maserati shamal

[Dutch_Cerbera]

i am thinking about buying a maserati shamal.

i never had a maserati but for long my wish is to have one.
started since the biturbo and never stopped.
i know that for everyday it is not suchs a good idea but i have 2 other cars for daily use.

i am thinking about a shamal... what kind of things should i be looking for.
any specific things that are not that good or have to be upgraded/replaced or what so ever...
do they rust like TVRs?? and so on

thx

[AndrewW-G]

The Shamal and the Ghibli are both great cars when working, but were built at a time of great transistion at the factory in Modena.

Rust is a problem with even the nicest looking cars capable of hiding terminal rust in the sills & underbody structures, quirky electrics include the normal dry connector issues and more fun problems like the battery not charging if the led in the ammeter doesnt work.

Fun designed in points like the diff fill plug being blocked by the chassis cage around it make checking the diff oil level interesting, even more so if there are slight weeps from the seals.

Factory exhausts have a life seemingly measured in months not years.

Provided the oil has been changed regularly and both the belts and chains have been done on time, the engines are almost robust, but do need a compression and leakdown test as much money will be needed to fix a bad one.

[Dutch_Cerbera]

AndrewW-G said:

The Shamal and the Ghibli are both great cars when working, but were built at a time of great transistion at the factory in Modena.

Rust is a problem with even the nicest looking cars capable of hiding terminal rust in the sills & underbody structures, quirky electrics include the normal dry connector issues and more fun problems like the battery not charging if the led in the ammeter doesnt work.

Fun designed in points like the diff fill plug being blocked by the chassis cage around it make checking the diff oil level interesting, even more so if there are slight weeps from the seals.

Factory exhausts have a life seemingly measured in months not years.

Provided the oil has been changed regularly and both the belts and chains have been done on time, the engines are almost robust, but do need a compression and leakdown test as much money will be needed to fix a bad one.

thank you very much for the info.

so, a engine rebuild is not that important right?
what kind of yearly budget do you need for service and repairs?
is it still easy to get parts? guess that specially for the Shamal that could be an issue, or?
what is better to buy a shamal or a ghibli.. my intention would be not to sell within the next 10 years...

thanks

[AndrewW-G]

Dutch_Cerbera said:

AndrewW-G said:

The Shamal and the Ghibli are both great cars when working, but were built at a time of great transistion at the factory in Modena.

Rust is a problem with even the nicest looking cars capable of hiding terminal rust in the sills & underbody structures, quirky electrics include the normal dry connector issues and more fun problems like the battery not charging if the led in the ammeter doesnt work.

Fun designed in points like the diff fill plug being blocked by the chassis cage around it make checking the diff oil level interesting, even more so if there are slight weeps from the seals.

Factory exhausts have a life seemingly measured in months not years.

Provided the oil has been changed regularly and both the belts and chains have been done on time, the engines are almost robust, but do need a compression and leakdown test as much money will be needed to fix a bad one.

thank you very much for the info.

so, a engine rebuild is not that important right?
what kind of yearly budget do you need for service and repairs?
is it still easy to get parts? guess that specially for the Shamal that could be an issue, or?
what is better to buy a shamal or a ghibli.. my intention would be not to sell within the next 10 years...

thanks

A rebuild would be a positive facrtor, but if there's nothing wrong with it why rebuild, budget the same as you would for a similar age Ferrari so around 2-3000 Euro's, parts are always fun with old Maserati's especialy the bespoke bits like trim and lighting i.e. you cannot buy a UK spec headlight for a late Ghibli!
The Shamal is the more exclusive of the two, but get whichever one you like best

[Ghibli Cup]

AndrewW-G said:

Provided the oil has been changed regularly and both the belts and chains have been done on time, the engines are almost robust, but do need a compression and leakdown test as much money will be needed to fix a bad one.

First time I hear anybody calling the early V8 biturbo a (almost) robust engine. Most owners and specialists for older Maseratis (eg Candini) will tell you that there are a lot of problems with the Shamal and its engine, and barely any of these engines - incl the evolution of this engine in the QP - seem to live past 60-80k km. In that sense a rebuild would be a big plus in my eyes.
The V6 in the Ghibli seems to be significantly more reliable, as is the entire car given it's a somewhat more modern construction.
Even though reliability might not be the primary criteria when considering either car.

[wraggy]

I owned a shamal for about 3 years and loved it, but that's not to say it was trouble free. The performance was awesome and with no turbo lag. Mine had an aftermarket exhaust and chip and was blisteringly quick. Handling wasn't it's strong point and it was very skittish in the wet.
The downsides were:
2 new exhaust manifolds (cracked)
new battery tray (corroded)
new diff (at great cost!!!!!!)fortunately it was paid for by someone else....phew
check engine light had a mind of it's own.

The diff on the shamal is unique to it and apparantly made of chocolate (so one maser specialist told me) so that really could be it's weakest link.

If money were no object I would have another one but potential future costs put me off.
Good luck with whatever you go for!