Brothers who bought fire-damaged McLaren sight unseen received message from ex-owner two days later
- This fire-damaged McLaren 650S Spider only had minor damage
- But it was still the cheapest one in the salvage car market
- How did it end up there?
Published on Oct 01, 2024 at 4:08 PM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Oct 01, 2024 at 7:23 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Two brothers bought a fire-damaged 2016 McLaren 650S Spider only to find out it had only minor damage—they later learned the whole story from the supercar’s ex-owner.
Interestingly, it was the cheapest one they could find on the salvage car market.
They uploaded a video about their purchase on their YouTube channel.
After seeing the video, the former owner got in contact with them — and told them why a perfectly good McLaren was in the salvage car market.
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Fire-damaged McLaren 650S Spider
According to the former owner, the McLaren 650S Spider was indeed involved in a fire within his home garage.
The garage filled up with smoke and debris fell on the car as the house above it started melting.
However, the McLaren 650S remained mostly undamaged.
The former owner also started the engine of the car and noticed that it ran normally.
But he took it to a McLaren dealership to find out if it could be fixed or declared a write-off.
Unfortunately, the repair shop wanted to replace practically every part of the car, despite only minor damages like a dent in the paint and a scratch.
They also wanted to replace the parts that weren’t touched by the fire.
The repairs alone would have cost the former owner more than $100,000.
Which was more than one-third of what he paid for it.
For context, if the car had been totaled, the former owner would get almost as much as he paid for it.
Legal battle
To avoid paying him, the insurance company also tried to get the former owner to agree to fix the car.
However, after a two-year-long battle in court, the owner eventually won.
They paid him the full amount for the car and the trial fees.
That’s how the car ended up on the auction block, where RJ and Christian from JR Garage spotted it and eventually purchased it.
Although they bought it sight unseen, it turned into a jackpot.
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
