RE: Maserati Biturbo: Catch it while you can
Discussion
I bought my 91 spyder in 1996 with 12k miles on the clock in Germany. It had been registered in 1994 (I guess they weren't selling that well!) and cost me £16k, much cheaper than the ubiquitous equivalent 3 series or saab convertible at the time.
It only has about 55k miles now, runs in the summer and took me to the south of France and back last year with no issues.
It has never had big issues, and I've run it on a tight budget for many years. Sometimes though, needs must and I've had a few rust related problems to sort out. Also, you need a specialist for mechanical issues which until now always boiled down to some freaking 2p electrical connector!
Insurance is £150 a year.
I love it, it has its quirks but the interior is lovely and the stebro exhaust with the cats removed sounds awesome.
It only has about 55k miles now, runs in the summer and took me to the south of France and back last year with no issues.
It has never had big issues, and I've run it on a tight budget for many years. Sometimes though, needs must and I've had a few rust related problems to sort out. Also, you need a specialist for mechanical issues which until now always boiled down to some freaking 2p electrical connector!
Insurance is £150 a year.
I love it, it has its quirks but the interior is lovely and the stebro exhaust with the cats removed sounds awesome.
The Crack Fox said:
I might be wrong, but I recall that same car was sold about a year ago, perhaps even with the same photographs. IIRC the description in the original advert read like the car was perfect, now this latest advert describes the current owner offloading the car after a short time having spend a bucket of money on it. Presumably they've had their fingers burned.
I really, really like the look of this car, but I couldn't bring myself to live with the hassle.
I really, really like the look of this car, but I couldn't bring myself to live with the hassle.
9mm said:
They really are rubbish. Unreliable, rusty and in the current climate, now hopelessly overpriced as well.
Agent Orange said:
Me too! I'm reading and re-reading my post above from yesterday to drum it into my head that no matter how good it looks it'll only end painfully. 
Still it is only £6000. What else will get you this for so little money?
I take all that on-board, and know that you're all correct, but... (cue can of Dr.Pepper!) And the man maths say it's a bargain Shamal! Still it is only £6000. What else will get you this for so little money?
God, normally I only get like this about older stuff from Munich
Agent Orange said:
The internet either didn't exist or was very new when I think the majority of those are making those claims. Certainly true in my case. maseratispares.com looks great but according to their own site they were established in 2007. Not much use if you were running a Bi Turbo in 1998.
Funny you should say that about the 222 because as a result of this article I scanned the classifieds yesterday. There is a very nice 222SE for a mere £5995 - very nice indeed. For someone who hasn't been previous scarred that looks a cracker.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
Hey guys...this is my car!Funny you should say that about the 222 because as a result of this article I scanned the classifieds yesterday. There is a very nice 222SE for a mere £5995 - very nice indeed. For someone who hasn't been previous scarred that looks a cracker.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
You are right, i put it up for sale about a year ago as i really needed the money (just moved into a new house and doing a removation) just before i realised that the chassis on my TVR was rotten. Once i realised i was about to embark on a full rebuild on my wedge, i decided to keep her as i couldnt not have a toy to play with!
Anyhow, the TVR is now done and is due to be back from the bodyshop next week so i decided to put it back up for sale and look for another project... i'm a true car enthusiast and just love restoring and working on cars which are different.
The car is excellent, i am just very fussy. Mechanically its brilliant and totally reliable. Ive probably made it too cheap but i have seen a car which i fancy so dropped it.
This is a really good car...sorry to anyone who is trying to convince themselves these are nightmare cars, my experiance (after the resto i did) has been excellent and ive done thousands of faultless miles.
After seeing this thread yesterday i got back from work early, filled it with fuel and went for a 150 mile blast! Its a great car, i just cant help looking for new toys!
Here's the link to the (brand new!) RR thread.
It's true that spares were a hassle to get a few years ago, at some point people ran out of cambelts, these days it's shells for the conrods apparently, as well as valve shims. It's certainly no worse than the Mk1 Cortina front wings situation I've seen before
That 222SE looks beautiful, I love those wheels, subtly menacing.
It's true that spares were a hassle to get a few years ago, at some point people ran out of cambelts, these days it's shells for the conrods apparently, as well as valve shims. It's certainly no worse than the Mk1 Cortina front wings situation I've seen before
That 222SE looks beautiful, I love those wheels, subtly menacing.
Had one a few years ago and parts where cheaper than the e30 m3. A lot of the fiat parts bin and us Ebay was a good source along with David askew
Simple cars but the electrics are convoluted and seem to be design to dissolve in a damp climate. The other issue was driving potion I could never get comfy for more than 30min, but it rarely was out for longer than that.
4-5 years ago the manual ZF boxes where worth twice the car so a lot go fragged for the box as it is used in escorts for historic rallying.
Would have another cheap one as drift slagg
Simple cars but the electrics are convoluted and seem to be design to dissolve in a damp climate. The other issue was driving potion I could never get comfy for more than 30min, but it rarely was out for longer than that.
4-5 years ago the manual ZF boxes where worth twice the car so a lot go fragged for the box as it is used in escorts for historic rallying.
Would have another cheap one as drift slagg
I'm not sure it would do well as a track/drift car, the shell isn't stiff at all unfortunately. The Ghibli was reinforced in many areas, that's what you want (but it's a lot more expensive, and still has its problems).
A few pictures and two videos:
I'm not too used to PH forums so here are a few trials to post videos:
1.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE
2.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI
Electrically speaking almost everything is working including heater fan, AC is blowing fresh air (wouldn't describe as 'cold' but I didn't leave it on long and it probable needs a re-gas). The rear lights don't work well at all though, no indicators, only one brake light, etc. It'll be a good opportunity to check for any rust hidden around their recess.
The undercarriage has a few dings and dents, but no visible rust, the suspension bushes don't look too bad overall (the anti-roll bar droplink bushes might need replacing), the brakes are sticky and there's the clutch cylinder issue but apart from that it should be quite an easy turnaround
A few pictures and two videos:
I'm not too used to PH forums so here are a few trials to post videos:
1.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE
2.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI
Electrically speaking almost everything is working including heater fan, AC is blowing fresh air (wouldn't describe as 'cold' but I didn't leave it on long and it probable needs a re-gas). The rear lights don't work well at all though, no indicators, only one brake light, etc. It'll be a good opportunity to check for any rust hidden around their recess.
The undercarriage has a few dings and dents, but no visible rust, the suspension bushes don't look too bad overall (the anti-roll bar droplink bushes might need replacing), the brakes are sticky and there's the clutch cylinder issue but apart from that it should be quite an easy turnaround
matt-man said:
Agent Orange said:
The internet either didn't exist or was very new when I think the majority of those are making those claims. Certainly true in my case. maseratispares.com looks great but according to their own site they were established in 2007. Not much use if you were running a Bi Turbo in 1998.
Funny you should say that about the 222 because as a result of this article I scanned the classifieds yesterday. There is a very nice 222SE for a mere £5995 - very nice indeed. For someone who hasn't been previous scarred that looks a cracker.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
Hey guys...this is my car!Funny you should say that about the 222 because as a result of this article I scanned the classifieds yesterday. There is a very nice 222SE for a mere £5995 - very nice indeed. For someone who hasn't been previous scarred that looks a cracker.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
You are right, i put it up for sale about a year ago as i really needed the money (just moved into a new house and doing a removation) just before i realised that the chassis on my TVR was rotten. Once i realised i was about to embark on a full rebuild on my wedge, i decided to keep her as i couldnt not have a toy to play with!
Anyhow, the TVR is now done and is due to be back from the bodyshop next week so i decided to put it back up for sale and look for another project... i'm a true car enthusiast and just love restoring and working on cars which are different.
The car is excellent, i am just very fussy. Mechanically its brilliant and totally reliable. Ive probably made it too cheap but i have seen a car which i fancy so dropped it.
This is a really good car...sorry to anyone who is trying to convince themselves these are nightmare cars, my experiance (after the resto i did) has been excellent and ive done thousands of faultless miles.
After seeing this thread yesterday i got back from work early, filled it with fuel and went for a 150 mile blast! Its a great car, i just cant help looking for new toys!
tihouss said:
I'm not sure it would do well as a track/drift car, the shell isn't stiff at all unfortunately. The Ghibli was reinforced in many areas, that's what you want (but it's a lot more expensive, and still has its problems).
A few pictures and two videos:
I'm not too used to PH forums so here are a few trials to post videos:
1.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE
2.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI
Electrically speaking almost everything is working including heater fan, AC is blowing fresh air (wouldn't describe as 'cold' but I didn't leave it on long and it probable needs a re-gas). The rear lights don't work well at all though, no indicators, only one brake light, etc. It'll be a good opportunity to check for any rust hidden around their recess.
The undercarriage has a few dings and dents, but no visible rust, the suspension bushes don't look too bad overall (the anti-roll bar droplink bushes might need replacing), the brakes are sticky and there's the clutch cylinder issue but apart from that it should be quite an easy turnaround
Looks smart! Good find!A few pictures and two videos:
I'm not too used to PH forums so here are a few trials to post videos:
1.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWMmQtiJtE
2.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/video]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz6X1no2CI
Electrically speaking almost everything is working including heater fan, AC is blowing fresh air (wouldn't describe as 'cold' but I didn't leave it on long and it probable needs a re-gas). The rear lights don't work well at all though, no indicators, only one brake light, etc. It'll be a good opportunity to check for any rust hidden around their recess.
The undercarriage has a few dings and dents, but no visible rust, the suspension bushes don't look too bad overall (the anti-roll bar droplink bushes might need replacing), the brakes are sticky and there's the clutch cylinder issue but apart from that it should be quite an easy turnaround
Enjoy it, they are great fun!
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