US man who secured a very cheap McLaren after spotting Copart had made a 'mistake' finds out if it's still a bargain as he begins rebuild

A US man who secured a very cheap McLaren after spotting what he believed was a Copart ‘mistake’ has been finding out whether the supercar was still a bargain as he began rebuilding it.

YouTuber Ed Gasket bought the 2016 McLaren 570S for around $65,000 after spotting that the auction listing appeared to overestimate what was actually wrong with it.

The car had rear-end damage and had been listed as starting but not driving, despite having an estimated value of around $130,000.

But as Gasket’s video revealed, the reason it would not move was much stranger than a major mechanical failure.

Why wouldn’t the cheap McLaren drive?

Gasket’s first clue about what was causing his 2016 McLaren 570S supercar to not drive had been hiding in the Copart auction photographs.

The bargain McLaren’s hood had visibly been left open, and that turned out to be extremely important because the 570S would not shift into gear while its hood was open.

The bigger mystery was why the auction worker had not simply closed it, but Gasket eventually pieced together the answer after his original key fob arrived in three separate pieces.

The McLaren’s battery had died, making its electronic door and frunk releases useless and the auction worker therefore had to use the tiny mechanical key hidden inside the fob to gain access to the car.

Getting the hood open proved considerably harder.

The emergency release only disengaged one of the hood’s safety catches, leaving him struggling to reach the second latch.

Gasket found scratches in the yellow vinyl wrap around the front bumper that appeared to show exactly where the worker had tried to force the hood open with a pry bar.

The worker had eventually succeeded, connected jumper cables and started the McLaren, but the hood had remained open because the cables were still attached.

Which then meant the car could start but could not go into gear.

With auction workers reportedly having only around 10 to 15 minutes to assess each vehicle, the worker apparently decided it was easier to report that the McLaren ran but did not drive and move on to the next car.

That seemingly minor misunderstanding may have saved Gasket thousands of dollars.

The rebuild uncovered another surprise

Once the McLaren arrived at Gasket’s home in Philadelphia, he began stripping away the yellow vinyl wrap.

What he found underneath changed his plans.

The car had originally been painted in Volcano Orange, and Gasket decided the factory color looked better than the yellow wrap.

Recreating the unusual McLaren finish was not easy, though.

A paint specialist helped Gasket identify the correct formula for the tri-coat finish, which used a copper-colored basecoat followed by a red mid-coat before the clearcoat was applied.

The rebuild also involved repairing scratches, replacing damaged components and fitting aftermarket carbon-fiber parts.

Gasket revealed that one replacement rear bumper cost him around $2,300, while the McLaren dealer had reportedly quoted $18,000 for the same part.

He also fabricated custom brackets and modified cheaper parts rather than paying McLaren prices wherever possible.

The biggest headache, however, came from the car’s electronics.

Generic diagnostic equipment could not properly communicate with the McLaren, while even a $5,000 dealer diagnostic system initially failed.

With help from McLaren specialist Kevin at Supercar Garage and Bulgarian diagnostic specialist Miro, Gasket eventually managed to solve several of the remaining electronic problems.

The car initially failed its rebuilt-title inspection because of tinted front windows, bald tires and a door-panel fitment issue.

After fixing all three problems, it passed.

By the end of the rebuild, Gasket had spent $87,617 on the McLaren, including its roughly $65,000 purchase price, $5,200 Copart fee, $4,000 in sales tax, $2,600 buying-broker fee and $1,900 shipping bill.

That was still significantly below the approximately $130,000 value of a comparable clean-title example.

However, because Gasket’s 570S had a rebuilt title, he estimated it was now worth around $100,000.

So while it was no longer the astonishing $65,000 supercar bargain it had appeared to be at Copart, Gasket had still ended up with a running Volcano Orange McLaren for considerably less than its clean-title value.

And the entire deal may have happened because an auction worker couldn’t figure out why a McLaren with its hood open refused to go into gear.