RE: Maserati Quattroporte: Spotted
Discussion
ITP said:
I would say anyone who considers the cost of the VED being the deal breaker should not be going anywhere near a 10 year old Maserati.
Surely no-one says ‘if only the VED was £140/year i’d have one of those’.
I would agree with a previous poster that these are probably the most beautiful saloon ever, a classic heart over head purchase. I’d have one!
people whose sole decison to buy a car is down to VED rates are not real motoring enthuaists, take the bus. No VEDSurely no-one says ‘if only the VED was £140/year i’d have one of those’.
I would agree with a previous poster that these are probably the most beautiful saloon ever, a classic heart over head purchase. I’d have one!
happy days
ITP said:
I would say anyone who considers the cost of the VED being the deal breaker should not be going anywhere near a 10 year old Maserati.
Surely no-one says ‘if only the VED was £140/year i’d have one of those’.
I would agree with a previous poster that these are probably the most beautiful saloon ever, a classic heart over head purchase. I’d have one!
Anyone who is worried about VED should look at the bands for M5s and AMG Mercs of that era because they won't be any cheaper - then go and buy a diesel Fiesta or whatever!Surely no-one says ‘if only the VED was £140/year i’d have one of those’.
I would agree with a previous poster that these are probably the most beautiful saloon ever, a classic heart over head purchase. I’d have one!
Or spend a fortune on the mid-60s Quattroporte and not have to pay for VED.
This generation of Quattroporte is just stunning - if I thought I could afford to run one I'd already have one!
My tax band is getting there- not a Masa something more modest but pushing £530 at last check. Problem is £500+ for tax is now starting to feel expensive. If it keeps going up it will be nudging £600 then £700 before long. These older cars are basically being priced out of existence.
If you are worried enough about bills to wonder about a warranty then you will also be unable to stop calculating in your head what that could have covered. 3 or 4 years of ownership mean you pay 2k+ in tax, which is a major service, or a year’s warranty, or just £2k more the car owes you when you come to sell and feel the depreciation.... or another year you could have kept the car before getting something sensible
If you are worried enough about bills to wonder about a warranty then you will also be unable to stop calculating in your head what that could have covered. 3 or 4 years of ownership mean you pay 2k+ in tax, which is a major service, or a year’s warranty, or just £2k more the car owes you when you come to sell and feel the depreciation.... or another year you could have kept the car before getting something sensible
My good friend had one of these a couple of years ago. Couldn't agree more with regards to that automated manual gearbox, it was barely any quicker in a straight line, if at all than my Alfa GTV 3.0 V6 with 220bhp. It seemed to take an age to change gear.
But God did it sound and look good. Would have one over an M5 every day of the week, but with the ZF box please.
But God did it sound and look good. Would have one over an M5 every day of the week, but with the ZF box please.
I bought one of these in June; with the DuoSelect (F1) gearbox that everybody criticises... in this car.. funny people rave about the F1 box in a Ferrari 360, or 430, and its the same box.. (also the same box in e-gear murcielagos- I do my own work including clutch changes on these, and the clutch disc is the same as a F1 Ferrari 599; look me up I've been featured on Pistonheads for DIY supercars).
If you think these boxes don't shift smoothly for an auto, you'd be right, what they are, is smooth shifting for a manual box; you cannot change gear manually as smoothly as these boxes do, especially in sport mode.
Driving the car as you would a manual, its smoother than you could do with a clutch pedal, but its not going to be as smooth as torque converter based auto (this is because in a torque converter auto there is no mechanical link between the engine and the rear axle).
Its a matter of adjusting expectations- its wonderfully smooth for a manual car, but not seamless as a torque converter slushbox- but then it delivers the satisfaction of real throttle response as it really is a manual car (just no clutch pedal).
The car is. very easy to work on (compared to mid engine cars like my murcielago), and is an amazingly satisfying drive for a 4 dour luxury car. The leather interior smells incredible, it feels incredibly solid (has a real hewn from a solid piece of metal feel), no squeaks and rattles (amazing for a 2005 model) and in general feels like the best value for money exotic I' ve come across!
I bought my car from a guy who did his own maintenance for the previous 5 years as well, and I think the level of care shows in how good the car is for the age- no shortcuts taken (I think this is key maintenance wise). Parts for this car are pretty reasonable for an exotic car too.
If you think these boxes don't shift smoothly for an auto, you'd be right, what they are, is smooth shifting for a manual box; you cannot change gear manually as smoothly as these boxes do, especially in sport mode.
Driving the car as you would a manual, its smoother than you could do with a clutch pedal, but its not going to be as smooth as torque converter based auto (this is because in a torque converter auto there is no mechanical link between the engine and the rear axle).
Its a matter of adjusting expectations- its wonderfully smooth for a manual car, but not seamless as a torque converter slushbox- but then it delivers the satisfaction of real throttle response as it really is a manual car (just no clutch pedal).
The car is. very easy to work on (compared to mid engine cars like my murcielago), and is an amazingly satisfying drive for a 4 dour luxury car. The leather interior smells incredible, it feels incredibly solid (has a real hewn from a solid piece of metal feel), no squeaks and rattles (amazing for a 2005 model) and in general feels like the best value for money exotic I' ve come across!
I bought my car from a guy who did his own maintenance for the previous 5 years as well, and I think the level of care shows in how good the car is for the age- no shortcuts taken (I think this is key maintenance wise). Parts for this car are pretty reasonable for an exotic car too.
I had one of a similar age and ran it for three years before the gremlins wore me down. I had expected the electrics to be troublesome but they were a joke! There are far too many electrical systems in place and when one fails, another will invariably follow suit immediately afterwards.
I'd keep an eye on things like the F1 pump (seems prone to failure) and water ingress on the passenger side that can lead to issues with the fuses blowing, which causes all kinds of issues too.
Mechanically it's a fairly sound car and the engine is outstanding. Yes, there's lag using the paddle shifters but not enough to really trouble me, anyway. Overall I'm happy to have owned one but I'd factor in a healthy slush fund to cover unexpected issues. Also, I wouldn't agree that parts are cheap - nor are they easy to come by. Simple replacement parts like door seals seemed to take an age to order through Maranello. Likewise, tyres were tricky to get hold of (Pirelli P-Zeros) but I've no idea why!
I'd keep an eye on things like the F1 pump (seems prone to failure) and water ingress on the passenger side that can lead to issues with the fuses blowing, which causes all kinds of issues too.
Mechanically it's a fairly sound car and the engine is outstanding. Yes, there's lag using the paddle shifters but not enough to really trouble me, anyway. Overall I'm happy to have owned one but I'd factor in a healthy slush fund to cover unexpected issues. Also, I wouldn't agree that parts are cheap - nor are they easy to come by. Simple replacement parts like door seals seemed to take an age to order through Maranello. Likewise, tyres were tricky to get hold of (Pirelli P-Zeros) but I've no idea why!
feef said:
I used to have an Alfa with the Selespeed and while it got a slagging from some quarters, I found that once used to it, it would change gear quite slickly. Is the Masterati system similar in 'feel'?
Yes as the Maserati 4200 for example and some Ferrari's actually used the same Selespeed Pump, £200 for the OEM part or £1200 from Maserati. Wouldn't surprise me if the Duo Select was the same kind of thing.There is a way of driving the "F1" system more smoothly, I found letting off slightly before a gear change at normal speeds helped it out but if going full pelt...the system in Sport changed quickly enough.
SydneySE said:
I bought one of these in June; with the DuoSelect (F1) gearbox that everybody criticises... in this car.. funny people rave about the F1 box in a Ferrari 360, or 430, and its the same box.. (also the same box in e-gear murcielagos- I do my own work including clutch changes on these, and the clutch disc is the same as a F1 Ferrari 599; look me up I've been featured on Pistonheads for DIY supercars).
Out of interest, how did you get around the clutch position settings that need a Maserati box to line everything up? As I asked my Alfa specialist who was willing to do the hard yards but would need a man in a van to come out with the Maserati kit to do the computerised settings.Equus said:
V6Alfisti said:
...I found letting off slightly before a gear change at normal speeds helped it out ...
Are you sure?I can't image that breaking wind has any effect whatsoever on the gearbox, I'm afraid.
V6Alfisti said:
Out of interest, how did you get around the clutch position settings that need a Maserati box to line everything up? As I asked my Alfa specialist who was willing to do the hard yards but would need a man in a van to come out with the Maserati kit to do the computerised settings.
whether its the selespeed, F1 or e-gear, they're all the same magnetti Marelli components. Whenever you change clutch, you need the software to bleed the clutch and set the clutch position sensor. It only costs a couple of hundred even to do this for Lamborghini.ericmcn said:
Turbobanana said:
No it isn't. It's just not "German".
exactly, people in the UK are too spaced out on German cars to see the otherside, I think its a great left of field car but buying a used one would be hit or miss in terms of maintenance making you bankrupt.MrK50 said:
I had one of a similar age and ran it for three years before the gremlins wore me down. I had expected the electrics to be troublesome but they were a joke! There are far too many electrical systems in place and when one fails, another will invariably follow suit immediately afterwards.
I'd keep an eye on things like the F1 pump (seems prone to failure) and water ingress on the passenger side that can lead to issues with the fuses blowing, which causes all kinds of issues too.
Mechanically it's a fairly sound car and the engine is outstanding. Yes, there's lag using the paddle shifters but not enough to really trouble me, anyway. Overall I'm happy to have owned one but I'd factor in a healthy slush fund to cover unexpected issues. Also, I wouldn't agree that parts are cheap - nor are they easy to come by. Simple replacement parts like door seals seemed to take an age to order through Maranello. Likewise, tyres were tricky to get hold of (Pirelli P-Zeros) but I've no idea why!
the F1 pump is the same as an Alfa; £190 (on the Maserati the accumulator is different, but on the Ferrari and Lamborghini the accumulator is also the same as on the alfa selespeed).I'd keep an eye on things like the F1 pump (seems prone to failure) and water ingress on the passenger side that can lead to issues with the fuses blowing, which causes all kinds of issues too.
Mechanically it's a fairly sound car and the engine is outstanding. Yes, there's lag using the paddle shifters but not enough to really trouble me, anyway. Overall I'm happy to have owned one but I'd factor in a healthy slush fund to cover unexpected issues. Also, I wouldn't agree that parts are cheap - nor are they easy to come by. Simple replacement parts like door seals seemed to take an age to order through Maranello. Likewise, tyres were tricky to get hold of (Pirelli P-Zeros) but I've no idea why!
Looking through the bills for QP, front discs where £129 plus VAT last year, and its still a current price:
https://www.eurospares.co.uk/parts/maserati/qtp-20...
can't say I find that to costly parts wise; door seals.... never had to replace these on any car I've owned (maybe just lucky?), but I have purchased body panels for various cars, and pieces of trim from autorecyclers on many occasions... you couldn't tell they wheren't new parts (particularly from the German auto recyclers).
ducnick said:
GravelBen said:
For whatever reason this is always the Quattroporte I think of first when I hear the name:
I don't know if they were actually any good, but it does have a lot of character.
The qp4 evo is a fantastic thing with a manual gearbox. Looks a bit odd. Hard back seats. But plenty fast. Pre Ferrari era too so it had a proper Maserati engine! I was genuinely shocked how fast the one I drove was (when new).I don't know if they were actually any good, but it does have a lot of character.
That said, the qp5 with an auto box will be cheaper to run I suspect if only due to parts availability.
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