......but just caught myself in a trance staring at the screensaver of my 9 and pining for it like an ex and juicy girlfriend.....LOL

 

Not to tempt you, but I've heard of some pretty amazing deals on 12C's.

 

Okay Racer_X sounds very interesting....any insight you can give me on negotiation space and deals either new or a year old would be greatly appreciated

 

A hot Aston Martin for a boooring MP4-12? How absurd. The MP4 may be the best 'who cares' car in the world. Just a bigger Elise.

 

It's an overrated car, but they do depreciate like a rock so you can pick them up for massive discounts slightly used. I have heard many quality control issues though so be forewarned, the early cars have lots of flaws

 

I met a guy who had one on a mountain run a couple of months back who had just bought a used one with maybe 2000 miles on the clock. I can't remember how much he paid but it was a huge discount over new, as in several tens of thousands less. It was quite surprising to hear.

 

If this was true I'd own one in a heartbeat. The Elise is arguably the best handling car I've ever driven. The 12C is amazing but is definitely not an Elise.

 

I'm planning to drive a 12C spider in the next week or so. If it's anything like the reviews have been indicating, it will be the car I move to after my Vantage.

I was at my AM dealer recently (also sells Lotus, Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and Bugatti - it never ceases to amaze and amuse me that my Vantage is one of the less expensive cars they sell!) and one of the Bentley salesman told me that a buddy of his at Mclaren was saying that slightly used (i.e. <2k miles) models were selling for massive discounts vs. new. I'm talking like $60-90k.

I've been checking out Dupont Registry and I'm certainly not seeing that . . . that said, I'm seeing a pretty good selection of inventory, so I wouldn't be too surprised if the actual price quickly drops substantially from what's advertised.

Ideally, I'd keep the AM (it's just so damn sexy!) and get a supercar, but I doubt I'll be able to swing that in 2014. We shall see.

 

I've driven the McLaren, and it's probably the most impressive car I've ever driven. I don't think it's overrated at all. It's crazy fast. I would need to have the time to take it to a track regularly because I'd want to use its performance and, IMO, it's deeply into the too-fast-for-the-road category if you push it. Which I would want to...

 

LOL! That's how it starts... man, you're in trouble.

 

Yeah, this is what I heard. I can't remember the exact number so I didn't want to say this, but I think it was nearly $100k off for basically a new car.

 

Your are on the right path to automotive enlightenment my friend. The McLaren is an amazing car to pilot. Put all the non-sense about needing a third peddle behind, then forget everything you have ever felt in a single clutch auto-shift car. It power comes on like ice... cold, calculating, chills up your spine... it's magical. The array of computers monitoring your every input, comparing that to the road sensor inputs and then making adjustments at blistering speeds that you will never know about, nor fully understand. It makes the head spin when you really try to comprehend everything it does in 10 milliseconds. The end result is a more confident driver. You will learn that it can correct most of your mistakes before you know anything was getting hinky.

Get me one too.

 

Elise, as in 'unappealing to look at'. Not referring to how they handle.

 

I have been a dedicated AM enthusiast. I have made it a point to avoid touting any of my other cars on this forum. At the moment, a 12C Spider is my flagship. I spent a lot of time on the decision to make this move and drove everything. There is nothing like this car under a million dollars. There isn't another car that you can drive in any situation with out regret. I have had other cars that are punishing to be in for long distances or traffic. I have had cars that put you on the turf with the slightest slip. I drove this car through 4 states over 250 miles in a single stretch with no issues and felt fine after.

The McLaren makes great drivers out of everyone. It is the easiest car to drive fast that I have ever driven let alone owned. I rally through a windy back road course routinely. I am able to carry speeds 10-15 mph faster with the 12C than my V12V. (No disrespect to the V12V, still a huge fan)

While this forum is light on interest in the McLaren, I can tell you the rest of the world cares, especially the Ferrari, Porsche and Lambo people. You what they say, "If you have made people angry, you must be doing something right." For some reason dirt has to be slung. It's just like the stuff about the AM's being all style and no performance. Now I face the McLaren has no drama crap.

I passed on the 458, the Aventador and all of the 35 Porsches available. Drive this car for an hour and spend some time understanding the technology that is behind it. You will come to understand what makes it special.

 

Ross I agree with you on the handling of the Elise, and that's saying a lot since we both own Scuds.
I think the 12C looks too much like an Evora, but I won't deny the wonders of the technology of the 12C. As people are mentioning, the 12C will make any average driver drive well as it will cover up mistakes by the wizardly ECU.
Problem for me is that as a driver, I want a 1:1 response from my driver input. I want to feel all my "mistakes" and thus be rewarded for correcting and improving them.
I respect the 12C and 458, etc. but I am actually turning reverse towards more analogue cars to stir my soul. Who knows maybe this will lead me towards vintage cars...can anyone say 73 911 RS?
Of which Walter Rohrl said, "How am I driving?"
and then in a 911 GT3 he said, "How is the car driving?"