Discussion
I am toying with the idea of selling my 355 spider for more of a GT car! Looking to spend around £50k and the 2 cars which I am tempted by are the Maserati GranTurismo and Aston Martin DB9 (convertible?). There are several nice looking examples of both cars for sale out there but I know little about either vehicle.
I would be interested to hear from owners or those with experience of either of these cars for the pros/cons.
Having had a few Ferraris I am used to biggish running costs! Car will probably do 3k-5k miles per year
I would be interested to hear from owners or those with experience of either of these cars for the pros/cons.
Having had a few Ferraris I am used to biggish running costs! Car will probably do 3k-5k miles per year
http://www.sportsmaserati.com/forum.php will be useful for one of the possiblities.
Edited by Revisitph on Tuesday 31st May 18:44
Hi, I've had my 355 for about 10 years, I have thought about selling it many times. However rather than selling I have had others at the same time and they have all come and gone !! ( okay apart from the 550!!!)
I dearly loved my granturismo's !
Had a granturismo 4.2 when they came out and then had an mc shift car which was far better ( it would be the one I would choose again) Had all the 911's as well as Dailys along side the 355 as well.
Lastly tried like mad to buy a DBS, even rented one for the weekend but it was just so dull compared to the 355.
Have to say excluding the mc shift neither the granturismo or Astons have much sense of occasion next to the 355's, I think if you sell it you will probably regret it. If you can I would buy something else and if you love it then sell the 355 but not before. ( I appreciate this is not always viable !!)
Phib
I dearly loved my granturismo's !
Had a granturismo 4.2 when they came out and then had an mc shift car which was far better ( it would be the one I would choose again) Had all the 911's as well as Dailys along side the 355 as well.
Lastly tried like mad to buy a DBS, even rented one for the weekend but it was just so dull compared to the 355.
Have to say excluding the mc shift neither the granturismo or Astons have much sense of occasion next to the 355's, I think if you sell it you will probably regret it. If you can I would buy something else and if you love it then sell the 355 but not before. ( I appreciate this is not always viable !!)
Phib
Both very different cars to a 355, so be really clear and honest with yourself about why you want to change.
I moved out of my 355 (owned for 6yrs) into an Aston V8V in '07. I loved the V8V (had it 8.5yrs) but there was always just that little bit of spark missing that the 355 had. I still miss it when I see one on the road. That said, everyone else in my family preferred the Aston. And it was probably a better proposition for more regular use (though both cost similar amounts per mile).
I've now moved out of the Aston into a Granturismo (Sport). Bought it as I wanted 4 seats, having a young family now. It's a massive car!
I have the auto, mainly because there were very few MC Shift Sports available in decent specs for sensible money. The auto box on the Sports is also much improved over the earlier cars and works pretty well, though the gearing is compromised IMO with too big a gap between 2nd and 3rd.
It is very, very much the GT car. It can handle b-roads, but it doesn't enjoy it! It's great on smoother, less bendy roads and there's a discernible difference between the various modes (manual/auto; sport/normal; etc). Unless I want to, I'm less likely to annoy the people in the villages near me with it
Tons of road presence, looks great and sounds amazing. The family also like this a lot too. Very much gets the seal of approval from them all, despite them all being very fond of the Aston.
I've never been a fan of DB9s. The looks don't quite work as well as the V8V to my eye. Again much more of a GT car. Bugger all space in the back, so if that's one priority, forget the DB9.
If you're not looking for the last word in handling precision, I think the Granturismo might be the best 4 seats sports car on the market this side of an FF (which financially I couldn't readily justify), despite being long in the tooth.
I moved out of my 355 (owned for 6yrs) into an Aston V8V in '07. I loved the V8V (had it 8.5yrs) but there was always just that little bit of spark missing that the 355 had. I still miss it when I see one on the road. That said, everyone else in my family preferred the Aston. And it was probably a better proposition for more regular use (though both cost similar amounts per mile).
I've now moved out of the Aston into a Granturismo (Sport). Bought it as I wanted 4 seats, having a young family now. It's a massive car!
I have the auto, mainly because there were very few MC Shift Sports available in decent specs for sensible money. The auto box on the Sports is also much improved over the earlier cars and works pretty well, though the gearing is compromised IMO with too big a gap between 2nd and 3rd.
It is very, very much the GT car. It can handle b-roads, but it doesn't enjoy it! It's great on smoother, less bendy roads and there's a discernible difference between the various modes (manual/auto; sport/normal; etc). Unless I want to, I'm less likely to annoy the people in the villages near me with it
Tons of road presence, looks great and sounds amazing. The family also like this a lot too. Very much gets the seal of approval from them all, despite them all being very fond of the Aston.
I've never been a fan of DB9s. The looks don't quite work as well as the V8V to my eye. Again much more of a GT car. Bugger all space in the back, so if that's one priority, forget the DB9.
If you're not looking for the last word in handling precision, I think the Granturismo might be the best 4 seats sports car on the market this side of an FF (which financially I couldn't readily justify), despite being long in the tooth.
Thanks for the comments, all very useful. There is no doubt I would miss the 355 but the reality is that the car is little used and I would never consider a long journey in the car. I am basically looking at something slightly more useable. I much prefer the looks of the Maserati over the DB9 although I do fancy maintaining the convertible element; sadly the convertible Maserati is out of budget by quite a margin, hence the possible DB9 soft top option. Not driven either car so I guess that's the next step as well as working out the best route to sell the Ferrari!
I have a DB9, its a lovely car and everybody admires it and let's you out of junctions but it doesn't feel very special to me. It's stunningly beautiful has a lovely engine but something feels missing and the rear seats are a joke.
The Maserati looks lovely but in a different way. The Aston should hold its value far better in my opinion.
The Maserati looks lovely but in a different way. The Aston should hold its value far better in my opinion.
I think both the DB9 and GranTurismo will end up holding their values quite well, my GT-S MC-Shift has been worth around £45k (retail) for the last 2-3 years now and no signs of dropping below that at the moment.
Whilst I have not owned a DB9 I have owned the GT-S for nearly 7 years now and it is certainly more a GT than an outright sports car, but does a good job of trying to be one if the mood takes. Whilst it doesn't have the control of a proper sports car, it is really only if pushing beyond 8/10ths that it starts to show this and as has been said above has tremendous road presence and probably one of the best sounding engines in production. It has also been incredibly reliable with really only a couple of minor issues cropping up during its 7 years and 25k miles. I struggle to find anything else with the degree of performance, looks, sound and practicality this side of an FF, which is why I still have it. I would also go for the MC-Shift version as the Auto is not quite as involving and has higher gearing as mentioned above. That said, the new Sport Auto gearbox is much improved over the older versions.
To my mind, as fun as the V8V certainly is, it will not quite give you the useability that it sounds you are after and there are of course no back seats and a small boot. Fun for short trips with the Misses but not sure I would want to drive to Italy and back with the family in one, which the GT-S does incredibly well. No really wrong decisions here but I think the Maserati is somewhat under appreciated given its talents and sounds like it might give you what you are looking for. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.
Whilst I have not owned a DB9 I have owned the GT-S for nearly 7 years now and it is certainly more a GT than an outright sports car, but does a good job of trying to be one if the mood takes. Whilst it doesn't have the control of a proper sports car, it is really only if pushing beyond 8/10ths that it starts to show this and as has been said above has tremendous road presence and probably one of the best sounding engines in production. It has also been incredibly reliable with really only a couple of minor issues cropping up during its 7 years and 25k miles. I struggle to find anything else with the degree of performance, looks, sound and practicality this side of an FF, which is why I still have it. I would also go for the MC-Shift version as the Auto is not quite as involving and has higher gearing as mentioned above. That said, the new Sport Auto gearbox is much improved over the older versions.
To my mind, as fun as the V8V certainly is, it will not quite give you the useability that it sounds you are after and there are of course no back seats and a small boot. Fun for short trips with the Misses but not sure I would want to drive to Italy and back with the family in one, which the GT-S does incredibly well. No really wrong decisions here but I think the Maserati is somewhat under appreciated given its talents and sounds like it might give you what you are looking for. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.
Colossus said:
...but not sure I would want to drive to Italy and back with the family in one...
Unless your family is just you and the Mrs you cannot do this in a V8V as it only has 2 seats. And you wouldn't want to do it in a DB9 more than two up as the back seats are only suitable for luggage If it is you and the Mrs though, a V8V's is a great car to do it in. I did Portugal and Spain over 3wks in mind before we had kids. (Did most of Western Europe over 3mths in the 355 when single which was also great fun).
Colossus said:
...but I think the Maserati is somewhat under appreciated given its talents and sounds like it might give you what you are looking for. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.
Agreed. I think it's one of those cars that suffers from being pretty uncommon - it doesn't spring immediately to mind as an option. But if you want 4 proper seats, great looks and noise and a car that's pretty good everywhere else, there are few alternatives IMO. I'd go as far as to say "none" under 100k.Murph7355 said:
Agreed. I think it's one of those cars that suffers from being pretty uncommon - it doesn't spring immediately to mind as an option. But if you want 4 proper seats, great looks and noise and a car that's pretty good everywhere else, there are few alternatives IMO. I'd go as far as to say "none" under 100k.
I would agree. Had my 2014 GTS with MC shift (its easy even in traffic, can't see what the fuss is about) for just over 6 months and headed towards 12K a year of regular driving in it. I have a 6ft 13 year old, an 11 year old and 8 year old and all fit in really well. The noise is incredible and very rarely have it out of sports manual mode. I have never owned a car that has had such a positive encouraging response, people love it. There is simply no competition at this level if you want 4 genuine seats and like other people have said the closest is the FF but thats at least double the money and for what really. The M6 possibly Edited by Jonny TVR on Friday 10th June 13:20
Thanks some really useful comments and advice. I have today been in to my local Ferrari main dealer and agreed to an SOR arrangement on the 355. It will go on sale next week so will need to see what happens. The more I look at the maserati (which I did again today in the dealership) the more I like it although all the cars on their forecourt are slightly above my (£50K asking price) budget. I also need to give a bit more thinking to the convertible issue; do I don't I want a soft top. The AM soft top is within budget the Maser isn't!
When I deliver my car for sale next week I shall be having a first test drive in the Gran Turismo!
When I deliver my car for sale next week I shall be having a first test drive in the Gran Turismo!
jw01 said:
Thanks some really useful comments and advice. I have today been in to my local Ferrari main dealer and agreed to an SOR arrangement on the 355. It will go on sale next week so will need to see what happens. The more I look at the maserati (which I did again today in the dealership) the more I like it although all the cars on their forecourt are slightly above my (£50K asking price) budget. I also need to give a bit more thinking to the convertible issue; do I don't I want a soft top. The AM soft top is within budget the Maser isn't!
When I deliver my car for sale next week I shall be having a first test drive in the Gran Turismo!
When I deliver my car for sale next week I shall be having a first test drive in the Gran Turismo!
Remember, it's a big, 4 seat GT. Don't jump out of your 355 and expect something similar
There are a few convertibles on or around 50k on Autotrader if they really float your boat. Deals to be had (though possibly the wrong time to be buying a convertible now).
I'm in a similar situation where I have been tentatively looking at alternatives should I sell my 360. However, as nice as the alternatives are I always seem to conclude 'nice car, but not a Ferrari'.
It depends on what you want from it, but for me the others only ever deliver 95% of what the Ferrari does, and it's that last 5% that I know I'd miss should I ever sell.
Good luck whatever you decide!
It depends on what you want from it, but for me the others only ever deliver 95% of what the Ferrari does, and it's that last 5% that I know I'd miss should I ever sell.
Good luck whatever you decide!
Fancied a change from my 996 Turbo (and still fancied a 2+2 or 4 seater) so headed to Maserati but couldn't warm to the rear Mondeo lights. So went to an AM dealer to buy a DB9; rear 'seats' not really for humans to sit in and actually didn't warm to the rest of the car either. Was walking out when I spotted a V8 Vantage; thing of beauty so bought it there and then despite only 2 seats. Had it 12 months and still enjoy it hugely.
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