My sensible daily - 2004 Maserati 4200

Like many people on here, I was always tempted by the cheap V8s you'd find in the classifieds.

Having spent a year driving round in a truly excellent (albeit slightly too sensible) 530e hybrid, a move to a new flat without charging made me decide that running a plug-in hybrid was no longer financially wise, so I started browsing for V8s under £15k. I'm not quite sure what man maths were used in these calculations, but it all added up in my head at the time.

Having looked at a few XK's, 6 series and Mercedes 500's of various models, I finally plumped for a rather lovely 2004 Maserati Coupe back in June.

6 months and 6,000 miles later, and it has been as close to motoring bliss as could have been reasonably expected for a 19 year old Italian V8. I'm averaging about 12 mpg and I'm sure there's some big bills just around the corner, but that's a problem for later...

The noise will never get old, and the power delivery is ridiculously smooth, even when pressing on (up to 70mph, officer). I've had four adults in the car, and luckily the exhaust note is loud enough that you can't hear any complaints about a lack of space back there.

Here's how it looked when I picked it up...




6 months later and a refurbed set of alloys later, here she is today



Here's hoping to another 6 months of daily motoring bliss!

I nearly bought an identical one from a wealthy old boy in Devon in late 2019 ! He had a red Testarossa and a red V-12 E Type, not the same Mazer is it ?

I loved my 2005 4200CC, which I used as a daily driver for four years.

I loved it even when the clutch gave out on the Brent Cross flyover one Friday evening rush hour.

I made the travel news that night.



Eventually, I swapped it for a 2006 Quattroporte.

More fool me.

That's Manmaths at an advanced level!

Looks lovely and they sound great too.

1st post for me. Yay.

Don’t like dark wheels normally but they suit the car lovely. Congrats on the man maths.

The dream comes to a temporary hiatus...

Failed its MOT back in February, and trying to track down upper and lower front ball joints has been quite the adventure. Autodoc are convinced that some Jeep parts will fit, but I'm not convinced.

Finally heading off to a garage who say they can do the work and have the parts, so hoping to be back on the road soon (until the next problem!)

Still no regrets on my excellent man maths...

Glad I hadn't trusted Autodoc's suggestions, not sure why they're showing - https://www.autodoc.co.uk/gsp/12958773

I've heard good things about the VPS work. Will be a good fallback if the current work is unsuccessful.

I tried most of the specialist Maserati places in the South, including the garage I bought it from, without much luck.

Now with Edenbridge accident repair over in Kent, have come highly recommended for this kind of thing, and all seems positive so far. Will report back progress.

Thanks for the recommendations, very much appreciated.

GranTurismo's have always been on my bucket list, such a pretty car

Who GAF when they look that goood?!?