RE: PH buying guide: Maserati 3200 GT
Discussion
crostonian said:
It's only the 4200's V8 that was developed by Ferrari, the rest of the car was built in Modena by Maserati as was the 3200. Ferrari became involved with Maserati in the mid to late 90s, before 3200 production - the Quattroporte V8 Evoluzione and the late Ghibli Coupes were the first cars to have any Ferrari influence on production methods, quality etc. Yes it is true to say there is more Ferrari expertise in the 4200 than the 3200 but they weren't a such built by Ferrari.
The megafactories episode at Ferrari's Modena plant showed 4200s coming off the same production line as contemporary fezzas. Confused.
i had a lovely black 3200 for a while... whilst i absolutely loved the car in terms of performance and style/design I have to say the constant fear of servicing and repairs eventually got the better of me and I let it go. the service book was full of work over £3000 per visit and personally I spent over £1000 in a year on extra work over servicing. At that was a good one (told that on numerous occasions by experts working on it).
bottom line: get one, but only if you have deep enough pockets that you dont have to care (within reason) what it costs to keep alive.
bottom line: get one, but only if you have deep enough pockets that you dont have to care (within reason) what it costs to keep alive.
crostonian said:
(although the 3200 and 4200 are quite different though even if they look pretty much the same. 3200 is a 3.2 bi-turbo made by maserati, the 4200 is a 4.2 no turbo made by ferrari. The Ferrari build quality and intelligence really shows.)
It's only the 4200's V8 that was developed by Ferrari, the rest of the car was built in Modena by Maserati as was the 3200. Ferrari became involved with Maserati in the mid to late 90s, before 3200 production - the Quattroporte V8 Evoluzione and the late Ghibli Coupes were the first cars to have any Ferrari influence on production methods, quality etc. Yes it is true to say there is more Ferrari expertise in the 4200 than the 3200 but they weren't a such built by Ferrari.
This is only partly true. Yes the 4200 engine was made by Ferrari, but they also moved all of the productiong into the ferrari factory, meaning they would be doing the same quality control and production methods as Ferrari. Also, ferrari changed a few other things, such as the bonnet has a larger bulge in the middle, the front bumper has a very slight redesign of the bottom lip, and they also decided to put a maserati badge on the nose that wasnt previously there! All in all, Ferrari ironed out some things to improve the car all round.It's only the 4200's V8 that was developed by Ferrari, the rest of the car was built in Modena by Maserati as was the 3200. Ferrari became involved with Maserati in the mid to late 90s, before 3200 production - the Quattroporte V8 Evoluzione and the late Ghibli Coupes were the first cars to have any Ferrari influence on production methods, quality etc. Yes it is true to say there is more Ferrari expertise in the 4200 than the 3200 but they weren't a such built by Ferrari.
I was in the position of a 3200 or 4200 recently and having owned around 7 Alfa's, TVR e.t.c I am not particularly afraid of reputations and generally get down to the fact of things.
To summarise even the 3200 scared me as an ownership opportunity, whilst the 4200 seems to be a massive upskill in reliability/reduced worry/ownership costs and actual ownership has reflected this.
2 prominent Maserati specialists warned me away from the 3200 and into the 4200.
Both models have high parts costs, but the clever people over at Sports Maserati have produced a list of alternative/oem part numbers to get things like pads/discs/filters/air filters/lambdas e.t.c from far cheaper sources than Maserati. F1 Pumps are actually from an Alfa Selespeed for example, so instead of £700+, it is actually nearer £200. I think brakes are the same as a BMW. Almost reasonable!
3200 has cambelts and a chain, 4200 has chains and is a far sturdier unit but doesn't suffer in performance (extra 20hp and 0.2 off the 0-60). Yes the power delivery is different but the 4200 is a better car for it. No concerns with end float issues and the like on the 4200.
The cambiocorsa is the model to go for imo (but get the updated 2005+ software), how the 4200's are so cheap (although more than the 3200!) I don't know (3200 I can understand because of maintenance).
The 4200 is a genuine, usable supercar with sound Ferrari mechanics, beautiful interiors, gorgeous exterior and a noise to die for. MPG is 12-15mpg but god it is worth it if you have any petrol running through you!
To summarise even the 3200 scared me as an ownership opportunity, whilst the 4200 seems to be a massive upskill in reliability/reduced worry/ownership costs and actual ownership has reflected this.
2 prominent Maserati specialists warned me away from the 3200 and into the 4200.
Both models have high parts costs, but the clever people over at Sports Maserati have produced a list of alternative/oem part numbers to get things like pads/discs/filters/air filters/lambdas e.t.c from far cheaper sources than Maserati. F1 Pumps are actually from an Alfa Selespeed for example, so instead of £700+, it is actually nearer £200. I think brakes are the same as a BMW. Almost reasonable!
3200 has cambelts and a chain, 4200 has chains and is a far sturdier unit but doesn't suffer in performance (extra 20hp and 0.2 off the 0-60). Yes the power delivery is different but the 4200 is a better car for it. No concerns with end float issues and the like on the 4200.
The cambiocorsa is the model to go for imo (but get the updated 2005+ software), how the 4200's are so cheap (although more than the 3200!) I don't know (3200 I can understand because of maintenance).
The 4200 is a genuine, usable supercar with sound Ferrari mechanics, beautiful interiors, gorgeous exterior and a noise to die for. MPG is 12-15mpg but god it is worth it if you have any petrol running through you!
Edited by V6Alfisti on Friday 3rd August 14:18
abarber said:
crostonian said:
It's only the 4200's V8 that was developed by Ferrari, the rest of the car was built in Modena by Maserati as was the 3200. Ferrari became involved with Maserati in the mid to late 90s, before 3200 production - the Quattroporte V8 Evoluzione and the late Ghibli Coupes were the first cars to have any Ferrari influence on production methods, quality etc. Yes it is true to say there is more Ferrari expertise in the 4200 than the 3200 but they weren't a such built by Ferrari.
The megafactories episode at Ferrari's Modena plant showed 4200s coming off the same production line as contemporary fezzas. Confused.Drove one a year ago and fell in love but my head just said no. It needed a new rear chain at the 67.5K mile mark and that was not going to be a cheap service. I still love them and will get a GranSport as my next car. I think the 4200 are just that bit more refined and as they are newer alot of the issues with the 3200 were ironed out. The later 3200 is the one to go for if you must have a 3200.
Pork said:
I *think* that was only the bodywork part of the assembly - painted shells were delivered to the Maserati factory, everything else was then done in Modena by Maserati.
That's right!Engines were assembled in Maranello, the shells were produced at Ferrari's Scaglietti facility in Modena, via Emilia Est and then the two parts were mated at the maserati factory, via Ciro Menotti.
They were, but that's actually the same process that currently every Maserati goes through.
Enrico
k. Find a good indie, stay with them and the ownership experience soon goes from from "utter, prolonged agony" to "occasional pain" 
If buying, get a late car with all the flaws fixed before they were manufactured. All the horror stories (engines grenading due to crank endfloat, head gaskets etc. were all fixed by 2001. Reliability is not a huge issue on 2001 on cars. Things like a clutch will be not more expensive than an M5 or similar at £1200, and certainly a lot less than any other Italian supercar.
Don't buy an auto, the electronics are prone to playing up, and can be hard to diagnose. The manual is faster and is much more involving to drive.
The rest of it is all down to buying a car with everything done (servicing, oil changes, cam belts/chains,) etc.
DON'T BUY A GARAGE QUEEN. Like an old Porsche, these cars suffer when not used, mainly electrical issues or problems with suspension actuators and dampers which sieze if left unused for months on end (i.e. Winter).
The cars are very colour sensitive though, and there are some truly vile colour combos which are cheap. Blue (or red if the car is not black, grey or silver) interiors, Gold Brown or Green exteriors. Be sensible, as you should be with any used car. and you will be fine.
A good car should not cost more than £1500/pa to run (plus fuel) at 5k pa, and now prices have bottomed out, they will only rise.
A £12k UK car now will be £17k in 3 years. All the good ones are also going to Australia so some reason.
Tax is cheap on non CO rated pre-51 plate cars, and insurance cheap as these cars are over 10 years old, so some insurers rate them as classics.
Economy? If driven briskly (I drove back from Le Mans with 10 Caterhams, giving it the beans on every D338 roundabout) and got 15mpg. On a motorway crusie, you can get low 20's without trying too hard.
Don't buy an auto, the electronics are prone to playing up, and can be hard to diagnose. The manual is faster and is much more involving to drive.
The rest of it is all down to buying a car with everything done (servicing, oil changes, cam belts/chains,) etc.
DON'T BUY A GARAGE QUEEN. Like an old Porsche, these cars suffer when not used, mainly electrical issues or problems with suspension actuators and dampers which sieze if left unused for months on end (i.e. Winter).
The cars are very colour sensitive though, and there are some truly vile colour combos which are cheap. Blue (or red if the car is not black, grey or silver) interiors, Gold Brown or Green exteriors. Be sensible, as you should be with any used car. and you will be fine.
A good car should not cost more than £1500/pa to run (plus fuel) at 5k pa, and now prices have bottomed out, they will only rise.
A £12k UK car now will be £17k in 3 years. All the good ones are also going to Australia so some reason.
Tax is cheap on non CO rated pre-51 plate cars, and insurance cheap as these cars are over 10 years old, so some insurers rate them as classics.
Economy? If driven briskly (I drove back from Le Mans with 10 Caterhams, giving it the beans on every D338 roundabout) and got 15mpg. On a motorway crusie, you can get low 20's without trying too hard.
Edited by EFA on Friday 3rd August 17:43
My father had his up for sale a couple o' years back, and one potential buyer was an Australian. It was cheaper (2/3s the price IIRC) to buy an UK car (lower 2nd hand values), ship, pay the import taxes and have it prepped to Aus. standards than it was to buy a used, home-market car. More choice, too.
If I ever do buy another 3200 it would probably be an Auto, it seems to be a reliable unit. OK it's an old school auto box but it suits the old school power delivery. The manual can be an obstructive thing, clutches have a short life and the hair trigger throtte response is easier to regulate with the auto. My two were both manuals but I have driven several autos, I also had a 4200 manual which was a clunky old thing too, in some ways a 4200 with a torque converter auto could be the best combo.
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