Did you know that McLaren recommends replacing the wheel bolts on your 650S every two years? A lithium 12V battery for the same car costs around $2,500, the headlights apparently fall out, the carbon fiber chips and cracks, and some of the paint colors are impossible to match correctly. It seems like there are a bunch of hidden costs to owning and operating a well-used and ultra-depreciated supercar. Is it worth it? Some people seem to think so.
Harry Metcalfe made his money when the car magazine business was still a profitable enterprise, and he’s spending it buying and maintaining a fleet of ridiculous (and often quite cool) cars. One of his recent additions is a McLaren 650S Spyder with quite a few MSO special options. It’s a neat car, especially in purple, and significantly cheaper to buy on the second-hand market than the 675 or 720 variants that followed. How much would you spend to keep it on the road?
“Some of the service costs on a McLaren are really quite lumpy,” says Metcalfe. The advanced McLaren suspension has little gas accumulators at each corner that have to be replaced every three or four years which cost about 380 dollars each. Apparently McLaren will also fix things by replacing entire units instead of repairing the one in the car, for example a cracked coil spring sees the entire suspension upright replaced at great expense, and a leaking transmission seal means you need a whole new transmission!
Harry’s car has a few minor issues, including some corrosion bubbling the paint. Harry’s annual service for the car, including an oil change, a fresh windshield wiper, and getting a suspension sensor re-calibrated because it was keeping the front ride height too high, cost a whopping $1,300. Six hours of shop labor for that at $140 per hour actually seems kind of reasonable in today’s market.
There is always going to be a premium for keeping cars like this alive, because they were built in such limited quantities for such high prices. Working with an independent McLaren specialist makes things a little easier and less expensive than sending it to the dealer, but costs are still incredibly high.
Would you pay thousands of dollars to keep an old McLaren in your garage? Even with the maintenance it’s still significantly cheaper than buying a Ferrari 488, for example, but not any slower or less flashy. Personally, I’ll stick to my old 911 Turbo, the running costs on that are real cheap compared to this Macca.
