Brothers found the cheapest McLaren 650S Spider they could in America, and revived it despite being fire-damaged
- Two brothers bought a fire-damaged McLaren 650S Spider
- It was the cheapest McLaren 650S in the country when they bought it
- As it turns out, fixing it was easier than expected
Published on Dec 09, 2024 at 6:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Dec 09, 2024 at 6:00 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Two brothers bought a fire-damaged McLaren 650S Spider, by far the cheapest McLaren 650S in the country.
The car was cheap because it was in terrible shape.
But they wanted to revive it, and they were convinced they could pull it off.
Amazingly, they did.
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The story behind the fire-damaged, cheapest McLaren 650S Spider in the U.S.
Christian and Jeffrey Turner from the JR Garage YouTube channel found the cheapest McLaren 650S Spider they could find in the U.S. and bought it for a pittance.
They said the car had originally been bought new in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2016 for $300,000 and it now cost them less than half that.
The car had been sitting in a Copart yard – essentially a graveyard for damaged vehicles – for over two years because no one wanted it.
Part of the reason why no one wanted it is the listing came with a lot of red flags.
First and foremost, it came with ‘unknown mileage’, some weird white marks all over the body panels and a damaged engine.
But the biggest red flag was the fact no one, not even the auctioneer, knew for sure what had happened.
The listing just mentioned some fire damage.
Fortunately for them, fixing the car turned out to be a lot easier, and a tiny bit less expensive, than they had anticipated.
The reason why the fire-damaged car was so ‘cheap’
Copart yards are perfect for this sort of thing.
That’s where you can find totaled McLaren Arturas, cars damaged by hurricanes and so on.
Several different Copart yards are scattered across the country, but the one in Miami and the one these guys used in Arizona are the among the largest.
YouTubers and collectors love them because they are perfect for this type of high-risk and high-reward buy.
This is because the story behind the cars, and that’s also the case with this McLaren, is always…complex.
For the McLaren in question, the former owner got into an ugly and lengthy legal battle with his insurance company.
But he eventually won, and got a ton of money as a reward, way more than the MSRP of the car.
So the owner didn’t care about the car anymore and the insurance company just wanted to leave the whole thing behind and get rid of the car.
As a result, the car ended up on the yard, with vague information, but an appealing price tag.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
