DB11 / McLaren GT as Daily Driver

[kindai]

Avoid the Macca.

At that kind of money id be looking at something like a Ferrari FF, v12 vanquish, new shape R8 or maybe dropping the budget and getting into a GTR.

 

[Chris1712]

FF is a great shout.

 

[turbot1984]

FF is a great shout.

Agree ... £90k is a big saving on new 2011 Red Ferrari FF 6.3 Auto Seq 3dr for sale for £89,950 in PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE (autotrader.co.uk)

 

[DRZ]

Curious as to why its a no-brainer to avoid the McLaren but fine with the suggestion of an FF, with its potentially ruinous PTU issues? I'd love an FF but honestly the potential enormous bills waiting in the wings combined with multiple sources of "don't trust the warranty" have really made me worried enough to stop considering it.

The DB11 is an absolutely superb car except perhaps if you want to wring its neck down a back road. The rear is very easily overcome by the power of the engine when you wring its neck but it isn't that sort of car really. I found the brakes to be a bit vague and the pedal very soft. Crossing continents and having some fun on twisty roads on the way without driving 10/10ths is the name of the game for the DB11. After all the relatively negative reviews etc I was quite surprised at how good it was in reality with just a few foibles. However, the looks are just a cut above when specced properly and they just ooze class and refinement in a way few others do. A Vantage is similar money btw and that's also a car worth considering although it is a lot more focussed. Vanquish is also similar money for a slightly older car - still looks great on the outside but the interior is seriously dated now, especially once you've sat in a DB11/Vantage. The V12 in the Vanquish is a touch more tuneful thanks to being N/A rather than turbocharged.

 

[kindai]

Curious as to why its a no-brainer to avoid the McLaren but fine with the suggestion of an FF, with its potentially ruinous PTU issues? I'd love an FF but honestly the potential enormous bills waiting in the wings combined with multiple sources of "don't trust the warranty" have really made me worried enough to stop considering it.

With Macca, if (when) something goes wrong, your fix and availability for said fix will be "whatever, whenever, we dont care".

Fezzas, issues are known, often predictable and plenty of support, the PTU issue had aftermarket fixes / preventative maintenance IIRC?

With any high end car there is always the "what ifs" but I would never take a macca without having a high quality independent behind the car, fortunately Litchos now work on some models.

 

[daz]

I think I'd be looking at a new-ish 911 Turbo or a Portofino personally.

I don't think the McLaren GT doesn't anything particularly well. It's a jack of all trades and expensive for what it is.

 

[DRZ]

With Macca, if (when) something goes wrong, your fix and availability for said fix will be "whatever, whenever, we dont care".

Fezzas, issues are known, often predictable and plenty of support, the PTU issue had aftermarket fixes / preventative maintenance IIRC?

With any high end car there is always the "what ifs" but I would never take a macca without having a high quality independent behind the car, fortunately Litchos now work on some models.

The fix is the same as the preventative maintenance, roughly a £10k bill plus anything that might have gone awry while it was spewing transmission fluid into the crankcase. Once sorted (if done outside of Ferrari) it should last but Ferrari just want to replace it at a cost of £30k and it'll almost certainly fail again.

On McLaren, people like SSO (karenable.com) are completely transparent on their running costs across their multiple McLarens and they seem low, less even than my previous M cars. If I went 570S then a £2800 Thorney warranty seems decent value if you do get a "Friday afternoon" car. Every forum discussion on the matter tends to spiral into arguments between three camps of people - people with McLarens saying they've never had anything major go wrong, very few people with McLarens who have had nothing but serious problems and then the third group which is people that have never owned one just causing trouble based on what they heard down the pub or whatever. Hard to know what you'll get in terms of dealer experience though, that's seemingly a given.

 

[kindai]

very few people with McLarens who have had nothing but serious problems

I think the issue is, IF something goes wrong, even a relatively minor issue, you can end up deep down the McLaren rabbit hole of not having your car back for months on end. Unfortunately I know owners on both sides of the camp and it seems if you get a good car, then fantastic, if not then prepare for a world of pain.

 

[DRZ]

I think the issue is, IF something goes wrong, even a relatively minor issue, you can end up deep down the McLaren rabbit hole of not having your car back for months on end. Unfortunately I know owners on both sides of the camp and it seems if you get a good car, then fantastic, if not then prepare for a world of pain.

Yeah I think that's likely the case if you do end up unlucky. The thing is that there's enough indis out there who can work on these now that I think it is less of an issue than before, enough to probably not write off the idea of a McLaren offhand. Depends on your appetite for risk, relatively speaking of course.

 

[Housey]

SSO and I (and a couple of others from here too...) 'frequent' a couple of private forums littered with McLaren owners who will speak more openly than they might on some of the more open forums about their issues. I don't intend to share anything they might say specifically here, that's not cricket, but they tend to be quite common. Rarely big mechanical issues but tonnes and tonnes of small niggles (electrics, paint, corrosion, parts) that can and often do take a long time to resolve, weeks, months and longer. They also reflect poor dealer experiences across the board, though these seem to be improving in some areas. As a 'daily' car a McLaren is a risk. When I bought my car I had several McLaren owning mates tell me "NOT THE MCLAREN" as they know I use my cars hard and was considering 600LT/720 (I don't like the look of the 570....but loved the drive).

I love McLaren's, think they are superb but for me it's why I went GT3 over Noble back on 2007. Both epic, both quick, one will start each time I want it to start.

 

[Greebo]

I think the issue is, IF something goes wrong, even a relatively minor issue, you can end up deep down the McLaren rabbit hole of not having your car back for months on end. Unfortunately I know owners on both sides of the camp and it seems if you get a good car, then fantastic, if not then prepare for a world of pain.

No idea what Aston martin are like now but that used to be case with them as well. My old bosses Vanquish spent more time with them in the year he owned it, than him driving it. Every time it went in, they had it for 3-4 weeks.

 

[daz]

I owned a 650S for nearly 2 years. Fantastic car, but it did have a few niggles in my time with it. A cast iron warranty is great, but it's not even the cost of various fixes that can be annoying, just the fact the car is away and you can't drive it can be really frustrating.

 

[NathWraith]

Curious as to why its a no-brainer to avoid the McLaren but fine with the suggestion of an FF, with its potentially ruinous PTU issues? I'd love an FF but honestly the potential enormous bills waiting in the wings combined with multiple sources of "don't trust the warranty" have really made me worried enough to stop considering it.

The DB11 is an absolutely superb car except perhaps if you want to wring its neck down a back road. The rear is very easily overcome by the power of the engine when you wring its neck but it isn't that sort of car really. I found the brakes to be a bit vague and the pedal very soft. Crossing continents and having some fun on twisty roads on the way without driving 10/10ths is the name of the game for the DB11. After all the relatively negative reviews etc I was quite surprised at how good it was in reality with just a few foibles. However, the looks are just a cut above when specced properly and they just ooze class and refinement in a way few others do. A Vantage is similar money btw and that's also a car worth considering although it is a lot more focussed. Vanquish is also similar money for a slightly older car - still looks great on the outside but the interior is seriously dated now, especially once you've sat in a DB11/Vantage. The V12 in the Vanquish is a touch more tuneful thanks to being N/A rather than turbocharged.

This perfectly summarises my experience and opinion on the DB11.

I think the issue is, IF something goes wrong, even a relatively minor issue, you can end up deep down the McLaren rabbit hole of not having your car back for months on end. Unfortunately I know owners on both sides of the camp and it seems if you get a good car, then fantastic, if not then prepare for a world of pain.

Yep not heard anything good about McLaren in this regard. Sure it will get fixed under warranty but it will take a life age.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

I can probably give some good advice after using both for commuting over the last year. Oh no wait, I haven't

 

[DRZ]

This perfectly summarises my experience and opinion on the DB11.

Out of interest, what made you choose to go DBX over DB11, even DB11 V8 for the midway point ie AMR chassis improvements but without the V12? I've not been out in a DBX but I can't imagine it is better dynamically than a DB11 at the limit (even if it feels it!)

 

[kitkat9933]

Just got an update from Tesla that after being told late 2023 for delivery of my Model S plaid, they have stopped taking new orders and it will most likely be H2 2022 now. So with that, I will most likely just leave it for now until a firmer date comes.

 

[Adz]

Just got an update from Tesla that after being told late 2023 for delivery of my Model S plaid, they have stopped taking new orders and it will most likely be H2 2022 now. So with that, I will most likely just leave it for now until a firmer date comes.

I got the same email but I read it very differently. I read it as “we have absolutely no idea when we can deliver these cars so we stopped taking orders to avoid disappointing anyone else or cannibalising sales of cars we can actually make”.

Daily drive sports/supercar, get a 911.

 

[kitkat9933]

I got the same email but I read it very differently. I read it as “we have absolutely no idea when we can deliver these cars so we stopped taking orders to avoid disappointing anyone else or cannibalising sales of cars we can actually make”.

Daily drive sports/supercar, get a 911.

from a source they will focus on EU and even Uk delivery over US.

 

[NathWraith]

Out of interest, what made you choose to go DBX over DB11, even DB11 V8 for the midway point ie AMR chassis improvements but without the V12? I've not been out in a DBX but I can't imagine it is better dynamically than a DB11 at the limit (even if it feels it!)

Family and dogs. I already have a focussed second car, so the “daily” doesn’t need to be so much.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Have to say that if it was a daily, I wouldn't be looking at either.
Have you considered a Lexus LC500. Stunning looking, v8, and probably won't leave you on the side of the road waiting for the AA.