RE: Maserati 3200 GT | The Brave Pill

[Taylor James]

biggbn said:

I remember loving the boomerang lights. Then looking at the rest. And the other icon, qp. And thinking they look Korean. Some cars look Japanese, some look German, some could only be Italian of French. Those two look Korean, yet thats not the insult it once was. Decent lines, overly fussy, fiddly bits of styling, some parts just SLIGHTLY out of proportion....don't get me wrong, I'd love one. But. Korean....

Same here. Nice lights - the rest? Meh.

I have a soft spot for Maserati but I'd rather have an old biturbo spyder than this any day.

[Evilex]

Never before have I heard my wallet beg for mercy..
.. on the behalf of someone else's wallet!

[Gasolina]

s m said:

I think it would have to be a Shamal for me over this
Prefer the old angular shapes

Not really a fair comparison though as you could have a fleet of these for the price Shamals are commanding.

I am now on my 2nd Maserati, both 4200s and I owned 2 Porsches in the intervening years. My last one was also sub-10 grand and was about on par with the 996 in annual running costs to be honest and no less reliable.

As lovely as those boomerang lights are, I can live without them because of all the rest of the baggage that comes with a 3200.

A 4200 is at the extreme end of my risk/reward and what if? affordability scale.

For me, there is just something very special about them. Ferrari V8 engined, rear wheel drive coupe with a manual gearbox wrapped in a Giugiaro frock, for not a lot of money.

My theory has always been that should the worst happens, I reckon it would be worth more in parts.

Edited by Gasolina on Saturday 6th June 12:54

[jbforce10]

alanuk400 said:

Looking at the dash it's travelling at 15 MPH with the handbrake on and the door open, mileage adjustment between MOT's ?

The speedo on all of my Integrales and an 8.32 did that, as far as I'm aware it's normal.
The door is actually open and the handbrake is engaged - it's reassuring that the warning lights are operational

[s m]

Gasolina said:

s m said:

I think it would have to be a Shamal for me over this
Prefer the old angular shapes

Not really a fair comparison though as you could have a fleet of these for the price Shamals are commanding.

lol true

I shan’t be buying either in reality

The Shamal as I can’t afford it
The 3200 as it doesn’t really do anything for me

[Sandpit Steve]

Ooh, that’s a brave one - but nice to see an old unreliable Italian V8 here, instead of the usual parade of old unreliable German V8s that usually feature!

Bonus points for finding one that’s been sitting around for a bit, just for the added bork factor.

To be fair to the seller, it’s competitively priced, but the new owner is going to need to give it a lot of TLC and not be afraid of some big bills to get it sorted.

[emperorburger]

Loved these when new, however they do absolutely nothing for me now. I wish the next owner of this money pit the best of luck for the future.

[EyeHeartSpellin]

Limpet said:

The problem here is that it’s just not big enough to accommodate the buyer’s balls.

[geminik]

Doesn't look Korean to me.







The main problem with the 3200 was probably incompetent dealers.
It's an incredible GT, not perfect, probably, but I don't think you can say it looks bad, or cheap (go and see by yourself, the interior is still incredible after 20 years, leather everywhere).



But I'm probably biased.

[jdleeso]

Great brave pill. You do need to be brave but they are lovely to look at and drive when running.

I did own one and it ran best when it was being used. The odd weekend drive just doesn’t work for them. This ultimately was my reason for selling as I want to use occasionally and every time I did something went wrong. Having said that the Mercedes I owned was no better. Bottom line very few cars like sitting around doing nothing and we have to use them.

I’d fancy an Aston for the same reason I like the lines but I also think an old DB or Rapide would suffer the same issues when not used.

Now I’m mainly in pedal power!

[cerb4.5lee]

This is everything for me(apart from the colour). A manual and a V8 engine, also the lovely boomerang rear lights.

If only I was brave enough though...

[rxe]

What is the split between parts and labour when it comes to running these? I’m perfectly capable with spanners (cambelt change on a Busso V6 - no problem), so could probably do the work. It’s quite an old car, so computer lock in should be minimal. Last I looked, the parts prices were horrific

[J4CKO]

"My Maserati does one-eighty-five, I just tried to start it, now it wont drive"

Know two people with these, one had a complete nightmare, the other just had numerous issues.

Looks fantastic, but way beyond brave, masochistic.

[Helicopter123]

I’m sure Wheeler Dealers did one of these?

[geminik]

rxe said:

What is the split between parts and labour when it comes to running these? I’m perfectly capable with spanners (cambelt change on a Busso V6 - no problem), so could probably do the work. It’s quite an old car, so computer lock in should be minimal. Last I looked, the parts prices were horrific

If your capable with spanners, you'll be able to do everything yourself.
Service item are not that expensive :
https://www.eurospares.co.uk/parts/maserati/3200/s...

Timing belt is every 3y by the manuel, but every 4 is good enough.
Probably better to replace the water pump and bearing when you do it.
Not to pricey either : https://www.eurospares.co.uk/parts/maserati/3200-g...

Contactless throttle body is about 400-450gbp if needed.

A lot of maserati expensive parts are just fiat/alfa/lancia items with a fancy box, often you don't need to pay the premium.

But I agree, if you can't do anything by yourself, it can be expensive.

[samoht]

Well-written article, thanks.

The author said:

in Northern Ireland, something which may create some logistical problems for anyone looking to purchase it from elsewhere in the UK.

• Book an inspection through e.g. ClickMechanic
• 9:55am easyJet from Stansted to Belfast
• Ask the seller to meet you at the airport at noon with the car
• Hand over the money
• Drive to Larne, take the ferry
• Drive home

[RichTBiscuit]

It is a pain in the ass sometimes, but just look at it. And it cost 8k.

If you cant do any spannering, or it’s a daily driver I’d def avoid. We have German daily’s for our sanity.

I love it :-)

[tim milne]

Did I dream it, or wasn't one of the first Pills one of these?

[StuntmanMike]

RichTBiscuit said:

It is a pain in the ass sometimes, but just look at it. And it cost 8k.

If you cant do any spannering, or it’s a daily driver I’d def avoid. We have German daily’s for our sanity.

I love it :-)

Sad as it may be, your lovely looking 5 series is what caught my eye there.

[StuntmanMike]

StuntmanMike said:

RichTBiscuit said:

It is a pain in the ass sometimes, but just look at it. And it cost 8k.

If you cant do any spannering, or it’s a daily driver I’d def avoid. We have German daily’s for our sanity.

I love it :-)

Sad as it may be, your lovely looking 5 series is what caught my eye there.

Sorry to do this.

Is the the car that drew international attention on Reddit, when it hit a car park height barrier and knocked its bikes off the roof carrier?

Edit: it’s not, just checked the Reddit post.
Identical car but not the same one. Apologies.

Edited by StuntmanMike on Saturday 6th June 18:26