RE: Maserati 4200 Spyder | Spotted

RE: Maserati 4200 Spyder | Spotted

Author
Discussion

rassi

2,447 posts

250 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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I have seen the 3200 rear lights retrofitted to a 4200, so it can be done - a manual 4200 would be a dream for me, almost pulled the trigger on a 3200

ducnick

1,765 posts

242 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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Iamnotkloot said:
I know it's no where near the same thing, but if I was to have a Maserati, I think it'd have to be one of these:
https://www.richardgracecars.co.uk/for-sale/masera...
Good choice and a wonderful little car. The Cups really drive very well and that engine is unlike anything else. Rare low volume Maseratis always go up in value in the end. This one has been for sale for a very long while now.. over a yr is memory serves. Probably still a bit over priced.

Caterhamfan

304 posts

169 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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Almani said:
You can tell it has that awful 'Italian' driving position by the fact that the seat base is pushed back as far as it will go to provide room for the legs, whilst at the same time the seat back has to be cranked forward in order that you can reach the steering wheel.

I guess Italians must have short legs and long arms - not that I've noticed, which is strange as I live in Italy .......
Based on the first sentence, I think you have the second sentence reversed biglaugh

ettore

4,118 posts

251 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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I like these and very, very, nearly bought one back in the day. Maserati were very solicitous and invited me to a track day at Prodrive's place near Warwick and I had great fun hurling them around the track and skid pan. I loved the noise, the interior and the general Italian vibe and was convinced it was for me.

Unfortunately, my daily smoker back then was a Boxster S and I got back in that to drive home and it was immediately oodles better. My heart cracked and no Maser' was bought.

What a shame!

Colossus

333 posts

213 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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I bought a manual '03 Coupe in 2007 and ran it for 3 years, In comparison to the M series Bimmers I had run before, it was a paragon of reliability and felt special every time you drove it.

Complaints about the manual gearbox are usually as a result of the linkage needing adjusting. A simple job for a mechanic that knows what they are doing. Once done the change is great. I can't comment about the scuttle shake but unless you are giving 10/10s on every drive, can't believe it makes that much difference to the overall experience.

What is in no doubt is the engine, a real masterpiece and as has been said before worth it for the entry price alone. Sounds so much better than virtually anything else out there, whether a contemporary of the time or modern and is plenty fast enough in real world driving. I can't recall the fuel consumption, but really is that an issue? This is not a daily driver and it gives back way more than the cost of a few gallons of super unleaded.

If used regularly it should also not cost a fortune to run. Take it to a specialist (essential in my view, avoid the main dealer network) for servicing and provided it has been well looked after in the past, should give many years of stress free motoring if my experience (and that of others I know) is anything to go by.

These are exotic Italian cars, made in small numbers and from a manufacturer that has a real pedigree and style. Yes, you could by an XK-R or similar, but to me they have nothing like the style or emotion that this Maserati has. This is a lovely car and would be a perfect buy for the summer.

jbforce10

509 posts

174 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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el romeral said:
Is there an echo in here?
Sorry, i missed your message in haste to post almost exactly the same thing.

Still... Bleedin' Americans.

pSyCoSiS

3,581 posts

204 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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I like the car and the colour combo. Manual gearbox makes it more interesting and adds to the appeal.

Diderot

7,263 posts

191 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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The Wookie said:
it was more wobbly than a fat bloke on a pneumatic drill. The steering column shake was particularly epic..
You cad, you’ve just made me breathe coffee out of my nose and down my shirt. laugh

runnerbean 14

268 posts

133 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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Ahh, scuttle shake. Really horrible and the bane of so many otherwise lovely convertibles. One of the worst culprits in my memory was a Rolls-Royce Corniche that I drove but didn't buy. I have had a couple of Mercedes R129s that weren't anything like as bad as that Corniche.

The best drop-heads I've encountered, at opposite ends of the spectrum, were my Elan Sprint back in the day (separate chassis, with added stiffness from the way the body was attached) and my current R231 SL - probably the most torsionally stiff convertible in recent years at 19,400 ft-lb/deg roof down; better than many monocoque coupes.

el romeral

1,030 posts

136 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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jbforce10 said:
Sorry, i missed your message in haste to post almost exactly the same thing.

Still... Bleedin' Americans.
beer

andymadmak

14,481 posts

269 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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As a long time owner of one of these I have to say some of the comments on here are soooo ill informed.
Yes early Spyders have scuttle shake, but from 2003 onwards (glass rear window) they were much better.
Fast, smooth. Manual box is great if the linkage is properly set up.
And mine has been super reliable, making several trips to Italy without issue.
In fact I have put more than 40k miles on it without a single breakdown or major issue.
These are an absolute bargain!

adrianhunt

2 posts

90 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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It remains a very underated car. I bought mine brand new in 2002 and it has proved extremely reliable.
Every time I take it out it gets admiring looks and approving comments. The Ferrari derived engine revs briskly and it is a lot faster and nippier than you'd think, due to it's size and weight.
When I handed over my hard earned £70k 21 years ago, I promised myself I would never sell it, because then I won't be hit by the normal Maserati depreciation .. So, I would say £22k sounds a bargain !!

Scudrunner

4 posts

15 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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I have a Blue 2006 Spyder - love it. Yes it would have been great if the boomerang rear lights had been retained ( that was the 3200 twin turbo I think). I have Larini back boxes on which as previously mentioned add a little extra theatre if a bit boomy at idle. TBH the only issues I’ve had in 5 years of ownership are sticking hood ( I now exercise it regularly and that seems to make it happy) and a rubbish ineffective handbrake which I never use , but has caused 2 MOT failures! She only comes out in top-down weather and the dreaded clutch wear hasn’t happened. I guess the ultimate compliment is that I’ve bought a Levante as a daily driver🤷‍♂️

Scudrunner

4 posts

15 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
quotequote all
I have a Blue 2006 Spyder - love it. Yes it would have been great if the boomerang rear lights had been retained ( that was the 3200 twin turbo I think). I have Larini back boxes on which as previously mentioned add a little extra theatre if a bit boomy at idle. TBH the only issues I’ve had in 5 years of ownership are sticking hood ( I now exercise it regularly and that seems to make it happy) and a rubbish ineffective handbrake which I never use , but has caused 2 MOT failures! She only comes out in top-down weather and the dreaded clutch wear hasn’t happened. I guess the ultimate compliment is that I’ve bought a Levante as a daily driver🤷‍♂️

andymadmak

14,481 posts

269 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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There seems to be a theme developing in this thread, with two distinctly different groups of posters:

Group One: It will be horribly unreliable, 22k is only the start, massive Bork factor, wait for the huge bills to start rolling in.....

Group Two: (also known as people who have actually owned one) It's really rather reliable.

hehe




ric p

563 posts

268 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Colossus said:
These are exotic Italian cars, made in small numbers and from a manufacturer that has a real pedigree and style. Yes, you could by an XK-R or similar, but to me they have nothing like the style or emotion that this Maserati has. This is a lovely car and would be a perfect buy for the summer.
Dipping back into this thread, I am now looking for an XKR convertible. Yes you are correct, the Maser will always be more special / exotic. But I’d like to tick off the Jag V8 supercharged engine as it is also supposed to be a good’un. However mainly because there is never a face lifted Spyder for sale, which speaks volumes for the car and how owners view them, I’ve been looking since last summer. Rather than how they are seen from those outside.

As I said earlier, hugely underrated and the engine is epic, especially when released with a sports exhaust. But a GT not a track day weapon.

Edited by ric p on Saturday 25th March 19:02

Nish Gnackers

996 posts

40 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
quotequote all
andymadmak said:
There seems to be a theme developing in this thread, with two distinctly different groups of posters:

Group One: It will be horribly unreliable, 22k is only the start, massive Bork factor, wait for the huge bills to start rolling in.....

Group Two: (also known as people who have actually owned one) It's really rather reliable.

hehe
This PistonHeads phenomenon only applies to Maseratis and Range Rovers smile

cfin4014

11 posts

13 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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SmartVenom said:
LotusOmega375D said:
Lovely car, that. Reminds me of Eva Longoria in Desperate Housewives.
That was my first thought as well! I let that thought linger for a while as well!!!
It was black with brown interior. She replaced it with a maroon DB9 Convertible which was rather nice too. Or so I've heard.

ewand

775 posts

213 months

Sunday 26th March 2023
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I bought a red (black interior) Spyder GT in 2003 for £40K at Maranello in Egham. A the time they used to advertise on the back page of the motoring supplement of the Sunday Times, and this 40-grand Maser was the cheapest car they listed.

It still had 2 years of warranty left when I got it and during that time it was probably recovered 4 or 5 times due to weird electrical faults or other limp-home mechanicals. At 14,000 miles they told me it needed a new clutch and flywheel. It was a daily driver so add to the <20mpg fuel costs, we had something of a Total Cost of Ownership issue so it went after less than 3 years.

Driving wise, it was certainly an occasion - yes, it had pretty awful scuttle shake (we traded in a 2000-year Honda S2000, which was comparatively rigid and had a much better gearchange). But sitting at the traffic lights with the car gently rocking due to that engine ticking over was a joy... as was booting it at the NSL sign coming out of a village, and the whole thing hunkered down and took off.

One reason mine might have been less reliable than some (and the need for a new clutch so early in its life) was discovered only after I bought it... not only was it "ex-demo", it was the UK press demo car.






urquattroGus

1,845 posts

189 months

Sunday 26th March 2023
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Love the Ghibli Cup, but try finding one for sale, let alone for sensible money.

I had the 2001 3200 Assetto Corsa which I thought was great apart from the dreaded electronic throttle which I never managed to get reliable despite all of the updates to the throttle body, throttle pot and wiring. It was also an auto, wish I had had the manual although enfloat stories did put me off. The 3200 engine was savage, it felt like closer 400bhp and came on boost aggressively, a lot of fun!

This post has got me thinking about a Spyder, quite fancy one with a manual box. Nice colour combo on this one, think would be good if they would sell for £20k, £22 seems a bit too much.

Those quoting bork factor on a Maserati should bear in mind the 996/997 Porsche engine issues, a friend of mine went to Hartech recently (for a rebuild on his 996) and they had 20 997's in for rebuilds, mostly bore scoring I think.

Also when I had the Maserati 3200 a work colleague bought an early 997S and i joked that the engine in my Maserati 3200 was probably a lot more solid, he ended up selling in a panic a year or so later to WBAC as the car had bore score that showed up on a service inspection.