94 McLaren for sale

[csa]

Agree with everything you say, XOTech, except for the culmination of an owner's experience being to show a car. All the owners I know (about a dozen) have no interest in showing their car(s)--they want to drive them and enjoy them.

I have a couple of semi-exotics (not F1's) and I drive them almost every day when I am not traveling. You cannot imagine how annoying the questions get after you have answered them for the 200th time. I have taken to pretending to be on the mobile phone when I approach or leave just so people don't bother me with their inane questions and comments.

Showing your car is for ponces. Just like caging and domesticating a lion, it is "unnatural" for a car to be shown or put on a pedestal and worshipped. It is only appropriate for some racecars or prototypes with deserving histories, in my humble opinion. Otherwise a car is a machine. It should be enjoyed in its element, by extracting its performance potential and gaining a true understanding and mastery of its capabilities.

A better "sharing" of this car would be on a track day or a club drive. If it's just going to sit there in the middle of wine and cheese gatherings with people taking mindless photographs, you might as well have a fibreglass replica. Besides, if you want to see the real McCoy, you can always go to the McLaren showroom on Park Lane in London. There's a silver road car on display there. For the true enthusiasts, I recommend going to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.

[XOTech]

csa, after rereading my previous post, I believe I wasn't as clear as I should have been. Owning an exotic car (not a superexotic like the McLaren) is very impressive early on. Most owners that I have encountered, myself included, had such enthusiasm for the car, that they made the next step to enter the car in a show or two, in the case of Ferrari and Lamborghini, even Porsche, Viper, etc. This enthusiasm to show the car usually fades rather quickly as the owner comes to terms with owning the car on a more personal basis. I find that many owners change their thoughts from displaying the car to enjoying the car on a more personal level. As you have pointed out, that means that the car should be driven, not abusively, but to the point of capability of both the car and the driver, such that the driver is able to grow to understand both a little more. Club events are a perfect environment for that.

This same addage holds true for the McLaren with the exception of public display. My impression is that McLarens typically are driven far less than a normal exotic car. European McLaren owners use their cars far more than US owners. Also McLaren owners are typically not frequents to any show. I have only heard of a couple cars being displayed at shows. There are so few cars and the owners usually are public figures of film or music or wealthy business men and women. Both prefer to be unsung with respect to their collections for the most part.

I have not had the priveledge of attending the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but read about it every year. It is most certainly an event I shall someday attend, time permitting. Neither have I had the chance to stop and see the car there in display in London and visit the factory. My travels are usually centered in greater Europe and time always seems to run short.

Mr. Chambers used to have his car displayed in one of his dealerships in the Boston area. I am not certain if the car remains there on display. I have spoke with him several times.

[XOTech]

I did a little research into the nearly 15 McLarens I have had direct contact with in the last several months for various clients and current owners to determine the average mileage each car has travelled. Just looking at the numbers, it appears that around 60% have 15,000 to 24,000kms. An additional 30% have 5000-14,000kms and the remaining 10% having less than 5000km. Of course, all of these cars with the exception of the 7 original Amerispec converted cars, were the product of use while in their country of origin, most in Europe. Since coming to the states, and counting the 7 Amerispec cars, most of the US cars have travelled less than 3000kms. Some of those cars have been in the states only a short time as a result of the Show & Display law only recently being approved. And there are a couple exceptions. The gentleman in Texas drives his car quite regularly as do two other owners I know.

Suffice to say, as time goes on, I am sure the cars here in the US will be driven more. Another point not to be overlooked is the fact that the environment here in the states is quite different than in Europe, for example. Here, there are fewer places to stretch the car to any serious level, and none legal publicly. There is also the issue of security of the car if ever left alone. The risk is quite high if damage were ever to befall on the car for any reason of negligence or deliberately. I have had 3 semi exotic cars keyed at a tremendous cost and loss of value to the car. I shudder to think that anyone would even consider keying a McLaren, but it is possible.

[Porsche]

Wow, these last few posts were probably the most informative and interesting posts to any Mclaren fan ever. I am impressed.

This is quite amazing, I've never been closer to any to people who have had this much contact with such knowledge and experience with the F1, it's quite a nice feeling, to see both your opinions.

Thanks

[Amir]

I have a question please. So if a Mc Laren F1 is bought by someone who wishes to use it on a regular basis, eg daily or say at least 3 times a week. Even if not going over 100KM/H, probably alot less on most days.
And would it be different in the case of a Mc Laren F1/F1 LM/F1 GTR street licenced.

Is it not adivceable to do so, if so why not?

[XOTech]

Amir, A person wanting to purchase a McLaren an import it here to the US may do so under what is called the Show & Display exemption. I have posted considerable information regarding this subject in previous posts throughout the McLaren thread. I would recommend that you read through that. As for daily use, that is somewhat possible. The Show & Display provision for a McLaren owner allows for 2500miles per year use. The DOT threatens heavily that there are consequences for use over that amount of mileage and a log book is supposed to be kept of all use.

All things considered, 2500 miles per year is still quite a lot, as I feel it is somewhat unpractical to use the car heavily enough to merit further use. I do know owners that put much higher mileage on their cars, but their use of the car moves in cycles. There will be periods where the car is used considerably and other times that the car will not be used as frequently. All in all the miles balance out quite predictably.

Currently, only the McLaren roadcars are eligible for entry and use in the US under Show & Display. The LMs and GTRs may come here to the US only under a temporary VISA (racing or show VISA).

I am currently in negotiations to bring in a third McLaren to the states adding to the near 16 cars that are already here. The process is somewhat involved and time consuming, but straight forward.

[Amir]

Thank you sir for your reply.

So the near 16 Mc Larens here are all F1 road cars. What colors do the Mc Laren F1s come in if it is not an ignorant question to ask. And also what year of production are the Mc Larens that reside in the US.

If I may also ask, what is the price range for these in the US please, and for what years? EG a '95 costs around $$$$$$ and a '98 costs around $$$$$$$. And how much are they in Euros (in Europe) before they are brought to the US or anywhere else please?

If I need any more information I will be posting later on, I hope that does not annoy you.

Thank you.

[XOTech]

Amir,

With regard to the colors of McLaren F1s, the original cars were painted in two ways; to the exact specifications of a particular owner, or as you have probably noticed, most cars were painted silver, that were not otherwise specified by the original owner. After the cars is sold from the original owner, the new owner sometimes chooses to repaint the car, possibly to restore the finish to like-new condition or simply to give the car a new personal flavor unique to the new owner. My observations are that about 20% repaint their cars upon ownership transition and about half of those owners change the color.

Currently, the cars that are here in the US are limited to 1994 and 1995. The reason being the complexity of passing the emissions testing of the later cars has currently not been overcome to allow 1996, 97, and 98 cars into the states. Rest assured, this will happen eventually.

Present values of the cars are quite consistant regardless of the year of production. A car that has already been converted for use here in the US is worth about $1.4-1.5Million. A European car, or any other location for that matter, is worth about $1.3-1.4Million. The conversion and importation costs are around $100,000.

An important thing to remember with the McLarens is that these prices I have listed are assuming the car is in exceptional condition, which I have found most are not at all. Around 75% of the cars I have seen are in a simply shameful condition. The above values drop of very quickly if regular service has not been accomplished, the fuel cells have not been replaced as scheduled, if the mileage and use of the car are excessive, paint condition, color combination, and many other factors also play into the car's value.

I have seen some fairly affordable McLarens in terms of initial investment, but they require considerable further investment to get the car back to its proper maintenance condition.

If you would like me to further assess a car's value for the purpose of purchase or sale, I can do that. You are welcome to PM me with further details.

[S Brake]

What changes were made to the 96-98 cars that they didn't pass emissions, and can that be changed in order to get them here?
Also you said that if the paint condition is bad then the value declines, would the addition of a Clear Bra reduce the value of the car?

[ZondaFreak02]

you ppl write too much...

[hermunn123]

Originally posted by snowboarder
What changes were made to the 96-98 cars that they didn't pass emissions, and can that be changed in order to get them here?
Also you said that if the paint condition is bad then the value declines, would the addition of a Clear Bra reduce the value of the car?

in '96 the OBDII requirements came about. i'm guessing that the F1 didn't pass emissions.

Originally posted by ZondaFreak02
you ppl write too much...

what?

[ZondaFreak02]

you wrote like 20 page essays ...nevermind

[hermunn123]

i like those 20 page essays. learn more stuff about stuff.

you know you don't have to read them if you dont want to??

[ZondaFreak02]

ok calm down i was only kidding

[hermunn123]

phew....


i thought i was going to have to lay down the law:sun: