Maserati Quattroporte for less than £25K... would you?

Maserati Quattroporte for less than £25K... would you?

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Discussion

RudeDog

Original Poster:

1,652 posts

173 months

Wednesday 4th January 2012
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After being faced with the challenge of moving two adult's luggage (for several days) which included many items that couldn't go in suitcases (dresses!) and a ridiculous amount of Christmas presents from the South of England to the North... with only a Z4 Cab or a Cayman as an option, the OH and I discussed changing one of the cars (probably the Z4) for a larger vehicle. I looked for interesting 4-seaters and was quite surprised to see 2006/7 Quattroporte's for less than £25K and with sub-50K on the clock (e.g. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2626571.htm)

Having never ever really looked in to these cars before, are they a viable choice for something that will do between 15-20K per annum or is it just going to cost us a fortune in servicing and maintenance?

RD

clarkmagpie

3,559 posts

194 months

Wednesday 4th January 2012
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Nothing of any note to add to this apart from - boy o boy, that's a good looking car!

K321

4,112 posts

217 months

Wednesday 4th January 2012
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the car has had 9 grands worth of servicing/clutch already,...i would buy a cls 55amg

rog007

5,748 posts

223 months

Wednesday 4th January 2012
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I would; and in fact nearly did! It's coming from a dealer so you're covered for sometime via SOGA if anything bad happens and you could always go for an extended insurance based warranty. You only live once...

RudeDog

Original Poster:

1,652 posts

173 months

Wednesday 4th January 2012
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Thanks for the responses so far. I'm not particularly focussed on buying the car I linked to necessarily, I was more after any insights other PHers had on these cars in general.

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Wednesday 4th January 2012
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I'm in the trade and have a soft spot for Masers so usuallly buy one for the summer months and flog it in winter. Earlier this year I bought a 2005 QP with 45K on the clock, did 8k in it and have just sold it on.

Mine was a one owner car which had been supplied by and exclusively maintained by HR Owens on behalf of the oil company owner. I had a copy of the spreadsheet detailing all spend on the car and it came to over £30K over 5.5 years. The owner literally bought everything off Owens and money spent was obviously of no concern - my gain their loss. I'm sure the car could have been maintained for far less - also bear in mind it had the free service pack for the first 2 (or was it 3?) years!

While in my ownership it went to Italy twice which accounted for most of the mileage and it averaged around 20mpg. I put two back tyres on it, refurbed the alloys and had it dentmastered. Luckily it had just been serviced and just had a clutch when I got it so all I've had to do was a couple of 'minor' repairs. It's here where the costs can add up. The airbag light came on which turned out to be a faulty curtain airbag and the boot lid decided it would only be opened by the key and the soft closure mechanism stopped working. Parts and labour for this repair came to £1300 inc VAT and that was at a favourable trade rate. It also needed an anti roll bar drop link but this was only £65 plus 10 minutes labour.

I realise my ownership was only brief and not a true reflection. However when my local Maserati specialist who has looked after my previous 4200 GTs and 3200 GTs found out I'd bought an early QP he said he would have done his best to put me off buying it, interestingly his view toward the Gran Turismo and even the earlier Gran Sports is the complete opposite.

Whilst I loved the way the car drove (you do get used to the gearbox), the sound and the looks plus the practicality I would not have another at this price point. I just feel that the potential for big bills is too high when factored against the continued depreciation and overall value of the car. If you are determined to own one I would definitely go for a low owner car that has been well used and would need to see a pile of bills as well as stamps in the book. At the end of the day its a £90k car with the associated running costs.

AJSG

327 posts

186 months

Monday 9th January 2012
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RudeDog said:
Having never ever really looked in to these cars before, are they a viable choice for something that will do between 15-20K per annum or is it just going to cost us a fortune in servicing and maintenance? RD
Had mine for 4 years, drove it every day including some spectacular runs in Europe (Vezley to Ferrara in 9 hours), never broke down, never let me down. The only true let down are the main dealers, stay away from them as they are wallet vampires.

I would recomend Bill McGrath for all the work they did on mine...in the end I sold mine to my best man, as I couldn't face it ending up in the hands of the general public just to be driven for 4 months and sold on.

Get one with reasonable milage, no less than 30k for a 2007, and you will be fine.

It is the best practical workhorse of a car I have ever owned. Its so much more than any of its competitors, at ANY price.

Pork

9,453 posts

233 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
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crostonian said:
However when my local Maserati specialist who has looked after my previous 4200 GTs and 3200 GTs found out I'd bought an early QP he said he would have done his best to put me off buying it, interestingly his view toward the Gran Turismo and even the earlier Gran Sports is the complete opposite.
Good post, particulary the above. Intersting that as I run a GS at the moment and thought a QP would be a step up in terms of reliability etc.

rs48635

554 posts

213 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
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I too am facing this (wondeful) dilemma. Think I will actually do it this summer. Nothing else has so much class, noise, occasion, useability for £25k. Might find more owners across on trident specialist forums www.SportsMaserati.com and MaseratiForum - An Online Maserati Collective and www.maseratilife.com

crostonian - yours is a valid opinion, albeit second-hand.

To the OP - remember all the good advice from current and previous owners. Find one with good history and suitable miles, research the history and maybe get it inspected.

Ask yourself, "who is more likely to post opinions and comments on sites like this?"
There are many more visitors and "lurkers", than active posters. Maserati sold a lot of these cars and there are not so many bad reports. There is still a lingering inherent mistrust of Maserati, leading to pub-bore-horror-story about massive costs. Thansk them for the depreciation of earlier models.

footsoldier

2,251 posts

191 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
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I bought an 08 Sport GTS about early last year, as it was also a relative bargain (less than 50% of new cost, < 3 yrs old; <10k miles). It came with a Maser warranty, but I have had absolutely no issues with it.

I use it almost daily, and forgetting the money there is nothing else to touch it, in my opinion. There is no other big 4/5 seat car that has the mix of attributes of a QP.

Sometimes it's a bit big for parking spaces, and no doubt it is expensive if things go wrong/accidents happen, but I would definitely buy another in preference to any Merc, BMW etc.

Even if you add a contingency fund to the price you can buy one for, it's still a bargain. This assumes you can afford the routine costs of running a £90k car. Also, fuel is expensive (average for me on mixed driving is 16-17mpg).



Edited by footsoldier on Tuesday 10th January 12:56

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Tuesday 10th January 2012
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There is a big difference between a 2007 onwards car and an early 2004/2005 car in terms of quality from my experience. As I said in my earlier post you are better buying a well used later car than a low mileage earlier one.

Colossus

333 posts

213 months

Tuesday 17th January 2012
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I ran an '08 QP GTS for a year from new and literally nothing went wrong or fell off. I may have been lucky but suspect not. The overall build quality was as good if not better than any of the more mundane German rivals and add in the looks, charisma and general good feeling that they invoke, they are a real bargain. BUT, as has been said above, they need to have been used regularly and properly maintained but someone that actually knows and understands the cars. If I was in that market I would have another in a hearbeat.

C

bryn_p

465 posts

228 months

Pork

9,453 posts

233 months

Thursday 26th January 2012
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That looks like great value.

For me, the 2009 4.7S which sold recenlty would be the car of choice for me. A few miles on it, but not crazy....at sub £30k, thats great value IMO. Definately on the wish list.

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Thursday 26th January 2012
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This was one of our cars, the price it sold for was a fair price, to get it up to retail standard would have cost a fortune and not economical.

sjn2004

4,051 posts

236 months

Thursday 26th January 2012
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bryn_p said:
front end cough.....

Pork

9,453 posts

233 months

Thursday 26th January 2012
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crostonian said:
This was one of our cars, the price it sold for was a fair price, to get it up to retail standard would have cost a fortune and not economical.
Which one, the one in the link or the 4.7?

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Thursday 26th January 2012
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the one in the link

bryn_p

465 posts

228 months

Friday 27th January 2012
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crostonian said:
This was one of our cars, the price it sold for was a fair price, to get it up to retail standard would have cost a fortune and not economical.
It is on the list or just had a minor repair? I'm tempted as it looks good value if mechanically sound and usable as it is.

Cheers,
Bryn.

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Friday 27th January 2012
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It sold for £11500. It wasn't on the list it was a genuine car. We saw it as a retailer at £16995. A decent warranty costs £1500, it needed all 4 wheels refurbing, a rear tyre, the nose cone needed paint, the n/s front wing needed paint, both rear wheel arches needed paint, the sills were uneven, there was damage to the interior trim in the rear, the park sensors didn't work and nor did the heater fan. The previous owner loved the car but had spent £18K in 4 years and it was still in this condition. There's gonna be some very cheap Qp's coming up soon, just look at XJRs, S600s, 760s - Masers are no different.

Edited by crostonian on Friday 27th January 17:57