect we all agree.

My hope going forward is that the second wave of buyers is the more bargain-oriented enthusiast, who wants the car for its intrinsic merits, not poseur appeal. We bought the car for 20% less than sticker, give or take, and we value the "numbers" over the intangibles and others' opinions. We also got lots of free upgrades, such as a bump to 616 hp, new software for the infotainment system, and other more minor running updates (that are still coming, BTW). At the same price, I can see the 458 over the 12C, if you value the subjective over performance numbers. But my buddy and I bought 2012 cars within 30 days of each other, he a 458, me a 12C, but he paid a LOT more for his car.

You can worry about depreciation on the back end all you want, but I decided to save on the front end. I fully expect to take a hit on the back end, but if I kept a 458 for the same time I hope to keep my 12C I am not sure how different the hit would be.

I personally think the arrested depreciation on the 12C is the second wave of enthusiasts who recognized and acted on the bargain the 12C represents and have no intention of flipping the car in 12 more months. The supply of "dumped" cars is drying up or gone and if you want one, you need to pay in the $200K range or you can wait for more normal depreciation rates and get your car for probably 10% less every year you wait.

$200K buys you a car that really and clearly surpasses the 458 in every measurable performance number and you know what - an enthusiast like me values that over every adjective I've seen bandied about regarding the 458.

 

These are good points.

I would add to the reasons why so many sold so quickly- they knew a spider and the P1 were coming so it was a race to get the cars on the market before the other people who were promised the next one. To play that game you really have to be early but with many people playing, it becomes a problem.

 

well said.

9. Too few dealers in the US. Only 9. the closest dealer to me is a 17 hour drive...Dallas. that's way to much hassle for service even if they pick-up and deliver for free. Ferrari has 36 dealers and Prosche has 206. Lambo has 29.

 

These cars are close enough that unless you are a seasoned race car driver I will bet that you can drive the Mclaren and the pro will beat you in the Ferrari by alot. You can then drive the Ferrari and the pro will smoke you in the Mclaren by alot. For cars this close it matters less about the specs and only about who is piloting the car. That will determine the outcome over anything but a straight line drag race.

I've taken hot laps with some pro drivers and everytime I thought I was doing an insanely fast lap that left nothing on the tarmac, I sadly realized just how slow I was.

 

I just sold my 12C.



Bought the 12C spider

 

Other than the fact that is a covertible what differences are there?

New color/ new interior? Options? Wheels? etc?

Pics?

 

Nice. I'll be doing the same. Sold my 2012 Coupe, going to pickup 2014 Spider. I love McLaren (and Ferrari too).

 

ok let me give you gentlemen some real figures....I bought a 2012 Mclaren coupe (dealer demo with 1700 miles) in May...for $202 ....this was a little more than 60k off list price of $263..drove it all summer...loved it...put about 1300 miles on it...pre-traded it in last month for a 2014 458 spider...got $190K for the trade in..I was also considering getting a 458 coupe in May as well which would have been around 290K...I believe the deal with the Mac worked out much better. At the end of the day, I lost 12K for experiencing the thrill of the 12c for one summer...yes I knew I wouldn't get MSRP back but who does these days except 458 spider and f12 owners...I have a feeling I would have lost more if I had gotten a 458 coupe as a dealer is going to try to make at least 10k on a trade in.....now waiting for the 458 spider to compare the experience with.....

 

Pretty close to the same as the coupe which I *really* liked and wasn't too motivated to change it up but inventory isn't as plentiful as it was last year. So had to accept a few changes, some better, some not so much. Still pearl white but interior is offset leather/alcantera with red stitching. more sporty look I suppose. muffler delete, carbon interior, NEW IRIS which is the big thing in the mclaren world these days. I'll miss the CF engine bay and front splitter but oh well no biggie. The top goes down which for me will be 99% of the time!

 

Sounds great. I am a 99% top downer as well.

Enjoy.

 

Oh I suspect in real numbers the in and out for Ferraris is not free of cost.

 

Nice work and that's a pretty good trade-in. You're going to love the 458 Spider. It's a fantastic car!

 

Once again looks are your opinion, I don't care what others think, I care what I think. I think both cars are attractive, I didn't make a case of anything, it is you that seems to.

The MAC history on racing is just as strong as Ferrari, when was the last time Ferrari won Le Mans? Did Ferrari ever win the Indy 500 like McLaren did?

Again you keep going back to resale, I own both marks, and I feel that both have a strong history and it is in the USA that Ferrari has more pull, not everywhere else in the world. But then again I don't need my car to validate any insecurities or care about who thinks what looks better or depreciation.

As you said buy what you like, I did.

 

4 doors. might want to check out the Vintage section on this one.

The rarest is the Ferrari 456 GT Sedan. Two 4-door sedans (saloons) were built by Pininfarina especially for Nafsas Al Khaddaja of Belgium.

And nice to know the FF is NOT an SUV.

 

Wow! Now that's industrial strength Ferrari Kool Aide. Sip it at least, don't chug!

As a slight point of what I am pretty sure is factual, In 2012, Ferrari sold 7,318 cars. The 7,000 number is a production reduction that I think most agree is due to reduced demand, sugar-coated as to maintain exclusivity.

 

love that!