RE: The Brave Pill: Maserati 4200GT
Discussion
I ran a Gransport for 5 years and roughly 25k miles, it cost roughly £2k per year in maintenance, averaged around 15mpg but only lost £2k in value over the 5 years so total cost of ownership was pretty cheap. I really enjoyed owning it and it sounded amazing after replacing the secondary cats and resonator with an X-pipe. It always felt special and only occasionally had any major problems.
I can't think of a more special car for the money, many are more competent but none of its rivals stir the soul like the Maserati
I can't think of a more special car for the money, many are more competent but none of its rivals stir the soul like the Maserati
I had my manual 4200 for nearly 3 years and loved it. Came out of an E39 M5 and what a revelation. As good as the M5 was, it was somewhat dull, the Maser showed me what I had been missing within the first mile and I never looked back. It was also significantly more reliable than the M5 (and the M3 before that) and was an occasion every time you got inside, the same cannot be said for a 911 of the same period, or probably even now.
Yes the 911 is a better car for a spirited B road blat but the Maser actually does a pretty good job and when you get on an A road or motorway, the tables are turned, it is properly quick, sounds amazing and is very comfortable. To my eyes at least, it also looks fabulous and always got admiring looks and consideration when out and about.
I would wholeheartedly recommend them with just 2 caveats, they have to be used regularly and they have to be maintained properly, although that is not any more expensive than a 911 in the real world using a good indie. At this sort of money I really can't see any downside - you get a handmade Italian exotic with proper build quality for the price of a second hand Fiesta, DO IT!!
Yes the 911 is a better car for a spirited B road blat but the Maser actually does a pretty good job and when you get on an A road or motorway, the tables are turned, it is properly quick, sounds amazing and is very comfortable. To my eyes at least, it also looks fabulous and always got admiring looks and consideration when out and about.
I would wholeheartedly recommend them with just 2 caveats, they have to be used regularly and they have to be maintained properly, although that is not any more expensive than a 911 in the real world using a good indie. At this sort of money I really can't see any downside - you get a handmade Italian exotic with proper build quality for the price of a second hand Fiesta, DO IT!!
Byker28i said:
Raygun said:
What "it was once owned by Dwight Yorke"?
Would that be around the time he was shagging Katie Price...shudder!You could spend the same money on a 3 year old Ford Focus, and in 3 years you'll lose another £5-6k.
Ignoring 20mpg (at best) then you can keep one of these fettled at a main dealers for less than that (and certainly less than a Z4M) and when you come to sell it you'll probably get most of your money back.
Colossus said:
I had my manual 4200 for nearly 3 years and loved it. Came out of an E39 M5 and what a revelation. As good as the M5 was, it was somewhat dull, the Maser showed me what I had been missing within the first mile and I never looked back. It was also significantly more reliable than the M5 (and the M3 before that) and was an occasion every time you got inside, the same cannot be said for a 911 of the same period, or probably even now.
Yes the 911 is a better car for a spirited B road blat but the Maser actually does a pretty good job and when you get on an A road or motorway, the tables are turned, it is properly quick, sounds amazing and is very comfortable. To my eyes at least, it also looks fabulous and always got admiring looks and consideration when out and about.
I would wholeheartedly recommend them with just 2 caveats, they have to be used regularly and they have to be maintained properly, although that is not any more expensive than a 911 in the real world using a good indie. At this sort of money I really can't see any downside - you get a handmade Italian exotic with proper build quality for the price of a second hand Fiesta, DO IT!!
Wow - that's quite some recommendationYes the 911 is a better car for a spirited B road blat but the Maser actually does a pretty good job and when you get on an A road or motorway, the tables are turned, it is properly quick, sounds amazing and is very comfortable. To my eyes at least, it also looks fabulous and always got admiring looks and consideration when out and about.
I would wholeheartedly recommend them with just 2 caveats, they have to be used regularly and they have to be maintained properly, although that is not any more expensive than a 911 in the real world using a good indie. At this sort of money I really can't see any downside - you get a handmade Italian exotic with proper build quality for the price of a second hand Fiesta, DO IT!!
I had a facelift 4200 for a while and now have a 997 911.I still miss the 4200 engine, noise and interior. It is more GT than a sports car.
Generally not that cheap to keep on the road, but within expectations...more so with a good specialist.
Some things to take note of:
Some of the bigger things like discs/pads are the same as a BMW model (can't recall which), this helps with keeping costs down
Some parts are straight from Alfa e.g. Selespeed pump £200 instead of £1000 plus at Maserati, the interior light cluster is from a GTV e.t.c
However anything Maserati specific does cost rather a lot, e.g.
1) Doing a clutch change was about a £2.5k job even with a specialist as you have the clutch, bearings and then you have to set the alignment points which you can only do with a maserati box. Luckily the previous owner of mine, had just done it.
2) Small bits like a bit of tiny L shaped 6cm pipe from maserati can cost an arm/leg e.g that was a quote of £140 ish...part only.
The facelift version is desired more, as it came with a number of tweaks and the last of the line the Gran something takes this to another level.
Just buy a good one, with a recent clutch, also preferably a F1 pump if you plump for that model. The previous owner of my one had spent 4.5k on it in the 12 months before I bought it, then I had to chuck on a F1 pump/relay when it left me stranded.
I do remember resetting the car quite a bit, for some reason or other. It always felt like it was built when complex car electricals were being developed but weren't quite there....Maserati have always been behind the pack here imo.
It did have it's oddities as well, the handbrake was useless and with the later software updates Maserati pulled off the hill hold assist from the F1 cars.
Oh, I would still have another !
The 911 on the other hand certainly handles better, generally feels a bit more robust, and my tip doesn't have the 3k clutch scare.
The 911 verges on being practical with those fold rear seats which the 4200 didn't have but the pork doesn't have the flamboyancy of that interior or Ferrari engine (albeit one I still enjoy very much).
Reliability wise the 911 isn't fault free, i personally chose the post 07 997 to vastly reduce most of the various ims type woes of earlier ones, and whilst I'm not resetting the 911 every couple of weeks, it does have other niggles like exhaust bolts that disintegrate after a year (now changed to marine a4 grade), cracking coil packs, top mounts that degrade, water pumps that can let go (changed whilst I was doing the exhaust to preempt), the air vacuum thing (known as the tin hat) are made of mild steel again and corrode, water pipes everywhere that connect to corroding alu pipes .... bla bla and are an engine drop job.
Basically both cars have their issues, but I love them for different reasons.
Regardless of whether you get a 4200 or 911, just expect to fork out for the big bills occasionally but realistically the 911 will cause less problems/surprises based on what I have seen.
Generally not that cheap to keep on the road, but within expectations...more so with a good specialist.
Some things to take note of:
Some of the bigger things like discs/pads are the same as a BMW model (can't recall which), this helps with keeping costs down
Some parts are straight from Alfa e.g. Selespeed pump £200 instead of £1000 plus at Maserati, the interior light cluster is from a GTV e.t.c
However anything Maserati specific does cost rather a lot, e.g.
1) Doing a clutch change was about a £2.5k job even with a specialist as you have the clutch, bearings and then you have to set the alignment points which you can only do with a maserati box. Luckily the previous owner of mine, had just done it.
2) Small bits like a bit of tiny L shaped 6cm pipe from maserati can cost an arm/leg e.g that was a quote of £140 ish...part only.
The facelift version is desired more, as it came with a number of tweaks and the last of the line the Gran something takes this to another level.
Just buy a good one, with a recent clutch, also preferably a F1 pump if you plump for that model. The previous owner of my one had spent 4.5k on it in the 12 months before I bought it, then I had to chuck on a F1 pump/relay when it left me stranded.
I do remember resetting the car quite a bit, for some reason or other. It always felt like it was built when complex car electricals were being developed but weren't quite there....Maserati have always been behind the pack here imo.
It did have it's oddities as well, the handbrake was useless and with the later software updates Maserati pulled off the hill hold assist from the F1 cars.
Oh, I would still have another !
The 911 on the other hand certainly handles better, generally feels a bit more robust, and my tip doesn't have the 3k clutch scare.
The 911 verges on being practical with those fold rear seats which the 4200 didn't have but the pork doesn't have the flamboyancy of that interior or Ferrari engine (albeit one I still enjoy very much).
Reliability wise the 911 isn't fault free, i personally chose the post 07 997 to vastly reduce most of the various ims type woes of earlier ones, and whilst I'm not resetting the 911 every couple of weeks, it does have other niggles like exhaust bolts that disintegrate after a year (now changed to marine a4 grade), cracking coil packs, top mounts that degrade, water pumps that can let go (changed whilst I was doing the exhaust to preempt), the air vacuum thing (known as the tin hat) are made of mild steel again and corrode, water pipes everywhere that connect to corroding alu pipes .... bla bla and are an engine drop job.
Basically both cars have their issues, but I love them for different reasons.
Regardless of whether you get a 4200 or 911, just expect to fork out for the big bills occasionally but realistically the 911 will cause less problems/surprises based on what I have seen.
Owned 9 Maserati now including a 4200 and three 3200's , all were great and an experience.
First one back in 2013.
Number 7 GTS (As featured in BBC's MotherFatherSon series episode 1).
Number 8 Ghibli (still got this one)
Number 9 (collected this weekend). GT Sport
https://youtu.be/KnlEnrSVwDU
First one back in 2013.
Number 7 GTS (As featured in BBC's MotherFatherSon series episode 1).
Number 8 Ghibli (still got this one)
Number 9 (collected this weekend). GT Sport
https://youtu.be/KnlEnrSVwDU
jakesmith said:
Loved my Grantirismo, what a car! Cost a damn sight less in repairs than the 997 I had before and the R8 I replaced it with!
Never driven one of these 4200s but can see the appeal
Hope nothing too serious with the R8, remember you saying you'd bought one, saw a blue colour R8 the other day and looked great.Never driven one of these 4200s but can see the appeal
Raygun said:
Hope nothing too serious with the R8, remember you saying you'd bought one, saw a blue colour R8 the other day and looked great.
It’s cost me £8k since I bought it in October. Now admittedly over half of that was on unnecessary upgrades and some of the rest was hunting down issue caused by the upgrades. Still smarts though but the car seems to be completely sorted now at last. It has a decent aftermarket exhaust on but the Audi engine can’t even look at the Maserati Ferrari derived V8 for sound an fun I miss it badly. My friend thinks the Maserati sound is down to a unique cylinder firing order. All I can say is whilst the r8 is loud, the Maserati was seductive, musical, dramatic etc.
If I won the lottery I would have another Maserati as my GT car. They are understated yet so aggressive looking and sound sensational
This article has had me thinking about a 4200 as a runabout / station car! Last time I did that, I bought a 987S for that purpose and it ended badly!
jakesmith said:
This article has had me thinking about a 4200 as a runabout / station car! Last time I did that, I bought a 987S for that purpose and it ended badly!
Funnily enough - I’m looking at either a 987S (Gen 2) or a 4200. Thought I’d be safer in the Porsche, but did you have IMS issues with it or was it something else?Blib said:
If I stumbled upon that rarest of rare beasts, a black, facelifted, manual 4200 with a cream interior, I'd be sorely tempted.
I know some early, manual cars were supplied. I'm not sure if the later ones had that option?
Yes all including the facelift, although i'm informed there are only about 12 facelift manual cars. Have you driven a manual? Cable change, awful feel when cold but gets better once warm (bit like the Getrag in the 3200 too) but a big disconnect when changing gears makes progress hard and frustrating. The CC box is far better suited to these cars.I know some early, manual cars were supplied. I'm not sure if the later ones had that option?
Contigo said:
Yes all including the facelift, although i'm informed there are only about 12 facelift manual cars. Have you driven a manual? Cable change, awful feel when cold but gets better once warm (bit like the Getrag in the 3200 too) but a big disconnect when changing gears makes progress hard and frustrating. The CC box is far better suited to these cars.
I am sorry contigo but I've got to call you out as wrong on this, as you were also proved wrong over on sportmaserati when you expressed the same sentiment. I have driven 6 manual examples and found this only to be the case in one of them. If the cables aren't correctly aligned, then yes the gear change is poor. However when set up correctly (as should've left the factory!?) The gear change is great. This is also echoed by other owners of manual cars. Equally on discussion with autosheild this is there experience and they recommend keeping the cable greased as part of service.
Mine changes gear precisely with only fingertip control. I'll add that it is a much easier gear change than my z4mc was (and that wasn't bad just a little clunky when cold).
Prospective owners should be advised to drive a few to ensure they are getting the best example.
burpface said:
I am sorry contigo but I've got to call you out as wrong on this, as you were also proved wrong over on sportmaserati when you expressed the same sentiment.
I have driven 6 manual examples and found this only to be the case in one of them. If the cables aren't correctly aligned, then yes the gear change is poor. However when set up correctly (as should've left the factory!?) The gear change is great. This is also echoed by other owners of manual cars. Equally on discussion with autosheild this is there experience and they recommend keeping the cable greased as part of service.
Mine changes gear precisely with only fingertip control. I'll add that it is a much easier gear change than my z4mc was (and that wasn't bad just a little clunky when cold).
Prospective owners should be advised to drive a few to ensure they are getting the best example.
This. My manual Spyder change is excellent, especially in the 2-6 changes (and back down again) .. the only one that can be a bit tricky some times is 1 - 2, I have driven 6 manual examples and found this only to be the case in one of them. If the cables aren't correctly aligned, then yes the gear change is poor. However when set up correctly (as should've left the factory!?) The gear change is great. This is also echoed by other owners of manual cars. Equally on discussion with autosheild this is there experience and they recommend keeping the cable greased as part of service.
Mine changes gear precisely with only fingertip control. I'll add that it is a much easier gear change than my z4mc was (and that wasn't bad just a little clunky when cold).
Prospective owners should be advised to drive a few to ensure they are getting the best example.
Proper adjustment and regular lubrication is the answer
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff