GranTurismo Running Costs

[Funkstar De Luxe]

Edit, maybe I sound a bit too grumpy here. I’m just disappointed that it seems highly unlikely that I can use this as a daily driver. I’ll have a sleep on it.

[ninepoint2]

Use an Indie mechanic and get parts from Eurospares and they are not that expensive to run, service intervals are 2 years but I do an oil change every year. They are worth it just for the noise they make alone

[m4tti]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

Edit, maybe I sound a bit too grumpy here. I’m just disappointed that it seems highly unlikely that I can use this as a daily driver. I’ll have a sleep on it.

That’s ok. Be grumpy

I think you’re going to need to take the rough with smooth.

And it could be that specialist charged a fair amount. A mot at my “specialist” on the Ferrari was 180 quid. I examined it and they had charged me an hour and bit to drive the car to the test centre ..

So yes that specialist cost may have some specialist tax.

[corradokid]

There is nothing standout in the previous history. It has been serviced by one of the top Maserati specialists in the uk but not seen a Main dealer workshop. A front wheel bearing for instance is £1000 just for the part.

Many of the costs are things which are well documented and highlighted here, general service costs, bearings, bushes, subframe repairs etc. all I’m suggesting is you keep your eyes open and assume no matter how much has been spent, there is always the possibility of another bill round the corner. You may get lucky and not spend a penny. You might not. Luck of the draw.

[MitchT]

I saw a stunning 2008 in metallic black with cream leather set against a predominantly black interior. Looked like an amazing car for the price but I just couldn't get past being terrified by the kind of bill it might present at some point. I did read extensively on here about them. Someone mentioned getting a "common issue with these cars" sorted and a few other bits and the bill coming to £14k. That put it to bed for me and I decided to stick with looking at BMW F32 440s. Same price but ten years younger and a whole lot cheaper to run!

[will-w]

I’ve owned my low mileage 2013 Sport, with the MC AutoShift gearbox for just over a year and according to PistonHeads I’m £7,259 deep in running costs so far.
(To be fair ~£700 of that is a new grille after an animal strike)

I currently have a failing alternator (seems to be quite common), which is going to end up costing ~£1,400 to replace.

https://www.pistonheads.com/members/showcar.asp?ca...

I won’t go into the specifics of what to look for as it looks like I’m late to the party and everyone has already covered those..

All I’ll add is… Buy one and enjoy it!!

Edited by will-w on Sunday 17th September 08:08

[will-w]

Oh and I daily drive mine - it lives outdoors and gets treated to all kinds of road salt and crap over the winter.

These cars have a known weak spot with the front subframe rotting if not prevented and kept an eye on. It’s a £4,000 fix!!

I strongly recommend that you get a good and thorough Pre Purchase Inspection completed before you hand over your cash - even from a dealership (unless you buy from Richard Grace..)

[will-w]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

Edit, maybe I sound a bit too grumpy here. I’m just disappointed that it seems highly unlikely that I can use this as a daily driver. I’ll have a sleep on it.

I think you might need to manage your expectations a little bit - the GT is still a hand made car with a highly strung Italian heart - she will cost you money to run, there’s no two ways about it.

Service intervals are 12.5k miles or 2 years, whichever is sooner. If you’re doing more than 6k a year then you’ll be looking at an annual service of between £800 and £1,300.

I appreciate you say that you plan on doing most servicing yourself - great - however it will have a significant impact on the resale value of the car when you do decide you’ve had enough and want to sell it, as no one will want to buy it.

[Funkstar De Luxe]

will-w said:

I think you might need to manage your expectations a little bit - the GT is still a hand made car with a highly strung Italian heart - she will cost you money to run, there’s no two ways about it.

Service intervals are 12.5k miles or 2 years, whichever is sooner. If you’re doing more than 6k a year then you’ll be looking at an annual service of between £800 and £1,300.

I appreciate you say that you plan on doing most servicing yourself - great - however it will have a significant impact on the resale value of the car when you do decide you’ve had enough and want to sell it, as no one will want to buy it.

That’s a pretty standard service interval - in fact it much higher than I’d expected.

To be honest, I don’t consider resale of anything I buy. Rule of thumb is that the money spent on a car is gone.

[Funkstar De Luxe]

Also, I don’t think the GranTurismo is hand made. I don’t even think it’s hand assembled. They’ve built nearly 40k.

Not that that’s an excuse for frequent repair.

[MitchT]

will-w said:

Oh and I daily drive mine - it lives outdoors and gets treated to all kinds of road salt and crap over the winter.

Someone at an apartment block round the corner from me has a Maserati Coupé which lives in the car park and is daily driven. It's always spotless so I guess it's well looked after. It's heartening to see one surviving the rigours of a relatively normal life.

will-w said:

These cars have a known weak spot with the front subframe rotting if not prevented and kept an eye on. It’s a £4,000 fix!!

I recall a thread on here in which someone was detailing the early post-purchase experience and documenting the sub frame refurbishment process.

[cgt2]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

Also, I don’t think the GranTurismo is hand made. I don’t even think it’s hand assembled. They’ve built nearly 40k.

Not that that’s an excuse for frequent repair.

I've been to the factory and seen them on the line. Not handmade other than the leather bits, the factory was quite automated in 2012. Obviously apart from the trim shop.

[ex-devonpaul]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

Edit, maybe I sound a bit too grumpy here. I’m just disappointed that it seems highly unlikely that I can use this as a daily driver. I’ll have a sleep on it.

I think most of the problems come from them NOT being used regularly.

[will-w]

ex-devonpaul said:

I think most of the problems come from them NOT being used regularly.

Agreed - I’d say neglect and under servicing is the biggest issue.

Anyone looking to purchase a car which has had no expense spared, big bills on an annual basis is a good sign.

You really don’t want to be buying a car which has had the minimum done every year, as this will cost you going forwards.

At the age you are looking at, subframes will be your biggest concern. Budget £4k if it’s rotten.

Cam cover gaskets are next, circa £800 if you have them done at the same time as a major service.

Alternators are becoming a more frequent replacement, circa £1,200.

Wheel bearings is an expensive one, and they’re not currently available.

Front suspension bushings is another that you don’t expect until it’s caught up with you; best part of £1,500 for the front end.

Skyhook and parking sensors? Best avoid if you can

[Funkstar De Luxe]

I’d like to know more about the sub frames. I find it crazy that a ~10 year old car with 50k on it has a rotten sub frame. Wouldn’t even expect that from a Dacia.

What’s the failure mode?

Also, the wheel bearings are unavailable?! They 100% will not be unique to the GT. Surely no bearing manufacturer would produce such a small run of unique bearings.

[Funkstar De Luxe]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

I’d like to know more about the sub frames. I find it crazy that a ~10 year old car with 50k on it has a rotten sub frame. Wouldn’t even expect that from a Dacia.

What’s the failure mode?

Also, the wheel bearings are unavailable?! They 100% will not be unique to the GT. Surely no bearing manufacturer would produce such a small run of unique bearings.

Here, in this post, we see a man desperately trying to fool himself into parting with his hard earned money to buy a Maserati 😂

[Cheburator mk2]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

I’d like to know more about the sub frames. I find it crazy that a ~10 year old car with 50k on it has a rotten sub frame. Wouldn’t even expect that from a Dacia.

What’s the failure mode?

Also, the wheel bearings are unavailable?! They 100% will not be unique to the GT. Surely no bearing manufacturer would produce such a small run of unique bearings.

The failure mode on the subframe is the suspension attachment points for the wishbones rot away. Not impossible to repair, just financially painful if you have to pay a specialist.

The wheel bearings are unique to the GT/Quattroporte. They are not your old school pre-2000 bearing where you need to remove the hub completely and press out and then back in the bearing. The Maserati ones are bolt on bearings, with the hub and the abs sensor built in. Do a Google search and you will see. There are Chinese copies available. Apparently they fail. Yet others have used them and have had no complaints.

Take it from me if you will, underneath the skin the Maserati is a stupidly ordinary car on par with a boring E92 M3 or a slightly less boring Porsche 928 GTS. There isn’t anything complicated. Some of the numbers banded around are just nuts!

£1200 for an alternator is retarded - access isn’t hard and any self-respecting shop can refurbish a Valeo alternator for a lot less. Similar with the aircon compressor. £800 for the leaking gaskets is also bonkers. That’s implying 6hrs labour - really?!

£1500 for front suspension bushes - ok, parts are £250 for new bushes all round. £1250 for taking it apart and re-bushing is again a crazy number, given that anyone with a modicum of mechanical understanding would figure out how to take it apart and fix it.

Someone said the right thing and I would agree with them - the more you drive them the better they would get. Build quality is on par with most German cars. It’s the software and electrics that can throw a wobbly, but just to show my X5M threw a £30k bill at BMW Insured Warranty despite meticulous main dealer overservicing, so there.

Go and drive a Maserati and be prepared to fall in love with it…

[ITP]

It’s not a surprise Maseratis are quite pricey to run. However, they are generally reliable though, especially engine/gearbox wise. As has been said, and like most Italian cars, I believe they do like being used. The only thing with doing a more miles is that you will wear suspension bits quicker, as they are quite heavy.

I’ve had a quattroporte 4.7 Sport GTS for 4.5 years now and spent about 8.5k so far. That includes tyres. In for another service next week, so that will add 700-1200 or so depending on what’s needed, so it’s bang on with the 2k/year average.

I do about 4-5k miles/year in it. Mine has had general servicing plus a few bits mentioned, front wishbones, 1 rear hub/bearing, alternator. These are things that can wear on any car, it’s just there are no cheap copy bits from eurospares etc like with more mainstream cars. You could obviously save if you do the work yourself.

Great cars though, well worth it in my opinion. If you are a top trumps guy, they are hard to justify, just get a golf R or a 140i, but the styling, feel good factor (and noise of course) is on a different planet, especially for the purchase price.

[will-w]

Cheburator mk2 said:

£1200 for an alternator is retarded - access isn’t hard and any self-respecting shop can refurbish a Valeo alternator for a lot less.

£755 inc VAT for a new alternator. Refurbished alternator from a reputable auto electrics company is about £350. Add fitting, book time is 4 hours.

Cheburator mk2 said:

£800 for the leaking gaskets is also bonkers. That’s implying 6hrs labour - really?!

Done with a major service a good independent will charge around £520, as a lot of the labour to gain access has already been done and makes it easier from there.
Book time to replace is 6 hours, you have to take the scuttle out to gain access to the rear which can be a right pain.

Cheburator mk2 said:

£1500 for front suspension bushes - ok, parts are £250 for new bushes all round. £1250 for taking it apart and re-bushing is again a crazy number, given that anyone with a modicum of mechanical understanding would figure out how to take it apart and fix it.

Front suspension depends on whether the ball joints have had it, as these are not replaceable and requires whole new arms at £1,179 inc VAT per corner, excluding labour and wheel alignment.

If you’re lucky and it’s just bushings then you’re looking at around £1,000.

[Cheburator mk2]

will-w said:

Cheburator mk2 said:

£1200 for an alternator is retarded - access isn’t hard and any self-respecting shop can refurbish a Valeo alternator for a lot less.

£755 inc VAT for a new alternator. Refurbished alternator from a reputable auto electrics company is about £350. Add fitting, book time is 4 hours.

Cheburator mk2 said:

£800 for the leaking gaskets is also bonkers. That’s implying 6hrs labour - really?!

Done with a major service a good independent will charge around £520, as a lot of the labour to gain access has already been done and makes it easier from there.
Book time to replace is 6 hours, you have to take the scuttle out to gain access to the rear which can be a right pain.

Cheburator mk2 said:

£1500 for front suspension bushes - ok, parts are £250 for new bushes all round. £1250 for taking it apart and re-bushing is again a crazy number, given that anyone with a modicum of mechanical understanding would figure out how to take it apart and fix it.

Front suspension depends on whether the ball joints have had it, as these are not replaceable and requires whole new arms at £1,179 inc VAT per corner, excluding labour and wheel alignment.

If you’re lucky and it’s just bushings then you’re looking at around £1,000.

I am aware of the book time and I am also very well aware of parts/refurbishment costs, having restored a few classics/modern cars. I really don't want to get into an argument, but there are fixes for all these that are significantly cheaper...

I am also aware that the car is stupidly easy to work on. There is absolutely no need to pay a specialist for any of these jobs really. They are all well within the abilities of a competent home mechanic with a decent set of tools. A good garage with a bit of passion for cars, run by a proper mechanic would love to work and do these basic tasks.

Working on my GT3 or 928 GTS 5-spd is harder - severely hampered access - vs the Maserati. which contrary to popular belief is actually very well engineered, and with the exception of the bellhousing arrangement on the MC Shift very logically put together. As a matter of fact, the quality of materials and fasteners used is easily on par if not better than BMW/Porsche of the period...

Anyway, we digress...

If you let the car be maintained by a specialist, yes, be prepared for often unnecessary big bills. However, the OP specifically mentioned he would service the car himself, hence me pointing out that this route offers significant savings and makes the car a lot less hard on the wallet. Given that a good GranTurismo S F1 privately is as low as £22k, and that the OP wants to keep it long term and pile on the miles, having the stamp in the book vs. having the evidence of maintenance via photos, receipts and general condition of the car will be less and less important...