Maserati Quattroporte or Tuned MX5/Civic Type R
Discussion
Right,
Not looking for reviews for any of the cars etc, just want to hear other peoples experiences if they have been through similar situations. In the process of saving some money and I am deciding between either buying and owning a 2006-2007 Duo Select Quattroporte (prefer it to the auto) or......buying a mk2 MX5 or EP3 Civic type R and tuning it up. Basically if I was to only own one performance/sports/special car before settling down and having a family etc and get a mortgage....it would be the Quattroporte. Even if it was for only a year I would go to my grave as a happy man. On the flip side, do I use the money I am saving and get something that isn't of the same calibre of a Quattroporte but make it my own and keep it for longer? Parents, close family, friends and fiancé think I am mad for spending money on the Quattrorporte but it is a bucket list, life mile stone for me and I can physically do it in terms of money. They just think that amount of money could be spent on other things.
In terms of the things to consider and the amount of money needed, I am factoring in the following:
Maserati:
- Ownership would be for a minimum of 1 year.
- Car price limit of £15,000:
- £11,000 through bank loan
- £4000 of personal saving to cover the rest of the car
- £2,000 to cover a years worth of road tax and insurance
- £1,000 to give me a bit of a buffer for petrol as I intend to use the car as much as possible!
- £3,000 as a buffer for maintenance/repairs if needed.
MX5/EP3 Type R:
- Obviously would want to be keeping it for as long as possible since it isn't a Maserati.
- £10000 or so for the car itself and mods (not just wanting to add a few wanting to do the whole car.
Be honest am I completely mad wanting a Quattroporte or should I follow my dreams whilst I can? Part of me thinks, what do I want to tell my kids of the future, I followed my dreams or I stayed safe and got something cheaper?
Cheers
Not looking for reviews for any of the cars etc, just want to hear other peoples experiences if they have been through similar situations. In the process of saving some money and I am deciding between either buying and owning a 2006-2007 Duo Select Quattroporte (prefer it to the auto) or......buying a mk2 MX5 or EP3 Civic type R and tuning it up. Basically if I was to only own one performance/sports/special car before settling down and having a family etc and get a mortgage....it would be the Quattroporte. Even if it was for only a year I would go to my grave as a happy man. On the flip side, do I use the money I am saving and get something that isn't of the same calibre of a Quattroporte but make it my own and keep it for longer? Parents, close family, friends and fiancé think I am mad for spending money on the Quattrorporte but it is a bucket list, life mile stone for me and I can physically do it in terms of money. They just think that amount of money could be spent on other things.
In terms of the things to consider and the amount of money needed, I am factoring in the following:
Maserati:
- Ownership would be for a minimum of 1 year.
- Car price limit of £15,000:
- £11,000 through bank loan
- £4000 of personal saving to cover the rest of the car
- £2,000 to cover a years worth of road tax and insurance
- £1,000 to give me a bit of a buffer for petrol as I intend to use the car as much as possible!
- £3,000 as a buffer for maintenance/repairs if needed.
MX5/EP3 Type R:
- Obviously would want to be keeping it for as long as possible since it isn't a Maserati.
- £10000 or so for the car itself and mods (not just wanting to add a few wanting to do the whole car.
Be honest am I completely mad wanting a Quattroporte or should I follow my dreams whilst I can? Part of me thinks, what do I want to tell my kids of the future, I followed my dreams or I stayed safe and got something cheaper?
Cheers
1. I hadn't realised the Quattroportes were so cheap now.
2. You'll get a fraction of the money back from modifying the other cars and I doubt they'll feel anywhere as special.
3. If anything, the Quattroporte is more compatible with family life than the other two. I guess your main concern is from the financial point of view.
If it were me, I'd get the Quattroporte knowing that I could sell it and recover most of its cost if need be. Running costs are another matter, but then modifying cars is far from cheap and you may find you'll have to break the car in order to get 50% of your money back. When you have a family, you'll find life has a way of throwing you costs when you least expect it.
2. You'll get a fraction of the money back from modifying the other cars and I doubt they'll feel anywhere as special.
3. If anything, the Quattroporte is more compatible with family life than the other two. I guess your main concern is from the financial point of view.
If it were me, I'd get the Quattroporte knowing that I could sell it and recover most of its cost if need be. Running costs are another matter, but then modifying cars is far from cheap and you may find you'll have to break the car in order to get 50% of your money back. When you have a family, you'll find life has a way of throwing you costs when you least expect it.
In a years time, you might get most of the value of the Maserati back... but buy a tidy Mk2 MX5 for £2,000 and spend £8,000 on go-faster bits and you wont get 10k back...
Not saying it wont be fun though - my Mk2 mx5 was supercharged for many years and it was a hoot.
All seem really different types of car though, so im surprised you are considering them all together...
Not saying it wont be fun though - my Mk2 mx5 was supercharged for many years and it was a hoot.
All seem really different types of car though, so im surprised you are considering them all together...
I am a big fan of the Italian M5 - BUT you need to do your research extremely carefully, and only buy from a specialist. Early Duo Select cars do rot, and I have had 2005/06 plate accident free cars welded. Warning lights go off regularly, and only a Maserati/Ferrari specialist can knock them out, so be prepared to travel to visit one.
I had to replace a faulty heated rear window in one, cost was £1,000 and only available via Italy. Lost service book, £280 and 3 month wait. Shock absorbers are also around £1000.
QP's can be a huge money pit.
I had to replace a faulty heated rear window in one, cost was £1,000 and only available via Italy. Lost service book, £280 and 3 month wait. Shock absorbers are also around £1000.
QP's can be a huge money pit.
My mate had a Cambio Corsa Coupe. Same engine and gearbox as the early Quattroportes.
Make sure you like the Duo Select gearbox first - there's a reason why the later cars with the ZF box command a premium.
If you're gunning it then it's good,but around town, it's not great.
However, I would still go for the Maserati. Would be an occasion everytime you drive it. The engine is chain drive and from what I hear, understressed and very reliable.
About 8 litres of engine oil needed for service too
Make sure you like the Duo Select gearbox first - there's a reason why the later cars with the ZF box command a premium.
If you're gunning it then it's good,but around town, it's not great.
However, I would still go for the Maserati. Would be an occasion everytime you drive it. The engine is chain drive and from what I hear, understressed and very reliable.
About 8 litres of engine oil needed for service too
tomrunner said:
I should add that I would have the Quttroporte as a trips away/weekend/fun car and use my trusty 1.1L 3cyl Colt as my daily. As much as I would love to use the Quattroporte as a daily I could keep up with the petrol cost!
Just get the Quattroporte. I've owned some interesting cars since having kids, but have never managed to own anything that I would call one of my dream cars.Edited by tomrunner on Thursday 17th November 14:21
I didn't know the Quattroporte was quite so affordable! Do people rate it?
I think the answer to your question has to be the Maserati if doable - a highly tuned MX5/Type R is going to cost a fortune in modifications that you will struggle to recover come re-sale.
I think the answer to your question has to be the Maserati if doable - a highly tuned MX5/Type R is going to cost a fortune in modifications that you will struggle to recover come re-sale.
Edited by rockford22 on Thursday 17th November 14:48
Get an already nicely modified Japanese car if you want a reasonably quiet life, if you like terror and a sense of dread every time it makes a noise or smell, then a Maserati is the way to go.
All the expense and aggro of expensive exotic stuff, but bought cheaply, very little parts commonality with ore mundane stuff, the two people I know who have had cheap Maseratis are now sat gently rocking in a secure facility muttering about electronic throttles and broken sensors.
Am sure they can be owned and run sensibly but they are like a 10th Dan used car ownership proposition, Quattroportes may be a little better than the early 3200's my acquaintances both sent themselves mental over, one wasnt too bad, the other had it try to kill him, he reckons the throttle jammed open and spat him into a field , strenuously denies the skill ran out.
It was long and torrid tale that, he crashed it, sorted the body out, the errant throttle stuff, many other issues whilst it was in bits, he had it stored in a barn where he worked on it, he left the door open one day when he was working on it but went away for a spell, came back to find a sizable dog searching vigorously for the rat it had chased in there, destroying quite a bit of the interior during the process.
All the expense and aggro of expensive exotic stuff, but bought cheaply, very little parts commonality with ore mundane stuff, the two people I know who have had cheap Maseratis are now sat gently rocking in a secure facility muttering about electronic throttles and broken sensors.
Am sure they can be owned and run sensibly but they are like a 10th Dan used car ownership proposition, Quattroportes may be a little better than the early 3200's my acquaintances both sent themselves mental over, one wasnt too bad, the other had it try to kill him, he reckons the throttle jammed open and spat him into a field , strenuously denies the skill ran out.
It was long and torrid tale that, he crashed it, sorted the body out, the errant throttle stuff, many other issues whilst it was in bits, he had it stored in a barn where he worked on it, he left the door open one day when he was working on it but went away for a spell, came back to find a sizable dog searching vigorously for the rat it had chased in there, destroying quite a bit of the interior during the process.
rockford22 said:
I didn't know the Quattroporte was quite so affordable! Do people rate it?
I think the answer to your question has to be the Maserati if affordable - a highly tuned MX5/Type R is going to cost a fortune in modifications that you will struggle to recover come re-sale.
Have read a bit on them since the OP and the it seems that the early cars had fairly awful gearboxes, but from 2007 they received a proper ZF auto and the cars are supposedly much better. I've also been reading about reliability and they can be expensive, especially clutches on pre-2007 cars.I think the answer to your question has to be the Maserati if affordable - a highly tuned MX5/Type R is going to cost a fortune in modifications that you will struggle to recover come re-sale.
Buy as good a QP as you can afford, get a £250 inspection done, that will check out the electrics, clutch life/gearbox, major suspension, brakes and known weak areas, ie sub-frames.
This £250 will be the best money you'll ever spend on any car period, buy one with a few issues, no change out of £5/6K
Get yourself on the main Maserati forum sportsmaserati, all answers on there
P
This £250 will be the best money you'll ever spend on any car period, buy one with a few issues, no change out of £5/6K
Get yourself on the main Maserati forum sportsmaserati, all answers on there
P
Like I said I am not looking for reviews of the cars etc and what the good and bad points are, I know what they are and that I will need to do an inspection......my main question was should I go for a my dream car considering I will only have it for a year or so and can have it for £15,000 or should I compromise?
Whilst the quattroporte is the peak of what I want, I did hire out a 2008 C63 the other week for 2 days and loved it. Whilst it is still a V8 and will cost about £5000 more to buy due to market value, in terms of reliability and servicing etc do we think it would be a better bet than a quattroporte whilst still getting some V8 madness?
tomrunner said:
Whilst the quattroporte is the peak of what I want, I did hire out a 2008 C63 the other week for 2 days and loved it. Whilst it is still a V8 and will cost about £5000 more to buy due to market value, in terms of reliability and servicing etc do we think it would be a better bet than a quattroporte whilst still getting some V8 madness?
A CLS 55/63 is probably nearer in concept to a Quattroporte if you want a coupe styled four door, in fact I think the AMG versions would be quite a bit faster than any of the Maseratis due to a bit more power and a lot more torque. to answer your question, yes go for it. i know nothing about maserati's other than internet hear say but if its your dream car and you can afford it then do it, you only live once and all that....
i'm always pretty sensible with my car choices and have the bike for the fast stuff but a friend of mine buys what he wants enjoys it then moves it on before he gets bored/ it costs him a big bill. he has had some of his dream cars and only been bitten once (cars are classic fords not Italian though).
i'm always pretty sensible with my car choices and have the bike for the fast stuff but a friend of mine buys what he wants enjoys it then moves it on before he gets bored/ it costs him a big bill. he has had some of his dream cars and only been bitten once (cars are classic fords not Italian though).
I dearly love the quattroporte and run some pretty expensive cars, but I wouldn't touch one with the longest of barge poles I'm afraid esp duo select. The ZF autos are a bit more reliable, but everything about the way the QP is designed makes it hard to work on. hard to work on = £££ in labour never mind the parts costs (which are almost all bespoke to the car so you can't buy cheaper versions). They are cheap because they are ruinous unless you are very very lucky.
I'd consider an E60 M5 V10 before the QP in terms of appetite for risk.
The C63 is a lot of car for the money, but a bit of a one-trick pony and the interior is pretty naff IMHO.
You seem to like japanesse cars, so why not an R32 GTR for £15k, unlikely to loose too much money as they seem under priced to me. or a TME EVO? could get a supercharged S2000 for that kind of money too - 400ish BHP.
I'd consider an E60 M5 V10 before the QP in terms of appetite for risk.
The C63 is a lot of car for the money, but a bit of a one-trick pony and the interior is pretty naff IMHO.
You seem to like japanesse cars, so why not an R32 GTR for £15k, unlikely to loose too much money as they seem under priced to me. or a TME EVO? could get a supercharged S2000 for that kind of money too - 400ish BHP.
Forgive me, but isn't the point of a life mile stone to reach it? A loan is cheating, because you didn't reach it, the bank did.
A loan on a 15k car that's known to be financially ruinous just seems like you're setting yourself up in all the wrong ways - then you want to consider settling down (after being in debt to a car you may find hard to shift on afterwards)?
Doesn't setting down and buying a property and having money for kids also need savings?
Think you may want to listen to the advice you've already been given and revisit this when 15k in cash isn't a problem and you already have an every day car. Then if it breaks you can leave it in the garage/work on it yourself and/or wait 6-12 weeks to get a part for it.
What am I missing?
A loan on a 15k car that's known to be financially ruinous just seems like you're setting yourself up in all the wrong ways - then you want to consider settling down (after being in debt to a car you may find hard to shift on afterwards)?
Doesn't setting down and buying a property and having money for kids also need savings?
Think you may want to listen to the advice you've already been given and revisit this when 15k in cash isn't a problem and you already have an every day car. Then if it breaks you can leave it in the garage/work on it yourself and/or wait 6-12 weeks to get a part for it.
What am I missing?
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff