[invisiblewave]

If you're looking for long-term capital preservation, the 765 is clearly going to be the better option. The 750 is a regular production car, not limited. Used prices might initially be good, but long-term it'll depreciate just like the 720. If it were me, I'd base my decision on what I was going to primarily use it for, road or track. The 750 has a much wider range of capabilities and will be better for road driving than a 765. I've been pondering the same thing with my next car in mind, the 750 is probably the better practical option, but I'm wondering about a 765 because capital preservation is important to me.

 

[invisiblewave]

If McLaren keeps its promise on limiting 750S orders then I think it’s 750S, your spec build, your color, warranty is for three years with “free” maintenance!

Which promise is this? Speak to people from the factory, they'll tell you it's a regular production car.

 

[invisiblewave]

its a regular production car, but are they producing it without preorders or only can be pre-ordered?

Well there aren't any sitting at the dealers if that's what you mean, but I think the same is true of the Artura other than a few demonstrators, the used cars appear to be cancelled orders or cars that were flipped pretty quickly.

 

[invisiblewave]

I think, and hope, Mclaren has learned there lesson and won’t produce more cars than they have orders for. I don’t think we will go back to the days when dealers have inventory sitting on the showroom floor on cars that were produced without any buyer or order.
I remember when I went from my 12C to the 650s I walked in to the dealer and had my choice of 5 or 6 different colors to pick from and was able to negotiate a 45k discount. Those days are ancient history.

Yeah, the real test will be the Artura. Demand is likely higher than production capacity for the 750 and will be for a while.

 

[invisiblewave]

When I was at MTC, the vast majority of cars in production were 750s (about 2:1 spider:coupe). I suspect that if (when?) Artura orders pick up, capacity for the 750 will be very constrained. Although Leiters has been clear that he wants to make McLaren profitable on supercars, and the 750 is way more profitable than the Artura, so maybe they're not so keen for Artura demand to ramp back up? I imagine though that the plan is to meet pent-up 750 demand until the Artura spider is ready for launch, and then use the publicity around that to reignite the Artura order book.

I think they're doing some sort of mini-relaunch. I got an invite to drive the Artura at HQ on the 27th. Not sure if it's an HQ only thing or if they'll do the same elsewhere, sending the cars around the country like they did before.

 

[invisiblewave]

I'll ask next time I speak to my dealer. They know I wasn't a fan of the Artura, so I doubt they'll be sending me any invitations...

I've lost track of when the Artura Spider is due to launch. I have to say, though, that the sight of so many 750s being built gave me some hope that McLaren may be turning a corner. I don't see any evidence of the kind of demand that leads to flipping or the weird US thing of ADM but the factory seemed to my naive eyes to be running full-tilt.

This is HQ in the US, not at Woking. What is it you don't like about the Artura?

 

[invisiblewave]

No regen - can't see the point in a hybrid that doesn't do kinetic energy recovery. I found the drive itself uninspiring - I prefer the less linear brutality of the 720. Not having a reverse gear until the battery has charged a bit, which makes you look a right tit as you sit there idling in the carpark unable to move. Not being able to turn off the speed limit warning beep, despite spending ages faffing about with the settings.

I really like the look of the thing, in a compact and wieldy way (remember the ill-fated Artega GT - although that was considerably more compact still), and I can see how the spider will be integrated, but I just didn't find the drive worked for me, and the hybrid in town was considerably less effective than either the i8 roadster I had a while back or our current XC90 T8.

I think hybrids will make a lot more sense when we get next-gen batteries. Then you could have something that works as well as a Polestar 1 without the elephantine weight. 80-100 mile EV range plus a full ICE drivetrain, proper adjustable regen and enough battery capacity to reserve some for torque fill and reverse without needing to run the motor unnecessarily. Put a (say) 50l tank in it and give it fast charge capability and you have a competent long-distance tourer that isn't just lugging extra battery weight around once the initial charge has been used up. 5 minutes of petrol fill, 10 minutes of charge and you get another 400-or-so miles of total range.

This is almost the exact opposite of my thoughts on the car! I can't see the point of kinetic regen in a car that prizes driving dynamics, if I wanted regen I'd buy a Tesla. I found driving it to be a blast, especially on track where you have to be really careful (or not, depending on your preference for front or rear steering) with the torque demand pedal, lest you go sideways, there has been plenty of drama on my drives.... I doubt you'd need much charge for reverse, does it even let it get that low? And someone posted about how to turn off the speed limit beep.

What I'm not keen on is the way it looks, it's too conservative for me. This is probably the biggest thing that puts me off buying.

 

[invisiblewave]

💯

It's not 100 for everybody.

 

[invisiblewave]

Those people are doing it wrong. It’s a supercar, which nobody “needs”, not life mandatory transportation to employment.

Or, more likely, you just don't understand their situation....

 

[invisiblewave]

Oh I understand just fine. If you're so close to the edge of your budget that 10% extra depreciation, amortized over several years, will ruin you, for a supercar, then you're doing some poor life choices

No, you're still not understanding, probably deliberately since I know you're not stupid.
Firstly, the difference may well be much more than 10%. If you compare the 720 with the 765, for example, a 720 is going to depreciate at around 50% over 3 or 4 years, and a 765 might not be depreciated at all, or maybe 10%. This makes the total cost of ownership of a 720 far greater than a 765, so from a purely monetary viewpoint, it's much cheaper to own a 765, although you may or may not have the cash flow to actually afford one.
Secondly, that total cost of ownership then factors in to the purchase of the next car. After 3 years, there will be far more equity in a 765 than in a 720, making the next purchase much more affordable. This is exactly why residual value is important to the manufacturer because it directly affects the potential sale of the next new car.

In the case of the original question on this thread, comparing a 750 to a 765, it's a very relevant question since the gap between the two cars is relatively small. 750 a bit softer, greater range of performance, 765 arguably better looking, more raw, maybe a bit quicker. It's all marginal stuff, but there might potentially be a difference of $100k or more total cost of ownership of the two cars over 2 or 3 years.

 

[invisiblewave]

I didn't say anything about depreciation in my post besides asking if 750s would retain its value at all.

That's a depreciation question.

 

[invisiblewave]

That was one possible pro if it did. Definitely not the focus of the OP

The bit I'm really struggling with is track usage. Do I really want to use a $400k car on track? Well, obviously, yes I do, but it's going to cost even more to track it than my current car, insurance is likely to be an issue, and to keep the manufacturer's warranty intact I'll have the cost of dealer track inspections for the next 3 years. I already worry about simple spins or off-track excursions!

 

[invisiblewave]

But if you are concerned about cost/depreciation, just get a 720 and call it a day. No one knows how the 750 will do long term and frankly if a coupe grand loss scares you this is not the hobby to be in.

It's very generous of those willing to just throw money at this hobby, which allows the rest of us to do it without breaking the bank. 😁

 

[invisiblewave]

I don't think anyone is choosing a car for resale over fun, the resale value/depreciation is just one of the factors being considered. Is the fun factor difference between a 765 & a 720, for example, worth the extra cost of depreciation on the 720? As @alexceres says, this is a very personal decision based on what you're going to do with the car, how much cash you have to spend on cars, and, in the case of the 750, which car you currently own. Those who can't live with any kind of significant depreciation, or risk of depreciation, aren't buying any of these cars. My car is probably at the low end of the McLaren depreciation curve, but over the 2.5 years I've had it, just the total cost of ownership is probably roughly equivalent to the new price of a car most people can't afford anyway.

 

[invisiblewave]

Thank You Gentlemen very interesting but more importantly insightful posting. I've picked up some real gems in there.🙂

He's the Thomas Kinkade of forum posting.

 

[invisiblewave]

invisiblewave is one of the better poster/commenters on here. even if he has a sports series, leave him alone.

Hey, I'm converting it to a 720GT!😇

 

[invisiblewave]

I rest my case.

 

[invisiblewave]

Some people feel very differently than you apparently… You would not believe the amount of times I have been told to leave this forum and stop commenting over the years since I am not and owner and never will be. I do my best to learn and add value when I post, but there are certain members who believe that I should any even be here.

It's difficult for me to imagine the level of entitlement it must take for someone to say that to you.

 

[invisiblewave]

Michael... perhaps use of the ignore button is needed. If you don't want to read posts by a certain member, then don't. The choice is up to you. But I would hope that if you have something to contribute that you would do so... you've been a member here for nearly a decade and for newer members like myself, I bet you have a lot of insight on these cars that only comes from experience that we would benefit from reading.

This is what's so difficult to fathom. Why not just use the ignore button. The fact that people don't is very interesting and gives some insight into what's really going on, imo.

 

[invisiblewave]

Cage match

A dance-off might be more appropriate.... lol