[bruce]

Well I have sold the car or rather had to give it away.
Car was great - guys on here great especially the Brits.
McLaren brand needs a lot of building imop and residuals are terrifying,

I wish you all well and hope Woking get it together Quickly, feel more
comfortable with the way Ferrari manage the market as it does provide security for its customers despite there Italian ways

Enjoy your cars and stay healthy !!!!

Bruce

 

[LimeyBloke]

All the best to you, Bruce. Is the market really that crappy in Great Britain? Is Ron attempting to get handle on this crappy situation ???
Anyone willing to venture a guess as to what the true state of the U.S. market is currently. I've read here that there are lots of unsold cars at dealerships. I haven't yet received my unit; So ..... I'm wondering if I should ask for a discount in light of the poor market/residual situation ? Or .... Cut your losses, now.

 

[falb]

They said they wanted to keep the speculators away. You know you never take a lose if you never sell. Cheers!

 

[andy c]

Good luck too Bruce,dont you dare stay away!! and keep up the good work,i will do my best to join you next year for your events,if you want to invite me!!
Cheers
Andy

 

[SSO]

Good luck. When do you take delivery of the 458 Spider?

 

[robbie]

Bruce im pleased for you, but SAD aswell please please stay on the site

 

[bruce]

All the best to you, Bruce. Is the market really that crappy in Great Britain? Is Ron attempting to get handle on this crappy situation ???
Anyone willing to venture a guess as to what the true state of the U.S. market is currently. I've read here that there are lots of unsold cars at dealerships. I haven't yet received my unit; So ..... I'm wondering if I should ask for a discount in light of the poor market/residual situation ? Or .... Cut your losses, now.

Falb is right the only way you dont loose your shirt on a Macca is not to sell it. I may buy a spider next summer BUT it will be a used one and after seeing the trends. Difficult times for all business its just that some brands are stronger than others for whatever reason. The car is outstanding and I loved my 8000 miles. Ron and co have not done a great deal and should have directly intervened at the beginning imop. Ho hum move on .

458 due 1st November looking forward to the noise but not the suspension

 

[garyw]

Good luck Bruce..
Completely agree that the marketing from Mclaren is poor!!

I was told when buying mine that they have just employed an new marketing team.
I mentioned to David how poor the marketing was- and that was from a buying prospective!
I couldn't even find a list of the standard spec the cars came with- although I could find an options list..

 

[constanelli3]

Here's the problem, as I see it. The general economy in the US and Europe is in terrible shape. Mclaren can't control that. But this is nothing new and what does Mclaren do? They bring out a car that is probably over-priced by at least $25k USD and all the parts don't even work right e.g. the audio system. Then what do they do? They introduce their latest "giant killer" that will be even less affordable and sell in far fewer numbers than the MP 4. What they desperately need is a great car in the $150,000 to 175,000 price range and a marketing department that knows how to market the product...and they need this before they're under water even more than they are now. Initially when the MP 4 came out, my local dealer had the attitude that he would do me a favor by selling me a demo for full retail. His tune has now changed. He's sitting on numerous unsold units, both new and pre-owned that he can't give away. I have been contacted numerous times as of late by the same dealer wanting to "make a deal happen". I think the world of the MP4 , but I sure would not want to be in Mclaren's shoes.

 

[HyperMac954]

Here's the problem, as I see it. The general economy in the US and Europe is in terrible shape. Mclaren can't control that. But this is nothing new and what does Mclaren do? They bring out a car that is probably over-priced by at least $25k USD and all the parts don't even work right e.g. the audio system. Then what do they do? They introduce their latest "giant killer" that will be even less affordable and sell in far fewer numbers than the MP 4. What they desperately need is a great car in the $150,000 to 175,000 price range and a marketing department that knows how to market the product...and they need this before they're under water even more than they are now. Initially when the MP 4 came out, my local dealer had the attitude that he would do me a favor by selling me a demo for full retail. His tune has now changed. He's sitting on numerous unsold units, both new and pre-owned that he can't give away. I have been contacted numerous times as of late by the same dealer wanting to "make a deal happen". I think the world of the MP4 , but I sure would not want to be in Mclaren's shoes.

Really? Can't give away, eh? I'll take two. I'll even pay him a few bucks for them. Say $200K each? Oh wait...

 

[LimeyBloke]

Good luck Bruce..
Completely agree that the marketing from Mclaren is poor!!

I was told when buying mine that they have just employed an new marketing team.
I mentioned to David how poor the marketing was- and that was from a buying prospective!
I couldn't even find a list of the standard spec the cars came with- although I could find an options list..

What is befuddling is the fact that McLaren is a relatively small company (that is not part of some gigantic manufacturing enterprise the likes of VW/Audi/Lamborghini or Fiat/Ferrari/Maserati) .... so they should be able to stay on top of things better and turn the ship faster than the behemoths ever could ...... but, they seem unable to.

 

[GeorgeSSS]

Good Luck and Good Health Bruce. If you have those things, the rest can be managed.

 

[Italia]

Ditto George SSS

Enjoy that 458, only a handful of weeks to go

 

[dennis]

What is befuddling is the fact that McLaren is a relatively small company (that is not part of some gigantic manufacturing enterprise the likes of VW/Audi/Lamborghini or Fiat/Ferrari/Maserati) .... so they should be able to stay on top of things better and turn the ship faster than the behemoths ever could ...... but, they seem unable to.

I really don't understand this sentiment. What are they supposed to do, turn the world economy around? McLaren is in the business of selling new cars, and they need to sell as many as they can to provide a return on the $800M they invested to start the road car business. So they are more concerned with achieving their planned sales volumes than for what that means to residuals for the owners who are flipping their 12C's after 12-18 months of ownership.

McLaren said they would come out with a new model each year, and they have with 12C in 2011, Spyder end of 2012 and P1 end of 2013. They said each car would have best in class performance, and they do. I challenge you to come up with another automobile startup that has accomplished that much.

I agree that their marketing leaves much to be desired, but that is not surprising since McLaren is a totally engineering driven company. Marketing always takes a back seat in engineering driven companies - it isn't valued as highly as it is in sales driven companies.

I expect to get crapped on for this post, but I personally believe that the 12C is a great car and McLaren is doing an amazing job for a startup car company.

 

[widowmaker911]

Here's the problem, as I see it. The general economy in the US and Europe is in terrible shape. Mclaren can't control that. But this is nothing new and what does Mclaren do? They bring out a car that is probably over-priced by at least $25k USD and all the parts don't even work right e.g. the audio system. Then what do they do? They introduce their latest "giant killer" that will be even less affordable and sell in far fewer numbers than the MP 4. What they desperately need is a great car in the $150,000 to 175,000 price range and a marketing department that knows how to market the product...and they need this before they're under water even more than they are now. Initially when the MP 4 came out, my local dealer had the attitude that he would do me a favor by selling me a demo for full retail. His tune has now changed. He's sitting on numerous unsold units, both new and pre-owned that he can't give away. I have been contacted numerous times as of late by the same dealer wanting to "make a deal happen". I think the world of the MP4 , but I sure would not want to be in Mclaren's shoes.

Their marketing in the US is piss poor.....sure as Leno says the ones in the know, know McLaren, but how many of them can go around. I've NEVER seen a McLaren commercial, all the German players have one, Christ even the Kia Soul has one with those guinea pigs. magazine reviews were a disaster especially going up against the 458, 12C mostly took P2 position. as stated above car was not completely finished when released, who the F.......K does that and expect a world beater....NOT!.......there are ALOT sitting at the dealers. One thing McLaren has achieved, like the housing market in the US, IT'S A BUYERS MARKET......hope they turn it around. They must be PROACTIVE!

 

[widowmaker911]

I really don't understand this sentiment. What are they supposed to do, turn the world economy around? McLaren is in the business of selling new cars, and they need to sell as many as they can to provide a return on the $800M they invested to start the road car business. So they are more concerned with achieving their planned sales volumes than for what that means to residuals for the owners who are flipping their 12C's after 12-18 months of ownership.

McLaren said they would come out with a new model each year, and they have with 12C in 2011, Spyder end of 2012 and P1 end of 2013. They said each car would have best in class performance, and they do. I challenge you to come up with another automobile startup that has accomplished that much.

I agree that their marketing leaves much to be desired, but that is not surprising since McLaren is a totally engineering driven company. Marketing always takes a back seat in engineering driven companies - it isn't valued as highly as it is in sales driven companies.

I expect to get crapped on for this post, but I personally believe that the 12C is a great car and McLaren is doing an amazing job for a startup car company.

no one has said the 12C is not a great car. Everyone has praised what McLaren has been able to do from basically STRATCH.......but US cars are sitting in dealer lots, and the residuals are CRAP! Who do you go see for that, RON?

 

[bruce]

Small point really but is someone who has had a car 1 year and done 8000 miles a flipper - of course not so talk sense or dont talk
I have had 2 cars in a year and done 9000 miles combined and it has cost me £58k which is bloody madness a similar 458 scenario would have been half that and though the 12c is fantastic a 458 is not crap !!!!

Anyway I am out and pleased to be and would buy another McLaren but it would be used

 

[dennis]

Small point really but is someone who has had a car 1 year and done 8000 miles a flipper - of course not so talk sense or dont talk

Sorry Bruce, I didn't mean to be pejorative with the use of the word flipper. It's just that the worst depreciation happens in the first 12 months, which is part of the reason my pattern is to keep cars for about 4 years.

 

[cka]

Small point really but is someone who has had a car 1 year and done 8000 miles a flipper - of course not so talk sense or dont talk
I have had 2 cars in a year and done 9000 miles combined and it has cost me £58k which is bloody madness a similar 458 scenario would have been half that and though the 12c is fantastic a 458 is not crap !!!!

Anyway I am out and pleased to be and would buy another McLaren but it would be used

I also usually keep my car for one yr or slightly more. If it's a new model and demand is strong, the resale tends to be pretty good. The global economy sucks and there is less customers out there so resale will be tough. Will probably take a bigger loss than Bruce if i sell within the first yr.:mad

 

[LimeyBloke]

Does McLaren only build 'to order', or do they also require their dealerships to purchase a certain number of automobiles to sell to a customer who walked into the showroom, and liked what he saw?