gt vs McLaren SLR


C

canuck

GT Owner
Mar 4, 2006
280
If you had the opportunity, who would flip the GT for a mcLaren SLR?
SLR possible for 200-250K ,2005 low on the odometer.
After some thought I came to my conclusion but what is yours? Interested to know.
 
Interesting perdicament.....
Hands down, Ford GT for me. The SLR was not around in the late sixties/early seventies when I was starting to lust after autos (girls were a very close second) and told myself someday I would own a Ford GT40. Granted she's not a GT40, but to me the dream has come true. :banana
 
THE McLaren SLR is just not the same. Two years later I still walk into my garage at night just to see my FGT. Sometimes I just turn on the light, and sometimes I open the door and sit for a couple of minutes. I doubt I'd do the same with the McLaren.
 
Recent lack of new / unmolested FGT's on e-Bay etc.

True pride of ownership here..

Priceless!!!

I think we all made the right decision, (Some more than others) :thumbsup
 
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The GT. No question. No debate. No hesitation. No two ways about it. Period.
 
canuck said:
If you had the opportunity, who would flip the GT for a mcLaren SLR?
SLR possible for 200-250K ,2005 low on the odometer.
After some thought I came to my conclusion but what is yours? Interested to know.
Click to expand...

Guys, as much as I love this car, and I know it sounds like sacrilege, but with a 2005 McLaren listing for $312,900, $393,200, $441,700 for Low Retail Average, Retail Value, and High Retail respectively at Nada.com, I'd have to seriously consider trading my baby for the McLaren.

The way I figure it, I could come close to getting 2 GT's by taking the trade and selling the McLaren. One would think at a minimum you'd be able to sell the McLaren, buy another GT and still have a $50 - 100K left over to whipple, bumper removal, etc. or apply towards a second GT.

Not 100% sure I'd do it, but ...
 
My business partner was looking for a used SLR. The two he looked at were both well under $300,000. He decided against it because Mercedes made the nose of the SLK so similar to the SLR. The car is distinctive when the doors are open, but less so when on the road. The Carrera GT is a stand out even in LA.
 
One more thought. The SLR may look dated when Mercedes releases their AMG Gullwing supercar in 2009.
 
IMO

There will always be a bigger badder

Ferrari
Lambo
Mercedes
Bmw
Porsche

But there will only be 1 Ford GT.:thumbsup

It does not look like anything else on the road. There will never be anything that looks like it again. A 40 year old shape that has stood the test of time. Priceless. I watched a few friends move through the Porsches and Ferraris, only to toss hundreds of thousands of dollars chasing the next best machine. I too have done this, but not to this degree. An AMG SL500 won't turn one head in L.A.. Granted the SLR is a rare piece, that may be different. But if folks don't know what a GT is, you can be damn sure they will not notice the SLR. In a Crowd of GT's one can get a little lost. But pull into a parking lot and it just melts people. Pull them both in for fuel and the GT will draw the crowd. Leno said the car had a way of stirring men's souls. I believe that is true.

But for a sure way to make some serious coin, I might flip it, flip the new ride and buy another GT down the road. I would think the SLR may be harder to move, folks in that league are not really looking for a bargain and typically buy new. I could be very very wrong, Just my thoughts.
 
for me the GT is somewhat of a pinnacle in american engineering. the only option left for me made in the USA would be a saleen S7 TT. other than that if i ventured overseas i would rather have the maseratti MC-12. now that car is just the coolest ever :cool
 
The SLR's price will continue to come down as the GT's price will continue to go up. I'd venture to guess in two years the prices between the two cars will be about even, and the GT will be worth more after that. So I'll keep my GT for now, and maybe pick up a McLaren in a couple of years, but then again the SLR really isn't my kind of car. I'd take a Ferrari 599 instead.
 
No!!

HeritageBruce said:
The SLR's price will continue to come down as the GT's price will continue to go up. I'd venture to guess in two years the prices between the two cars will be about even, and the GT will be worth more after that.
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I think you're right on the money here Bruce. I have owned my GT for one and a half years and today I could sell it for almost what I paid for it new. If I had purchased a brand-new McLaren SLR one and a half years ago, I would take a bloodbath in depreciation selling it today. Out on the road unless a hard-core auto enthusiast spys it, the SLR draws about as much attention as a Dodge Intrepid. 10 years from now the Ford GT will be worth twice as much as a Mercedes McLaren SLR.

Chip
 
I don't think the SLR has the same presence - far from it in fact.

These days everyone has a Mercedes of one type or another, as my wife said when she saw one recently 'oooh look, a...... car!' The GT has something else in it's DNA.

I wouldn't flip mine for any other car.
 
I know it's a matter of taste but I find the SLR quite homely. I recognize it is a technological wonder, but it doesn't really push my buttons. Aside from a compelling financial reason to do the deal, I wouldn't dream of trading a GT for the SLR. I agree with the previous opinions regarding the value of the two cars. As I've said in the past, once the GTs get in hands of Ford nuts, it will be hard to talk them out of the cars and the values will steadily increase.
 
The SLR is flat out ugly. It is what it is. It's got a neat back end some interesting design elements, but it's nose looks like a proboscis monkey and the inside is SL500 v2.0. There's a reason it's a carbon fiber supercar that you can get wildly under sticker. They simply can't sell them.

I'm not saying it's not a great car, which I'm sure it is, and anything with the McLaren touch is sure to be fun...but as far as supercars go, it missed the mark.

That said, if you could find one for 225k, you could probably easily sell it for at least 50k more.
 
Have a pal that owns one, I am saying nothing. Other than he is lucky because he has a beautiful wife, kids and life.
 
It's interesting that the Germans continue to create such technological marvels(Veyron, etc), but fall short in the styling dept.
 
gtjim said:
The way I figure it, I could come close to getting 2 GT's by taking the trade and selling the McLaren. One would think at a minimum you'd be able to sell the McLaren, buy another GT and still have a $50 - 100K left over to whipple, bumper removal, etc. or apply towards a second GT.
Click to expand...

As long as you know you can get a good GT again, make the money. But, you have to get a good GT again. By the time the McLaren sells, GT may cost as much.


cobrar1339 said:
I would think the SLR may be harder to move, folks in that league are not really looking for a bargain and typically buy new.
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Agree. When you get to a certain level in anything expensive, "bargains" no longer apply. There is book, low book, and what people pay. I happen to drive Jaguar's as a daily car. Easy to find at low to below book. My current, a no story/excuse XJR, I bought for 15K below low from a Canadian dealer.

Everthing has a price, but there is a price where everything sells. Find out what they REALLY sell for, ask 80 percent of that, and you have the flip.
 
Just remembering being down in "the basement" of the Petersen Museum a few years back and sitting in their silver/red SLR (which they purchased for $400K the general manager told me). :eek
I don't know if we get a sub terrianian tour of the museum's cars when we head out there in a couple weeks, but if anyone has yet to see an SLR up close and personal, there may be an opportunity on Aug. 3.
 
The play I would make on the SLR would be to not sell the GT, but buy the SLR for the sole purpose of selling it. If you can buy one for $250,000 or less, and cash is an issue, you could finance the entire amount, and likely come out whole. After a few blasts down the road and valeting it in front of the best restaurants/clubs in your city, most GT owners would be ready to part with the LSR. You may even be able to trade it favorably at a MB dealer for an SL65, SL600 or SL55 which could provide a continuing "free" blast of fun. From the standpoint of performance, the SLR is really not much better than a SL65 which sells for $180,000+ and the SL65 is not much faster than a SL600 for $130,000+. Great 2 year old, low mile examples with 1-2 years of warranty remaining can be found for $50,000 less than original msrp.
 
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