Maserati 3200 - fuse blowing in electric seats
Discussion
Hello all,
Long story, but I stumbled across a black Maserati 3200 GTA at Verve in Rutherglen, Glasgow today. It is a black W reg with mileage in the 40-50k range and is very cheaply priced compared with some of the other vehicles out there. The salesman I was speaking to tells me that the electric seat fuses keep blowing and they can't get to the bottom of it. The particular salesman involved has told me that he (personally) will not sell it to anyone as it will be more hassle than it's worth.
He did say that everything else is running very well on it, but that they would have problems selling it as they cannot get any 3rd party company to provide a warranty for it. Is this electric seat problem a sign of more major issues?
I am tempted as I could probably knock a further £2-£3k off the sticker price, but am I potentially walking into a minefield?
Thanks for any guidance.
Long story, but I stumbled across a black Maserati 3200 GTA at Verve in Rutherglen, Glasgow today. It is a black W reg with mileage in the 40-50k range and is very cheaply priced compared with some of the other vehicles out there. The salesman I was speaking to tells me that the electric seat fuses keep blowing and they can't get to the bottom of it. The particular salesman involved has told me that he (personally) will not sell it to anyone as it will be more hassle than it's worth.
He did say that everything else is running very well on it, but that they would have problems selling it as they cannot get any 3rd party company to provide a warranty for it. Is this electric seat problem a sign of more major issues?
I am tempted as I could probably knock a further £2-£3k off the sticker price, but am I potentially walking into a minefield?
Thanks for any guidance.
As long as it works to get it in the right position for you and then blows then you don't have a problem cos you ain't gonna want to get out of it again anyway!
Seriously the seat switches can do strange things from time to time but that circuit is isolated from the important ones anyway. Its probably just earthing out and blowing. Once youve got the seat in the right position just disconect it if it worries you.
Seriously the seat switches can do strange things from time to time but that circuit is isolated from the important ones anyway. Its probably just earthing out and blowing. Once youve got the seat in the right position just disconect it if it worries you.
Thanks for the reply. It doesn't worry me per se, I just was wondering whether it is a pointer to any more serious issues. The car itself does look a little tatty but that may be because it has been sitting for quite a few months. Apparently it was traded in against a 5.0 V10 Touareg.
Apparently, they have had a buyer who came and spent three days going over the car with a fine toothcomb, made an offer, then couldn't get finance. I'll call tomorrow for the VIN number and speak to Greypaul in Edinburgh to check whether it has had it's recalls etc done.
Apparently, they have had a buyer who came and spent three days going over the car with a fine toothcomb, made an offer, then couldn't get finance. I'll call tomorrow for the VIN number and speak to Greypaul in Edinburgh to check whether it has had it's recalls etc done.
3200gt said:
Kingdom said:
It doesn't worry me per se, I just was wondering whether it is a pointer to any more serious issues.
It's Italian, dont expect the electrics to have german reliability.
Thanks - I don't really expect German reliability, in the same way as my Golf doesn't have Italian flair or design.
3200gt said:
If it doesn't have the red key, walk away!
If it doesn't have full dealer history, walk away!
If it doesn't have full dealer history, walk away!
Thanks for that reminder - there was one on autotrader that I spoke to the vendor about and it had no red key or FMSH, so I did walk. I nearly bought one from ADG Sevenoaks last December, and they gave me the general pointers. They did mention that the electrics were "quirky" but I wasn't sure in this case whether it was more than that.
Thanks guys, appreciate your help.
I would haggle maore than £500 quid, go a thousand less and hope to save more. What have you got to loose?
As to red key, definite no no to buying car without one. I am finding lots of cars are out there without the red key, so all beware.
Electric seats is possibly easy to sort out but i would say what else doesn't work? There is one fuse which controls more than the seats and this fuse could be a big headache to sort out, it is fuse 16 in the fuse box but more than the seats wouldn't work. I would also comment that the seats do need to work otherwise entering the rear of the car is a tad awkward.
Hope this helps - if you need advice you can call me o 01732 363030
As to red key, definite no no to buying car without one. I am finding lots of cars are out there without the red key, so all beware.
Electric seats is possibly easy to sort out but i would say what else doesn't work? There is one fuse which controls more than the seats and this fuse could be a big headache to sort out, it is fuse 16 in the fuse box but more than the seats wouldn't work. I would also comment that the seats do need to work otherwise entering the rear of the car is a tad awkward.
Hope this helps - if you need advice you can call me o 01732 363030
wicked1 said:
I would haggle maore than £500 quid, go a thousand less and hope to save more. What have you got to loose?
As to red key, definite no no to buying car without one. I am finding lots of cars are out there without the red key, so all beware.
Electric seats is possibly easy to sort out but i would say what else doesn't work? There is one fuse which controls more than the seats and this fuse could be a big headache to sort out, it is fuse 16 in the fuse box but more than the seats wouldn't work. I would also comment that the seats do need to work otherwise entering the rear of the car is a tad awkward.
Hope this helps - if you need advice you can call me o 01732 363030
As to red key, definite no no to buying car without one. I am finding lots of cars are out there without the red key, so all beware.
Electric seats is possibly easy to sort out but i would say what else doesn't work? There is one fuse which controls more than the seats and this fuse could be a big headache to sort out, it is fuse 16 in the fuse box but more than the seats wouldn't work. I would also comment that the seats do need to work otherwise entering the rear of the car is a tad awkward.
Hope this helps - if you need advice you can call me o 01732 363030
Thanks wicked - to be honest, I was going to be far cheekier than offering them £500 less than the sticker price - I just think it will take about that to fix the wheels and sort the paint. I'll have a good look at it first, as I said, it is a little tatty, but that may all be superficial. I'll get the VIN number and check what Maserati in Edinburgh have to say about the car. Naturally, without the red key, I'm not even going to consider it. I'll try get across there tomorrow for a look and drive and will give you a shout if I need any advice.
BTW, you've got the same area code as ADG - is that a co-incidence?
Edited by Kingdom on Sunday 6th August 00:27
troesma said:
If you're going to GP in Edinburgh speak to Bob Purves, say Ed (from London) told you to speak to him, nice, easy-going chap. He'll tell you what's on and aroud that car. If things did not go as expected, PM me.
Ed
Ed
Thanks Ed - a few guys have recommended Bob to me so far. I spoke with the main servicing guy the other day, and he couldn't have been more helpful. I'll be sure to mention you
I think it is walk away. It does have the red key, so no problem there. I examined the service record and it is less than perfect up until 01/10/2004, then appears to stop:
Registered 13/01/2000
1st service: 16/03/01 @ 6,802 miles
2nd service: 28/02/02 @ 12,883 miles
3rd service: 13/01/03 @ 19,768 miles including cambelts
4th service: 01/10/04 @ 34,703 miles
No stamps in the book since, although there are bills for £5k worth of work between Aug 05 and Nov 05 from JCT6000. On the last one the comments are as follows:
Scoring on all disks
Driver seat adjust not working - need 1 hour on diagnostics
Oil level low
Remote central locking not working
Corrosion on rear nearside silencer
Weeping from sump
Next service due March 2006
Other observations:
All four of the wheels are kerbed to one degree or another.
Scratched on upper rear wings and boot lid
Four previous owners, not five as first thought
Stereo locked, not known if code present
Interior, especially driver side, is tatty
No spare or repair kit
Sounded great though
Registered 13/01/2000
1st service: 16/03/01 @ 6,802 miles
2nd service: 28/02/02 @ 12,883 miles
3rd service: 13/01/03 @ 19,768 miles including cambelts
4th service: 01/10/04 @ 34,703 miles
No stamps in the book since, although there are bills for £5k worth of work between Aug 05 and Nov 05 from JCT6000. On the last one the comments are as follows:
Scoring on all disks
Driver seat adjust not working - need 1 hour on diagnostics
Oil level low
Remote central locking not working
Corrosion on rear nearside silencer
Weeping from sump
Next service due March 2006
Other observations:
All four of the wheels are kerbed to one degree or another.
Scratched on upper rear wings and boot lid
Four previous owners, not five as first thought
Stereo locked, not known if code present
Interior, especially driver side, is tatty
No spare or repair kit
Sounded great though
Scoring on all disks - Discs and pads all round = 1k
Driver seat adjust not working - need 1 hour on diagnostics = 100 quid plus parts(can get SH ones from david Askew)
Oil level low = Probably the best pointer to prior care and attention, or lack of it!
Remote central locking not working = could be vv expensive, but depends whats wrong? could just be a fuse!
Corrosion on rear nearside silencer = welcome to the club!!! They all have corrosion on the rear boxes and thus a prompt to get after market SS ones fitted. 700-1200 quid.
Weeping from sump = Pinch the bolts a bit tighter?
Next service due March 2006 = How long has it been standing on their forecourt? I cant see a general car sales wanting to shell out for a full maserati service and going to fred in his shed is a big no no.
Driver seat adjust not working - need 1 hour on diagnostics = 100 quid plus parts(can get SH ones from david Askew)
Oil level low = Probably the best pointer to prior care and attention, or lack of it!
Remote central locking not working = could be vv expensive, but depends whats wrong? could just be a fuse!
Corrosion on rear nearside silencer = welcome to the club!!! They all have corrosion on the rear boxes and thus a prompt to get after market SS ones fitted. 700-1200 quid.
Weeping from sump = Pinch the bolts a bit tighter?
Next service due March 2006 = How long has it been standing on their forecourt? I cant see a general car sales wanting to shell out for a full maserati service and going to fred in his shed is a big no no.
You don't need to go to a fred , main agent servicing is fine when a car is say up to 3 years old and has manufacturer's warranty etc , after that there is certainly no problems with going to a decent specialist - you don't need to spend £100 per hour to get proper service from knowledgable people - to prove my point try Matthew at Giallo Cars 01732 363030 , or maybe there's someone similar to you . You could spend as little a 1000-1500 on that car to get it right .
saintetiene, you miss understand my post. I know Matt at Giallo and have no problem with specialist in general, what I was alluding too is, I cant see a general car sales outlet going to a main dealer OR a specialist for that matter. They would want to send any car to there usual local mr fixit whom they use for there pre sales work. By the general nature of car sales the aim is to make the largest profit at the lowest cost, so rather than service it by a main agent/specialist or let their local mr fixit maybe cause more damage than good it is more cost effective not to service it at all.
Hence my question regarding the length of time it has been on the forecourt in relation to the last time it was serviced and any overdue service dates.
Hence my question regarding the length of time it has been on the forecourt in relation to the last time it was serviced and any overdue service dates.
Edited by 3200gt on Tuesday 8th August 20:07
I don't know the absolute answer to how long it has been on their forecourt, but I suspect it was from late last year. They did have it up at £21k but have droppped it to £17k to try shift it. I estimated that it would cost around £3.5k to get it up to an acceptable standard (assuming that nothing extra has "broken" since it has been standing).
At that price, there are a number of cars that are already "sorted" and are likely to be less of a risk with a lower number of previous owners etc. If they dropped it to £10k, I may be willing to risk that I am going to have to spend £3.5k - £6k depending on what it needs doing, but I am not interested at £17k.
If anyone wants to follow this up themselves (as I suspect they may end up sending it to auction eventually), the contact is Graeme Bowie and he can be contacted on 0141 647 0511. Tell him Brett sent you.
At that price, there are a number of cars that are already "sorted" and are likely to be less of a risk with a lower number of previous owners etc. If they dropped it to £10k, I may be willing to risk that I am going to have to spend £3.5k - £6k depending on what it needs doing, but I am not interested at £17k.
If anyone wants to follow this up themselves (as I suspect they may end up sending it to auction eventually), the contact is Graeme Bowie and he can be contacted on 0141 647 0511. Tell him Brett sent you.
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