Market Discussion

Best performance/exotic deal going on the market. Don’t be afraid of miles, but do be afraid of non-warranty cars from non-Mac dealers. A good 12c from a solid McLaren dealer sold under warranty is crazy cheap for what you get. I’ve put about 17k miles on mine in 2.5 years and holy crap what a ride it’s been. Super reliable, never stuck, and fast as hell!!! The car is still way too fast for me, even after all those miles. I made a major triple digit booboo a couple months back (ticket) so be careful if you get one of these monsters. The carbon chassis and hydraulic suspension are absolutely insane as are the engine and brakes. Drive one on the track, you’ll see what I mean. Good luck on the hunt!

 

$120k will get you a great low-ish mileage 12c that is under warranty, sold by a McLaren dealer. Sorry for the not-so-market-relative earlier fanboy post! These cars are just okay on a test drive, but once it’s yours, watch out for big tickets and pants crapping moments.

 

Back to the market, I don’t think good 12c values will dip much more, if at all. The performance/dollar ratio is too high, and it’s really cool tech all around not to mention very exotic to your point. Nobody but car guys care about my F355, but everybody plus grandma goes nuts for the 12c. Double edged sword sometimes though!

 

Rob is drifting towards the 'Dark Side'.

I was a Ferrari guy for 30+ years. The McLaren's are brilliant. 12C was on my short list, but I ended up with a 570S.

There are a few minor known 12C issues. Just like with Ferraris, do your homework, get the best car you can afford and pull the trigger!

 

hi guys, following the discussion because i am interested in a 12 c spider here in Germany. Prices are down, but the warranty is crazy expensive. As you can get it only to max 12 years, i am worrying about selling it again. Some people may say, worrying about the resale value is the wrong approach to a supercar like this. But if i get one today and keep it for a couple of years, it will be 10-12 years old then. And then who will ever buy this, if you dont get a warranty any more?
Love the car and its performance, but not sure if this will be a good idea. Your thoughts??

 

Alright Rob about time you came around




I would highly suggest looking into a 570s, the coupes are going very reasonable prices, updated and improved everything and as the Sith would say
"Power!!!! unlimited Power!!!!!"
.

 

The 'Sport Series' is a serious supercar being offered at a different price point. It's no joke. You have to drive them and it's all over!

 

Low line?? you mean Sport Series, I'm insulted jk

Yeah everyone thinks same way until they drive the 570 and are blown away by how good it is. Why would they have a Sport series and a Super series it was quite simply to keep the 650 and 12-C owners happy and to please it's growing customer base saying the cars need to be more fun and agile, less sterile.

Don't kid yourself this is no Low end car, it is a supercar through and through, it will outperform almost all other supercars. It is as fast as the 650s, only thing that makes a difference is the smaller tires done on purpose by Mclaren to make the car fun. If you put the same size tires as the 650 as others have done the 570 will out perform the 650 as the engine set up, management system along with better transmission, faster shifting makes it a better driver on the track.

Don't get me wrong I love both the 570 and 650 they are both leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, it comes down to personal preference, the 570 is a newer car all the way around, updated look, updated interior, updated sound system, easier to drive imo.

The 650 is still a stunning car and well with every penny but I would only get the 675LT Spider if I had the choice between 570 and a 650, that is just an insane car.


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I've just recently been through this entire process...

I was interested in a car to complement my heavily modified Ferrari 360. Now my choices are quite constrained since the 360 is now as fast as 430 Scuderia / 458 in a straight line and in the corners its just wonderful to drive. With about 500lbs removed of weight the car feels very special...

Since I haven't bought any 'modern' fast sports car for quite some time I was interested to see what I could get. Now in terms of priorities I drew up a short list...

1. Must be lightweight with a lot of potential for upgrade to big performance (so turbocharged and seamless shifting dual clutch).
2. Must feel different yet similar to 360 with attributes like nimbleness, agility and great steering feel / feedback (so mid engine & hydraulic steering a must).
3. Must be timeless, exotic and rare (its another car I plan to make a keeper just like my 360, nothing too mainstream to help residuals into the longer term.)

Price wasn't the overriding consideration as I planned to upgrade the thing extensively anyway...

That lead me to the 12C...

I couldn't be more happy with that conclusion, I bought one and drove it straight onto a trailer ready to be upgraded. Watch this space for an incoming project build thread. They are amazing cars and very de-tuned (just like the 360 was) from the factory. The difference here being turbocharged means power upgrades are relatively easy to accomplish and a huge amount of weight reduction parts are available from McLaren themselves as well as the aftermarket.

I think the sweet spot for a mild tune is 700hp and for a stage 2 (upgraded turbos, exhaust and remap) 850hp is something you can expect. That's pretty mind blowing considering the kerb weight of the car is basically parity with what the 360 was when I got it. Most people haven't realized it yet but these cars are basically detuned drag cars that can handle really really well

 

you know if Trev is doing t, it will come out very special, indeed!

 

Cool, can’t wait to hear more.