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I think most McLaren owners would settle for 1,000 trouble-free miles.
30,000 miles on my 12c enough?
For all of Mclaren's (many) faults, they have not had 2 entire series of engines blighted by reliability issues like the .1 gt3. They are not perfect but Porsche are not either by any means.
There's no way I would own a Mclaren without warranty as Ritesh has stated above but the same is also definitely true of the 991 gen of Porsche.
Lets put 10,000 miles on it then talk about reliability??
Conversely, how many 991 GT3/RS owners are putting on 10k miles in their ownership lifetime?... Not to many nowadays I am assuming... 'cus you know.. future value and all..
As a former McLaren Service Advisor and the person that was in charge of all quality control test drives after a shop visit, I find the varying responses of reliability to echo my personal experience. Some cars had vast amounts of issues both small and large while other cars seemed rock solid and well behaved.
One thing I can say is that it seemed like the cars were continuously improving with each generation and I expect that they will only get better as McLaren learns which parts suppliers can be trusted and which cannot.
FWIW, the very best McLaren I ever drove was the Delta Red 675 LT that Chris Harris did his first review on back in 2015. The car had 12,000 miles on it at the time and it just felt great, it really stood out from the multitude of other McLarens and 675 LT's that I had driven prior. I am a firm believer that you need to really drive them and drive them pretty hard to get the best, they seem to be VERY grumpy when you don't use them.
We had just changed the wheels to the stealth set in this photo, in the video the car was on the silver set.
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I "traded in" my first car for a 2013 spider. I say "traded" because the car was a complete lemon and McLaren/Dealer decided to give me a good trade in value instead of having to lemon it.
It was significantly better but it had some issues that were quite concerning. A couple of electrical gremlins including a Faulty Front Axle lift sensor that would give you a Suspension Failure message!. That's not confidence inspiring. Last summer leaked coolant on my garage floor. It was fixed under warranty. These experiences made me realize that I can't own this car once the warranty expired.
Some more data:
1. Friend bought a 2013 spider and from the beginning the car has top up/down issues. It would open half way and get stuck. McLaren gave him a trade on a 650S spider but it had some issues too. He gave up on McLaren brand and traded it for a GT3.
2. Another friend: 2012 Coupe. Delivered with a check engine light. Blown engine at 2000 miles. He got rid of it.
I realize that McLaren is a new car company and that they have made significant improvements in quality control but don't let that fool you. The 570S which was launched in 2016 had a myriad of issues.
Its a great car but it isn't a Porsche and I WOULD NEVER OWN ONE OUT OF WARRANTY!!
Some food for thought.
I am friend #1 Ritesh refers too. I will never buy another Mac. My 458 was a welcome replacement as is the GT3. Much better ownership. My 458 is a 2013 and now out of warranty. With the McLaren if out of warranty I’d be worried..
Some good points above. Let me add another perspective. The majority of the complainers are people who haven't owned a McLaren, are worriers in general, and believe that if you spend that much money on a car it should be perfect. Well, I have found the more money you spend on a car, the more performance it has, and the more things go wrong with it.
Porsche has been doing this for much longer so indeed the majority of their cars are "more reliable" as people say. However, people overlook the 991 GT3 and RS engine fires (one of the reasons I sold mine to get a Motorsport derived 991.2 GT3 engine), they overlook the 997 RS cam bolt issues blowing the engine, they overlook the coolant pipes coming off at high speeds, they overlook the GT4 transmission issues, etc). I have experienced them all. I personally don't want to own a Porsche out of warranty lately either, let alone a McLaren. Porsche quality is also not what it used to be. Quality, fit and finish, and reliability has decreased since they have ramped up production to increase numbers.
I buy cars to experience the brand, experience different drives, and unique body types. I am a car enthusiast not just a Porsche enthusiast.
With that being said, I would rather track a Porsche than any other car because out of the box it is the most reliable track car. It takes a beating and keeps wanting more (usually).
I used to live in Des Moines, IA where the closest P dealer was Omaha. I think it would be no different having a McLaren dealer that far away.
It all depends what you want. The 570S is the best looking car I have ever owned. It drives so well and feels exotic. It never feels boring to drive (yet). My PDK RS was kinda blah to be honest. Looking forward to the new manual GT3.
With all that being said, I love Porsche! (McLaren is cool too and I think people unfairly bash it. They are comfortable with what they are used to)
09-27-2017, 02:57 PM
