The Supercar Nightmare
They cost a lot to begin with – but what if you bump your dream machine? It’s going to hurt
You might lust after the head-turning lines of this Italian mean machine, but sully its pristine bumper and you may suddenly learn to appreciate your humble Ford.
The Murciélago’s front bumper is made of carbon fibre, and before a single minute of labour has been added a replacement will set you back £8,206 — about the cost of a nearly new Focus.
Being able to afford a bona-fide supercar, or even a top-end luxury car, is a lot more challenging than simply writing that first cheque. In the past two years a glut of used cars has pushed down second-hand prices to rock bottom levels. The car you dreamt of as a youngster has suddenly come within your financial grasp. But beware. If you want supercar ownership to be a thrill rather than a constant headache, you need to take a close look at your bank balance and consider the true cost of the car of your dreams.
Clip the wing mirror of a Maserati Quattroporte in the supermarket car park, for example, and you’ll be signing a cheque for £561.93 plus labour. For a Mercedes- McLaren SLR you’d be looking at a bill for twice that (if you include fitting) — more than £900 for the part alone. By contrast, if you’d kept the Focus you could probably pay the £55.45 bill for a new wing mirror, plus the labour charge, jet off for two weeks in the sun and still return with change from £1,000.
The cost of replacing a broken headlamp unit on an SLR is even more eye-wateringly expensive — £2,869.28 for a single unit.
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